Embryonic stem cells stalled brain disease
SuzannePjam
Posts: 411
Human stem cells stalled brain disease in mice
Researchers believe booster shots of embryonic cells could protect neurons
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17580859/
Human stem cells taken from both embryos and fetuses delayed a fatal brain and nerve disease in mice, moving throughout the brain to take on the jobs of damaged neurons, scientists report.
They said their study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, represents the first time a human embryonic stem cell has successfully treated a disease in an animal.
Dr. Evan Snyder of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, California, who led the study, says his team hopes to move quickly to test their method in children with a fatal and incurable brain disease called Sandhoff disease.
Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, they also said their approach could lead to ways to treat a range of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
For their study, Snyder and colleagues used mice bred with the equivalent of Sandhoff disease.
“Children with the disease have severe mental retardation and motor dysfunction, and death typically occurs in infancy,” the researchers, who included a team at Oxford University in Britain, Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea and elsewhere, wrote in their report.
It is marked by inflammation that kills brain cells.
Snyder’s team used both human embryonic stem cells, taken from days-old human embryos left over at fertility clinics, and human fetal stem cells.
They transplanted these into the brains of the mice and noted no problems. No tumors formed, the mice did not “reject” the foreign cells, and the treatment seemed to reduce inflammation.
“They just don’t seem to get rejected,” Snyder said.
Booster shots
The treated mice lived 70 percent longer than untreated mice. The disease eventually came back, but Snyder believes they could keep it at bay by giving booster injections of the stem cells to take over the functions of the mutated natural brain cells.
Stem cells are valued because they can give birth to a range of tissue and cell types. But Snyder said scientists are beginning to learn they do even more than this.
“This shows that stem cells engage in cross-talk,” he said in a telephone interview.
“They collaborate ... to try to restore a system to balance. They secrete factors that are healthy. They try to restore the health of other cells and detoxify the system.”
The transplanted human cells replaced damaged nerve cells and carried nerve signals. They also boosted the brain’s supply of the enzyme hex, which is lacking in Sandhoff disease.
Sandhoff is caused by a mutation in the gene for an enzyme called hexosaminidase or hex, which brain cells need to get rid of excess fatty material called lipids.
When the lipids build up, brain cells die. It is similar to Tay-Sachs disease, and there is no treatment for either Tay-Sachs or Sandhoff.
The use of human embryonic stem cells is controversial because some people believe it is wrong to destroy human embryos in experiments.
Snyder said his team used batches of stem cells approved for funding by the U.S. government. He said when his team asks the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to test the treatment on children, they will probably not seek to use the embryonic stem cells at first, but merely the fetal stem cells.
“I think they are a little bit squeamish,” he said.
Researchers believe booster shots of embryonic cells could protect neurons
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17580859/
Human stem cells taken from both embryos and fetuses delayed a fatal brain and nerve disease in mice, moving throughout the brain to take on the jobs of damaged neurons, scientists report.
They said their study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, represents the first time a human embryonic stem cell has successfully treated a disease in an animal.
Dr. Evan Snyder of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, California, who led the study, says his team hopes to move quickly to test their method in children with a fatal and incurable brain disease called Sandhoff disease.
Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, they also said their approach could lead to ways to treat a range of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
For their study, Snyder and colleagues used mice bred with the equivalent of Sandhoff disease.
“Children with the disease have severe mental retardation and motor dysfunction, and death typically occurs in infancy,” the researchers, who included a team at Oxford University in Britain, Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea and elsewhere, wrote in their report.
It is marked by inflammation that kills brain cells.
Snyder’s team used both human embryonic stem cells, taken from days-old human embryos left over at fertility clinics, and human fetal stem cells.
They transplanted these into the brains of the mice and noted no problems. No tumors formed, the mice did not “reject” the foreign cells, and the treatment seemed to reduce inflammation.
“They just don’t seem to get rejected,” Snyder said.
Booster shots
The treated mice lived 70 percent longer than untreated mice. The disease eventually came back, but Snyder believes they could keep it at bay by giving booster injections of the stem cells to take over the functions of the mutated natural brain cells.
Stem cells are valued because they can give birth to a range of tissue and cell types. But Snyder said scientists are beginning to learn they do even more than this.
“This shows that stem cells engage in cross-talk,” he said in a telephone interview.
“They collaborate ... to try to restore a system to balance. They secrete factors that are healthy. They try to restore the health of other cells and detoxify the system.”
The transplanted human cells replaced damaged nerve cells and carried nerve signals. They also boosted the brain’s supply of the enzyme hex, which is lacking in Sandhoff disease.
Sandhoff is caused by a mutation in the gene for an enzyme called hexosaminidase or hex, which brain cells need to get rid of excess fatty material called lipids.
When the lipids build up, brain cells die. It is similar to Tay-Sachs disease, and there is no treatment for either Tay-Sachs or Sandhoff.
The use of human embryonic stem cells is controversial because some people believe it is wrong to destroy human embryos in experiments.
Snyder said his team used batches of stem cells approved for funding by the U.S. government. He said when his team asks the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to test the treatment on children, they will probably not seek to use the embryonic stem cells at first, but merely the fetal stem cells.
“I think they are a little bit squeamish,” he said.
"Where there is sacrifice there is someone collecting the sacrificial offerings."-- Ayn Rand
"Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead,
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed..."-- Elvis Costello
"Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead,
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed..."-- Elvis Costello
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*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
http://www.calit2.net/newsroom/article.php?id=972
requires real media though :(
thanks ahnimus.
nevermind. I do appreciate you posting these links and as soon as I've got the broadband I'll be coming back for them.:)
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
i think scoreboard reads adult 79, embryonic 0.
but it's all about abortion, isn't it?
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And desire and love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Do we have to debate abortion as part of this?
Can't we just allow the scientific community to do their research, make their discoveries and we will probably find that embryonic stem cells won't be required soon enough?
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
I owe you an email
but this entire debate is about abortion. the scientific community has gotten lots of cures from adult stem cells, and none from embryonic. nobody in the private sector wants to pursue embryonic research b/c it doesn't work...despite that, the left embraces the idea of cloning.
doesn't that make you question the ambition of those that push that agenda?
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And desire and love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Hate to disagree with you, but stem cell research really has nothing to do with abortion. Embryonic stem cells are generally harvested from embryoes at the blastocoel stage, not from aborted fetuses ... hence why they are called embryonic and not fetal stem cells. The reason the scientific commmunity hasn't produced any cures from embryonic stem cells is because Bush denied any federal funding to researchers working with these cells.
The problem with adult stem cells is that they are pluripotent (have the potential to become one of a few cell types) while embryonic are totipotent (can become any cell type). Yes, adult stem cells have provided cures for diseases (mostly through bone marrow transplants), but embryonic cells have the potential to cure a lot more if scientists in this country weren't limited by a president who doesn't understand that abortion isn't the source of stem cells.
Yes, you do!
Everybody's got an agenda Hawk. But seeing as how the abortion debate has rattled on for years I reckon that'll go on to infinity regardless of stem cells.
And I'm not going to debate adult v embryonic either. Leave that to science.
But if the embryo's are going to be aborted or unused then yep, I can feel it about to come raining down on my head but, why not use them for some good?
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
Thank you ReleasH. I saw a public lecture here last year by a scientist who explained the differences but I have trouble retaining scientific information. I was going to try to hunt down a link, but you have kindly explained what I was trying to say.
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift