Dr Eilís Dowd, Galway Neuroscience Centre and CÚRAM, NUI Galway pictured in her laboratory. Photo courtesy of Ishka Films’ from Feats of Modest Valour documentary
The foundation- which is named after the famous ‘Back to the Future’ actor who suffers from Parkinson’s – is awarding 300-thousand US Dollars to the university to develop an approach to brain repair for the disease.
Parkinson’s is a condition that primarily affects a person’s ability to control movement and is caused by the death of brain cells.
Brain repair for Parkinson’s involves transplanting healthy cells back into the brain but so far, transplanted cells have not been surviving well.
However, a research team at NUI Galway, led by Dr Eilís Dowd, has developed a supportive gel for the transplanted cells – which dramatically improves their survival.
Dr Dowd says the next step will be to see if the supportive gel the team has developed can also improve the survival of adult stem cells.
Written by GBFM News
