The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agrees that U.S. Advanced Cell Technology can inject embryonic stem cells from idle test-tube babies into the eyes of dozens of adult patients with Stargardt's disease, also known as juvenile macular degeneration. In clinical trials, photoreceptor cells in the eyes of patients with this inherited eye disease have been damaged. This is the second controversial stem cell therapy approved by the FDA. The main purpose of clinical trials is to evaluate the safety of the therapy.
Robert Lanza, chief scientist at Advanced Cell Technology in the United States, said that the first patient may receive stem cell transplantation in early 2011, and signs of vision improvement are expected within six weeks.
Embryonic stem cells used in clinical trials come from embryos of test-tube babies who are several days old. These embryonic stem cells can develop into a variety of specific cells in the body. The researchers believe that embryonic stem cells will completely change the face of the medical field, because they can repair damaged body tissues and organs in situ without the need for whole-organ transplantation.
However, there are also many groups who oppose the embryonic stem cell transplantation trial, which they believe kills potential lives, even though they are only three-day-old embryos.
Lanza said that the first three patients will be injected with 50,000 embryonic stem cells; the second batch of patients will be injected with 100,000 embryonic stem cells; the highest dose injected will reach 200,000 embryonic stem cells. He said that mouse experiments have shown that after the minimum dose of injection, the mouse's vision has improved significantly, and without any side effects, human trials may also be successful.
Last week, a stroke patient in Glasgow, United Kingdom, became the first patient in the world to receive stem cells for brain experiments. The injected stem cells were derived from aborted fetuses. The purpose of this experiment was to test the safety of fetal stem cells. Scientists believe that fetal stem cells do not function as embryonic stem cells in terms of regenerative capacity.
In November 2010, American biotechnology company Jayron announced that it will launch the world’s first clinical trial of human embryonic stem cell therapy, injecting GRNOPC1 to 8 to 10 patients with spine injuries resulting in lower body paralysis, hoping to repair its damage. Nerve cells.
According to a report by the British "Israel" on November 22, the United States approved clinical trials using embryonic stem cells for the treatment of hereditary eye diseases. The researchers said that patients who are treated will be able to see the light within six weeks.