The Peninsula
Doha: Participants at a seminar on ‘Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine’ organised by Qatar University Biomedical Research Centre were taken through the basics of stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSc) technology, and the principles of genome editing techniques.
The seminar was presented by
Dr Hany El Sayed Marei, Professor and Project Manager at the centre, who provided a summary of his latest research relevant to the therapeutic potential of OBNSC-based therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury), and major impediments against their successful clinical translation.
He said there are two types of stem cells in the human body: The embryonic stem cells and the adult stem cells.
The embryonic stem cells are derived from the inner cell mass of five-six day-old human embryo whose cells are very active and have the ability to renew themselves, and produce over 200 types of cells that form the body.
According to him, the adult stem cells are in various organs of the body, and responsible for the renewal of damages cells/tissues when needed.
Dr Marei said the research team at the centre had succeeded in isolating the neural stem cells (NSC) from the olfactory bulb of human during brain surgery; growing NSC in lab by culturing them in specific media; genetically engineering the NSC to secrete nerve growth factor (which help in renewal of nervous and brain tissues); and developing animal (rat) model for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and spinal cord injury.
He said following transplantation of NSC into the brain of the animal models, the NSC had succeeded in surviving and proliferating and became specialised to renew different cell types forming the brain.
He said the outcome of stem cells research at the centre had provided strong evidence at the pre-clinical level (in animal model) for the possible use of NSC for cell-based therapy for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and spinal cord injury. Dr Marei said a critical issue is technological advancement that has permitted remarkable increase in human life expectancy and the percentage of the adult population surviving into old age.
“However, the extension of our lives has far outpaced our ability to maintain our minds as we age, and our rapidly aging population means we now face an impending wave of age-related neurodegenerative pathology.
“At the economic level, the cost of Alzheimer’s treatment and care in Qatar is not known exactly, but we can provide examples of the economic cost by examining the economic impact of the disease worldwide.”
According to World Alzheimer’s Report 2015, the number of dementia patients in each region in 2015 was: Europe 10.5 million, Americas 9.4 million, Africa four million and Asia 22.9 million. “With improvements in health care in Qatar and worldwide and the increased number of aged people, the economic impact of Alzheimer’s and other dementia is expected to rise significantly.
“This is a good justification to search for more effective therapies,” Dr Marei said. He said the current research at the centre about neural stem cells is expected to provide new biological products of high commercial value in the fields of neurobiology and biomedical research, including the generation of primary Qatari specific iPSC lines which could be used in drug testing and modelling of Alzheimer’s disease.
The Peninsula
Doha: Participants at a seminar on ‘Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine’ organised by Qatar University Biomedical Research Centre were taken through the basics of stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSc) technology, and the principles of genome editing techniques.
The seminar was presented by
Dr Hany El Sayed Marei, Professor and Project Manager at the centre, who provided a summary of his latest research relevant to the therapeutic potential of OBNSC-based therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury), and major impediments against their successful clinical translation.
He said there are two types of stem cells in the human body: The embryonic stem cells and the adult stem cells.
The embryonic stem cells are derived from the inner cell mass of five-six day-old human embryo whose cells are very active and have the ability to renew themselves, and produce over 200 types of cells that form the body.
According to him, the adult stem cells are in various organs of the body, and responsible for the renewal of damages cells/tissues when needed.
Dr Marei said the research team at the centre had succeeded in isolating the neural stem cells (NSC) from the olfactory bulb of human during brain surgery; growing NSC in lab by culturing them in specific media; genetically engineering the NSC to secrete nerve growth factor (which help in renewal of nervous and brain tissues); and developing animal (rat) model for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and spinal cord injury.
He said following transplantation of NSC into the brain of the animal models, the NSC had succeeded in surviving and proliferating and became specialised to renew different cell types forming the brain.
He said the outcome of stem cells research at the centre had provided strong evidence at the pre-clinical level (in animal model) for the possible use of NSC for cell-based therapy for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and spinal cord injury. Dr Marei said a critical issue is technological advancement that has permitted remarkable increase in human life expectancy and the percentage of the adult population surviving into old age.
“However, the extension of our lives has far outpaced our ability to maintain our minds as we age, and our rapidly aging population means we now face an impending wave of age-related neurodegenerative pathology.
“At the economic level, the cost of Alzheimer’s treatment and care in Qatar is not known exactly, but we can provide examples of the economic cost by examining the economic impact of the disease worldwide.”
According to World Alzheimer’s Report 2015, the number of dementia patients in each region in 2015 was: Europe 10.5 million, Americas 9.4 million, Africa four million and Asia 22.9 million. “With improvements in health care in Qatar and worldwide and the increased number of aged people, the economic impact of Alzheimer’s and other dementia is expected to rise significantly.
“This is a good justification to search for more effective therapies,” Dr Marei said. He said the current research at the centre about neural stem cells is expected to provide new biological products of high commercial value in the fields of neurobiology and biomedical research, including the generation of primary Qatari specific iPSC lines which could be used in drug testing and modelling of Alzheimer’s disease.
