
10. Aug. 2001

Researchers Discover New Route to High Blood Pressure

Forskere har oppdaget ny årsak til høyt blodtrykk

August 10, 2001— After years of detailed genetic analysis, researchers have discovered two genes that underlie a new metabolic pathway that governs blood pressure in humans. These findings could offer novel molecular targets for new blood pressure medicines.

High blood pressure affects about one-quarter of all adults worldwide and is an important risk factor for death from stroke, heart disease and congestive heart and kidney failure. In an article published in the August 10, 2001, issue of the journal Science, an international research team led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Richard P. Lifton at Yale University School of Medicine reported identifying two genes that cause pseudohypoaldosteronism type II (PHAII). This disorder leads to hypertension by causing increased reabsorption of salt by the kidneys and impaired secretion of potassium and hydrogen ions.

Although the disorder seemed to point to a previously unknown cause of hypertension, said Lifton, tracing its genetic roots in affected families proved difficult. "In contrast to the other single-gene forms of high blood pressure we have studied, PHAII was complicated," he said. "Patients with the disorder get hypertension as adults — rather than as children — like the majority of people with hypertension, and the abnormal potassium and acidity levels are variable. This complicated unraveling the genetics.

...more/mer...

Neuropathology 2001 Jun;21(2):110-4 Related Articles, Books

Slutt på transplantering av stamcellenevroner fra grisefostre?

Sources of neuronal material for implantation.

Singh G.

Guy's King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, London, UK. gurminder.singh@kcl.ac.uk

The adult brain is an organ that does not have the natural ability to replace cells that have been lost through damage. Possible human interventions to rectify this situation include transplanting either developing neural tissue into the damaged host brain or transplantation of neural stem cells (cells that have the capacity to proliferate into neural cells and self-replicate) into the damaged area. Fetal or embryonic stem cells can be extracted and differentiated in vitro into the specific desired progeny (e.g. neurons). The neuronal stem cells themselves can be extracted from fetuses and multiplied in culture and then transplanted into the damaged brain. There is the possibility of dedifferentiation, in which cells of one type can be converted into a different cell type; for example, a differentiated blood cell could be de-differentiated back to its own hemopoietic stem cell and that stem cell could be converted into a neuronal stem cell which could then be differentiated into a neuron. It is probable that methods of generating large numbers of committed stem cells to treat conditions such as Alzheimer's disease will soon be increasingly common.

PMID: 11396675 [PubMed - in process]

Regeneration of Brain Cells

For almost one hundred years, it has been a mantra of biology - brain cells do not regenerate. In a startling discovery that could have profound implications for treating brain disorders and injuries, researchers at Princeton University have discovered that new neurons are continually being added to the brains of adult monkeys. The neurons are added to the cerebral cortex of the brain.

The cerebral cortex is the most complex part of the brain and scientists were startled to find neuron formation in this "high" brain area. The cerebral cortex is responsible for higher level decision making and learning.

The researchers found the formation of new nerve cells, a process called neurogenesis, in three areas of the cerebral cortex:

Prefrontal region which controls decision making.
Inferior temporal region which plays a role in visual recognition.
Posterior parietal region which plays a role in 3D representation.

The researchers believe that these results call for a fundamental reassessment of the development of the primate brain. For almost a century, scientists have believed that primate brains do not regenerate or add new neurons after maturity. It was a fundamental tenet of neuroscience that the brain could not repair itself or grow new cells. In recent years, scientists have begun to chip away at the dogma as previous research has shown that other areas of the brain such as the hippocampus add new neurons.

Many researchers believed that these previous results were anomalies or were confined to "lower" parts of the brain. These results are even more startling since they occur in the most advanced part of the brain.

Researchers are optimistic that with further study scientists might one day unlock the key to this process of brain cell growth and use the knowledge to treat a variety of brain disorders and diseases. Mer.../more...

Relaterte linker/ related links:

Nytt om "Neurogenesis" fra Karolinska Institutet

It is now well established that new neurons are generated continuously in adult mammals including man. These neurons derive from self-renewing multipotent neural stem cells. We have recently demonstrated that ependymal cells have stem cell properties, that they generate neurons in the intact brain and that they give rise to astrocytes which contribute to scar formation after injury.

15.okt.2000
Ennå et lovende og oppsiktvekkende stamcelle-forskningsprosjekt!
Another promising and sensational Stem Cell study!

Nerve Repair System?
Scientists Produce Nerve Cells from Bone Marrow Stem Cells

The Associated Press
Aug. 15 — Scientists have been able to produce nerve cells in the lab by using stem cells drawn from bone marrow, a breakthrough that could help people with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or spinal-cord injuries.
     If the findings are borne out, they might one day enable doctors to take cells from a patient’s bone marrow, turn them into nerve cells and then inject them into patients’ brains and spinal cords, replacing injured cells.
     The research, conducted at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and MCP Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, was funded in part by the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. An account of the research was published Monday in the Journal of Neuroscience Research, based in Los Angeles.
     It could be years before the technique is tested in humans, however, since studies and tests in animals will be needed first. Still, other researchers were excited ....

......

Dr. Ira Black of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey reported the stem cells, treated with growth factors and antioxidants in tissue culture experiments, quickly divided into two cells — another stem cell and a nerve cell.
By tinkering with the chemical signals he used to stimulate the conversion, Black and his colleagues were able to turn 80 percent of the bone marrow cells taken from rats and humans into nerve cells. He said he transplanted rat nerve cells to the brains and spinal cords of rats and found that they formed connections with other neurons and survived.
Stem cells could be drawn from the patient being treated ...mer/more...

