Repairing brain injury, an unattainable feat? Not so much. A team of researchers at the Inserm and the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research in Human and Molecular Biology of Brussels, has successfully transplanted neurons in the damaged cortex laboratory mice. They thus partially repaired the damaged brain of these rodents.
Self-healing
The results of this study in the journal Neuron are very encouraging fact, although whether obtained in mice. The authors started from the premise that in case of injury, the brain areas affected seek to regenerate themselves. They therefore sought to stimulate the repair activity.
To do this, embryonic stem cells were cultured in vitro and transformed into neuronal cells, the researchers implanted in the mouse cortex. This part of the brain, particularly complex, is responsible for vision, hearing and movement. In cases of infringement – at a stroke or head injury, for example – there really no cure, if not many years of rehabilitation.
Now, after a year of observation, neural transplantation was effective in 60% of mice. Their damaged cortex has returned to normal operation. Other rodents, tumors appeared, and clusters of undifferentiated cells.
Parkinson, Alzheimer
For the authors of the study, s ‘is a “global achievement” that could serve as research against neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. However, nothing says that the model is transferable to humans, the brain is much more complex. The next step should include monkeys, brain closer to that of humans. It will therefore wait to repair brain damage in humans.
No comments:
Post a Comment