Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Farming Brain Cells
Researchers at the University of Florida have grown for the first time brain cells in a dish.
Field of neurons, courtesy of Laval University
Their report published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that the scientists suceeded in growing mouse neurons in a dish. The researchers said that the "cell culture method holds the promise of producing a limitless supply of a person's own brain cells to potentially heal disorders such as Parkinson's disease or epilepsy."
Said UF neuroscientist Bjorn Scheffler: "We can basically take these cells and freeze them until we need them. Then we thaw them, begin a cell-generating process, and produce a ton of new neurons."
To be sure, the scientist can't say whether the results will be amenable to human brain therapy. They pointed out however that "if the discovery can translate to human applications, it will enhance efforts aimed at finding ways to use large numbers of a person's own cells to restore damaged brain function, partially because the technique produces cells in far greater amounts than the body can on its own," the scientists wrote in a press release.
The release also quoted Dr. Eric Holland, a neurosurgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York who specializes in the treatment of brain tumors, but who is not connected to the research. "As far as regenerating parts of the brain that have degenerated, such as in Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and others of that nature, the ability to regenerate the needed cell type and placing it in the correct spot would have major impact," said Holland. "In terms of tumors, it's known that stem-like cells have characteristics much like cancer cells. Knowing what makes these cells tick may help by furthering our knowledge of the biology of the tumor."
Field of neurons, courtesy of Laval University
Their report published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that the scientists suceeded in growing mouse neurons in a dish. The researchers said that the "cell culture method holds the promise of producing a limitless supply of a person's own brain cells to potentially heal disorders such as Parkinson's disease or epilepsy."
Said UF neuroscientist Bjorn Scheffler: "We can basically take these cells and freeze them until we need them. Then we thaw them, begin a cell-generating process, and produce a ton of new neurons."
To be sure, the scientist can't say whether the results will be amenable to human brain therapy. They pointed out however that "if the discovery can translate to human applications, it will enhance efforts aimed at finding ways to use large numbers of a person's own cells to restore damaged brain function, partially because the technique produces cells in far greater amounts than the body can on its own," the scientists wrote in a press release.
The release also quoted Dr. Eric Holland, a neurosurgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York who specializes in the treatment of brain tumors, but who is not connected to the research. "As far as regenerating parts of the brain that have degenerated, such as in Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and others of that nature, the ability to regenerate the needed cell type and placing it in the correct spot would have major impact," said Holland. "In terms of tumors, it's known that stem-like cells have characteristics much like cancer cells. Knowing what makes these cells tick may help by furthering our knowledge of the biology of the tumor."
