What are olfactory ensheathing glial cells?
The brain has 2 types of cells — neurons and glial cells or glia. A neuron is the microscopic structural unit of the nervous system, and consists of a nerve cell and its processes. There are thousands of different neurons, each specific for their job. There are fewer types of glia. Neurons cannot reproduce: when they are destroyed, they are not replaced. In contrast, glial cells can divide and multiply. Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) are a class of glia. Unlike other cells in the nervous system, these unique glial cells are continually regenerated throughout life by the olfactory mucosa, the nasal tissue responsible for the sense of smell. The olfactory nerve ensheathing cells help nerves grow from the nose to the brain and are the only glial cells that can exist both within and outside the central nervous system. The Griffith scientists are recognised as the first in the world to focus on the nose, rather than the brain, as a source of the glia for transplantation in spinal cord i
