[Hplusroadmap] Fwd: [tt] Umbilical cord blood good for aging brain

[Bryan Bishop]

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Subject: [tt] Umbilical cord blood good for aging brain
Date: Monday 10 March 2008
From: "Hughes, James J." <James.Hughes at trincoll.edu>
To: tt at postbiota.org


http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/uosf-ioh031008.php

Injection of human umbilical cord blood helps the aging brain

Tampa, Fla. (March 10, 2008) -- When human umbilical cord blood cells
(UCBC) were injected into aged laboratory animals, researchers at the
University of South Florida (USF) found improvements in the
microenvironment of the hippocampus region of the animals' brains and a
subsequent rejuvenation of neural stem/progenitor cells.

Published online at BMC Neuroscience
(www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/22), the research presented the
possibility of a cell therapy aimed at rejuvenating the aged brain.

"Brain cell neurogenesis decreases dramatically with increasing age,
mostly because of a growing impoverishment in the brain's
microenvironment," said co-author Alison Willing, PhD, of the USF Center
of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair. "The increase in neurogenesis
we saw after injecting UCBCs seemed to be due to a decrease in
inflammation."

According to lead author Carmelina Gemma, Ph.D., of the James A. Haley
Veterans Administration Medical Center (VA) and USF, the decrease in
neurogenesis that accompanies aging is a result of the decrease in
proliferation of stem cells, not the loss of cells.

"In the brain, there are two stem cell pools, one of which resides in
the hippocampus," explained graduate student and first author Adam
Bachstetter. "As in other stem cell pools, the stem cells in the brain
lose their capacity to generate new cells. A potent stressor of stem
cell proliferation is inflammation."

Prior to this study, the research team led by Paula C. Bickford, Ph.D.,
of the VA and USF found that reducing neuroinflammation in aged rats by
blocking the synthesis of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL1B rescued
some of the age-related decrease in neurogenesis and improved cognitive
function.

"We think that UCBCs may have a similar potential to reduce inflammation
and to restore some of the lost capacity of stem/progenitor cells to
proliferate and differentiate into neurons," said Dr. Bickford.

The study found that the number of proliferative cells increased within
24 hours following the UCBC injections into the aged laboratory rats and
that the increased cell proliferation continued for at least 15 days
following a single treatment.

"We have shown that injections of UCBCs can reduce neuroinflammation,"
concluded co-author Paul R. Sanberg, Ph.D. D.Sc. director of the Center
of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair. "Our results raise the
possibility that a cell therapy could be an effective approach to
improving the microenvironment of the aged brain and restoring some lost
capacity."

###

Citation: Bachstetter, AD, Pabon, MM, Cole, MJ, Hudson, CE, Sanberg, PR,
Willing, AE, Bickford, PC, Gemma, C. Peripheral injection of human
umbilical cord blood stimulates neurogenesis in the aged rat brain. BMC
Neuroscience, 9(1), 2008, 22 (Epub ahead of print).
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Bryan Bishop
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