Fetal Cells Do not Help

Wall St. Journal; December 3, 2002
Research Shows Fetal Cells From Abortions Don't Help Parkinson's

Washington, DC - A second study of transplanted fetal cells obtained from abortions has failed to show a therapeutic benefit in Parkinson's disease patients and produced serious side effects in some patients, the Wall Street Journal reports. The findings are "a blow" to researchers who had thought that transplants of brain tissue from aborted babies could stop the effects of the disease.

For the study, which involved 34 participants, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and University of South Florida researchers infused brain tissue from up to eight aborted babies, ranging from six to nine weeks old, into 23 patients with Parkinson's disease.

Brain scans of the participants indicated that the transplanted cells functioned "normally," but researchers were unable to "find any measurable improvement on tests of motor and other skills," according to the report.

In addition, the "most severe setback" was side effects that included uncontrolled limb movement in 13 patients. Three patients experienced such severe side effects that they required additional surgeries to control them.

The study - the second of two federally funded studies to examine if embryonic stem cells can repair brain tissue in Parkinson's patients - could lead to a "winding down" for future fetal-cell transplants. Anthony Lang, a Parkinson's expert at Toronto Western Hospital in Canada, said, "This is a surprising result that forces reconsideration of transplantation without a great deal more research."

The study could also have implications for embryonic stem cell research, which has recently "upstaged both politically and scientifically" research using fetal cells from abortions. Some researchers consider stem cells "more versatile" than fetal cells.

President Bush in August 2001 prohibited federal funding for any new embryonic stem cell research. Research using fetal cells from abortions, however, is covered by a separate rule established in 1993 under former President Clinton.