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Brain can be made to self-repair

Triggering stem-cell growth could help brain recover after a stroke.

Stimulating a protein on the surface of the brain’s stem cells helps rats recover after a stroke, US researchers have found. The discovery suggests that in humans it could be possible to provoke the body’s own stem cells into repairing an injury, rather than laboriously growing and transplanting new cells.

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Posted by Michael Hopkin on June 25, 2006 06:00 PM |

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This is a very important peice of research which might lead us to repair damaged tissues in the human body one day. However when we talk of brain repair by stimulating self cells we must bear in mind that the ability of the body to repair itself diminishes with age. And tissue damage accrueing due to a stroke is more common in older people than in young adults. From the article it was not possible to know the age of rats that were involved in study. It would however be interestring to see if the same study can be recapitulated in older animals.

Posted by: Imran Khan | June 26, 2006 12:14 PM

I want to congratulate, for this interesting article. I am working for the last 20 years on Electroacupuncture (without needles), at the neurological field. One of my latest hypothesis about the improvement with my treatments is precisely activating natuiral stem cells

Posted by: Ralph Galewski,MD,MPH | June 26, 2006 02:00 PM

This is great research. In a similar area, Hydra Biosciences in Boston has developed a product that prompts damaged organs to repair themselves. Using an inhaler, patients can make regenerative proteins bind onto damaged heart-muscle cells. This instructs the body to replace the dead tissue with new cells, restoring normal heart-function within weeks. They hope for human trials to begin in the next few years.

Posted by: Dick Pelletier | June 28, 2006 03:32 PM

Só pensando dessa forma e se aprofundando nas pesquisas poderemos ter alguma resposta para tratar 'derrame'( stroke ). Porque todo tratamente atual é falho.

Name: Antonio Apa é fisioterapeuta do HGB/MS/RIO/Brazil

Posted by: Antonio Apa | June 29, 2006 11:51 AM

Interesting news, but I didn't read anyting that mentioned how long after a stroke should this proceedure occur? Or isn't time or age a factor?

Posted by: Cari | June 29, 2006 09:37 PM

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