Stem Cells May Reverse Brain Injury and Restore Memory
By Aaron Elias
Memories help construct lives and life experiences—without them,
living life would be nearly impossible. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
diseases are debilitating illnesses capable of ruining victims' lives
and inflicting pain and sadness on their families. Recent findings at
UC Irvine show that the use of stem cells can reverse memory loss
after brain injuries and diseases, such as Alzheimer's.
"This study can very well benefit people with diseases such as
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, as well as physical brain injuries and
neuron loss, if it becomes transferable to humans," said Debbie
Morisette, a stereologist working on the study. "But as of right now,
we don't think it will benefit cancer patients, though it is not
impossible it could be used as therapy."
The stem cells used in the research are not embryonic, meaning that
they do not come from unborn fetuses. Instead, the stem cells come
from fully developed organs, such as those donated by people who died
in car accidents.
Embryonic stem cells are much like lumps of clay waiting to be
molded. While embryonic stem cells can develop into anything, adult
stem cells have already begun to move down a particular pathway and
can only develop into certain types of cells—in this case, neural
(brain) stem cells. These adult stem cells create little to no
controversy and, as a result, scientists have encountered little
ethical protest, allowing them to focus on their study.
"It depends on funding and progress," said Matthew Blurton-Jones, a
UCI neuroscientist heading the research. "But realistically, I'd say
it would take about five to 10 years for this research to become
transferable to humans."
Scientists used a carefully-bred and maintained group of mice to test
the research. They destroyed neurons in the hippocampus to create
memory loss and recorded the mice's performance on a series of memory-
related tests.
The mice were then injected with neural stem cells and retested. In
most cases, the mice tested after stem cell injection scored much
higher than they did with memory impairment, almost as high as
healthy mice.
Contrary to initial inference, the number of neurons did not increase
very much after the injections, only by about 7 percent. It turns out
that the rest of the stem cells turned into memory-supporting cells,
such as astrocytes, which promote neural survival and connectivity,
and oligodendrocytes, which insulate neural connections. A popular
hypothesis is that these supporting cells help create stronger and
newer connections between existing neurons.
The scientists may have high hopes for this new research, but they
are by no means disregarding the possible drawbacks.
"We have a lot left to study," explained Misashi Kitazawa, a
toxicologist working on the study. "Stem cells multiply and rebuild,
so there are many possibilities. They may create tumors, they may
not."
The research is very costly, but it is not the cost of the stem cells
that weighs heaviest on the budget.
"The research as a whole has probably cost somewhere between $500,000
to $750,000," Blurton-Jones said. "Each tiny vial of stem cells costs
around $300 to $400, but the animal costs and maintaining of the mice
are the most expensive."
Trita Yamasaki, another head scientist working on the study, is in
control of breeding the mice to produce the desired characteristics.
Yamasaki is also one of the scientists who spearheaded the study
along with UCI professor of neurobiology and behavior Frank LaFerla,
but neither could be reached for comment.
Even non-medical students around campus seem to support the research.
"I'm all for it," said Saman Mohseni, a second-year psychology
major. "With the right amount of technology, anything can happen."
While the research is not 100 percent guaranteed to succeed, others
are hopeful that humans will one day be able to use it.
"[This is] some very promising research," said Diego Kapelusznik, a
second-year political science major. "If it has even a slight chance
that it might cure diseases like Alzheimer's, then it's worth a try."
With the potential advent of neural stem cells available as a memory-
enhancing drug, brain injuries and diseases will be easier to cope
with for both the victim and their loved ones.
Neural stem cell research provides some very promising possibilities,
but it will be quite a while before we see it enter the realm of the
human brain.
http://www.newunive
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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