Parkinson's disease brain cells created in lab

Scientists have successfully made genetic brain cells with Parkinson's disease in a lab, a huge breakthrough for curing the disease.

Talia RalphFebruary 8, 2012 19:42

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Scientists have created stem cell versions of brain cells with Parkinson's disease, a breakthrough for finding a cure. (Spencer Platt/AFP/Getty Images)

Exact replicas of human brain cells with Parkinson's disease have been created by scientists from the University of Buffalo, a huge step towards finding a cure, BBC News reported. 

The stem cells will allow researchers to find out how other forms of Parkinson’s develop, The Mirror reported. The cells also give scientists the unprecedented ability to run tests on live brain tissue; such neurons were formerly inaccessible, because they are located too deep in the brain. 

"This is the first time that human dopamine neurons have ever been generated from Parkinson's disease patients with parkin mutations," said Dr. Jian Feng, professor of physiology and biophysics in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the study's lead author, The Digital Journal reported. "Before this, we didn't even think about being able to study the disease in human neurons. The brain is so fully integrated, it's impossible to obtain live human neurons to study."

More from GlobalPost: EU stem cell patent ban is 'unbelieveable setback', say researchers

The study was published by Nature Communications. The scientists have called their discovery a "game-changer" in the fight against Parkinson's. 

To make the neurons, Dr. Feng and his team used a technique which turns donated skin cells into brain tissue, BBC reported. They used skin samples from two healthy people and two with Parkinson's disease, which allowed them to study the parkin gene that causes the disease. 

The research was inspired by a 2007 Japanese study in which researchers converted human cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that could be subsequently morphed into nearly any cells in the body, The Daily Journal reported. 

“This study is particularly exciting because it describes for the first time how researchers have successfully generated nerve cells from people with a rare genetic form of Parkinson's, linked to the parkin gene," Dr. Michelle Gardner, a research development manager at Parkinson’s UK, told the Mirror. 

The research also found that inserting the correct form of the gene into the nerve cells could restore their proper functioning, which points towards possibilities for new treatments of Parkinson's. 

More from GlobalPost: China inserting human stem cells in goats

UGA stem cell discovery could help bones mend faster

By LEE SHEARER  - lee.shearer@onlineathens.com

Published Monday, February 6, 2012 Updated: Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - 12:29am

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Athens Banner-Herald

Richard Hamm/Staff Pictured here is a sheep being used by researchers at a University of Georgia animal research facility to develop a "fracture putty" with stem cells that is capable of healing broken bones quickly on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 in Athens, Ga.

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Broken bones could heal in weeks rather than months with the help of a new stem cell-containing gel that University of Georgia researchers have developed.

“We have a long way to go, but we think it’s promising,” said stem cell researcher Steve Stice, who is working with large-animal surgeon John Peroni, a professor in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine.

The discovery — which the scientists call “fracture putty” — mixes stem cells derived from bone marrow with a gel that can be applied to fractured bones.

The stem cells produce a protein important in bone healing and new bone growth, inducing rapid bone formation and helping to replace missing tissue. The gel gradually dissipates.

The research, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, eventually could help soldiers heal more quickly after battlefield injuries, Stice hopes.

“For many young soldiers, their mental health becomes a real issue when they are confined to a bed for three to six months after an injury,” he said. “This discovery may allow them to be up and moving as fast as days afterward.”

Research scientists and surgeons at the Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University and the University of Texas also have worked on developing the treatment.

It could be especially helpful when bones are broken in the face or skull, the type of injury that happens on the battlefield, Stice said.

But the healing technique also could have applications beyond the military, including animal medicine, said Peroni, a professor of large-animal surgery at UGA and chairman of the North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Association.

“Large-bone defects must be stabilized and necessitate technologies that induce rapid bone formation in order to replace the missing tissue and allow the individual to return to rapid function. To date, no single material can suffice.”

Peroni and researchers in Houston used the fracture putty gel along with a mechanical device to stabilize fractures in rats. The rats were running and standing on their hind legs two weeks later, showing no signs of injury, according to the researchers.

They also found enhanced healing when they tested the material on injured sheep bones, though their results were not as good with sheep as with rats.

The rodents were easier to work with because they were more genetically similar to one another, but more because the researchers have to produce a lot more of the stem cell gel for an injury to a sheep bone — 50 million cells, instead of only 500,000 cells for a mouse bone.

But the researchers see no reason why the approach would not work in large animals or humans. The basic biological processes of bone formation are the same among mammals.

In the future, the best approach might actually be a combination of the fracture putty and other techniques being developed by other research teams, such as substances that would reinforce or support a healing bones.

The researchers also have tested the gel in pigs, and soon will begin another round of research using sheep.

Stoney Creek firm licenses stem cell technology

New York-based IntelliCell BioSciences has licensed its patent-pending technology for the manufacture of stem cells to RegenaStem Inc., based in Stoney Creek. Under the agreement, the company name, RegenaStem, will be changed to IntelliCell BioSciences of Canada. According to company president, Jason Kane, talks are under way with Health Canada to begin manufacturing stem cells and using the technology to treat people with degenerative joint disease, such as arthritis. The treatment is designed to rebuild and repair cartilage and tissue. Clinical trials are set to begin this year. Other applications are also being planned.

Kane’s background in stem cell work includes leading the launch of the first in-clinic stem cell therapy kits for veterinarians in Canada. For more information, call 289-887-5195 or emailjkane@intellicellbiosciences.ca