Adult stem cell therapy generating excitement for treatment of disease

Dr. Sean Kenniff, CBS News

Tools

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Feb 29, 2008 at 2:27 PM EST

Story Updated: Feb 29, 2008 at 2:30 PM EST

(CBS) — We've heard a lot about stem cells and the promise of treating disease. But how far is it from reality?

A new study finds some patients are benefiting from adult stem cell therapy right now.

A review of hundreds of trials found in some patients adult stem cells have stopped auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

Some heart patients like Donald Reid have also seen improvement.

New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center’s Michael Schuster is excited by the results but warns it's still early.

"We don't know yet what the best technique is,” said Dr. Schuster. “We don't really know how much of a benefit the patients will have.”

And when it comes to diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's …

"I think we're still a few years away from knowing whether stem cells really turn out to be the answer,” Dr. Schuster said.

Donald should have an answer much sooner.

His wish: "To be like everyone else and not have to worry about that my heart might give out,” he said.

In the coming weeks he'll know if that wish came true.

More Good Stuff

WSBT Weather

Current Temp 54.4

More Weather

WSBT Weather

More Weather

On Demand

iPhone
Get the WSBT News and Irish Sports Report apps for your iPhone! Read more »
On DVD
Order a DVD of a WSBT news story! Read more »
Twitter
Follow us on Twitter! Read more »
Facebook
Connect with us on Facebook! Read more »
WSBT E-News
Daily StormTracker e-mails right to your Inbox! Read more »
Video On Demand
Miss a story on WSBT News? Watch it here! Read more »
CBS Shows
Watch CBS shows and news online, free! Read more »
WSBT Alert
Breaking News & Weather right to your cell phone! Read more »
Mobile
WSBT News on the go for your cell phone or PDA. Read more »
RSS Feeds
Get news and updates as soon as they're published. Read more »

Stock Quotes

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.