Advances in Adult Stem Cells Continue.(developments in stem cell research)

More and more advances are being made in the use of adult stem cells, which do not harm the donor. Reports from researchers are adding to the evidence that embryonic stem cells, which require the deaths of unborn children, will not lead to the most effective future medical treatments. The past months have seen several breakthroughs:

The Australian Stem Cell Centre at Monash University announced June 10 that it is the first in the country to work with "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPS cells), according to The Age. The cells are reprogrammed from human skin cells, and are just beginning to be cultivated in the Australian laboratory. "The reason why we're so interested in these cells, is that these cells have the capacity to turn into any cell type in the human body," researcher Dr. Andrew Laslett told Australian Broadcasting Corporation News. "We would hope that maybe they would be able to be used in sort of an off the shelf product, having been turned into different cells in the body, that could be used to treat people in a hospital setting."

Researchers in Chicago and Texas have discovered an enzyme inhibitor that helps stem cells from umbilical cord blood find their way to bone marrow to treat blood cancers, including myeloma, lymphoma, and leukemia, according to PhysOrg.com. The enzyme inhibitor could "increase the transplant efficiency of umbilical cord blood and ultimately make transplant safer and available to all patients who require this treatment," PhysOrg.com reported.

Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute at Harvard have found molecules that may help stem cells already in a patient's brain transform into nerve cells and heal damage. Researcher Dr. Dong Feng Chen "believes that tapping the brain's dormant, but intrinsic, ability to regenerate itself is the best hope for people suffering from brain-ravaging diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease or traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries," according to PhysOrg.com.

Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles reported in the May 1 Stem Cells that they have reprogrammed mouse skin cells into cardiovascular cells. "The finding is the first to show that induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells, which don't involve the use of embryos or eggs, can be differentiated into the three types of cardiovascular cells needed to repair the heart and blood vessels," according to a UCLA press release.

Another team in Massachusetts has reprogrammed mouse skin cells to become neural ...