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October 11th, 2010
03:30 PM ET
First human injected in human embryonic stem cell trialAfter years of animal trials, the first human has been injected with cells from human embryonic stem cells, according to Geron Corporation, the company which is sponsoring the controversial study. "This is the first human embryonic stem cell trial in the world," Geron CEO Dr. Thomas Okarma tells CNN. Geron is releasing very few details about the patient, but will say that the first person to receive cells derived from human embryonic stem cells was enrolled in the FDA-approved clinical trial at the Shepherd Center, a spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. This person was injected with the cells on Friday. The FDA first approved this clinical trial in January 2009, but later required further research before the study could proceed. The FDA gave final approval in July of this year. This allowed the company to begin searching for the first patients who might qualify for this phase 1 clinical trial, which means scientists are trying to determine the safety of introducing these cells into a human. To be eligible, patients have to have suffered what's called a complete thoracic spinal cord injury, which means no movement below the chest. While patients can still move their arms and breathe on their own, they are complete paraplegics; they have no bowel or bladder control and can't move their legs, Okarma explains. The injury to the spinal cord would have to have occurred between the third and tenth thoracic vertebrae and the patient has to be injected with the stem cell therapy, called GRNOPC1, within seven to 14 days after the injury. "At the time of the injection, they [the cells] are programmed to make a new spinal cord – they insulate the damage [to the spinal cord]," says Okarma. The cells work just like they would if they were in the womb and building a spine in a fetus, Okarma explains. Embryonic stem cells are only four to five days old and have the ability to turn into any cell in the body. But the cells that the patient receives aren't pure human embryonic stem cells anymore. The cells in the GRNOPC1 therapy have been coaxed into becoming early myelinated glial cells, a type of cell that insulates nerve cells. "For every cell we inject, they become six to 10 cells in a few months," says Okarma. These cells can still divide some but will not become any type of cell other than glial cells, he explains. The Geron CEO likens what these cells are doing to repairing a large electrical cable. If the outer layer is damaged and the wire is exposed, it causes a short-circuit and the cable doesn't work anymore. In the case of a spinal cord injury, these new stem-cell derived glial cells creep in between all the fibers and rewrap the nerve with myelin, which is like patching the cable. The goal is to permanently repair the damage that caused the paralysis from the spinal cord injury. "We're not treating symptoms here - we're permanently regenerating tissue," says Okarma. He adds that the goal of this stem cell therapy is to shift the outcome for someone who has just suffered a serious spinal cord injury, and go from a place where there's no hope for improvement to a situation where they can respond to physical therapy. "If we could do that, this would be a spectacular result," Okarma says. The purpose of the clinical trial at this stage is to determine safety – to determine that there are no bad side effects or rejection caused by the therapy. Only eight to 10 patients are approved to be in the safety phase of this clinical trial, and patients with new spinal cord injuries are expected to be enrolled at about seven sites in the United States. Besides the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, also is recruiting patients. The cells that are being injected into the patients are a product derived from stem cells that were harvested from leftover embryos from fertility clinics. Because this process destroys the embryo, this type of research has been very controversial. Consequently federal funding of this type of research has been equally controversial. However, Okarma has previously told CNN that "zero federal funds" were used for their human embryonic stem cell product.
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Great news! Best of luck.
That's one of the reason I was never able to go through with IVF. I would still consider those embryos to be my babies, and I couldn't stand the thought of what would happen to my kids, however immature they would be. THAT and I would feel like a real heel for not being willing to donate my dead kids.
But if this works, and someone else's baby gets to walk again, or see or whatever, then I will be praising God for allowing us to be able to come this far in ending human suffering.
I am praying for the same miracle but not like this. It supports abortions any way you look at it.
A baby needs to die to restore someone elses life. It dosnt make sence.
HOW MANY BABIES ARE THEY GOING TO KILL FOR THIS HORRENDOUS EXPERIMENT?
Please reread the article... no one has killed any babies in the study.
