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Thomas B. Freeman, MD
Division of Neurosurgery

G. Warren Olanow, MD
University of South Florida Harborside Medical Tower 4 Columbia Dr Tampa, FL 33606

Arch Neurol. 1991;48(9):900-901.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—The article by Madrazo et al¹ represents an analysis of seven patients who underwent embryonic nigral and adrenal transplants for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. We note that donor neuronal tissue used for this study was derived from spontaneous abortions. There are several problems associated with the use of tissue obtained from spontaneous as opposed to elective abortion for use in neural grafting. These include the following:

1. Chromosomal abnormalities are present in 20% to 50% of cases of spontaneous abortion.²

2. Infectious agents that are associated with spontaneous abortions may increase the risk of a transplant-related infection.³

3. There is an increased likelihood of bacterial contamination in donor material obtained at the time of spontaneous abortion due to the direct passage of the fetus through the vaginal canal. In elective abortions there is a high likelihood that tissue can be procured steriley.^4,5 . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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