iPS cell study finds ALS can be treated using Parkinson’s drug
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, can be treated with an existing drug used for Parkinson’s disease, a research team led by a Keio University professor discovered through induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology.
Hideyuki Okano, of the Department of Physiology at the university’s Graduate School of Medicine, announced the finding at a symposium on regenerative medical techniques.
Okano’s team discovered the drug’s efficacy for ALS by using “drug discovery and development” methods, which include experiments using iPS cells.
Okano said on Oct. 13 at a gathering in Tokyo that the new approach is likely to be able to halt the progression of ALS, or even provide a cure.
ALS is an incurable disease in which nerve damage causes patients to progressively lose control of their muscles, including those for breathing, and they gradually become completely paralyzed. There are estimated to be more than 9,000 ALS patients in Japan.
Drugs exist that can slow the progression of the disease, but effective treatment has remained elusive to date.
The team reproduced ALS sufferers’ conditions by using iPS cells based on cells harvested from ALS patients for whom the disease runs in the family. They tried about 1,230 types of drugs, leading to the discovery that ropinirole hydrochloride, a drug for Parkinson’s disease, elicited an effect.
They conducted the same experiment using iPS cells based on cells harvested from ALS patients who do not have any ALS-suffering relatives.
The results revealed that ropinirole hydrochloride is also effective for 16 of 22 types of sporadic ALS.
The cause of ALS is unknown, but a specific protein that accumulates in patients’ nerve cells and other factors are thought to induce the illness.
It was confirmed that ropinirole hydrochloride is effective in slowing the protein’s accumulation and in conserving more cells.
パーキンソン病
Researchers treat Parkinson's with iPS cells
Researchers in Japan have announced a major step forward in efforts to find a cure for Parkinson's disease. In a world first, they say they've successfully transplanted iPS cells into a patient's brain.
Researchers at Kyoto University say they carried out the groundbreaking operation last month. They say the patient is recovering well.
Parkinson's disease affects nerve cells in the brain.
Normally, the cells produce a substance called dopamine, which transmits signals from the brain to other parts of the body. But Parkinson's causes nerve cells to deteriorate and affects their ability to produce dopamine, leading to poor coordination, tremors and eventually paralysis.
Kyoto University researchers say they transplanted 2.4 million iPS cells into the brain of a man in his 50s.
They will now monitor the patient over the next 2 years to see if the procedure successfully counters the debilitating effects of Parkinson's.
The development is considered a breakthrough because there's currently no cure for the disease.
Globally, millions of people suffer from Parkinson's, including an estimated 150,000 in Japan. In the long run, the team wants this type of treatment to become available under Japan's health insurance system.
Kyoto University professor Jun Takahashi said that they hope to mass-produce cells together with various companies to lower the costs.
iPS cells can theoretically replicate any type of body tissue. They were developed by Shinya Yamanaka, who won a Nobel Prize for his work in 2012.
A number of scientists in Japan are exploring other treatment methods using iPS cells. One group is laying the groundwork to treat serious eye diseases. The government has also approved a plan to use the cells to treat heart conditions.
脊髄損傷にiPS 厚労部会了承…慶大チーム 秋にも移植
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厚生労働省の再生医療等評価部会は18日、人のiPS細胞(人工多能性幹細胞)から神経のもととなる細胞を作り、脊髄損傷の患者に移植する慶応大チームの臨床研究計画を了承した。同チームは今秋にも最初の移植を行う。iPS細胞を使った脊髄損傷の治療は世界初という。