They don't KILL any of the babies. They are aborted before hand, which are then donated. I'm not necesarily Pro-choice or antireligeous, but i think this treatment is great.
Let's put it this way:
You're hit by a car.
You wake up lying in a hospital bed.
You realize you can't feel your feet.
In fact, you can't feel anything from the neck down.
Now tell me, would you hope for a cure? Or would you wait a few decades untill we find a way to not use the "mountains of massacred babies, who gave their lives to science"?/sacrasm
Oh, how the mindless babbling of the religious brightens my day.
Simple as this, it can be breakthrough science and can save people. That SF person what a retard, there is no such thing as a god, go back to school and science will teach you that.
So what about a sperm cell? Is masturbation a form of genocide?
No, Josh. A sperm cell isn't a human being, because it needs to fertlize an ovum in order for a human being's life to begin. So fear not: no one's threatening masturbation. (Feel better now?)
@Josh mastubation is sinful. No it is not genocide. You should not mastubate.
The Bible is full of commands from God to kill women.
NOT ONE TIME does God give a rip if they are pregnant or not.
I have been suffering from chronic Lyme Disease (doing the best possible thanks to treatment by my Lyme Doctor) and hopefully Stem Cells can help people with permanent damage from Lyme. Time will tell. (Lyme induced Autism, Alztheimers, MS, ALS, Parkinsons, Arthritis, Diabetes, Dental and heart disease to name just a small few) Thanks to the scientists working on this! Thank You!
underourskin(dot)com
lymeinducedautism(dot)com
I would like to say that destroying the embryos are wrong which I think it is...but if the embryos are not being used to give birth(before people come in and say how bout those that can't have kids, are you gonna foot the bill personally for them to have kids?) I think then they should be used(if it is proven it works now) to help people walk and whatever else it can help do. But then again I don't think the embryos are being destroyed but more or less given new life or bettering someone else who would other wise see no point of going on.
Consider this: if we did nothing with these embryos, they would simply die. These embryos are the by-product of invitro fertilization, in which an infertile loving couple is given a child by modern science. Therefore, they are the byproducts of an extremely beneficial act, which exist only as a result of that act. Our two choices are to dispose of the embryos or put them to use for the rest of society in a way which heals the sick and gives people a new lease on life. I view their use as being more ethical than simply discarding them.
@Josh you are an unethical twit!
I completely agree with Josh. If the embryos are going to be destroyed (killed) anyway, why not use them to help those in need?
is this a article about sf or research, some anger management sounds in order...lots of rage in here
Since the embryos are the by-product of an ethical process in which a loving couple becomes parents, and because they would die if we did not create them and keep them alive, then I think we should put them to use. The only other option is to throw them away. That's the reality of the situation.
Bwaaahahahahah – SHAME on you CNN!!! Where is the like button?!
/likes every common-sense, logical comment refuting SF-the-moron's posts. Some of you guys get serious bonus points for original material and cleverness! This guy is a Bible turd.
Religious nuttery is fun for the whole family.......as long as you don’t let your children get too close.
What religious nuttery? Embryonic stem-cell research is unethical because it entails the destruction of embryonic human beings (a scientific fact, not a religious view). Meanwhile, adult stem-cell research is already leading to relief for spinal-cord patients.
well, good thing i was talking about the religious nuttery from several people on this page and not how it factors into one's stance on ESR. Now, i do happen to reject the notion that there is anything immoral about ESR. But like you said, we have a fundamental disagreement about a ball of cells and its situation as a human or non human. Let me say that again.....A BALL OF CELLS.....Just because it will become a human being, were we to intervene, nourish and sustain it with science, it would one day become a person. Just because we dont know where to draw the line, as far as when it becomes a person, doesnt mean that there isnt one. Besides, that person would never even have the chance to exist anyway. It does make it easier for me to feel this way when i dont attach a soul to every cell with human genes. Even if it is a cell that could potentially turn into a human.
Sorry, the religious nuttery i was talking about was for S.F.
