Thursday, September 27, 2007

The Hope Lies in Adult Stem Cell Research

While advocates of destructive embryonic stem cell research like to traffic in false hope without any proven research or facts to back them up, new research has found that the real hope may lie in bone marrow stem cells:
PrimeCellâ„¢ Therapeutics LLC announced that it provided research support and pre-clinical studies for a clinical trial that involved the implantation of autologous adult bone marrow stem cells into spinal cord injury (SCI) patients - resulting in some restored function for patients who have been paralyzed for an average of four years, some up to 22 years.

Dr. Luis Geffner presented a preliminary report on September 17 at the 2007 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in San Diego. From May 2006 to August 2007, 38 patients with SCI were treated at Luis Vernaza Hospital in Guayaquil, Ecuador. They were treated with autologous bone marrow stem cells - meaning the cells were extracted from the patients' own bone marrow, taken from the hip bone (iliac crests).

Of the 25 patients who provided more than three months and up to 14 months follow up: 15 gained the ability to stand up, 10 could walk on the parallels with braces, seven could walk without braces and five could walk with crutches. Three patients recovered full bladder control, and 10 patients regained some form of sexual function. No adverse events or abnormal reactions to implantation were observed.

(from Medical News Today)

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home