How to get involved in PD research
We currently don't have any studies open for recruitment.
Our ongoing studies include:
TRANSEURO - cohort study
TransEUro is a large multicentre European research project with the aim of assessing the safety and tolerability of human fetal-cell transplantation for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The TRANSEURO working group was originally established in 2006 with funding from Parkinson’s UK. The clinical component of the TRANSEURO study includes 2 arms: an experimental cell-transplantion trial and an observational study. The goal is to develop safe cell-based treatments for patients with early-stage Parkinson’s disease.
The transplant study looks to replace the dopamine cells destroyed by Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine producing cells are surgically transplanted into the striatum, a part of the brain which is known to be the site of greatest dopamine loss in Parkinson’s disease. There are 11 patients from the UK and Sweden that received these cell-transplants and reached the primary end point of the trial, 3 years post grafting. These patients have been closely monitored to see whether these grafted cells survive and have beneficial effects on the symptoms and signs of Parkinson’s.
We have completed the analysis and published our findings in a scientific paper, please see the paper here.
The observational study is one of the few studies which has prospectively followed this stage of Parkinson’s over such a long period of time. We have now followed 153 patients, for up to 15 years. The detailed information that we have collected will help us when we are evaluating the effectiveness of dopamine cell-based treatments in both this current study and future stem cell trials, and provides detailed information on how PD behaves and progresses over time. We are just finishing off writing up a paper on this work.
This trial is funded through the European Commission.
STEM-PD
A multicentre, single arm, first in human, dose-escalation trial, investigating the safety and tolerability of intraputamenal transplantation of human embryonic stem cell derived dopaminergic cells for Parkinson’s disease (STEM-PD product)
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic degenerative disease of the brain that is characterised by the loss of nerve cells (neurons), including some of those that produce a chemical called ‘dopamine’. Medications that replace this chemical help treat the symptoms of PD; however, these drugs create problems in the long term and do not treat the underlying disease. One of the most promising PD therapies to date has been the transplantation of dopamine producing cells into the brain. Unlike current treatments, this may be able to repair this area of damage by replacing the lost dopamine cells with new ones. In this trial, we are aiming to test a new stem cell therapy, called STEM-PD. This is the first time that STEM-PD will be given to humans.
Stem cells are cells that can develop into many different cell types, including brain cells that produce dopamine. We have shown this to work very well and safely in animal studies but now we are aiming to assess whether STEM-PD is safe to use in people with Parkinson’s disease and what dose should be used. We will also be looking for signs that the STEM-PD product develops into dopamine producing neurons in the brain of people with PD.
The study involves neurosurgery of the STEM-PD product into the brain, as well as immunosuppressive treatment for 12 months, blood samples, lumbar punctures, questionnaires, memory tests, motor tests and physical examinations. Participation will last 3 years minimum, with the option to extend in a long term follow up study.
For more information, please follow the link to the STEM-PD website.
With all clinical trials there are strict inclusion and exclusion criteria for participation.
If you are interested in participating or would like more information on any of these projects, please reach out to Amy!
Amy Evans (Clinical Trial Assistant) - ahe28@cam.ac.uk