Implants of carotid body cells as a treatment alternative for Parkinson disease

The appearance of motor fluctuations and dyskinesias in a large number of parkinsonian patients treated with levodopa, has promoted the development of new therapeutical approaches. Deep brain stimulation of subthalamic nucleus and globus pallidus medialis results in a marked improvement of parkinsonism and levodopa-induced dyskinesias. However, this approach does no delay the progression of the disease.

Transplantation of dopamine-releasing cells might represent an advantage as these cells could replace the loss of dopaminergic neurons occurring in Parkinson's disease. This article reviews the main results obtained in experimental models of Parkinson's disease and in humans using different types of dopaminergic cells. The advantages and limitations of this treatment are also discussed.

CITATION  Rev Med Univ Navarra. 2001 Apr-Jun;45(2):49-54