While researchers around the world are exploring stem cell therapies to replenish lost dopaminergic neurons, the team of neurology specialist Shi Jiong at the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei is leading the way.
The team’s regenerative treatment differentiates stem cells into functional cells with superior efficiency. “Internationally leading teams recently reported a conversion rate of around 50 per cent, but our collaborative team achieved a rate of over 80 per cent through a series of efforts,” Shi said.
Since the middle of this year, his team has been conducting a Phase I clinical trial involving stem cell transplant treatment. Six patients who took part in the trial have shown rapid improvement in symptoms, with a significant and sustained increase in dopamine signalling within the brain.
One of the trial participants is a patient surnamed Li. The 37-year-old began to lose motor control when she was only 22, yet she has now largely achieved functional cure and returned to normal life, just three months after undergoing the treatment.
