Posted by Robin Harrison on May 02, 1998 at 21:17:32:
The Doctor's Guide has two articles on Phase I clinical trial results with NeuroCell- porcine neural cell products for the treatment of Parkinson's and Huntingdon's diseases. The two companies working on the NeuroCell products are Genzyme Tissue Repair and Diacrin, Inc. Their presentation at the PHS Xenotransplantation Policy meetings in Bethesda last January was one of the best given by members of private industry (in my not so humble opinion :).
I follow these folks with great interest as they seem to be a close cousin of what we are also pursuing. The trial patients will be under close scrutiny for the next 3 years. No safety issues have arisen as a result of treatment, which I find hopeful for xenotransplanted tissue advocates in general. It should be noted that immunosuppression was used- half received cyclosporin, half got something noted in my Xeno-Policy materials as F(ab')2. If these patients can survive and thrive with their piggy neural cells in an immunosuppressed state, I believe it bodes well for the transplant of porcine cells using an immunobarrier technique like encapsulated islets, which will hopefully not require immunosuppression.
AAN MEETING: NeuroCell Products For Parkinson’s Show Clinical Improvement
Fetal Pig Cells Transplanted Into Brains Of Parkinson's Patients