X-Message-Number: 25180
From: "Basie" <>
Subject: Paralysed woman walks again
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 20:30:47 -0500

Paralysed woman walks again
Seoul - A South Korean woman paralysed for 20 years is walking again after 
scientists say they repaired her damaged spine using stem cells derived from 
umbilical cord blood.

Hwang Mi-Soon, 37, had been bedridden since damaging her back in an accident 
two decades ago.

Last week her eyes glistened with tears as she walked again with the help of 
a walking frame at a press conference where South Korea researchers went 
public for the first time with the results of their stem cell therapy.

They said it was the world's first published case in which a patient with 
spinal cord injuries had been successfully treated with stem cells from 
umbilical cord blood.

Though they cautioned that more research was needed and verification from 
international experts was required, the South Korean researchers said 
Hwang's case could signal a leap forward in the treatment of spinal cord 
injuries.

The use of stem cells from cord blood could also point to a way to side-step 
the ethical dispute over the controversial use of embryos in embryonic 
stem-cell research.

"We have glimpsed at a silver lining over the horizon," said Song 
Chang-Hoon, a member of the research team and a professor at Chosun 
University's medical school in the southwestern city of Kwangju.

'This is already a miracle for me'

"We were all surprised at the fast improvements in the patient."

Under TV lights and flashing cameras, Hwang stood up from her wheelchair and 
shuffled forward and back a few paces with the help of the frame at the 
press conference on Thursday.

"This is already a miracle for me," she said. "I never dreamed of getting to 
my feet again."

Medical research has shown stem cells can develop into replacement cells for 
damaged organs or body parts. Unlocking that potential could see cures for 
diseases that are at present incurable, or even see the body generate new 
organs to replace damaged or failing ones.

So-called "multipotent" stem cells - those found in cord blood - are capable 
of forming a limited number of specialised cell types, unlike the more 
versatile "undifferentiated" cells that are derived from embroyos.

However, these stem cells isolated from umbilical cord blood have emerged as 
an ethical and safe alternative to embryonic stem cells.

Clinical trials with embryonic stem cells are believed to be years away 
because of the risks and ethical problems involved in the production of 
embryos - regarded as living humans by some people - for scientific use.

In contrast, there is no ethical dimension when stem cells from umbilical 
cord blood are obtained, according to researchers.

Additionally, umbilical cord blood stem cells trigger little immune response 
in the recipient as embryonic stem cells have a tendency to form tumours 
when injected into animals or human beings.

For the therapy, multipotent stem cells were isolated from umbilical cord 
blood, which had been frozen immediately after the birth of a baby and 
cultured for a period of time.

Then these cells were directly injected to the damaged part of the spinal 
cord.

"Technical difficulties exist in isolating stem cells from frozen umbilical 
cord blood, finding cells with genes matching those of the recipient and 
selecting the right place of the body to deliver the cells," said Han Hoon, 
president of Histostem, a government-backed umbilical cord blood bank in 
Seoul.

Han teamed up with Song and other experts for the experiment.

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