News

Pig cell implants in Huntington’s trial – "Now it seems that a cure could be well on the way."

PIG brain cells could be implanted into human brains by the start of next year if trials of a pioneering treatment for Huntington’s disease are approved in the US.

Similar tests on primates have proved "astonishingly successful" in treating the degenerative brain disease, according to researchers who carried out the work at Living Cell Technologies (LCT) in Auckland, New Zealand.

The injection of live animal cells into human brains is likely to raise ethical concerns and fears of pig viruses being transmitted to humans. But researchers say the benefits of a cure outweigh such concerns. "Yes, we have created a chimera, but one that is tolerated and beneficial," says Bob Elliott, LCT’s medical director.

Huntington’s disease, which affects one in 100,000 people, has a prognosis so terrifying that many people with the gene in their family decline to be tested, preferring to live in ignorance of their fate. Symptoms usually develop between the age of 30 and 50, and include uncontrollable twisting movements, progressing rapidly to disability, dementia and early death.

Full Story: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18725124.400

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.