Development of stem cell-based therapies for Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta in the brain with an unknown cause. Current pharmacological treatments for PD are only symptomatic and there is still no cure for this disease nowadays. In fact, transplantation of human fetal ventral midbrain cells into PD brains has provided a proof of concept that cell replacement therapy can be used for some PD patients, beneficial for improving their symptoms. However, the ethical and practical issues of human fetal tissue will inevitably limit its widespread clinical use. Therefore, it is essential to find alternative cell sources for the future cell transplantation for PD patients. With recent development in stem cell technology, here, we review the different types of stem cells and their main properties currently explored, which could be developed as a possible cell therapy for PD treatment.