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Researchers at Stanford 'stunned' by stem cell treatment for stroke victims, can walk

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K

Kinitari

Black Canada Mafia
... again

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...l-experiment-that-helped-stroke-patient-walk/

Stanford researchers studying the effect of stem cells injected directly into the brains of stroke patients said Thursday that they were "stunned" by the extent to which the experimental treatment restored motor function in some of the patients. While the research involved only 18 patients and was designed primarily to look at the safety of such a procedure and not its effectiveness, it is creating significant buzz in the neuroscience community because the results appear to contradict a core belief about brain damage — that it is permanent and irreversible.

The results, published in the journal Stroke, could have implications for our understanding of an array of disorders including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and Alzheimer's if confirmed in larger-scale testing.

The work involved patients who had passed the critical six-month mark when recoveries generally plateau and there are rarely further improvements. This is the point at which therapies are typically stopped as brain circuits are thought to be dead and unable to be repaired. Each participant in the study had suffered a stroke beneath the brain’s outermost layer and had significant impairments in moving their arms and-or legs. Some participants in the study had had a stroke as long as three to five years before the experimental treatment.

...

"Their recovery was not just a minimal recovery like someone who couldn't move a thumb now being able to wiggle it. It was much more meaningful. One 71-year-old wheelchair-bound patient was walking again," said Steinberg, who personally performed most of the surgeries.

He also recounted the progress of a much younger patient, age 39, who was two years post-stroke and had had such problems walking and speaking that she "did not want to get married to her boyfriend." "She was embarrassed about walking down the aisle," he explained. But after treatment, Steinberg said, "She's now walking much better and talking much better and she's married and pregnant."

Steinberg said that the study does not support the idea that the injected stem cells become neurons, as has been previously thought. Instead, it suggests that they seem to trigger some kind of biochemical process that enhances the brain's ability to repair itself.
Click to expand...


More at the link.


Basically, it seems that the treatment of stem cells seems to encourage a neural plasticity for healing that usually stops at 6 months after a stroke, something about the stem cells creates a reaction that tells the brain cells in some way to act... well younger, it seems. I imagine that they want to figure out exactly what that chemical reaction is and maybe do away with the cells all together.

Really amazing work, and hopefully this research can be applied to all kinds of neurodegenerative diseases.
 
goldenpp72

goldenpp72

Member
Really cool, it's amazing to wonder the kind of world children may be walking into when it comes to disease.
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
I just got choked up. My father had a stroke 11 years ago. He can hobble around but his arm has been virtually paralyzed ever since, and his cognitive abilities were affected.

It's wishful thinking, I know.... but I hope something comes of this.
 
I

iRAWRasaurus

Banned
Well will most likely be hearing about this in my lab (neuroscience & physiology department). I should look at the data and actual scientific article.
 
K

Kinitari

Black Canada Mafia
iRAWRasaurus said:
Well will most likely be hearing about this in my lab (neuroscience & physiology department). I should look at the data and actual scientific article.
Click to expand...
Here's a link to the actual study

https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01287936

Also apparently it was published in stroke.

Edit: errr, maybe not, I think that might just be the proposal.

Anyway, another better article mentions that they're going to another trial with around 150 people!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...k-again-after-stanford-injects-stem-cells-in/
 
M

megalowho

Member
Steinberg said that the study does not support the idea that the injected stem cells become neurons, as has been previously thought. Instead, it suggests that they seem to trigger some kind of biochemical process that enhances the brain's ability to repair itself.
Click to expand...
Amazing stuff. We are really only scratching the surface of stem cell potential when it comes to brain science. Could pave the way for breakthroughs for a number of neurological conditions and diseases.
 
C

cameron

Member
The work involved patients who had passed the critical six-month mark when recoveries generally plateau and there are rarely further improvements. This is the point at which therapies are typically stopped as brain circuits are thought to be dead and unable to be repaired.
Click to expand...
That has to be a terrible, sinking, feeling for patients, as they approach the tail end of their therapy.

