title: Neuroprotection of Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor for Early Stage Parkinson's Disease.
abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease. Both medical and surgical choices provide symptomatic treatment. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), a conventional treatment for hematological diseases, has demonstrated its effectiveness in acute and chronic neurological diseases through its anti-inflammatory and antiapoptosis mechanisms. Based on previous in vitro and in vivo studies, we administered a lower dose (3.3 μg/kg) G-CSF injection for 5 days and six courses for 1 year in early-stage PD patients as a phase I trial. The four PD patient's mean unified PD rating scale motor scores in medication off status remained stable from 23 before the first G-CSF injection to 22 during the 2-year follow-up. 3,4-Dihydroxy-6-18F-fluoro-l-phenylalanine (18F-DOPA) positron emission tomography (PET) studies also revealed an annual 3.5% decrease in radiotracer uptake over the caudate nucleus and 7% in the putamen, both slower than those of previous reports of PD. Adverse effects included transient muscular-skeletal pain, nausea, vomiting, and elevated liver enzymes. Based on this preliminary report, G-CSF seems to alleviate disease deterioration for early stage PD patients. The effectiveness of G-CSF was possibly due to its amelioration of progressive dopaminergic neuron degeneration.
authors.forename: Sheng-Tzung
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Sung-Chao
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Shu-Hsin
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Cheng-Yoong
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Ting-Wen
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Shinn-Zong
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Shin-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000066829:Neuroprotection / Q000187:drug effects*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011699:Putamen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor