Scientists create cells in Alzheimer's breakthrough
Brain cells that play a critical role in Alzheimer's disease have been created in the laboratory by scientists.
It has been hailed as an important advance in Alzheimer's research as it allows a limitless supply of neurons on which to test new drugs.
Potentially the work could also pave the way to cell treatments - transplanting healthy lab-grown neurons into the brains of patients.
British charity the Alzheimer's Society called the research "a major step forward in developing treatments for Alzheimer's".
Scientists at Northwestern University in Chicago produced the neurons from stem cells extracted from early-stage human embryos. Embryonic stem cells have the potential to develop into virtually any kind of tissue in the body.
The "cholinergic" neurons are a special type that help the hippocampus region of the brain to retrieve memories.
It is these brain cells that die off early in Alzheimer's disease.
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Monday 28 May 2012
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