Relaterte linker / Related links:

Transplanted Neural Stem Cells Migrate Throughout The Abnormal Brain, Reduce Disease Symptoms (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NINDS)
While neural stem cell research is very promising, researchers still need to show that human neural stem cells behave like their mouse counterparts, says Dr. Snyder. They also need to learn whether the benefits shown in young animals extend to older animals and whether transplanted cells can overcome ongoing degenerative disease processes so that they do not become new victims of that degeneration. Follow-up research is also needed to better understand how transplanted cells are directed to grow throughout the brain and compensate for missing brain proteins.
'Smart’ tissue regenerates brain
In a new study at Harvard Medical School, the scientists have already shown that, in mice genetically engineered to suffer from human strokes, neural stem cells have an affinity for the area of brain injury. Once there, the cells integrate seamlessly into the surrounding brain tissue, maturing into the type of tissue appropriate for the particular area of the brain.

8. Okt. 2000

Nye nerveceller ( nevroner) dannes faktisk kontinuerlig i voksne menneskehjerner!

Nature Medicine November 1998 Volume 4 Number 11 pp 1313 - 1317

Neurogenesis in the adult human hippocampus

Peter S. Eriksson^{1,
4}, Ekaterina Perfilieva¹, Thomas Björk-Eriksson², Ann-Marie Alborn¹, Claes Nordborg³, Daniel A. Peterson⁴ & Fred H. Gage⁴

1. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 41345 Göteborg, Sweden
2. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Oncology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 41345 Göteborg, Sweden
3. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Pathology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 41345 Göteborg, Sweden
4. Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to F H Gage.

The genesis of new cells, including neurons, in the adult human brain has not yet been demonstrated. This study was undertaken to investigate whether neurogenesis occurs in the adult human brain, in regions previously identified as neurogenic in adult rodents and monkeys. Human brain tissue was obtained postmortem from patients who had been treated with the thymidine analog, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), that labels DNA during the S phase. Using immunofluorescent labeling for BrdU and for one of the neuronal markers, NeuN, calbindin or neuron specific enolase (NSE), we demonstrate that new neurons, as defined by these markers, are generated from dividing progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus of adult humans. Our results further indicate that the human hippocampus retains its ability to generate neurons throughout life....mer/more...

Anti-Platelet Drug Cilostazol Shows Promise in Preventing Recurrent Stroke

ENGLEWOOD, CO -- July 18, 2000 -- An anti-platelet drug, cilostazol, may represent a new therapeutic option for prevention of recurrent strokes in some patients, according to a report in the July/August issue of The Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, an official publication of National Stroke Association and the Japanese Stroke Society.

The double-blind investigation, conducted over four years in Japan, represents the first large-scale multi-center trial in that country to examine the effectiveness of cilostazol. The findings of the study showed that long-term administration of cilostazol significantly prevented the recurrence of cerebral infarction with a relative risk-reduction of 41.7 percent. ...mer/more...

30. July/juli 2000

Doktor Online:

Wizened braincells in old monkeys revitalized

Visne hjerneceller hos gamle aper fikk ny ungdom

De viktigste tankeprosessene våre skjer i hjernebarken, de ytre lagene i hjernen. Mange har trodd at vi mister celler her, men det er ikke riktig. Antallet celler i hjernebarken holder seg godt gjennom hele livet, men aktiviteten kan avta. Aktiviteten i hjernebarken blir delvis styrt fra celler i dypereliggende deler av hjernen.
Hos eldre aper fant man at mange av disse cellene hadde skrumpet inn og redusert produksjonen av de signalstoffene som stimulerer hjernebarken. 40% av cellene kunne man ikke lenger påvise og de øvrige 60% var betydelig redusert i størrelse.
NGF (nerve growth factor) er et stoff som stimulerer nervevev til å vokse. ... mer

Doktor Online:

Treating depressions following a Brain Stroke is important

Behandling av depresjon etter hjerneslag
- kan bedre mental funksjon

Stroke. 2000;31:1482.

Ved hjerneslag er det hjerneceller som dør, og det er naturlig at visse hjernefunksjoner blir dårligere. Det er også naturlig at man blir deprimert av å miste slike viktige funksjoner. Slike depresjoner blir derfor ofte oppfattet som noe naturlig som ikke skal behandles.

En amerikansk undersøkelse tyder på at denne holdningen må revurderes. ...mer

Treatment of Cognitive Impairment After Poststroke Depression : A Double-Blind Treatment Trial

The Stroke Information Directory News Reports Updates:

CI Therapy May Improve Arm Function by 'Rewiring' the Brain
Early Aspirin Provides Quick Benefits for Acute Stroke
EMG-Stim May Aid in Recovery of Wrist and Finger Extension
Boston Life Sciences Starts Nerve-Regeneration Program for Stroke

Ett av problemene med neurontransplantasjoner er at det har vært uklart hvordan de transplanterte nevronene skulle klare å forme korrekte axon-baner igjen, og slik gjenskape de korrekte "nervekontaktene." Vel, svaret på dette ligger kanskje delvis i studie-sammendraget fra Karolinska Institutet under

One of the problems with neuron transplants have been that it has been unclear how the axons could regenerate correct paths and thus recreate the correct "nerve connections." Well the answer to this may partly lie in the extract of a study from Karolinska Institutet below.

