New promise for adult stem cell research
Two articles in the current issue of The Lancet highlight possible therapeutic uses of adult stem cells. In a German study, adult stem cells derived from bone marrow improved cardiac functioning after heart attacks.
Helmut Drexler, of the University of Freiburg, found that the transfer of patients’ own bone-marrow cells could improve functioning of the left ventricle of the heart six months after treatment. Patients who had been given stem-cell transfers had around a 7% improvement in left ventricular function compared with only a 0?7% increase for patients given drugs.
In a second study, skin cells were turned into brain cells, raising hopes of finding a stem cell cure for Parkinson’s disease which is ethically non-controversial. Siddharthan Chandran, of Cambridge University generated nerve precursor cells in a two-step process. Growth factors generated almost limitless numbers of stem cells which were then made into nerve cells.
- Prescribe morning-after pills to young teenagers, say US pediatric group - November 30, 2012
- Bahrain sentences protest docs to prison - November 28, 2012
- Terry Pratchett assisted suicide documentary wins International Emmy - November 27, 2012
More Stories
Are Dutch doctors too willing to euthanise people with autism and intellectual disability?
Will legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide lead to unnecessary deaths because of an able-ist bias against intellectual disability and autism?...
Euthanasia in Quebec: seamless service at a friendly funeral parlour
In Quebec, the number of cases of euthanasia has risen from 63 in 2015-2016 to 3663 in 2021-2022. Nowadays many...
Against commercial-assisted suicide
The journal Bioethics recently published an attack on commercial assisted suicide (CAS). The author, Yoann Della Croce, condemns it as...
Norway to export sperm
Danish sperm banks have grown into a successful export industry. Now Norway seems to be following the same path. The...
Denmark: parliament pressured to OK euthanasia
A proposal to legalise euthanasia in Denmark has broken the threshold of 50,000 signatures to put it before the Danish...
Australian judges need to review standards for gender dysphoria treatment
Most judges and lawyers in Australia know little about the white-hot debate amongst doctors over appropriate treatment for gender-dysphoric children....