Establishment and use of injectable human embryonic stem cells for clinical application

Abstract

Though the ethical controversy regarding the origins of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) remains, the vast potential that hESCs hold in curing the worst afflictions of mankind can be debated but not denied. The chapter describes the evolution of an hESC line first isolated in the year 1999 for potential therapeutic use. For the last 13 years, these hESC lines have been transplanted/injected in patients with various incurable conditions like spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease, visual impairment, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Friedrich ataxia, brain injury, diabetes, hepatitis, and many more. The chapter shows that over 1400 patients suffering from a range of different conditions and not benefitting from traditional therapies have not had a detectable teratoma or immune reaction.