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How Stem Cells Can Cure Neurodegenerative Diseases

Date : 09/09/2018

Author Information

Kanay

Uploaded by : Kanay
Uploaded on : 09/09/2018
Subject : Biology

Your nervous system controls breathing, movement, senses, your consciousness and your memories. It is safe to say your nervous system is incredibly important, and any slight defect can have a vast negative effect on your health and your life. It is therefore imperative that we attempt to cure or treat the symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinsons, as quickly and efficiently as we can.


The nervous system mainly consists of two different types of cells - Neurons and Glia. Neurons are cells that transmit information electrically or chemically, and form a network for communication inside our bodies. Glia protect and support the neurons. Of course, there are many different types of neurons, each specialised for their position and purpose in the body. All of the systems that are dependant on the nervous system depend on the entire length of connection - this is comparable to a series circuit, where if one component is broken, the entire circuit stops working. This is why it is so important to have a complete and healthy nervous system.


It is also the reason why neurons that have not made a strong connection, or have not integrated well into a functional circuit will die. This makes sure that only relevant and active circuits are maintained, and that irrelevant wires are not left to divert energy or to even short the system. Nearly all neurodegenerative diseases result from a malfunction in the way this problem is dealt with.


Pluripotent stem along with most other cells in the body, have the genetic information to become any type of specialised cell. However, cells that are not stem cells, have irrelevant genes turned off , while pluripotent stem cells have all their genes turned on . Multipotent stem cells, have most cells turned on but a few turned off meaning it a specialised stem cell, capable of dividing into limited types of cell.


A good use for stem cells is to simply model these defective neurons to aid in drug development. It is very difficult to extract these neurons, as this procedure can be dangerous, and the size of the tissues are too small to conduct studies on. This makes the use of stem cells perfect as they can be manipulated to express the exact genes that are to be studied. Currently, drugs are being developed to support Glia in their role to support the neurons, with the hope to slow down the effects of neurodegenerative diseases.


Alternatively, stem cells can be used to replace certain neurons, and therefore repair parts of the nervous system. This type of stem cell research is still in its infant stages as it faces a lot of ethical issues. Stem cells can be used to create genetically modified neuronal progenitors, which are a more specialised type of stem cell, which divides to form neurons. In the body of the patient, the neuronal progenitors exhibit a genetic defect, and thus the neurons produced also exhibit a genetic defect. Although the defect varies from disease to disease &the treatment can remain the same. You insert genetically modified neuronal progenitors produced from stem cells into the body of the patient. This will make neurons that belong to the body and have the genetic defect fixed.


The issue with stem cell therapies is obtaining the stem cells to begin with. However, ongoing research into producing embryonic stem cells by somatic cell nuclear transfer, shows that it may be possible in the near future to implement these ideas, minimising risk from rejection from the patients immune system. Also, significant research is being conducted on re-programming existing cells (induced pluripotent stem cells), which may eliminate the ethical issues standing in the way of medical breakthroughs. However, in both cases, serious problems such as the tendency to form tumours, persist, and until these serious safety issues are dealt with, trials in humans are unlikely.

This resource was uploaded by: Kanay