Source: New Scientist
Date: 30 June 2007
News Scientist reports that giving stem cells to a developing fetus could extend the lives of children with a hereditary bone disease:
"INJECTING stem cells into a developing fetus might sound risky, but it could prolong the lives of children with brittle bone disease. Nicholas Fisk and colleagues at Imperial College London studied mouse models of human type III brittle bone disease, or osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). The genetic defect - detected in human fetuses by DNA testing or ultrasound - disrupts collagen production, leading to weak bones and stunted growth. Those with type III OI suffer fractures while in the womb and rarely survive beyond early adulthood. Fisk's team injected human fetal mesenchymal stem cells through the wall of the uterus into 14-day mouse fetuses. At the age of 3 months, treated mice had suffered just one-third of the long-bone fractures compared with untreated mice. Their bones were also stronger and their leg bones longer."
