Regenerative Therapies: the Slow Move From Horses to Humans
Posted on 02-01-2008 08:56:18 by Reason
Original post on Fight Aging
Disclaimer: Posts written for blogs other than the Methuselah
Foundation Blog are written by independent authors whose opinions may
not be held by the Methuselah Foundation.
Back in 2005, I noted that horses have enjoyed the benefits of early
stem cell therapies since 2002:
In the new treatment, a damaged tendon is rapidly "repopulated" by
flexible new tendon tissue, rather than leathery scar tissue that
naturally forms over a period of up to 18 months. About 70 per cent
of treated horses have returned to racing form - more than double the
percentage that would be expected had they received conventional
treatment.
As to why the same is not true of injured humans, you'd have to look
towards the oppressive medical regulation that has developed over the
past decades in most developed countries. Veterinary science
continues to provide the shining example of where we could be with
even just a little less waste, less socialism and less pointless,
self-serving bureaucracy:
In the race to perfect 'regenerative medicine,' stem cell therapy for
animals is ahead of treatment for humans because it is not so
strictly regulated. It's not experimental - it's here. ... There are
no side effects and no problems with rejection, because the patient
is also the cell donor. ... I don't see any reason why humans aren't
doing it."
Five years later, a few companies are starting to offer autologous
stem cell therapies in the US - and they're only able to do it so
soon by working their way around the low points in the regulatory
landscape. It'll be another five years or longer before therapies
that the FDA is overseeing emerge into the light of day - if they do
at all. One of these adventurous companies is Regenerative Sciences,
focusing on joint disease:
Millions of Americans suffer every year from painful and debilitating
orthopedic conditions, such as osteoarthritis of the knee, fractures
that won̢۪t heal, and bone degeneration of the hip and other joints,
known as osteonecrosis or avascular necrosis. Until now, treatment
has focused on pain management and ultimately total joint
replacement. Unfortunately, for those under the age of 65, these
options are far from optimal.
...
Our trained staff isolates the mesenchymal stem cells. These cells
are then grown using natural growth factors found in your blood. The
goal is to achieve much greater numbers of stem cells than you could
muster to the injured area.
We live in an age of promise in biotechnology, with the prospect of
ever-increasing health and life span ahead of us. The greatest
challenges to the promise of modern medicine are posed by the
institutional ball and chain we allow to hold back progress.
http://www.mprize.
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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