Neural Grafting in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease: Past, Present, and Future

摘要

Interest in the field of tissue grafting for the treatment of Parkinson's disease has become widespread after clinical protocols began in Mexico. However, the first clinical experiment in this field was performed inSweden in 1982. Furthermore, systematic laboratory investigations of neural grafts began as early as 1976. Among both the public and the general medical communities, there is still significant confusion about the difference between adrenal transplants, neural grafts and grafts from alternative sources of tissue. There are, furthermore, legitimate questions about the role of progressing to clinical experimentation when so many fundamental questions have yet to be answered in the laboratory. However, basic research now supports the initiation of limited clinical trials in selected centers. The report discusses past history and progress in transplantation of both nerve and adrenal tissue into Parkinson's disease patients and attempts to predict the outcome, as well as future trends in this area of medical research.