What is your opinion on it? To some, it may seem unethical, but
it has its benefits on society as a whole, as the article below
seems to suggest.
Paralyzed woman walks again after stem cell
therapy
SEOUL : A South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is walking
again after scientists say they repaired her damaged spine using
stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood.
Hwang Mi-Soon, 37, had been bedridden since damaging her back in an
accident two decades ago.
Last week her eyes glistened with tears as she walked again with
the help of a walking frame at a press conference where South Korea
researchers went public for the first time with the results of
their stem-cell therapy.
They said it was the world's first published case in which a
patient with spinal cord injuries had been successfully treated
with stem cells from umbilical cord blood.
Though they cautioned that more research was needed and
verification from international experts was required, the South
Korean researchers said Hwang's case could signal a leap forward in
the treatment of spinal cord injuries.
The use of stem cells from cord blood could also point to a way to
side-step the ethical dispute over the controversial use of embryos
in embryonic stem-cell research.
"We have glimpsed at a silver lining over the horizon," said Song
Chang-Hoon, a member of the research team and a professor at Chosun
University's medical school in the southwestern city of
Kwangju.
"We were all surprised at the fast improvements in the
patient."
Under TV lights and flashing cameras, Hwang stood up from her
wheelchair and shuffled forward and back a few paces with the help
of the frame at the press conference here on Thursday.
"This is already a miracle for me," she said. "I never dreamed of
getting to my feet again."
Medical research has shown stem cells can develop into replacement
cells for damaged organs or body parts. Unlocking that potential
could see cures for diseases that are at present incurable, or even
see the body generate new organs to replace damaged or failing
ones.
So-called "multipotent" stem cells -- those found in cord blood --
are capable of forming a limited number of specialised cell types,
unlike the more versatile "undifferentiated" cells that are derived
from embroyos.
However, these stem cells isolated from umbilical cord blood have
emerged as an ethical and safe alternative to embryonic stem
cells.
Clinical trials with embryonic stem cells are believed to be years
away because of the risks and ethical problems involved in the
production of embryos -- regarded as living humans by some people
-- for scientific use.
In contrast, there is no ethical dimension when stem cells from
umbilical cord blood are obtained, according to researchers.
Additionally, umbilical cord blood stem cells trigger little immune
response in the recipient as embryonic stem cells have a tendency
to form tumors when injected into animals or human beings.
For the therapy, multipotent stem cells were isolated from
umbilical cord blood, which had been frozen immediately after the
birth of a baby and cultured for a period of time.
Then these cells were directly injected to the damaged part of the
spinal cord.
"Technical difficulties exist in isolating stem cells from frozen
umbilical cord blood, finding cells with genes matching those of
the recipient and selecting the right place of the body to deliver
the cells," said Han Hoon, president of Histostem, a
government-backed umbilical cord blood bank in Seoul.
Han teamed up with Song and other experts for the experiment.
They say that more experiments are required to verify the outcome
of the landmark therapy.
"It is just one case and we need more experiments, more data," said
Oh Il-Hoon, another researcher.
"I believe experts in other countries have been conducting similar
experiments and accumulating data before making the results
public."
- AFP
