(Source: HealthDay News) - Transformed cells could lead to better ways of testing drugs and treating Alzheimer's and other brain diseases.

Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes report that they have successfully transferred a gene called Sox2 into both mouse and human skin cells. Within days, the skin cells transformed into early-stage brain stem cells, called induced neural stem cells.

These cells began to self-renew and soon matured into neurons capable of transmitting electrical signals. Within a month, these new neurons developed into neural networks.

These transformed cells could provide better models for testing new drugs to treat Alzheimer's and other brain diseases, the researchers said.

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