Stem Cells Deemed Safe for ALS Patients
But further research needed to see if injections into spine would provide any benefit, researchers say
By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists report that stem cell therapy appears to be safe for people with the invariably fatal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but it's not yet clear whether the treatment provides any benefits.
In a preliminary study of just 15 ALS patients, researchers found that most were able to tolerate spinal injections of large doses of stem cells, although two patients developed serious complications.
Experts called it an important start in developing a therapy for the incurable disease, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
"This is a baby step forward," said lead researcher Dr. Jonathan Glass, of Emory University, in Atlanta.
"We can say this procedure is doable in ALS patients," Glass said. "Now we have to test whether it's actually therapeutic."
Dr. Ericka Simpson, a neurologist and ALS researcher who was not involved in the study, said the finding offers "significant hope."
It's "groundbreaking" that the researchers were able to safely inject large numbers of stem cells into the already damaged spinal cords of ALS patients, said Simpson. She is an associate professor of clinical neurology at Houston Methodist, in Texas.
But, she stressed, major questions remain -- including whether the tactic remains safe in the longer term.
Stem cells are primitive cells that give rise to mature cells; they also have the potential for uncontrolled growth. In theory, Simpson explained, they could eventually cause cancerous tumors, for example.
Each year, about 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with ALS, according to government statistics.
No one knows exactly what causes ALS, but it involves a breakdown in the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control muscles throughout the body. Gradually, those muscles weaken and stop functioning; once the muscles of the diaphragm and chest are affected, people can no longer breathe on their own.
Most people with ALS die of respiratory failure within three to five years of their first symptoms, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Glass and his team started studying the potential of using stem cells in ALS back in 2010. "We didn't know if it would even be possible," he said.
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