stemceller's Journal: AIDS interferes with stem cells in the brain

A prominent problem in AIDS is a form of dementia that robs one's ability to concentrate and perform normal movements. Scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered how HIV/AIDS disrupts the normal replication of stem cells in the adult brain, preventing new nerve cells from forming. Drs. Stuart Lipton, Marcus Kaul, Shu-ichi Okamoto and their colleagues uncovered a novel molecular mechanism that inhibits stem cell proliferation and that could possibly be triggered in other neurodegenerative diseases as well. These findings were made available to medical researchers today through priority publication online by the journal Cell Stem Cell.