Neural Stem Cells News and Research

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Researchers suggest neural stem cells may regenerate after anti-cancer treatment

Scientists have long believed that healthy brain cells, once damaged by radiation designed to kill brain tumors, cannot regenerate. But new Johns Hopkins research in mice suggests that neural stem cells, the body's source of new brain cells, are resistant to radiation, and can be roused from a hibernation-like state to reproduce and generate new cells able to migrate, replace injured cells and potentially restore lost function.

13 Aug 2013

Researchers explore potential of neural stem cells to repair brain damage

Scientists have long believed that healthy brain cells, once damaged by radiation designed to kill brain tumors, cannot regenerate. But new Johns Hopkins research in mice suggests that neural stem cells, the body’s source of new brain cells, are resistant to radiation, and can be roused from a hibernation-like state to reproduce and generate new cells able to migrate, replace injured cells and potentially restore lost function.

13 Aug 2013

Understanding the movement of neurons sheds light on how cancer cells invade health tissues

The invasion of brain-tumor cells into surrounding tissue requires the same protein molecule that neurons need to migrate into position as they differentiate and mature, according to new research from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and published August 7 in the online journal PLOS ONE.

8 Aug 2013

Brain tumor cells in arrested development contribute to cell variety that protects cancer

A program that pushes immature cells to grow up and fulfill their destiny as useful, dedicated cells is short-circuited in the most common and deadly form of brain tumor, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

8 Aug 2013

Nanofiber scaffolds regulate apoptosis, proliferation in neural stem cells by altering gene expression

The surface characteristics of nanoscaffolds made by nanotechnology are more similar to the three-dimensional topological structure of the extracellular matrix and the effects on the biological behaviors of cells and tissue repair are more beneficial.

26 Jul 2013

Scientists focus on the role of mutated adult neural stem cells play in human diseases

CHARGE syndrome* is a severe developmental disorder affecting multiple organs. It affects 1 in 8500 newborns worldwide. The majority of patients carry a mutation in a gene called CHD7. How this single mutation leads to the broad spectrum of characteristic CHARGE symptoms has been a mystery.

6 Jul 2013

TSRI neuroscientists fill in significant gap in the understanding of how neurons mature

Neuroscientists at The Scripps Research Institute have filled in a significant gap in the scientific understanding of how neurons mature, pointing to a better understanding of some developmental brain disorders.

21 Jun 2013

Stem cell patterns in flies offer potential applications for human biologists

A new study examining the brains of fruit flies reveals a novel stem cell mechanism that may help explain how neurons form in humans. A paper on the study by researchers at the University of Oregon appeared in the online version of the journal Nature in advance of the June 27 publication date.

20 Jun 2013

Researchers find way to differentiate iPSCs into mature human neurons in the brain

Difficult-to-study diseases such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and autism now can be probed more safely and effectively thanks to an innovative new method for obtaining mature brain cells called neurons from reprogrammed skin cells. According to Gong Chen, the Verne M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences and professor of biology at Penn State University and the leader of the research team, "the most exciting part of this research is that it offers the promise of direct disease modeling, allowing for the creation, in a Petri dish, of mature human neurons that behave a lot like neurons that grow naturally in the human brain."

10 Jun 2013

Researchers mobilize brain's native stem cells to replenish neuron lost in Huntington's disease

Researchers have been able to mobilize the brain's native stem cells to replenish a type of neuron lost in Huntington's disease.

7 Jun 2013

Cytomegalovirus might accelerate the development of glioblastoma

A virus that infects most Americans but that usually remains dormant in the body might speed the progression of an aggressive form of brain cancer when particular genes are shut off in tumor cells, new research shows.

1 Jun 2013

Human foetal stem cell therapy improves structural integrity of the spine

Human foetal stem cell grafts improve both motor and sensory functions in rats suffering from a spinal cord injury, according to research published this week in BioMed Central's open access journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy.

28 May 2013

Single injection of human neural stem cells improves acute spinal cord injuries in rats

An international team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that a single injection of human neural stem cells produced neuronal regeneration and improvement of function and mobility in rats impaired by an acute spinal cord injury.

28 May 2013

Discovery may lead to new treatment for neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative disorders

A key type of human brain cell developed in the laboratory grows seamlessly when transplanted into the brains of mice, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered, raising hope that these cells might one day be used to treat people with Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and possibly even Alzheimer's disease, as well as and complications of spinal cord injury such as chronic pain and spasticity.

5 May 2013

Researchers identify key regulator that controls expansion and folding of brain during fetal development

During fetal development of the mammalian brain, the cerebral cortex undergoes a marked expansion in surface area in some species, which is accommodated by folding of the tissue in species with most expanded neuron numbers and surface area. Researchers have now identified a key regulator of this crucial process.

26 Apr 2013

Astrocytes more effective in promoting recovery after brain injury

The production of a certain kind of brain cell that had been considered an impediment to healing may actually be needed to staunch bleeding and promote repair after a stroke or head trauma, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

25 Apr 2013

New research reveals how acute stress primes brain for improved performance

Overworked and stressed out? Look on the bright side. Some stress is good for you. "You always think about stress as a really bad thing, but it's not," said Daniela Kaufer, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

17 Apr 2013

Junk DNA plays important role in brain development

Specific DNA once dismissed as junk plays an important role in brain development and might be involved in several devastating neurological diseases, UC San Francisco scientists have found.

16 Apr 2013

New research reveals how autophagy keeps neural stem cells to replace damaged brain, nerve cells

Deep inside your brain, a legion of stem cells lies ready to turn into new brain and nerve cells whenever and wherever you need them most. While they wait, they keep themselves in a state of perpetual readiness - poised to become any type of nerve cell you might need as your cells age or get damaged.

11 Apr 2013

Reduction in neurogenesis associated with loss of certain cognitive faculties

These results incentivise the development of targeted therapies enabling improved neurone production to alleviate cognitive decline in the elderly and reduce the cerebral lesions caused by radiotherapy.