I did a bad proof reading job. It should read
Let me say that again.....A BALL OF CELLS.....Just because it will become a human being, were we to intervene, nourish and sustain it with science, doesnt mean it IS a person.
@unicorn are you trans-gendered. The BALLS OF EMBRYONIC CELLS ARE HUMAN BEINGS...how come you can remember the eggs you crack for breakfast is CHICKENS eggs, but not what the "ball of cells" are! Maybe you should withold your opinions until you have dealth with your own identity truthfully!
chicken eggs are not chickens. 🙂
idenity problem solved long ago thanks
I would like to say that destroying the embryos are wrong which I think it is...but if the embryos are not being used to give birth(before people come in and say how bout those that can't have kids, are you gonna foot the bill personally for them to have kids?) I think then they should be used(if it is proven it works now) to help people walk and whatever else it can help do. But then again I don't think the embryos are being destroyed but more or less given new life or bettering someone else who would other wise see no point of going on.
@Broman, why do you bury your dead? Why not used them for a food source? Yeah, I'm sure we can find something better for your dead relatives to do than waste and just lay away in the ground. Really they should be put to use! Remember, you are what you eat...Yep, your favorite relative can live on as a new life in you!
@Evilwicked - "why do you bury your dead? Why not used them for a food source?" This statement just shows how sick you really are. BTW – here's a 21st century update for ya - we have been "using our dead" for decades to greatly improve the lives of others, it's called ORGAN DONATION, and it has saved millions of lives.
P.S. - you also might want to rethink that comment about masturbation being evil. You should try it sometime, it might help you lighten up a little.
@Celeste, lighten up yourself! What talked here is a living reality assaulting the unborn and its life processes. Now supposed I take you Celeste and declare you are nothing, a waste, not human, and dismember your parts to performed research and place on the market for sale. You have no voice to protest these abuses and no means to defend yourself. I think you would not tolerate being victimized like this. I recommend that maybe you stop participating in the sin of self-abuse so you can unstanding these things. I think your mastubation has you blind...Celeste!
@Evilwicked - your analogy is a testament to your grip on reality. This is not some underground stem cell black market. No one is being left in a bathtub of ice after have their stem cells harvested. These are cells that are being discarded and will otherwise NEVER have the opportunity to develop. These scientists are using their GOD-GIVEN intelligence to use these cells to cure horrible diseases. Would you rather see these cells destoyed while countless LIVING BREATHING patients continue to suffer?
This is such great news!
And for the people against this, do some research... they aren't ALL abortion related... You can get stem cells from cord blood that comes from a heterosexual couple (christian even!!!) that donates it to science. This stuff is amazing, I've been involved with a study where a rat that was lame due to spinal cord injuries was able to walk again after the stem cell injection.
All you conservative a-holes are setting us back, please let us just have progress and fix current pill pushing medications to make someone more 'comfortable' (see addicted) on pain meds. Give them back the quality of life they deserve!
I see that SF has generated a lot of controversy on this page. While not eliquently said, I think SF is saying that there are those who are religous who tend to shy away from stem cell research. I think there is another way to look at this. Could it be that God is showing us humans a new way to preserve life? I mean let's say that stem cells can be harvested without "killing" any embryos, would that make this problem go away?
This will be short lived. Once GOP gets majority in Congress, they will ban this as a first order of business. Too bad. In India, stem cells derived from bone marrow are being injected in to pancreatic arteries of patients with Type 1 Diabetes. 9 out of 10 have come out of insulin therapy. Amazing. It will not be too long before India does embroytic stem cell treatment and rich Americans will be flooding to that country for treatment.
meh, figures this would turn into a huge debate between morons who don't know anything about the subject and people who actually have read the article, done some research and now know what they're talking about.
Jeremy, I know about this issue and have been debating it for nine years. Whether we believe in God or not, the fact remains that a human embryo is a human being. We aren't actually brought here by the stork; each of us began life as a unicellular organism.
That isn't the point. The point is, stem cells can be donated through cord blood. This is after the baby has reached full term and been delivered in one form or another (naturally/c-section). All stem cells do not come from aborted fetuses.
