The world’s first pluripotent stem cell-based trial for Parkinson’s disease: an interview with Russell Kern

We’re now seeing cell-based therapies being investigated for a number of disorders, with neurodegenerative diseases being no exception. In 2015, the first-in-human clinical study of neural stem cells in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) began, with promising 6-month results now being reported. In light of this, we spoke to Russell Kern, CSO at International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCO; CA, USA), which developed the ISC-hpNSC cell line being used in the trial. In this interview, Russell tells us more about the trial, next steps, and how these cell lines are also being used to tackle other conditions including traumatic brain injury...