CBS NEWS TONiTE--Johnson Center has injected the first human with embrionic stem cells to repair the myelin sheath--with FDA APPROVAL--the initial testing is for newly injured subjects (7-14 days)and it is expected that results will show within two months. The Dr is highly optimistic. A second type of stem cell will be used for patients that have had the condition for months and even years. I have this recoded on my DVR==contact is John Center.com
On Mon, Oct 11, 2010 at 12:31 PM, Akua <[email protected]> wrote: > > > http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/11/first-human-injected-in-human-embryonic-stem-cell-trial/?hpt=T2 > > First human injected in human embryonic stem cell trial > > "After years of animal trials, the first human has been injected with cells > from human embryonic stem cells, according to Geron Corporation, the company > which is sponsoring the controversial study. > > "This is the first human embryonic stem cell trial in the world," Geron CEO > Dr. Thomas Okarma tells CNN. > > Geron is releasing very few details about the patient, but will say that > the first person to receive cells derived from human embryonic stem cells > was enrolled in the FDA-approved clinical trial at the Shepherd Center, a > spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. > This person was injected with the cells on Friday. > > The FDA first approved this clinical trial in January 2009, but later > required further research before the study could proceed. The FDA gave final > approval in July of this year. This allowed the company to begin searching > for the first patients who might qualify for this phase 1 clinical trial, > which means scientists are trying to determine the safety of introducing > these cells into a human. > > To be eligible, patients have to have suffered what's called a complete > thoracic spinal cord injury, which means no movement below the chest. While > patients can still move their arms and breathe on their own, they are > complete paraplegics; they have no bowel or bladder control and can't move > their legs, Okarma explains. > > The injury to the spinal cord would have to have occurred between the third > and tenth thoracic vertebrae and the patient has to be injected with the > stem cell therapy, called GRNOPC1, within seven to 14 days after the injury. > "At the time of the injection, they [the cells] are programmed to make a > new spinal cord - they insulate the damage [to the spinal cord]," says > Okarma. The cells work just like they would if they were in the womb and > building a spine in a fetus, Okarma explains. > > Embryonic stem cells are only four to five days old and have the ability to > turn into any cell in the body. But the cells that the patient receives > aren't pure human embryonic stem cells anymore. The cells in the GRNOPC1 > therapy have been coaxed into becoming early myelinated glial cells, a type > of cell that insulates nerve cells. > > "For every cell we inject, they become six to 10 cells in a few months," > says Okarma. These cells can still divide some but will not become any type > of cell other than glial cells, he explains. > > The Geron CEO likens what these cells are doing to repairing a large > electrical cable. If the outer layer is damaged and the wire is exposed, it > causes a short-circuit and the cable doesn't work anymore. In the case of a > spinal cord injury, these new stem-cell derived glial cells creep in between > all the fibers and rewrap the nerve with myelin, which is like patching the > cable. The goal is to permanently repair the damage that caused the > paralysis from the spinal cord injury. > > "We're not treating symptoms here - we're permanently regenerating > tissue," says Okarma. > > He adds that the goal of this stem cell therapy is to shift the outcome for > someone who has just suffered a serious spinal cord injury, and go from a > place where there's no hope for improvement to a situation where they can > respond to physical therapy. "If we could do that, this would be a > spectacular result," Okarma says." > > > MORE at site > -- > >
