13 April 2010: Sydney, Australia & Auckland, New Zealand. Living Cell Technologies Limited (ASX: LCT; OTCQX: LVCLY), a global company pioneering the development of cell implants, is pleased to announce that its publication on the use of encapsulated choroid plexus cells has been highlighted as one of the best articles published by the Journal of Neural Engineering in 2009. It is included in a collection that the publisher has made accessible free to read until 31 December 2010 at http://herald.iop.org/jnehighlights/m320/zea/319831/link/3322.
In October 2009, the journal published LCT’s paper titled “Encapsulated living choroid plexus cells: potential long-term treatments for central nervous system disease and trauma” which shows that long-lasting therapeutic implants of NTCELL may be used to treat brain disease. NTCELL comprises encapsulated porcine cells of the choroid plexus of the brain. The cells release growth factors and neurotrophins, which are a range of agents that protect and maintain the health of brain cells. NTCELL was designed to protect brain cells from disease and injury and to enhance the natural repair mechanisms in the brain.
The porcine choroid plexus cells are encapsulated in a seaweed-derived gel. The encapsulation protects the cells from rejection by the immune system allowing implantation without the need for toxic anti-rejection drugs. The publication reports new experimental data indicating that the choroid plexus cells release neuroprotective agents including antioxidants and growth supporting factors.
The implanted cells were still alive when retrieved 6 months after implantation into the brain in animals. The report adds to LCT’s previously published and presented data on the beneficial effects of NTCELL implants in animal models of Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, stroke and hearing loss caused by degeneration of the auditory nerve.
The Journal selected the articles for inclusion in the Collection on the basis of having received the highest praise from international referees and the greatest numbers of downloads from the Journal’s website.
