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Two patients with Parkinson's disease who underwent implantation of fetal mesencephalic tissue into the putamen were serially studied using positron emission tomography and [18F]6-L-fluorodopa ([18F]dopa). The uptake of [18F]dopa is related to the functional integrity of the presynaptic dopaminergic system. Preoperative studies revealed a marked decrease in putamen [18F]dopa uptake, with lesser in
Ventral mesencephalic tissue from aborted human fetuses (age, 6-7 weeks' postconception) was implanted unilaterally into the putamen using stereotaxic surgery in 2 immunosuppressed patients (Patients 3 and 4 in our series) with advanced idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Tissue from 4 fetuses was grafted to each patient. Compared with our previous 2 patients, the following changes in the grafting pro
BACKGROUND: Niemann-Pick disease type C (NP-C) is a rare neurovisceral disease characterised by progressive neurological degeneration, where the rate of neurological disease progression varies depending on age at neurological onset. We report longitudinal data on functional disease progression and safety observations in patients in the international NPC Registry who received continuous treatment w
BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicate increased prevalences of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and completed suicide in Huntington's disease (HD) compared with the general population. This study investigates correlates and predictors of suicidal ideation in HD.METHODS: The study cohort consisted of 2106 HD mutation carriers, all participating in the REGISTRY study of the European Huntington's
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Although Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has been proven to be an effective treatment for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), it may be difficult for general neurologists to identify appropriate candidates for this procedure. We developed an electronic decision tool that can assist neurologists in deciding which PD patients should be referred for DBS considerati
The core feature of vascular ageing is the age-associated stiffening of the large, elastic arteries, or arteriosclerosis. This results in a diminished volume-buffering function and is therefore central for the increase in systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure seen with advancing age. Since there are considerable individual differences regarding the rate of vascular ageing, the aim was to desc
Neural transplantation can restore striatal dopaminergic neurotransmission in animal models of Parkinson's disease. It has now been shown that mesencephalic dopamine neurons, obtained from human fetuses of 8 to 9 weeks gestational age, can survive in the human brain and produce marked and sustained symptomatic relief in a patient severely affected with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. The grafts, w
By using stereotaxic surgical techniques, ventral mesencephalic tissues from aborted human fetuses of 8 to 10 weeks' gestational age were implanted unilaterally into the striata in two patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. The patients were treated with a cyclosporine, azathioprine, and steroid regimen to minimize the risk for graft rejection. They were examined for 6 months preoperatively a
The survival of grafts of dissociated allogeneic fetal neural dopamine (DA) rich tissue in the striatum has been studied after transplantation between inbred strains of mice differing at defined immunogenetical loci between donor and recipient. Six to 7 weeks and 15 weeks after grafting, surviving grafted DA neurons were found in the brains of all the recipients, albeit with a large variation in n
Fetal mesencephalic mouse tissue, rich in dopamine neurons, was xenografted as a dissociated cell suspension into the striatum of rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine induced lesions of the mesostriatal pathway. The rats were either assigned to a 10-day, 21-day or 42-day Cyclosporin A (CyA) immunosuppression scheme, or given no immunosuppression. The functional effects of the grafts were followe
Brain interstitial and cerebrospinal fluid drainage into the lymphatics was studied by injections of 5 microliters of packed sheep red blood cells (SRBC) injected into the caudate nucleus, the occipital lobe, and the lateral ventricle of the brain in mice. The number of plaque-forming cells (PFC) was determined in the deep cervical lymph nodes, the axillary lymph nodes, and the spleen, and the num
The septal/diagonal band (SDB) area, obtained from a 9- to 10-week-old aborted human fetus, was grafted to the hippocampal formation of adult, immunosuppressed rats subjected to an aspirative lesion of the fimbria-fornix. Nineteen weeks after transplantation, microscopical analysis revealed large, partly acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-positive grafts in the hippocampus in 3 of the 5 recipients. The A
We have used a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD) to address issues of importance for a future clinical application of dopamine (DA) neuron grafting in patients with PD. Human mesencephalic DA neurons, obtained from 6.5-8 week old fetuses, were found to survive intracerebral cell suspension xenografting to the striatum of rats immunosuppressed with Cyclosporin A. The grafts produced an extensiv
