Anderson Cooper - CNN

[Miss]

Did anyone see the segment on the Anderson Cooper show about ALS and stem cell transplants? Unfortunately, we turned it on in the last minute of the report, and couldn't tell if it was talking about a breakthru or repeating old information.

 

[qvole]

There's a transcript of the show here: CNN.com - Transcripts

 

[indigosd]

I didn't see it either. Any new information at all?

 

[Ladyinn]

I heard the promo for it but fell asleep before the story......

 

[CRF8]

they interviewed a pALs who had the operation done.....Neuralstem's patented technology enables, for the first time, the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. The company is targeting major central nervous system diseases including: Ischemic Spastic Paraplegia, Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury, Huntington's disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a progressive fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain, leading to the degeneration and death of the motor neurons in the spinal cord that control muscle movement. Pre-clinical work has shown Neuralstem's cells to extend the life of rats with ALS (as reported in the journal TRANSPLANTATION, October 16, 2006,

 

[ZenArcher]

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

 

[Miss]

After watching it, what I gather is that they are FINALLY starting to test the procedure on people with ALS. At least it appears that this method of delivery might actually have some benefits. All of the other stem cell implantations (centers around the world) seem to be ineffective. Unfortunately, I sounds like it is going to take some time to get results and put a treatment plan into action.

 

[tajmom]

If you are friends with ALSA on Facebook, they posted the video on their feed. Could not find a share button on the CNN site.

 

[halfin]

Here is a link to the CNN web site that will hopefully work. I found it on the Neuralstem web site under the "News" section:

CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News

This is the stem cell trial at Emory University. I believe they are only planning to try 6 patients in this trial. Unlike most other stem cell experiments or treatments, this one uses fetal stem cells. Most of the other experiments today are using stem cells taken from the patient's own body, the blood or bone marrow.

There is some question about whether these stem cells are actually going to turn into new neurons. I notice in the video they did not say that, they said the stem cells would help the neurons be healthier. I believe this means they expect the stem cells to turn into the kinds of cells called glia, or astrocytes, which surround and support the neurons. I looked at some animal research injecting stem cells into the spinal cord and that's what happened, they turned into astrocytes rather than neurons. However this did seem to help the animals in the experiments, so that would be the hope here with people.

 

[Curetime]

Heres another link.Lets hope it works
CNN.com International - Breaking, World, Business, Sports, Entertainment and Video News

Curetime

 

[PamelaSue]

I read about this and watched the video posted on the ALSA FB site. I also noted that they had use embryonic stem cells rather than those created from the patient's blood, bone marrow or skin. My question is where are they getting the stem cells ... donor banks, relatives ... and are they matching them to the patient? I am very curious about his research but not finding much information.

I am also wondering if all the stem cell research that is going on is being coordinated, or are there multiple entities doing their own thing ... for profit, individual glory, etc. I hate to sound cynical, but all this research and testing takes money and other resources. If they were all working together we might get to a cure more quickly. :idea:

Just my $.02 worth. Pam