Scientists make progress in brain injury treatment
Researchers have worked hard to discover treatments for traumatic brain injury and stroke patients – hoping for the day that a TBI or stroke wouldn’t cause brain cells to be permanently lost.
One thing scientists have been experimenting with is finding a way to transplant new neurons into brain tissue following an injury, according to an article by the Huffington Post.
“But neurons form precise connections with each other, and are guided by physiological signals that are active during early brain development ― meaning that you can’t sow a fistful of new neurons into mature brain tissue and expect them to grow the way they should,” the article reads. “Embryonic neurons transplanted into the damaged brain of mice formed proper connections with their neighbors and restored function, researchers wrote in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.”
Four weeks later, the transplanted cells had transformed into the type of cells normally seen in that area of the brain.
“They were functional and responded to visual signals from the eyes. Moreover, the cells didn’t develop aberrant connections, something that could lead to epileptic seizures,” the article reads. “What we did there is proof of concept,” said neuroscientist Magdalena Götz of Ludwig-Maximilians University and the Institute of Stem Cell Research at the Helmholtz Center in Munich, Germany.”
The finding is an important step forward for someday being able to treat brain injury by using replacement neurons, but researchers reportedly have a lot of kinks to work out before this can happen.
“The new study is promising, Götz said, but acknowledged that things are a lot messier outside the lab. Injuries to the brain are not clean-cut. They can occur in various sites, involve different types of neurons, and are accompanied by inflammation and other meddling signals. But Götz is hopeful that these problems can be solved,” the article reads. “‘We are doing this now in more realistic models, she said. In models of traumatic and ischemic brain injury and all I can say is that it looks pretty good.’”
