Stem Cell Therapy as a Treatment for Lewy Body Dementia
Researchers here demonstrate a stem cell therapy that produces improvements in a mouse model for dementia with Lewy bodies, a common form of neurodegenerative condition in which the mechanisms and progression overlap with those of Parkinson's disease to some degree. This looks like a compensatory therapy, partially restoring some of the lapse in necessary function in the brain that occurs due to damage without actually addressing the damage itself. In that it is an incremental improvement in the present mainstream approach to therapies for age-related disease, but still cannot possibly be as effective as approaches that succeed in repairing the damage. In synucleinopathies like dementia with Lewy bodies, that most likely means the development of methods to safely clear alpha-synuclein aggregates from brain tissues:
Neural stem cells transplanted into damaged brain sites in mice dramatically improved both motor and cognitive impairments associated with dementia with Lewy bodies. DLB is the second-most common type of age-related dementia after Alzheimer's disease and is characterized by the accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein that collects into spherical masses called Lewy bodies - which also accumulate in related disorders, including Parkinson's disease. This pathology, in turn, impairs the normal function of neurons, leading to alterations in critical brain chemicals and neuronal communication and, eventually, to cell death.The researchers transplanted mouse neural stem cells into genetically modified mice exhibiting many of the key features of DLB. One month later, the mice were retested on a variety of behavioral tasks, and significant gains in both motor and cognitive function were observed. The researchers examined the effects of the stem cells on brain pathology and circuitry connecting neurons. They found that functional improvements required the production of a specific growth factor - called brain-derived neurotrophic factor - by neural stem cells. The team examined two of the key brain structures that become dysfunctional in DLB - dopamine- and glutamate-making neurons - to determine how BDNF might drive recovery. "Our experiments revealed that neural stem cells can enhance the function of both dopamine-and glutamate-producing neurons, coaxing the brain cells to connect and communicate more appropriately. This, in turn, facilitates the recovery of both motor and cognitive function."
To further confirm the importance of BDNF in these effects, the researchers modified the stem cells so that they could no longer produce the growth factor. When these modified cells were transplanted, they failed to improve behavioral function and no longer enhanced dopamine and glutamate signaling. Testing the possibility that BDNF alone might be an effective treatment, the researchers used a virus to deliver the growth factor to the brains of DLB mice. They found that this treatment resulted in good recovery of motor skills in the test rodents but only limited recovery of cognitive function. This suggests that while BDNF is critical to stem cell-mediated motor and cognitive recovery, it does not achieve this outcome alone.
It looks like a repair strategy to me and would be more effective if they identify the other element, possibly H factor to remove build up?
I do not think that it is repair strategy as the study done on stem cell therapy for Alzheimer's disease stated "cognitive function is improved without altering Aß or tau pathology. Instead, the mechanism underlying the improved cognition involves a robust enhancement of hippocampal synaptic density." However low dose nilotinib is a repair strategy as it promotes autophagic degradation of α-synuclein. Misfolded α-synuclein is the major component of Lewy bodies in Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson's disease.
Can I be a test subject for and for free.
Count me in.
Can you please tell me if my 68 year old husband needs any kind of donor. .in stem cell treatment?
Where are treatments like this being done? I have a brother, age 62, with LBD.
Are they conducting on humans, if so where ?
I have a 79 year old father that has been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. My mom just passed away after having Alzheimer's for 12 years. I would love for my dad to be able to get out of the nursing home and enjoy life for a few more years. He took care of my mom for 11 of the 12 years after she was diagnosed. If there is something out there that we can try, I'd like him to have the opportunity.
My husband is 55 years old and has had Parkinsons for 7 years and has been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. Could he be a candidate for this therapy?
Have a close friend with Lewy Body Dementia, I read about research that stem cells can treat this disease, looking for someone in the Philadelphia, PA area that does stem cell treatments for this disease.
My husband has Parkinson's Plus Lewy Body Dementia. Would stem cells help him? He has had this for about 5 years now.
I think Lewis bodies are results of an insult to the brain due to parasite or virus or bacteria or vascular i ask scientists to look in that direction as I found two patients post aneurysm with Lewis bodies and also postencephalitis and also post viral and also post lyme
I have just read an article on stem cell therapy for Parkinson patients that proved quite successful. Are there any trials for humans with LBD going anywhere?
Are there any trials going on?
Ok, so the protocols for bringing a treatment to a stage where it can be released to the market are such that it minimises the risk of a treatment being introduced which may have unpredicted side effects. My father, who is in late stage of DLB, and myself and others who love him, couldn't give a hoot about what the side effects may be as the prognosis couldn't be any worse than it is except perhaps for a slow lingering death with extreme physical pain. We would gladly take our chances, as would he if he could give consent. If someone was on a windowledge of a burning building with the flames licking their heels would you say that you cannot put a mattress out for them to jump on until it had passed testing for such situations?
I too am interested in stem-cell therapy for my husband with LBD. We would even travel out of the country, within reason.
52 year old relative with LBD.
Where to receive stem cell therapy? Cost?
Please let me know if and where i could get stem cell treament for LBD
Please let me know where and the cost for stem cell treament for LBD it is for my husband 55 year old
My husband, age 72 has been diagnosed with LBD. He is in the early stages we believe. How can we find out if he could be included in a study such as this? We live in Little Rock, Arkansas. Thanks for any helpful information.
Is the stem cell available in 2022 for patients with Parkinson's and LBD. My husband has both p Reda
Any updates in 2023 for stem cell therapy for lewy body dementia patients.
My name is David.
I live in NC.
I have been diagnosed with LBD.
Is there a hospital or such that has a stem cell research near me?