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PETBioNewsNewsNew cell therapy for stroke patients

BioNews

New cell therapy for stroke patients

Published 9 June 2009 posted in News and appears in BioNews 74

Author

BioNews

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).

A UK biotech firm, ReNeuron, is developing a new treatment for stroke that involves a single injection of neural stem cells - cells that can grow into a variety of different nerve and brain cells. If clinical trials are successful, the company hopes to develop similar therapies for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's...

A UK biotech firm, ReNeuron, is developing a new treatment for stroke that involves a single injection of neural stem cells - cells that can grow into a variety of different nerve and brain cells. If clinical trials are successful, the company hopes to develop similar therapies for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.


Dr John Sinden told the British Association's Festival of Science last week that the company plans to begin clinical trials involving a small number of patients next year. The stem cells were grown in the laboratory, using material taken from an aborted fetus. The resulting cell-line has been genetically altered to prevent the cells multiplying once they are injected into the body: the researchers inserted a gene that permits the cells to divide at 33°C, but not at 37°C, human body temperature.


The scientists will inject around ten million stem cells through the skull, into the area of the patient's brain damaged by the stroke. Once in place, it is hoped the cells will develop into the required types of brain cell and restore brain function. Experiments using animals have shown that the stem cells can regenerate areas of damaged brain responsible for muscle control.


Meanwhile, scientists at University College, London published more evidence for the versatility of neural stem cells in last week's Science. Toru Kondo and Martin Raff have managed to turn rat oligodendrocyte precursors - cells destined to become nerve 'support' cells - into neurons, nerve cells that carry electrical impulses. While the results indicate that the developmental clock in some cell types can be turned back, Kondo warns that realising the findings' potential could take many years.

Related Articles

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
12 February 2010 • 2 minutes read

Biotech gets final go-ahead for landmark stem cell trial

by Dr Jay Stone

The UK Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC) has given ReNeuron, a British biotech company, permission to begin the first ever clinical trial into using embryonic stem cells as a stroke treatment this year...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

ReNeuron tries again

by BioNews

Leading UK stem cell company ReNeuron is planning a return to the stock market two years after it was removed from the market following a series of technical disappointments. The company was able to raise £21 million when it was initially floated in 2000 and was valued at around £70...

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