Researchers at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have managed to turn stem cells into the brain cells that are killed off by Alzheimer’s disease.
“¨Inspired by the death of his own grandfather from the degenerative condition, former doctoral student Christopher Bissonnette joined forced with Dr. Jack Kessler to develop the technique, which according to Telegraph Science Correspondent Richard Alleyne, converted stem cells originally derived from skin into neurons that are among the first type of memory cells lost to Alzheimer’s.
“¨As Alleyne explained, “In early Alzheimer’s, the ability to retrieve memories is lost, not the memories themselves and the reason is that cells, called basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, are killed.”
“¨”There is a relatively small population of these neurons in the brain, and their loss has a swift and devastating effect on the ability to remember,” he added. “The idea is that by reproducing a limitless supply of these cells scientists can work out a way to protect them from dying in the first place and eventually lead to transplantation into people with Alzheimer’s.”
“¨However, the technology that Kessler and Bissonnette are working on would allow scientists to create an almost endless supply of these neurons, which could be used to test new anti-Alzheimer’s medication or be transplanted into those suffering from the disease to help them regain their lost memories, according to Julie Steenhuysen of Reuters.
“¨Their findings have been published in Friday’s edition of the journal Stem Cells.
“¨Dr. Kessler told Steenhuysen that these cells are “critically important for memory functions.”
“¨”Now that we have learned how to make these cells, we can study them in a tissue culture dish and figure out what we can do to prevent them from dying,” he added in an interview with Alleyne.
ҬDr. Kessler and Bissonnett reportedly worked for six year before discovering the genetic key necessary to produce the new cells, and they successfully demonstrated that these artificially produced neurons work identically to the original cells. According to the telegraph, the duo successfully implanted them into the hippocampus of mice without incident.
“¨”My goal was to make human stem cells become new healthy replacement cells so that they could one day be transplanted into a patient’s brain, helping their memory function again,” Bissonnette told Alleyne.
“¨Professor Clive Ballard, director of research at Alzheimer’s Society, added that the study was “a major step forward in developing treatments” for the degenerative disorder.
“¨”For the first time researchers have worked out how to transform stem cells into a specific type of nerve cell that is key in the development of the disease,” Ballard told the Telegraph. “These findings could help us develop new drugs that could benefit people with Alzheimer’s. We now need further research to find out whether these stem cells actually work in the brain.”
“¨”This is exactly the type of fundamental research that is needed,” added William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, in an email sent to Reuters. “Knowing more about what causes and prevents brain cell death in Alzheimer’s disease will undoubtedly be important for the development of future Alzheimer’s treatments.”
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