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April 29, 2004
Brain Stem Cells Created From Bone Marrow
This is big news. But due to politics surrounding stem cell research won't get the play it deserves...
Researchers have found a way to create brain stem cells from bone marrow cells. These brain stem cells could someday be used to restore the brain from the damage caused by Huntington's Disease, or at least help protect it.
Why this is big news (a clip from the article)...
"Still, cells derived from a patient's own bone marrow would provide a way around certain medical and moral issues.
Tissue transplants sourced from other than the patient's own body can be rejected by the body's immune system, Saporta pointed out. Suppressing this immune response with powerful drugs "is very, very onerous therapy, it's really hard on the individual and the system," he said. "If you can find a way of minimizing the amount of immunosuppression you have to do -- or not have to do any at all --- that's the ideal situation."
Stem cells derived from bone marrow stromal cells also avoid moral and legal issues surrounding embryonic stem cells. "Bone marrow donations are done all the time, there are thousands done every day in the United States," Saporta said. "There's not the ethical issue here of obtaining stem cells from an embryo."
Caveats abound...read the full article for more details
Posted by Dave at April 29, 2004 04:22 PM
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