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July 04, 2002 Stem cell injection for stroke on the way UK scientists are on trial for a single injection therapy for stroke patients using stem cells next year. The researchers hope the treatment will help restore brain function and any personality lost by the patients. If successful, the scientists plan to develop similar approaches for treating Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's. According to Dr John Sinden, of ReNeuron Limited, this trial would involve a small number of patients but expect that within six years the drug would be in market. The injection will use neural stem cells, "master cells" that have yet to develop into specialised brain tissue. The scientists have taken their stem cells from aborted foetuses. Dr Sinden's team has introduced a genetic switch into the stem cells which makes them divide indefinitely when cultured at lower than normal body temperatures. The raised temperature inside the body will switch off the cells.. In the laboratory, ReNeuron has shown that the stem cells will develop into different and important brain cell types. When injected into the brain, the cells migrate to areas of damage and start to repair it.
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