ASGT 12th Annual Meeting: Incorporate Gene Therapy To Make Stem Cell Treatment Safer, More Effective

Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Also Included In: Genetics
Article Date: 02 Jun 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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Gene therapy should be used in tandem with stem cell therapy to enhance the reliability of stem cells, provide an opportunity to limit adverse effects and increase treatment success, according to research presented at the American Society of Gene Therapy's 12th Annual Meeting, May 30.

"Stem cell therapy offers enormous potential to treat and even cure serious diseases. But wayward stem cells can turn into a runaway train without a conductor," said Ronald G. Crystal, MD, chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "This is an issue that can be dealt with and we have the technology to do that in the form of gene therapy."

The challenges with stem cells are unique - once a transplant is performed, the cells go to work on their own, leaving the therapist without control of the therapy's outcome. Gene therapy, however, provides a means for predetermining, and controlling, how the implanted stem cells will react in the patient.

After implantation, stem cells multiply and differentiate into new types of cells. This ability is what gives them their unique potential as medical treatment. But problems arise when the cells differentiate incorrectly, multiply excessively, migrate to new areas of the body or form tumors.

By modifying the genetic code of these cells prior to transplantation, researchers can program the cells to prevent adverse effects or self-destruct should they go awry.

A couple of recent events have cast a new urgency on this research. In January, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first human trials using embryonic stem cells and, in March, the Obama administration reversed an earlier policy restricting federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Scientists believe these steps will lead to accelerated development of stem cell therapies. Stem cells hold promise for treating a host of common diseases, including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, cancer and others.

The American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) 12th Annual Meeting is the world's largest scientific meeting surrounding the latest developments in gene and cell therapy, attended by nearly 2,000 researchers from around the world and featuring 60 scientific presentations.

Source
ASGT

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