Add brain cells, remove seizures

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in reversing a condition that causes seizures in mice by transplanting progenitor cells into the brain. The finding, reported in this week's linkurl:__Cell Stem Cell,__;http://www.cellstemcell.com/content/article/abstract?uid=PIIS1934590908001331 has important implications for treating a class of childhood diseases marked by myelin insufficiency. "These are spectacular results," said Ian Duncan at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who was not involved in the study. "I like to think we've done pretty good work," said Duncan, who had been working on similar studies, "but this looks like normal brain," with no obvious lack of myelination, he said. Myelin, produced by glial cells, insulates nerve axons and aids the conduction of the nerve impulses. Children with congenital childhood diseases of myelin insufficiency, such as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease and some forms of cerebral palsy, can experience life-threatening linkurl:seizures;http://www.the-scientist.com/2008/5/1/23/1/ and other neurological disorders. For years, Steven Goldman's group at the University of Rochester...