Health
Stem-cell therapy for Parkinson's shows 'strong promise' in relieving symptoms
With around one million people living with Parkinson’s disease in the U.S. — and 90,000 getting new diagnoses each year — the race is on for a cure.
Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) have announced progress on that front — they have developed a new therapy that uses stem cells to treat advanced Parkinson’s.
In the phase 1 trial, the researchers used donated stem cells (taken from early-stage embryos) to create nerve cells (neurons) and transplanted them into the brains of 12 Parkinson’s patients, according to a press release from MSK.
NEW DRUG FOR PARKINSON’S SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE IN CLINICAL TRIALS: ‘VERY ENCOURAGED’
Once the cells are injected, they produce dopamine, a hormone in the brain that helps with movement and coordination.
(One of the hallmarks of Parkinson’s is low levels of dopamine, which causes the typical symptoms of tremors, stiffness, balance issues and difficulty walking.)
Around one million people are living with Parkinson’s disease in the U.S., with 90,000 getting new diagnoses each year. (iStock)
After 18 months, the injected cells had “taken hold in the brain with no serious side effects,” the researchers reported.
Based on the MDS-UPDRS — a ratings scale for symptoms developed by the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society — the participants experienced “noticeable improvements,” especially the group that received a higher dose.
Patients in the high-dose group reported 2.7 hours of additional “on time” each day.
“Neurologists say things usually get a little bit worse every year with this disease, meaning the score goes up by a few points,” study co-author Lorenz Studer, MD, director of MSK’s Center for Stem Cell Biology, said in the press release.
“In our study, not only did the score not get worse, it dropped by more than 20 points in the high-dose group.”
The researchers used donated stem cells (taken from early-stage embryos) to create nerve cells (neurons) and transplanted them into the brains of 12 Parkinson’s patients. (iStock)
On average, patients in the high-dose group reported 2.7 hours of additional “on time” — indicating periods of normal functioning with minimal symptoms — “a result that could be quite meaningful for their everyday life,” Studer noted.
Given the success of the phase 1 trial, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for the researchers to go straight to a phase 3 clinical trial in a much larger patient group — around 100 people — which will take place in the first half of 2025.
The findings were published in the journal Nature.
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“The study showed that developing specific nerve cells from human embryonic stem cells in the lab, then injecting them in the brain of people with Parkinson’s disease, is safe and holds significant promise as a possible future treatment,” lead study author Viviane Tabar, MD, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, told Fox News Digital.
“The findings were rewarding, as this work is more than a dozen years in the making.”
‘Major step forward’
Dr. Mary Ann Picone, medical director of the MS Center at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, New Jersey, said that cells for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease could offer potential for not only slowing disability, but also stopping progression and bringing about improvement in motor function.
“Although there is risk involved in the immune suppression necessary before the stem cell implantation and the procedure itself, it would be a major step forward in replacing the dopaminergic neurons lost in the disease,” Picone, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
Levodopa, currently the first-line treatment for Parkinson’s, is limited in that patients need greater dosage amounts as time goes on, according to Picone — “and regulating off and on periods of either stiffness or dyskinesias (uncontrolled muscle movements) becomes more difficult.”
After 18 months, the injected cells had “taken hold in the brain with no serious side effects,” the researchers reported. (iStock)
Dr. Ann Murray, director of movement disorders at WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute in West Virginia, referred to the study as “unbelievably exciting” for Parkinson’s patients.
“Although the goal of this particular research project was to ensure safety, getting that significant clinical improvement in the UPDRS is absolutely groundbreaking,” Murray told Fox News Digital. (She also was not involved in the study.)
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“This is just the first step in getting this type of therapy approved for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, but this is an amazing first step for the potential benefits of stem cell brain therapy.”
Potential limitations
There were some limitations associated with the study, Tabar noted.
“This is a small study designed to show safety — it is critical to conduct a larger, well-controlled study to prove that the treatment indeed works, otherwise referred to as a Phase 3 ‘efficacy’ study,” she said.
“This is an amazing first step for the potential benefits of stem cell brain therapy.”
These early findings, however, are “suggestive of a strong promise.”
“I think we can finally say that stem cells, when derived and differentiated properly, hold great promise to repair the brain in Parkinson’s and potentially in other conditions someday,” Tabar said.
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The cell therapy was developed at MSK and was licensed to BlueRock Therapeutics in Massachusetts, which funded the study.
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A deadly, drug-resistant fungus already spreading rapidly through U.S. hospitals is becoming even more threatening worldwide, though there may be hope for new treatments, according to a new scientific review.
Candida auris (C. auris), often described as a “superbug fungus,” is spreading globally and increasingly resisting human immune systems, Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) researchers said in a review published in early December.
The findings reinforce prior CDC warnings that have labeled C. auris an “urgent antimicrobial threat” — the first fungal pathogen to receive that designation — as U.S. cases have surged, particularly in hospitals and long-term care centers.
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Approximately 7,000 cases were identified across dozens of U.S. states in 2025, according to the CDC, and it has reportedly been identified in at least 60 countries.
Candida auris is a drug-resistant fungus spreading in hospitals worldwide. (Nicolas Armer/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
The review, published in Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, helps explain why the pathogen is so difficult to contain and warns that outdated diagnostics and limited treatments lag behind. It was conducted by Dr. Neeraj Chauhan of the Hackensack Meridian CDI in New Jersey, Dr. Anuradha Chowdhary of the University of Delhi’s Medical Mycology Unit and Dr. Michail Lionakis, chief of the clinical mycology program at the National Institutes of Health.
