Major Breakthroughs In Stem Cell Research
Y 2014 was watershed year for stem cell research with a number of breakthroughs that could lead to new treatments for everything from Lou Gehrig’s disease to heart disorders in the years ahead.
These developments have been accelerated by the discovery that adult cells can be returned to an almost embryo-equivalent state.
In a huge step forward, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in collaboration with researchers from Japan, discovered a way of changing adult stem cells back to their original embryonic state by exposing them to low oxygen and acidic environments.
The findings may lead to the creation of embryonic stem cells specific to each individual without the use of embryonic stem cells , which is controversial, or the need for genetic manipulation.
Stem cells possess the potential to grow into a number of different cell types. This offers the hope in the field of regenerative medicine of creating new tissues or even whole organs.
In other breakthroughs
Scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri used stem cells to convert human skin cells directly into brain cells and others at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston succeeded in growing human lungs in the laboratory.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison used stem cells to regrow amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) nerve cells to discover what may be the origins of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Israel’s BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics said final results from a clinical trial of its adult stem cell treatment for ALS, called NurOwn were positive, with most patients showing a slowing in the disease’s progression.
BrainStorm is now conducting clinical trials at 3 sites in the United States, the studies could fast-track approval for wider use of the therapy in the year ahead.
The trial protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact details are listed at the following link:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT02017912?term=nurown+stemcell&rank=1.
The UMass team is led by Professor Robert H. Brown, MD, DPhil., Chair of the Neurological Department. Professor Brown is a leading expert in neuromuscular genetics and is world renowned for his expertise in ALS.
The MGH team is by Prof. Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSc, an expert in clinical trial design and therapy development for neurodegenerative diseases. She co-chairs the Northeast ALS consortium and directs the MGH Neurological Clinical Research Institute (NCRI).
The Mayo Clinic team is led by Professor Anthony J. Windebank, MD, Head of the Regenerative Neurobiology Laboratory in the Department of Neurology. Prof. Windebank specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with diseases of the peripheral nervous system and spinal cord.
Stay tuned…
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
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