Can Fetal Cell Grafts be Expected to Ameliorate Symptoms of Human Neurodegenerative Disorders? Evidence from Animal Models

We are examining the therapeutic efficacy of replacement of neural tissue via transplantation in two animal models of human neurodegenerative disease: 1. the dopamine deficiency associated with MPTP treatment in monkeys, which reproduces many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and 2. age-related deficits in brain norepiniphrine system function associated with memory deficits in old rats, a model of one of the changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease.