Can we cure diseases? We've leaped forward!

William Atkins
Monday, 01 June 2009 17:47

Science - Biology

They continue: "Most importantly, we show that corrected Fanconi-anaemia-specific iPS cells can give rise to haematopoietic progenitors of the myeloid and erythroid lineages that are phenotypically normal, that is, disease-free. These data offer proof-of-concept that iPS cell technology can be used for the generation of disease-corrected, patient-specific cells with potential value for cell therapy applications.”

The leader of the study, Juan-Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte, a researcher and professor at the Gene Expression Laboratory and director of the Center of Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona, Spain, states, “It's been ten years since human stem cells were first cultured in a Petri dish. The hope in the field has always been that we'll be able to correct a disease genetically and then make iPS cells that differentiate into the type of tissue where the disease is manifested and bring it to clinic." [ScienceDaily]

The research performed by the Belmonte team shows the first evidence that medical technology can cure human genetic diseases.

Dr. Belmonte talks about his research in cell regeneration on YouTube.

Belmonte explains: "We haven't cured a human being, but we have cured a cell. In theory we could transplant it into a human and cure the disease." [ScienceDaily]

It is a very important step in scientists being able to eventually cure human diseases.

Dr. Inder Verma, another researcher in the study, states, "If we can demonstrate that a combined iPS–gene therapy approach works in humans, then there is no limit to what we can do.” [ScienceDaily]

Please read the ScienceDaily.com article for additional information on this very important discovery in regenerative medicine, along with TheScientist.com article “Patched-up human stem cells.”