Title:From Stem Cells to Dopamine Neurons: Developmental Biology Meets Neurodegeneration
Volume: 11
Issue: 7
Author(s): Jignesh Tailor, Thomas Andreska and Raja Kittappa
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Dopamine neuron, embryonic stem cells, neural development, neurodegeneration, Parkinson’s disease, stem cell
therapy, dopamine system, hemiparkinsonian, motoneurons, oligodendrocytes
Abstract: Neurodegenerative disease affects tens of millions of people, worldwide, and comes at a cost to the public of
billions of dollars. Stem cell therapy, in recent years, has generated a lot of enthusiasm as a novel treatment for
neurodegenerative disease. In particular, Parkinson’s disease has been identified as the ideal neurodegenerative disease to
be treated using stem cells. Despite years of setbacks, recent experimental results have renewed optimism in the validity
of stem cell therapy for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. In this review, we discuss advances in our understanding of
the embryonic development of the dopamine system and the importance of these discoveries in the continued efforts
towards stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease.
