US watchdogs have approved pioneering stem cell research into spinal injuries.
A biotech company was given federal permission this week to inject eight to 10 patients with cells derived from embryonic cells.
The patients will be paraplegics who can use their arms but cannot walk. They will receive a single injection within two weeks of their injury.
The study is aimed at testing the safety of the procedure, but doctors will also look for signs of improvement, such as return of sensation or movement in the legs, Dr Thomas Okarma of Geron, California, said.
Whatever its outcome, the study will mark a new chapter in the contentious history of embryonic stem cell research in the US, a field where debate spilled out of the laboratory long ago and into national politics. While doctors in other countries claim to use human embryonic stem cells in their clinics, experts said they knew of no previous human studies that use such cells.
“It’s a milestone and it’s a breakthrough for the field,” said Ed Baetge, chief scientific officer of Novocell. His company hopes to begin a similar human study for treating diabetes in a few years.
Spinal injury researcher Dr Wise Young of Rutgers University said “a lot of hope of the spinal cord injury community is riding on this trial”.
Embryonic stem cells can develop into any cell of the body, and scientists have long hoped to harness them for creating replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases. But research has been controversial because embryos must be destroyed to obtain them.
President Barack Obama has promised to relax the Bush administration’s restrictions on federal financing for such research.