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Stem cells from uterus treat Parkinsons in mice
Thu May 6, 2010 Healthcare

* Women could provide their own stem cells

WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - Stem cells from the lining of a woman's uterus transformed into brain cells when they were injected into mice whose brains had damage resembling Parkinson's disease, researchers reported on Thursday.

The findings suggest that women with Parkinson's could serve as their own stem cell donors, the team at Yale University School of Medicine in Connecticut said.

And because the cells are easy to find, banks of tissue-matched endometrial stem cells could be set up, they said.

"Endometrial tissue is probably the most readily available, safest, most easily attainable source of stem cells that is currently available. We hope the cells we derived are the first of many types that will be used to treat a variety of diseases," said Yale's Dr. Hugh Taylor...

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Stem cells are the body's master cells. There are many types but so-called adult stem cells, like those found in the endometrium lining the uterus, are partly "differentiated" into specific tissue types.

For some reason the endometrial stem cells generate less of an immune system rejection response than other stem cell types... And women shed them naturally every month when menstruating...


...The Yale team generated stem cells from nine women who did not have Parkinson's disease and transformed them in the lab into dopamine-producing nerve cells like those in the brain.

They also injected them directly into the brains of mice with a Parkinson's-like condition and showed that they developed into dopamine-producing cells.

The next step will be to show the cells diminished the symptoms in the mice.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Cynthia Osterman
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0626784320100506

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Wondering if the info in the following important concerning estrogen and PD:
(recall COMT gene responsible for fast metabolization of both estrogen and dopamine)

...Xenoestrogens, environmental estrogens, or simply, estrogen mimics are natural and synthetic compounds found almost everywhere in the environment. They can contaminate humans, animals, plants, soil, water and air.

The widely variable substances are present in plastics, PCBs, pesticides and herbicides, pharmaceutical products, and personal care products. While the amounts found in these products are often extremely small, the sheer volume of items containing them makes exposure unavoidable


Mounting evidence suggests that exposure to low levels of some EEs -- especially during development -- can cause a number of effects that can lead to disease and reproductive problems later in life. Effects seen at lower doses may not occur at higher doses or those at middle doses may not appear at the low or high exposures tested. These variations -- common with hormones and environmental disrupting compounds -- are known as nonmonotonic dose responses.

Prior laboratory studies show estrogen mimics can affect the brain by altering important signaling chemicals that are regulated by estrogen hormones.

Dopamine is one of these specialized brain chemicals...

A number of diseases -- including Parkinsons, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder and addiction -- are attributed to problems with dopamine levels in the brain.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.o...om-brain-cells

[Conductor71]

Originally Posted by olsen

Wondering if the info in the following important concerning estrogen and PD:
(recall COMT gene responsible for fast metabolization of both estrogen and dopamine)

...Xenoestrogens, environmental estrogens, or simply, estrogen mimics are natural and synthetic compounds found almost everywhere in the environment. They can contaminate humans, animals, plants, soil, water and air.

The widely variable substances are present in plastics, PCBs, pesticides and herbicides, pharmaceutical products, and personal care products. While the amounts found in these products are often extremely small, the sheer volume of items containing them makes exposure unavoidable

Prior laboratory studies show estrogen mimics can affect the brain by altering important signaling chemicals that are regulated by estrogen hormones.

Dopamine is one of these specialized brain chemicals...

A number of diseases -- including Parkinsons, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder and addiction -- are attributed to problems with dopamine levels in the brain.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.o...om-brain-cells

First, I just want to post this link http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0331093533.htm If you look closely it is from 2008 and is really almost identical to the report today on endometrial stem cells- I can't see any difference in the two studies. Am I missing something? This recycling misleads us and the general public making it seem like progress is being made in PD research, when in reality only a small fraction goes anywhere at all.

Olsen,

Thanks for this intriguing info Environmental Estrogens. I have really been researching the PD and hormone connection. Numerous studies show that estrogen may be neuroprotective, yet when women become pregnant and have children many or most permanently worsen (me and several YO moms I know included). There is an article out now from 2008 indicating that fluctuating hormones are the cause for our deterioration (we could have told them that)- if this is the case, I hate to think of what menopause holds in store, and given this, shouldn't we be prime for hormone replacement therapy (not the synthetic stuff linked to cancer)? More research really needs to happen here fast.

What make this worse for me is that my neuro assured me that pregnancy would not negatively impact the PD. My mom had cautioned me against thinking that given that PD is systemic would be worse given how pregnancy and hormones essentially take over a women's body- she thought this was just good common sense. Nope, says (former) female MDS. I went from having a mild, stress induced hand tremor to an all the time tremor and as my hormones changed postpartum in the course of a few months I experienced much more rigidity (bradykinesia used to be my secondary symptom). This is alarming and I wonder if pregnancy alters subtypes and prognoses. I am beginning to think that there are some seriously flawed doctors out there- I would much rather have a doctor tell me that they do not have an answer. I think borders on negligence...whatever happened to the Hippocratic Oath?

Laura

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Hi Laura, Must have been a slow news day on the PD front, thus the recycling. good catch.
I am still intrigued with the info about the COMT gene. and will attempt to follow that up. Madelyn