Brain cells that are most vulnerable to attack from Alzheimer's disease have been grown by scientists in a breakthrough that could help reverse memory loss.
American researchers have turned stem cells derived from skin into neurons in the brain that are critical to memory retrieval but which are killed by the degenerative condition.
The development could lead to new drug treatments and even transplantation to repair brain damage.
In early Alzheimer's, it is the ability to retrieve memories that is lost, not the memories themselves, because cells called basal forebrain cholinergic neurons are killed.
"Now that we have learned how to make these cells, we can study them in a tissue culture dish and figure out what we can do to prevent them from dying," said Dr. Jack Kessler, who led the study at Northwestern University in Chicago.
Kessler's team has successfully tested the neurons on mice.
American researchers have turned stem cells derived from skin into neurons in the brain that are critical to memory retrieval but which are killed by the degenerative condition.
The development could lead to new drug treatments and even transplantation to repair brain damage.
In early Alzheimer's, it is the ability to retrieve memories that is lost, not the memories themselves, because cells called basal forebrain cholinergic neurons are killed.
"Now that we have learned how to make these cells, we can study them in a tissue culture dish and figure out what we can do to prevent them from dying," said Dr. Jack Kessler, who led the study at Northwestern University in Chicago.
Kessler's team has successfully tested the neurons on mice.
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