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news.BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics has announced that in a pre-clinical study that was conducted with Tel Aviv University between February and May 2008, signs of impaired motor behavior in a rat model of Parkinson's improved following transplantation of BrainStorm's unique neurotrophic factor cells.
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In this study, Tel Aviv University scientists lesion the brains of lab rats by using the 6OHDA toxin, in order to mimic the motor dysfunction of Parkinsonian patients. The rats were divided into three groups: one group was transplanted with BrainStorm neurotrophic factor cells (NTF) cells, another with undifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells and the third group was used as control.
The motor functions of the rats were repeatedly measured for 45 days, followed by histology. The results showed statistically significant improvement in NTF rats’ motor functions, in compared to the mesenchymal cell group and the controls. Moreover, the NTF cells increased the level of the neurotransmitter Dopamine (a low amount of which causes Parkinson).
The researchers also detected, 45 days post-transplantation, viable transplanted cells which migrated toward the impaired portion of the affected brain. The company believes that this is evidence of the integration ability of BrainStorm’s cells in the damaged brain. This is the second study completed using BrainStorm’s cells that produced similar results.