July 01 2008 / by futuretalk
Category: Health & Medicine Year: General Rating: 6 Hot
By Dick Pelletier
Northwestern University’s Dr. Richard Burt has treated 170
patients with stem cells, and increasingly, others are following
his lead. There are now more than 1,000 stem-cell therapies in
early human trials around the world. 
The majority use cells from patients’ own bone marrow, but some
also use cells from healthy adults, and last year the first patient
was treated with embryonic cells, which have triggered debate in
the U.S. After working its way out of science fiction, stem-cell
therapies are finally becoming scientific fact.
Burt has treated patients with lupus, arthritis and a host of
other disorders. He’s just written up the results of a stem-cell
trial for type-1 diabetes. Three years after treatment, some
patients now have normal blood sugar and do not require insulin.
Trials for Lou Gehrig’s disease and autism are next.
The FDA is fast-tracking stem-cell
therapy for leukemia which could hit the market later this year.
And an approach that has helped congestive heart failure patients
abroad is coming to America. Amit Patel, at the University of
Pittsburgh, has injected 10 patients’ own stem cells into their
hearts and has consulted on 2,000 similar operations worldwide.
Stem cells help the heart by forming new blood vessels.
By the end of the next decade, researchers predict this wonder
technology will create new heart muscle – and even a complete heart
– but this may require the use of embryonic stem cells, which
regulations currently deny government funding. (cont.)
However, doctors with private funding have quietly been
experimenting with cells grown from fetal material. Biotech giant
Geron has used the technique to prevent heart failure in mice, and
it will petition the FDA for human trials
next year. Before that, the company hopes to launch an
embryo-derived stem cell trial to treat spinal-cord injuries.
By the time that trial starts, doctors will also have results
from America’s first use of embryonic stem cells. Oregon doctors
recently injected the more powerful cells into a child with a fatal
neurodegenerative disorder, in hopes that a complete cure will be
achieved.
Stem cells also promise to extend healthy life spans by
repairing damage caused by aging. More than 100,000 people die
every day and millions more suffer crippling effects of
aging-related conditions. Many of these deaths will be eliminated
with this new science.
Commerce drives this futuristic technology. Companies such as
Geron, Advanced Tissue Sciences, Isolagen, and others are rushing
to gain a share of an estimated $500-billion annual market. And the
government wants to be involved. Officials realize that by
promoting stem cell development, they create the next generation
healthcare and help nurture a growing industry.
Past government initiatives such as SEMATECH helped grow the worldwide semiconductor
industry from $8-billion to $170-billion with only $2-billion in
government funding. Stem-cell therapies promise an even better
payoff. The end result will lower the country’s $2-trillion
healthcare bill and bring a much higher quality of life to every
American.
For information on where specific trials are taking place, go to
www.clinicaltrials.gov.
Stem-cell magic will help bridge many seniors and ‘boomers into
the “roaring 20s”, where nanobots will roam through our bodies
keeping us forever healthy and youthful on this incredible trip
towards an amazing “magical future.”
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