Adult Stem Cells May Be the Answer to Spinal Cord Injuries

After all the controversies, issues, and funding restrictions on the use of stem cells derived from embryos, there may now be a glimmer of light at the end of a long dark tunnel. It's the light that may spinal-cord-injury patients had been waiting for a long time to come. It appears that stem cells from Adult donors can reverse the damage and effects of injury to the spinal cord.

The conclusion came from lab experiments done with rats lead by Miodrag Stojkovic, who heads the Cellular Reprogramming Laboratory at Centro de Investigacion Principe Felipe in Spain. He and his group had transplanted what are called progenitor stem cells, from the spinal cords of rats, into those of other rats with spinal cord injuries. A week after the transplant, the injured rast showed significant improvement in mobility, apparently reversing paralysis.

Stojkovic says "the human body contains the tools to repair damaged spinal cords. Our work clearly demonstrates that we need both adult and embryonic stem cells to understand our body and apply this knowledge in regenerative medicine." It is hoped that the Obama administration will lift restrictions on stem cell research that had been imposed during the term of former US President George Bush. It's really a somewhat old medical technology whose time has come.

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Spare Body Parts from Skin Cells Breakthrough

Scientists in the United States and Japan have made simultaneous breakthroughs which may finally ease the ethical problem of using stem cells from human embryos for medical treatment.

Stem cells are the precursor cells of specialized cells in the body that differentiate during embryonic growth to become bones, internal organs, the brain, etcetera. Stem cells are said to be the solution to many medical problems that lead to loss of organs and other essential internal body parts like the liver and the heart. By harvesting and growing stem cells into different body parts, humans can have replacements at hand without the need for donors.

Stem cells were originally harvested from human embryos, and religious and political groups and certain parties have criticized this as immoral even if the process can save and improve lives. Fortunately, the process of getting stem cells from skin cells has been given support by the Catholic church.

To view a video of the news on how scientists are now using skin cells to make stem cells, jump to i-Mash here.

Bone Marrow Cells Turned Into Sperm

In a development that can change the way people choose to have babies, microbiologist Karim Nayernia has successfully turned bone marrow stem cells into sperm. This could potentially lead to babies that have no father, for the sperm cells can come from the mother's own marrow. Nayernia harvested and immersed bone marrow stem cells in chemicals and an environment that emulated the environment of the testes. It was the first time that nonreproductive human cells have been turned into gametes.

Biologist Renee Reijo Pera of the Stanford’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine says that attempts to create offspring using sperm from embryonic stem cells turned up short-lived mice that were either giants of midgets. However, Nayerna believes that if his immature marrow sperm cells are transplanted into testes, they would mature and become functional.

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