BRAIN CELL DISCOVERY OFFERS NEW HOPE

Scientists have successfully grown human brain cells in the laboratory for the first time and used them to repair the damaged brains of head-injury victims, according to The Australian.

The breakthrough brings new hope in the search for therapies not only for accident victims but also for those suffering the effects of strokes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other degenerative conditions. The scientists emphasize the research is experimental, but it suggests there may one day be hope for spinal injury victims such as the late Christopher Reeve, the Superman star paralysed in a riding accident who died last year.

In the initial experiments, a man given the cultured brain cells apparently regained the ability to walk. The research was carried out in China by Professor Zhu Jianhong, of Fudan University Hospital, who will announce the results of his work in London later this month.

"This is a world-first," said Professor Stephen Minger, director of the stem cell biology laboratory at the Wolfson Centre for age-related diseases at King's College London. "If the initial results prove accurate, this has huge implications for new treatments."