Who is going to start human clinical trials with this?
http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/news/2014/04/bone-marrow-stem-cells-show-promise-stroke-treatment?
Stem cells culled from bone
marrow may prove beneficial in stroke recovery, scientists at UC
Irvine’s Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center have learned.
In an analysis of published research, neurologist Dr. Steven Cramer
and biomedical engineer Weian Zhao identified 46 studies that examined
the use of mesenchymal stromal cells—a type of multipotent adult stem
cells mostly processed from bone marrow—in animal models of stroke. They
found MSCs to be significantly better than control therapy in 44 of the
studies.
Importantly, the effects of these cells on functional recovery were
robust regardless of the dosage, the time the MSCs were administered
relative to stroke onset or the method of administration. (The cells
helped even if given a month after the event and whether introduced
directly into the brain or injected via a blood vessel.)
“Stroke remains a major cause of disability, and we are encouraged
that the preclinical evidence shows [MSCs’] efficacy with ischemic
stroke,” said Cramer, a professor of neurology and leading stroke
expert. “MSCs are of particular interest because they come from bone
marrow, which is readily available, and are relatively easy to culture.
In addition, they already have demonstrated value when used to treat
other human diseases.”
He noted that MSCs do not differentiate into neural cells. Normally,
they transform into a variety of cell types, such as bone, cartilage and
fat cells. “But they do their magic as an inducible pharmacy on wheels
and as good immune system modulators, not as cells that directly replace
lost brain parts,” he said.
In an earlier report focused on MSC mechanisms of action, Cramer and
Zhao reviewed the means by which MSCs promote brain repair after stroke.
The cells are attracted to injury sites and, in response to signals
released by these damaged areas, begin releasing a wide range of
molecules. In this way, MSCs orchestrate numerous activities: blood
vessel creation to enhance circulation, protection of cells starting to
die, growth of brain cells, etc. At the same time, when MSCs are able to
reach the bloodstream, they settle in parts of the body that control
the immune system and foster an environment more conducive to brain
repair.
“We conclude that MSCs have consistently improved multiple outcome
measures, with very large effect sizes, in a high number of animal
studies and, therefore, that these findings should be the foundation of
further studies on the use of MSCs in the treatment of ischemic stroke
in humans,” said Cramer, who is also clinical director of the Sue &
Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center.
Source: University of California, Irvine
Now if they find the same results in humans that they have in mice (i.e. "preclinical")
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