Stem Cells from Monkey Teeth Can Stimulate Growth and Generation of Brain CellsNovember 12, 2008Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have discovered dental pulp stem cells can stimulate growth and generation of several types of neural cells. Findings from this study, available in the October issue of the journal Stem Cells, suggest dental pulp stem cells show promise for use in cell therapy and regenerative medicine, particularly therapies associated with the central nervous system. Dental stem cells are adult stem cells, one of the two major divisions of stem cell research. Adult stem cells have the ability to regenerate many different types of cells, promising great therapeutic potential, especially for diseases such as Huntington's and Parkinson's. Already, dental pulp stem cells have been used for regeneration of dental and craniofacial cells. Yerkes researcher Anthony Chan, DVM, PhD, and his team of researchers placed dental pulp stem cells from the tooth of a rhesus macaque into the hippocampal areas of mice. The dental pulp stem cells stimulated growth of new neural cells, and many of these formed neurons. "By showing dental pulp stem cells are capable of stimulating growth of neurons, our study demonstrates the specific therapeutic potential of dental pulp stem cells and the broader potential for adult stem cells," says Chan, who also is assistant professor of human genetics in Emory School of Medicine. Because dental pulp stem cells can be isolated from anyone at any age during a visit to the dentist, Chan is interested in the possibility of dental pulp stem cell banking. "Being able to use your own stem cells for therapy would greatly decrease the risk of cell rejection that we now experience in transplant medicine," says Chan. Chan and his research team next plan to determine if dental pulp stem cells from monkeys with Huntington's disease can enhance brain cell development in the same way dental pulp stem cells from healthy monkeys do. For more than seven decades, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, has been dedicated to conducting essential basic science and translational research to advance scientific understanding and to improve the health and well-being of humans and nonhuman primates. Today, the center, as one of only eight National Institutes of Health-funded national primate research centers, provides leadership, training and resources to foster scientific creativity, collaboration and discoveries. Yerkes-based research is grounded in scientific integrity, expert knowledge, respect for colleagues, an open exchange of ideas and compassionate, quality animal care. Within the fields of microbiology and immunology, neuroscience, psychobiology and sensory-motor systems, the center's research programs are seeking ways to: develop vaccines for infectious and noninfectious diseases, such as AIDS and Alzheimer's disease; treat cocaine addiction; interpret brain activity through imaging; increase understanding of progressive illnesses such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's; unlock the secrets of memory; determine behavioral effects of hormone replacement therapy; address vision disorders; and advance knowledge about the evolutionary links between biology and behavior. Emory University |
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| Related Dental Pulp Current Events and Dental Pulp News Articles Pittsburgh researchers identify source of multipotent stem cells with broad regenerative potential In a promising finding for the field of regenerative medicine, stem cell researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have identified a source of adult stem cells found on the walls of blood vessels with the unlimited potential to differentiate into human tissues such as bone, cartilage and muscle. Novel hydrogel systems for dentin regeneration Dental caries, or tooth decay, continues to be the most prevalent infectious disease in the world, presenting significant public health challenges and socio-economic consequences. Researchers present Phase 2 clinical results for Acologix AC-100 Today, researchers from Acologix (Hayward, CA, USA), the University of California (San Francisco, USA), and the University of Connecticut (Simsbury, USA) will announce the results of a Phase 2 clinical trial of AC-100 (also known as Dentonin), reporting that it met its primary goal of stimulating the formation of new dentin when applied directly to tooth defects, and demonstrating that AC-100 has a favorable safety profile. Cigarette smoking nearly doubles risk for root canal treatment According to a new study appearing in the April issue of the Journal of Dental Research, cigarette smoking can lead to not only tooth discoloration and gum disease, but also a common dental procedure that helps to heal a diseased tooth-the root canal. Typhoid fever led to the fall of Athens Scientists have for many years debated the cause of the Plague of Athens. Analysis carried out by Manolis Papagrigorakis and colleagues using DNA collected from teeth from an ancient Greek burial pit points to typhoid fever as the disease responsible for this devastating epidemic. New Study Identifies Louse-Borne Diseases That Ravaged Napoleon's Army Napoleon marched into Russia in the summer of 1812 with a half-million soldiers. Only a few thousand staggered out again, victims of war, weather, and disease. Should dentists worry about vCJD transmission? Existing guidelines on treating patients with diseases such as Creutzfelt-Jakob disease (CJD) do not cover dental health in any detail. Writing in the April Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Professor Stephen Porter of the Eastman Dental Institute at the University of London suggests "important modifications" to the current infection control procedures and calls for more research specifically to be done on infection via dental treatments. Prions in teeth and gums? So far there have been no proven cases of CJD developing as a result of dental treatment, but prions - the organisms causing CJD, scrapie and BSE - have been found in the nerve tissues of the face and mouth. In tests on ani More Dental Pulp Current Events and Dental Pulp News Articles |
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