Human embryonic stem cells have for a long time been a very touchy subject. Now they are in the spotlight once again as they make history by finally getting the go ahead to be tested on human beings.
Geron, a biotech shop centered around stem cells, announced on January 23 that it got the FDA approval to begin a small test on patients who have recently suffered spinal cord injuries.
President Bush had restrictions put on federal funding for stem cell research, although Geron’s research was never affected by these restrictions. The WSJ said that the timing of the FDA approval was merely coincidental, according to the FDA and the company. Barack Obama has recently pledged to reverse President Bush’s restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research.
Embryonic stem cells can change into any type of cell in the body. In this study, researchers will feed a stem cell-based therapy into the spinal cords of spinal injury patients who have recent and severe injuries.
This therapy is created to produce new myelin, which is the protective sheath covering nerve cells. This sheath or myelin is frequently injured in spinal cord injuries. An earlier study concluded that the paralyzed rats that received the treatment within days of their injury produced new myelin, which enhanced their ability to walk more than the placebo treated rats.
Important to mention is the fact that this is going to be a very introductory study that contains no more than 10 patients and is produced mainly to find out if the treatment will be safe.
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