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Cancer is the great leveler in society, one of the few killer ailments that cannot be wished away by following a virtuous life of exercise, veggies and deep breathing. No matter how rich or smart or muscular you may be, deadly tumor cells may be malingering inside your body, ready to strike.
Our mortal fear of cancer has helped animate the debate over embryonic stem cell research and pushed both Democrats and Republicans in Congress into an elbows-and-head-butts battle this month with the Bush administration. The House and Senate last week passed one of their few truly bipartisan bills in an effort to widen research into stem-cell research, but the president has promised a veto, complaining it infringes on the rights of the unborn.
A number of biotech companies are not wasting their time waiting for federal funds as they forge ahead with potential stem-cell solutions to stymie cancer and other dread maladies. And even as the yapping continues in Washington, some courageous and brilliant scientists already are pushing stem-cell studies out of their labs and right into human beings.
Shooting blanks
Business anthropologist Jim Williams, a master of seeking and understanding meaningful change, flagged a few of examples for me this week. He noted that surgeons in England, for instance, are using stem cells -- which are essentially cell "blanks" that have the unique, amazing, superhelpful ability to morph and multiply into specialized cells -- to fix broken bones that won't mend on their own. In clinical trials at an orthopedic hospital, doctors are collecting stem cells from the bone marrow in a patient's pelvis, purifying and multiplying them, and then placing them directly on the fracture. After a few months, the docs report, the bone becomes as strong as new.More from MSN Money
Williams notes that researchers at Heinrich-Heine University in Germany are using adult stem cells from bone marrow to regenerate healthy liver tissue. When cancer invades the liver, you see, many patients can't withstand surgery because too little of the organ would remain to provide its blood-purifying functionality. Stem cells harvested from patients' own bone marrow are morphed into healthy liver tissue that is used to help the organ regenerate itself, allowing patients to undergo surgery and survive their bout with the disease.
Now doctors working in Massachusetts and Florida are learning how to turn embryonic stem cells into cells that form fully functional blood vessels, a Frankenstein-like experiment that has actually worked to repair diabetes-related eye damage in animals and fix organs damaged in heart attacks.
Smarter than the scientist
The uses for stem cells are truly multiplying and replicating, with or without help from Congress. Williams observes that researchers believe that, within a few years, they will be able to extract stem cells from umbilical cord blood that will be used to generate knee ligaments and elbow tendons. He says athletes will be instructed to "bank" stem cells from the umbilical cords of their own offspring to be used potentially to help them stave off career-ending injuries, refurbish joints or potentially even enhance performance.Continued: How stem cells work
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