Identification of dopamine 'mother cells' could lead to future
Parkinson's treatments
Science Centric | 8 April 2008 08:48 GMT
'Mother cells' which produce the neurones affected by Parkinson's
disease have been identified by scientists, according to new research
published in the journal Glia.
The new discovery could pave the way for future treatments for the
disease, including the possibility of growing new neurones, and the
cells which support them, in the lab. Scientists hope these could
then be transplanted into patients to counteract the damage caused by
Parkinson's.
The new study focuses on dopaminergic neurones - brain cells which
produce and use the chemical dopamine to communicate with surrounding
neurones. The researchers found that these important neurones are
created when a particular type of cell in the embryonic brain divides
during the early stages of brain development in the womb.
If a person suffers from Parkinson's disease, it is the depletion of
these dopaminergic neurones and the associated lack of dopamine in
the body which causes chronic and progressive symptoms including
tremors, stiff muscles and slow movement.
The international research team used mouse models in the laboratory
to examine the early stages of brain formation. They discovered that
dopaminergic neurones are formed by precursor cells identified
as 'radial glia-like cells' by the scientists because of their
similarity to radial glia cells which are already known to build
other parts of the brain.
The scientists hope that this discovery could, in the future, lead to
new therapies which would use these radial glia-like cells derived
from patients' own stem cells to grow replacement neurones in the
lab, which could then be transplanted into the brain to replace the
neurones they have lost.
One of the authors of the paper, Dr Anita Hall from Imperial College
London's Department of Life Sciences, explains the potential of the
team's findings: 'You could call these radial glia-like cells the
stem cells of this part of the brain - they contain all the
information needed to create and support the young dopamine-producing
neurones which are essential for important human functions including
motor activity, cognition and some behaviours.
'Now that we understand how these neurones are produced, we hope that
this knowledge can be used to develop novel therapies including
techniques to create replacement neurones for people with Parkinson's
which could be implanted into the brain to bolster their vital
supplies of dopamine.'
Dr Hall adds, however, that more research is needed to work out how
exactly these glia-like cells could be used: 'Using these mother
cells to grow new neurones in the lab which are fit to be
transplanted into humans will be complicated, and extensive further
research is needed before this becomes a clinical reality. For
example, we're not yet sure whether the mother cells themselves would
need to be transplanted too, in order to facilitate successful
dopamine production in the brain of a Parkinson's patient,' she said.
In the UK, one in every 500 people - approximately 120,000
individuals - has Parkinson's disease. Around 10,000 people are
diagnosed with the disease every year. The symptoms of Parkinson's
disease usually appear when about 80% of the brain's dopamine has
been lost. The level of dopamine in the brain then continues to fall
slowly over many years. The reasons why the loss of dopamine occurs
in the brains of people with Parkinson's is currently unknown.
http://www.sciencec
Source: Imperial College London
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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