Alzheimer’s is a cruel disease that ruins the lives of millions of people around the world, slowly robbing them of their memories and independence.
Now, scientists at McGill University, Canada, may have found a key to treating the neurological disease: through brain cell transplantation.
Astrocytes, named for their star shape, are a type of brain cell that protects nerves and are vital for processing information.
Studies show that these cells reduce in number as Alzheimer’s progresses, particularly in the areas of the brain responsible for memory.
Scientists believe that replacing damaged astrocytes could help restore some of the lost brain function seen in Alzheimer’s, as well as other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease.
According to neuroscientists at McGill University, Canada, brain cell transplants are a “promising and exciting strategy” in the treatment of neurological diseases.
An animal from 2023 study published in The Journal of Neuroscience showed that performing this type of transplants in mice could generate significant benefits.
A key feature of Alzheimer’s is not only the general loss of cells in the brain regions responsible for memory formation, but also the loss of astrocytes.
Some mice were genetically modified to be green and others to be red. The scientists then transplanted these cells into the brains of newborn mice.
Experts said the first and vital stage in determining whether transplants are a viable option is to see if the cells implant successfully in the brain.
To investigate this, the researchers, from the McGill University Health Center Research Institute, removed astrocytes from the cerebral cortex (the area of the brain responsible for thinking, learning and problem solving) of healthy newborn mice.
The mice were genetically modified so that their brain cells glowed red so that experts could track them using scanners. These cells were then transplanted into the brains of other mice.
These transplanted cells lasted a year in the new brain, where they integrated and developed normally.
The transplanted astrocytes had a similar number of receptors and what are known as ion channels, vital for helping different parts of the brain communicate with each other.
However, the scientists noted that the age of the mouse when the cells were transplanted influenced the results.
Astrocytes migrated and spread widely in the brain of a young adult mouse, but in older mice, the cells failed to stray from the transplant site.
The study also revealed that astrocytes in different regions of the brain and spinal cord show very different characteristics and do not always integrate well in different parts of the brain.
Former investigationpublished in Biology & Life Sciences, has shown that astrocyte transplantation can promote brain plasticity (the brain’s ability to adapt) and regeneration after injury and in neurological diseases.
Another small study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, involving mice with Parkinson’s disease, observed that those given astrocytes returned to a disease-free state and stayed that way. for life.
Researchers say that further studies on transplanted astrocytes could help improve the lives of patients with many different types of neurological diseases.