Stem Cell Research and the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases

In this open access review paper, the authors make a case for more human trials in the development of stem cell therapies to treat neurodegenerative diseases. An abundance of caution and heavy regulatory burden drives greater use of animal studies than is perhaps merited given the safety data derived from the first of those studies, which in turn leads to high cost and a high rate of failure in development. A more rapid move to human trials after proving safety in animals is one possible solution to this problem. Another is for large improvements in the quality and cost of on-demand growth of small brain tissue sections that exhibit specific disease characteristics, but even then it is still important to transition to human trials sooner after safety is proven rather than later. Progress in the field of clinical research and medicine has decreased global mortality drastically. The developed countries have extended the life span of their aging population. However, the modern world is now faced with the issues of aging and age related disorders. Neurodegeneration and neurodegenerative disorders are one of the major health implications faced by the aging population. Neurodegenerative disorders have been thoroughly investigated using animal models, primary cultures, and post mortem human brain tissues. Though informative, these approaches have some limitations. Data obtained from animal models fails to directly correlate with that of humans because a rodent brain is not ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs