LOCAL scientists found neuron from embryonic stem cells can help to erase post-traumatic stress disorder after being transplanted into the brains of adult mice. The discovery offers a new possibility of treatment for people suffering PTSD.

The current therapy for such people is psychological treatment and medication, with neither showing effective results, and mental symptoms often return after therapy is discontinued.

The research was published by the journal Neuron last Friday.

The amygdalae, two almond-shaped groups of nuclei in the brain, plays the key role in processing “terror memory” data. After receiving strong stimulation, amygdala remains active.

“So we started to think whether terror memory can reduce and be erased after we prohibit the amygdala, whose plasticity drops along with age,” said Yu Yongchun, leader of the research team. “That’s why children are more likely to forget terror memory than adults.”

About 80 percent of adults experience at least one traumatic event in their life and 5 to 10 percent of them will suffer PTSD.

Patients usually have strong depression and anxiety and nearly always have other problems such as chronic pain, cardiovascular disease, drug abuse and often addiction to tobacco, alcohol and drugs.

In the laboratory, scientists transplanted inhibitory neuron from embryonic mice stem cells into the amygdala area of adult mice and found these young neuron can rejuvenate adult mice amygdala and recall its function to erase terror memory.