Japanese researchers have succeeded in creating a cerebral cortex, the part of the brain involved in thinking and motion, from embryonic stem cells, providing hope for future treatment of brain-related diseases., thus boosting the possibility of future treatment of brain-related diseases.
Yoshiki Sasai and Mototsugu Eiraku, of the government-backed Riken Centre for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan have managed to create the part of the brain involved in thinking and motion using stem cells, which have the ability to change into other types of cells. This is the first time researchers have been able to create brain tissue from other types of cells, reports The Mainichi Daily News.
"In regenerative therapy, only a limited number of diseases can be cured with simple cell transplants. Transplanting tissues could raise hopes for greater functional recovery," the institute said in official statement.
"Cultivated tissues are still insufficient and too small to be used to treat stroke patients. But study of in-vitro cultivation of more mature cortex tissues, such as those with six zones like in the adult human brain, will be stepped up," it said.
Findings from the research were published in the online edition of the U.S. journal Cell Stem Cell on Thursday.
