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New Directions in Stem Cells, Parkinson's and the Brain By Brandon Keim June 13, 2007 | 2:50:54 PMCategories: Brain, Medicine & Medical Procedures, Stem Cell Research Posting's been slow today, as I've been working on a second-day story about the recently-blogged stem cell treatment of monkeys with Parkinson's disease. (To clear up a few questions that arose in the comments, the stem cells used were neither embryonic nor adult, but taken from the brains of aborted 13-week-old human fetuses. They had already developed to the point where the were fated to become brain cells, but hadn't yet taken on their final form. There's reason to think that adult neural stem cells would work the same way, but it's not certain.) The most fascinating aspect of the study wasn't so much that the monkeys recovered -- though that was pretty amazing -- but the mechanism by which the stem cells worked. Rather than taking on specific functions and replacing dying cells, as is typically expected of stem cell therapies, they protected and rejuvenated those cells. It's not clear exactly how this happened, but it appears linked to chemicals -- neurotrophic growth factors, to be somewhat more precise -- secreted by the new cells. The findings could signal a new way of thinking about stem cell treatments -- not only as replacements, but as protectors and rejuvenators -- and it also touches on ongoing early-stage research into restoring the brain by administering these growth factors directly, in non-stem cell vectors. My gut tells me that it'll be hard to duplicate the complex chemical cocktail that evolution has produced through the interaction of millions of cells, but time will tell. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the story.... Image: University of Wisconsin Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn