U.S. launches first clinical trial of embryonic stem cell therapy
Xinhua News Agency, Washington, October 12, (Reporter Ren Haijun) The United States Jielong Biopharmaceutical Company announced on the 11th that the company has recruited an acute spinal cord injury patient to participate in clinical trials of embryonic stem cell therapy. This is the first clinical trial of human embryonic stem cell therapy approved by the United States.
Geron said that the clinical trial was launched on the 8th at the Shepard Center in Atlanta, Georgia, with the purpose of verifying the safety of embryonic stem cell therapy and the patient's tolerance.
The embryonic stem cells used by the Shepard Center in clinical trials are derived from embryos left in the treatment of infertility patients. Researchers have made preliminary transformations of embryonic stem cells through technical means. Researchers look forward to injecting these cells into the patient's spine. They can move to the patient's injured spinal cord to further differentiate and eventually restore the patient's motor function. The spinal cord injury time of the participating patients should not exceed 14 days as required.
Geron CEO Thomas Okamar said in a statement, “When we conducted human embryonic stem cell research in 1999, many expected that the approval of embryonic stem cell therapy for human clinical trials would take decades to achieve... Therefore, this clinical trial is a milestone in this area."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Geron's trial of human embryonic stem cells for treatment of patients with spinal cord injury at the beginning of last year, and then stopped the trial for safety reasons. It was not until July this year that it finally gave the trial a green light.
Stem cells are cells that are not fully differentiated in the human body and have the potential for self-renewal and differentiation, and have broad application prospects in medicine. Embryonic stem cells have the potential for "total" development and can differentiate into any type of somatic cell. However, since embryonic stem cells are extracted from embryos, ethical and ethical issues are involved, and relevant research has encountered many objections in the United States. In 2001, when President Bush of the United States set limits on embryonic stem cell research, federal funds were only allowed to fund existing embryonic stem cell research. Incumbent President Barack Obama cancelled the above restrictions through an executive order in March last year, widening the channels for embryonic stem cells that can be used for research. The U.S. National Institutes of Health followed the introduction of embryonic stem cell research guidelines in July last year. However, this specification is currently facing legal challenges.
Geron's research is entirely funded by private funds and is therefore not subject to the relevant regulations.
Organic compounds may be classified in a variety of ways. One major distinction is between natural and synthetic compounds. Organic compounds can also be classified or subdivided by the presence of heteroatoms, e.g., organometallic compounds, which feature bonds between carbon and a metal, and organophosphorus compounds, which feature bonds between carbon and a phosphorus.
Another distinction, based on the size of organic compounds, distinguishes between small molecules and polymers.
Compounds that are prepared by reaction of other compounds are known as "synthetic". They may be either compounds that already are found in plants or animals or those that do not occur naturally.
Most polymers (a category that includes all plastics and rubbers), are organic synthetic or semi-synthetic compounds.
Many organic compounds-two examples are ethanol and insulin-are manufactured industrially using organisms such as bacteria and yeast. Typically, the DNA of an organism is altered to express compounds not ordinarily produced by the organism. Many such biotechnology-engineered compounds did not previously exist in nature.