ALS Clinical Trial Approved with Adult Stem Cells
by David Prentice
January 14, 2010
A biotech company in Louisiana, TCA Cellular Therapy, has received FDA approval to begin a Phase I clinical trial with its adult stem cell protocol to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease). ALS is a terrible neurological disease that afflicts approximately 30,000 Americans; life expectancy once diagnosed is 2-5 years. Adult stem cells will be taken from the patient’s bone marrow in an outpatient procedure, processed in the company’s lab, and administered to the patient by spinal tap.
Keep in mind this is only approval to begin the trial, no patient results are yet available, as no patients have yet even been treated in this trial. But it is the first adult stem cell patient trial for ALS approved in the United States.
Previously, Italian scientists Mazzini and Fagioli have done several clinical trials using adult mesenchymal stem cells, with promising results. They have published clinical trial results in 2006, in 2008, and in 2009, as well as a recent review paper on the subject.
Adult stem cells continue to show real progress and hope for patients.
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Comments
My brother in law has ALS and is one of the six patients acccepted in the Covington, LA FDA Approved stem cell research, at the TCA Clinic. The stems cell were taken from bone borrow, and they grew as the scientists said Text Book perfect. He was reinjected with over 8 million new stem cells that grew from his bone marrow. It has been 5 weeks. He has improved slightly. Before the stem cell injection he was going down at a very quick rate. He has not appeared to go down any more and he is once again able to sleep. He had not slept for more than 1-2 hours in a 24 hour period in over 8 weeks. We are very hopeful. He was patient #2 of 6 that were accepted, and the first to have the stem cells reinjected into his spinal collum. Thnak God for this stem cell research.
My son, age 29, has been very recently diagnosed with ALS. He has only had symptoms for 4.5 months before the diagnosis. We are hopeful that he will be selected into the stem cell clinical trial for phase II. Do you happen to know who we could contact or does your brother in law know? I think my son’s doctor will be forwarding his name and information but I would like to make certain. I am so glad that you brother in law is showing promise.
Karen
By: FRC Blog » Misleading Michigan on Stem Cells | May 11, 2010 at 5:46 pm
[...] stem cells are even better suited, and have already been used in promising clinical trials with ALS. window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({appId: [...]