Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

A mouse experiment suggested familial Alzheimer's disease may be transmitted through bone marrow stem cells, but the implications of the findings were limited. The research involved transplanting bone marrow stem cells from mice engineered to carry a familial Alzheimer's disease mutation into healthy mice, which led to "rapid development of Alzheimer's disease pathological hallmarks," reported Wilfred Jefferies, DPhil, of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and co-authors. "These pathological features were significantly accelerated and emerged within 6-9 months post transplantation and included compromised blood-brain barrier integrity, heightened cerebral vascular neoangiogenesis, elevated brain-associated -amyloid levels, and cognitive impairment," Jefferies and colleagues wrote in Stem Cell Reports. Continue reading →