StemCell

Jaslok Hospital Performs World's First Stem Cell Transplant on PD Patient

The first patient was suffering from advanced PD for the past six years

The patient with the team of doctors

Mumbai-based Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre announced its first successful treatment of Parkinson's Disease (PD) using stem cells. Earlier this year, Jaslok Hospital had launched a revolutionary Mesenchymal Stem Cell project along with the regenerative medicine group of Reliance Life Sciences, on World Parkinson's Day. The first patient to undergo the treatment was 54-year-old Bhanwarlal Jain suffering from advanced PD for the past six years.

PD is a degenerative disease of the brain (central nervous system) that often impairs motor skills, speech, and other possible functions. The prevalence of this disease is 8-22/10,000. As the disease progresses, medicines become less effective and cause intolerable side effects.

Presently, all the therapies for this disease only control the disease symptoms. Neural transplantation is the only form of treatment which can actually restore normal function. Stem cells transplantation if successful would prove to be a great boon for patients suffering from this disease.

Said Dr Paresh Doshi, HOD, Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Jaslok Hospital, "The patient was suffering from PD for past six years. Despite taking large doses of medicine, he could independently function for only a few hours in the day and rest of the period was spent in bed or in an incapacitated manner. Surgical treatment was the only option."

The stem cells that were used were derived from the patient's own bone marrow. They were then grown and processed at the state - of-the-art cGMP complaint stem cell processing facility of Reliance Life Sciences at Navi Mumbai. Once processed, they were brought back to Jaslok Hospital where they were implanted in the patient's brain by stereotactic surgery.

The patient is required to remain awake during this surgery. Under the influence of local anaesthesia, two burr holes are made in the head through which microscopic amounts of autologus mesenchymal stem cells are injected. As these cells are from the patient's own bone marrow there is no potential of rejection, and side effects are also negated as they can multiply only for a limited time.

Jaslok Hospital and Reliance Life Sciences have partnered together to perform 10 such cases, the results of which, will be evaluated over a period of three years.

EH News Bureau