IIT-B Breakthrough: Cure Parkinson's Disease through Stem Cell Therapy

A team of three researchers from the department of Biosciences and Bioengineering (BSBE) at IIT Bombay and IITB-Monash Research Academy, after working for five years, have brought a breakthrough in Parkinson's disease while differentiating the neuron through stem cell and have come out with newly designed amyloid-based hydrogels as the solution.

About Parkinson's Disease:

It is caused due to progressive degeneration of certain dopaminergic neuron in a specific region of the brain. It has no permanent cure. For the geriatric population, Parkinson's disease is one of the leading neurological disorders characterised by neurodegeneration in the specific brain area that leads to a gradual decline in normal body movements and muscle controls.

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The present treatment provides only a symptomatic relief, but it does not reverse the progression of the disease. After multiple shots are applied, the patients stop responding to drug treatment. The researchers have found that present stem cell-based therapy has a huge potential in curing the disease.

Professor Samir K Maji, one of the lead researchers from BSBE department said that stem cells could be properly implanted and differentiated into the specific class of functional neurons to fill up the degenerated ones inside the brain. The newly developed neurons will not only prevent progression of the disease but also cure the patient. As a result, the disease can be completely cured.

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Subhadeep Das from IITB-Monash Research Academy termed the stem cell therapy as a cost-effective cure. The new stem cell-based therapy could potentially provide a long-term solution in curing Parkinson's disease. At present, the treatment of the disease is very expensive. But he did not mention the exact cost of the treatment. This newly discovered stem cell therapy could be much more cost effective compared to the present expensive treatment. Moreover, the recovery of patients is supposed to be much faster and effective.