Read the excerpt below.
Identify additional research paths and strategies from a marketing perspective that will best aid scientists to continue this study.
Your paper should be 1–2 pages and follow
APA guidelines.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 2% of the population older than 65 years. PD is caused by a progressive degeneration and loss of dopamine (DA)-producing neurons, which leads to tremor, rigidity, and hypokinesia (abnormally decreased mobility). It is thought that PD may be the first disease to be amenable to treatment using stem cell transplantation. Factors that support this idea include the knowledge of the specific cell type (DA neurons) needed to relieve the specific cell type (DA neurons) needed to relieve the symptoms of the disease. In addition, several laboratories have been successful in developing methods to induce embryonic stem cells to differentiate into cells with many of the functions of DA neurons.
In a recent study, scientists directed mouse embryonic stem cells to differentiate into DA neurons by introducing the gene Nurr1. When transplanted into the brains of a rat model of PD, these stem cell derived DA neurons reinnervated the brains of the rat Parkinson model, released dopamine, and improved motor function.
Regarding human stem cell therapy, scientists are developing a number of strategies for producing dopamine neurons from human stem cells in the laboratory for transplantation into humans with PD. The successful generation of an unlimited supply of dopamine neurons could make neurotransplantation widely available for Parkinson’s patients at some point in the future.
Source: Stem cell basics. (2015). Stem Cell Information. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from .
