UH [University of Houston] Awarded Lead Role By EPA To Study Toxin Effects On Embryonic Development

Medical News Today, Article Date: 14 Aug 2009 - 0:00 PDT
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160613.php

The primary aim of the three-year grant is to contribute to a more reliable chemical risk assessment that will provide clues to how certain chemicals affect human health. This will provide researchers with a wealth of new information about what toxins may cause serious diseases. Examples may be embryos exposed to chemicals that reduce the number of brain stem cells or change the number of neurons resulting in a greater risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases in adulthood, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, as well as detecting developmental effects like spina bifida, one of the most common birth defects.


Snorting stem cells

Snorting can deliver cells to the brain, research shows

University of Minnesota, By Deane Morrison
[URL="http://www1.umn.edu/news/features/2009/UR_CONTENT_124844.html"]http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160715.php

If you had a brain malady that could be treated with stem cells, how would you like them delivered—by having surgeons cut open your skull to implant the cells, or by snorting them like a nasal decongestant?

Not really a hard choice, is it?

A University of Minnesota researcher has taken the first step toward making this kind of medical delivery service a reality by showing that when stem cells suspended in fluid are snorted, they rapidly migrate into the brain. William Frey, an adjunct professor of pharmaceutics, and his colleagues in Tuebingen, Germany, describe their work in a recent article in the European Journal of Cell Biology.

The researchers had mice sniff tiny droplets containing adult stem cells from rats. An hour later, rat stem cells were clearly visible in the mice’s brains. To make sure the ability to penetrate the brain wasn’t limited just to those cells, they also had rats snort a second type of cells, from human brain tumors. These cells also penetrated the brain within an hour.