Spinal Cord Stem-Cell Treatments to Start Summer 2009
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
DNA
The first human trails of stem-cell treatments will start with a few patients who have paraplegia. My mother was a paraplegic and how I wish she could have been a part of this study.
A U.S. biotech company says it plans to start this summer the world’s first study of a treatment based on human embryonic stem cells — a long-awaited project aimed at spinal cord injury.
The company gained federal permission this week to inject eight to 10 patients with cells derived from embryonic cells, said Dr. Thomas Okarma, president and CEO of Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif.
The patients will be paraplegics, who can use their arms but can’t walk. They will receive a single injection within two weeks of their injury.
The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation has long been a proponent of stem-cell research for those with spinal cord injuries. They would have been delighted and excited to see the United States finally use the might of their scientific knowledge to combat devestating spinal cord injuries.
Animal studies suggest that once injected, the cells will mature and repair what is essentially a lack of insulation around damaged nerves, and also pump out substances that nerves need to function and grow.
Apart from assessing safety, investigators will hope to see some signs of improvement in the patient, Okarma said. The idea is “not to make somebody … get up and dance the next day,” he said, but rather to provide some level of ability that can be improved by physical therapy.
