Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have developed biological sutures that could be used to sew adult stem cells into various parts of the body, including heart muscle. The technique used biopolymer microthreads made of fibrin, a type of protein that forms in clots; the fibrin microthreads can be engineered with various tensile strengths and seeded with adult stem cells, such as mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow.
In a paper published in the Journal of Biomedical Materials, the team showed that the adult mesenchymal stem cells would grow on the microthreads and still maintain their ability to differentiate into various cell types.
Studies by senior author Dr. Glenn Gaudette as well as others have shown that mesenchymal stem cells can improve cardiac function, but that it is a challenge to deliver sufficient numbers of the cells to the damaged heart tissue. Students at Johns Hopkins had previously embedded adult stem cells in regular surgical thread. One of Dr. Caugette’s colleagues, Dr. George Pins, developed the special biopolymer microthread technology as a “scaffold” to attach cells for applications in wound healing and cellular therapy.
Dr. Gaudette said:
“This technology is developing into a potentially powerful system for delivering therapeutic cells right to where they are needed, whether that’s a damaged heart or other tissues.”
Sew there you have it, more potential uses of adult stem cells.
Gone to the Dogs: Adult Stem Cells Help Pets
While real treatments with adult stem cells for people continue to be overlooked as they hype pushes resources towards embryonic stem cells, animals are benefitting from adult stem cells. Previous stories have noted that numerous animals have received adult stem cell treatments.
Now two more dogs from Topeka, Kansas take center stage in the success stories.. Gunner and Sherman had their own adult stem cells injected. The results have been impressive, and their owners say it’s almost like their dogs are aging backwards.
Gunner used to drag his feet when he walked from pain in his joints. His owner says, “Our fourth day after the procedure, he picked his feet up and he was prancing and later on that evening he decided to jump up on the sofa.” Sherman had terrible arthritis that made it painful for him to move. About ten days after his treatment, Sherman was also much improved and moving freely.
Veterinarian Larry Snyder of University Animal Clinic, who treated the dogs, couldn’t be more pleased. Snyder says:
“We’ve been very impressed with what these dogs are doing. Neither dog seems to be in any pain, they’re moving well. It’s almost like somebody turned back the hands of time.”
It’s about doggone time that people realized the actual success of adult stem cells for people, too.
Quadriplegic Donkey Walks Again with Adult Stem Cells
Eli the donkey provides another example from the animal world of the success of adult stem cells. On May 13, 2010 Eli was attacked by a stablemate twice his size. The trauma led to swelling of his spinal cord, and rapid progression of weakness in his front end and hindquarters. The veterinarians treating Eli also got the opinion of Dr. Mike Kistler of Cortez, Colorado, a senior member of the American Society of Neuroradiology with more than 25 years of experience in human spinal trauma. Dr. Kistler noted that “In a human, a comparable injury would have been sustained by diving into shallow water, and the majority of those injuries would have a poor prognosis, with paralysis.” Kistler’s interpretation of the MRI results was that Eli’s spinal cord had suffered significant bruising and circulation damage, and that the prognosis was poor. Because an equid’s overall health declines when it cannot stand, he felt Eli most likely would not survive his injury or its complications. By May 24, Eli lay paralyzed in all four limbs and could not lift his head; he’d developed pneumonia and was unable to maintain his body temperature, even with supportive care, and was on the verge of death.
But Eli was under the care of Doug Herthel, D.V.M., who is a pioneer in the veterinary use of adult stem cells. He has treated more than 5,000 horses with good results, though the majority have been for tendon and ligament injuries. He opted to treat Eli with adult mesenchymal stem cells. With the little donkey’s life hanging by a thread, there was no time to harvest and process stem cells from Eli’s own bone marrow, so Herthel used donor adult stem cells that had been banked from the bone marrow of a Thoroughbred racehorse. Within 48 hours, Eli improved and began to show some movement. Eli received additional treatments of the adult stem cells.
Herthel says:
“Mesenchymal stem cells can selectively target injured tissue and promote functional recovery. They can be attracted to damaged tissue by chemical signals released from damaged cells.”
On July 31, attendants found Eli standing in his stall. According to Herthel:
“We couldn’t figure out how he got up. So we went back and looked at the [intensive care unit] video, and we saw him get up on his own. It wasn’t pretty, but he got up, and that’s what counts. After that third treatment, he just got better and better, and his muscle mass came back.”
Click here for the video.
Eli was released to his owner on September 15. Herthel said he expects Eli to enjoy a normal existence, barring unanticipated complications later in his life.
While this is only one case, Herthel says he won’t hesitate to use the adult stem cell procedure again. Maybe if some politicians and scientists weren’t such… donkeys ideologically lusting for embryonic stem cells, people could experience some of the same benefits.
Contact: David Prentice
Source: FRC Blog
Publish Date: December 15, 2010
-- Illinois Federation for Right to Life 2600 State Street, Suite. E Alton, IL 62002 Phone: 618.466.4122 Fax: 618.466.4134 Web: www.ifrl.org E-mail: mail@ifrl.org
