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Japan Succeeds in Improving Parkinson's Symptoms with iPS Cells

Japan Succeeds in Improving Parkinson's Symptoms with iPS Cells

A microscopic image of induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells (Courtesy of Kyoto University professor Shinya Yamanaka)
A microscopic image of induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells (Courtesy of Kyoto University professor Shinya Yamanaka)

   Kyoto, April 17 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese group said Thursday that it succeeded in improving symptoms of Parkinson's disease patients with nerve cells produced from induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells.
   Symptoms improved in four of the patients participating in a clinical trial in which nerve cells made from iPS cells were transplanted into their brains, said Kyoto University Hospital and the national university's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, or CiRA.
   Sumitomo Pharma Co., which supplied the nerve cells, plans to apply for a state approval for the treatment under a fast-track system for regenerative medicine products that gives approvals on certain conditions for use over limited periods.
   The Osaka-based company aims to gain such an approval within this fiscal year at the earliest. A paper on the clinical trial was published on the British journal Nature.
   Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative condition in which motor function is impaired due to a decrease in nerve cells that produce dopamine, a chemical that works in the brain.

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AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL


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