title: Are Stem Cell-Based Therapies for Parkinson's Disease Ready for the Clinic in 2016?
abstract: Recent news of an impending clinical cell transplantation trial in Parkinson's disease using parthenogenetic stem cells as a source of donor tissue have raised hopes in the patient community and sparked discussion in the research community. Based on discussions held by a global collaborative initiative on translation of stem cell therapy in Parkinson's disease, we have identified a set of key questions that we believe should be addressed ahead of every clinical stem cell-based transplantation trial in this disorder. In this article, we first provide a short history of cell therapy in Parkinson's disease and briefly describe the current state-of-art regarding human stem cell-derived dopamine neurons for use in any patient trial. With this background information as a foundation, we then discuss each of the key questions in relation to the upcoming therapeutic trial and critically assess if the time is ripe for clinical translation of parthenogenetic stem cell technology in Parkinson's disease.
authors.affiliation: John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Forvie Site, Cambridge, UK.|Wallenberg Neuroscience Center and Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, BMC A11, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Roger A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.affiliation: Wallenberg Neuroscience Center and Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, BMC A11, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Malin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parmar
authors.affiliation: Wallenberg Neuroscience Center and Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, BMC A11, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Agnete
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kirkeby
authors.affiliation: Wallenberg Neuroscience Center and Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, BMC A11, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Björklund
authors.affiliation: Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Lachlan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Research Institute, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Patrik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brundin
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D012107:Research Design; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*