The role of axon guidance molecules for sensory axon ingrowth into the spinal cord

Håkan Aldskogius

The semaphorin and ephrin families of proteins function as guidance molecules for developing axons. Sensory axons grow from future dorsal root ganglia (DRG) cells into the spinal cord at specific entry points, which after birth form the interface between the peripheral and central nervous system, the dorsal root transitional zone (DRTZ). The developmental ingrowth occurs in temporally distinct waves for different subpopulations of sensory axons. Results from previous studies suggest that semaphorins regulate this sequential ingrowth. We have shown that axons from transplanted human embryonic DRG cells are able to enter the adult rat spinal cord around the astrocytic processes of the DRTZ in distinct bundles and distribute in the grey matter in a pattern resembling the normal sensory projections. This suggests that the terminals of these embryonic neurons respond to guidance molecules in the deafferented adult spinal cord. In addition, the strong repellent influence by the DRTZ on the growing embryonic axons is reminiscent of the barriers created by astrocytederived ephrins between axons fascicles during the development of central pathways. Given a possible role of axon repelling molecules in the interaction between embryonic DRG cells and the mature spinal cord, the present project will examine the following: 1) the influence of semaphorins and ephrins on embryonic human DRG cells, including subpopulations of these cells, in vitro, 2) the possible expression of semaphorin and/or ephrin receptors by transplanted human embryonic DRG into, 3) ways to overcome the influence of putative axon growth after transplantation of embryonic DRG from mice deficient in the appropriate axon repelling receptor, or to adult mice deficient in the appropriate axon repelling ligand.

Relaterte linker/Related links

Lovende forskning på ryggmargsskader og nevrologisk rehabilitering vha. stamceller.

"Transplants of myelin-producing cells may offer a pragmatic approach to restoring meaningful neurological function"

Link courtesy of Nannette Kenison of The Stroke Information Directory

"This is the first demonstration that oligodendrocytes derived from embryonic stem cells can remyelinate in the injured adult nervous system," says John McDonald, M.D., Ph.D.

Embryonic stem cells can develop into any type of cell in the body. But David I. Gottlieb, Ph.D, professor of neurobiology and associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, previously discovered that a well-timed application of retinoic acid persuades them to become precursors of nervous-system cells: neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. In the current study, McDonald’s team showed that oligodendrocytes in these mixed cultures wrap the axons of the neurons with myelin. Moreover, axons were tightly wrapped by nine days — about a month sooner than when oligodendrocytes taken from the brain or spinal cord remyelinate axons of cultured neurons.

Mer/more...

Relaterte linker/Related links:

Stem Cell Therapy May Offer Hope to Spinal Cord Injured Patients
Yale Researchers Identify Gene And Protein That Stops Spinal Cord And Brain Regrowth After Nervous System Injury
Degeneration and regeneration of axons in the lesioned spinal cord.

26.May 2000

A new concept in nerve regeneration
Et nytt begrep i nerve-regenerering

Forskning på årsakene til at Sentral-nervesystemet ikke regenererer etter skader.

Research into the reasons why the central Nervous System doesn't regenerate following traumatic injuries

Weizmann Institute of Science
Rehovot, Israel, Dept. of Neurobiology

Michal Schwartz:

Central nervous system trauma and recovery

Research Objectives

The main objectives of our research are:
* to obtain a basic understanding of the reasons for regeneration failure in the CNS and in particular the part played by the immune system, and to apply this knowledge in an attempt to promote regeneration.

* to understand the mechanisms of neuronal cell death, with the aim of protecting or rescuing undamaged nerves (e.g. in optic neuropathies, including glaucoma) from degeneration.

Recent Findings

Background
Injury to the central nervous system (CNS) of mammals results in widespread loss of neurons, not only because of the poor ability of the mammalian CNS to regenerate but also because of the progressive degeneration of neurons that escaped the primary injury. In contrast, in the CNS of lower vertebrates and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) of mammals, injury is followed by a series of events culminating in regeneration with restoration of function. Both the failure of injured mammalian CNS nerves to regenerate and their progressive degeneration are thought to be a reflection of the hostile and nonsupportive character of their post-traumatic environment.
Restricted communication between the CNS and the immune system
Our detailed comparisons between regenerating and nonregenerating nervous tissues (i.e. the CNS of fish versus the CNS of mammals and the rat PNS versus the rat CNS) have disclosed the involvement of specific healing-associated cells in regeneration.This finding, as well as others arising from the above comparisons, led us to formulate a new concept in nerve regeneration. According to this view, regeneration failure after CNS injury is directly linked to the restricted communication between the immune cells and the CNS, as expressed by the suppressed recruitment and activation of macrophages. This suggestion was corroborated by our finding that regeneration failure in the CNS can be circumvented by the local transplantation of a well-controlled number of macrophages, pre-stimulated ex vivo (by incubation with spontaneously regenerating nerves) to express wound-healing properties. In rats, local transplantation of the stimulated macrophages promoted axonal regrowth in the transected optic nerve and partial recovery of hind limb motor function in the transected spinal cord.

Mine uthevelser, Trond
My emphasis, Trond

Mer /more.....

Cow Cells + Human Cells=Human Embryonic Stem Cells

WORCESTER, Mass. · December 1, 1998 · by TNN Medical Reporter Virginia Baskerville

By fusing human cells and a cow egg, scientists claim they have successfully produced primitive human embryonic stem cells—a technique that they hope will eventually allow the creation of organs for transplantation.

Advanced Cell Technology, based here, fused cells taken from the cheek of one of the scientists with a cow's egg cell whose nucleus had been removed. These differentiated cells began to grow as an embryo and then reverted to become embryonic stem cells, which can grow into "virtually any type of tissue for transplant use," said James Robl, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts and a cofounder of Advanced Cell Technology.

The company vowed in a statement that it would "not use this technology to clone human beings." Instead, the company said the technology holds promise for solving two problems related to transplantation. "First, ACT's approach may overcome the problem of tissue rejection because cells generated by nuclear transfer are genetically identical to the patient, and second, the techniques may provide an accessible source of cells to help meet the current demand for large quantities of transplantable tissues," ACT said. ...mer/more...

