Originally published Friday, August 1, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Stem-cell advance reported
Scientists have created the first personalized stem cells for patients with a genetic disease by rewinding their skin cells to an embryonic...
Los Angeles Times
Scientists have created the first personalized stem cells for patients with a genetic disease by rewinding their skin cells to an embryonic state, according to a study published Thursday in the online edition of Science.
The researchers then converted some of those stem cells into the two kinds of brain cells that cause their crippling disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
This is the first time scientists have coaxed embryonic-like cells from adult patients suffering from a genetic-based disease, then induced the cells to form the specific cell types needed to study and treat the disease.
"It's a big step forward," said Stephen Duncan, a stem-cell researcher at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, who was not involved in the research.
"We're on the threshold of a new era of technology ... where we might have some definitive strategies to better treat or cure diseases like ALS or other neurodegenerative diseases," said Medical College neurologist Paul Barkhaus.
The new cells were derived from skin removed from an 82-year-old woman and her 89-year-old sister, who share a rare genetic mutation that causes about 2 percent of ALS cases.
The scientists from Harvard University and Columbia University focused on the rare form of ALS in part to test whether cells from elderly patients could be reprogrammed, said biologist Kevin Eggan of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
"It's possible to use these cells to make the actual cell type that is destroyed in that person's disease," said Eggan, the study's senior author. "It takes the study of disease out of the patient, where it's very difficult, and into the Petri dish."
Future research should find safer reprogramming methods, scientists say. In the meantime, the new reprogrammed stem cells will be valuable for understanding and combating the damage ALS does.
Information from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is included in this report.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Hundreds show up at Seattle pharmacy for shot at flu vaccine
Catholic clergy lean on House to include abortion limits in health-overhaul bill
Hundreds line up for swine flu vaccine at Sand Point pharmacy in Seattle
Senate health-care bill by year's end, Reid says
Chemical BPA in workers linked to sex problems

Video shows violent arrest by SPD
The SPD has opened an internal investigation into the violent arrest of a suspect.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
- Ichiro thrilled that Ken Griffey Jr. is back for another Mariners season
- Man charged with killing police officer is paralyzed
- Seattle 'Jon Doe' shows up in New Mexico with amnesia
- State Democrats facing revolt by labor
- Russell Branyan passes on Mariners' offer
- Huskies sign California prep forward Desmond Simmons
- Capitol Hill's War Room for sale
- The Hot Stone League | Ken Griffey Jr. will be a Mariner in 2010
- Costco Wholesale opens first Manhattan store
- State Democrats facing revolt by labor
490 - Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
262 - Do not slander Islam after Fort Hood
216 - Aggravated murder charge filed against man accused of killing officer
212 - U.S. envoy in Kabul isn't sold on adding to forces
124 - Salute those Muslim-Americans who stand up for their country
116 - Lou Dobbs says he is leaving CNN
96 - Obama announces summit in December on finding jobs
59 - City Light rate increase of 13.8 percent proposed
54 - Scouting Oregon State
50
- Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
- Ichiro thrilled that Ken Griffey Jr. is back for another Mariners season
- Costco Wholesale opens first Manhattan store
- State Democrats facing revolt by labor
- Chefs offer holiday recipes and preparation tips
- The Hot Stone League | Ken Griffey Jr. will be a Mariner in 2010
- Ski areas opening early, here and B.C.
- Kayak on Kitsap Peninsula's Miller Bay to get friendly with the chum (salmon)
- Capitol Hill's War Room for sale
- Evergreen Bank given a deadline to fix capital shortage





