jillio

New research suggests that laboratory-created stem cells might not be a solution to all the ethical problems created by stem cells from embryos, as many as hoped.

Yang Xu, professor of molecular biology, and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego, in a paper published Friday in the prestigious British journal Nature find that so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generate an immune response causing a mouse to reject them even when the iPSCs are made from the cells of that same mouse.

Research shows setback for lab-made stem cells - Health - Cloning and stem cells - msnbc.com

Back to square one. Looks like those that were so excited about using an individual's own stem cells have their hope dashed again.

Like I said before, there was a lot of misunderstanding regarding pluripotent stem cells. The rejection factor is not absent with pluripotent stem cells.

Deafness

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posts from hell

Wow.

jillio

Oops. Double post. Mods please remove one.

sallylou

The completed sequencing of the human genome has given researchers new molecular pathways to explore. Maybe this will lead to the development of new drugs to alter basic molecular functions. Altering one pathway might cure several disease related to several molecular manifestations in that pathway. It sounds more promising than stem cells.

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Beowulf

It's a setback, all right.

""Another approach has been suggested for creating stem cells that would not evoke an immune response. Scientists would take a patient's DNA, put it into an emptied shell of a human egg to create an embryo and then harvest stem cells from that embryo. This 'therapeutic cloning' would undoubtedly end up back in the thicket of the ethics debate."

That does not bode well for any success, since people would scream bloody murder at every step and slow down progress, if not halt it.

jillio

I agree. I have always thought that we would make more progress through the genome project than with stem cells.

jillio

No doubt.

sallylou

I think that scientists need to understand how the body works to discover treatments. More research on the immune system might allow scientists to fix the stem cell problem.

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jillio

It might. But the fact is, the immune response is so individualized that nothing can be guaranteed. Especially when factoring in anti-rejection medications and individual response.

sallylou

That may be true. Besides that, it's really complicated. So many immune system genes interacting with other genes.

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jillio

Exactly. Which is why I kept cautioning when the topic was hot around here that just because the PPSC came from the same individual it was being implanted it was no guarantee that rejection would not occur.

sallylou

There's at least gene specifically related to susceptibility to organ transplant rejection. Imagine if they could crack that code.

Here's the search engine for the human genome:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/gquery

That should keep the science nerds busy a while.

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netrox

Keep in mind that there's ALWAYS a tradeoff in everything, even how you eat and exercise, you eventually come up with diseases caused by your diet or exercise.

Example? If you eat a lot of fish (salmon, sardines, etc), you'll have lower risk of heart attacks as observed in studies BUT there's another thing that many don't mention - you also increase the risk of bleeding stroke.

Smoking - you'll be less likely to have Parkinson's or Alzhiemer's if you smoke but you're much more likely to have a heart attack or lung cancer.

So, we need to look at the whole picture. If smoking protects Parkinson's, why not start smoking? Well, here's the thing - you're much more likely to die of a heart attack caused by smoking than to die of Parkinson's if you never smoked.

So, even with cures, it can kill you in totally different ways. For example, aspirin can reduce heart attacks but it will increase the risk of bleeding.

I imagine that if everyone eats fatty fish, more people would die of strokes and you'd be bombed with suggestions to cut down on eating fish. That's exactly what's happening with studies.

deafdyke

Not to mention, it's a big question if stem cells will even WORK.

john57

I heard about from a researcher last year that had some success in growing hair cells in the cochlea but they ran into the problem of the body rejecting the new created hair cells as foreign. The scientists are not sure why that is. Back to the drawing board as I would say. The one limited sucess that I heard about stem cells is for autoimune conditions.

jillio

Yep. And even the autoimmune results are not longitudinal. We don't know if the effects are lasting.

Hohtopics

Are you talking about in humans? Anyway, like you said, it's back to the drawing board.

StSapphire

In regards to the human genome project and "identifying genes related to thingy X" - one thing many people don't realize with genetics is that genes aren't a body's programming language, where you input DNA and out comes a person - there's all sorts of developmental and environmental factors that affect what comes out that, while the DNA is obviously important, still won't ever be a full cure.

I'm hoping someone gets nanotech functional within my lifetime. The increases from that are possible to be leaps even larger than the discovery of antibiotics and germ theory.

jillio

Absolutely. It is generations away, I believe.

We had a group not long ago that kept insisting deafness would be cured with stem cells in the next few years. And then, when I tried to explain to Kokonut that thanks to Obama, the research was opened back up he started in on the plueripotent cells. I tried to explain how adult stem cells work, but he kept insisting that this was the answer and no worries about rejection.

Hohtopics

Yes, I heard that Nanotechnology could be another option or possibility.

StSapphire

For what? It barely even exists as a theoretical science at the current stage, our technology is simply not good enough to do anything useful with it anytime soon.

kokonut

The poster didn't say anything on the time scale but rather than nanotechnology is another possible option or possibility. Nanotechnology is a big field that continues to grow in the field of hearing loss.

Nanotechnology and the treatment of inner ear diseases
Nanotechnology and the treatment of inner ear diseases - Poe - 2011 - Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology - Wiley Online Library

Nanotechnology and Hearing Health Advances
Hearing aid and nanotechnology

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"... turns out they are telling the truth."

sequoias

Wirelessly posted (sent from a smartphone. )

Thats why we have to balance the diet. Too much isnt good, of course.

StSapphire

I was more unsure what he was even saying he thought it would be an option for. Nanotech is definitely a cool idea, but I didn't know if he was referring to hearing loss restoration/reconstruction, or just health improvements in general.

Hohtopics

Yes, admittedly I do not know much about it. But have heard that some of the deaf are wondering if it could be another option other than cochlear implants somewhere down the road.

kokonut

There's always that possibility. Technology continues to make these things smaller while we gain greater understanding of biology in humans and medical applications.

__________________
Before AD.

After AD.

"Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
-Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice


"... turns out they are telling the truth."

jillio

People just don't seem to realize that the number of years between theoretical conception and actual application are sometimes in the 100's.

deafskeptic

Hence why I'm not holding my breath for a cure.

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jillio

I really find it sad that some people put their whole lives on hold looking and hoping for one.

Hohtopics

Yeah, it gets a little exciting sometime. Hopefully those that want to hear better have good reasons to be optimistic as science and technology continues to progress onto to the future...