QualityStocks News - International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO) Study Reveals Promising Developments

QualityStocks would like to highlight International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCQB: ISCO), focused on the therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) and the development and commercialization of cell-based research and cosmetic products. ISCO's core technology, parthenogenesis, results in the creation of pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized oocytes (eggs).

In the company’s news,

International Stem Cell Corp. announced that behavioral improvements have been observed after six months in their pre-clinical non-human primate (NHP) study of Parkinson’s disease (PD). ISCO is a biotechnology company developing novel stem cell-based therapies and biomedical products and is based in Carlsbad, California. The detailed behavioral data is slated to be presented at the 66th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

“It is encouraging to see these behavioral scores trending in the right direction as it means that the implanted cells may be having a positive impact on the disease symptoms,” said Professor D. Eugene Redmond Jr. MD, of Yale University Medical School and the study’s supervisor. “The rating scores are equivalent to components of the UPDRS which is widely used in research to evaluate Parkinson’s patients. The Parkison’s score is known to correlate very highly with brain dopamine concentrations.”

The study, consisting of 18 primates, are exposed to the neurotoxin, MPTP, divided into three cohorts, a sham treated group and two treatment groups receiving different doses of human neural stem cells (hPNSC) derived from ISCO’s proprietary parthenogenetic stem cell line. All groups had matching levels of parkinsonism and functional disability prior to the cell injections. Six months of data showed that the healthy behavior scores of the treatment group increased 170% while the placebo group increased by 58%. In addition, one treatment group showed a major improvement in the main Parkinson’s rating score of 63% (p < 0.05) while the control group exhibited no significant improvements.

According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, an estimated seven to 10 million people worldwide live with PD, with as many as one million of those in the United States alone, more than the combined total of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, muscular distrophy, and Lou Gehrig's disease. The total direct and indirect cost of Parkinson's disease is estimated to be nearly $25 billion per year in the United States alone.

Dr. Ruslan Semechkin ISCO's Chief Scientific Officer, commented: "The results of this interim analysis are very promising. This study provides information about how our human neural stem cells, derived from our parthenogenetic stem cells, behave in a diseased brain and how the diseased tissue responds and is a critical part of our planned IND submission."

About QualityStocks

QualityStocks, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a free service that collects data from hundreds of Small-Cap and Micro-Cap online Investment Newsletters into one Daily Newsletter Report. QualityStocks is dedicated to assisting emerging public companies with their investor communication efforts and connecting subscribers with companies that have huge potential to succeed in the short and long-term future.

To sign up for The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter, please visit www.QualityStocks.net  

To connect with QualityStocks via Facebook, please visit http://Facebook.com/QualityStocksPage

To connect with QualityStocks via Twitter, please visit http://Twitter.com/QualityStocks

Please read FULL disclaimer on the QualityStocks website: http://Disclaimer.QualityStocks.net   

Forward-Looking Statement:

This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. Risks and uncertainties applicable to the company and its business could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statements.