Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that affects a lot of people as they get older – about 2% of people over 65 years old are affected. Nerve cells in the brain which produce dopamine (dopamine neurons) stop working and are lost from the brain. As the levels of dopamine gradually fall, people develop tremors in their hands and body which they cannot control. Their body becomes very rigid and eventually they cannot move normally at all. Although drug treatments have improved things a lot in recent years, there is still no long term cure.

Scientists hope that stem cell transplants will allow them to replace the lost brain cells and restore dopamine production, letting people return to a normal life!

In some recent research scientists managed to get mouse embryonic stem cells to form dopamine neurons. These cells were transplanted into the brains of rats which had the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. They grew and restored the level of dopamine neurons which released the much needed dopamine - and the ability of the rats to control their movement improved. In future embryonic stem cells may be used to produce successful dopamine neuron transplants for the millions of people who suffer from Parkinson’s disease around the world.

This striking image is of working brain cells which have developed from embryonic stem cells which were persuaded to become immature nerve cells and then transplanted into the brains of young mice. The ability to produce new working brain cells could lead to treatments for many different brain conditions.

© University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, reproduced with permission