Advances are coming quickly with iPS cells (Induced Pluripotent Stem cells), derived from skin cells.
Scientists Cure Mice Of Sickle Cell Using Stem Cell Technique - washingtonpost.com
Using a recently developed technique for turning skin cells into stem cells, scientists have cured mice of sickle cell anemia -- the first direct proof that the easily obtained cells can reverse an inherited, potentially fatal disease.
Researchers said the work, published in yesterday's online edition of the journal Science, points to a promising future for the novel cells. Known as iPS cells, they have been touted by President Bush and some scientists as a possible substitute for embryonic stem cells, which have been mired for years in political controversy.
But researchers also cautioned that aspects of the new approach will have to be changed before it can be tried in human patients. Most important, the technique depends on the use of gene-altered viruses that have the potential to trigger tumor growth.
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"I think it is a really exciting proof-of-principle that clinical applications of iPS cells are technically feasible," said George Q. Daley, a stem cell researcher at Children's Hospital Boston. "There will be lots of unanticipated setbacks before we end up in the clinic, but this work suggests that we will ultimately get there."
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