HIGHLIGHTS:=09
Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are ready to start a human
treatment protocol that can reverse nerve and brain damage caused by
stroke, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and spinal cord injuries. The
treatment involves removal and regeneration of carefully targeted brain
cells, which are then re-introduced into the patient, where growth
continues and the brain is repaired.
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS
Michel Levesque, M.D., Director, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's
Neurofunctional Surgery Center
Toomas Neuman, Ph.D., Director, Neurobiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
HUMAN BRAIN TRANSPLANTATION PROTOCOL APPROVED TO REVERSE NERVE AND BRAIN
DAMAGE
=20
LOS ANGELES (October 30, 1998) -- While growing cells in petri dishes has
been done for more than a century, this old technique is being applied in
ground-breaking new ways, and with space-age equipment, at Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center's Neurofunctional Surgery Center. The goal is to produce
cures for such previously incurable conditions as spinal cord injuries,
stroke, epilepsy, and Parkinson's disease.
The project was sparked by the recent discovery of human brain cells'
potential for regeneration, contradicting previous scientific assumptions.
"While it is true that brain cells don't regenerate in situ, we have foun=
d
that a very small number of brain cells, harvested and placed into a
special environment, can be stimulated to regenerate, and that regenerati=
on
continues when the cells are re-introduced into the brain," says Michel
Levesque, M.D., Director of the Neurofunctional Surgery Center and an
internationally known neurosurgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Toomas Neuman, Ph.D., Director of Neurobiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center, and Dr. Levesque are working together to culture a number of
carefully targeted brain cells from a patient, stimulating growth and
regeneration in a carefully regulated environment, and then re-introducin=
g
them into the patient, where the growth continues, and effects healing an=
d
repair to previously irreparably damaged brain tissue. =20
"The implications of this are enormous. Right now we will use cell
harvesting and implantation to treat Parkinson's disease," says Dr.
Levesque. "Treating neurodegenerative diseases involving one type of
neurotransmitter cells is comparatively straightforward =96 introducing
excitatory neurons or inhibitory neurons, into a particular part of the
brain. In other words, one type of cell to one location.
(more)
"Treating stroke and spinal cord injuries with regenerated cells is
infinitely more complex," says Dr. Levesque. We have to identify, grow, a=
nd
re-introduce a complex mixture of cells to restore a damaged circuitry.
We're working on a human protocol for spinal cord injury now, and hope to
start treating patients with regenerated cells within the next six months=
."
The process literally starts with brain surgery, says Dr. Levesque. "For
epilepsy patients who require surgery, we take a small piece of the corte=
x,
where some of the few brain cells capable of regeneration are located. We
remove a few of those cells, store them in our cell bank of neurons, and
freeze them until we're ready to grow them in petri dishes.
Dr. Neuman oversees the growth stimulation part of the project. "Right no=
w
we have to remove the cells and put them into a special environment to
stimulate them to begin growing and dividing. Our goal is to eventually b=
e
able to stimulate the cells without removing them first," says Dr. Neuman.
"The cells don't spontaneously regenerate in the body -- that's why certa=
in
types of brain injuries and illnesses are currently incurable or
irreparable.
"A variety of molecular biology tools are used to identify and stimulate
the cells," says Dr. Neuman. "We have to keep the growing cells in steril=
e,
biologically stable incubators -- like baby incubators -- to maintain a
constant environment. When we're ready to grow them, we put them into a
special bath that includes different growth factors. Without either one,
the cells don't regenerate. If you have all the necessary things they
divide and grow. If you don't have them, these little guys die," he adds.=
=20
"The work we're doing is based on solid scientific foundations. It began
years ago, with studies indicating that certain types of birds could
produce brain cells that would regenerate in the right circumstances. The
studies moved from birds to animals. The progression from animal brain ce=
ll
regeneration to human brain cell regeneration is the next logical step.
When I began working with Dr. Levesque we discovered we had a common
interest -- our working together actually stimulated the project," says D=
r.
Neuman.=20
"When we finish developing our protocol, we'll be the first to offer this
treatment for stroke and spinal cord injuries," says Dr. Levesque. "We ha=
ve
a lot of spinal cord injury patients who are interested in this type of
treatment." The human protocol is scheduled to be completed in six months=
,
at which time cell regeneration and re-introduction treatments can begin =
on
humans. =20
# # #
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1-800-396-1002. A full-text version of this news release, plus other news
information from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, is available on Newswise at
http://www.newswise.com and on EurekAlert at http://www.eurekalert.org