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Press Releases

Image of an adult neuron with extra integrin profusely extending nerve fibers compared to a neuron that received a non-integrin gene.

Manipulating A Single Gene Dramatically Improves Regeneration in Adult Neurons: Finding May Lead to New Approaches for Treating Brain and Spinal Cord Damage
Sunday, July 01, 2001
Increasing the expression of a single gene that is important during development dramatically improves the ability of adult neurons to regenerate, a new study shows. The finding suggests that intrinsic properties of neurons play an important role in controlling neuronal regeneration and may lead to new approaches for treating damage from stroke, spinal cord injury, and other neurological conditions.

Photo of a neuronal cell derived from bone marrow.

Turning Blood into Brain: New Studies Suggest Bone Marrow Stem Cells Can Develop into Neurons in Living Animals
Thursday, November 30, 2000
For years, researchers studying stem cells have been intrigued by the possibility that these cells might be used to treat brain diseases. Recent studies have suggested that neural stem cells transplanted into the brain can migrate throughout the brain and develop into other types of cells. Now, two new studies show that bone marrow cells transplanted into mice can migrate into the brain and develop into cells that appear to be neurons. The studies suggest that bone marrow may be a readily available source of neural cells with potential for treating such neurological disorders as Parkinson's disease and traumatic brain injury.