Stem Cells, MS, and TBI – Strange Bedfellows
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is thought to cause weakness and paralysis by an immune reaction that attacks myelin, which forms a protective sheath around nerves. A surprising result was found after implanting human neural stem cells into the brains of mice with an MS-like disease. As expected, the human cells were rejected and disappeared within a week. But, the treated MS mice could now walk and continued to do so. Scientists believe that the human stem cells released a protein that signaled the mouse neurons to repair their myelin sheaths. This is great news for people with MS. But, what other signals were released? Might a released signal help damaged neurons of TBI survivors? The excitement over a signal means that you don’t have to implant cells. Once the signal is understood, it should be possible to design a therapeutic drug that does the same thing. (Full story and video)
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