The New York Times (2/27, A8, Wade, Subscription Publication) reports, “Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital say they have extracted stem cells from human ovaries and made them generate egg cells.” The report, “if confirmed, might provide a new source of eggs for treating infertility, though scientists say it is far too early to tell if the work holds such promise.”
The AP (2/27) reports that lead researcher Jonathan Tilly of Massachusetts General Hospital “collaborated with scientists at Japan’s Saitama Medical University, who were freezing ovaries donated for research.”
Bloomberg News (2/27, Flinn) reports “stem cells from the ovaries were injected into human ovarian tissue that was then grafted under the skin of mice, which provided the blood supply that enabled growth.” In less than “two weeks, early stage human follicles with oocytes had formed.”
The Boston Globe (2/27, Johnson) reports, however, that “scientists not involved with the Mass. General research said such an approach – if it is even possible – sits far in the future and will require considerably more work.” A number of “scientists said Tilly, who cofounded a company focused on developing novel infertility treatments, had not yet made a convincing case that the stem cells he discovered can yield viable eggs, a critical first step.”
The Wall Street Journal (2/27, Naik, Subscription Publication) reports that the research, published in published in Nature Medicine, was funded by the National Institutes of Health, among others.
HealthDay (2/27, Goodwin) reports that although “it was long believed that women were born with a lifetime supply of eggs, which was depleted by menopause,” an increasing “body of research,” such as this study, “suggests egg production may continue into adulthood.” Also covering the story are MedPage Today (2/27, Bankhead) and WebMD (2/27, Goodman).
Regenexx Web Site KJ is in his late 70′s and was evaluated by us in 2008, after a lifetime of knee problems since a torn meniscus in the 1960′s. After multiple failed arthroscopic knee surgeries through the 2000′s, he was told he needed a knee replacement. His MRI showed complete loss of the meniscus in the left knee (which had been surgically removed in the 1960′s) and severe cartilage loss (bone on bone), so he was told that he was a fair-poor candidate for the procedure (his knee is featured in this prior blog post). He didn’t want a knee replacement, so he decided to give the procedure a try. We treated him with the Regenexx-C knee stem cell treatment as well as a barbotage procedure to remove bone spurs and some injections to tighten his very loose ACL knee ligament. His last update on how the knee did with stem cell treatment is here. I examined him today, more than 2.5 years after his knee stem cell injection and his knee still feels great. He walks several miles a day, climbs ladders and stairs, and works on home improvement projects, all without significant pain other than mild stiffness now and then. His exam showed no significant tenderness or swelling. Looks like KJ was able to dodge the knee replacement bullet long-term because of an injection of his own stem cells and an Interventional Orthopedics approach
I am off to Regenexx on Friday.
Tags: arthritis, Clinical Trial. Mitchell B. Sheinkop, Interventional Orthopedics, medicine, Regenexx, stem cells, treatment