Posted on 02/27/2007 3:02:18 PM PST by Salman
U.S. scientists have created a technique to encourage adult stem cell survival and growth -- a step that might lead to the therapeutic use of such cells.
Adult stem cells are precursor cells for specific cell types and hold great promise for treatment of injuries and diseases.
A team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists, led by biological engineering Professor Linda Griffith, has shown that when presented in the right physical context, certain growth factors encourage the survival and proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells grown outside the body.
Griffith says the research offers hope that one day stem cells removed from a patient could be transplanted to an injury site and induced to grow into new, healthy tissue.
The study was described online in the journal Stem Cells.
Michael Foxx shakes his self with disgust, only dead babies will satisfy his disease!
MIT bioengineer advances survival, promise of adult stem cells
"I'm very optimistic about the potential for adult stem cells to be useful clinically for the problems I work on, since there are already some clinical successes based on these cells" she said. "Continuing, careful, methodical work will lead to improved therapies based on adult stem cells. We are aiming to expand the range of therapies that work in the clinic."Griffith is one of several MIT biological engineering faculty members who work with adult stem cells but not human embryonic stem cells.
Griffith is also one among many scientists around the world who have at least some objections to creation of human embryonic stem cells, for a variety of reasons. She says her current focus on adult stem cells is driven largely by the interesting science and the feasibility for near-term clinical use for the types of cells she investigates. However, she also avoids research with human embryonic stem cells following a personal experience with in vitro fertilization almost 10 years ago.
"Like some other scientists I know, my personal views about creating human ES cell lines changed when confronted with the reality of doing so from my own embryos. After this experience, I was not comfortable conducting human ES cell research myself, and I have a better understanding of why some scientists object to all work with human ES cells," she said. She also said she feels her personal views, and those of others, are respected in the scientific community. Currently, federally funded research is only allowed on certain established lines of embryonic stem cells, although a few states, including California and Connecticut, offer state funding for broader embryonic stem cell research. There are no legal restrictions on funding to study adult stem cells.
Griffith's recent work was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
Reminds me of the South Park episode with Christopher Reeve.
I thought he had Parkinson's ;-)
This sounds promising. If true, it could permanently discredit the embryonic stem cell argument. Not to mention saving lives.
Ping!
Bump
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