Stem cells from skin treat brain disease in rats

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Skin cells re-programmed to act like embryonic stem cells eased symptoms of Parkinson's disease in rats, researchers reported on Monday in a first step toward tailored treatments for people that bypass concerns about using human embryos.

The experiment suggests it may be possible to take a small sample of skin and turn it into a transplant perfectly matched to patients with Parkinson's and other diseases, the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

It also supports the usefulness of newly created cells that resemble powerful embryonic stem cells. The stem cell experts used so-called induced pluripotent stem cells, which are skin cells reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells.

"It's a proof of principle experiment that argues, yes, these cells may have the therapeutic promise that people ascribe to them," said Rudolf Jaenisch, a stem cell expert at the Whitehead Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Researchers have been trying to find ways to harness stem cells, the body's master cells, to treat patients with serious injuries, brain diseases and organ damage caused by conditions such as diabetes.

Stem cells taken from very early embryos appear to be the most malleable and the most powerful. But many people object to their use because the embryo usually must be destroyed to extract them.

Several teams have reported a way to re-program ordinary skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells by adding several genes. Jaenisch's team tested some of these cells in rats and mice. They first got such cells to take up residence in the brains of unborn mice.

REPLACING BRAIN CELLS