Stem Cells injections and PM&R?

[andgek]

I am a pre-med student seriously considering PM&R so I am always looking into the FUTURE of PM&R because I think its a great one! I just read this article about stem cells being injected to patients with spinal cord injuries to stimulate nerve growth. Are physiatrists performing this? Are they able to? CAN they and if not WILL they be able to? If so, I think stem cell research could be INCREDIBLE for the PM&R field!

Here is the news article link...
http://news.aol.com/health/article/us-approves-first-stem-cell-study-for/315718

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[phoenix0610]

Hey! I asked the same question just the few days ago

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=596486

Just one response so far--maybe asking a second time will help?

 

[Ludicolo]

Hey! I asked the same question just the few days ago

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=596486

Just one response so far--maybe asking a second time will help?

Sorry about that, sometimes real life gets in the way of SDN.

andgek, a bit of cautious optimism. This is a phase I trial (looking primarily at safety in humans rather than efficacy) that hasn’t even gotten past each individual institution’s IRB. Nobody is injecting anything yet. Will physiatrists be at the forefront of developing this potentially new powerful tool? They should be. Assuming it’s safe, developing the timing and dosing of stem cell injections to optimize functional outcomes is well within the scope of the SCI physiatrist. These patients are obviously still going to need rehab following their injury/injection. Can physiatrists do the actual procedure? Technically, we certainly have the ability to stick needles into anything. Are physiatrists or surgeons actually going to be the ones to perform the procedure? Turf battle. We shall see.

Make no mistake though, this is a landmark study – if for no other reason than the FDA is now allowing embryonic stem cell research to progress.

As an aside, are there any SCI physiatrists lurking on this forum?

 

[SCIronMike]

This is technology developed here at UC Irvine by Dr. Hans Keirstead. He is a faculty member at the Reeve-Irvine Research Center. Our UCI PM&R residents get lectures from Reeve-Irvine faculty several times a year (in our Wednesday afternoon lecture rounds), and our new spinal cord attending is also based out of Reeve-Irvine. It is amazing how passionate they are about their work! A lot of the science in the lectures goes over my head, it's pretty crazy stuff. I can't wait to see how this trial turns out though. Really exciting stuff!

 

[oreosandsake]

also, John Macdonald at the kennedy krieger institute has been doing similar work

http://www.kennedykrieger.org/kki_research.jsp?pid=4261