Stem Cells were able to repair spinal cord injuries in rats. These rats were unable to walk, but after the injections they were able to walk up to 95% of their potential. The rats that did not receive the treatment obviously did not see any improvements. The scientists also saw that the stem cells were creating myelin which is an insulator to nerve fibers that nerves need to communicate. Diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis happen because of the deterioration of myelin.
These are two amazing breakthroughs seen in these tests. Not only have stem cells cured spinal cord injuries, but they have also helped discover a possible cure for MS. They were just found it rats and they need a lot more testing to see how it would work on humans, but we seem to be getting closer.
There are still a few issues with these experiments though. First, there’s the animal cruelty argument. From reading the articles it sounds like they personally injured the rats and then healed them and then unhealed them to make sure it was the stem cells that healed them. I don’t know about you, but that’s kind of messed up in my eyes. I know it’s all for science, but it just doesn’t sit right with me. My sister does similar things for her internship currently, but they don’t make them better and then not better afterwards. She just gases pregnant mice and then cuts out the fetuses and then cuts out the brains of said fetuses. That sounds terrible I know, but they just die painlessly.
Another issue is where these stem cells came from. These stem cells were slightly more advanced embryonic stem cells called fetal neural stem cells. These cells are blank slates for the spinal cord. The issue with embryonic stem cells comes into play because of the whole issue with embryos and people being uptight about where they come from.
If you’re able to look past these issues though, we might be on the verge of a medical revolution that could cure most diseases that are harmful to us today. It’s also funny that Nate Fowler’s article also had to deal with spinal cord injuries, but the researchers on his breakthrough did entirely different things.
The two sources I used were MSNBC and Science Daily. Both sources said pretty much the same thing, but I feel like MSNBC did a better job explaining what was going on. It makes sense because they have a much larger and wider audience than Science Daily.
Sources:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9401832/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121345.htm
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