With stem cells for strokes?

Stem cell therapy in stroke

Regenerative Medicine: Stem Cells for Strokes: British researchers have for the first time tested stem cells for the treatment of a stroke patient. With the help of nerve stem cells injected directly into the brain, the researchers hope to be able to treat the partial paralysis of the patient caused by a stroke.

For years, doctors have been researching to repair brain damage caused by stroke. Since the brain basically has the ability to regenerate, the researchers want to use this ability for the treatment of brain damage. British physicians have now used nerve stem cells in a stroke patient for the first time, hoping to make greater progress in regenerative medicine.

Nerve stem cells are injected directly into the brain
The research team led by Keith Muir of the University of Glasgow developed a procedure in which patients suffering from an ischemic stroke were injected with nerve stem cells near the damaged brain areas using an extra constructed 22 centimeter long needle. However, no stem cell injection occurred directly in the damaged areas. The procedure was first tested on a volunteer who had a stroke 16 months ago and has been suffering from partial paralysis ever since. The man was released from the hospital after the weekend treatment. The doctors hope stem cell therapy will reduce the subject's mental and physical limitations.

Procedure to be tested on 12 stroke patients
With the first-time application of the new method, the British scientists have claimed to have laid the foundation for a whole series of experiments aimed at judging the success of the method. Up to twelve more people will treat the physicians with the new therapy and then observe all subjects over a period of two years. If a success of the first treatments is apparent, larger series of experiments should follow. However, the success of the method is still unclear. However, according to the researchers, it can not be assumed that they will be used quickly in large patient groups.

Method only applicable to ischemic strokes
According to the British researchers, the new method can only be used in patients with an ischemic stroke, which is caused by a lack of blood supply in certain areas of the brain. The reduced circulation of individual brain areas, which is often caused by clogged blood vessels, leads to a lack of vital substances (eg oxygen) in the cells and the longer the deficiency persists, the more nerve cells die in the course of the stroke. The possible consequences are, for example, paralysis, speech disorders, memory problems or slowed down information processing, with many patients suffering from the symptoms for months or years afterwards. Some of those affected are dependent on nursing assistance for life after stroke and about 30 percent of stroke patients die within a year of the event.

Milestone in British stem cell research
The new method of treatment used by the British researchers is particularly at the level of destroyed cells in the brain and tries to regenerate the cells of the affected brain areas with the help of the injection of nerve stem cells of the biotech company ReNeuron targeted. While experts not involved in the study, such as the geneticist Darren Griffin from the University of Kent, already recognize a reason for cautious optimism and rheumatism expert Anthony Hollander of the University of Bristol even speaks of a milestone in British stem cell research, there is the use of human stem cells in the attempt to think critics thoroughly.

Ethical concerns? Not on the stock market!
Because the stem cells were obtained from a 12-week-old fetus, which had been aborted in 2003 in the US state of California. And while the company points out that all necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained, many people still have significant ethical doubts about the use of fetal human stem cells. On the stock market, however, these doubts do not seem to exist, because the price of the biotechnology company ReNeuron rose after announcement of the first results within a few hours by smooth 16 percent.

Stem cell research is making great progress
The development in the field of stem cell research is currently progressing rapidly. For example, the US company Geron only started a study in the last month in which patients with spinal cord injuries are treated with embryonic stem cells. In Germany, researchers at the International Neuroscience Institute in Hanover implanted stem cells into the brain of a patient just two years ago. but in a different context than the British researchers did now. The stem cells used in the various methods often differ fundamentally and the methods are accordingly more or less controversial in the ethical context. Stem cell research in Germany has so far only been allowed within narrow limits. While the production of embryos for research purposes is basically prohibited in this country, the legislator allows the import of the cells under certain conditions. (fp, 17.10.2010)

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Stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury
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Stem cells: Criticism of research results

Picture credits: Martin Gapa