Two human volunteers in the United States were given embryonic stem cells. The treatment eased a degenerative form of blindness without showing any adverse effects, a peer-reviewed study published January 23, 2012, in The Lancet states. About 50,000 embryonic stem cells, which had become replacement cells for the pigmented layer of the retina were given to two volunteer recipients. One was in her seventies, the other in her fifties, and both had severe macular problems.
For six weeks both received drugs to blunt immune response. At the end of the test, there were no negative results, and both achieved slight improvement in vision, though this was not the purpose of the experiment.
This first-stage test was designed to check whether the treatment was safe; it had been announced earlier by Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) Inc., a Massachusetts biotechnology firm.
Embryonic stem cells are particularly versatile cells that are found in early-stage embryos. These cells can mature as specialized tissue for any use in the body.
The positive outcome in the United States opened the way to the first trials in Europe, which began on Monday.
Biologically, a problem with stem cells arises when they are rejected by the body through immune response or cause cancer. ACT used stem cells in the eye, where immune response is muted due to the blood-ocular barrier.
Clinical trials of novel drugs or treatments typically undergo a three-phase process, enrolling a progressively larger number of patients, to make sure they are firstly safe and, secondly, effective.
For the next test, twelve patients with Stargart’s macular dystrophy will undergo stem cell transplants, consisting of higher and higher doses of cells, at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
Moral conservatives, who contend that stem cells are human life, hold a view which has slowed experimentation in this area.
Summarized from:
http://news.yahoo.com/study-confirms-groundbreaking-advance-stem-cells-200110348.html
For six weeks both received drugs to blunt immune response. At the end of the test, there were no negative results, and both achieved slight improvement in vision, though this was not the purpose of the experiment.
This first-stage test was designed to check whether the treatment was safe; it had been announced earlier by Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) Inc., a Massachusetts biotechnology firm.
Embryonic stem cells are particularly versatile cells that are found in early-stage embryos. These cells can mature as specialized tissue for any use in the body.
The positive outcome in the United States opened the way to the first trials in Europe, which began on Monday.
Biologically, a problem with stem cells arises when they are rejected by the body through immune response or cause cancer. ACT used stem cells in the eye, where immune response is muted due to the blood-ocular barrier.
Clinical trials of novel drugs or treatments typically undergo a three-phase process, enrolling a progressively larger number of patients, to make sure they are firstly safe and, secondly, effective.
For the next test, twelve patients with Stargart’s macular dystrophy will undergo stem cell transplants, consisting of higher and higher doses of cells, at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
Moral conservatives, who contend that stem cells are human life, hold a view which has slowed experimentation in this area.
Summarized from:
http://news.yahoo.com/study-confirms-groundbreaking-advance-stem-cells-200110348.html
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