Steinberg said that the study does not support the idea that the injected stem cells become neurons, as has been previously thought. Instead, it suggests that they seem to trigger some kind of biochemical process that enhances the brain's ability to repair itself.

"A theory is that they turn the adult brain into the neonatal brain that recovers well," he explained.
Click to expand...
Nicholas Boulis, a neurosurgeon and researcher at Emory University, said the study appears to support the idea that there may be latent pathways in the brain that can be reactivated — a theory that has been "working its way to the surface" over the past few years.

"There is certainly reason to be enthusiastic based on the magnitude of responses from these patients," he said.
Click to expand...
Sounds promising. Yay, science!
 
S

Sir Abacus

Member
RiKvAex.jpg
 
O

OG_Original Gamer

Member
Kinitari said:
... again

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...l-experiment-that-helped-stroke-patient-walk/




More at the link.


Basically, it seems that the treatment of stem cells seems to encourage a neural plasticity for healing that usually stops at 6 months after a stroke, something about the stem cells creates a reaction that tells the brain cells in some way to act... well younger, it seems. I imagine that they want to figure out exactly what that chemical reaction is and maybe do away with the cells all together.

Really amazing work, and hopefully this research can be applied to all kinds of neurodegenerative diseases.
Click to expand...

So are you saying, the next plan is to give it to big pharma?
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
Steinberg said that the study does not support the idea that the injected stem cells become neurons, as has been previously thought. Instead, it suggests that they seem to trigger some kind of biochemical process that enhances the brain's ability to repair itself.
Click to expand...

Wanted to stress this quote, because it really emphasizes how limited stem cell therapy is for treating advanced neuropathologies (Alzheimers, Tay-Sachs) that involve loss of neurons.

It flat out doesn't work.
 
I

I Stalk Alone

Member
Through treating everything from strokes to car accident traumas, neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch knows the brain's inability to repair itself all too well. But now, she suggests, she and her colleagues may have found the key to neural repair: Doublecortin-positive cells. Similar to stem cells, they are extremely adaptable and, when extracted from a brain, cultured and then re-injected in a lesioned area of the same brain, they can help repair and rebuild it. "With a little help," Bloch says, "the brain may be able to help itself."
Click to expand...

https://www.ted.com/talks/jocelyne_...e_able_to_repair_itself_with_help?language=en
 
C

cameron

Member
Tekkie said:
I vaguely remember the Bush administration heavily restricting it and that Christians were all in an uproar because of the use of embryos and such, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
That is correct. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine: "Embryonic Stem Cell Research: A Decade of Debate from Bush to Obama"
President George W. Bush: Stem Cell Policy from August 9, 2001 to March 8, 2009

On August 9, 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush introduced a ban on federal funding for research on newly created human embryonic stem (ES) cell lines. The policy was intended as a compromise and specified that research on lines created prior to that date would still be eligible for funding. Seventy-one lines from 14 laboratories across the globe met Bush’s eligibility criteria, and scientists who wished to investigate these lines could still receive grants through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In practice, however, only 21 lines proved to be of any use to investigators.
Click to expand...
Consequences of the Bush Policy

A slew of negative ramifications followed for ES cell researchers. Now facing restrictions on the type of research conducted using federal funds, some scientists were forced to create a dichotomous research environment based on federal vs. private funding of staff, equipment, and lab space. Collaboration and the sharing of knowledge between scientists also was hindered, and American researchers who previously spearheaded ES cell initiatives were no longer able to offer much of a contribution, stifling relationships with their international counterparts.

Further aggravating the situation was the fact that the 21 existing lines were not genetically or ethnically diverse, meaning specific disease processes (such as Parkinson’s) could no longer be studied in ES cells. Similarly, any information gleaned from the existing lines was limited to certain ethnicities, leaving uncertainty with regard to cellular processes in minority groups. In terms of therapeutic application, all 21 lines were of decidedly poor utility as they were cultured under inferior conditions by today’s standards.

