Abstract

Parkinson’ss disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. PD can cause weakness in the motor system and cause many symptoms, such as bradykinesia, lead-pipe rigidity, and tremors. The treatment options are mainly pharmacological but, over time, the efficiency of drugs decline. A new treatment modality emerged for PD by transplantation of dopamine (DA) cells into the substantia nigra. Animal experiments on DA cell transplantation started in the 1980s in rats and monkeys and showed improvement in motor function. The first human trials began in Sweden and Mexico. The National Institutes of Health studies reported that for the first time the experiment of DA transplantation did not work in PD. Also, they reported that if given enough time, the right cell to the right patient, DA cell transplantation therapy could improve motor symptoms control over period of years. This review aimed to evaluate the present and future use of DA cell transplantation in PD. The outcome will improve by a good selection of patients, improving the techniques of dopaminergic cells harvesting, and using new cell lines, like human embryonic stem cells and human somatic. It was concluded that dopaminergic cell transplantation in PD patients improved the motor functions and survived for a long time.

Key words: Parkinson’s disease, dopamine cells, dopaminergic grafts, transplantation