By Hilary White
BETHESDA, Maryland, August 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Successes in using adult stem cells in re-growing cartilage and other tissues in injured horses have led the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US to establish a bone marrow stem cell transplant centre within the National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
An NIH lab in Bethesda Maryland reports having grown human muscle, cartilage and spinal disks in vitro. While these new breakthroughs are not ready for human transplants, the researchers told Wired magazine that it is only a matter of time.
Veterinarians are already using stem cells of horses, injected back into the animal’s leg, to heal leg injuries. In many cases, Wired reports, the stem cells re-grew damaged tendons and ligaments.
NIH researcher Rocky Tuan works to create tissue to replace spinal disks using stem cells grown around a polymer scaffolding. The use of cells taken from the patient, and not developed from embryos, negates any ethical problems and also makes the new tissue a genetic match, ruling out problems with immune system rejection.
"Stem cells are very promising, but what they do for horses may not work so well for humans because humans are the hardest animal to rebuild," Tuan said. But given time, he thinks that his research could end the need for invasive spinal surgery to repair torn anterior cruciate ligaments.