Stem Cell Research and Parkinson’s Disease

Among the many cell types in the body, stem cells are unique in that they can divide (self-renew) and develop (differentiate) into other cell types.

There are three basic types of stem cells: embryonic, adult and induced pluripotent. Embryonic stem cells build all the cells of the body during early development. Later in life, pools of adult stem cells help maintain and replenish certain tissues and organs such as our blood, skin and hair. However, other cell types such as neurons (including dopamine-producing neurons lost in Parkinson’s disease) are generally unable to replenish themselves and thus when lost or damaged can lead to reduced functioning.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a third type of stem cell. These are adult cells (for example skin cells) that researchers have reprogrammed to behave more like embryonic stem cells with the potential to develop into any cell type.

Based on many years of study, researchers can turn embryonic and iPSCs into a range of cell types including dopamine-producing brain cells, the same kind of cell that is lost in Parkinson’s disease. Such cells are often used by researchers to study and better understand diseases like Parkinson’s disease, or even test potential drug therapies. They also have the growing potential to help treat Parkinson’s disease, and research is ongoing into treatments that involve surgically transplanting stem cells into the brain where they release dopamine to support better movement.

While stem cell-based therapies for Parkinson’s disease are seeing many advances, they remain experimental and are still being studied in clinical trials. No stem cell therapies are currently FDA-approved for use in the U.S. A stem cell-based dopamine replacement therapy, raguneprocel, was approved for limited use in Japan in March, 2026, but is currently limited to use for people being treated within the Japanese healthcare system.

Research done to date has shown the following: 

1. Dopamine-producing neurons can be reliably made from stem cells. 
2. These cells appear to survive when transplanted into the human brain.
3. Whether these cells provide meaningful long-term clinical benefit is still being studied.

We can’t know for certain if or when stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s might be approved for use in the U.S. However, what we do know is that there are several teams of researchers testing promising stem cell-based therapies. As the data grow over the next several years, researchers will have a better understanding of their potential, the best approaches to treatment protocols, and how they might compare to existing treatment options in Parkinson’s.

Therapies offered at stem cell clinics are unproven and lack rigorous scientific research. The expensive, unregulated stem cell therapies offered by these clinics often involved taking a sample of skin, fat or blood, separating and treating the stem cells in the sample, and returning it to the person’s blood. These methods do not turn those stem cells into the dopamine neurons lost due to Parkinson’s or get them where they need to be in the brain. While some people may report benefits, the stem cell therapies these clinics offer do not have rigorous evidence backing them.

People thinking about pursuing treatment from a stem cell clinic should discuss it with their Parkinson’s doctors beforehand and consider the questions posed in our Ask the MD Blog post.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) does not support the use of any unproven stem cell or other cell-based therapies outside of a registered clinical trial.

Search the online databases. Useful resources for finding a clinical trial for Parkinson’s disease include Fox Trial Finder and the National Institutes of Health clinicaltrials.gov online database. These tools help people find clinical trials based on their location and other personal details.

Talk to your doctor. Your healthcare provider can advise you on what clinical trials are available, which ones you might qualify for, and help you enroll.