This is truly great news and will be even better if it holds up to peer review and brings about additional breakthroughs. It is proof positive of a couple of things:
- The critical importance of stem cell research of all kinds for treating serious afflictions and diseases. The research here was done using adult stem cells, but embryonic stem cell research may hold even more promise for finding cures in general.
- The fact that this breakthrough came from outside the US is a warning of the failure of the US policy on stem cell research and the republicans likening "stem cells" to abortion and creating a false stigma.
In an apparent major breakthrough, scientists in Korea report using umbilical cord blood stem cells to restore feeling and mobility to a spinal-cord injury patient.
The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cythotherapy, centered on a woman had been a paraplegic 19 years due to an accident.
After an infusion of umbilical cord blood stem cells, stunning results were recorded:
"The patient could move her hips and feel her hip skin on day 15 after transplantation. On day 25 after transplantation her feet responded to stimulation."
Man, these Koreans are liars. You will probably be used for their human experiment *for free*.
ReplyDeleteThe bigotry and ignorance evinced by the previous comment is not condoned by this blog. I would prefer to delete the comment outright since it is offensive, but I think that a good antidote for bad free speech is more free speech.
ReplyDeletePeople tend to hang themselves on their own words, as this person did; I would hate for the world to be mislead by this person's silence about how ignorant and bigoted he is, so enjoy.
If the poster was referring specifically to Hwang Woo-suk (http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?Page=%5CForeignBureaus%5Carchive%5C200511%5CFOR20051129b.html)
ReplyDeletehis misdeeds had to do with Embryonic stem cell research fraud. The link that I posted to referred to a journal article that I don't have the source for so I don't know that it is the same person involved. I suspect not.
If that is what the poster was referring, then he is less bigoted and more ignorant perhaps since he would have assumed it was the same "Koreans" involved in both. I'll continue to dig to find a name to link both together but I don't see anything thus far.