Restore

New cell transplantation technique restores insulin production in diabetics

Researchers are using a new cell transplantation technique to restore the cells that produce insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes. The method is minimally invasive, with few complications. The study was presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). "We used ultrasound guidance to inject donor cells into the portal vein of diabetic patients,...

Cyberkinetics, Case to develop system to help restore extremity function

Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc., Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland FES Center today announced that they have been awarded a five-year, $4.4 million contract from the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR), a component of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). According to the contract, Cyberkinetics will receive up t...

UF scientists restore sight to chickens with blinding disease

University of Florida scientists have delivered a gene through an eggshell to give sight to a type of chicken normally born blind. "We were able to restore function to the photore...

Neurons grown from embryonic stem cells restore function in paralyzed rats

For the first time, researchers have enticed transplants of embryonic stem cell-derived motor neurons in the spinal cord to connect with muscles and partially restore function in paralyzed animals. The study suggests that similar techniques may be useful for treating such disorders as spinal cord injury, transverse myelitis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and spinal muscular atrophy. The st...

Spinal cord bridge bypasses injury to restore mobility

The body's spinal cord is like a super highway of nerves. When an injury occurs, the body's policing defenses put up a roadblock in the form of a scar to prevent further injury, but it stops all neural traffic from moving forward. Researchers from Case Western Reserve University, Drexel University and the University of Arkansas bypassed this roadblock in the spinal cord. First, the re...

Bone marrow may restore cells lost in vision diseases

University of Florida scientists conducting experiments with mice have found evidence that the body naturally replenishes small amounts of cells in the eye essential for healthy vision. The finding may shatter the belief that a cell layer vital for eyesight called the retinal pigment epithelium, or RPE, is a nonrenewable resource, say researchers writing in a recent issue of Investigative...

Light-sensitive photoswitches could restore sight to those with macular degeneration

A research center newly created by the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) aims to put light-sensitive switches in the body's cells that can be flipped on and off as easily as a remote control operates a TV. Optical switches like these could trigger a chemical reaction, initiate a muscle contraction, activate a drug or stimulate a nerve cell...

Early HIV treatment fails to restore memory T cells

Most of the body’s memory T cells vanish within weeks after a person is infected with the HIV virus. In a study from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and the Bernard-Nocht Institute appearing in the international open-access journal PLoS Medicine, researchers report that these memory T cells, mostly found in the digestive tract, tend not to return to normal even after years of treatment for...

Transplanted photoreceptor precursor cells restore visual function in mice with retinal degeneration

Scientists have successfully transplanted light-sensing cells called photoreceptors directly into the eyes of mice and restored their visual function. The achievement is based on a novel technology in which the cells are introduced at a particular stage in their development. It was carried out at the London Institute of Ophthalmology using a novel approach developed at the University of...

Stem cells decrease ischemic injury and restore brain function

This is the impressive result of a study carried out by a group of researchers coordinated by Dr. Maria Grazia De Simoni of the Mario Negri Institute in Milan, Italy in cooperation with the Istituto Neurologico Besta (Milan) and the University of Lausanne. The study appears in the April 18th issue of the international, peer-reviewed, open-access online journal of the Public Library of Science, PL...

Robotic therapy helps restore hand use after stroke

A robotic therapy device may help people regain strength and normal use of affected hands long after a stroke, according to a University of California, Irvine study. Stroke patients with impaired hand use reported improved ability to grasp and release objects after therapy sessions using the Hand-Wrist Assisting Robotic Device (HOWARD). Each patient had at least moderate residual weakne...

Human stem cell treatment restores motor function in paralyzed rats

Rats paralyzed due to loss of blood flow to the spine returned to near normal ambulatory function six weeks after receiving grafts of human spinal stem cells (hSSCs), researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine report. The study, led by Martin Marsala, M.D., UC San Diego professor of anesthesiology, is published in the June 29, 2007 issue of the journal N...