Stem cell brain implant world’s first for Glasgow
Stem cells are injected into the brain of a stroke victim in a world-first experiment, carried out at the University of Glasgow.
The aim of the experiment is to see if the cells can start to repair damage to the brain caused by strokes.
The procedure was carried out on an anonymous elderly patient in Glasgow at the weekend. He was given low doses of the cells, reacted well, and has now been discharged from the city’s Southern Hospital. He’ll be closely monitored for the next two years.
The operation is the first part of a new study – the Pilot Investigation of Stem Cells in Stroke – or PISCES – which will see a further dozen male patients, all over 60, being given progressively higher doses of stem cells over the next year. As a closely-defined control group, doctors will be able to assess quickly any improvement or, alternatively, any worsening of their disabilities.
‘A significant milestone’
It is a controversial development, because the cells were created from the brain cells of foetuses – but the study has had the approval of the regulatory body, the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, since January. It’s being run by the ReNeuron Group plc. It’s Chief Executive Officer Michael Hunt described the operation as “a significant milestone in the development of therapies to address the severely disabling effects of ischaemic stroke.” He offered his thanks and best wishes to first patient and his family for taking part.
Professor Keith Muir from the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, who led the team that carried out the operation, said he was pleased with the success, so far, of the first surgery. He’s hopeful it will lead to positive results for stroke patients who’ve suffered significant disability.
“We hope that in future it will lead on to larger studies to determine the effects of stem cells on the disabilities that result from stroke” he said.