Chromaffin cell survival and host dopaminergic fiber recovery in a patient with Parkinson's disease treated by cografts of adrenal medulla and pretransected peripheral nerve

A 55-year-old woman with severe Parkinson's disease was treated by cografting adrenal medulla with pretransected peripheral nerve into the bilateral caudate nuclei. The patient showed modest improvement of her akinesia: this effect persisted for 1 year after transplantation, when she suddenly died from upper gastrointestinal bleeding unrelated to the grafting procedure. At autopsy, a large number of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive chromaffin cells were observed within the caudate graft sites and a dense network of host dopaminergic fibers was visualized. This autopsy finding is very important for the field of experimental and clinical chromaffin cell grafting because it is the first evidence that cografts using pretransected peripheral nerve might enhance the survival of chromaffin cells and the recovery of host dopaminergic fibers in humans suffering from Parkinson's disease.