Scientists report a dramatic success in what may be the first documented rescue of a congenital brain disorder by transplantation of human neural stem cells. The research, published by Cell Press in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, may lead the way to new strategies for treating certain hereditary and perinatal neurological disorders.

Nerve cell projections are ensheathed by a fatty substance called myelin that is produced by oligodendrocytes, a type non-nerve cell in the brain and spinal cord. Myelin enhances the speed and coordination of the electrical signals by which nerve cells communicate with one another. When myelin is missing or damaged, electrical signals are not properly transmitted. Previous studies have explored the potential utility of cell transplantation for restoring absent or lost myelination to diseased nerve fibers. Much of this research has made use of the ‘shiverer mouse’ animal model which lacks normal myelin and typically dies within months of birth. Yet to date, no transplantation of human neural stem cells or of their derivatives, called glial progenitor cells, have ever altered the condition or fate of recipient animals. … Continue Reading »