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February 17, 2005
stem cell research
The pace of scientific and medical breakthroughs in stem cell research is breakneck (no pun intended), with several interesting and/or important discoveries being reported each month. The table below is a synopsis of discoveries from the months of December 2004, January and February 2005 as reported by The Stem Cell Research Foundation. I will try go back and prepend reports of discoveries from months prior to December as I have time.
| MONTH | TYPE | IMPLICATIONS | PROSPECTS FOR CURE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb |  adult, taken from baby teeth, wisdom teeth |
Teeth may be regrown as an alternative to titanium implants. | Distant: cells implanted into mice produced bone and dentin. | New Research May Yield Natural Tooth Replacements |
| Feb | adult, bone marrow | Cosmetic surgery; implants which do not lose shape and volume as rapidly as conventional synthetic implants. | Distant: one month study in mice had encouraging results, but more studies needed. | Stem Cell Research Hints At Better Looking Cosmetic And Reconstructive Surgery |
| Feb | adult, satellite cells in muscle tissue | May have implications on other cases where patients' bodies are not able to repair themselves. | Distant: tests in mice demonstrate blood's impact on muscle regeneration in old age, scientist don't know why | Young Blood Revives Aging Muscles |
| Feb |  embryonic, from mice embryos | Treatment of liver-based genetic defects such as hemophilia | Distant: tested only in animals, "a number of questions need to be answered" | Embryonic Stem Cells Treated With Growth Factor Reverse Hemophilia In Mice |
| Feb | adult, found in the atrium of hearts of newborns (tissue taken from five infants undergoing surgery for congenital heart defects) | Cell-based therapy for treatment of pediatric cardiac disease | Distant: encouraging source of heart cell progenitors | Researchers Discover Specialized, Rare Heart Stem Cells In Newborns |
| Feb |  umbilical cord, derived from tissue surrounding blood vessels in human umbelical cord | Plentiful supply of hematopoietic (blood producing) stem cells for various bone marrow transplant treatments | Good: researchers found ample source of stem cells (of a type currently being used for treatment) far more plentiful than in cord blood | New Stem Cell Source Could Boost Bone Marrow Transplant Success |
| Jan | embryonic | Possibly the treatment of spinal chord injuries | Distant: not yet tested in animals, several years from human tests (still theoretical) | Scientists Grow Critical Nerve Cells |
| Jan | adult, patients treated with their own stem cells | Minimally invasive treatment of heart failure patients | Excellent: heart failure patients successfully treated ("remarkable") | First Heart Failure Patients Ever To Receive Stem Cells In Minimally Invasive Procedure Have Improved Heart Function |
| Jan | adult, bone marrow stimulated to release EPC's | Treatment of Peripheral Vascular Disease | Good: clinical trial underway | Emory Study Tests Bone Marrow Stem Cells To Improve Circulation In The Legs |
| Jan | embryonic | Process (extracellular matrix) for turning ES cells into precursor cells so that they can be used for various diseases | Distant: described as "enabling technology" for further research | Priming Embryonic Stem Cells To Fulfill Their Promise |
| Jan | embryonic | No benefits indicated: researchers call for starting over with newly derived strains of embryonic stem cells, but complain at "existing rules" governing use of federal grant money | Poor: traditional cultivation methods inadequate ("More research needed") | Current Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Contaminated With Potentially Dangerous Non-Human Molecule |
| Jan | adult, produced by the spleen | Possibly versatile adult-derived stem cells for several types of damage or injury. | Distant: adult stem cells found producing protein previously thought to be produced only in embryonic stem cells. | Spleen May Be Source Of Versatile Stem Cells |
| Jan | HUCB, taken from blood in umbelical cord | Treatment of heart failure | Distant: successful tests in rats soon after a heart attack | Study Shows Cord Blood Cells Limit Heart Attack Damage In Animal Model |
| Dec | adult, leukemic cells have properties of stem cells | Cancer's implications for stem cells cultivation, and potentially a better understanding of cancer. | Good: Near term benefits ("excited") | Discovery Suggests New Options For Treating Leukemia |
| Dec | adult, human bone marrow derived | CF patients treated with their own stem cells | Good: small clinical trial in 2 to 3 years ("optimistic") | Combination Stem Cell-Gene Therapy Approach Seen As Potential Treatment For Cystic Fibrosis |
| Dec | embryonic | "Biological Pacemaker:" human ES cells combined with rats' heart tissue and implanted into ginea pigs regulated heart rhythm. | Distant: experiments in animals only; some perplexing results | Animal Studies Show Stem Cells Might Make Biological Pacemaker |
| Dec | adult, fat derived | Treatment of difficult bone defects where grafts are not sufficient | Excellent: human patient successfully treated | First Case Of Fat-Derived Stem Cells For Repairing Human Skull Defects Reported |
| Synopsis: | % of Discoveries: embryonic - 29% adult/cord - 71% | Distant Prospects: embryonic - 4 adult/cord - 5 | Good or Excellent Prospects: embryonic - 0 adult/cord - 5 | All data above from The Stem Cell Research Foundation |
Posted by joel at February 17, 2005 11:58 PM
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Comments
Good stuff. Thanks Joel
Posted by: Worldgineer at February 18, 2005 03:42 PM
This is a terrific chart, and beautiful as well. Great work
Posted by: jille ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.chezjoel.com//nav-commenters.gif)
at February 19, 2005 07:31 AM
I think I might make a permanent link to this post. Pretty sure trackbacks just don't work on blogger though.
Posted by: Dave Munger at May 14, 2005 07:12 PM
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