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Stating that Parkinson's disease has been widespread recently, Nişantaşı University faculty member Dr. Aynur Müdüroğlu said that an R&D work has been carried out to create a patentable protocol for the cellular treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. After stating that this study was applied with a research fund of approximately 1 million lira provided by the Turkish Health Institutes Directorate (TUSEB) and the project was accepted, Müdüroğlu gave information about the details of the project.

Collaborative studies are carried out on neurodegenerative treatment such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's at Nişantaşı University and Sankara Brain and Biotechnology Research Center within the area of Istanbul University Technology Development Zone. Dr. Aynur Müdüroğlu, Head of the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Nişantaşı University School of Health Sciences and the director of the project, stated that a research fund was provided by the Turkish Health Institutes Directorate (TUSEB) for the 28-month study. Müdüroğlu explained the details of the study, its applicability and how it will change the course of diseases if good results are obtained.

1% of people over the age of 60 have Parkinson's

Emphasizing that they have been working on neurodegenerative diseases for a long time, Müdüroğlu said, “We have recently focused on Parkinson's disease. Therefore, we applied to TUSEB's strategic R&D project call for innovative drug development and our application was accepted. Parkinson's disease is widespread over the age of 60. Although it is rare, it can also be seen at young ages. It has an incidence of around 1 percent over the age of 60. This is a movement disorder disease and it is characterized by contraction and tremors. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the disease. The aim of our project is to develop a protocol that can contribute to the treatment of this disease. There are currently some methods of treating the symptoms. But these do not prevent the disease from progressing. The disease progresses, only tremors and some disorders in muscle activity are treated for a certain period of time. After a while, they cannot be cured either. "

How will it be implemented?

Stating that Parkinson's Disease is an insidious disease, Müdüroğlu said, “There is an area in our brain called 'Substantia nigra' and there are neurons in this area that produce dopamine. In Parkinson's Disease, the neurons here are slowly dying. For this reason, Parkinson's appears as an insidious disease. The goal of our project is cellular therapy, which involves replacing these dying dopamine neurons, just like in an organ transplant. Our project for the cellular treatment of Parkinson's Disease is to create a patentable protocol for transforming induced pluripotent stem cells into pure or most nearly pure midbrain dopamine neurons. This is a 28-month project involving in vivo and in vitro work. I hope we will start human studies with obtained good results”

How will the course of the diseases change?

Stating that if good results are obtained after 28 months of study, there can be hope for neurodegenerative diseases, Müdüroğlu said, “I cannot give a clear answer for the next step after the studies are completed. If the results of animal studies come out as good as we want at the end of the study, human studies will also be started.” And she conluded her words by saying “We think of Parkinson's patients as one individual, but they also have families. From this point of view, if the desired results are obtained, we will not only improve the health of people suffering from this disease, but also contribute to the economy. Parkinson's may not progress with only tremors and muscular disease symptoms. It can cause depression and dementia with a serious rate of up to 30 percent, and these details should not be ignored. Therefore, we think that this study will be a good start in terms of saving people from material and moral burdens. "