Stem cell treatment shows promise for Parkinson's patients in S. Korea

[Anchor]

Hello.

This is KBS 9 o'clock news.

Research results from domestic medical staff have been released, indicating that they improved the condition of Parkinson's disease patients using embryonic stem cells.

It is reported that a patient who could hardly walk is now able to play table tennis.

First, we have a report from medical correspondent Lee Chung-heon.

[Report]

This is a man in his 50s who has been suffering from Parkinson's disease for 15 years.

His symptoms worsened, making it difficult for him to walk, and he struggled to go to the bathroom by himself.

However, after receiving an embryonic stem cell transplant a year ago, his condition improved to the point where he can walk more than 5,000 steps a day.

Now, he enjoys playing table tennis and badminton.

[Parkinson's Disease Patient/Embryonic Stem Cell Transplant: "I couldn't play badminton at all before, but now I can play for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time, and the same goes for table tennis."]

Parkinson's disease is a condition that occurs when brain cells that secrete 'dopamine,' which regulates movement, die.

The research team differentiated embryonic stem cells into neural precursor cells that secrete dopamine and then injected them into the patient's brain.

[Jang Jin-woo/Professor of Neurosurgery at Korea University Anam Hospital: "If you don't inject the (embryonic stem cells) into the exact area, the circuit can connect secondarily, making it difficult to normalize the patient's symptoms."]

After the transplant, brain imaging tests confirmed that the area of the brain that secretes dopamine had significantly increased.

This shows that the dopamine neural precursor cells that entered the brain have grown into dopamine-secreting nerve cells.

Additionally, it was found that the motor functions of three patients who received stem cell transplants improved by an average of 44%.

[Lee Pil-hyu/Professor of Neurology at Severance Hospital: "(We expect that) the amount of dopamine that Parkinson's disease patients are taking can be significantly reduced, and the motor side effects, such as stiffness when the medication wears off or difficulty walking, will improve considerably."]

This is the first confirmation of the effectiveness of embryonic stem cell transplant treatment for Parkinson's disease patients in Asia.

This is KBS News, Lee Chung-heon.