Source: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Date: December 9, 2009
Summary:
Results of a preliminary study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins show that "mini" stem cell transplantation may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults. The phase I/II study to establish safety of the procedure, published Dec. 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine, describes 10 patients with severe sickle cell disease who received intravenous transplants of blood-forming stem cells. The transplanted stem cells came from the peripheral blood of healthy related donors matched to the patients' tissue types. Using this procedure, nine of 10 patients treated have normal red blood cells and reversal of organ damage caused by the disease.
