During a lecture at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, it was mentioned that there are over 5,000 different classes of neuronal cells. This coincides with an earlier article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1127123927.htm that talks about the need for stem cells to have the proper instruction set for the damaged neuronal cells they are needed to replace.

During this lecture, it was also mentioned that when the axons attempt to connect to dendrites, they also must have the proper instructions in the form of a "may connect" or "may not connect." This binary 'yes/no' system is used throughout the brain. This is a big part of the slow nature of brain development. The axons must go through billions of these trial and error attempts to attach to the correct dendrites. Each neuron has up to 10,000 axons so this is obviously a very complex network.

*Stem cell therapy is being researched to rescue damaged neurons. It is hoped to help with brain injuries. It has show to be effective in newly damaged mouse and human brain cells in-vitro (lab test tube). If this therapy is reproducible in humans,* If this stem cell therapy is reproducible, it appears that it would require the stem cell rescue therapy be applied in the first day or so after the concussion.

As most PCS symptoms are not evident during those first few days, it would be problematic to get a concussion sufferer this level of intensive and likely expensive treatment during the first days' window of opportunity.

This would also require an inventory of pluripotent stem cells sitting on the shelf ready for transplant.

This rescue therapy may be worthwhile for comatose head injury patients. The risk/benefit/cost ratio will be much better. I wonder if the steroids used to prevent brain swelling and the drugs that maintain coma are compatible with these stems cells? If there are open wounds and/or surgery issues, then antibiotics may also come into play. **

What does this mean to PCS sufferers?

Good question.

Most likely it means that stem cell therapies for PCS sufferers are improbable.

**

The simple need for the damaged neuron rescue type of stem cell therapy to take place while the damaged cells are still alive makes this therapeutic window very short.

The scientists had hoped that the stem cells would identify the surrounding cell's instructions and adapt to them, thus becoming the specialized neural cell needed at that specific location. When they discovered that this does not happen, they had to look to other ways to 'repair' damaged neuronal cells rather than 'grow' new neurons.

Maybe there will come a day when any head injury is immediately treated with a stem cell cocktail that can rescue the damaged cells.

This will mean that only the damaged cells can be repaired. The cells that have died or are beyond rescue will likely be lost permanently.

This still leaves some hope for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's since those diseases start with weakened and damaged cells. Hopefully, those cells can be rescued.

This brings to mind the philosophical question: Where does the soul and/or emotional mind reside? Is it limited in its ability to recover/grow/heal?

Oh. Well, that's really sad to hear.

Hopefully, knowing this will help people accept their current condition and learn to work with it. There are many things we can do to improve our lives without any miraculous healing.

There are very few things that I cannot get done one way or the other. These work-arounds and other accommodations allow me to have a high level of functioning. The struggles that persist have given me a new understanding of the day to day struggles of many people in our society.

Eddy, What are you biggest struggles? Maybe we can help you find ways of getting past these struggles. I think this is the strongest value of this forum.

Eddyshead

I would suggest you also do your own research on the subject as opinions differ among patients and professionals on the viability of stem cell treatment

Mark is presenting his interpretation of the results

others may interpret it differently

Oh, my biggest struggle is probably my goddamn vision. I mean, my memory and concentration is bad but I can practice that those. I've been trying to keep myself sharp with memory games and taking moments out of the day (every hour or so) to recall everything that occurred before then.

But my vision, not being able to read anything directly or pick up on details out of my center of vision. I use to draw, I use to be incredibly visual. Being limited to center of view is a little debilitating. The sensitivity to light is bothersome as well. Lately I've been going "screw it" and trying to operate around this blurry view. Maybe hoping that somehow this "exercise" will strengthen my vision. It probably won't, but it'll probably help me become more accommodated.