Source: Harvard University
Date: July 31, 2008
Summary:
Less than 27 months after announcing that he had institutional permission to attempt the creation of patient and disease-specific stem cell lines, Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) Principal Faculty member Kevin Eggan today proclaimed the effort a success - though politically imposed restrictions and scientific advances prompted him to use a different technique than originally planned.
The breakthrough by Eggan and colleagues at Harvard and Columbia University marks the first time scientists are known to have produced human stem cell lines coaxed from the cells of adult patients suffering from a genetically-based disease. The affected patients had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
The work, published in today's on-line edition of the journal Science, provides "proof of concept" for the belief of scientists and fervent hope of patients that in the not-too-distant future it may be possible to treat patients suffering from chronic diseases with stem cell-based treatments created from their own adult cells. However, Eggan believes that the first therapeutic use of these newly derived stem cells will in fact be to use them to study the root cause of this disease and to screen for drugs that may provide benefit in patients.
