New universal donor stem cell therapy to treat degenerative brain diseases

By Sejal Sharma – Interesting Engineering

The researchers believe that this therapy could one day be applied to children with fatal brain conditions.

Demyelinating diseases, one of the most debilitating diseases in neurology, are caused by damage to the protective covers surrounding our nerve fibers in the brain. These protective coverings are called myelin.

In a study published in Advanced Science, scientists have claimed to develop universal donor stem cells that could help in the restoration of myelin in demyelinated brains.

Of the many demyelinating diseases, the study provides a therapeutic candidate for the Canavan disease (CD). It is a severe, progressive genetic disease that has no cure.

In a first-of-its-kind study, the researchers engineered the stem cells to become universal donors for cell therapy, which would help target diseases of the central nervous system.

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