Researchers turn urine into research tools
Now, researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have developed a breakthrough technique to harvest cells directly from urine, and grow them into durable, clinically relevant stem cells to study Down syndrome. The non-invasive technique, described in the journal STEM CELLS Translational Medicine , helps creates urgently needed research models for Down syndrome, and can also be used to model other neurologic conditions. "For the first time, we were able to create induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSPs, of persons with Down syndrome by cells obtained from urine samples," said Alberto Costa, MD, PhD, study lead and professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "Our methods represent a significant improvement in iPSC technology, and should be an important step toward the development of human cell-based platforms that can be used to test new medications designed to improve the quality of life of pe...