Bone Marrow Stromal Cells ... Sizing up strokes: New drugs, diagnosis and treatment techniques give patients a better chance of

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bone Marrow Stromal Cells ... Sizing up strokes: New drugs, diagnosis and 
treatment techniques give patients a better
chance of recovery

March 30, 2004

BY PATRICIA ANSTETT
FREE PRESS MEDICAL WRITER

<<SNIP>>

SCROLL WAY DOWN... Look for Bone Marrow Stromal Cells...

The studies work on the theory that the brain stimulates different proteins 
after a stroke, brain injury or
neurodegenerative diseases. It's aprotective reaction and response to 
inflammation,explains Michael Chopp, PhD,
scientific director of the Ford Neuroscience Institute.

That starts a new cycle of growth: new blood vessels, brain cells and 
connections between brain cells, or synapses,
Chopp says.

Advanced types of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, a special area of 
research at Ford, show that the compounds
in mice "target vasculature that has been injured," Chopp says. On the MRI 
scans, the injured areas look like one type
of cloud and the healthier areas capable of growth appear like a different type 
of cloud.

Chopp found that when he injected stromal bone marrow cells intravenously they 
"moved to the region outside the
boundary of dead brain tissue and turned on the brain."

The process is known to scientists as brain remodeling.

These stromal cells, obtained from blood donors, may hold promise for treatment 
of Parkinson's disease, multiple
sclerosis and spinal cord injuries, Chopp says. No human studies have begun, 
though Chopp hopes to get federal and
institutional approval to begin s omesoon.

SOURCE: Detroit Free Press, United States


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