To What Degree Can Cell Therapies Rebuild the Aging Brain?

Repair of the aging brain is perhaps the most important of goals in regenerative medicine. We are the data that is stored in some way within the small-scale structures of our brain tissue, and so the options for outright replacement of brain cells and tissues are somewhat constrained. As a thought experiment, it is in principle possible, given significant progress in biotechnology, to manufacture a cloned body to receive a transplanted brain. All of the steps needed either already happen in nature, such as the growth of bodies without brains, and would need control and direction, or have been crudely demonstrated in animal studies, such as brain transplants, albeit with major limitations and risk of failure. There may well be little gain in transplanting an aged brain if it cannot be repaired, however. In any case, my view is that major surgery involving replacement parts will not be a primary focus for the future of medicine. Instead, increasing control over cells and cell signaling will lead to rejuvenation through either restoration and repair of native cells or, where that is impractical, the delivery of youthful cells to replenish stem cell populations. It is an interesting question as how far one might be able to go with this type of approach for the aging brain. Much of the brain, while vital, is uninvolved directly in the storage of the data of the mind. It might be considered simply a less accessible and more difficult target for regeneration in comparison to ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs