Hi Vanina,
As you already know, it appears that neural stem cell implantation is
a very hot research topic at the moment. Most current studies are at
the phase in which animal models (mostly mouse) are being used to test
possible cell transplant techniques. This research appears very
promising. Although I have cited some particularly applicable quotes
below, I encourage you to read the articles in full.
Research done a few months ago indicated that mice with spinal cord
injuries could be inject with cultured stem cells which would then
turn, in part, into cells with neural properties, and varying degrees
of movement could be regained.
"Stem cells from bone marrow are readily obtainable from procedures
that are already common practice in human medicine," says Mark
Tuszynski, MD, PhD, of the University of California in San Diego. "We
have found that transplantation of these cells in combination with
genetic techniques may work just as well as other types of stem cell
transplants in inducing the damaged spinal cord to regrow its
circuitry."
[ http://apu.sfn.org/content/AboutSFN1/NewsReleases/am2002_stem.html ]
Similar successful results have been obtained with studies of Multiple
Sclerosis, which is important and relevant because MS also involves
degeneration of neurons (more specifically, the degradation of the
myelin coating around the axons of neurons, but neural cells
nonetheless.)
“Cells injected into the bloodstream found their way to the animals'
brains, where they repaired damaged and inflamed areas. Four out of 15
mice with paralyzed back legs moved normally after treatment”
[ http://www.nature.com/nsu/030414/030414-9.html ]
Now, more interesting to us is research that may prove applicable to
the baby you’ve described.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota provide evidence for the
first time that stem cells derived from adult bone marrow and injected
into the blastocyst of a mouse can differentiate into all major types
of cells found in the brain.
“This tells us that these adult stem cells are capable of becoming
nerve cells that communicate with other nerve cells within the brain
and form proper neural circuits that permit the chimerical mice to
function normally,” said co-investigator Catherine Verfaillie, M.D.,
director of the Stem Cell Institute at the University of Minnesota.
“The next step is to test what happens when the adult stem cells are
used to treat mice and rats with neurological disorders,” said lead
author Dirk Keene, an M.D./Ph.D. student at the University of
Minnesota Medical School.
[ http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-04/uom-asc042403.php ]
This is good news, indicating that it may be possible to regenerate
the forebrain or other tissue that is in poor condition.
Even better, at the moment, initial research is also being conducted
in humans. Some of the achievements have included growing adult stem
cells from muscle tissue and transplanting them in the brain such that
they continue to differentiate and grow on their own.
“The Y-positive cells were found in clumps, suggesting that the
original donor cells had continued to multiply after differentiating
into brain cells.”
“The researchers suggest that developing a way to direct these stem
cells into areas where neurons are damaged or diseased could help
repair the brain.“
[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2673343.stm ]
This is from a recent study of human brains post-mortem, however, and
do not reflect any clinical successes or even a serious attempt to
repair neural tissue.
However, the above article also stated that
"Adult stem cells, on the other hand, could be harvested from patients
themselves."
This has also been discussed by the other sources. The important fact
here, is that there is a big difference between adult and embryonic
stem cells. While it appears that embryonic stem cells have great
potential for aiding disorders, harvested adult cells are also very
viable, and most of the recent research has been conducted on adult
cells. Embryonic cells, however, have received most of the media
spotlight because of their obviously controversial source, human
embryos. More about the difference between the two can be found at:
[ http://210.66.36.130/c91/home/c91a105/www/introduction.html ]
Now, a report that you may be very interested to know about came out
only two days ago in the China Medical Tribune. If found the link to
the article from stemcellresearch.org [
http://www.stemcellresearch.org/news.htm ] which is a very good
resource! It describes an operation that was completed a few weeks
ago in which a patient with head trauma was injected with stem cells
and made a good recovery, including increased brain functionality.
“The operation lasted for 3 hours and approximately 5,000,000 cells
were implanted into the patient's brain by means of multiple points
injection.”
“15 days later, acceleration of functional recovery of the nerve was
seen.”
“regeneration and repair of cerebral injury involvea complicated
biological process and autologous transplantation of the nerve stem
cells was aimed at searching the potential of cellular healing in
absence of immune rejection. There are still many barriers to overcome
for perfect repair of cerebral injury and a close observation and
evaluation of the long term effects are mandatory.”
The original article is found here:
[http://www.cmt.com.cn/article/010628/a010628e01.htm ]
This appears to be the type of success that you would hope to see,
possibly applicable to this baby. However, I tried to find more
information on this particular operation, but this report was
strangely matchless.
It does appear, as you suggested, that clinical work (such as the
surgery described above, is seemingly minimal in the United States.
The research I’ve done indicates that, although this technique has a
very promising future, presumably within the next 5-10 years, it is
not yet being conducted as a trial, let alone standard, procedure.
I wish you the best of luck in receiving help for this child. Below
are some links to centers for or information about children with
neurological disorders that might be of help to you. If you have any
further questions, please let me know.
Links:
Kennedy Krieger Institute (where I work)
[ https://www.kennedykrieger.org ]
Healing Arts .Org
[ http://healing-arts.org/children/children-links.htm ]
Regards,
Andrewxmp |
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