Researcher's reported successfully growing stem cells

Reported by www.medicalnewstoday.com;

A breakthrough in Parkinson's disease research came to light this week when researchers reported successfully growing stem cells from the skin of a patient with a rapidly progressing form of the disease. The cells, which mimic the features of Parkinson's, should help scientists study the disease more accurately, investigate why certain nerve cells die, and find out which compounds reduce expression of the proteins behind the disease. Their report was published online on 23 August in the journal Nature Communications.

The study was led by the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with University College London (UCL), and made possible by a £300,000 grant from the charity Parkinson's UK.

The researchers took skin samples from a patient diagnosed with one of the most progressive forms of Parkinson's disease. Compared with the general population, people with this form of the disease have twice as many of the genes that code for the protein alpha-synuclein, and can be diagnosed in their early 30s.

From the skin cells the team produced induced pluripotent stem cells that could then be differentiated into neurons or brain cells. The resulting neurons produced twice the amount of alpha-synuclein compared to those from a family member without the disease, showing that the generated neurons retained features of the disease.
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