Neurons derived from cord blood cells may represent new therapeutic option

Protocol may open new avenues for cell-replacement therapies for neurological conditions

LA JOLLA, CA—For more than 20 years, doctors have been using cells from blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after childbirth to treat a variety of illnesses, from cancer and immune disorders to blood and metabolic diseases.

Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found a new way-using a single protein, known as a transcription factor-to convert cord blood (CB) cells into neuron-like cells that may prove valuable for the treatment of a wide range of neurological conditions, including stroke, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. Continue Reading »

Researchers discover that stem cell marker regulates synapse formation

Among stem cell biologists there are few better-known proteins than nestin, whose very presence in an immature cell identifies it as a “stem cell,” such as a neural stem cell. As helpful as this is to researchers, until now no one knew which purpose nestin serves in a cell.

In a study published in the Jan. 30, 2011, advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience, Salk Institute of Biological Studies investigators led by Kuo-Fen Lee, PhD., show that nestin has reason for being in a completely different cell type–muscle tissue. There, it regulates formation of the so-called neuromuscular junction, the contact point between muscle cells and “their” motor neurons. Continue Reading »

Device Helps Paralyzed Rats Walk Again

Electronic “bridge” could one day assist paralysis patients.

Spleen Might Be Source of Damaging Cells at Spinal Cord Injury Site

Newswise — The spleen, an organ that helps the body fight infections, might also be a source of the cells that end up doing more harm than good at the site of a spinal cord injury, new research suggests.

Considering the spleen’s role in the after-effects of spinal cord injury could change the way researchers pursue potential treatments for these devastating injuries. Continue Reading »

StemCells plans chronic spinal cord injury trial

(Reuters) – StemCells Inc has filed for Swiss regulatory approval for the first clinical trial of its nerve stem cells in patients with spinal cord injuries as much as a year old, the company said.

It expects to enroll about a dozen patients whose injuries are between three and 12 months old.

“To date, the focus has been on the acute spinal cord injury phase,” StemCells CEO Martin McGlynn said in a telephone interview. “That’s an important area to address, but the largest unmet need is those who have passed that immediate acute phase of injury.” Continue Reading »

Extensive Natural Recovery Seen After Spinal Cord Injury

Newswise — A study led by researchers in the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine shows unexpected and extensive natural recovery after spinal cord injury in primates. The findings, to be published November 14 in the advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience, may one day lead to the development of new treatments for patients with spinal cord injuries.

While regeneration after severe brain and spinal cord injury is limited, milder injuries are often followed by good functional recovery. Continue Reading »

What research brings spinal cord-injured patients closer to a cure?

Millions of people worldwide experience spinal cord injuries. Breakthroughs bring researchers progress, but a complete cure is a long way off

Spinal cord repair focuses on finding ways to make axons regrow and connect properly, replace damaged neurons, protect surviving neurons from further injury and retrain neural circuits to repair body functions. Continue Reading »

Geron Starts First Human Embryonic Stem-Cell Study

Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) — Geron Corp. used a therapy made from stem cells taken from human embryos to treat a patient paralyzed by a spinal-cord injury in the first U.S.-authorized test of the technology.

The patient was treated Oct. 8 at Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta, the company said today in a statement. The study is designed to test the safety of Geron’s therapy in patients with spinal cord injuries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave permission in July for Geron to start the study after a halt of almost a year over safety concerns. Continue Reading »

Desperate search for spinal cord injury cure

Imagine the plight of a young person, the sole bread-earner in the family, getting paralysed below the neck as a result of a road accident, with no movement or sensation in all four limbs and no control over his bowel and bladder. This poses a big physical, psychological and economic challenge not only for the individual but also for the whole family. Continue Reading »

How injured nerves grow themselves back

Unlike nerves of the spinal cord, the peripheral nerves that connect our limbs and organs to the central nervous system have an astonishing ability to regenerate themselves after injury. Now, a new report in the October 1st issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, offers new insight into how that healing process works.

“We know a lot about how various cell types differentiate during development, but after a serious injury like an amputation, nerves must re-grow,” said Allison Lloyd of University College London. “They need a new mechanism to do that because the developmental signals aren’t there.” Continue Reading »