WASHINGTON – Doctors have injected millions of human embryonic stem cells into a patient partially paralyzed by a spinal cord injury, marking the beginning of the first carefully designed attempt to test the promising but controversial therapy, officials said yesterday.
This could be the beginning of something really exciting.
Although Geron eventually hopes to test the cells for many different medical problems, the first trial will involve 10 patients who were partially paralyzed by a spinal cord injury in the previous one to two weeks. Surgeons injected the first patient with about 2 million “oligodendrocyte progenitor cells,” created from embryonic stem cells, in the hopes they will form a restorative coating around the damaged spinal cord. In tests in hundreds of rats, partially paralyzed animals walked.
Of course there will be detractors from many sides, abortion protestors as well as morality protestors… but this could be the beginning of cures which currently don’t exist.
I’m hoping for success but in the event of failure I’m hoping we keep pushing against any uproar. Yes I’m a Republican and yes I am Pro-life but I am in favor of stem cell research in the US.
I think that partisan politics should not play a factor in how we allocate scientific funds. As someone who also tends towards the pro-life side philosophically anyway, I am disturbed by aspects of stem cell research, but what is more disturbing is throwing cells away, that could never become human life, instead of using them to cure actual human lives. That said, recent breakthroughs have lead to better stem cells coming from adult lines instead of embryonic lines. All avenues should be exhausted in the race for cures instead of partisan considerations dictating one over the other.
Apparently, joints can be triggered to rebuild bone and cartilage with the right kind of cells. So, yes, stay tuned.
<
p>It would be preferable to see the energies of society go towards taking care of one another, and the planet.
As jconway says, there is promising news from other forms of stem cells which may erase a large portion of the opposition (although we’ll still have some fringe protestors as is typical of any issue). Let’s keep research going on all avenues of stem cell usage including spinal injuries, arthritis, Parkinson’s…