Stem cell research 'needs to pick up pace'RSS Feed

Research into tangible stem cell treatments for brain and spinal cord injury needs to be accelerated for the benefit of patients, it has been suggested.

Mayo Clinic medical geneticist Andre Terzic claims that one of the major problems with stem cell development has been the "unrealistic hype".

He added that there has been a trend for promising therapies "far faster than the science could produce".

"We need to accelerate the pace of this research, and speed discoveries in regenerative medicine to help patients," Mr Terzic added.

There are still lots of challenges and controversies surrounding the use of induced pluripotent (iPS) cells, which have come to replace the original stem cells drawn from human embryos.

The iPS cells require no destruction of human embryos, but are considered to have some limits of use compared to stem cells.

Last month, the University of Kansas claimed it had received an anonymous $4 million (£2.5 million) donation for stem cell research to further spinal cord injury treatments.

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Posted by John Sherrington

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