Stem cells, tomorrow’s cure
- Two weeks ago a long awaited announcement was made public: the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approved, for the first time, the use of stem cells derived from human embryos in people with spinal cord injuries (SCI).
The trial, launched by the private group Geron Corporation, revived the bitter debate surrounding stem cells, not only the ethical aspects, but also on the results that this could shed on therapeutic aspects too.
Although it sounds may currently sound like science fiction, it is expected these studies in the future will provide a cure for many unsolvable sicknesses.
Why is stem cell treatment so powerful?
Moments after conception occurs, the first set of identical cells are formed, called a blastocyst. Each of these cells has the potential to become any part of the body. This inherent capability to become any other cell is what science calls a pluripotent stem cell or embryonic stem cell.
That is why medical research groups around the world, have made them the main focus of their studies.
Moreover, it is believed that this capacity can be used to regenerate lost or damaged tissue (in cases of severe burns, for example), to cure diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and even to produce new organs to replace a damaged one.
The fact that these dream cells are only obtained from human embryos (in the U.S. trials, they are left over cells from assisted reproduction processes) has been the cause of bitter argument and have even set foot in the political arena.
One of the most visible examples was during former U.S. President George W. Bush’s government, who banned public funding of any research that resorted to the use of embryonic stem cells. In March 2009 the government of President Barack Obama raised this veto. But this is far from the last we’ll hear on the subject as a federal judge in August, temporarily stopped the flow of study funding for this cell research.
The decision did not affect private stem cell funding and Geron only needed FDA approval. And it is here.