Encapsulated Cell Implants as a Novel Treatment for Parkinson Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive degeneration of the dopaminergic cells of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNPc). Systemic levodopa therapy has proved to be an effective initial treatment for this disorder. However, resistance to this therapy inevitably develops with time, necessitating other approaches including surgery. Current experimental surgical treatments for this disorder include pallidal stimulation, pallidal lesion, subthalamic stimulation, and dopaminergic cell transplants. The current limitation of these approaches is that they all treat the symptoms but not the cause, that is, the progressive degeneration of the SNPc goes unabated.