Medical breakthroughs are routinely touted in the media, whether they are actual breakthroughs or promising, potential information. Rarely are the ethical choices noted regarding use, or development, of the research.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation reversed neuromyelitis optica. Five years following transplantation, only 2 of twelve patients had relapsed.
Although in the past their regenerative/reparative capacity was ignored, misunderstood, or even maligned, a rapidly growing host of clinical applications are being developed, and the clinical utility of adult stem cells is increasingly validated in the literature.
A multi-institutional research team led by Indiana University School of Medicine scientists has developed a new way to harvest blood stem cells for bone marrow donation that is faster and more effective than the current standard of care—a finding that could make the donation process easier on donors and therefore help increase the number of people willing to donate stem cells for this life-saving procedure.
Stem cells have the ability to duplicate and develop into various kinds of cells within the body, such as skin, bone, tissue, etc., and researchers believe stem cells can be used to repair damage in the body. In some scleroderma patients, stem cell transplants appear to reset autoimmunity.
Jason Dragoo’s Stanford University research team gets 100 to 200 inquiries every day from people interested in joining its clinical trial studying the use of stem cells to treat knee injuries. The interest highlights a growing demand for the use of stem cells derived from a person’s own bone marrow or fat to treat orthopedic injuries. Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease where the protective tissue or cartilage around a joint wears down, is a particular focus of inquiry. See more at Wall Street Journal.