Development of fetal neural transplantation as a treatment for Parkinson'sdisease

Since 1988, patients with Parkinson's disease have participated in clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of transplantation of human fetal dopamine cells into the caudate and putamen. Transplantation of fetal tissue leads t o clinical benefits in some patients which is associated with a reduction o f the amount of L-DOPA administered. Major issues in transplant research ne ed to be addressed before this technique can be widely applied. In this rev iew, a pool of 35 patients was generated from the published cases of human fetal tissue transplantation. This group of transplant recipients was exami ned for motor improvement and reduction in L-DOPA dosage at one year post-t ransplant. Issues addressed in this review include the benefits of unilater al vs bilateral transplantation, age of the transplant recipient, solid vs suspensions of fetal mesencephalon and the number of fetal donors per recip ient.