Teeth to Brain

A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide have discovered that stem cells from the teeth can be grown to resemble brain cells. This discovery could revolutionise the treatment of serious disorders such as brain stroke.

Researchers who conducted the experiment used dental pulp stem cells from mice and found out that it has been developed to form a complex network of brain–like cells. Scientists said that they would prefer using a patient’s stem cell for the tailored treatment of brain stroke as such cells would not be rejected by a patient’s body. The best advantage of a cell therapy is that it may be made available as a treatment option for months or even years after the stroke has occurred.

Comparatively, the brain stroke victims have limited treatment options that can save them. Stem cells from the teeth are undifferentiated biological cells that can be transformed into specialized cells types, aid tissue regeneration and provides cardiovascular disease and blood disease treatment. Although the cells developed by the scientists are not completely neuronal cells, they share similar properties of the brain cells and even form complicated networks that communicate through simple electrical activity.