Neural Stem Cells News and Research

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Sp2 protein plays a key role in creation of neurons from stem cells

A protein known as Sp2 is key to the proper creation of neurons from stem cells, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. Understanding how this protein works could enable scientists to "program" stem cells for regeneration, which has implications for neural therapies.

16 Jan 2013

Apparent stem cell transplant success in mice may hold promise for people with ALS

Apparent stem cell transplant success in mice may hold promise for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease.

11 Jan 2013

Study examines five varieties of cells after transplantation in the CNS

When different types of cells are transplanted with the intent of having them aid in repairing central nervous system (CNS) trauma, what is the fate and function of those cells? A Belgian research team carried out research aimed at answering this question by determining how five varieties of cells - neural stem cells, mouse embryonic fibroblasts, dendritic cells, bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) and splenocytes - functioned and survived after transplantation in the CNS.

21 Dec 2012

Lou Gehrig's disease may be treatable using neural stem cells

Promising new research provides evidence that ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, may be treatable using neural stem cells.

20 Dec 2012

MicroRNA-218 especially low in medulloblastoma

Between the blueprint of the genome and the products of its expression lie microRNAs, which can boost or lower the rate at which genes become stuff. In fact, many cancers use microRNA to magnify the expression of faulty genes or shrink the expression of helpful genes that would otherwise suppress tumors. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the December issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that in medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor of children, microRNA-218 is especially low.

14 Dec 2012

UC Berkeley professor wins Young Investigator Award by STEM CELLS journal

Dr Sanjay Kumar, MD, PhD has been named the winner of the Young Investigator Award by the journal STEM CELLS for leading research into the microenvironmental regulation of neural stem cells. The $10,000 prize is awarded annually to a young scientist whose paper has been judged to be of worldwide significance by a global jury.

5 Dec 2012

Study confirms high biocompatibility of polymeric materials with brain tissue

Professor José Miguel Soria, a member of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, has co-directed with Professor Manuel Monleón of the Universitat Politècnica de València a study on the compatibility of polymeric biomaterials in the brain and its effectiveness to favour neuroregeneration in areas with some kind of damage or brain injury.

26 Nov 2012

Overexpression of BCL6 results in transformation of neural stem cells into cortical neurons

The cerebral cortex is the most complex structure in our brain and the seat of consciousness, emotion, motor control and language. In order to fulfill these functions, it is composed of a diverse array of nerve cells, called cortical neurons, which are affected by many neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases.

19 Nov 2012

Scientists identify cell growth pathway that is unusually active in gliomas

Insights from a genetic condition that causes brain cancer are helping scientists better understand the most common type of brain tumor in children.

17 Nov 2012

UC Irvine researchers create new stem cell-derived cell type for treatment of Alzheimer's

UC Irvine researchers have created a new stem cell-derived cell type with unique promise for treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

8 Nov 2012

Oskar gene emerged far earlier in insect evolution than previously believed

Harvard scientists have solved the long-standing mystery of how some insects form the germ cells - the cellular precursors to the eggs and sperm necessary for sexual reproduction - and the answer is shedding new light on the evolutionary origins of a gene that had long been thought to be critical to the process.

2 Nov 2012

Glioblastoma multiforme can originate from cortical neurons

Scientists have long believed that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive type of primary brain tumor, begins in glial cells that make up supportive tissue in the brain or in neural stem cells. In a paper published October 18 in Science Express, however, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that the tumors can originate from other types of differentiated cells in the nervous system, including cortical neurons.

23 Oct 2012

VEGF produced by NPCs plays a strong role in influencing microglial behavior

The brain's key "breeder" cells, it turns out, do more than that. They secrete substances that boost the numbers and strength of critical brain-based immune cells believed to play a vital role in brain health. This finding adds a new dimension to our understanding of how resident stem cells and stem cell transplants may improve brain function.

22 Oct 2012