%0 Journal Article
%T GFORCE-PD still going strong in 2016
%A Jun Takahashi
%A Lorenz Studer
%A Malin Parmar
%A Roger A Barker
%J Archive of "NPJ Parkinson's Disease".
%D 2017
%R 10.1038/npjparkd.2016.14
%X In 2014, a new initiative was undertaken by groups working on plans for the transplantation of stem-cell-based derived dopaminergic neurons for treating ParkinsonĄ¯s disease patients. This GForce-PD group held its annual meeting on 18¨C19 April 2016 in Chicago at Rush University to discuss their progress and the challenges that the translation of this experimental therapy still faces. Over 2 days, the key issues were discussed around the cell lines that will be used, the differentiation protocols, preclinical testing, GMP-adaptation, and cell manufacturing to allow first in human clinical trials, which are anticipated to start in 2017¨C2018. GForce-PD members also discussed how they can improve outreach and be of better service to the Parkinson's disease (PD) community and help them to make the best possible decisions when pursuing stem cell treatments
%U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5516615/