Brain Stem Cells killed by Space Radiation

A lot of the concepts surrounding that of anti-aging first involves protecting and conserving what the body has left to the best of your ability and secondly attempting to regenerate and increase the number of functionally productive living cells in the desired tissues and organs.

In a previous blog entry, I described a face cream by Dior (Capture) which promises to protect and nourish the remaining stem cells one has left in wrinkled skin. If you are a frequent long-haul air traveller (Richard Quest please take note), you might wish to give a small thought to this rather esoteric but possibly significant research study -which was conducted by the researchers at Cold Spring Harbor, Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Kennedy Space Center and the University of Florida- published the the Journal of Experimental Neurology.

For those of us who spend enough time in the airplane and feel that we could have reached Mars and back, we might wish to consider plausible types of protection for the stem cells in our brain responsible for learning and memory.

In the preparative research for the proposed next NASA project to put a man on Mars, scientists conducted an experiment with mice where a single dose of radiation was administered considered to be equivalent to the amount an astronaut might be exposed to during a 3 year space voyage to Mars and back. What they found was that the radiation particularly affected the stem cells in the region of the hippocampus.


"We are going to have to rethink our understanding of stem cell susceptibility to radiation, including cosmic radiation encountered during space travel, as well as radiation doses that accompany different medical procedures," said Professor Dennis Steindler of the University of Florida, co-investigator of the study.


WHAT IS COSMIC RADIATION AND IS IT SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT?

Well, this really depends on how much long haul, high altitude flying you get to do as part of your job. Air crew and presumably flight military will be subjected to the highest amounts of exposure. Background cosmic radiation at ground level have been established at 2-3 mSv (microSievert) which is considered natural exposure. In the plane, higher altitudes reduces the protective layers in the atmosphere which shield most of the cosmic radiation and thus cosmic radiation exposure is increased. If you'd like to have an indication of cosmic radiation levels during flight, have a look at this table on the WHO site. (Note: if you're flying the A380 long distance at 43,000 feet, you'll need to double the figures up by 2)

As a result of this, aircrew are now monitored and their time tables adjusted accordingly to ensure that they do not exceed the recommended dose. The WHO and the UK Department for Transport also does not recommend pregnant air stewardesses to work on flights due to the exposure to the unborn child.

Or we can live near the equator where cosmic radiation is reduced by half.



HOW CAN WE PROTECT OUR STEM CELLS FROM COSMIC RADIATION?

Come to think of it, maybe those Imperial Stormtroopers might have been wearing reasonable looking outfits for the fight and flights through space to protect their cells. Ridiculous as it may have been (note that Luke and Leia never wore any type of helmet or protective outfit) astronauts going out on a space walk have to put up with much more cumbersome outfits due to the numerous protective layers.

A CHALLENGE FOR SPACE BIOENGINEERS AND PHYSICISTS

NASA engineering scientists are working on new materials and polymers which confer more protection and estimate that a new spacesuit which will be worn by the super-fit astronauts on Mars will be as light as 21 Kg and comprise of 12 different layers.

Better shielding on spacecrafts are also on the way (using water as an absorbent material) and hopefully, some of this technology will also filter down for use in commercial flights so that we can reduce our cancer risk (bad enough already) and retain as many hippocampal stem cells as possible.

As for the rest of us who are already losing our memory and learning capabilities due to cosmic radiation, we'll have to see about how to potentially replace and regenerate new stem cells along the way without resorting to NASA designed storm trooper outfits when we board the A380 from Singapore to London or New York.

Program on Stem Cell Therapy for Joint and Bone Diseases

It's now 8:34 pm and I'm wishing that I could catch the program on Channel News Asia right now, except that I can't get it here in KL. The program is named the "Medical Touch" and features some interesting degenerative joint conditions and how stem cell therapy can help. If you're able to catch it, I'd appreciate your feedback on the program.


