The treatment of stem cells in dogs is a good omen for humans

The injections into stem cells significantly impair the symptoms of muscular dystrophy in a group of yellow-haired dogs, a result that experts call an important step toward treating children. people.

Researcher Johnny Huard of the University of Pittsburgh, who did not participate in the study, said: 'It is a major breakthrough for all of us who study stem cells for treating disease. muscle atrophy '. Sharon Hesterlee, associate director of translational research at the Muscular Dystrophy Association, sees this as one of the most interesting results she has seen in her eight years of working with the organization. Her organization helped pay for the research. She stressed that it was unclear whether such treatment would be

Stem cells
(Photo: gothamgazette.com)

works on people or not but expresses that she has ' cautious optimism ' about it.

Two dogs with severe disabilities caused by the disease could go faster and even jump after treatment. The study was published online by Nature magazine on Wednesday. The study used stem cells from infected dogs or other dogs, rather than embryos. For human use, the idea is to use ' adult ' stem cells from humans to avoid the controversial method of destroying human embryos to get stem cells.

The Nature magazine focuses on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting genetic disorder that only boys have and appears about once in every 3,500 male births. It is the most serious and most common muscular atrophy in childhood and most well known. Hesterlee said in theory, stem cell treatment could help cure other muscular dystrophy or even age-related muscle atrophy.

Boys who suffer from Duchenne muscular dystrophy have difficulty walking at the pre-school age, and almost all of them lose their ability to walk between the ages of 7 and 12 years old . Usually, they die in their twenties due to weakening of the heart and lung muscles. There is no known treatment.

The dog study was conducted by Giulio Cossu, director of the Stem Cell Research Institute at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute of Milan, Italy with colleagues there and elsewhere. Cossu said in a phone interview: 'We don't know whether this treatment works on patients.' He said he hoped to start a small trial on children in the next year or two.

Scientists have investigated that golden-haired dogs with limp muscle disease are very similar to human muscle atrophy. The researchers studied multiple injections of drugs into the bloodstream of a stem cell type taken from blood vessel walls. The best results appear when cells are taken from healthy dogs. But Cossu thinks scientists should follow the genetic control of patients' own cells and use them instead. That way, patients do not have to undergo lifelong treatment to avoid the elimination of donated cells.

In one of many trials, three dogs that had yet to show signs of weakness in walking were given five times a month apart with stem cells taken from other dogs. A dog completely stopped the symptoms and continued to walk well even for 5 months after the dose of injections and therapy did not stop.

At first the second dog recovered like that but died suddenly due to cardiovascular problems after only 2 months of treatment. Cossu said it was unclear whether the problem had anything to do with the treatment, or whether the initial good result would continue.

The third dog shows partial self-defense, can walk and even run with one leg but then gradually loses the ability to walk again for a few days after the treatment does not remove. The researchers also treated two seriously weakened dogs due to the disease. Both get faster mobility and jumping ability, and even one can run even though no one can use the hind legs normally.

One of these dogs quickly lost its ability to walk when treatment did not stop but the other continued to walk well for another 5 months until death from pneumonia. It is the common fate of dogs with genetic diseases due to the weakening of respiratory muscles.

Cossu said he believed that human treatment could be controlled more in respiratory muscles than in dogs. The cells help strengthen the muscle by connecting to regenerated muscle fibers.

Thien Kim