Rodent research suggests feasibility of restoring neuron function
Research from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio suggests the exciting possibility of using cell transplants to treat schizophrenia.
Cells called “interneurons” inhibit activity within brain regions, but this braking or governing function is impaired in schizophrenia. Consequently, a group of nerve cells called the dopamine system go into overdrive. Different branches of the dopamine system are involved in cognition, movement and emotions.
“Since these cells are not functioning properly, our idea is to replace them,” said study senior author Daniel Lodge, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology in the School of Medicine.
Transplant restored normal function
Dr. Lodge and lead author Stephanie Perez, graduate student in his laboratory, biopsied tissue from rat fetuses, isolated cells from the tissue and injected the cells into a brain center called the hippocampus. This center regulates the dopamine system and plays a role in learning, memory and executive functions such as decision making. Rats treated with the transplanted cells have restored hippocampal and dopamine function.
Stem cells are able to become different types of cells, and in this case interneurons were selected. “We put in a lot of cells and not all survived, but a significant portion did and restored hippocampal and dopamine function back to normal,” Dr. Lodge said.
‘You can essentially fix the problem’
Unlike traditional approaches to treating schizophrenia, such as medications and deep-brain stimulation, transplantation of interneurons potentially can produce a permanent solution. “You can essentially fix the problem,” Dr. Lodge said. “Ultimately, if this is translated to humans, we want to reprogram a patient’s own cells and use them.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Schizophrenia
- Hope Place Kuching delivers aid to mother, son having schizophreniaon April 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The struggles of a single mother and her child diagnosed with schizophrenia have been brought to the attention of Hope Place Kuching. The family’s hardships were brought to attention when a caring soc ...
- Cat exposure during early life could double schizophrenia risk, meta-analysis suggestson April 24, 2024 at 11:00 am
Owning cats during early life may more than double the risk of developing schizophrenia-related disorders in young adulthood, though the impact on milder psychotic-like experiences remains unclear.
- Treatment Patch For Schizophrenia: Newly Listed Alto Neuroscience Is Uniquely Positioned In Neuropsychiatry Landscapeon April 23, 2024 at 12:05 pm
Alto Neuroscience reported positive results for its novel PDE4 inhibitor in a Phase 1 study for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia.
- Breathtaking News for Depression and Schizophreniaon April 23, 2024 at 8:19 am
As long as there's breath in our lungs our story is still being written.” –Bart Millard Two chemicals from breath samples, butyrate and trimethylamine, are sufficient to distinguish depression and ...
- Physical Ills Often Plague People With Schizophrenia, Bipolaron April 23, 2024 at 5:18 am
Estimates show people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are 2.4 times more likely than mentally healthy people to have two or more physical ailments, researchers found. The chronic disease burden ...
- Having a Cat Can Double Your Chances of Developing Schizophrenia, New Study Sayson April 16, 2024 at 4:06 pm
In a new study, scientists found that those who owned cats before age 25 were about twice as likely to develop schizophrenia.
- What Are The Possible Complications Of Schizophrenia? A Review By Doctorson April 16, 2024 at 2:28 pm
Expert opinion from Ilya Aleksandrovskiy M.D., MBA · 5 years of experience · USA Schizophrenic patients either exhibit substance abuse or develop schizophrenia due to it. Therefore, substance abuse is ...
- Professional Faqs: What Are The Possible Complications Of Schizophrenia?on April 16, 2024 at 2:28 pm
Expert opinion from Gustavo Campos Doctor of Medicine · 9 years of experience · Brazil There are several psychosocial complications related to schizophrenia. Those patients have higher chances of ...
- Parents of Sydney mall killer Joel Cauchi say he was off his schizophrenia medication: ‘He let himself down’on April 15, 2024 at 1:48 pm
Sydney shopping mall killer Joel Cauchi’s father said his son was a “beautiful” boy, who “let himself down” when he went off his medication.
- Neumora's schizophrenia drug faces FDA hold over convulsions in rabbitson April 15, 2024 at 6:00 am
The FDA has placed a phase 1 trial of Neumora Therapeutics’ schizophrenia therapy on hold after preclinical data revealed rabbits dosed with the drug had experienced convulsions. | The FDA has placed ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Schizophrenia
[google_news title=”” keyword=”schizophrenia” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Restoring neuron function
- Axons or Bust: To Reach Neuron Extremities, RNAs Hitch a Ride on Lysosomeson April 26, 2024 at 12:33 pm
No Ride for Lysosomes. In wild-type i3 neurons (left), LAMP1+ lysosomes (white) are found in dendrites, soma, and axons. Without BORC5 (middle) or BORC7 (right), few lysosomes travel into axons.
- Hybrid brain lets one species' neurons help out another'son April 25, 2024 at 9:53 pm
Adding rat stem cells to a mouse embryo resulted in a ‘hybrid brain’ in which the rat cells stepped in to restore function when the mouse’s sense of smell was removed, new research has shown. It’s the ...
- Stop the Variant, Save the Channelon April 25, 2024 at 9:07 am
By using antisense oligonucleotides to inhibit a mutated exon associated with Timothy syndrome mutation, researchers restored neuron function.
- Spinal Cord Injury Alters Neuronal Activity and Triggers Fat Tissue Leakage in Miceon April 25, 2024 at 1:48 am
Spinal cord injuries result in a cascade of abnormal activity in neurons, causing fat tissue compounds to leak and pool in the liver and other organs.
- After spinal cord injury, neurons wreak havoc on metabolismon April 24, 2024 at 10:48 am
After discovering the connection between dysregulated neuron function and the breakdown of triglycerides ... Tedeschi’s lab has previously shown in animal studies that gabapentin helped restore limb ...
- After spinal cord injury, neurons wreak havoc on metabolism: Study finds common drug may prevent some of the effectson April 24, 2024 at 10:14 am
Conditions such as diabetes, heart attack, and vascular diseases commonly diagnosed in people with spinal cord injuries can be traced to abnormal post-injury neuronal activity that causes abdominal ...
- Hop on a Cure Makes Financial Contribution Toward Massachusetts General Hospital's Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALSon April 23, 2024 at 6:00 am
BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 24, 2024 / Hop On A Cure, a leading advocate in the fight against ALS, has announced today their financial contribution of $250,000 toward Massachusetts General ...
- Thistle extract accelerates nerve regeneration by up to 29%on April 22, 2024 at 8:49 pm
Nature has again proven effective in treating health conditions, this time nerve injury. According to a new study, a compound found in the blessed thistle plant accelerates the regeneration of damaged ...
- Study shows how depletion of mitochondria in axons can directly lead to protein accumulationon April 22, 2024 at 6:57 am
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have identified how proteins collect abnormally in neurons, a feature of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. The research is published in the ...
- Empty-handed neurons might cause neurodegenerative diseaseson April 19, 2024 at 10:33 pm
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have identified how proteins collect abnormally in neurons, a feature of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. They used fruit flies to show that ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Restoring neuron function
[google_news title=”” keyword=”restoring neuron function” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]