Injection of Certain Fetal Cells Found to Repair Brain Damage in Rats

British scientists say they have been able to repair damaged brains in rats by injecting them with a type of fetal brain cells called neuroepithelial stem cells, a finding that could eventually benefit victims of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. A team from Maudsley Hospital in London reported in the journal Neuroscience that the stem cells, when injected into rat brains, migrated to the damage site and took over the function of the damaged cells.

The technique is particularly promising, they said, because large numbers of brain cells could be grown in the laboratory from just a few donor cells. Humans trials could begin in three years, they said.