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Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

US Starts Human Blindness Trial Using Stem Cells

Author:    
Source:     Agence France-Presse (France)
Publication Date:     Monday, November 22nd, 2010 -- 10:28 am
 Link: US Starts Human Blindness Trial Using Stem Cells
Stephan:   In spite of the willfully ignorant opposition from the religious right, stem cell research hangs on in the U.S. and, against the odds, is -- as predicted -- beginning to produce some really promising developments. Sadly, I suspect many of the major breakthroughs will come out of Asia and Europe and not America, because they don't have this view of stems cells. But, as this report makes clear, at least we are still in the game. It is also important to remember that this is all part of the Homo Superiorus Trend.

Human embryonic stem cells will be tested as a treatment for blindness, a US company announced Monday in the second such clinical trial to examine how the controversial process works in people.

Just 12 adult patients will take part in the trial to see how the treatment using retinal cells derived from human embryonic stem cells affects patients with a common form of juvenile vision loss that can take hold in children as young as six.

The process has been tested on rats and mice and has been found to halt the progressive disease without causing tumors or other side effects, said chief scientific officer Bob Lanza at the biotech company Advanced Cell Technology.

‘These cells have been really performing quite spectacularly in the animals. If we can see that in the human patients we will hit a home run here,’ said Lanza.

The trial, run and funded by the California-based company ACT, was allowed to go ahead after the US Food and Drug Administration cleared its application to start a phase I study.

Another company, Geron Corp, began a similar trial in October, the first of its kind to test human embryonic stem cells in patients with spinal cord injuries.

Scientists say the use of […]

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