Using Stem Cells as Drug Delivery To Bypass Blood Brain Barrier
Related News: Spinal / Nervous / BrainThe blood brain barrier is a well known problem to neurologists trying to introduce certain compounds to the brains of patients suffering from things like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. However, a new method using stem cells may be a solution.
One stem cell researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is working on engineering and then implanting progenitor brain cells which have been derived from stem cells to deliver growth factors that show proven clinical benefits for Parkinson's disease.
The journal Gene Therapy, is reporting that neuroscientist Clive Svendsen and his colleagues is demonstrating that human brain progenitor cells, which are then transplanted into the brains of monkeys can pass into the brain and deliver some medical compounds.
Svenden's team derived progenitor cells from human fetal brain tissue, and then engineered the cells to produce a growth factor known as glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF).
GDNF shown in clinical trials the ability to provide relief from symptoms of Parkinson's. However, the drug had to be pumped directly into the brains of Parkinson's patients to provide any successful results, as it is unable to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Posted on March 31, 2006 01:43 PM