Much
international activity is now being directed at research into cellular therapies
including adult stem cells. The New Zealand Spinal Cord Society laboratory is
using all available knowledge and expertise to achieve their goal of a treatment
for spinal cord injury. The laboratory is directing its efforts at practical
approaches to growing cells that will have a high level of safety when applied
to human treatment. This point has not been treated as a critical issue in much
of the published data on growing stem cells in culture systems and these reports
often describe use of materials that would not acceptable, or would have a much
higher level of risk, if used for human treatment. The crucial role of patient
safety has recently been by the US FDA which published its final rule on safety steps required in cell
therapy work in late 2004. Similar thoughts apply in European health regulatory
bodies and these will influence Medsafe, the New Zealand regulator for medicines
and specialized human treatments when it considers applications to register
methods for patient treatment using cell therapies.
This type of clinically focused research is very appropriate in finding successful treatment
modalities for disabling conditions such as spinal cord injury. Research for a
cure for spinal cord injury also has the potential to benefit many other areas
of medicine. Treatment using autologous adult stem cells (a person's own cells)
will expand in the future to include:
� Parkinson's Disease
� Traumatic Head Injury
� Multiple Sclerosis
� Motor Neuron Disease
