For decades, doctors have used stem cells to help repair the body. Stem cells are unique because they can replicate themselves, creating more healthy cells in the part of the body that needs to heal. For example, doctors can use healthy blood stem cells to treat some blood disorders.
Could stem cells be used to treat brain disorders or repair brain damage?
“In most cases, you cannot easily access many parts of a patient’s brain to take or transplant healthy brain cells,” said Jubao Duan, PhD, the Director of Stem Cell and Functional Genomics in Psychiatry at Endeavor Health Medical Group.
However, researchers are working on a new therapy called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSC, which takes healthy blood or skin cells and, through genetic engineering, converts them back to embryonic-like stem cells.
“Our tissues and organs all start from one single cell — an embryonic stem cell,” explained Dr. Duan. Like embryonic stem cells, iPSC can develop into different types of cells — including a healthy brain cell. “Essentially, we reprogram the cell from one cell type to another,” said Dr. Duan.
While this technology is still in the research phase, iPSC may be a promising new technology for patients with neurological disorders.
For example, a patient with Parkinson's disease may have damaged neurons or brain cells. Researchers are currently working on the theory that astrocytes — protective cells in the brain and spinal cord — may be converted into healthy neurons to replace damaged neurons. Because the cells are drawn from the patient, iPSC do not risk immune rejection like current embryonic stem cell transplants.
ISPC may also be able to treat other neurological disorders through gene engineering. “If you have a genetic defect in the cell, theoretically, we can use genetically-modified iPSC to reintroduce the good copy of the gene through a cell transplant,” said Dr. Duan. “It has a lot of potential.”
Some clinical trials are in progress, such as using iPSC to treat macular degeneration (an eye disease) and Parkinson’s disease, but much of the research is still preclinical.
While iPSC therapy isn’t ready to treat patients today, Dr. Duan is optimistic.
“A lot of research is still needed to take this technology from bench-side to bedside,” said Dr. Duan. “This concept remains at the experimental phase, but it holds great promise.”
Related Articles