Their findings stress the need to develop “novel antifungal agents with broad-spectrum activity against human fungal pathogens, to improve diagnostic tests and to develop immune- and vaccine-based adjunct modalities for the treatment of high-risk patients,” the researchers said in a statement.
GROWING ANTIBIOTIC CRISIS COULD TURN BACTERIAL INFECTIONS DEADLY, EXPERTS WARN
“In addition, future efforts should focus on raising awareness about fungal disease through developing better surveillance mechanisms, especially in resource-poor countries,” they added. “All these developments should help improve the outcomes and prognosis of patients afflicted by opportunistic fungal infections.”
Candida auris can survive on skin and hospital surfaces, allowing it to spread easily. (iStock)
First identified in 2009 from a patient’s ear sample in Japan, C. auris has since spread to dozens of countries, including the U.S., where outbreaks have forced some hospital intensive care units to shut down, according to the researchers.
The fungus poses the greatest risk to people who are already critically ill, particularly those on ventilators or with weakened immune systems. Once infected, about half of patients may die, according to some estimates.
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Unlike many other fungi, C. auris can survive on human skin and cling to hospital surfaces and medical equipment, allowing it to spread easily in healthcare settings.
“It is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, and it tends to spread in hospital settings, including on equipment being used on immunocompromised and semi-immunocompromised patients, such as ventilators and catheters,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone, previously told Fox News Digital.
Scientists say the unique cell wall structure of C. auris makes it harder to kill. (iStock)
It is also frequently misdiagnosed, delaying treatment and infection control measures.
“Unfortunately, symptoms such as fever, chills and aches may be ubiquitous, and it can be mistaken for other infections,” Siegel said.
In September, he said intense research was ongoing to develop new treatments.
Only four major classes of antifungal drugs are currently available, and C. auris has already shown resistance to many of them. While three new antifungal drugs have been approved or are in late-stage trials, researchers warn that drug development has struggled to keep pace with the fungus’s evolution.
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Despite the sobering findings, there is still room for cautious optimism.
The fungus can cling to skin and hospital surfaces, aiding its spread. (iStock)
In separate research published in December, scientists at the University of Exeter in England discovered a potential weakness in C. auris while studying the fungus in a living-host model.
The team found that, during infection, the fungus activates specific genes to scavenge iron, a nutrient it needs to survive, according to their paper, published in the Nature portfolio journal Communications Biology in December.
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Because iron is essential for the pathogen, researchers believe drugs that block this process could eventually stop infections or even allow existing medications to be repurposed.
“We think our research may have revealed an Achilles’ heel in this lethal pathogen during active infection,” Dr. Hugh Gifford, a clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter and co-author of the study, said in a statement.
New research is underway to develop better treatments and diagnostics for C. auris. (iStock)
As researchers race to better understand the fungus, officials warn that strict infection control, rapid detection and continued investment in new treatments remain critical.
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Health experts emphasize that C. auris is not a threat to healthy people.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the CDI researchers and additional experts for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed reporting.
New flu strain emerging as a severe health threat
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to warn of a new strain of the flu that is spiking hospitalizations across the country and newfound risks of medical marijuana’s link to psychosis.
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The New York State Department of Health reported a record surge in influenza activity, with 71,123 positive flu cases recorded statewide during the week ending December 20.
Health officials said the figure represents the highest number of flu cases ever reported in a single week since influenza became a reportable disease in New York in 2004.
State health data show the weekly total reflects a 38% increase from the previous reporting period, signaling a rapidly intensifying flu season.
There have been 189,312 reported positive flu cases so far this season, while influenza-related hospitalizations rose 63% in the most recent week.
FLU BY STATE: WHERE THIS SEASON’S HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS VARIANT IS SPREADING THE MOST
New York reported the highest weekly total of cases ever recorded since influenza became reportable in 2004. (iStock)
“We are seeing the highest number of flu cases ever recorded in a single week in New York state,” Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a press release.
There have been 189,312 reported flu cases so far this season, with influenza-related hospitalizations increasing 63% in the most recent week. (iStock)
Earlier this month, the department declared influenza prevalent statewide, a designation that requires unvaccinated health care workers to wear masks in patient care settings.
SURGE IN WHOOPING COUGH CASES IN SOUTHERN STATE PROMPTS HEALTH ALERTS
Health officials continue to emphasize that vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent severe illness and hospitalization from influenza.
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New Yorkers who have not yet received a seasonal flu shot are still encouraged to do so, with experts saying vaccination can offer protection even later in the season.
Health officials continue to urge New Yorkers to take preventive steps, including vaccination and staying home when sick, to limit further spread. (iStock)
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To help limit further spread, the department advises individuals experiencing flu-like symptoms — including fever, cough, sore throat, or body aches — to stay home. State health officials also recommend frequent handwashing, using hand sanitizer, and avoiding close contact with sick individuals.
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For those who become ill, officials say antiviral medications are available and are most effective when started within 48 hours of symptom onset.
Health officials also added that people at higher risk for complications should contact a health care provider promptly for evaluation and possible treatment.
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The department noted that flu activity typically peaks in January, meaning case counts could continue to climb in the weeks ahead.
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