The Director of Tulane University's Center for Gene Therapy speaking recently at the American Association of Anatomists had this to say: "New studies show that not only do stem cells from the patient's own body readily repair all sorts of damaged tissue, they stimulate the growth and differentiation of existing stem cells."
He repeated what is already well established in the literature regarding animal studies in which stem cells injected into diabetic mice travelled to and engrafted themselves into the pancreas where they increased the production of insulin and lowered blood sugar. However, they also engrafted themselves onto the kidneys and repaired the damage normally associated with diabetes.
According to the doctor there is a mitochondrial transfer of DNA to existing local cells whose own mitochondria are inactive and stimulates those cells to start working.
News like this was hard to come by, even though the implications for further advances in the treatment of diseases using adult stem cells (like Parkinson's, kidney and liver disease, diabetes and various forms of heart disease and cancer) are more than exciting. So frustrating!!!
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