to All: FWIW
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Brain Cells Can Regenerate
NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters Health) -- The human brain was
long thought to hold a finite number of nerve cells that once lost,
could never be regained. Now, contrary to that long-held belief,
findings from a study suggest that nerve cells in the adult human
brain can regenerate, according to a report in the November issue
of Nature Medicine.
If researchers can find a way to stimulate this process, they may
be able to treat illness caused by the death of brain cells, such as
Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
The finding is "extremely exciting," according to Dr. Zaven
Khachaturian, director of the US Alzheimer's Association's
Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute.
"The study begins to shatter some long-held myths about the brain,
that it is not capable of repairing itself," Khachaturian said in an
interview with Reuters Health. "I think that is very important
because it indicates that it will be possible one day to restore lost
functions of the nervous system, whether lost due to Alzheimer's
disease or some other degenerative process. The finding has great
implications far beyond Alzheimer's disease."
In the study, Dr. Fred H. Gage, of The Salk Institute for Biological
Studies, La Jolla, California, and colleagues at the Sahlgrenska
University Hospital in Goteberg, Sweden, studied samples of
postmortem brain tissue from five cancer patients.
The patients had been treated with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), a
chemical that binds to the DNA of dividing cells, anywhere from
16 to 781 days before death. The research team tested the brain
samples for the substance, specifically the dentate gyrus in the
hippocampus, a region important in learning and memory. And
they report finding BrdU in these brain cells, suggesting that the
cells were capable of dividing into new cells.
"Our study demonstrates that cell genesis occurs in human brains
and that the human brain retains the potential for self-renewal
throughout life," the authors wrote.
The researchers note that the biological significance of cell growth
in the brain is not clear. However they suggest that the presence of
such cells opens avenues of research that could lead to new
therapeutic approaches.
The finding is still "a few steps removed from practical
application," Khachaturian noted.
But it might be possible to find "a way to reactivate the genes that
were active during development and start the whole process of
cell division over again," he said. Or it may be possible to grow
such nerve cells in the laboratory and transplant the cells or deliver
them into the brains of those who may benefit, he said.
SOURCE: Nature Medicine 1998;11:1313-1317.
Copyright © 1998 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. Republication
or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without
the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for
any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in
reliance thereon.
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