First Ever Stem Cell Clinical Trial Begins

There has been a ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research since 2001 (thanks, Bush!). As I explained in this blog post a few months ago, stem cells are master cells that have the ability to transform themselves into other cell types, including those in the brain, heart, bones, muscles and skin. For this reason, stem cell therapy has the potential to cure a number of diseases and injuries such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and strokes.

In a surprising turn of events (hmmm..the same week as President Obama's inauguration--coincidence? Not likely.), the FDA announced that it will allow Geron, a U.S. biotech company, to start the world's first study of a treatment based on human embryonic stem cells — a long-awaited project aimed at spinal cord injury:

 

The cells will be injected into the spinal cord at the injury site 7 to 14 days after the injury occurs, because there is evidence the therapy will not work for much older injuries.

 

Geron’s therapy involves using various growth factors to turn embryonic stem cells into precursors of neural support cells called oligodendrocytes, which are then injected into the spinal cord..

 

The hope is that the injected cells will help repair the insulation, known as myelin, around nerve cells, restoring the ability of some nerve cells to carry signals. There is also some hope that growth factors produced by the injected cells will spur damaged nerve cells to regenerate.

 

The study is a so-called Phase I trial, aimed mainly at testing the safety of the therapy. There would still be years of testing and many hurdles to overcome before the treatment would become routinely available to patients.

 

It's a tragedy that this type of work has been banned for the last 8 years. So many people could have benefited. And for what? It's not like leftover embryos from in vitro fertilization (which is where the cells for this type of work are derived) aren't discarded after a few years anyway. We might as well put them to good use.