Neurologist; Co-Principal Investigator, Kenai REPLACE Trial, Keck Medicine of USC
Appears in 1 story
Co-leading clinical monitoring and patient assessment in Kenai Phase I trial
For more than 50 years, Parkinson's disease treatment has meant managing symptoms with medication—not addressing the root cause: the death of dopamine-producing brain cells. Now, a cluster of advancing clinical trials is testing whether stem cell therapies can actually replace those lost neurons. In December 2025, Hope Biosciences reported Phase II results showing statistically significant motor improvements in patients receiving stem cell infusions, while Kenai Therapeutics began dosing patients in a trial that surgically implants dopamine-producing cells directly into the brain. By February 2026, Kenai had expanded its Phase I REPLACE trial to three U.S. sites, including Keck Medicine of USC, where neurosurgeons are implanting iPS cell-derived dopamine neurons into the basal ganglia under MRI guidance.
Updated Feb 11
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