Aging Begins at 30

Body Renewal

At a meeting in December 1999 in Washington, D.C., microelectronic technology was used to restore vision in retinitis pigmentosa (learned from cochlear implant technology). Dr. Joseph Rizzo III (Harvard) and 100 scientists worldwide are using a sheet of electrodes to stimulate the wet-tissue-paper thin retina and its 90 to 150 million cells. Patients can now see vague images when the cells are activated. Perhaps, in time, retinal replacement prosthesis will be developed unless retinal cells themselves can be replaced.

Research at Diacrin and Genzyme in Boston and Cambridge by Dr. Thomas Fraser has used pig cells to treat Parkinson's patients or stroke with 75% graft survival. About 50 million cells will be implanted in both sides of the brain in Parkinson's patients. This may improve on the one-sided implantation of 12 million pig cells with loss of symptoms in three quarters of the cases. Progress also occurs in stroke patients. A phase I trial in patients with Huntington's chorea has stopped progress in this otherwise fatal disease. Experiments with brain cell injury in fetal monkeys and rats showed that neural stem cells migrate to and seamlessly integrate with tissues at the site of injury. (Dr. Evan Snyder, Harvard.) These cells augment the non-visible benefit of the body's own repair cells. Stem cells are also attracted to cancer cells, and Dr. Snyder hypothesizes that cancer chemotherapy (5 FU cytosine deaminase) could be piggybacked to glioblastoma tumors. Growth factors such as neurotrophin can be delivered to brain stroke dead areas. Dissolvable sutures can be used to target brain repair cells augmenting the body's own healing capacity.

The Scottish cloned sheep Dolly has led to nuclear transfer capabilities to regenerate endangered animal species. Dr. Michael West of Advanced Cell Technologies (Worcester, MA) uses nuclear transfer (cloning) to reprogram body cells to become any desired type. Dr. Tom Okarma of Geron Bio Med Corporation (Menlo Park, CA) is developing universal cells compatible with a transplant recipient's own cells. From human embryonic stem cells the company has produced the three types of brain cells, namely glia (glue cells), astrocytes (star cells) and oligodendrocytes (few branches cells). He also produced muscle cells that beat spontaneously and has used telomerase to immortalize liver cells, CD 34 immune cells and cartilage cells. Cells like that have been used to prevent cirrhosis of the liver and to heal diabetic ulcers and for drug testing. If a gene is a "bad speller" and forms sickle cells instead of normal red cells, then Dr. Michael Blaese of Vali Gen (Malvern, PA) can insert a short sequence simulating normal DNA which will "trick" the cell into repairing itself and permanently produce healthy proteins (genoplasty).

No, I wasn't at the meeting. I got all this from the Genetic Engineering News that came across my desk.

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