1. Alliance for Regenerative Medicine - Disease Spotlight
Disease Facts:
Description:
+ Causes neuron cells
that generate dopamine
Parkinson’s Disease
to die, resulting in + An Aging Population, Leading to Increased Disease Incidence
muscle tremors, lost
Parkinson’s disease is a pro- There is currently no cure for
mobility, and speech
gressive neurodegenerative Parkinson’s and treatments
changes
disease that afflicts more than are limited to managing
Patients: symptoms rather than
1 million people in the United
+ 1 million patients in US,
States, with over 60,000 new addressing the underlying
60,000 new cases a year
cases being diagnosed each cause of the disease. Unfor-
Cause: tunately, many patients
year. Parkinson’s causes the
+ Unknown, but genetics become resistant to currently
nerve cells that generate
and environment may
dopamine to degenerate and available therapies, and
play a role
die, leaving patients with experience a dramatically
Progression: deteriorating quality of life
limited muscle control. The
+ Tend to worsen as over time.
average onset for Parkinson’s
disease progresses
Current Cost of Care:
disease is around 50 years of Regenerative medicine tech-
+ $2,500/year for age, although early onset nologies have the potential to
medication alone cases do occur. Patients shift this treatment paradigm
suffer with numerous side ple factors that could slow
RM and Parkinson’s by using living cells to repair
effects that have a strong and deterioration or help repair
Disease: or replace damaged or dying
continued impact on their damage. The first results from
+ 3 clinical trials ongoing neurons, dramatically
quality of life. These include the most advanced clinical
or completed using stem reducing the impact of the
uncontrollable muscle trials should be available in
cells for treatment or to disease. Researchers are
tremors and twitching, loss of December 2011.
create disease models working with several types of
facial expression, poor cells to develop safer and Regenerative medicine is the
+ Programs are investigat- balance, trouble swallowing,
ing the use of neural stem more effective therapies for most promising opportunity
pain, and loss of movement Parkinson’s. These include for curing or dramatically
cells, mesenchymal cells,
control. The disease is not autologous mesenchymal reducing the impact of
or bone marrow derived
lethal and patients can live cells, multipotent progenitor Parkinson’s and other chronic
multipotent stem cells to
repair, regenerate or
with it for over 20 years, cells derived from the patient diseases. With the population
replace damaged or although the burden on or a qualified healthy donor, aging and the incidence of
injured neurons patients and their families is and oligodendrocyte Parkinson’s disease
significant. Furthermore, progenitor cells. In some anticipated to rise,
Parkinson’s carries a total cases, researchers aim to regenerative medicine can
economic cost of over $25 replace lost dopamine- play an important role in
The Alliance for billion annually, which reflects creating cells by replacing reducing healthcare costs,
Regenerative Medicine enormous per patient cost them with neural stem cells or maintaining a healthy society
(ARM) was formed to including significant costs provide regenerative support and preserving a high quality
advance regenerative associated with care giving. from cells that express multi- of life for the elderly.
medicine by representing
and supporting the
community of + Regenerative Medicine—In Brief
companies, academic
research institutions, What is regenerative medicine? tissue and renew biologic products addressing many more
patient advocacy groups, Regenerative medicine (RM) is a function in the body is what conditions advancing in clinical
foundations, and other rapidly evolving interdisciplinary distinguishes RM from other trials. RM holds the promise of
field in health care that trans- types of treatments and brings treating a broad range of dis-
organizations before the
lates fundamental knowledge in new hope for dramatically eases that collectively represent
Congress, federal improving clinical outcomes and a substantial burden to our
biology, chemistry and physics
agencies and the general into materials, devices, systems curing disease. healthcare system, including
public. and therapeutic strategies, acute and chronic conditions
What diseases can RM treat?
For more information, including cell-based therapies, such as diabetes, congestive
RM products are currently on
please visit us online at: which augment, repair, replace the market for the treatment of heart failure, Parkinson’s
www.alliancerm.org or regenerate organs and wounds, cartilage defects, and disease, stroke, renal disease,
tissues. The ability to repair diabetic foot ulcers, with spinal cord injury, and ALS.