BEIJING, Feb.
16 (Xinhuanet) -- Scientists have discovered that the human brain can
manufacture fresh brain cells which may lead to a better way to treat brain
damage and disease like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and stroke,according to media
reports Friday.
Neuroscientists from Auckland University and Carlsson
Institute for Neuroscience in Sweden found a cell pathway through which the
adult brain may repair itself. The report will be published as the cover story
next week in the journal "Science."
These cells are born in one part of the brain and
then migrate to the olfactory bulb, where smells are processed. They mature into
neurons on the way.
Scientists have known that other animals, such as
rats and mice, make new brain cells throughout their lives and there had been
indirect evidence that humans beings could also.
Since humans have far more developed brains,
searching for these cells has been harder than it was in rodents.
The Auckland-Sweden collaboration was the first to
trace the path of the human "neurogenesis motorway".
"The excitement from this pathway is if we can try
and develop an understanding of what makes these cells multiply and travel - if
we could enhance this to help people who have brain cells die." Auckland
University's Professor Richard Faull, one of the leaders of the eight-year study
said.
He said that what they want to find now is a way to
redirect the path of new cells to areas where cells are damaged or have died due
to neurological diseases.
(Agencies)
