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% 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. “Clearly, not all human astrocytes are equal when it comes to promoting repair of the injured central nervous system”, said Dr. Stephen Davies of the Department of Neurosurgery in the University of Colorado.

To move forward with this discovery, scientists will need to next try out the transplanting method of human astrocytes in cases involving different types of injuries in animals before moving to human testing.