Parkinson's is caused by the gradual loss of brain cells that produce dopamine — a biochemical that, among other things, helps regulate movement and emotional responses. There are no cures for Parkinson's disease, only drugs and treatments that ease symptoms.
 

The new study, out of Lund University in Sweden, shows it is possible to coax human embryonic stem cells to produce a new generation of dopamine cells that behave like native dopamine cells when transplanted into the brains of rats. 

Embryonic stem cells — precursor cells that have the potential to become any cell of the body — are a promising source of new dopamine cells, but they have proved difficult to harness for this purpose. Until now.
 

"The study shows that the cells that we generate from stem cells, they function equally as well as the cells that we find in the brain," said Malin Parmar, an associate professor in Lund's Department of Medicine, who helped lead the study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
 

The team said the findings could pave the way for new treatments of the disorder, which could be tested in patients within three years.