Good news! After so much hype and about 20 years in the making, will we finally see successful treatments!
"Japan is brimming with signs of an approaching medical revolution. ...
Building on the Nobel-prizewinning work of stem-cell scientist Shinya Yamanaka, researchers across the country are crafting cells into strips of retina, sheets of cardiac muscle or blobs of neurons, in the hope of treating blindness, mending hearts and reversing neurodegeneration.
Results from early-stage clinical trials — some announced just in the past few weeks — suggest that the cells might actually be working to treat conditions as varied as Parkinson’s disease and spinal-cord injury.
Now, after nearly two decades of hard work and setbacks, many say that Japan is on the cusp of bringing these therapies to market.
Yamanaka ... discovered in 2006 that adult cells could be reprogrammed into an embryonic-like state, capable of becoming practically any kind of tissue. These induced pluripotent stem cells — or iPS cells ... have become a symbol of the country’s global scientific aspirations.
The Japanese government has poured more than ¥110 billion (US$760 million today) into research and development on regenerative medicine, on top of billions more from private funders, organizations and companies. ...
There are more than 60 iPS-cell clinical trials in progress worldwide, nearly one-third of them in Japan. The treatments have proved to be safe and shown signs of benefit. ... And thanks to a fast-track approvals process for regenerative medicine, Japan could become the first country to approve iPS-cell-based treatments. This could happen within a year for Parkinson’s disease. ..."
Japan’s big bet on stem-cell therapies might soon pay off with medical breakthroughs "Induced pluripotent stem cells are being tested to treat blindness, paralysis, Parkinson’s disease and more. Approvals might be around the corner."
No comments:
Post a Comment