U stem cell research may help avoid leg amputation
By: Jed Layton
Issue date: 7/30/08 Section: News
PrintEmail Article Tools Page 1 of 1 U Health Sciences Center
researchers hope a new stem cell study will help patients recover
from an intense leg disease, which can lead to amputation if it goes
unchecked.
As a professor and chief of vascular surgery at the U School of
Medicine, Larry Kraiss is part of a nationwide trial to see if
patients' own stem cells will help them recover from a type of
peripheral vascular disease.
U medical researchers are searching for five volunteers with a
condition called critical limb ischemia-an obstruction of the
arteries that feed blood to the legs.
"The hope is that if a stem cell is put into an environment where it
recognizes the need for blood vessels, it will form new blood
vessels," Kraiss said in a press release.
Kraiss said the disease occurs when plaque builds up in the leg
arteries, similar to the way plaque builds up in the heart or brain,
causing heart disease and strokes.
"This shuts down the blood supply, causing flesh and tissue to start
to die," he said.
In the study, volunteers will take medication to encourage the
production of blood cells, which contain stem cells. The patient's
blood will then go through a process to remove the stem cells from
the blood. A cell therapy lab will purify and concentrate the stem
cells. Patients will then receive either a saltwater placebo or one
of two dosing levels of the stem cell concentrate in areas of the
legs where limited blood flow occurs.
Volunteers will have checkups every two weeks for two months and then
checkups at three, six and 12 month intervals afterward. If the
treatment is successful, Kraiss expects there to be improvement in
the first six months.
This study, coordinated by Northwestern University, has worked with
laboratory mice, but this is the first time it will be tried on
humans.
"There's evidence it will work," Kraiss said. "I am optimistic."
Kraiss said there might be risks in this study but that most patients
would be willing to give the study a try.
"There are always risks," he said. "It is hard to say what the risks
would be. In this study we will likely find some patients willing to
accept unknown risks because the other alternative is amputation."
To qualify for the study, potential patients must meet strict
requirements and be without any other treatment options, such as
angioplasty or bypass surgery.
"This is a way to offer hope to people who have no other options to
treat the problem," Kraiss said in the release.
However, because of the strict requirements, none of the potential
patients have qualified for the study.
"We have had a number of contacts, but have not enrolled a patient
yet," Kraiss said. "We would like to, but the restrictions of the
study have been very stringent."
Regardless, Kraiss said he is not concerned.
"It is a common thing in research studies. You have to identify the
exact population that will get the best results."
Until then, they are playing a waiting game.
"As soon as they can get volunteers, they can start the research
process," said Phil Sahm, a spokesman for the HSC.
Kraiss said that the U covers a four- to five-state area and that a
potential patient does not have to live in Utah to be a part of the
study.
Volunteers will be compensated nominally. Kraiss said it is intended
to cover time and attendance, but is not an incentive for patient
participation.
j.layton@chronicle.
http://media.
08/07/30/News/
3395531.shtml
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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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