Human astrocyte cells, the major support cells in the central nervous system, have been found to help repair spinal injury, according to a new study.

Scientists at the University Of Colorado School Of Medicine and the University Of Rochester Medical Center have found an effective way to restore locomotors function through repairing a damaged nervous system with a type of astrocyte cell found in the brain and spinal cord.

The research indicated that transplanting stem cells wasn't nearly as effective as creating and modifying a specific type of cell before transplanting them.

The team created two types of human astrocytes and transplanted them into rats.

One type of astrocyte, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), gave as much as a 70 per cent increase in the protection of neurons in the spinal cord in rats with spinal cord injuries than the other type of astrocyte, ciliary neurotic factor (CNFT).


The study is different from any other research ever conducted in that it showed that even though cells are derived from the exact same group of original cells, they can have completely different effects when it comes to use and treatment.

Chris Proschel, PhD, lead study author and assistant professor of Genetics at the University of Rochester Medical Center says, "We've shown in previous research that the right types of rat astrocytes are beneficial, but this study brings it up to the human level, which is a huge step.

"What's really striking is the robustness of the effect. Scientists have claimed repair of spinal cord injuries in rats before, but the benefits have been variable and rarely as strong as what we've seen with our transplants."

he study is unique, says Stephen Davies, PhD, first author and associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, because it showed that astrocytes derived from the same human cell precursors have entirely different functions and produced different results for repairing injured spinal cords.

The researchers say transplanting stem cells directly into the spinal cord and hoping that they will be useful, may not be the best approach-- something they found when they tried it on the rats.

Instead, they isolated human glial precursor cells then exposed them to two different signalling molecules, that encouraged the cells to differentiate into BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) or CNTF (ciliary neurotrophic factor).

When scientists transplanted the BMP human astrocytes, they found significant improvement in the injured rats' movement, measured by their ability to cross a ladder-like track. "Clearly, not all human astrocytes are equal when it comes to promoting repair of the central nervous system," Davies said.


The BMP astrocytes provided the most benefits for protecting injured neurons in the spinal cord.

Jeanette Davies, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and co-lead author of the study explains, "It is estimated that astrocytes make up the vast majority of all cell types in the human brain and spinal cord, and provide multiple different types of support to neurons and other cells of the central nervous system. "These multiple functions are likely to all be contributing to the ability of the right human astrocytes to repair the injured spinal cord."

The study is promising for treating patients with spinal cord injuries.

Jason Huang, MD, associate professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Chief of Neurosurgery at Highland Hospital notes the significant clinical implications of the findings.

Modifying human astrocytes that are the major support cells in the central nervous system boosted protection of spinal cord neurons 70 per cent compared to using undifferentiated astrocytes, allowing rats with spinal cord injury to regain movement.

The next step say the scientists is to test the effect of transplanted astrocytes derived from human stem cells in more complex models of severe early and late spinal cord injury.

Cheating is widespread at British varsities, including the prestigious Oxford University, with over 17,000 incidents being recorded during the academic year 2009-2010 , a survey has revealed.

The survey of more than 80 universities has found that academic misconduct is soaring at institutions across the UK, with thousands of students caught plagiarising, trying to bribe lecturers and buying essays from the internet.

However, only a handful of students were expelled for their misdemeanours, the survey found.

Greenwich University recorded the largest number of cheating incidents overall, with 916, compared with 540 in 2005-06 ; Sheffield Hallam had the second largest number with 801 last year, more than 500 of which were for plagiarism.

Loughborough University reported 151 incidents last year of which 43 were committed by postgraduates while East London University said that among its 733 cases of cheating last year there were 612 of plagiarism.

Oxford University reported 12 cases of academic misconduct , including plagiarism, last year and in two cases students were expelled, while others were marked down. The university fined one student for taking revision notes into an exam.

The university fined one student 100 pounds for taking revision notes into an examination and imposed other fines for talking in an examination and taking cell telephones into the examination hall, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

A new study, led by University of Melbourne, has shown that how well our brain functions is largely based on our family's genetic makeup.

The study provides the first evidence of a genetic effect on how 'cost-efficient' our brain network wiring is, shedding light on some of the brain's make up.

Lead author Dr Alex Fornito from the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Melbourne said the findings have important implications for understanding why some people are better able to perform certain tasks than others and the genetic basis of mental illnesses and some neurological diseases.

"The brain tries to maximise its bang-for-buck by striking a balance between making more connections to promote efficient communication and minimising the "cost" or amount of wiring required to make these connections. Our findings indicate that this balance, called 'cost-efficiency', has a strong genetic basis."

"Ultimately, this research may help us uncover which specific genes are important in explaining differences in cognitive abilities, risk for mental illness and neurological diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, leading to new gene-based therapies for these disorders."

"Although genes play a major role in brain function, the environment and other factors contribute to when things go wrong in cases of mental illness and other brain disorders," he said.

The research team, which included scientists at the Universities of Queensland and Cambridge, UK compared the brain scans of 38 identical and 26 non-identical twins from the Australian Twin Registry.

Using new techniques, the researchers were able to construct detailed maps of each person's brain network and measured the cost-efficiency of network connections for the entire brain, as well as for specific brain regions.

"We found that people differed greatly in terms of how cost-efficient the functioning of their brain networks were, and that over half of these differences could be explained by genes," said Fornito.

Across the entire brain, more than half (60%) of the differences between people could be explained by genes. Some of the strongest effects were observed for regions of the prefrontal cortex which play a vital role in planning, strategic thinking, decision-making and memory.

The study has been published in the international publication The Journal of Neuroscience.

A new research revealed that the number of men with depressive disorder could go up as the century progresses.

Study author Boadie Dunlop of Emory University in the US stated, "Compared to women, many men attach a great importance to their roles as providers and protectors of their families."

"Failure to fulfil the role of breadwinner is associated with greater depression and marital conflict," Dunlop added.

The new study indicated that since the beginning of the downturn in the year 2007, about 75% of the jobs lost in the United States were held by men.

In contrast, women are progressively turning the primary household money makers with 22% of wives making more than their hubbies in 2007, against only 4% during 1970.

Unfortunately, there is small reason for anyone to consider that customary male jobs will return in significant numbers with the recovery in economic system.

In addition, biological as well as sociological differences in males and females may make it more difficult for men to be incorporated in the role of primary care provider to young kids than most females.

Dunlop said, "Men in the changing economy will face the same risks for depression that women faced in older economies: trapped in a family role from which they cannot escape because of an inability to find employment."

Lastly, the societal hope of males to be harsh, stoic and concealing their emotions is being considerably eroded.

The data came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006 (NHANES), which is a program of studies aimed at assessing the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the U.S.

The study participants underwent blood tests measuring levels of Immunoglobulin E(IgE), a protein that is produced when the immune system responds to allergens.

Researchers say their findings don't prove that insufficient vitamin D causes allergies in children and adolescents, but strongly suggests that young people should get adequate amounts of the vitamin.

"The latest dietary recommendations calling for children to take in 600 IU of vitamin D daily should keep them from becoming vitamin D deficient," researcher Michal Melamed, MD, MHS, of the Albert Einstein College Medicine of Yeshiva University, says in a news release.

The study says vitamin D is thought to have anti-inflammatory effects in the body.

The researchers note that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is increasing in the U.S., and so is the prevalence of food allergies.

The study is published in the Feb. 17 online edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.