Embryonic cells may indeed be used someday to grow replacement tissue or therapeutic material for diseases like Parkinson's or diabetes . . . [but don't bet your life on it].
Note that this ABC News report concerns advances with adult stem cells, NOT embryonic.
-- From "Adult Stem Cell Studies Ahead of Embryonic Research" by Malcolm Ritter, Associated Press Science Writer 8/2/10
For all the emotional debate that began about a decade ago on allowing the use of embryonic stem cells, it's adult stem cells that are in human testing today. An extensive review of stem cell projects and interviews with two dozen experts reveal a wide range of potential treatments.
Adult stem cells are being studied in people who suffer from multiple sclerosis, heart attacks and diabetes. Some early results suggest stem cells can help some patients avoid leg amputation. Recently, researchers reported that they restored vision to patients whose eyes were damaged by chemicals.
Apart from these efforts, transplants of adult stem cells have become a standard lifesaving therapy for perhaps hundreds of thousands of people with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood diseases.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Adult Stem Cell Research Leaving Embryos Behind" posted at CBS News 8/2/10
The Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops continues to oppose embryonic work. Deirdre McQuade, an official there, said that compared to adult stem cell research, work on embryonic cells is proving "fruitless."
Adult cells have been transplanted routinely for decades, first in bone marrow transplants and then in procedures that transfer just the cells. Doctors recover the cells from the marrow or bloodstream of a patient or a donor, and infuse them as part of the treatment for leukemia, lymphoma and other blood diseases. Tens of thousands of people are saved each year by such procedures, experts say.
. . . the Vatican announced it was funding adult stem cell research on the intestine at the University of Maryland. And on Friday, Italian doctors said they'd transplanted two windpipes injected with the recipients' own stem cells.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
