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Last week surgeons at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital at Oregon Health & Science University performed what is believed to be the first-ever transplant of fetal stem cells into a human brain.
The cells, called purified neural stem cells, were injected directly into the brain of a child suffering from a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder called Batten disease.
The groundbreaking surgery was the first of what is expected to be six such operations performed on six children with Batten disease as part of a clinical study taking a first look at whether a stem cell product developed by a California biotech company is safe to transplant in humans.
While officials with OHSU and the California company publicly announced the surgery last week, they have declined to discuss details of the actual operation and follow-up.
None of the participating medical staff nor staff members at the California company – StemCells Inc. of Palo Alto – has agreed to interviews since the Nov. 14 surgery took place.
OHSU spokeswoman Tamara Hargens said she has heard from patients and reporters from around the world since the surgery, but she has little to tell them. One of the reasons, Hargens said, is a desire to protect the confidentiality of the patient and family.
Many of the people who call in want to know whether the experimental therapy will apply to other neurological diseases, Hargens said.
According to Sean Tipton, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, a Washington, D.C., group that advocates for stem cell research, any stem cell breakthrough having to do with nerve cells would be particularly welcome by the public and researchers.
“There are a lot of scientists who believe that’s the most promising area to pursue,” Tipton said.
The body cannot regenerate nerve cells, as it can with bone and muscle, Tipton said.
“You break your leg and the body can heal the bone,” Tipton said. ”You sever the spinal cord and the body cannot repair that. So there’s a great need to find a way to help the body to regenerate nerve cells.”
Tipton said that if stem cells can be shown to regenerate nerve cells, “that opens the door to treating paralysis from spinal cord diseases or other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis.”
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