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March 12, 1999
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Volume 6, Number 12 |
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About OCNCover
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RESEARCHEarlier nerve-regeneration work of U of S researchers laid basis for "very important work" in cell transplantation
Basic research carried out at the University of Saskatchewan almost a decade ago has helped pave the way for some of the most exciting work going on today into the possibility of brain and spinal cord regeneration, say U of S neuroscientists. Recent international research suggests that new cells can grow in the brain and damaged cells in the nervous system can be repaired - findings that overturn generations of scientific dogma. During the late '80s and early '9Os, U of S cell biologist Ron Doucette and Ric Devon, of the College of Dentistry, showed that certain cells along the nerve responsible for the sense of smell - olfactory ensheathing cells - hold great promise for repairing damaged cells of the nervous system by stimulating nerve fibres to grow. Now there's exciting international research into the use of olfactory ensheathing cells to promote regeneration of damaged spinal cord nerve fibres of adult rats and to restore the protective substance myelin that normally sheathes these nerve fibres. "This could not have occurred without the basic science findings that were carried out here at the U of S," he says.
In particular, Doucette and Devon were able to show that even though these cells don't normally make myelin, they are capable of doing so when given the opportunity. "This basic science approach yielded an innovative and groundbreaking series of findings showing that these cells hold great promise, not only for the treatment of certain disorders of the central nervous system such as multiple sclerosis (in which there is a loss of myelin), but also for the treatment of spinal cord injury," Doucette says. Dr. Sergey Fedoroff, professor emeritus, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, says the work of Doucette and Devon has "laid the groundwork for some very important research around the world in cell transplantation." Doucette has grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the American Paralysis Association to study the ability of these olfactory ensheathing cells to assist in neuron repair. He's been grafting these cells into damaged areas of the brain and spinal cord of rats. Since it's not practical to isolate these cells from the olfactory region of the human brain, Doucette and department colleague Arlene Richardson are trying to develop a technique for scraping the cells from inside the nose. Another U of S colleague, Andrew Gloster, is also working on repair of damaged neural cells using cells from the olfactory system. But Gloster is focussing on a different kind of cell - stem cells - which can actually produce new neurons and other cells. Because the nose is one of the few places where continually regenerating stem cells can be readily accessed, Gloster is also working on a technique that involves scraping the lining of the nose. He hopes to develop a way to isolate these stem cells, grow them in a culture until they form neurons, then transplant them in the brain to form new neurons where others have died.
This could potentially treat diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimers, and ALS. "There's still a long way to go, but the possibilities with this are enormous," says Fedoroff. "If this really works, patients would be using their own cells for transplantation so there'd be no rejection." Gloster and Gillian Muir, of Veterinary Medicine, are currently doing experiments with rats to see if transplanted olfactory stem cells can form a bridge for regenerating spinal cord nerve fibres to cross a cut spinal cord. Cell transplant therapy is one of the new frontiers of neuroscience, and U of S scientists continue to be in the vanguard of the underlying science, he says. But to make the big breakthroughs, he adds, it takes a critical mass of researchers and resources and that's tough to provide for aspiring young U of S researchers such as Gloster. "Unlike other places that can provide someone like him with four or five post docs, we just don't have the resources to go around. It's wonderful research, that's the pity of it," says Fedoroff. He notes that advances in neuroscience are happening at such a clip that it's difficult for the public to keep up. "This is why we've joined the international Brain Awareness Week campaign - to educate people about what's going on so that they don't miss out on the latest developments." For more information about March 15-20 Brain Awareness Week lectures, shows, and other activities, see article in this issue and check out the Brain Awareness web site at: http://duke.usask.ca/~rondouc/BAW.html
For further information, visit the web site or contact communications@usask.ca
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Next issue of On Campus News: Friday, March 26
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