Source: Reuters
Posted: February 19, 2008 8:06pm ET
Summary:
Reuters reports brain cells from human embryonic stem cells treated stroke damage in rats:
"Transplanting brain cells produced from human embryonic stem cells helped fix stroke damage in the brains of rats, according to scientists who hope to test the same thing in people within about five years. Researchers have been looking for ways to repair the brain damage from a stroke, which can cause permanent disability. In a study published on Tuesday, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine in California reported that treatment involving human embryonic stem cells may be a solution."
Below is additional coverage of this news story from various sources:
HealthDay News:
"Stem Cells Repair Stroke Damage in Rats: Study suggests same technique might one day work in humans"
"Human stem cells helped repair stroke-related brain damage in rats, Stanford University researchers report. The use of neural cells derived from human embryonic stem cells led to improvements in the rats' physical abilities, according to the study, which is published in the Feb. 20 issue of Public Library of Science ONE. The stroke damage induced by the researchers left the rats with a weakened forelimb."
Scientific American: "Human Embryonic Stem Cells Fix Stroke-Afflicted Rats":
"In a new study, rats were spared the limb-weakening effects of a stroke if they were treated with brain tissue cultivated from human embryonic stem cells. But unlike similar experiments, the transplanted cells gave no sign of causing tumors, according to a report this week in the online journal PLoS One."
San Jose Mercury News: "Stroke therapy shows promise":
"Stroke-disabled animals improved their ability to walk after getting transplants derived from human embryonic stem cells, raising the prospect that it may someday be possible to help heal victims of the devastating brain injury. A new study from a team of researchers at Stanford University offers tantalizing hope for recovery from an injury that disables 750,000 Americans every year - and for which there is no substantive treatment."
The Guardian: "Stem cell jabs reverse damage after strokes, doctors claim":
"Stroke patients could receive stem cell injections to help repair damage to their brains within the next five years, a team of American doctors claimed yesterday. Hopes that a therapy may be on the horizon were boosted by experiments which showed human embryonic stem cells could be turned into a variety of brain cells, which helped animals recover from strokes without causing dangerous side effects. Researchers led by Gary Steinberg at Stanford University took a dish of human embryonic stem cells and treated them with natural chemicals called growth factors, to nudge them into forming early-stage neurons and other brain cells called astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. The scientists screened these cells to make sure that any genes which could make them grow into cancers were switched off."
Public Library of Science, 19 February 2008 - 17:00 PST
"Human Stem Cells Aid Stroke Recovery In Rats":
"Neural cells derived from human embryonic stem cells helped repair stroke-related damage in the brains of rats and led to improvements in their physical abilities, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. This study, to be published in the Feb. 20 issue of the journal PLoS ONE, marks the first time researchers have used human embryonic stem cells to generate neural cells that grow well in the lab, improve a rat's physical abilities and consistently don't form tumors when transplanted."
