New Treatments Methods for TBI Brain Works Corner – November 2015

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Cell Transplantation October 29, 2015 – a research team from the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the Veterans Administration Maryland Healthcare System has successfully directed human neural progenitor cells (hNPCS) to injured brain areas.

What in the world is a human neural progenitor cell?! “A progenitor cell is a biological cell that, like a stem cell, has a tendency to change into a specific type of cell, but is already more specific than a stem cell and is pushed to change into its "target" cell. The most important difference between stem cells and progenitor cells is that stem cells can replicate indefinitely, whereas progenitor cells can divide only a limited number of times. Controversy about the exact definition remains and the concept is still evolving.

How are they guiding these cells? Magnets! They attach iron-oxide to the cells and then guide them to injured areas using a magnetic field. This form of guiding cells allows for the increased ability to direct the cells to areas of the brain that have been injured as well as allowing the cells to be retained.

There Are Still Questions This is not ready to be tested on humans! But it is a huge step in potentially treating TBI! At this point they need to determine: – What happens after the magnetic field is removed? Will the cells stay and continue to repair the injured areas? – What are the limits of these cells? Would they potentially have problems if a stronger magnetic field were to be introduced? Do you need to be careful where you go? – What is the minimum length of time that the magnetic field must be in place to allow successful cell transplantation?