How strong is the evidence for stem-cell therapy in Parkinson's Disease?
ClinicalTrials.gov registrations alone cannot establish how strong the evidence is. Registry activity is active but still early, with limited late-phase registration: the registry holds 71 records, 10 completed, 3 at Phase 3 or 4, and 7 stopped early (10%). MSC-specific work accounts for 19 of those records. These counts describe research activity and maturity, not benefit, safety or certainty. Snapshot 2026-08-29.
What counts as a real result in Parkinson's Disease
Meaningful endpoints are off-medication motor scores, dopamine transporter imaging and time in 'on' state, assessed blind over years. Parkinson's symptoms respond dramatically to placebo — surgical placebo effects in this condition are among the best documented in medicine.
What we can say from registrations alone
- Volume: 71 registered studies since 2009.
- Maturity: 3 confirmatory-phase records.
- Delivery: 10 completed; 7 terminated, withdrawn or suspended.
- Scale: median planned enrolment 16 participants, largest 3,000.
The completed studies
Completed does not mean published, and published does not mean positive. These are the finished records — the starting point for checking whether results ever appeared.
| Study | Phase | Status | Planned n | Lead sponsor | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT01953523 — Safety and Clinical Outcomes Study: SVF Deployment for Orthopedic, Neurologic, Urologic, and Cardio-pulmonary Conditions | n/a | Completed | 3,000 | Elliot Lander | 2013-09-02 |
| NCT04995081 — Clinical Trial for Parkinson's Disease Using Allogeneic HB-adMSCs (Early and Moderate PD) | Phase 2 | Completed | 60 | Hope Biosciences Research Foundation | 2021-07-16 |
| NCT04506073 — Phase IIa Randomized Placebo Controlled Trial: Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Disease-modifying Therapy for Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease | Phase 2 | Completed | 45 | The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston | 2020-11-09 |
| NCT06142981 — PRP and PBD-VSEL Stem Cell Therapy for Parkinson's Disease | n/a | Completed | 30 | Fatima Jinnah Medical University | 2019-09-10 |
| NCT04928287 — Randomized, Double-Blind Clinical Trial for Parkinson's Disease (Early and Moderate) | Phase 2 | Completed | 24 | Hope Biosciences Research Foundation | 2021-06-28 |
| NCT02611167 — Allogeneic Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease | Phase 1 | Completed | 20 | The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston | 2017-11-01 |
What registrations cannot tell you
Whether results were positive. Whether they were published at all — a large share of registered studies never report outcomes, which biases what the literature appears to show. And whether the product a commercial clinic sells resembles the product studied: cell source, dose, processing and delivery route vary enormously between a registered protocol and an off-protocol injection.
How to use this when someone is selling you a treatment
Ask which specific registered study supports the offer, then compare its intervention description with your quote. If the answer is a general gesture at "Parkinson's Disease research", you are being sold the field's activity rather than evidence about the product. The Provider Question Builder turns that gap into questions.
Frequently asked
How strong is the evidence for stem-cell therapy in Parkinson's Disease?
ClinicalTrials.gov registrations alone cannot establish how strong the evidence is. Registry activity is active but still early, with limited late-phase registration: 71 registered records, 3 at Phase 3/4 and 7 stopped early (2026-08-29).
Has any stem-cell product been approved for this condition?
Look it up at source: regulators publish authorised products and indications. Registration of a trial, a licence to operate a clinic and product approval are three different things.
Why do clinics cite hundreds of studies?
Because the registry is public and impressive-looking. What it cannot show — published, controlled outcomes for the exact product — is the part that decides the question.
Registry and literature counts retrieved 2026-08-29 (ClinicalTrials.gov API v2; PubMed E-utilities). Registration or publication volume measures research activity, not effectiveness or approval. Educational information — not medical advice; verify product, indication, legal pathway and evidence with an independent qualified physician. Page generated 2026-08-29. See our editorial standards.
More on this condition
- Parkinson's Disease: cell-therapy evidence and registered trials
- How much does stem cell therapy for Parkinson's Disease cost? (2026)
- Parkinson's Disease stem cell therapy — your questions answered (2026)
- Parkinson's Disease: cell-therapy evidence by therapy class
- MSC vs exosomes for Parkinson's Disease: what the registries show