Daily Telegreph 17 October 1996
BRAIN repair without transplants of foetal tissue is now a possibility after discovery of a class of immature nerve cells that can be customised to make any type of brain tissue.
Foetal cell transplants have shown some promise in treating degenerative brain disorders, though they have been controversial because they rely on abortions. Instead, transplant tissue could come from immature cells scattered throughout the adult brain, from a patient or a dead donor.
Today it is announced that the cells can be stimulated by signalling chemicals to grow into adult brain cells - neurons - a finding with significant implications because adult neurons, once damaged, are reluctant to regenerate themselves.
In the journal Nature, Prof Fred Gage and colleagues from the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, report that these "late developer" neurons are likely to be useful for repairing a damaged brain because they can be tailored for any use.
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