Promising research at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences in La Jolla, California involving human embryonic stem cells is giving new hope to those with Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers injected mice inside the womb with human embryonic stem cells.

The human cells had no apparent impact on the animals' behavior. About 100,000 cells were injected into each animal and just a fraction survived in their new hosts. That means the animals' brains were still more than 99 percent mouse -- a precaution that helped avoid ethical objections to creating animals that were "too human." (Washington Post)

August 15, 2004

"The numbers of sufferers of brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease, have soared across the West in less than 20 years, scientists have discovered."

"Stem cell research moved to the forefront of the presidential campaign last week."

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Stem Cell Research

August 14, 2004

Ann Romney, the wife of Republican Gov. Mitt Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998 and favors stem cell research if it is done "morally and ethically."

"Myelin sheaths insulating neural connections that were developed last in life are the first to degenerate in people with Alzheimer's disease, according to research from the University of California, Los Angeles."

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Stem Cell Research