Washington Post, October 11, 2010; 9:06 AM ET: "First patient treated in stem cell study":
The first patient has been treated with human embryonic stem cells in the first study authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to test the controversial therapy. A patient who was partially paralyzed by a spinal cord injury had millions of embryonic stem cells injected into the site of the damage, according to an announcement early Monday by the Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif., which is sponsoring the groundbreaking study.
The patient was treated at the Shepherd Center, a 132-bed hospital in Atlanta that specializes in spinal cord and brain injuries, Geron said. The hospital is one of seven sites participating in the study, which is primarily aimed at testing whether the therapy is safe. Doctors will, however, also conduct a series of specially designed tests to see whether the treatment helps the patients. No additional information about the first patient was released.
Reuters, October 11, 2010 8:30 am EDT: "First patient treated in Geron stem cell trial":
Geron Corp. said on Monday that doctors have begun treating the first patient in the United States to receive human embryonic stem cells, but said the details of the landmark clinical trial are being kept confidential. Geron has the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration license to use the controversial cells to treat people, in this case patients with new spinal cord injuries.
Agence France Presse (AFP), October 11, 2010, 9:59 pm ET US begins first human embryonic stem cell trial":
US doctors have begun the first tests of human embryonic stem cells in patients, treating a man with spinal cord injuries in a landmark trial of the controversial process, the Geron Corporation said Monday. The patient began the pioneering treatment Friday with an injection of the biotech company's human embryonic stem cells, as part of a clinical trial that aims to test safety and efficacy toward regaining sensation and movement.
Los Angeles Times, October 12, 2010: "First clinical trial begins for stem cell therapy. The first of several spine injury patients is undergoing treatment, which has helped rodents regain the ability to walk and run. Doctors' hopes are high.":
Researchers announced Monday that they had injected stem cells into a patient with a spinal cord injury on Friday, kicking off the world's first clinical trial of a therapy derived from human embryonic stem cells.
The patient was treated at Shepherd Center, a spinal cord and brain injury center in Atlanta.
Though the trial, run by Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif., is in its earliest stages — aimed primarily at testing the treatment for safety — the event stands as a landmark one for embryonic stem cell researchers, who for years have studied the cells' potential to treat spinal cord injuries, diabetes and a variety of neurodegenerative diseases.
Daily Telegraph, 11 October 2010 5:24 PM BST: "Treatment first hails in the 'dawn of the stem cell age'":
The trial on a patient with severe spinal injuries is the first to test a treatment that has huge potential to cure disease and disability. But it is also highly controversial and considered unethical among many Christian and "pro-life" groups. The results of the procedure, carried out by privately funded company Geron, will be awaited eagerly around the world by doctors and scientists working in regenerative medicines. If a success it could be the "catalyst" to open up stem cell treatments for all kinds of conditions from nerve damage, to Alzheimer's disease to diabetes.
WebMD, October 11, 2010: "First Patient Treated With Embryonic Stem Cells. Paralyzed Atlanta Patient Gets Stem Cells Injected Into Spine":
The first person treated with embryonic stem cells is an Atlanta patient paralyzed by a recent spine injury. The Geron Corp. GRNOPC1 stem cells come from embryos left over after in vitro fertilization and donated by the parents. The FDA approved the study in early 2009. The clinical trial is a first step toward an eventual cure for paralysis, says study leader Richard Fessler, MD, PhD, professor of neurological surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
CNN.com, October 11, 2010, 3:30 PM ET: "First human injected in human embryonic stem cell trial":
After years of animal trials, the first human has been injected with cells from human embryonic stem cells, according to Geron Corporation, the company which is sponsoring the controversial study. ...Geron is releasing very few details about the patient, but will say that the first person to receive cells derived from human embryonic stem cells was enrolled in the FDA-approved clinical trial at the Shepherd Center, a spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. This person was injected with the cells on Friday.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 11, 2010, 8:16 p.m. EDT: "First stem cell treatment for human administered in Atlanta":
"Taking a landmark step, Atlanta doctors have injected millions of embryonic stem cells into a partially paralyzed patient, treating a human for the first time in the U.S. with the controversial research, officials said Monday."
USA Today, October 11, 2010, 11:00 pm EDT: "Embryonic stem cells used on patient for first time":
For the first time, surgeons have injected a spinal cord injury patient with human embryonic stem cells in a federally approved experiment, a biomedical firm said Monday. Food and Drug Administration officials approved the start of the privately funded safety trial in July, allowing a long-awaited test of the cells, which were grown from a single embryo to resemble forerunners to spinal cells. The unnamed patient received the cells at the Shepherd Center, an Atlanta hospital specializing in brain, spine and related ailments.
Human embryonic stem cells are precursors to all human tissues. Researchers first grew them from embryos in 1998. Medical researchers have since looked to the cells to study organ development, test drugs and, now in the clinical trial, grow rejection-free replacement organs.
Daily Mail, 12th October 2010 9:45 AM GMT: "Spinal patient is first to get stem cells from embryos in bid to walk again":
A paralysed patient has been injected with human embryonic stem cells in a world-first attempt to help them walk again.
Doctors hope the stem cells will help nerves in a newly damaged spinal cord regenerate before the disability becomes permanent. The patient has had millions of the stem cells injected into the site of the injury in an effort to find a revolutionary cure, according to the U.S. firm carrying out the hugely controversial experiment.
Below are news videos of this story from television news sources:
ABC News, October 11, 2010: "Medical Milestone: Genetics Company Begins First Embryonic Stem-Cell Treatment on Patient. First Study to Focus on How Patient With Spinal Cord Injuries Will React to Treatment":
For years, scientists have held out the promise that embryonic stem cells could repair damaged spinal cords and cure other serious ailments. Scientists today got one step closer to making that promise a reality as they began an embryonic stem-cell treatment on a patient with spinal cord injuries. It is the first time a medical therapy has been used on a human in a government approved study.
CBS News / Associated Press, October 11, 2010, 6:23 PM EDT: "First Embryonic Stem Cell Treatment Tried on Spinal Cord Injury":
A California bio-tech company has begun testing an embryonic stem-cell drug treatment on a patient with spinal cord injuries, marking the first time a drug made with embryonic stem cells has been used on a human. The patient was enrolled at Shepherd Center, a spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation center in Atlanta.
In order to participate, the patient had to have been injured within the last two weeks. The company, Geron, hopes to enroll another eight to 10 patients in the study. The stem-cell drug, known as GRNOPC, contains cells that turn into oligodendrocytes, a type of cell that produces myelin, a coating that allows impulses to move along nerves.
When those cells are lost because of injury, paralysis can follow. If GRNOPC1 works, the progenitor cells will produce new oligodendrocytes in the injured area of the patient's spine, potentially allowing for new movement. Because this is an early stage study, researchers are primarily concerned with the safety of the treatment.
