6/5/2006 by Errol Kiong

Scientists in Auckland have made a breakthrough in adult stem cell transplants that could mean a brighter future for people with Huntington's disease and other neurological conditions.

The discovery also has important implications for treating Spinal Cord injuries and diseases where specific cell types are lost, such as Parkinson's and Motor neurone disease - conditions where cell transplants are a potential remedy.

Neuroscientists at Auckland University, working on rats, have for the first time successfully transplanted a viable number of adult stem cells, enabling brain cells destroyed by Huntington's to be replaced.

"Although stem cell therapy treatment for humans is still a number of years away, the results clearly demonstrated what adult stem cells are capable of doing," said Dr Bronwen Connor, leader of the study and head of the Auckland School of Medicine's Neural Repair and Neurogenesis Lab.

Stem cells are cells that divide and differentiate into other cell types, acting as a repair system by replenishing destroyed or damaged cells in the body.

Stem cells are now harvested from human fetal tissue, a controversial source loaded with ethical and moral dilemmas.

Two months after transplant, a significant number of adult stem cells had survived and formed the type of brain cells needed to replace the cells lost in Huntington's. Most importantly, the rats also showed a marked improvement in control over muscles and movement.

In the study, about 12 per cent of adult stem cells survived the transplant, of which only a small proportion turned into the needed replacement cells.
"But the amount was enough to have an improvement in motor function, which was exciting for us," said Dr Connor.

Its potential would also enable doctors to use a patient's own cells, which would bypass many transplant problems, she said.

"A lot of our work is looking at using the resident stem cells that are present in the brain and trying to actually get those cells to repair brain disease and brain injury.

Professor Richard Faull, a world expert on the human brain and a colleague of Dr Connor, said the discovery was an important step in demonstrating the potential of stem cells, which are found throughout the adult brain.

Dr Connor's team will next look at improving the stem cell survival rate following transplant.

"This is an important milestone on the pathway of giving patients a better future. But it's not going to result in a therapy tomorrow, or next year, or the next three years.
"There is still a long way to go."

(Edited version) more about Errol Kiong