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Stem Cells to Treat Brain Injury in Children

Posted by samzenpus on from the grow-a-better-brain dept.

BigDukeSix writes "The first stem cell trial with widespread public health implications is set to begin in Houston. From the article: "Trauma is far and away the main cause of death and disability among children, and the main reason children die from trauma is brain injury...The clinical trial is the first to apply stem cells to treat traumatic brain injury. It does not involve embryonic stem cells.""

5 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. More Information: by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 5, Informative


    Some more information on using stem cells from bone marrow to grow neurons can be found here.

    As you can see from the date of the above referenced article, the idea of using stem cells derived from bone marrow to treat brain injury has been around for a while, but now that we've finally progressed to human trials, this field is going to get very exciting very fast. This has the potential to completely rewrite the textbooks on brain & nerve trauma...it's a real pity that Christopher Reeve had to leave us before we made these advances.

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    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:More Information: by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "...it's a real pity that Christopher Reeve [chrisreevehomepage.com] had to leave us before we made these advances."

      Why? What makes an actor who played a comic book hero worthy of mention (other than the fact that he championed the cause), instead of the thousands of children who were and are never able to realize their potential?

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    2. Re:More Information: by Slightly+Askew · · Score: 5, Insightful

      (other than the fact that he championed the cause)

      That is exactly the reason. Do you realize how much money would have poured in for this research if they could have made Superman walk again using stem cells? It's not about the person, it's about their publicity and their power to help the cause. Remember Ryan White? I went to school with the kid and, frankly, he was an ass. However, his celebrity status did more for AIDS research and education than the deaths of 50 unknown kids with AIDS.

      --
      Public use of any portable music system is a virtually guaranteed indicator of sociopathic tendencies. -- Zoso
  2. Not embryionic? by geoffrobinson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, that's good news. No ethical dilemma.

    It would have been nice if the media stressed the promise of non-embrionic stem cells to the public more (there has been some stories), but it is nice to see it now.

    --
    Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
    1. Re:Not embryionic? by thatoneguy_jm · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is exactly what we need, at this point - if it can be shown just how helpful stem stell research can be, then perhaps people will start to view it not as a thing to be feared, but a thing to be looked into and studied. And, as noted, by not using embryonic cells controversy is avoided. It's a win-win-win situation: the kids get treated, the research is given a better name, and the ultra-conservatives shouldn't be upset about it.