stem cells international

an international team of researchers has developedan artificial version of the human midbrain using stem cells. their creation will allow for more extensiveresearch and drug testing,... and could have broad treatment implications -- especiallyfor degenerative disorders involving the motor system. park jong-hong explains. the breakthrough could eventually be life-alteringnews for patients of parkinson's disease. the leading degenerative disorder of the centralnervous system is a condition stemming from the midbrain, which is in charge of motorfunctions that control auditory and eye movements,

vision and body movements. the midbrain contains special neurons thatproduce dopamine, and the disease develops when the number of neurons decreases. with the breakthrough, scientists have createda miniature version of the midbrain, which they hope will shed light on exactly how parkinson'sevolves and lead to a cure for it and other aging-related brain diseases. while miniature versions of the brain havebeen developed before, this one is the first of its kind. it is a three-dimensional miniature with tissuesthat were grown in a laboratory using stem

cells cultivated from human blood, and itcan be used in a variety of drug tests instead of in experiments on actual patients. the medical community is abuzz about the possibilitiesfor research and treatment the breakthrough will have. the joint study was conducted by an internationalteam led by professor shawn je from duke-nus medical school and a*star's genome instituteof singapore. their findings were published this month inthe journal cell stem cell. park jong-hong arirang news.