@S.F How do you know that stem cell therapy isn't a gift from God and that it is not His will that His people should be happy and healthy? If we are instruments of Gods will that were created in his image, than why is it a sin to utilize the gifts he has given us in in order to save a human life that He loves and considers precious? I consider it blasphemous for one to assume he understands the will of God.
It's like the argument for evolution vs. creationism.....can't evolution be the how and not the why? They are not mutually exclusive theories.
I God did not want us to use science to better ourselves, then why did he teach it to us? I mean, unless you believe science is from the devil? If you think that God is not merciful enough that he wants to end the suffering of a person who lost use of his lower body and cannot hug or play with his children anymore, then you are either an idiot, or your God is pretty brutal and He is not the God that I worship. To all the Christian idiots out there: God sent his only son to be abused, tortured and then killed in the most horrific way for our sins. You think the God that allowed us to harvest the goodness of his fully grown son would not allow us to use dead embryos to cure some of our major illnesses. Are you people really that stupid?
Hey S.F,. shouldn't you be on Fox where the rest of you idiots and bigots get your news?
Well, let's put things back to square one, the cells came from living cells, which meant a fertilized egg. Forgive the technicallity, but, a fertilized egg is the miracle of life from it's first beginning. No matter the size, shape, or what you call it, it's still "a living being" If this proceedure works, then, it was engineered into the design, but, it doesn't nessesarily make it morally correct. The jury's still out on this one, as to will it work or not, perhaps then we can go back to this retorical bible bashing, and name calling.
...so, if this works, embryonic research will begin to APPROACH what ADULT stem cells have been doing for patients for years. It's not like they're inventing the wheel...
did i mention that God let's us eat his son and drink his blood every sunday to forgive our sins? honeslty what is more beastily, that or injecting cells from a useless EMBRYO into a sick human being to make him better and healthier?
DON'T FEED THE TROLLS
This could be exciting. I was never alive for such huge medical breakthroughs like the polio vaccine or penicillin but this method shows real promise. I await the day I read the morning news and see where scientists have solved paralysis. That would be truly incredible.
So a woman implanted with 8 emboyrs who already has SIX other kids DOESN'T raise ethical questions? Do you think clinics should just freeze emboyrs forever? I think using emboyrs, which would be disposed of otherwise, for stem cells is a better alternative than just throwing them away. If they're already there, and don't have to be made, why not? Five to ten years is a long time to wait for something that's already here and ready to use NOW. Sometimes this website screams republican.
To all of you who have made posts, my name is Anita, I am a critical care nurse, and I say great job to the doctors and scientists!! You might ask yourself this, for those of you who agree, have you donated blood for those who may need it, what about bone marrow? You preach about scientific advances, but everyone can help. For those who are naysayers, I know you too. You arw the one's who either bring a sick family member to the hospital who we could treat and save, but because of cultural or religous practices, you refuse. Then don't come to the hospital, the others are the ones whose family is so sick or old, the best thing is to let them die with dignity, which is what th patient wants not the family, so we keep them alive, trying every treatment to keep them alive. Think before you act or say something you might regret later. The stem cell research was done by embryo's, these are not fetus' they have to be inseminated beforw they become a fetus. They were going to be placed in the Trash!! Now they may have restored a life.
@Transplanted: "Now That is wrong on so many levels !!!! Be careful what u wish 4 others, it often comes right back 2 u . I hope u will b forgiven. God does forgive children and fools, and i don't have 2 wonder which u r."
Except for the part where god doesn't actually exist, I suppose I agree. Wishing that on anyone is kinda mean. You shouldn't need the fear of going to hell struck into you to know that it's wrong to say such a thing. Before we are born we have no consciousness, after we are dead, it goes away. Our brain is responsible for our 5 senses and once that shuts down, so do you. Worm food. Sorry.
Hey, it's better than hellfire and brimstone, right?
Most people can't remember what they had for lunch yesterday. And you want to believe some fiction about what went on over 2000 years ago? And written about 300 years after it happened? Comical! Want to buy a bridge?
