Apr

11

Stem Cells Taken From Adult Tissue

Posted by maureen

April 11, 2007 |

There is a really exciting development on the stem cell front that could have a huge impact on stem cell treatments in the US as early as next year. Two companies are hoping to get their experimental stem cell products approved by the Food and Drug Administration and into the US market by 2008.They are developing stem cell products that are derived from adult tissue as opposed to the controversial stem cells harvested from human embryos. This has tremendous importance because it would resolve most of the controversy surrounding the political and ethical concerns that has hampered research unto this point.

Stem cells are the building blocks of the body and the importance in harnessing these cells for use in therapies to help reversing disabling diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s has been known for some time. Stem cells have two essential characteristics that make them unique. They are unspecialized cells that can renew themselves for long periods through cell division. In addition, under the right conditions, they can develop, or “differentiate” to become cells with more specialized functions. The stem cells taken from adult tissue come from adipose, also known as fat tissue which is the richest and most accessible known source of stem cell.

Cytori is planning to launch its first stem cell medical device, the Celution System, in Europe this year; it uses stem cell technology to rebuild breast tissue in cancer survivors by extracting stem cells from liposuction fat, which are then used to grow breast tissue in women who have undergone partial mastectomies to remove cancer. If successful this will give an alternative to the current breast reconstruction that thousands of women face

Another important development is taking place this year; The Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital is leading a collaborative clinical trial which will involve 30 patients. It will be the world’s first adult stem cell study using a patient’s own fat tissue
For the first time in February of this year in Madrid, Spain, a heart failure patient received adult stem cells, taken from adipose tissue. The cells are processed by a method developed by Cytori Therapeutics and are injected directly into the heart muscle with a special catheter. The process only takes about an hour (and doesn’t require cell culture) and has none of the risk of immune rejection of disease transmission since the patients receive their own cells. Lots of pluses here. Imagine the impact this could have on heart disease, the number one killer in America

I for one will be hoping that the clinical trials support the theory and prove successful. Any research which offers promise for the treatment of what were previously thought of as incurable diseases has to excite us and put hope back into the lives of many.


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