Sequential bilateral transplantation in Parkinson's

Summary Five parkinsonian patients who had received implants of human embryonic mesencephalic tissue unilaterally in the striatum 10‐56 months earlier were grafted with tissue from four to eight donors into the putamen (four patients) or the putamen plus the caudate nucleus (one patient) on the other side, and were followed for 18‐24 months. After 12‐18 months, PET showed a mean 85% increase in 6-L-[ 18 F]fluorodopa uptake in the putamen with the second graft, whereas there was no significant further change in the previously transplanted putamen. Two patients exhibited marked additional improvements after their second graft: ‘on‐off’ fluctuations virtually