Mine uthevninger / My emphasis

Trond Ruud

Relaterte linker/ related links:

Nerve Cell Injections May Fight Brain Diseases

NrK: Kreftceller kan kurere hjerneslag(!?)

Stroke Victims Put Hopes In Transplants Of Neurons Into Brain (Hyperlink, courtesy of The Stroke Information Directory)

Excerpts from / Utdrag fra Stroke Victims Put Hopes In Transplants Of Neurons Into Brain

Sylvia Elam was one of Kondziolka's success stories yesterday when he presented findings from the first phase of a neuronal transplant study of 12 stroke patients at the University of Pittsburgh. He spoke to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in San Francisco.

Nine men and three women, ranging in age from 44 to 75, received between 2 million and 6 million cells through holes that had been drilled into their skulls.

Kondziolka reported that the patients who received 6 million cells showed much more improvement than those who received 2 million. The first four received 2 million, and the remaining eight received, at random, either 2 million or 6 million cells.

Once injected, the unimaginably tiny neurons -- six million neurons are the size of a pinhead -- grew out like branches, reaching neurons that were still alive but unable to communicate with other parts of the brain because they were surrounded by neurons that had died during a stroke, which cuts off blood flow to parts of the brain.

Kondziolka found that the dormant neurons responded to the stimulus of new ones growing around them and regained their function. That helped some patients regain use of their limbs, and even helped some of them talk again.

Most significantly for Kondziolka's research, the procedure proved safe -- an issue that is critical before the Food and Drug Administration can allow the study to continue with more patients and more sites. ..mer/more..

Information links Kilde/source: The Stroke Information Directory

29. April 2000

Rewiring The Damaged Brain

Adelaide University / ScienceDaily

"Our findings are quite exciting as they have implications for understanding phenomena such as skill learning and motor memory" said Dr. Mike Ridding, a Florey Postdoctoral Fellow and lead investigator on the study, "It also suggests new directions for developing potential therapeutic approaches to disordered brain function in such debilitating conditions as stroke."

"By developing a method of stimulating the pathways leading back to the brain from the affected muscles, we may be able to encourage the development and use of an alternative cortical area to that damaged by the stroke." said Dr. Ridding, "If we could achieve this, it would be a big step towards enabling patients to regain at least some of the movement control they lost as a result of their stroke."

Observations of patients who suffer stroke or brain injury and regain only limited function had led to a view of the brain as ‘hard wired,’ with neural circuits laid down by puberty and remaining unchanged thereafter.

Among other things, the brain’s cortex controls voluntary movement, speech and reasoning. Research now suggests that neural connections of the cortex are not fixed, but continuously modified by experience and learning.

Earlier studies have revealed that practising a simple finger movement can change the size of the area of motor cortex that controls specific finger muscles, and even alter its neural connections.

In blind Braille readers, the cortical area for the reading finger is much larger than for a non-reading finger. Amputees show the reverse effect; cortical areas of missing muscles being taken over by those that are unaffected.

In a study published in Experimental Brain Research, researchers from the Department of Physiology at Adelaide University have discovered that stimulating the nerve from a muscle to the brain can alter the size of responses from the area of cortex that supplies the muscle. Furthermore, these changes last for some time after the stimulation has stopped. ... mer/more at Science Daily

Transplanted Neurons Migrate In Brain

Reuters Health News
SOURCE: Nature Neuroscience 1999;2:461-466.

NEW YORK, Apr 26 (Reuters Health) -- Some neural stem cells -- cells that become different types of nerve cells -- can migrate to specific parts of the brain, encouraging researchers who are studying the use of these cells in treating brain diseases, according to a report published in the May issue of Nature Neuroscience.

Transplantation of neural stem cells offers hope to treat neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease. In the past, however, stem cells have remained at the transplant site, "seemingly unable to migrate and integrate into regions that may require new neurons," note lead author Dr. Hynek Wichterle and colleagues at Rockefeller University, New York.

But the results of the new study "demonstrate that cells in different germinal regions have unique migratory potentials," the investigators report ...mer/more

Relaterte linker / Related Links

Scientists Discover Addition Of New Brain Cells In Highest Brain Area
Transplanted Neurons Migrate Widely in the Adult Brain

24. Feb. 2000

Adult Brain Stem Cells Multiply In Vitro

University of Tennessee--Memphis 26-Apr-99

Kukekov said, "These results are encouraging because it means that even senior persons have these cells. This gives us the opportunity in the future, as the research expands, to take a small biopsy specimen from a diseased person, grow the necessary cells and then transplant them back to the same person."

Brain stem cells recovered from living adult human tissue have successfully reproduced in vitro at the University of Tennessee-Memphis health science center. Additional research from the same laboratory also shows successful isolation and cultivation of mouse brain stem cells recovered as long as five to seven days postmortem.

Scheduled this month for publication in a special issue of Experimental Neurology, these findings could provide a possible alternative to the research use of embryonic stem cells, which is an approach in stem cell biology and its possible therapeutic use that raises complex and controversial ethical issues.

Dr. Valery G. Kukekov of UT-Memphis and Methodist Healthcare of Memphis, is lead author on the paper detailing the growing of adult brain stem cells recovered from surgical specimens taken from patients ranging in age from 24 to 57. The paper is titled "Multipotent Stem/Progenitor Cells with Similar Properties Arise from Two Neurogenic Regions of Adult Human Brain."

Dr. Eric D. Laywell of UT-Memphis is lead author of the paper detailing the growing of brain stem cells recovered from mouse cadavers five to seven days postmortem. Laywell's paper is titled "Multipotent Neurospheres Can Be Derived from Forebrain Subependymal Zone and Spinal Cord of Adult Mice after Protracted Postmortem Intervals."

