An Update on Ethical Stem-Cell Research

Details: 07 September 2012

It has been some time since I’ve written about human stem cell research. I’m pleased to report that research and treatments with ethical "adult" stem cells continue to advance at an impressive rate. Conversely, there is comparatively little research success and no human treatments with unethical human embryonic stem cells.

The Nebraska Coalition for Ethical Research is a statewide advocate for ethical biomedical research. As part of its public advocacy for ethical research, the Coalition distributes a regular e-mail update on the advances of ethical stem cell research. In its latest update are the following advances:

FDA Approves Spinal-Cord Injury Therapy

Using Patient’s Own Cells

National Right to Life News Today, August 12, 2012 ABC News’s Susan Donaldson James reported yesterday that the FDA has approved a phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety of transplanting human Schwann cells to treat patients with paralysis-the first such trial in the world.

According to Dr. David Prentice, an expert on stem cells, "Schwann cells are ‘nurse’ cells in the body, acting as a sheath around large nerves to protect and nurture them," he said. In the trial, patients will have some of their Schwann cells removed by a biopsy procedure from a nerve in their leg.

"Those cells will be grown in number and purified in the lab over a period of weeks before being transplanted into the site of spinal cord injury to stimulate repair of spinal cord damage," Dr. Prentice explained. While this is primarily a safety trial, "there is the hope that the Schwann cells will also stimulate repair of the spinal cord," Dr. Prentice said.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Barth Green, co-founder and chairman of The Miami Project, which does yeoman work in publicizing spinal cord injuries and seeking a cure said, "We believe today’s announcement is just as important to our field as man’s first step on the moon was to the space program." ABC News reported that "eight patients with acute spinal-cord injuries, or those within one month of paralysis, will be injected with their own Schwann cells as scientists at the University of Miami Medical Center monitor them for side effects."

Adult Stem Cell From Liposuction Create Blood Vessels

CBS42.com July 26, 2012 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) Millions of patients affected by cardiovascular disease need small-diameter blood vessel grafts to help route their blood around blocked arteries. Now, researchers have created a new way to grow healthy, new small-diameter blood vessels from adult stem cells extracted during liposuction.

These blood vessels are grown in a lab and could solve large problems associated with grafting blood vessels elsewhere in the body, or from using artificial blood vessels that aren’t living tissue.

More Success With Adult Stem Cells

Charlie Butts (OneNewsNow.com) Tuesday, July 31, 2012 3:04 PM Adult stem cells, the type that do not require killing a human being, are showing promise in treating hearing loss in children. Dr. David Prentice of the Family Research Council explains that the technique, which uses the adult stem cells saved from the blood of a baby’s umbilical cord, is successful so far, based on Food and Drug Administration-approved research.

"The idea is to repair hearing loss -- not amplify noise, as most treatments do, not try and just do some reparative thing, but actually repair the hearing system in these young kids," Prentice notes. The first trial of the study is using children up to 18 months whose hearing loss was acquired through an accident or illness. Dr. Prentice notes that the umbilical cord is a very rich source for adult stem cells.

More information on these and other ethical research stories can be found on the Coalition website at www.ethicalresearch.net. Other great websites on ethical search are www.stemcellresearch.org from the Do No Harm Coalition, and www.usccb.org/prolife from the U.S. Bishops’ Pro Life Office.

You can contact Greg at The Nebraska Catholic Conference, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 310, Lincoln, NE 68508; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.