Stem-cell magic: despite controversy, research goes forward
July 01 2008 / by futuretalk / In association with Future Blogger.net
Category: Health & Medicine Year: General Rating: 6 Hot
By Dick Pelletier
Northwestern University’s Dr. Richard Burt has treated 170
patients with stem cells, and increasingly, others are following
his lead. There are now more than 1,000 stem-cell therapies in
early human trials around the world. 
The majority use cells from patients’ own bone marrow, but some also use cells from healthy adults, and last year the first patient was treated with embryonic cells, which have triggered debate in the U.S. After working its way out of science fiction, stem-cell therapies are finally becoming scientific fact.
Burt has treated patients with lupus, arthritis and a host of other disorders. He’s just written up the results of a stem-cell trial for type-1 diabetes. Three years after treatment, some patients now have normal blood sugar and do not require insulin. Trials for Lou Gehrig’s disease and autism are next.
The FDA is fast-tracking stem-cell therapy for leukemia which could hit the market later this year. And an approach that has helped congestive heart failure patients abroad is coming to America. Amit Patel, at the University of Pittsburgh, has injected 10 patients’ own stem cells into their hearts and has consulted on 2,000 similar operations worldwide. Stem cells help the heart by forming new blood vessels.
By the end of the next decade, researchers predict this wonder technology will create new heart muscle – and even a complete heart – but this may require the use of embryonic stem cells, which regulations currently deny government funding. (cont.)
However, doctors with private funding have quietly been experimenting with cells grown from fetal material. Biotech giant Geron has used the technique to prevent heart failure in mice, and it will petition the FDA for human trials next year. Before that, the company hopes to launch an embryo-derived stem cell trial to treat spinal-cord injuries.
By the time that trial starts, doctors will also have results from America’s first use of embryonic stem cells. Oregon doctors recently injected the more powerful cells into a child with a fatal neurodegenerative disorder, in hopes that a complete cure will be achieved.
Stem cells also promise to extend healthy life spans by repairing damage caused by aging. More than 100,000 people die every day and millions more suffer crippling effects of aging-related conditions. Many of these deaths will be eliminated with this new science.
Commerce drives this futuristic technology. Companies such as Geron, Advanced Tissue Sciences, Isolagen, and others are rushing to gain a share of an estimated $500-billion annual market. And the government wants to be involved. Officials realize that by promoting stem cell development, they create the next generation healthcare and help nurture a growing industry.
Past government initiatives such as SEMATECH helped grow the worldwide semiconductor industry from $8-billion to $170-billion with only $2-billion in government funding. Stem-cell therapies promise an even better payoff. The end result will lower the country’s $2-trillion healthcare bill and bring a much higher quality of life to every American.
For information on where specific trials are taking place, go to www.clinicaltrials.gov.
Stem-cell magic will help bridge many seniors and ‘boomers into the “roaring 20s”, where nanobots will roam through our bodies keeping us forever healthy and youthful on this incredible trip towards an amazing “magical future.”