The work is from the laboratory of Dr. Dennis A. Steindler, UT-Memphis professor of neurobiology and a co-author on both papers. Describing the work Steindler said, "This new era of applying knowledge gained from genetics, molecular, cellular and developmental biology is much more than just the discussion of the ethical issues surrounding embryonic and fetal cell research, and the controversy over cloning animals and human beings.

"This new research showing that stem/progenitor cells from adult brains can be expanded in culture (ex vivo) offers hope for future studies which could someday lead to autologous stem cell transplants for self-repair regenerative approaches," said Steindler. "It now is possible to think about using our own population of stem cells because it appears they survive well into mature adulthood." mer.../more...

Generic human cells discovered.

REVISED 20 NOV 1998. Deep in your past, there was a group of cells with the amazing capacity to become any kind of human cell. Skin. Nerve. Bone. The lens in your eye. The root of your hair. You name it, and these "embryonic stem cells" could make it.

Researchers have been making embryonic stem cells from mice, hamsters and other animals for several years. In July, 1997, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions announced that he had human stem cells growing in a lab dish. That's news.

Coming on the heels of Dolly, the cloned sheep, the announcement represents another step toward a brave new world of high-tech reproduction. But while Dolly developed into a rather normal-looking, and very complete, Scottish sheep, the stem cells in gynecology and obstetrics professor John Gearhart's lab should be able to develop into any cell in the human body mer.. /more..

NRK 15.feb:

Kreftceller kan kurere hjerneslag(!?)

Jeg trodde nesten ikke mine egne øyne og ører da det var en skikkelig interessant reportasje om nevron-implantering og andre nye teknikker idag på Schrödingers katt i NRK-TV1

De hadde til og med skremt ut en medikus, som ble tvunget til å mene noe om dette, hvilket er en god del mer enn hva undertegnede har klart etter å ha rapportert om det samme siden 1998 og sendt lignende spørsmål til mange forskjellige personer og institusjoner i denne tiden.

Vel, om ikke noe annet så viste programmet at det norske nevrologi-miljøet heldigvis ikke har gått helt i hi! Det er tydeligvis noen som følger med også på kjettersk forskning og teori. Men hvorfor så intenst umælende om disse sakene tidligere? Dette er jo ikke nettopp nytt lengere?

Vi som følger med på forskningen hadde trengt noen faglige motforestillinger og sunn skepsis for lenge siden!

Vel, uansett, så var det skikkelig oppmuntrende å konstatere at denne forskningen nå, endelig presenteres på en såpass grundig måte også her i landet. Det lover godt for fremtiden!!

Trond Ruud

Overskriften her er nrks! Jeg ville neppe ha formulert det som et såpass bastant postulat. For, som programmet også viste så er vel resultatene av transplantasjonsforsøkene langtfra så entydig positive som overskriften indikerer? Eller er det noe jeg ikke vet?

14.Feb 2000

logo6.jpg (14909 bytes)

6th Internet World Congress for Biomedical Sciences

February 14-25, 2000

The Most Important Virtual Scientific Meeting in Cyberspace

Av spesiell interesse for enkelte av oss er muligens noen av temaene under:

The following presentations may be of special interest to some of us:

The role of FES assisted movements in the rehabilitation of motor
impaired persons

Chairman: Dr Michel Ladouceur, Denmark

Multi-Functional Implantable Praxis Stimulator for Paraplegia

Dr Ross Davis, United States
Mr Thierry Houdayer, United States
Dr Brian J. Andrews, United Kingdom
Mr Andrew Barriskill, Australia

Stimulation of flexor reflex afferents: a pathway to the spinal pattern

generator forhuman locomotion?

Dr Jochen Quintern, Germany
Clinical Experience with the LSU RGO-FES System

ABSTRACT

The LSU RGO-FES System for paraplegic ambulation has been applied in the clinical setting to more than 200 patients. This study examines the performance and medical changes in a series of 70 patients. It is found that 75% obtain succesful walking performance, and that the success ratio and time of treatment are dependent upon the injury level. Decreased incidence of urinary tract infections and decubitus ulcers are also by-products of this program, as are improvements in lipid profiles and in cardiovascular health.

We conclude that although this is not a perfect rehabilitation tool, its performance and the improvements on its user´s lives are well worth the expense and effort of this type of system

Dr Richard V. Baratta United States

Two channel stimulation for hemiplegic gait. Control algorithms,

selection of muscle groups and the results of a preliminary clinical trial

Dr Jane H. Burridge United Kingdom

Dr Duncan Wood United Kingdom

A customized model for control of movement with neuroprostheses

Dr Dejan Popovic Denmark

Dr Novak Jaukovic Yugoslavia

Restoration of bladder control in spinal cord injured patients using

Electrical stimulation

Dr.ir. Nico Rijkhoff Denmark

Dr Thomas Sinkjaer Denmark

Nonparametric artificial neural network models for control of FES-based gait: A simulation approach

Dr Francisco Sepulveda Denmark

The therapeutic effect of functional electrical stimulation assisted

walking in incomplete spinal cord injured participants

Dr Michel Ladouceur, Denmark

6. Feb. 2000

Yale Researchers Identify Gene And Protein That Stops Spinal Cord And Brain Regrowth After Nervous System Injury

ScienceDaily

New Haven, Conn. -- Reversing brain and spinal cord injuries may soon be possible with the discovery of a gene and protein responsible for stopping axon regrowth, Yale researchers say.

Brain and spinal cord axons can grow after injury if provided with an adequate environment, but the natural adult brain environment contains substances which inhibit axon regeneration. One of these inhibitors is the Nogo protein.

"We have identified the gene and protein responsible for this Nogo activity," said Stephen M. Strittmatter, M.D., associate professor of neurology and of neurobiology at Yale School of Medicine. "Our work suggests that the Nogo protein is an important and selective blocker of axon regeneration in the brain after central nervous system injury." mer... / more...

