image: Positron emission tomography (PET) brain imaging exposes the cause of abnormal uncontrolled movements in Parkinson's patients who received brain transplantation of cells from aborted fetuses aiming to replace the cells destroyed by the disease. The abnormal uncontrolled movements are a result of an overabundance of serotonin cells (arrows) in the transplanted tissue that gain a false action. Politis and colleagues showed that a drug stopping this false action eliminates the abnormal uncontrolled movements and they also suggest that removal of serotonin cells during the preparation of transplanted tissue in future trials will prevent the development of this serious side effect. This image relates to an article that appeared in the June 30, 2010, issue of Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. Marios Politis of Imperial College London in London, UK, and colleagues, is titled, "Serotonergic Neurons Mediate Dyskinesia Side Effects in Parkinson's Patients with Neural Transplants." view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Marios Politis