Human brain stem cells

Human brain stem cells, after being implanted in the brain of newborn babies, can develop and act like mouse brain cells.

Image for illustrative purposes. (Internet source)

This new breakthrough offers the potential for treatment for patients with brain damage such as epilepsy or Parkinson's, using the patient's own brain stem cells, according to New Scientist magazine.

The key to the study was made by experts Steven Roper and Dennis Steindler of the University of Florida in Gainesville, USA, that adult stem cells can develop into all kinds of brain tissue in mice, including the shell. brain and hippocampus, brain region involved in memory function and spatial awareness.

Roper expert extracted adult stem cells from the brain tissue of a young woman with epilepsy. He and his partner Steindler then cloned in the laboratory and genetically modified these cells so they could glow green under ultraviolet light.

Next, newly formed cells are injected into the brain of newborn babies. After 3 weeks, the researchers examined the brains of these mice and found that the entire mouse brain is green cells.

According to Roper, transplanted cells have grown into neurons that are compatible with every part of the brain they attach to.

The two researchers also discovered that these cells are fully functional and can signal to the neurons of mice, through experiments to monitor the electrical activity of the cells. done in the lab.

This new discovery has great potential for human application. Roper said, it is possible to isolate stem cells from diseased tissue of brain-damaged patients when they undergo surgery, then perform cloning in the laboratory and turn them into cell types. need for the patient and bring it back into his or her brain.