Stem-cell injections helped dogs with muscular dystrophy

NEW YORK — Stem-cell injections worked remarkably well at easing symptoms of muscular dystrophy in a group of golden retrievers, a result that experts call a significant step toward treating people.

"It's a great breakthrough for all of us working on stem cells for muscular dystrophy," said researcher Johnny Huard of the University of Pittsburgh, who wasn't involved in the work.

Two dogs that were severely disabled by the disease were able to walk faster and even jump after the treatments. The study, funded in part by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, was published online Wednesday by the journal Nature.

Researchers used stem cells taken from the affected dogs or other dogs, rather than from embryos. For human use, the idea of using such "adult" stem cells from humans would avoid the controversial method of destroying human embryos to obtain stem cells.

The study focused on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most severe and most common childhood form of muscular dystrophy.

Lead researcher Giulio Cossu, director of the Stem Cell Research Institute at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute of Milan, Italy, said he hopes to start a small experiment in children in the next year or two.

The scientists worked with golden retrievers that suffer a crippling form of dystrophy very much like the human one. Researchers studied the effect of repeated injections into the bloodstream of a kind of stem cell extracted from blood-vessel walls.

The best results appeared when the cells were taken from healthy dogs. But Cossu said scientists should pursue the possibility of genetically manipulating a patient's own cells. That way, patients wouldn't have to undergo lifelong treatment to avoid rejection of donated cells.