Expansionary Institute

Michael Zey
futurist3000@aol.com

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, said they had successfully treated 120 mice and rats who had been infected with a virus which left them paralysed, using stem cells harvested from human embryos.

The team told the Wall Street Journal similar experiments could be
carried out within three years on humans.

The experiments are believed to be the first successful use of
embryonic human stem cells to partially cure a disease and come as
American President George Bush wrestles with whether to allow
government funding for the research.

The mice and rats had been infected with a virus which damaged nerve cells in their spines and left them paralysed, similar to a disease suffered by humans known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease.

They then had their spinal fluid infused with a solution containing stem cells harvested from aborted human foetuses.
The scientific team, led by neurologist Dr Douglas Kerr, found the
nerve cells affected by the disease were regenerated and the rats
and mice regained some of the control over their rear legs which
they had lost.
Dr Kerr said: "The majority of the animals recover some function.
They are not normal but they can begin to move their hind limbs
under them and some can bear weight."

He said the team was now eager to test human stem cells on people
suffering from ALD in the hope of developing a cure for the
degenerative disease, which typically kills its victims in between
two and six years.

"We all see patients and we are seeing them die," said Dr Kerr.

"We are being cautiously aggressive. We want to advance to the clinic as fast as possible."
The research came after similar successful results in an experiment last year using stem cells from aborted mouse and rat foetuses which had similar results.
Dr John Gearhart, who took part in both projects, said the results
showed stem-cell research had moved beyond "potential" to meaningful results.

"Every animal that has received human cells has recovered," he said.

The stem cells used in the research were isolated by Dr Gearhart
from five to nine-week-old foetuses aborted in "selective" abortions used to reduce the number of embryos developing in the wombs of women who have undergone IVF treatment.

Stem cells have also been found in week-old embryos and in adults
and last week an American firm announced it had created embryos
solely for stem cell research.

Researchers used donated sperm and eggs to create the embryos, which are the first to have been created solely as sources for stem cells, as previous embryos have been those left over after being created for IVF treatment.
E
arlier this week the Pope urged Mr Bush to ban American government funding for stem cell research in a powerful intervention which comes as the president tries to decide what to do.

The Pope branded stem cell research "practices that devalue and
violate human life".