This is a new glow of hope for the millions of people affected by Parkinson’s disease. Researchers from the University of Cambridge are preparing to test revolutionary treatment: brain implants made up of tiny piles of living brain cells. This innovation could mark a turning point in the history of modern medicine.
No more dopamine treatments with disabling side effects. Here is the promise of this team of British scientists who attack one of the greatest medical challenges of our time. “Our ultimate goal is to create precise brain therapies that can restore normal brain functioning in people with parkinson”says George Malliaras, co-director of the project with his colleague Roger Barker.
Like the implants to counter paralysis, this innovation lies in the use of mesencephalon organoids (small cerebral cell clusters) which will be implanted directly in patients’ brains. These implants will be associated with advanced materials as well as sophisticated electrical stimulation. This synergy would finally make it possible to solve the puzzle that has been slowed down for years cellular replacement therapies: The complete integration of the cells transplanted into the patient’s nervous system. Jacques Carolan, program director at Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), does not hide her enthusiasm:
So far, the approaches were either brutal or highly invasive. We demonstrate that it is possible to develop elegant means to understand, identify and treat the most complex and devastating brain disorders.
Medical revolution
To understand the importance of this advance, let us remember that Parkinson’s disease remains incurable today. This neuro-degenerative disease, which affects more than 10 million people worldwide, is characterized by the progressive death of neurons producing dopamine. Result ? A stunt of disabling symptoms: tremors, muscle rigidity, balance disorders …
Current treatments, mainly based on dopamine, only temporarily mask symptoms. Worse still, their effectiveness decreases over time, and their side effects often become unbearable for patients. It is this vicious circle that Cambridge researchers hope to break with their innovation.
The project, funded by ARIA, marks a paradigm shift in the therapeutic approach to Parkinson’s disease. Exit temporary solutions, make way for an approach that aims to truly repair the damaged neural circuits. The first tests on animals are planned in the coming months. If the results are conclusive, we could attend a revolution in the treatment of this disease.
This innovation is the culmination of more than a century of research on Parkinson’s disease, a quest that has mobilized several generations of researchers. If the path to clinical trials on humans is still long, the hope of truly effective treatment has never been so tangible.
- Cambridge researchers develop revolutionary brain implants composed of living brain cells to treat Parkinson
- Innovation combines mesencephalic organoids, advanced materials and electrical stimulation to repair damaged neural circuits
- The first trials on animals soon start, a historical step in the search for a curative treatment of the disease