Experimental strategies to promote axonal regeneration after traumatic central nervous system injury.

Stichel CC, Muller HW

Department of Neurology, University of Dusseldorf, Germany. stichel@uni-duesseldorf.de.

A damage or pathological process that destroys the continuity of axons in the mature central nervous system (CNS) has devastating consequences and produces lasting functional deficits. One of the major challenges in this field is to stimulate the regrowth of severed axons and reconstruction of pathways. Recent progress in molecular and cell biology has resulted in an explosion of knowledge on factors in the adult CNS being nonsupportive or even actively inhibitory to axonal regrowth. The new findings have a strong impact on the development of new therapeutic concepts directed to stimulate axonal regeneration. They give rise to cautious optimism, showing that under some circumstances repair of a CNS lesion is possible. In this review the authors summarize the current knowledge on the factors and mechanisms involved in regeneration failure and provide an overview of the current therapeutic approaches that may enable effective CNS regeneration in the future.

(Emphasis added by me, Trond)

PMID: 9760698, UI: 98433407

Physiol Rev 1996 Apr;76(2):319-70

Degeneration and regeneration of axons in the lesioned spinal cord.

Schwab ME, Bartholdi D

Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich, Switzerland.

For many decades, the inability of lesioned central neurons to regrow was accepted almost as a "law of nature", and on the clinical level, spinal cord and brain lesions were seen as being irreversible. Today we are starting to understand the mechanisms of neuronal regeneration in the central nervous system and its presence in the periphery. There is now a rapid expansion in this field of neuroscience. Developmental neurobiology has produced tools and concepts that start to show their impact on regeneration research. This is particularly true for the availability of antibodies and factors and for the rapidly growing cellular and molecular understanding of crucial aspects of neurite growth, guidance, target finding, and synapse stabilization. New cell biological concepts on the mechanisms of neuron survival and death and on the interaction of inflammatory cells with the central nervous system also find their way into the field of spinal cord and brain lesions and have, indeed, led already to new therapeutic approaches. This review briefly summarizes the current knowledge on the mechanisms involved in degeneration and tissue loss and in axonal regeneration subsequent to spinal cord lesions, particularly in mammals and humans.

(Emphasis added by me, Trond)

PMID: 8618960, UI: 96198001

10. Jan. 2000

Medline:

The remedy may lie in ourselves: prospects for immune cell therapy in central nervous system protection and repair.

Schwartz M, Cohen I, Lazarov-Spiegler O, Moalem G, Yoles E

Department of Neurobiology, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. bnschwartz@wiccmail.weizmann.ac.il

[Medline record in process]

The irreversible loss of function after axonal injury in the central nervous system (CNS) is a result of the lack of neurogenesis, poor regeneration, and the spread of damage caused by toxicity emanating from the degenerating axons to uninjured neurons in the vicinity. Now, 100 years after Ramon y Cajal's discovery that CNS neurons--unlike neurons of the peripheral nervous system--fail to regenerate, it has become evident that (a) CNS tissue is indeed capable of regenerating, at.least in part, provided that it acquires the appropriate conditions for growth support, and (b) that the spread of damage can be stopped and the postinjury rescue of neurons thus achieved, if ways are found to neutralize the mediators of toxicity, either by inhibiting their action or by increasing tissue resistance to them. In most physiological systems the processes of tissue maintenance and repair depend on the active assistance of immune cells. In the CNS, however, communication with the immune system is restricted. The accumulated evidence from our previous studies suggests that the poor posttraumatic repair and maintenance in the CNS is due at least in part to this restriction. Key factors in the recovery of injured tissues, but missing or deficient in the CNS, are the processes of recruitment and activation of immune cells. We therefore propose the development of immune cell therapies in which the injured CNS is exogenously provided with an adequate number of appropriately activated immune cells (macrophages for regrowth and autoimmune T cells for maintenance), controlled in such a way as to derive maximal benefit with minimal risk of disease. It is expected that these self-adjusting cells will communicate with the damaged tissue, monitor tissue needs, and control the dynamic course of CNS healing. !

PMID: 10606206, UI: 20072222

(All emphasis added by me, Trond Ruud)

Some Related links/ Noen Relaterte linker:

New vaccine approach to stimulate regeneration after spinal cord injuries
The Linkage Between the Immune System and the Nervous System in Response to Trauma: Neuroprotection and Regeneration
Brain-damaged rats grow new nerve fibers after treatment with antibody:
The ability of the antibody to promote new compensatory growth, rather than just repair damaged nerve fibers, could be useful in treating stroke
How plastic is the central nervous system?
Innate and adaptive immune responses can be beneficial for CNS repair
Brain repair
Factors influencing the regeneration of axons in the central nervous system
Regeneration of injured axons in the adult mammalian central nervous system
Nogo-A is a myelin-associated neurite outgrowth inhibitor and an antigen for monoclonal antibody IN-1

3 Nye linker

3 New Links

03. jan. 2000

Som dere kanskje vet, (eller ikke vet?), så er ryggraden en forlengelse av det sentrale nervesystemet i hjernen, og problemene med å kurere lammelser som følge av ryggradsbrudd er i endel henseende antagelig analoge med det å få nerveforbindelser til å regenereres over skadde områder av hjernen Derfor er artikkelen nedenfor også av en viss interesse for oss, som dere vil se hvis dere leser alt!! Men mest interessant er kanskje at dette bare er det nyeste kapitlet i en forskningslinje hvor man bruker kroppens immunsystem i en spesiell teknikk som fremgangsrikt induserer nevrologisk rehabilitering av skader i sentralnervesystemet

As you may (or may not?) know, the spinal cord is part of the Central Nervous System, and the problems with a broken spine are not unlike those we face in having the brain regenerate nerve cell connections over injured brain areas. Not to mention, regenerating the damaged neurons themselves. For these reasons the research news below on regenerating nerve cell connections across spinal cord injuries might be interesting to us too, as you'll see if you read all of it!. But of most interest is perhaps that this seems to be the latest chapter in a line of research where the body's immune system has successfully been used for the rehabilitation of various injuries to the Central Nervous System.

