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Rate of progression determines the clinical outcome after neural transplantation in Parkinson's disease
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Sir, I read with great interest the article by Piccini et al. (2005)
analysing factors affecting the clinical outcome after foetal neural transplantation in Parkinson's disease. A recent review on the same topic emphasized the role of immunological mechanisms, tissue manipulation before grafting and graft placement (Winkler et al., 2005), which can be of utmost relevance in explaining the negative final outcome shown by double-blind studies (Freed et al., 2001; Olanow et al., 2003). By using PET technology, Piccini et al. determined the amount of 18F-dopa uptake and 11C-raclopride binding in the grafted putamen, as well as in other areas that receive dopamine innervation, and correlated them with the clinical outcome during the first 2
Centro de Investigación Parkinson, Policlínica Gipuzkoa, Paseo Miramón 174, 20009, San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa), Spain
E-mail. glinazasoro@terra.es