MEDICAL RESEARCH
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UC Irvine sees success with embryonic stem cell therapy
Treatment restores limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries.
By Kristen SchottPublished: November 08, 2009 09:31 AM
Photo courtesy of UCIUC Irvine's embryonic stem cell therapy – which is the first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for human testing – is showing positive results. When tested in rats with neck spinal cord injuries, the therapy was able to restore limb functions, such as the ability to walk. The results could expand the clinical trial to include individuals with cervical damage.
In January, the FDA gave Menlo Park-based Geron Corp. the go-ahead to test the therapy in patients with thoracic spinal cord injuries – those that take place below the neck. It has not yet been approved for testing in those with cervical damage because the preclinical trials with rats are not complete.
A little more than half of spinal cord injuries are cervical, while 48 percent are thoracic. And individuals with cervical damage often suffer from lost or impaired limb movement, as well as a number of other problems, according to Hans Keirstead (right), co-director of the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at UCI.
While there is currently no effective treatment, Keirstead calls the therapy's work in injured rats "phenomenal."
"If we see even a fraction of that benefit in humans, it will be nothing short of a home run," he says.
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Photo courtesy of UCI In January, the FDA gave Menlo Park-based Geron Corp. the go-ahead to test the therapy in patients with thoracic spinal cord injuries – those that take place below the neck. It has not yet been approved for testing in those with cervical damage because the preclinical trials with rats are not complete. A little more than half of spinal cord injuries are cervical, while 48 percent are thoracic. And individuals with cervical damage often suffer from lost or impaired limb movement, as well as a number of other problems, according to Hans Keirstead (right), co-director of the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at UCI. While there is currently no effective treatment, Keirstead calls the therapy's work in injured rats "phenomenal." "If we see even a fraction of that benefit in humans, it will be nothing short of a home run," he says. NEXT PAGE >> Related headlines Aliso Viejo's OCTANe gears up for medical device forum 'OC METRO Minute,' Oct. 29: UCI's enrollment Chapman report indicates improved jobs picture |
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