Adult Stem Cells Effectively Treat Liver Disease
In a human trial using patients' own bone marrow adult stem cells, alcohol-caused cirrhosis of the liver has been treated and the patients improved. From the story:
All patients tolerated the procedure well and over 12 weeks of follow-up there were significant decreases in serum bilirubin. A significant reduction in levels of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase was seen 1 week after the transfusion and showed improvement through the study period.Oh hum: Another day, another adult stem cell success.Seven of the patients showed an improvement in Child-Pugh scores, and on imaging at 12 weeks, three patients showed a complete resolution of ascites and two had a significant reduction.
"This is an area of medicine where there is tremendous progress day by day," concluded Dr. Habib. "We hope that stem cell therapy will help many patients with liver disease."
Labels: Adult Stem Cells, Treatment for Cirrhosis of the Liver.
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 8:26 AM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
Well this is certainly great news for all seeking liver therapy.
Stem cell breakthroughs keep pouring in. Like this one:
ScienceDaily (Sep. 8, 2008) — Scientists investigating the mechanisms of Down Syndrome (DS) have revealed the earliest developmental changes in embryonic stem cells caused by an extra copy of human chromosome 21 – the aberrant inheritance of which results in the condition.
Lead by Dean Nizetic, Professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, the team utilised embryonic stem cells from a previously genetically engineered species of mice carrying a copy of human chromosome 21.
They discovered that extra chromosome 21 - a genetic state known as trisomy 21 - disturbs a key regulating gene called NRSF or REST, which in turn disturbs the cascade of other genes that control normal development at the embryonic stem cell stage. Furthermore, they identified one gene (DYRK1A) on human chromosome 21, whose overdose in trisomy (DS) is responsible for the observed effects...
"We hope that further research might lead to clues for the design of new therapeutic approaches tackling developmental delay, mental retardation, ageing and regeneration of brain cells, and Alzheimer's disease. In other words, we hope our work will open new routes to tackle the genetics of these health disorders, approaching them from the "back entrance", as dominant component-symptoms of Down Syndrome."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904145053.htm
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