Trond Ruud

Montreal Researchers Announce New Vaccine Approach To Stimulate Regeneration After Spinal Cord Injuries

Science Daily / Mcgill University

Montreal: Monday, December 6, 1999 - A team of scientists from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), McGill University and Université de Montréal today announced a major advance in the struggle to find a treatment for spinal cord injuries.

"We have successfully tested a new vaccine approach to block molecules in the spinal cord that prevent nerve regeneration," says Dr. Samuel David of the Montreal General Hospital Research Institute, MUHC and the lead investigator on the project. "The regrowth we have obtained using this technique is far greater than any that has been reported previously. This is a significant advance in the field, and changes the way we think and work toward the development of therapeutic strategies to eventually treat spinal cord injuries in humans." ..mer/more...

Relaterte linker: / Related links:

New vaccine approach to stimulate regeneration after spinal cord injuries
The Linkage Between the Immune System and the Nervous System in Response to Trauma: Neuroprotection and Regeneration
Brain-damaged rats grow new nerve fibers after treatment with antibody:
The ability of the antibody to promote new compensatory growth, rather than just repair damaged nerve fibers, could be useful in treating stroke

(Alle uthevelser laget av meg / Emphasis added by me, Trond)

5. Des 1999.

Robots Improve Movement In Stroke Patients

American Academy Of Neurology / Science Daily

Stroke patients aided by "robot therapists" gain significant improvements in movement, according to a study in the November 10 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Results suggest that both initial and long-term recovery are greater for patients assisted by robots during rehabilitation!

(Uthevelser laget av meg / Emphasis added by me, Trond)

4. Des 1999

Den amerikanske foreningen for hjertesyke (AHA) har funnet at kolesterol-medisinen Pravastatin kan redusere antallet hjerneslag

AHA: Pravastatin Appears To Reduce Incidence Of Stroke

Doctor's Guide

WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- November 9, 1999 -- A drug already being used to lower cholesterol and prevent heart attacks sharply reduced strokes in patients who already had heart disease, a Wake Forest University researcher told the American Heart Association meeting in Atlanta. Dr.Robert P. Byington, professor and head of the Section on Epidemiology, said the drug, pravastatin, reduced stroke by 20 percent, compared to placebo, in patients with heart disease or high cholesterol.

The study "offers a major new way to lower the stroke rate," Byington said. He said the drug reduced the risk of stroke over a wide range of cholesterol values and among a wide spectrum of patients in pooled data from three similar clinical trials. The effect occurred primarily in the patients who already had coronary heart disease, where the reduction was 22 percent. ...more/mer....

Science Daily

2.Nov.1998

Human Brain Transplantation Protocol Approved

HUMAN BRAIN TRANSPLANTATION PROTOCOL APPROVED TO REVERSE NERVE AND BRAIN DAMAGE

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
31-Oct-98

HIGHLIGHTS: Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are ready to start a human treatment protocol that can reverse nerve and brain damage caused by stroke, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and spinal cord injuries. The treatment involves removal and regeneration of carefully targeted brain cells, which are then re-introduced into the patient, where growth continues and the brain is repaired

NB! /NOTE!

Siden dette virket så interessant forsøkte jeg å spørre Cedars-Sinai om status for prosjektet.
Since this seemed so interesting I tried to inquire Cedars-Sinai about the present status of this project.

Ved henvendelse til Cedars-Sinai Medical Centers Public Relations talskvinne på Internet var det umulig å få noensomhelst opplysninger om dette prosjektets status, så vi bør kanskje betrakte det med noe "sunn" skepsis, siden pressemeldingen jo stammer helt fra 1998 (okt. 1998)?

The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Public Relations spokesperson on Internet, would not supply any information about the present status of this project, so until some new information is made public, we ought maybe to regard it with a little "healthy" scepticism, since the press release announcing it is now over a year old (oct. 1998)?

Relaterte linker / Related links

Human Brain Cell Transplantation Study Aims To Reverse Nerve And Brain Damage
csmc.edu
Toomas Neuman
- At Cedars-Sinai, under the direction of Dr. Michel Lévesque, Dr. Neuman has shifted the focus of his research to regeneration of the human nervous system with relation to such conditions as epilepsy, Parkinson's Disease, central nervous system injury and tumors. His research team is working on the identification of molecular mechanisms that prevent the human nervous system from regenerating. This requires isolation and characterization of new genes that participate in the process of neuronal growth and synapse formation and elucidation of the role of these gene products in the processes of development and regeneration. Understanding these mechanisms will pave the way for developing treatments for the induction of molecular processes, which will lead to the regeneration and will be useful for many neurological conditions. Dr. Neuman's research group is also looking for new neuronal replacement techniques, including isolation and transplantation of embryonic and adult nervous system stem cells.
The Linkage Between the Immune System and the Nervous System in Response to Trauma: Neuroprotection and Regeneration
FDA APPROVES PHASE I CLINICAL TRIAL FOR PRONEURON'S SPINAL CORD CELL THERAPY
Central Nervous System Trauma and the Immune System: Rescue and Regrowth
DUKE RESEARCHERS DISCOVER NEW MOLECULAR PATHWAY FOR SCULPTING BRAIN CIRCUITS
-- Nerve growth factors are more than just a kind of elixir for the brain, as is now thought, according to findings by neuroscientists from Duke University Medical Center. Instead, growth factors actually oppose one another in some cases, shaping neural networks in the brain in response to experience and learning.
The studies, featured as the cover story in the May issue of the journal Neuron, show for the first time that nerve growth factors are antagonistic to one another in the brain. ...mer/more...
Novel Neurotransmitter Overturns Laws of Biology, Offers Potential for Stroke Treatment

18.Nov.1999

A New Web Site for Stroke Survivors!

