Stem Cell Research

[caption id="attachment_5546" align="aligncenter" width="401"] A representative confocal image of spinal cord tissue fluorescently immunolabeled for SC121 (red) in conjunction with GFAP (green) – markers that allowed researchers to quantify stem cell differentiation and migration. (Image provided by study author Dr. Aileen J. Anderson)[/caption]   Research has shown that transplanting human neural stem cells into damaged spinal cords restores locomotor function in a mouse model of spinal cord injury1. Researchers...

Researchers at the Waisman Center (University of Wisconsin-Madison) just took a big step in their quest to develop regenerative medicines for treating Parkinson's, Alzheimer’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases. They used human embryonic stem cells to restore memory and learning in disabled mice.   The study, published last month in Nature Biotechnology, "is the first to show that human stem cells can successfully implant themselves in the brain...

  A stroke can leave its victim mentally and physically devastated. Recovery is demanding, and takes drive and determination. If the patient doesn't receive medical attention within the small, critical window of time after the stroke occurs, chances of a quick recovery are slim. Developments in stem cell research find doctors optimistic about new possibilities for stroke rehabilitation.   Scientists at the Stanford Stroke Center, one of the...

Thousands of people in the United States have spinal cord injuries (SCIs), with associated loss of movement and sensation below the site of the injury. Neural and glial cell transplants into research animals after SCI have correlated with recovery of function. The improvement may be caused by the transplanted cells; it’s thought that remyelination by the transplanted glial cells is the main reason for the...