The Medical Touch
Episode 11
The Medical Touch drills down on degenerative bone diseases to uncover the bare bones about joint pains, myths shrouding an emerging silent killer and the promise of stem cell therapy. Osteoporosis starts decades before onset. So do the opportunities to prevent and reverse it. Bone up on how to keep yours strong and wise up on why you should not take your skeleton for granted.

Update on Ryan Schnieder- Cord Blood Stem Cells for Cerebral Palsy

Anyone remember Ryan Schneider and his active mum Mary? I mentioned them in a very early blog entry and recently found an update on Ryan's condition in an interview with his mother, posted on their website promoting new treatments for children with neurobiological conditions. I also learned from the article that Mary is working to pass a bill promoting cord blood banking and advocating stem cell research.

The pictures of the family are very nice and Ryan does look like a happy and healthy child. I took an excerpt from the interview which I thought would be of interest to those parents who are considering storing their babies' cord blood stem cells. Mary explains why storing and using your own child's cord blood stem cells is the best option.


Question to Mary Schneider:
What do you say to other special-needs parents who want to know how they can try this same procedure for their children?

Answer:
At this point only children with cerebral palsy or similar brain injury, and who have their own cord blood banked at birth are candidates for this treatment.

In order to receive donated umbilical cord blood stem cells, a patient currently has to go through chemotherapy like that endured by cancer patients. Chemotherapy is likely to do significant harm to children, and so is not an option for children with stable neurological conditions like Ryan’s. So it has to be the patient’s own cord blood banked at birth, and not a sibling or other donated stem cells.

To date, seven more children have seen Dr. Kurtzberg. Their issues are all different (as a parent might imagine) and their results vary based upon their previous level of impairment and the viability of the stem cells used.

The common thread is that each child has seen some kind of improvement. Ryan’s results are more than I had hoped for, yet for all the other children there has been a quality of life change on some level. Some of the major improvements parents have reported are in the areas of strength and mobility in both upper and lower body; feeding and gastrointestinal issues; reduction or elimination of seizure activity; body temperature regulation; speech; tactile defensive issues and visual tracking abilities.





WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?

Often rather difficult to define depending on which part of the brain is damaged, but here are a few that I found online.

Causes before birth:
Infections of the mother while she is pregnant. These include German measles and shingles (herpes zoster).
Differences between the blood of mother and child (Rh incompatibility).
Problems of the mother, such as diabetes or toxemia of pregnancy.
Inherited. This is rare, but there is a 'familial spastic paraplegia'.
No cause can be found in about 30% of the children.

Causes around the time of birth:
Lack of oxygen (air) at birth. The baby does not breathe soon enough and becomes blue and limp. In some areas, misuse of hormones (oxytocics) to speed up birth narrows the blood vessels in the womb so much that the baby does not get enough oxygen. The baby is born blue and limp-with brain damage.
Birth injuries from difficult births. These are mostly large babies of mothers who are small or very young. The baby's head may be pushed out of shape, blood vessels torn, and the brain damaged.
Prematurity. Babies born before 9 months and who weigh under 2 kilos (5 pounds) are much more likely to have cerebral palsy. In rich countries, over half the cases of cerebral palsy happen in babies that are born early.

Causes after birth:
Very high fever due to infection or dehydration (water loss from diarrhea). It is more common in bottle-fed babies.
Brain infections (meningitis, encephalitis). There are many causes, including malaria and tuberculosis.
Head injuries.
Lack of oxygen from drowning, gas poisoning, or other causes.
Poisoning from lead glazes on pottery, pesticides sprayed on crops, and other poisons.
Bleeding or blood clots in the brain, often from unknown cause.
Brain tumors. These cause progressive brain damage in which the signs are similar to cerebral palsy but steadily get worse.



Well done Mary for tirelessly bringing stem cell application to the front of everyone's minds and reminding them that the patient should always be first and never to fear a logical next step even though it may be new.