Stem cell therapy poised to come in from the cold

[n2doc]

Dec. 4, 2011 (Reuters) — A rogue surgeon injects stem cells from a fetus into a sick man's brain. The cells morph and form body parts. When the man dies, the pathologist finds cartilage, skin and bone clumped in his brain.


The scene is not from a horror movie; it happened to Max Truex, a former Olympic runner who suffered from Parkinson's disease. The case sent a chill through the scientific community when it came to light 15 years ago and typifies some of the hurdles researchers have faced while trying to bring stem cell therapies to the market.

Now, it appears, their efforts are closer than ever to paying off.

Dozens of adult stem cell treatments are moving through clinical trials and showing early success, raising hopes that some could reach the market within five years.

"It will only take a few successes to really change the field," said Gil Van Bokkelen, chief executive of Athersys Inc and chairman of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine. "As you see things getting closer and closer to that tipping point, you're going to see a frenzy of activity take place."

Many of the trials focus on heart disease and inflammatory conditions, some of the biggest markets in medicine. The cells used are derived from adult tissue such as fat, or bone marrow, thereby circumventing the ethical concerns raised by the use of cells derived from embryos.

more

http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre7b30fh-us-insight-stem-cell-therapy/

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[MineralMan]

2. That's one of the big concerns with using pluripotent stem cells.

There's still a lot that's poorly understood about how they will react to implantation. It's a very short distance from a functional and therapeutic outcome and the growth of tumor-like masses that don't fit the desired parameters.