Stem cells hope for muscular dystrophy
Thursday, 16 Nov 2006 16:25
Stem cell research points towards a number of potential cures for diseases and conditions
Science In Focus
We take a look at the highs and lows of the past five decades of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa). Full Story
Scientists believe that they may have identified a potential stem cell treatment for muscular dystrophy.
The condition causes muscle degeneration, progressive paralysis and eventually death.
There are more than 20 types of the condition in existence along with numerous other muscle disorders, but treatment options are practically non-existent.
In tests using normal and dystrophic dogs, Giulio Cossu and colleagues used mesoangioblasts – stem cells gathered from small blood vessels that are programmed to develop into muscle cells.
Dogs were used as they have the only system to present the same full spectrum of the disease pathology as humans.
The animals were injected five times a month with stem cells containing the correct dystrophic protein.
Improvements were seen in all cases, leading the scientists to hope that a similar method could one day be used to help humans with the condition.
Writing in the journal Nature, the researchers argue: "The work reported here sets the logical premise for the start of clinical experimentation that may lead to an efficacious therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy."
And in an accompanying article in the same journal, Jeffery Chamberlain writes: "Cossu and colleagues' results provide compelling evidence that this method should be developed further for testing in patients.
"That will take several years, and may need many rounds of refinement in animals before any human trials can take place."
He concluded: "Perhaps [muscular dystrophy] conditions will be among the first for which the promise of stem-cell technology for degenerative disorders can be realised."