Pioneering stem-cell trials in Japan report promising early results

Recommendable! Nice overview article!

"Some of the first trials to test whether reprogrammed stem cells [Induced pluripotent stem (iPS)] can repair diseased organs have begun to report positive results. Research teams involved in the studies, all based in Japan, say they provide early hints that the hotly anticipated technology works. ...

 cells are those that have been reprogrammed from mature cells — often taken from the skin — into an embryonic-like state. From there, they can then turn into any cell type and be used to repair damaged organs.

In January, researchers reported in a preprint that the first person in Japan given a transplant of heart-muscle cells made from reprogrammed stem cells had experienced improved heart function following the procedure. Then, in April, another group announced that several people’s vision had improved after their diseased corneas were transplanted with corneal cells made from reprogrammed stem cells — a world first. ...
The iPS-cell field is hugely popular in Japan, in large part because it was a local scientist, Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University, who discovered how to make the cells. Expectations for the potential uses of iPS cells soared in 2012, when Yamanaka won the medicine Nobel prize for his 2006 discovery. In 2013, the Japanese government announced that it would pour ¥110 billion (US$814 million today) over the next ten years into regenerative medicine. ..."

Pioneering stem-cell trials in Japan report promising early results The country has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into research on induced pluripotent stem cells to treat diseased organs.