Scientists grow neurons from human patient

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2005-07-28 01:40am

Neurosurgeons withdrew the stem cells from the brains of adults during routine surgery for hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, a researcher at the Stockholm Karolinska Institute told the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet.

As long as an agent was present to induce cell division, the extracted stem cells created new and working brain cells.

"So far we have managed to produce several millions of new cells from the original stem cells. About 25 percent of them are (active) neurons," Ulf Westerlund, who presented his doctoral thesis on the subject last week, told the paper.

When the researchers added glutamate, a salt that functions as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, the new cells communicated in a network, according to Westerlund.

"This means we had working synapse connections that are needed for nerve cells to work," he said.

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Stem cells are nascent cells which can develop into replacement cells for damaged organs or body parts.

Researchers have long attempted to find ways of replacing dead brain cells with healthy ones in order to reverse the tragic effects of such diseases as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis, in which the brain slowly dies.

In cooperation with the University of California at Los Angeles, Westerlund and other Swedish researchers have inserted the extracted human stem cells into the spinal marrow of rats, revealing that also there the cells continued to divide and create new cell neurons.

The injection of stem cells into the rats also appeared to lead to quicker recovery for allodynia, or pain that results from a non-injurious stimulus to the skin, according to Westerlund.

"The mere potential of these cells has had a significant impact of how we today evaluate the regenerative capacity of the central nervous system and, importantly, on the possible means for science to provide insights in neural repair," he wrote in his thesis.

Please be true, for all the folks who need it.

dragon · Post by **dragon** » 2005-07-28 03:33am

Sounds like a good breakthrough. I know lots of people that could use some new neurons. Hum I wonder if adding neurons to a person might make them from being so dumb.

Zero · Post by **Zero** » 2005-07-28 03:43am

That's quite amazing... I still remember the situation of my great-grandfather before he died. I'm glad that this kind of research is doing well... I can only hope this works out as well as we'd all like it to.

Erik von Nein · Post by **Erik von Nein** » 2005-07-28 03:59am

Ahh, that's great news.

Did I read the article wrong or did they say that the agent that helps with the news cell transmitting had to be constantly present and that they wouldn't work without them, and, if so, does that mean some sort of supplement is needed?

I don't see how this could be a replacement for dead memory cells, but this is still a truly wonderful development.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2005-07-28 04:39am

Erik von Nein wrote:Ahh, that's great news.

Did I read the article wrong or did they say that the agent that helps with the news cell transmitting had to be constantly present and that they wouldn't work without them, and, if so, does that mean some sort of supplement is needed?

I don't see how this could be a replacement for dead memory cells, but this is still a truly wonderful development.

The agent is naturally present in the body, It just needs to be added for them to network in a petri dish.

Drunk Monkey · Post by **Drunk Monkey** » 2005-07-28 05:17am

I wonder when the fundis are going to make banning this great breakthrough moral crusade of the week™

Erik von Nein · Post by **Erik von Nein** » 2005-07-28 06:07am

darthdavid wrote:The agent is naturally present in the body, It just needs to be added for them to network in a petri dish.

Ah, I see. I guess I just wasn't reading it as well as I thought. I'll go punish myself, now.

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2005-07-28 07:27am

Drunk Monkey wrote:I wonder when the fundis are going to make banning this great breakthrough moral crusade of the week™

Doesn't matter. This is research being conducted in Sweden and here there aren't many fundies and noone care what they say anyway. They don't have any influence in politics (there is a Christian democratic party, but they're not too bad).

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2005-07-28 07:49am

Mange the Swede wrote:
Drunk Monkey wrote:I wonder when the fundis are going to make banning this great breakthrough moral crusade of the week™
Doesn't matter. This is research being conducted in Sweden and here there aren't many fundies and noone care what they say anyway. They don't have any influence in politics (there is a Christian democratic party, but they're not too bad).

Most Fundies don't have a problem with adult stem cells. Its the ones that come from dead featuses that they scream on-no! Think of the already dead possible children!

Post by **Surlethe** » 2005-07-28 01:46pm

Drunk Monkey wrote:I wonder when the fundis are going to make banning this great breakthrough moral crusade of the week™

Don't be an idiot. Fundies (and everone else on the social right wing) will latch on to this and use it as evidence opposing embryonic stem cell research.