UHealth Neurologist Says Breakthrough Stem Cell Therapy on the Horizon
Ihtsham ul Haq, M.D. is a renowned neurologist and Chief of the Movement Disorders Division at UHealth, the University of Miami Health System. For more information on Parkinson’s disease treatments and services, click here or visit the UHealth Collective.
MEET DEBRA FLYNN
Medication kept Debra Flynn’s Parkinson’s symptoms at bay for years, until the drugs slowly stopped working.
“Every visit resulted in more medication because the disease was progressing,” says Debra.
Ihtsham ul Haq, M.D., Professor of Neurology and Chief of the Movement Disorders Division at UHealth, the University of Miami Health System, says when medications to control tremors and stiffness stop working, deep brain stimulation, or DBS, can be life-changing for patients.
“It is a technology that’s analogous to a pacemaker for the heart, except of course it’s for the brain. We implant electrodes into people’s brains into what are called the basal ganglia, a whole collection of tiny structures inside your brain that help regulate the rest of your brain. It’s like your brain’s switchboard,” Dr. Haq explains. “It does a phenomenal job at getting rid of tremor, of improving slowness.”
Debra had deep brain stimulation surgery at UHealth. She says the change was dramatic; allowing her to reduce her medications, control her tremors, giving her a better quality of life.
Debra uses an app to control the device, and shecut down on her medications.
“I went from seven pills of carbidopa a day to one,” Debra says.
UHealth’s Movement Disorders Division is one of few sites offering access to a groundbreaking clinical trial using stem cell therapy.
“The trial is called the exPDite study. Its stem cells being injected directly into the brain. So, it’s a transplant, basically. It’s a stem cell transplant into the brain. These are stem cells that have been treated in a way so that they are just short of becoming dopamine-producing neurons. So, the idea, which is a very attractive one, is you’re just replacing dopamine neurons. You’re just giving people new neurons back,” says Dr. Haq.
Debra, who is on the board of the Florida chapter of the Parkinson’s Foundation, advocates for those battling the disease.
“If we don’t advocate for ourselves, nobody will advocate for us. We have to be our own voice,” Debra says.
Now, Debra and her husband have freedom to travel without worry! They’re grateful to Dr. Haq and the UHealth team. “They’re professional, they’re kind, they’re compassionate. They care. I just love them,” says Debra.