Could your brain repair itself? - Ralitsa Petrova

Translator: Hekim Atay Reviewer: Mehmet Sıddık Dilek

Imagine the brain could reboot,

Bifikirin ku, em dikarin mejiyê xwe dema ku xera dibe

updating its withered and damaged cells with new, improved units.

nûjen bikin, tamîr bikin...

dibêjî qey pevxistina zanistî ye.

That may sound like science fiction,

but it's a potential reality scientists are investigating right now.

Lê lêkolînên zanistî vê niha piştrast dikin.

Will our brains one day be able to self-repair?

Gelo rojekî mejiyê me dê xwe nû bike?

It's well known that embryonic cells in our young developing brains

Baş tê zanîn ku

hûcreyên embrîyonîk, noronên nû çêdikin.

produce new neurons,

the microscopic units that make up the brain's tissue.

Mejî bi van noronan çêdibe.

Those newly generated neurons migrate to various parts of the developing brain,

Ev noron, diçin cihên cûda yên mejî

making it self-organize into different structures.

û mejî organîze dikin.

Heta vê rojê,

But until recently,

zanist li nexweşiya Alzheîmer, Parkînson

scientists thought cell production came to an abrupt halt soon after this initial growth,

û şehtê (felc) dinihêrtin,

leading them to conclude that neurological diseases,

û digot qey piştê çêbûna mêjî,

like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's,

and damaging events, like strokes, are irreversible.

êdî mejî nikare xwe tamîr bike.

But a series of recent discoveries

Lê hat dîtin ku,

has revealed that adult brains actually do continue to produce new cells

di sê beşên mejî de,

çêkirina noronan nû berdewam dike.

in at least three specialized locations.

This process, known as neurogenesis,

Ji vê re norojenez tê gotin.

involves dedicated brain cells, called neural stem cells

Norojenez, çêkirina hûcreyên noron ên stem

and progenitor cells,

û nûjenkirina noronên kevn e.

which manufacture new neurons or replace the old ones.

Norojenez di sê beşên mejî de heye

The three regions where neurogenesis has been discovered

are the dentate gyrus, associated with learning and memory,

Beşa hînbûn û hişî, peywendîdare bi fêrbûn û bîrkirnê

the subventricular zone, which may supply neurons to the olfactory bulb

Beşa supraventîkûler, ku têkilîya mejî û poz çêdike.

for communication between the nose and brain,

Strîatûma alîkar, ku tevgerê pêk tîne.

and the striatum, which helps manage movement.

Scientists don't yet have a good grasp on exactly what role

Zanist hê jî negihîştine; norojenez,

neurogenesis plays in any of these regions,

di van sê beşan çawa çêdibe,

or why they have this ability that's absent from the rest of the brain,

û çima cîhên din ên mejî de çênabe.

but the mere presence of a mechanism to grown new neurons in the adult brain

Lê ev noronên nû geş dibin,

opens up an amazing possibility.

îhtimalên nû derdixin holê.

Could we harness that mechanism to get the brain to heal its scars

Ev metodâ ku ji bo tamîra çermê me

û hestiyekî şikestî çêdibe,

similar to how new skin grows to patch up a wound,

or a broken bone stitches itself back together?

gelo ji bo mejî jî pêkan e?

So here's where we stand.

Ev der girîng e.

Certain proteins and other small molecules that mimick those proteins

Ji bo ku noronên stem û mak-hûcre

can be administered to the brain

di her sê beşên mejî de

to make neural stem cells and progenitor cells

ji nû ve çêbibin, dibe ku

produce more neurons in those three locations.

hin proteîn wek îlaç bi kêr werin.

This technique still needs improvement

Divê ev teknolojî e hê jî pêşkeve çunkî

so that the cells reproduce more efficiently

divê zêdetir hûcre çê bibin û

and more cells survive.

zindîtiya wan behtir bidome.

But research shows that progenitor cells from these areas

Gorî lêkolînan, mak-hûcre

can actually migrate to places where injury has occurred

derbasî beşên mejî yên din dibin

and give rise to new neurons there.

û di wan deran de noronên nû çêdikin.

And another promising possible approach

Teoriyeke din jî heye,

is to transplant healthy human neural stem cells,

Di laboratorê de noronên saxlem çêkin,

which are cultured in a laboratory, to injured tissue,

û bi noronên ziyandîtî re wan veguhezînin.

like we can do with skin.

Zanistvanan ceribandind,

Scientists are currently experimenting

to determine whether transplanted donor cells can divide, differentiate

hûcreyên xêrxwazan dikarin xwe dabeşînin, biguherînin,

and successfully give rise to new neurons in a damaged brain.

û dikarin di cihên zirardîtî yên mêjî de noronên nû çêkin.

Zanistvan têgihiştin ku,

They've also discovered

hûcreyên wek astrosît û olîgodendrosît

that we might be able to teach other kinds of brain cells,

such as astrocytes or oligodendrocytes

mîna hûcreyên stem tevdigerin,

to behave like neural stem cells and start generating neurons, too.

û noronan çêdikin.

So, a couple of decades from now will our brains be able to self-repair?

Piştê çend salan mejiyê me dê bikare xwe nû bike?

We can't say for sure,

ne misoger e.

but that has become one of the major goals of regenerative medicine.

Lê ev yek armanca bijîşkiya rejeneratîf e.

Mejiyê mirovekî xwedî 100 mîlyar noronan e,

The human brain has 100 billion neurons

and we're still figuring out the wiring behind this huge biological motherboard.

û em hê jî li ser mekanîzmaya mejî lêkolîn dikin.

But everyday, research on neurogenesis brings us closer to that reboot switch.

Lê lêkolînên norojenez, me nêzikî çareseriyê dikin.