Living Cell Technologies Ltd. (LCT) announced that the first patient has been successfully implanted in the Phase 1 clinical trial of the regenerative cell therapy NTCell, a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease.

The surgery was conducted at Auckland City Hospital, and the patient has recovered well so far. An MRI scan taken the day after the surgery indicated that the NTCell capsules have been implanted at their intended target.

In the clinical trial, NTCell is injected under guidance by neuroimaging into the affected area of the human brain where substantial death of neurons and other cells has occurred. The cell therapy is comprised of choroid plexus cells, which are naturally occurring 'support' cells for the brain. LCT's propriety technology Immupel coats the implanted cells to protect them from attack by the patient's immune system.

The scientific basis for the Phase 1 clinical trial in humans was established from the published preclinical trial of NTCell in a non-human primate model of Parkinson's disease. The preclinical results indicate that NTCell can protect and regenerate brain tissue that would otherwise be lost, potentially delaying or even preventing the effects of Parkinson's disease.

"Unlike current therapy options for Parkinson's disease, NTCell may be neuroprotective and offers people living with the disease the hope of being able to halt disease progression and restore quality of life," says Dr Grant.

Apparently, encapsulated choroid plexus cells are put into human brains causing them to increase neurotrophic factors BDNF and GDNF secretion! Once again it seems that finding ways to increase neurotrophic factors such as GDNF helps PWP!

http://www.dddmag.com/news/2013/09/p...y-trial-begins

Choroid Plexus transplants worked great in monkeys too!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24002224

The choroid plexus is the structure in the brain that produces cerebrospinal fluid. These cells also filter wastes from the brain and keeps the brain free of debris and other potentially deleterious material. Choroid plexus cells not only produce cerebrospinal fluid, but also a range of neurotrophins (nerve growth factors) that have been shown to protect against neuron (nerve) cell death in animal models of disease.

Several papers have reported on the use of implanted NTCELL capsules in animal model systems. Luo and others used NTCELLs in nonhuman primates that suffered from chemically induced Parkinson’s disease. This paper reported that the transplanted encapsulated choroid plexus clusters significantly improved neurological functions in these monkeys with Parkinson’s disease (J Parkinsons Dis. 2013 Jan 1;3(3):275-91).

https://beyondthedish.wordpress.com/...sons-patients/