Study reveals insight into stem cell treatments for brain injury

New research has shed light on the processes through which stem cell therapy can be used to treat traumatic brain injuries.

Studies from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have assessed animal test models to identify molecular mechanisms used by implanted neural stem cells to aid recovery from traumatic axonal injury.

Typically, axonal injuries involve the filaments extending from the bodies of the neurons being damaged, but implanted stem cells can help to prevent this damage and promote axonal regrowth.

Ping Wu, a professor at the university and the lead author of the research paper, said the research into rat brains has offered "highly novel" discoveries into protein processes that could be hugely important in the future.

"This kind of detailed study is essential to developing safe and effective therapies for traumatic brain injury," he added.

Last year, an international study led by Harvard University made a breakthrough with neuron transplant research suggesting that more areas of the brain could be reparable than previously thought.