A group led by a University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health scientist has discovered a type of spinal cord cell that could function as a stem cell, with the ability to regenerate portions of the central nervous system in people with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease).
The radial glial cells, which are marked by long projections that can forge through brain tissue, had never previously been found in an adult spinal cord. Radial glia, which are instrumental in building the brain and spinal cord during an organism's embryonic phase, vastly outnumber other potential stem cells in the spinal cord and are much more accessible. Their findings were published online in PLoS One.... Read More - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseact ... ageid/1826