Nature Medicine | Spoonful of Medicine

A rare, but serious risk

A boy who received human fetal stem cell injections developed benign tumors in his brain and spinal cord four years after the stem cell treatment began, researchers reported in PLoS Medicine last week. Doctors at an unrelated clinic in Russia had apparently used the stem cell injections to try to treat the boy for a rare genetic disease called ataxia telangiectasia. Upon examining the surgically removed spinal cord tumor, the scientists determined that the tumor arose from the stem cells of at least two donors. The tumor was composed of both female and male cells and the tumor cells had two normal copies of the gene that causes ataxia telangiectasia when mutated.

As the first documented case of human neural fetal stem cell injections leading to tumor growth, this story has captured media attention worldwide — spurring discussions on how the safety of stem cell therapies should be evaluated. A Scientific American blog noted that researchers don’t yet fully understand how to control the development of such stem cells in the brain, while a BBC story highlighted the need to regulate stem cell therapy centers. Many sources explained the boy’s condition may have facilitated tumor growth, but US News and World Report was among the few that noted the rarity of this side effect. As for the authors of the article, they recommended more research on stem cell therapy safety, but did not suggest halting stem cell research.

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Photo from PLoS Medicine, doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000029.g002

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    John B. Picchiottino said:

    Kirsten, FYI: please checkout

    1."SPINAL INJURY STRIDES: New therapy center to open in Detroit

    April 13, 2004

    BY PATRICIA ANSTETT

    FREE PRESS MEDICAL WRITER

    Detroit’s Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan will open a center this summer, unlike any in the United States, that will offer new therapies to help spinal cord injury patients regain some sensation and movement after years of paralysis. Copy of full article is available.—

    Dr. Carlos Lima, a neuropathologist at Egaz-Moniz Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal, has performed about 20 procedures in the past year — including Nader’s. The procedure uses a {patient’s own} OEG mucosa — the mucous membrane that lines the olfactory bulb.

    2. “The Quest Resumes”, Time Mag. 2/9/09 p42 re: use of patient’s own “human skin cells” to create “induced Pluripotent Stem cells”. Regards, John P.