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U.S. Doctors Seek to Reverse Stroke Damage in Brain.

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said on Wednesday they will transplant brain cells in stroke patients in the world's first attempt to reverse damage from the disorder.

The experimental technique involves the use of engineered human neurons or brain cells. But doctors cautioned that the procedure, previously tested on rats, is experimental and will require more research to determine its safety and effectiveness.

The brain cells will be transplanted in 12 stroke patients over the next several months by a series of injections. The first patient, a 62 year-old woman with stroke-induced paralysis, received injections last week.

``This procedure offers a very important new treatment for people who have had strokes,'' Lawrence Wechsler, director of the medical center's stroke institute, told a news conference.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, such as by a blockage in an artery. Brain cells die as a result and the damage is irreparable.

Doug Kondziolka, professor of neurological surgery at the Pittsburgh medical center, told reporters that the patients receiving the injections are between 40 and 75 years old and have had stroke damage for at least six months.

Each patient will receive three injections in the brain region and be closely monitored for several months. He said there are risks, including the potential that some patients could reject the neurons or experience bleeding or swelling. ``But we are hopeful,'' he said. ``This procedure gives us hope.''

Rachelle Trujillo, spokeswoman for the National Stroke Association, said researchers at the non-profit organization were feeling ``hesitant excitement'' about the research.

``It's certainly promising,'' she said. ``They are at the beginning stages so it's not something we would anticipate happening too soon. But it's encouraging.''

The Pittsburgh surgeons will use cells developed by neurobiologists at the University of Pennsylvania. Researchers there took cells from a human cancer tumor and used retinoic acid to make them non-cancerous and develop into neurons.

The neurons were then injected into rats who had artificially induced strokes, said Paul Sanberg, chair of neuroscience at the University of South Florida, who collaborated in the research.

``Recovery was identified after a few months,'' Sanberg said via telephone. ``Of course, we won't know what will happen in people until the patients are treated. We were putting human cells in animals. Now we are putting human cells in humans.''

Stroke, which can strike at any age, is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of serious long-term disability in the United States, according to the medical center. There are approximately 700,000 new stroke patients in the United States every year.

Because there is no cure, treatment has been limited to taking preventive measures with stroke-prone people and medical intervention within the first few hours of a stroke to limit damage.  
 

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