Cells are cells whether stem cells or skin cells. The difference for many is the potential of the cells and for the Anti Stem cell research community the difficulty is separating the difference between potential and actuality.
How could the cells of an embryonicly somewhat advanced fetus which is worse in capability than a paraplegic be used to inject into the spinal cord sheaths of a paraplegic to regirth their vertebrates and spine so the paraplegic can again walk.?
people are ok with killing grown chicken, cows, and other animals to eat, but when it comes to using inviable human embryos they cry foul.
according to what i just stated it would not make scientific sense to use cells from embryonic fetuses. theresa noelle younan younan marketing and management associates inc, int'l intst'r. why aren't you posting my comments. you post what i tell you to post by internet.!!!!!
Ok, that reply button is seriously messed up.
DAMN!!!!!!!.
S.F. stirr the pot baby stirr it haha. All you other guys post online but dont know a troll when u see one?nUubs..ROFLOLMAO ps cant wait for the agnostic/atheist movement to take hold, Gj doc and science forever!
You're right. You don't need the fear of hell to know an act is wrong. But you do need the existence of God to know it is right. Morals mean nothing if there is not a solid, substantial force behind them enforcing them, kind of like how gold backups our currency.
interesting, "zero federal funds" were used for their human embryonic stem cell product. I kept hearing that this was impossible without federal funds.
Geron worked with colleges and universities. A program was already in place without federal funding. This will continue even if GOP take control. The issue was allowing federal funds in or not. Geron is on record as saying they do not need federal funding. I'm a share holder. Go SCIENCE!!
I for one am really happy the U.S. is able to do the stem cell. To be paralyzed and than told, hey we might be able to help you out, I can't imagine how those people are feeling. From being told there is no hope and you can only enjoy life from a wheel chair to being able to walk again someday, feel the sand between your toes, make love, feel the pain of bumbing your knee, and of course go to the bathroom when you want, it's a true miracle. Why would people think that God would not want this? Isn't that what he is about, miracles and hope? He gave us the brain to think and the resources to use it. The God I know wants us to think outside the box, I mean he did when he created everything.
It really hepeld my electric bill, and the mist system helps keep the AC condenser running cooler that will extend the life of the unit. This is my 2nd year using it and in this state (florida) its a must.All the best,-Pete
@SF : YOU ARE A FANATICAL IDIOT – I REST AT THAT.....
Wonderful news! I "pray" this works for all those involved and all that might possibly benefit from this therapy in the future. Move over antiquated religion and old-fashioned politics...
Bush DID NOT "outlaw" embryonic stem cell research. He just didn't want the Federal Government to fund it! The vast majority of scientfic research and testing has shown that adult stem cells are more stable and have resulted in the majority of successful experiments. Again, Bush did not outlaw embryonic stem cell research. Anyone research firm who wanted or wants to do it can do it unhampered. Clinton's administration alloted ZERO dollars toward embryonic or adult stem cell research, but it's just Bush that is bashed, as usual. Again, ZERO federal dollars under Clinton – where were all you whiners, then? Does the government have to fund everything? At least Bush allocated dollars toward the adult stem cell research. Get a life and do some research yourselves.
Ok so I'm getting really tired of the "Adult stem cells yield more results" argument. At one point swords were better at killing people than cannons... so did we stop trying to use cannons and focus solely on making better swords? No. Admittedly I wish my mind hadn't jumped to a war/killing based analogy but the point stands.
If there's something better out there that can do something more... why fight it? Why say "what we have will do" when what we have is the smallest tip of the iceberg? Adult stem cells WILL not make a paralyzed person walk again. Embryonic will. Argument ends there.
I guess as one of the people you label as whiners, I should answer this. In the Clinton years, I was performing experiments using embryonic stem cell lines that were funded through the National Institutes of Health. You are WRONG in your contention that no monies went to this field prior to the Bush-implemented restrictions in 2001.
