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New Zealand’s Minister of Health has given the go-ahead for Living Cell Technologies Limited to proceed with the first stage of a clinical trial of NTCELL for the treatment of parkinson’s disease
The treatment involves transplanting choroid plexus cells from the Auckland Island pig herd into the brain. Choroid plexus cells are naturally occurring “support” cells for the brain and when transplanted can help protect the brain and repair damaged nerve tissue.
These cells will be encapsulated with LCT’s IMMUPEL(TM), to prevent the immune system from rejecting them as foreign.
The study will last up to 60 weeks and involve patients that have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s for at least four years. Patients will receive either NTCELL treatment or the current gold standard of treatment for their symptoms, deep brain stimulation.
Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease and affects four to six million people worldwide.
The Principal Investigator for the trials will be Dr Barry Snow an internationally recognised clinician and researcher in parkinson’s disease who leads the Auckland Movement Disorders Clinic at the Auckland District Health Board.
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