Et Nytt websted for slagrammede!

STROKESURVIVORS INTERNATIONAL

18.Nov.1999

Fetal Pig Cells Implanted in Stroke Patient

Nerveceller fra grisefostre implantert i slagpasient

caplan.jpg (8073 bytes)
Louis R. Caplan, M.D.

BOSTON, September 22, 1999 - Diacrin scientists along with doctors at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have become the first in the world to implant fetal pig brain cells into the brain of a stroke patient. The collaborators hope that the fetal pig brain cells will replace the cells that have died as a result of the stroke.

"We are excited about the possibilities that this therapy will provide for stroke patients who otherwise would expect very little recovery. Through this trial we hope to begin to understand how patients would most benefit from cell therapy and what the risks might be," says Louis Caplan, MD, BI-Deaconess neurologist and neurology professor at Harvard Medical School.

Despite extensive rehabilitation efforts since her stroke four years ago, the patient, 39, has not been able to regain enough use of her left hand to return to her job as a dental hygienist in Saratoga Springs, New York. This was the first patient treated as part of a Phase 1 clinical trial that is being done by Diacrin in collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

The cells used in this trial are pretreated such that patients do not need to take immunosuppressive medicine to prevent the patient’s immune system from rejecting the cells. This immunological pretreatment is based on a patented technology exclusively licensed to Diacrin by Massachusetts General Hospital.

"It’s not a cure yet," says BI-Deaconess neurosurgeon-in-chief Julian Wu, MD, who performed the xenograft. "But, it’s exciting to consider that this may be a beginning to treating strokes in the near-future."

Paul Cook / Patient's Husband:

"She can tell hot and cold water, the difference between hot and cold water for the first time, she's been able to move her ankle for the first time and her speech has improved."

Patient:

"I personally don't think I'll ever get back to where I was, but I'll get close. I feel I have new hope."

Relaterte Linker/ Related links

Reversing the Damage from Stroke

Griseceller sprøytet inn i hjernen

Uses of Human and Porcine Neural Cells Explored
Pittsburgh Reports First Brain Cell Transplant to Reverse Stroke's Effects

Alexion Pharmaceuticals of New Haven, Connecticut, presented an abstract on novel approaches to the transplantation of pig brain cells into humans for the treatment of Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's diseases. Data showed that brain function was restored following the first xenotransplantation of transgenic pig nerve cells in an animal model of Parkinson's disease. In a poster, Alexion reported on the transplantation of pig cells for the treatment of spinal cord injury. Investigators found that transgenic pig cells formed a sheath around damaged neurons in animals whose spinal cords were surgically severed and that the spinal cords that had received the pig cell transplants showed restoration of normal nerve signal conduction.

11.Nov.1999

Mechanisms involved in neurite growth inhibition

Christine Bandtlow, Jens Fritsche, Barbara Niederöst

University of Zurich

Christine Bandtlow

Nervous system function depends on the establishment and maintenance of a complex synaptic network during development and regeneration. Axon guidance is thought to occur in response to attractive and repulsive/inhibitory cues acting on the sensory apparatus of the growing axon, the growth cone. Such cues operate both through contact of the growth cone with surface molecules expressed on other cells (integrins, cadherins, cell adhesion molecules, myelin-associated neurite growth inhibitors) or extracellular matrix molecules (laminin, fibronectin, tenascins, proteoglycans) and through diffusible agents which emanate from more distant sources and can function as chemoattractants or chemorepellants (Semaphorins, Netrins, Thrombin). The growth cone at the tip of extending neurites can therefore be considered as a specialized structure which recognizes and distinguishes the presence of extracellular signals and transduces these informations into directed axonal growth and appropriate target recognition. A three-dimensional filamentous meshwork, the cytoskeleton, appears to be the molecular base for growth cone activities. Changes in the internal organisation of actin filaments and microtubuli determines not only the shape of the growth cones but also their motility and growth direction. Although there is ample evidence for the existance and function of axonal guidance molecules, the molecular mechanisms by which such extracellula

Aspirin Protection Reaffirmed For High Risk Myocardial Infarction Or Stroke

Robots Improve Movement in Stroke Patients

Cell Transplants Offer Hope Of Brain Repair Following Stroke

Therapy Can Give Chronic Stroke Patients Reuse Of Affected Limb

Switching On Two Genes Activates Significant Regeneration Of Spinal Cord Axons

Regeneration of Brain Cells

Deep Brain Stimulation May Improve Limb Paresis In Some Stroke Patients

Anti-Platelet Drug Cilostazol Shows Promise in Preventing Recurrent Stroke

"Transplants of myelin-producing cells may offer a pragmatic approach to restoring meaningful neurological function"

Weizmann Institute of Science
Rehovot, Israel, Dept. of Neurobiology

Research Objectives

Recent Findings

Cow Cells + Human Cells=Human Embryonic Stem Cells

WORCESTER, Mass. · December 1, 1998 · by TNN Medical Reporter Virginia Baskerville

Rewiring The Damaged Brain

Transplanted Neurons Migrate In Brain

Adult Brain Stem Cells Multiply In Vitro

Generic human cells discovered.

Kreftceller kan kurere hjerneslag(!?)