The world's first cell transplant to reverse brain damage from a stroke has been performed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).
The operation was performed on a 62-year-old woman who had a stroke last fall that led to paralysis of her right leg and arm and loss of most of her speech. The groundbreaking procedure was performed on June 23 and announced by UPMC on July 1.
Fetal human and animal cell transplants have been tried for neurodegenerative disorders, but this is the first study to address neurologic deficits resulting from stroke, according to UPMC. "While physical and occupational therapy helps many patients adapt to the damage their brain has suffered from stroke, neuron cell transplantation may allow patients to recover lost abilities," said Douglas Kondziolka, MD, co-principal investigator for the study.
Dr. Kondziolka and his colleagues plan to perform the operation on 12 patients as part of a phase I trial. The first four operations are scheduled to occur at one-month intervals. Enrollment, which was still ongoing in mid July, is open patients between the ages of 40 and 75 who had a stroke six months to six years ago and who have a fixed functional motor deficit that has been stable for at least two months.
In a press release, UPMC stressed that the procedure, which uses tissues grown in a laboratory, avoids ethical concerns that some people have raised about the use of fetal tissue. The implanted neurons were provided by Layon Bioscience of Atherton, California, and originate from a human teratocarcinoma found in a 22-year-old cancer patient.
For Your Information:
UPMC press release:
http://www.upmc.edu/NewsBureau/strokerel.htmUPMC background information:
http://www.upmc.edu/NewsBureau/strokelbs.htmLayton Bioscience
http://www.laytonbio.com/news.htm
Includes the Wall Street Journal's July 2nd coverage of the brain cell transplant and earlier related news articles.
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