ESCR research progress by Don Reed

[rayilynlee <rayilynlee@xxxxxxx>]

*A MINI-ALPHABET OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH PROGRESS



Embryonic stem cell research is an amazingly new science, begun in 1998 by Dr. 
James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin.  Despite continual political 
attacks, and extremely limited funding, human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) 
research has already made a substantial contribution to the battle against 
allegedly incurable disease and disability.  Below is a sampling of embryonic 
stem cell research progress.



ALS: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's Disease:  At the University of 
Wisconsin at Madison, scientists have turned hESC into motor neurons (nerves 
which carry messages between brain and body), offering possibilities for 
repairing damage caused by ALS, spinal cord injury, and other nerve-related 
disorders.

--Nature Biotechnology, January 30, 2005



ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: Until now, it was impossible to study the complete 
progress of this horrific disease, which robs sufferers of both memory and 
life.  We do not know how or why or even exactly when it begins. With human 
embryonic stem cells, (hESC), however, we may be able to isolate the disease 
and observe its progress from inception to death on human tissue cells, not 
human beings.  hESCs may also provide a new way to design better Alzheimer's 
medicines.  Dr. Lawrence Goldstein of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 
UCSD, is using hESC to test new ideas of how Alzheimer's disease develops, and 
how it might be treated.

--L. Goldstein, personal communication, March 26, 2005



BLINDNESS: The major cause of blindness in Americans over age 60 is macular 
degeneration: the loss of retinal cells in the eye.  Dr. Robert Lanza and Dr. 
Irina Klimanskaya of Advanced Cell Technology in New Jersey used hESC to make 
retinal cells, which may one day offer the return of vision to millions 
suffering from blindness due to retinal disease.

--Medical Science News, September 23, 2004



CANCER:  The speed at which cancer develops is a major obstacle in curing this 
devastating disease.  At Kumamoto University in Japan, and Cambridge University 
in England, surface proteins were developed that could mark cancer stem cells, 
laying ground work for new drugs that may one day slow, or even turn off, tumor 
formation.  Advancing understanding about cancer stem cells draws from 
knowledge gained about the growth and development of hESCs.  This work will 
open the door to a day when cancer treatments may be truly curative. 

--University of Cambridge, 19 January, 2005 



CYSTIC FIBROSIS:  Cystic fibrosis inflames the lungs, strangling CF patients in 
thick slimy mucous.  Using hESCs, Dr. Stephen Minger of King's College, London, 
developed a stem cell line of cystic fibrosis. Now the disease can be studied 
in a human cell line that has genetic mutations akin to those seen in CF 
sufferers.

--BBC News UK, September 9 2004



DEAFNESS: The death of tiny hair cells inside the ear contributes to deafness 
for an estimated 28 million Americans.  These cells do not naturally regrow.  
However, using hESC techniques, Dr. Stefan Heller of Boston's Eye and Ear 
Infirmary has generated these inner-ear hair cells, raising the possibility 
that this technique may lead to new treatments for the deaf.

--Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, October 27, 2004



DIABETES:  At Stanford University, researchers have made insulin-producing 
cells from mouse embryonic cells.  When transplanted into diabetic mice, these 
cells reduced blood sugar fluctuations and increased lifespan (1).  And at the 
University of Miami, Dr. Juan Dominguez Bendala isolated a protein necessary to 
turn embryonic stem cells into large quantities of insulin-producing pancreatic 
cells (2).

--1.http://www.diabetes.co.uk/htm/news/newstemcellstudy.htm  

--2. Beacon Journal, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, September 
7, 2004



GROWING HUMAN TISSUE:  At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dr. 
Robert Langer used embryonic stem cells to grow liver, cartilage, nerve tissue 
and blood vessels, all of which appeared to function normally when transplanted 
into mice.

--Boston Globe, October 28, 2003



HEMOPHILIA:  At the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Dr. Jeffrey Fair 
and Dr. Oliver Smithies used ES cells to reverse hemophilia (blood clotting 
disorder) in mice.

--Science Daily, February 15, 2005 



IMMUNE SYSTEM DISEASE:  Cambridge, Massachusetts: Adult mice were bred without 
the gene RAG-2, needed for the immune system.  Using Somatic Cell Nuclear 
Transfer (SCNT, or therapeutic cloning) to make the cells, RAG-2 was given to 
the mice, partially restoring the non-functioning immune system.  This 
successful proof-of-principle experiment reveals possible benefits for the 
battle against AIDS.--Cell, April 5, 2002, (1) 17-22



PARKINSON'S:  Israel's Dr. Benjamin Reubinoff transplanted human embryonic stem 
cells into the brains of rats which did not have dopamine-producing nerve 
cells.  (Dopamine in a healthy body controls motion; loss of dopamine 
production in the brain is associated with a Parkinson's sufferer's shaking).  
Implanted stem cells became dopamine-producing cells and brought significant 
improvements in the animal's motion relative to controls.--BBC News, 

June 30, 2004



SPINAL CORD INJURY PARALYSIS:  Using hESCs, Dr. Hans Keirstead in the Roman 
Reed Laboratory at UC Irvine restored myelin insulation around damaged nerves, 
returning motion to partially paralyzed rats.-Journal of Neuroscience, accepted 
for publication, March 31, 2005. See also New York Times, February 23, 2005)





Don Reed  -  www.stemcellbattles.com





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