SAN DIEGO (CNS) - UC San Diego Health System announced Monday that human testing of injected neural stem cell therapies are underway at its Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center. Researchers are conducting three different trials -- one on a 26-year-old woman paralyzed after a traffic crash, and others on diabetes and leukemia patients. "What we are seeing after years of work is the rubber hitting the road," said Lawrence Goldstein, director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell program and Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center. "These are three very ambitious and innovative trials," he said. "Each followed a different development path -- each addresses a very different disease or condition. It speaks to the maturation of stem cell science that we've gotten to the point of testing these very real medical applications in people." The first tests are being made with low doses in order to ensure the safety of the patients, Goldstein said. Working with Maryland-based Neuralstem Inc., neural stem cells were injected into the site of the paralyzed woman's spinal cord injury on Sept. 30, and she is recovering at home without complications or adverse effects, said Dr. Joseph Ciacci, a neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health System. … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - UC San Diego Health System announced Monday that human testing of injected neural stem cell therapies are underway at its Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center. Researchers are conducting three different trials -- one on a 26-year-old woman paralyzed after a traffic crash, and others on diabetes and leukemia patients. "What we are seeing after years of work is the rubber hitting the road," said Lawrence Goldstein, director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell program and Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center. "These are three very ambitious and innovative trials," he said. "Each followed a different development path -- each addresses a very different disease or condition. It speaks to the maturation of stem cell science that we've gotten to the point of testing these very real medical applications in people." The first tests are being made with low doses in order to ensure the safety of the patients, Goldstein said. Working with Maryland-based Neuralstem Inc., neural stem cells were injected into the site of the paralyzed woman's spinal cord injury on Sept. 30, and she is recovering at home without complications or adverse effects, said Dr. Joseph Ciacci, a neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health System. … Continue reading →

A 26-year-old woman paralyzed after a motor vehicle accident a year ago has successfully undergone a first-in-human experimental procedure to test whether neural stem cells injected at the site of a spinal cord injury is safe and could be an effective treatment. The procedure, conducted on Sept. 30 under the auspices of the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UC San Diego Health System and in collaboration with Neuralstem, Inc., a Maryland-based biotechnology firm, is the first of four in the Phase I clinical trial. Post safety testing, it's hoped that the transplanted neural stem cells will develop into new neurons that bridge the gap created by the injury, replace severed or lost nerve connections and restore at least some motor and sensory function. The patient, whose identity remains confidential for privacy reasons, has been discharged and is recovering without complication or adverse effects at home, said Joseph Ciacci, MD, principal investigator and neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health System. The spinal cord injury trial is one of three recent ground-breaking stem cell efforts at UC San Diego, supported by the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center, to make the significant leap from laboratory to first-in-human clinical trials. Last month, researchers … Continue reading →