BRAINCAKEDamaged Nerves
Neurones in the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) have very limited ability to regenerate after injury or disease. Damage is usually permanent, which is why stem cells are an attractive possibility.
Conditions
• Spinal cord injury: axons are cut, so impulses cannot pass below the injury, causing paralysis.
• Multiple sclerosis: the immune system damages the myelin sheath around axons, slowing or blocking impulses.
• Parkinson's disease: loss of neurones that secrete dopamine.
• Stroke: neurones die when their blood supply is cut off.
How stem cells could help
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Key terms in this lesson
- myelin sheath
- An insulating layer of Schwann cell membrane wrapped around an axon that speeds up nerve impulse conduction.
- axon
- A long, thin extension of a neurone that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body.
- glial cell
- A cell that supports and insulates neurones in the nervous system without itself carrying nerve impulses.
More in Gene Expression
- Pitfalls of Stem Cell Therapy
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
- Diseases that Could Be Treated
- Type I Diabetes
- Organs for Transplants
- Stem Cell Success
- Ethical Questions
- Using Embryonic Stem Cells
All 39 lessons in Gene Expression · All Edexcel A-level Biology topics