TEHRAN, Oct. 21 (MNA) � Iranian researchers form Amirkabir University using a type of polymer and carbon nanotubes have offered a nontoxic method for differentiating bone marrow cells into nerve cells for treating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer�s.


Maryam Mehdizadeh, the project manager, told Mehr News that in the study carbon nanotubes were coated with poly-epsilon-caprolactone (PCL), a type of biodegradable�polymers, and grown vertically and organized on silicon layers through the process of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).

She noted that the aim of the project was to produce neurons, adding �in diseases such as Alzheimer�s, neurons are destroyed so we were looking for ways to reproduce and replace these cells from the person�s own body.�

Mehdizadeh added that bone marrow cells were used in the study, saying �bone marrow cells are easly available�and cost-efficient. They can also be differentiated into other cells. By using methods and chemical factors under 48 hours we were able to differentiate the bone marrow cells into neurons.�

According to Mehdizadeh, the method, once developed, can be used to replace damaged neurons in patients suffering from neurological diseases and further in treating the Alzheimer�s disease.

By Mehr News Agency