Stem Cell Transplants - On The Horizon: Improving Memory Understanding Age Related Memory Loss
Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
Stem-cell transplants
Several research groups around the country are experimenting with ways to use stem cells, which are immature cells, to treat impaired brain function. The idea is to restore damaged brain functions by implanting the cells into the brains of individuals who have suffered brain damage from disease or injury.
Preliminary findings on the use of stem cells in treating Parkinson's disease have been mixed. It's too early to tell whether stem-cell transplantation will be a safe and effective method for improving memory and other mental functions. The greatest value of stem cells may turn out to be not as a direct treatment for complex and diffuse diseases such as Alzheimer's, but rather as laboratory tools to explore basic questions regarding disease biology and the development of new drugs.
| Last updated: | January 23, 2007 |
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Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.
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