How is your doctor and stroke hospital encouraging/sponsoring research to make this knowledge usable for stroke recovery. ANYTHING AT ALL? Or are they continuing to sit on their asses doing NOTHING?
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=170274&CultureCode=en
In a cross-domain study directed by professor Peter
Carmeliet (VIB – KU Leuven), researchers discovered unexpected cells in
the protective membranes that enclose the brain, the so called meninges.
These ‘neural progenitors’ – or stem cells that differentiate into
different kinds of neurons – are produced during embryonic development.
These findings show that the neural progenitors found in the meninges
produce new neurons after birth – highlighting the importance of
meningeal tissue as well as these cells’ potential in the development of
new therapies for brain damage or neurodegeneration. A paper
highlighting the results was published in the leading scientific journal
Cell Stem Cell.
Scientists’ understanding of brain plasticity, or the ability of the
brain to grow, develop, recover from injuries and adapt to changing
conditions throughout our lives, has been greatly broadened in recent
years. Before the discoveries of the last few decades, neurologists once
thought that the brain became ‘static’ after childhood. This dogma has
changed, with researchers finding more and more evidence that the brain
is capable of healing and regenerating in adulthood, thanks to the
presence of stem cells. However, neuronal stem cells were generally
believed to only reside within the brain tissue, not in the membranes
surrounding it.
The meninges: unappreciated no more: Believed in the past to serve a
mainly protective function to dampen mechanical shocks, the meninges
have been historically underappreciated by science as having
neurological importance in its own right. The data gathered by the team
challenges the current idea that neural precursors – or stem cells that
give rise to neurons – can only be found inside actual brain tissue.
Prof. Peter Carmeliet (VIB-KU Leuven): “The neuronal stems cells that
we discovered inside the meninges differentiate to full neurons,
electrically-active and functionally integrated into the neuronal
circuit. To show that the stem cells reside in the meninges, we used the
extremely powerful single-cell RNA sequencing technique, a very novel
top-notch technique, capable of identifying the (complex gene expression
signature) nature of individual cells in a previously unsurpassed
manner, a première at VIB.”
Following up on future research avenues: When it comes to future
leads for this discovery, the scientists also see possibilities for
translation into clinical application, though future work is required.
Prof. Peter Carmeliet (VIB-KU Leuven): “An intriguing question is
whether these neuronal stem cells in the meninges could lead to better
therapies for brain damage or neurodegeneration. However, answering this
question would require a better understanding of the molecular
mechanisms that regulate the differentiation of these stem cells. How
are these meningeal stem cells activated to become different kinds of
neurons? Can we therapeutically ‘hijack’ their regeneration potential to
restore dying neurons in, for example, Alzheimer’ Disease, Parkinson’s
Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and other
neurodegenerative disorders? Also, can we isolate these neurogenic
progenitors from the meninges at birth and use them for later
transplantation? These findings open up very exciting research
opportunities for the future.”
Unique funding opportunities: Moving into unchartered territory is
high risk, and can offer high gain, but securing funding for such type
of research is challenging. However, Carmeliet’s discoveries were made
possible to a large extent by funding through “Opening the Future:
pioneering without boundaries”, a recently created Mecenas Funding
Campaign for funding of high risk brain research but with potential for
breakthrough discoveries, started up by the KU Leuven in 2013 and unique
in Flanders.
Prof. Peter Carmeliet (VIB-KU Leuven): “Being able to use such
non-conventional funding channels is of utmost importance to break new
boundaries in research. This unique Mecenas funding initiative by the KU
Leuven is innovative and boundary-breaking by itself. Our entire team
is enormously grateful for the opportunities it has created for our
investigations”.
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