By Neurology Advisor –
Dopaminergic cell replacement therapy is re-emerging as an investigational strategy for Parkinson disease (PD), supported by a growing number of early-phase clinical trials reporting favorable preliminary safety findings and early motor improvements.
Evolution of Dopamine Cell Replacement in PD
Early efforts to replace dopaminergic neurons in PD began in the 1980s, but were limited by several challenges.
“Initial human fetal ventral mesencephalon cell transplantation showed some encouraging results with graft survival and striatal dopamine synthesis,” said Jacob Yomtoob, MD, a movement disorders fellow at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, and co-author of a 2026 review describing cell therapies and other advanced therapeutics in PD.
