April 20, 2012

New research reported this week illustrates some very interesting results in the field of regenerative medicine. Blind mice were able to see once more and monkeys with paralyzed hands were able to flex them again.

The night-blind mice, were implanted with precursor eye cells, and in tests the mice saw well enough after the procedure to swim to a platform in dim underwater light.

The monkeys studied in the research had arms which were paralyzed with nerve blocks. These monkeys were then hooked to a computer which relayed signals from their brain to their hands. These signals enabled to monkeys to once again use their arms and hands.

These techniques and more are a part of research to provide alternatives to patients who have bodies damaged by trauma or disabled by bad genes. The subsequent report has been published in the journal Nature.

Speaking to Bloomberg News, Robin Ali, an author in the blind mice study, said, Cells in a dish is one challenge and, five to 10 years ago, that was exciting.

Whats interesting about these three papers is that were really starting to move into regenerative medicine. What these have in common is looking at repairing systems in vivo, or in living organisms.

Ali is a molecular genetics professor at University College London and gave the night blind mice precursors of rod cells. These rod cells function best in times of low light and are almost entirely responsible for night vision. Once the cells were transported, synapses were formed, improving night vision in the mice. To test this improvement, the mice were placed in a dimly lit water maze, wherein the mice had to swim to a platform.

With this research, Ali hopes to repair all vision disorders, including color blindness.

Most causes of blindness are due to the loss of photoreceptors, Ali said. What I have in mind is approaching unrealistic I want to restore normal vision. But if were aiming to provide useful function, that may be achievable.

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Blind Mice, Paralyzed Monkeys, And Regenerative Medicine

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