Published: 10:53 EST, June 06, 2008
Research released today provides evidence that a cure for Parkinson'sdisease could lie just inside the nose of patients themselves.The Griffith University study published today in the journal Stem Cellsfound that adult stem cells harvested from the noses of Parkinson'spatients gave rise to dopamine-producing brain cells when transplantedinto the brain of a rat.The debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's such as loss of muscle controlare caused by degeneration of cells that produce the essential chemicaldopamine in the brain.Current drug therapies replace dopamine in the brain, but these oftenbecome less effective after prolonged use.The discovery is the work of the National Centre for Adult Stem CellResearch, part of Griffith's Eskitis Institute for Cell and MolecularTherapies.Project leader Professor Alan Mackay-Sim said researchers simulatedParkinson's symptoms in rats by creating lesions on one side of thebrain similar to the damage Parkinson's causes in the human brain."The lesions to one side of the brain made the rats run in circles," hesaid."When stem cells from the nose of Parkinson's patients were culturedand injected into the damaged area the rats re-aquired the ability torun in a straight line."All animals transplanted with the human cells had a dramatic reductionin the rate of rotation within just 3 weeks," he said."This provided evidence the cells had differentiated to give rise todopamine-producing neurons influenced by being in the environment of thebrain. In-vitro tests also revealed the presence of dopamine.""Significantly, none of the transplants led to formation of tumours orteratomas in the host rats as has occurred after embryonic stem celltransplantation in a similar model.He said like all stem cells, stem cells from the olfactory nerve in thenose are 'naïve' having not yet differentiated into which sort of cellsthey will give rise to."They can still be influenced by the environment they are put into. Inthis case we transplanted them into the brain, where they were directedto give rise to dopamine producing brain cells."The advantage of using a patient's own cells is that, unlike stem cellsfrom a foreign embryo, they are not rejected by the patient's immunesystem, so patients are free from a lifetime of potentially dangerousimmuno-suppressant drug therapy.This development follows Professor Mackay-Sim's 2006 development of aworld-first technique that demonstrated that olfactory adult stem cellscan give rise to heart, nerve, liver and brain cells.
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Learn more here:
http://physorg.com/news131968438.html
Research released today provides evidence that a cure for Parkinson'sdisease could lie just inside the nose of patients themselves.The Griffith University study published today in the journal Stem Cellsfound that adult stem cells harvested from the noses of Parkinson'spatients gave rise to dopamine-producing brain cells when transplantedinto the brain of a rat.The debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's such as loss of muscle controlare caused by degeneration of cells that produce the essential chemicaldopamine in the brain.Current drug therapies replace dopamine in the brain, but these oftenbecome less effective after prolonged use.The discovery is the work of the National Centre for Adult Stem CellResearch, part of Griffith's Eskitis Institute for Cell and MolecularTherapies.Project leader Professor Alan Mackay-Sim said researchers simulatedParkinson's symptoms in rats by creating lesions on one side of thebrain similar to the damage Parkinson's causes in the human brain."The lesions to one side of the brain made the rats run in circles," hesaid."When stem cells from the nose of Parkinson's patients were culturedand injected into the damaged area the rats re-aquired the ability torun in a straight line."All animals transplanted with the human cells had a dramatic reductionin the rate of rotation within just 3 weeks," he said."This provided evidence the cells had differentiated to give rise todopamine-producing neurons influenced by being in the environment of thebrain. In-vitro tests also revealed the presence of dopamine.""Significantly, none of the transplants led to formation of tumours orteratomas in the host rats as has occurred after embryonic stem celltransplantation in a similar model.He said like all stem cells, stem cells from the olfactory nerve in thenose are 'naïve' having not yet differentiated into which sort of cellsthey will give rise to."They can still be influenced by the environment they are put into. Inthis case we transplanted them into the brain, where they were directedto give rise to dopamine producing brain cells."The advantage of using a patient's own cells is that, unlike stem cellsfrom a foreign embryo, they are not rejected by the patient's immunesystem, so patients are free from a lifetime of potentially dangerousimmuno-suppressant drug therapy.This development follows Professor Mackay-Sim's 2006 development of aworld-first technique that demonstrated that olfactory adult stem cellscan give rise to heart, nerve, liver and brain cells.
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Learn more here:
http://physorg.com/news131968438.html
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