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Scientists hail Parkinson’s brain cells ‘breakthrough’
"This exciting study has the potential to bring about a huge breakthrough in Parkinson's research”
- Dr Kieran Breen Parkinson's UK
Scientists have for the first time generated stem cells from one of the most rapidly progressing forms of Parkinson's disease.
Researchers, led by a team at the University of Edinburgh, used skin samples from a patient with the condition to create brain nerve cells.
The development could help scientists determine why certain nerve cells die.
It will also make it easier to test new drugs which could slow or halt progress of the disease.
The aim is to eventually find drugs that can prevent the death of these key cells, known as neurons, which break down as a result of Parkinson's disease.