International Stem Cell Corporation’s (ISCO) Clinical Trials Vital to Halting Progression of Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive movement disorder, meaning that symptoms continue to get worse over time. Approximately one million people in the US are living with this disease. While there is currently no cure and its cause remains unknown, treatment options for managing symptoms range from medication to surgery.

Parkinson’s (PD) involves the death of nerve cells in the brain, called neurons. Some of these dying neurons produce dopamine, a chemical that sends messages to the part of the brain that controls movement and coordination. As PD progresses, the amount of dopamine produced in the brain decreases. The result is that the inflicted individual is unable to control movement in a normal fashion.

Scientists are also exploring the suggestion that loss of cells in other areas of the brain and body contribute to PD. As an example, researchers have discovered that the first indication of PD — clumps of a protein alpha-synuclein, which are also called Lewy bodies — is found not only in the mid-brain, but also in the brain stem and the olfactory bulb. These areas of the brain are associated with non-motor functions such as sense of smell and sleep regulation. Scientists believe that the presence of Lewy bodies in these areas could explain the non-motor symptoms experienced by some people with PD before any motor sign of the disease appears.

Central to the conversation of the treatment of PD is International Stem Cell Corporation (OTC: ISCO). The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Cyto Therapeutics, has received regulatory approval by the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) of Australia to initiate a phase I/IIa dose escalation trial of human parthenogenetic stem cells-derived neural stem cells (ISC-hpNSC) in patients with moderate to severe PD.

In 2014, the company announced encouraging results from preclinical studies of its ISC-hpNSC therapeutic candidate. In its preclinical studies, the cells demonstrated an improvement in PD symptoms and promoted increases in brain dopamine levels following the intracranial administration of ISC-hpNSC. The studies also noted that the ISC-hpNSCs provided neurotrophic support and cell replacement to dying dopaminergic neurons.

International Stem Cell Corporation is a publicly traded biotechnology company with a powerful new stem cell technology called parthenogenesis, which uses unfertilized eggs and promises to significantly advance the field of regenerative medicine by addressing the problem of immune-rejection. The company is centered on using stem cells to treat diseases of the eye, the nervous system and the liver, where cell therapy has been proven clinically but is limited by the availability of safe immune-matched human cells or tissue.

For more information, visit www.internationalstemcell.com

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