Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Therapy Successful: Paralysed Patient Walks After 19 Years

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Korean researchers, using stem cells isolated from umbilical cord blood, succeeded in reversing the paralysis of the lower limbs caused by spinal cord injury, of a 37-year-old female patient. The feat was announced at a press conference last week and reported in the Korea Times.

The link was forwarded by Paul Taylor, who also had a comment on the ethical implications of stem cell therapy:

"Whilst stem cell therapy naturally instigates passionately polarised views when the cells are harvested from embryos, it is notable that stem cells derived from umbilical cords do not receive anything like the same attention in the media at present.

Given that umbilical cords are generally discarded after the birth of a baby, and that cells derived from these do not present the same ethical dilemmas as those from embryos, I was particularly interested to read recently that researchers in Korea have successfully treated a case of paralysis due to spinal injury with stem cell transplantation from umbilical cord blood.

The 37 year-old patient, who could not even stand up for the last 19 years due to a spinal injury, received stem cells from umbilical cord blood in early October and can now walk with the aid of a walker."

It would indeed be great if the use of umbilical cord banks, such as in Korea, could help avoid the deeply divisive ethical implications of the use of embryos as the source of stem cells and could make therapeutic advances of this type accessible on a large scale.

Here is a copy of the article in the Korea Times:

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Korean Scientists Succeed in Stem Cell Therapy

(See original here)

By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter

A team of Korean researchers claimed Thursday they had performed a miracle by enabling a patient, who could not even stand up for the last 19 years, to walk with stem cell therapy.

During a press conference, the scientists said they had last month transplanted multi-potent stem cells from umbilical cord blood to the 37-year-old female patient suffering from a spinal cord injury and she can now walk on her own.

The team was co-headed by Chosun University professor Song Chang-hun, Seoul National University professor Kang Kyung-sun and Han Hoon, Ph.D, from the Seoul Cord Blood Bank (SCB).

"The stem cell transplantation was performed on Oct. 12 this year and in just three weeks she started to walk with the help of a walker," Song said.

The patient’s lower limbs were paralyzed after an accident in 1985 damaged her lower back and hips. Afterward she spent her life in bed or in a wheelchair.

For the unprecedented clinical test, the scientists isolated stem cells from umbilical cord blood and then injected them into the damaged part of the spinal cord.

The sensory and motor nerves of the patient started to improve 15 days after the operation and she could move her hips. After 25 days, her feet responded to stimulation.

Earlier in October 2003, Song’s team also staged a clinical test with stem cells originating from umbilical cord blood by injecting them into another patient’s spine.

"Back then we injected stem cells into spinal fluid and failed to get a good result. This time around, we directly targeted the spine and the method made a difference," Song said.

Song’s team look to further test efficiency of the new therapy with four more patients as soon as they get the green light from Chosun University ethics board and the government.

Song’s team plan to report their research to the scientific world within the first half of next year.

Immeasurable Upside Potential

Professor Kang and Han, Song’s colleagues who co-led the research, noted the new therapy has a huge upside potential when applied to real treatments, without arousing ethical disputes.

Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo-suk surprised the world last February by announcing his groundbreaking exploit of cloning a human embryo and taking stem cells from it.

The technology is expected to lead to breakthrough treatments for many hard-to-cure diseases, for instance, by creating replacement organs and tissues.

At the same time, however, the feat also fueled an ethical debate that spans science, politics and religion, especially regarding the possibility of reproductive human cloning.

In comparison, Kang said stem cells originating from the blood of umbilical cords would not raise such problems since that blood is routinely discarded after the birth of a baby.

"There have been many controversial debates on embryonic stem cells and also such stem cells are not practical due to their property of possibly causing teratoma (cancer of cells)," he explained.

Kang added that since cord blood stem cells are later than embryonic stem cells, they have little chance of causing the fatal teratoma.

"Embryonic stem cells are omni-potent in that they can divide into any thing even including a tumor cell. But cord blood stem cells are developed enough not to cause such troubles while retaining as powerful a differentiation capacity at the same time," he claimed.

Another upside of cord blood stem cells is that they can adapt to the injected bodies without triggering a big negative inner reaction, which are common in other transplantations, according to Han, Ph.D, of the SCB.

"We don’t need a strict match between cord blood stem cell type and the immune system of a patient because the latter accepts the former pretty well thanks to its immaturity," Han said.

In other transplantation operations, just a slight mismatch based on the human leukocyte antigen test would cause a catastrophic result due to immune system’s resistance.

The SCB currently retains blood from about 45,000 umbilical cords and they are enough to cover all Koreans, amply demonstrating the immeasurable potential of the new therapy.

voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
11-26-2004 17:59

See also:

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Quasi Unlimited Quantities of Human Red Blood Cells Produced from Stem Cells
Le Monde - Monday 27 December 2004
A world breakthrough achieved by French hematologists could transform blood transfusion

Patient’s Own Stem Cells Mend Heart

Stem cells used to restore vision
A hospital in West Sussex is pioneering the use of stem cells to restore the eyesight of patients. The trial, being carried out at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, has already helped 40 people see again.

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In Pitt study, adult stem cells show potential for therapeutic use
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Stem cells obtained from adult muscle can multiply as often as stem cells from embryos, indicating that adult-derived cells could be cultivated for treatment purposes.

Wired News: New Stem-Cell Bill Gains Support By Kristen Philipkoski
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A new bill proposing research into obtaining "morally acceptable" embryonic stem cells could give anti-abortion senators the out they've been hoping for.

18 August 2005: Umbilical cord 'stem cell' hope
The researchers plan to make tissues for transplant from the cells. Scientists believe they have found a way to get plentiful stem cells from umbilical cord blood to treat people with diseases.

October 2005: International stem cell bank open
A bank that will create and supply new lines of embryonic stem cells for research around the world has been opened in Seoul, South Korea.
The project is being led by cloning expert Dr Woo Suk Hwang, who has pioneered the development of stem cells tailored to individual patients.
It will serve as the main centre for an international consortium, including the US and the UK.
Critics say using human embryos in research is unnecessary and unethical.

S Korea cloning pioneer disgraced
A cloning pioneer regarded as a hero in his South Korean homeland has resigned and apologised for using human eggs from his own researchers.
Professor Hwang Woo-suk was chairman of the World Stem Cell Hub, which opened this month, based in Seoul. "I am very sorry that I have to tell the public words that are too shameful and horrible," he announced publicly...

Stem cell therapy helps MS woman
A young Inverness woman with multiple sclerosis has said she is able to walk for the first time in years only days after revolutionary stem cell therapy. Amanda Bryson paid £12,000 for a course of injections in the Netherlands, which she believes could cure her. She has now called