Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.US doctors have begun treating the first patient with embryonic stem cells as part of the first human study of the controversial treatment authorized by the government, the Geron Corporation said Monday.
The patient was enrolled at the Shepherd Center spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, where Geron began clinical trials of their GRNOPC1 human embryonic stem cells in treating patients with devastating spinal cord injuries.
The trial comes just 11 years after Geron began working with human embryonic stem cells in 1999, when "many predicted that it would be a number of decades before a cell therapy would be approved for human clinical trials," said Thomas Okarma, Geron's president and CEO.
"Initiating the GRNOPC1 clinical trial is a milestone for the field of human embryonic stem cell-based therapies," Okarma said.
Geron got clearance in January last year to conduct human trials of GRNOPC1 embryonic stem cells, which are highly versatile, primitive cells capable of developing into any tissue.
Preclinical studies have shown that GRNOPC1 significantly improved locomotor activity of animals with spinal cord injuries when injected seven days after the injury.
Participants in the study must be newly injured and receive GRNOPC1 between seven and 14 days of sustaining their injury.
David Apple, Shepherd Center's medical director, said the clinical trial was a key step forward in attempts to find a cure for paralysis in people with spinal cord injury.
The ultimate goal is to inject GRNOPC1 cells into the spines of paralyzed human volunteers in the hope that this will prompt damaged nerve cells to regrow, enabling the patients to eventually recover feeling and movement.
kdz/mac
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments