University of Adelaide researchers have discovered that stem cells found in teeth could be used to restore brain function to stroke sufferers.

Dr Kylie Ellis’ study, published in the journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy, has shown the potential for stem cells isolated from teeth to form neural networks that could be used in brain therapy.

‘For someone who has suffered a stroke, this can mean the difference between being able to move a limb or speak intelligibly. It could be pretty major’, says Dr Ellis.

Ellis explains that current stroke therapy is limited to short-term treatment that re-opens blood flow to the brain.

‘Drug treatments have to be administered within hours of the attack and realistically people don’t have access within that time frame’

With 65% of stroke survivors left with cognitive impairment after treatment, the team are excited by the potential of the discovery to extend this time limit and provide a restorative chronic treatment.

“This might be available to someone a couple of years down the track who hasn’t fully recovered from a stroke and this could help to re-instate the movement and cognitive abilities of that individual”

The team have taken dental stem cells from mice and developed them to the point of immature neuronal networks that look and feel like brain cells. This tells Dr Ellis that they are the right cells to influence the brain environment and encourage it to repair itself.

“We were very excited very early on to see them change so quickly from stem cells to cells that resemble those that we saw in the brain”, recalls Dr Ellis.

Taking adult cells from teeth means that Dr Ellis’ team avoids the ethical problems common to using embryonic stem cells. Isolating a patient’s tooth cells could be the first instance of tailor-made stem cell therapy which avoids the risk of rejection by the damaged organ.

“There is reason to believe they [dental pulp cells] don’t lose their potency with age so it’s very viable that we use an adult’s own stem cells for their treatment”, says Dr Ellis.

The team is now comparing different ways to develop these tooth stem cells into fully functioning brain cells and how long the time window after a stroke will be in order to give an effective treatment with these cells.

“All going to plan, we could see this in clinical trials within the next 5 years”

The study is a step towards the University of Adelaide’s Stroke Research Program’s goal to use stem cells to repair stroke damaged brains. The project began with the discovery of Dental Pulp Stem Cells in 2000 and has been followed by studies on rodents beginning in 2009. Dr Ellis suggests the potential for this work extends to a range of brain disorders such as traumatic brain injury and also Parkinson’s disease.

“The potential of it just excites me. These cells could open up a new mode of treatment that we haven’t seen before really.”

The University of Adelaide’s stroke research is funded by the Peter Couche Foundation, Mr Couche himself a stroke victim diagnosed with paralysis from Locked-in Syndrome.