And both Presidents (plus Bush I, Reagan, Carter and Nixon) "allowed" other stem cell research to be performed – which allowed the initial development of bone marrow transplantation in Seattle in the 1960s, and its further optimization over the decades. It is very unusual for a President to intervene on scientific policy, particularly for religious beliefs.
SF
There is no worse blind, than that who refuses to see...The world is full of religious dogmatics who claim that absolute truth is on their side... the rest of the world be damned. It's folks like you that really trigger controversy, dissention, and even bigotry and hate if the rest of us don't share your views.... just look at the reactions you have generated here! You remind me of that other limelight searching jerk in Florida who was recently advocating the burning of the Quran....
Finally, Im wiling to be a subject to see if it helps w/ my Parkinson's/Parkison-ism.
By continuing stem cell research those afflicted with medical condition's such as Parkison's Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal cord injury, burn's, heart disease, diabetes and arthitis would be able to live a better and happier life than if they did not take stem cell treatment's.
All of the condition's listed above are serious but the majority of American's will fall into one of the last five categories of either having a spinal cord injury, burn's, heart disease and the two diseases that afflict more American's on a yearly basis are diabetes and arthritis.
The story that I have to tell you is true. When I was younger maybe between 23 to 26 I went to a strip club to meet some women. After the usual pick-up lines we went back to her place. Happy about getting some for the first time in awhile she led me through her front door. Immediately upon entering I heard a slight ping of a medical machine. I started to laugh at hearing the sound that reminded me of watching a spot from one of Monty Python's movies where there was a machine that for no reason made a pinging sound. The machine that made the pinging sound was not part of a movie or a laughable matter. When I looked to the location of where the pinging was coming from my heart sank to the bottom of my shoes. There covered up with a baby blue blanket was a little boy with feeding and respiration tubes running from the machine into his arms and nose providing him with life support. I felt his tiny hand which was cold. He must have been startled as the pinging sound increased. After a few minutes the beeping returned to normal. I sat on the couch and thought about what he might be going through. Wondering if he would ever grow up and play baseball or ride a bike or find a girl. I left about an hour after arriving. The whole ride home I thought about what future cures would give young people and other age groups the chance to live a better and enjoyable life so that a person would not have to walk around with a machine attached to them or to ahve to break a date to go home to take a machined treatment. I do not know if the little boy survived or not but one thing is certain that stem cell research will give people with condition's such as his the ability to live a long and happy life.
If you would have been there and saw him in his condition you would have also have agreed that stem cell research is worth it.
...Or would it be cheeper and easier to cast the sickly child into a sea and not bother?
If disease from injury set in and you didn't treat it then the muscle would be weakened so that the person couldn't use their limbs or walk properly. Also you probably didn't do surgery to repair the vertebrates and the leg bones etc. I do know that with some broken arms and legs you don't reset the bones so the person can heal because you want that person to be a disabled problem on your caseload. Now in regirthing, the muscle tissue has to be strengthened again which means more than the nerves that may have become severed and you probably still didn't bother to repair have to be attended to. Girthing is done when a person becomes overly obese and has to wear a girdle. or when they become weak from calcium deficiency and have to wear a back brace because they become slumped in posture and often eventually hunchback. hunchback and slumping can be reversed. i myself resolved that problem in myself once osteoporosis was diagnosed and treated for me. theresa noelle younan ymma-iii interpole galactica y-research management. Many older senior types don't get checked for osteoporosis untill their very senior years and then giving them treatment is difficult because they don't like taking medications. So it's even more difficult to reverse the posture weakness.
@Patrick
People don't need a God to tell them what is right or wrong. And "God" never decided what was right or wrong anyway. The church institution which is run by regular human beings decides.
And gold doesn't back up our currency anymore. Hasn't for decades.
Playing God will equal a issue somewhere down the line. Embryos from Invitro? Yea, well they will run out sooner or later and where do you think they will get new ones? More abortions anyone?
Im not religious in any since. My kids have medical needs but not to this being able to solve anything.
What happened to we all have a purpose in life?