Michael J. Fox Foundation grant winner finds healing stem cells in brain

[Jeannine]

Michael J. Fox Foundation grant winner finds healing stem cells in brain

http://www.examiner.com/article/mich...em-cells-brain

A Swedish research team and the winner of several Michael J. Fox Foundation grants have discovered new stem cells that could lead to therapies for a wide range of brain disorders.

The stem cells can form new cells, leading scientists to hope that they could be used as targeted resources to repair and heal damages from disorders like Parkinson's Disease. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the largest private foundation researching the disease, was founded by the popular young actor who was diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 30.

The research used biopsies to look closely at components of damaged areas. The microscopic cells were discovered around small blood vessels, which signaled a potential for the movement of treated stem cells.

"A similar cell type has been identified in several other organs where it can promote regeneration of muscle, bone, cartilage and adipose tissue," said Dr. Patrik Brundin, M.D., Ph.D., Jay Van Andel Endowed Chair in Parkinson's Research at Van Andel Research Institute (VARI), Head of the Neuronal Survival Unit at Lund University in Sweden and senior author of the study.

[barbara]

This is good to see. I think for awhile his organization was stuck on the Big Pharma route and embryonic stem cell research.