Olfactory cells to further stem cell brain researchRSS Feed

A new model which will investigate diseases of the brain has been developed by researchers at Griffith University.

In the new model, stem cells are collected from the olfactory organ that provides the sense of smell in the nose: an accessible part of the nervous system.

The study, published in Disease Models and Mechanisms, explains that this is a practical solution to the obstacle of not being able to harvest brain cells from patients suffering from diseases of the brain.

This procedure has been used to compare cells from patients with schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease to those of healthy people.

Professor Alan Mackay-Sim from the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research explained that only a simple biopsy is required to extract the cells, which can then be used for information on degenerative and developmental brain disease.

He said: "This approach demonstrated disease-specific differences in the genes, proteins and cell-functions of those suffering from the brain disorders. This approach may also reveal important findings for other neurological conditions and help to develop new drugs."

This follows reports that embryonic stem cell research grants have been awarded to a number of institutions looking at brain injury and disease including the University of California, San Francisco, which is aiming to help epilepsy patients who are unresponsive to drugs.

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Posted by Timothy Walters
 

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