During this time, however, there were several advances in the realm of stem cell research. The discovery of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, whereby adult somatic cells are induced to display properties consistent with ES cells, were first generated in mice by researchers in Japan. Following the discovery, the White House noted that by “supporting alternative approaches, President Bush is encouraging scientific advancement within ethical boundaries”. Subsequent U.S. progress in iPS cell research may have well enjoyed unique encouragement under Bush’s policies.
Click to expand...
President Barack Obama: Stem Cell Policy Changes Starting March 9, 2009

On March 9, 2009, President Barack Obama signed an Executive order revoking the previous orders initiated under his predecessor and giving the NIH 120 days to review the appropriate guidelines and issue new criteria for stem cell research. The new policy allows federally funded researchers to experiment on hundreds of viable ES cell lines restricted under Bush. The reception in the scientific community was largely positive and echoed around the world, with claims of “absolute excitement, enthusiasm, real hope for the future” from some proponents. Clearly, the issue was a popular one, with one Washington Post-ABC News poll showing that almost 60 percent of Americans supported loosening restrictions on federal funding for ES cell research. Obama was able to score major political points with the public and the media, but challenges and obstacles still remain for scientists.

Obama’s revocation of Bush’s policy does not reverse the Dickey-Wicker amendment, a law passed by Congress in 1996 that prohibits federally funded investigators from creating or causing harm to embryos. Dickey-Wicker is a congressional issue, and Obama has stated he intends it to remain that way. So although ES cell resources have largely broadened for researchers, they are still unable to create their own lines using tax dollars — potentially problematic for those who wish to study stem cells with genetically specific or rare characteristics.
Click to expand...
 
S

Stormhammer

Member
if this has significant, positive effects for someone with alzheimer's.. i wish it were readily available so i could help my grandfather
 
E

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
ThLunarian said:
I just got choked up. My father had a stroke 11 years ago. He can hobble around but his arm has been virtually paralyzed ever since, and his cognitive abilities were affected.

It's wishful thinking, I know.... but I hope something comes of this.
Click to expand...

Maybe you can find a way to have him sign up for a trial.
 
A

afreaknamedpete

Member
This is really promising. 7/18 hit rate, but still amazing given how most patients after several months post stroke are kinda written off in terms of recovery potential. Wonder if there's anybody investigating its use in acute ischemic stroke to prevent damage, would be interesting to see if there's any improvement in outcomes.
 
A

Apathy

Member
100% should be more funding for stem cell research and the people that try to use religion to stop it should be ignored
 
M

Muppet of a Man

Member
Fiend said:
Obligatory.
Click to expand...

Did anyone even read the article? The stem cells were extracted from the bone marrow of 2 adult doners. This want even utilizing embryonic stem cells.

This is absolutely amazing by the way. Stem cell therapies are definitely the most promising of medical breakthroughs, along with medicine tailored to individual's genetics.
 
B

bonesmccoy

Banned
Apathy said:
100% should be more funding for stem cell research and the people that try to use religion to stop it should be ignored
Click to expand...

You could, and should, learn more about the ethical arguments around embryonic stem cells. Even if you disdainfully disagree, you would have learned enough to notice that this article isn't about that kind of stem cell research.
 
D

DragonSworne

Banned
bonesmccoy said:
You could, and should, learn more about the ethical arguments around embryonic stem cells. Even if you disdainfully disagree, you would have learned enough to notice that this article isn't about that kind of stem cell research.
Click to expand...


No

Denying quality of life or potentially having someone die because we refuse to treats cells like any other cells does not have much ethical ground.
 
M

Manoko

Member
He also recounted the progress of a much younger patient, age 39, who was two years post-stroke and had had such problems walking and speaking that she "did not want to get married to her boyfriend." "She was embarrassed about walking down the aisle," he explained. But after treatment, Steinberg said, "She's now walking much better and talking much better and she's married and pregnant.
Click to expand...

So glad to read that.
 
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