First Embryonic Stem Cell Treatment Tried on Spinal Cord Injury

By: Aina Hunter
Topics: News ,; Research

(AP)

(CBS/AP) A California bio-tech company has begun testing an embryonic stem-cell drug treatment on a patient with spinal cord injuries, marking the first time a drug made with embryonic stem cells has been used on a human.

The patient was enrolled at Shepherd Center, a spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation center in Atlanta.

In order to participate, the patient had to have been injured within the last two weeks. The company, Geron, hopes to enroll another eight to 10 patients in the study.

The stem-cell drug, known as GRNOPC, contains cells that turn into oligodendrocytes, a type of cell that produces myelin, a coating that allows impulses to move along nerves.

When those cells are lost because of injury, paralysis can follow. If GRNOPC1 works, the progenitor cells will produce new oligodendrocytes in the injured area of the patient's spine, potentially allowing for new movement.

Because this is an early stage study, researchers are primarily concerned with the safety of the treatment.

"When we started working with human embryonic stem cells in 1999, many predicted that it would be a number of decades before a cell therapy would be approved for human clinical trials," Dr. Thomas B. Okarma, president and chief executive officer of Geron said in a statement.

Embryonic stem cells have been at the center of funding controversies because the research involves destroying human embryos, which some have argued is akin to abortion.

But, many researchers consider embryonic stem cells the most versatile types of stem cells, as they can morph into any type of cell.

While a milestone in the technology, the drug is still a long way from being proven and reaching the market. It still faces many years of testing for effectiveness if all goes well in the early stage study.

For Patient Enrollment Information, click here.

Watch Dr. Jon LaPook's report on the CBS Evening News:

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by alpinto123 December 13, 2010 5:33 AM EST: Hi friends,
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by wheelie88 November 2, 2010 6:49 PM EDT: i'm a T3 imcomplete Paraplegic due to a road traffic accident and if they are serious about using embryo stem cells than maybe they should try and test it out when someone whose been injuried along time and not someone who just had there accident with in the month.

and if it did try out to be a cure than in history it would be a cure for the future and not a cure for people with spinal injuries we got now and afew years ago plus (sorry if i'm not making any sence).

all what i'm trying to say is that they should try and test it out on a order injury and they should try and mix adult and embryo together there might have abit more of a chance; Reply to this comment


by wtdoor82 October 12, 2010 4:07 PM EDT: Embryonic stem cell research is far behind NON-embryonic stem cell research in making use of the power of stem cells. Already (for more than six years) NON-embryonic stem cells -- taken from umbilical cord blood or bone marrow -- have healed or at least improved paraplegics' conditions to allow some to even walk:http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=18703; http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=19641; http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=19910; http://www.baptistpress.net/bpnews.asp?id=23011. Other conditions like Lupus, Kidney Diesease and Diabetes have been successfully treated with NON-embryonic stem cells, as well. NOW, other developments also have made embryonic stem cell research archaic (induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells): http://www.baptistpress.net/bpnews.asp?id=33802. UCLA researchers already have used NON-embryonic stem cells to REVERSE the effects of Parkinson's disease.; Reply to this comment


by Pavlove October 12, 2010 3:54 PM EDT: bmmg39
Your respect for "life" is admirable. However, where adult stemcells are limited in application, due to the fact that they have a fixed function, embryonic stemcells are raw material, which can "adapt" to many applications.
We might compare an adult stemmcell to a hammer, a very useful tool. But embryonic stemcells are just a lump of metal, from which we can shape a hammer, or pliers, or scissors, or a plow.
Thus while adult stemcells have a specific fixed function, embryonic stemsells have an unlimited potential for multiple uses.
As to the ethical considerations, an embryonic stemcell is NOT a hammer, it is is a lump of raw material from which a hammer may be formed.; Reply to this comment

by omnibus66 October 12, 2010 7:35 AM EDT

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" - Article 1

This phrase is generally interpreted to mean that we have freedom of religion, that the government will not interfere in our choice of what or who to worship.

But when one analyzes the commentary here, it is apparent that what we really need is freedom FROM religion. We need a Constitutional Amendment that will protect people from the political and economic consequences of religious zealots who are waging a never ending crusade to push their self righteous agenda on others.

Amen.

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by jeff-fla October 12, 2010 8:06 AM EDT: Thank you. I AGREE.


by thinkharder- October 12, 2010 9:03 AM EDT: Amen to that!


by mcg5312 October 12, 2010 3:26 AM EDT: What about using stem cells from babies that were actually born?? With parents consent... Or is that somehow contrued as abortion as well?; Reply to this comment

by jeff-fla October 11, 2010 11:38 PM EDT

I for one am excited. Diabetes is a *****. I really don't care if it comes from adult of embryo. I mean they are going to trash the cells, so why not use them. Either way there are destroyed. Why not save a life int he process.

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by bmmg39 October 11, 2010 11:52 PM EDT: If someone wanted to kill homeless people, and then gave you the "choice" of using their bodies for biomedical research or just throwing them into the river, would you find that a compelling reason to kill them?


by jeff-fla October 12, 2010 6:14 AM EDT: That is completely different. The embryonic stem cells are being flushed down the drain after the couple conceive a child. They are destroyed no matter how you look at it. Comparing that with killing a homeless person is just stupid.

by markenriquez71 October 11, 2010 11:29 PM EDT

If the embryonic stem cells will eventually be thrown out, why won't the religious people view these cells as being similar to organ donors? They are cells that can help people, religious people would rather they be thrown out?

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by bmmg39 October 11, 2010 11:33 PM EDT: First of all, get off this "religious people" nonsense. Plenty of non-religious people oppose ESCR. Secondly, we're not worried about "stem cells" being thrown out. The topic is the human embryo from whom those stem cells are derived. Thirdly, organ donors give their PERMISSION for their organs to be harvested and WE DON'T KILL THEM ON PURPOSE.


by bmmg39 October 11, 2010 11:17 PM EDT: So researchers are hoping they'll be able to treat spinal-cord injury patients with the use of embryonic stem cells, and some are acting as though this is unchartered territory -- even though paralysis patients are already being treated with the use of adult stem cells (albeit with far less media coverage).

In the spirit of "new discoveries" that really aren't, how appropriate is it that this was announced on Columbus Day?; Reply to this comment

by fedup12 October 11, 2010 11:10 PM EDT

How dare those libs try to advance medicine. DOESN'T EVERYONE KNOW that we have the best health-care system in the world and a regulatory environment to back it up????

The above statement was brought to you by Palin. The mavricky mama grizzly who is going rogue. And the party of catch phrases.

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