International research team grows mini midbrains from human stem cells

줄기세포로 '인공 중뇌' 첫 개발…파킨슨병 비밀 풀리나?
An artificial version of the human mid-brain using stem cells.
It will allow for more extensive research and drug testing.
Park Jong-hong explains how the creation by an international team of researchers could have broad treatment implications... especially for degenerative disorders involving the motor system.

The breakthrough could eventually be life-altering news for patients of Parkinson's disease.
The leading degenerative disorder of the central nervous system is a condition stemming from the midbrain, which is in charge of motor functions that control auditory and eye movements, vision and body movements.
The midbrain contains special neurons that produce dopamine, and the disease develops when the number of neurons decreases.

With the breakthrough, scientists have created a miniature version of the midbrain, which they hope will shed light on exactly how Parkinson's evolves and lead to a cure for it and other aging-related brain diseases.
While miniature versions of the brain have been developed before, this one is the first of its kind.
It is a three-dimensional miniature with tissues that were grown in a laboratory using stem cells cultivated from human blood, and it can be used in a variety of drug tests instead of in experiments on actual patients.

The medical community is abuzz about the possibilities for research and treatment the breakthrough will have.
The joint study was conducted by an international team led by Professor Shawn Je from Duke-NUS Medical School and A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore.
Their findings were published this month in the Journal Cell Stem Cell.
Park Jong-hong Arirang News.

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