Source: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Date: 10 April 2008
Summary:
Inserting tiny scaffolding into the brain could dramatically reduce damage caused by strokes, according to new research. Scientists from the Institute of Psychiatry have found that combining scaffold microparticles with neural stem cells could regenerate lost brain tissue. With funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) neurobiologists from the Institute of Psychiatry (Dr. Mike Modo & Prof Jack Price) and tissue engineers from the University of Nottingham (Prof Kevin Shakesheff) have joined forces to tackle the challenge of tissue loss as a result of stroke. Working with rats, Dr Modo and his team are developing cell-scaffold combinations that could be injected into the brain to provide a framework inside the cavities caused by stroke so that the cells are held there until they can work their way to connect with surrounding healthy tissue.
