Laboratory of Neural Repair and Regeneration

Currently, Japan is facing a rapid super-aging society, and the accompanying increase in the number of people requiring nursing care has become a serious social issue. In order for the elderly to live healthy and independent lives, it is necessary to provide fundamental treatments for ischemic cerebrovascular disease and the dementia that accompanies it. Laboratory of Neural Repair and Regeneration was established in 2005 with the aim of establishing universal treatments for these diseases that aim to recover from neurological deficits through nerve regeneration.

This research division is not limited to basic research such as the search for bioenvironmental factors related to brain tissue regeneration and adult tissue stem cells, but also aims to realize regenerative medicine by applying neuroregenerative medicine, and is conducting translational research to quickly translate the results of basic research into clinical applications. Specifically, we are working on basic research to isolate endogenous stem cells that are specifically induced during pathological conditions such as cerebral infarction, and to apply them to cell therapy, as well as on drug development research to promote stem cell activation through industry-academia collaboration projects.

We are also actively working to elucidate the mechanisms of neural regeneration in central nervous diseases other than cerebral infarction, and our research to date has revealed that endogenous stem cells are induced even in demyelinating neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis. In the future, we aim to apply these endogenous stem cells clinically and develop new neural regeneration therapies, thereby realizing the treatment of not only cerebrovascular disorders and dementia, but also intractable brain diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, ultimately.