Cell Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. It is typically treated symptomatically by dopamine replacement using either levodopa or dopamine agonists, however, cell therapies that aim to repair and replace these lost neurons and their projections to the striatum represent a very promising strategy to help cure people of this condition. Several cell sources have been considered for this use including fetal ventral mesencephalon, embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Some of them have gone into the clinical arena with mixed results, whilst others still remain purely experimental. In this chapter we will discuss the stage of development of each of them and the pros and cons of their use for the treatment of PD.