BIOSCIENCE JOURNAL SUMMER 2015
z FEATURE
The age of
Cell Therapy Industry that takes advantage of pioneering research For a cutting-edge technology, cell therapy has a surprisingly long history. Indeed, the idea of injecting living cells into a patient originated in the nineteenth century. Although scientists’ early rudimentary attempts did not really work, subsequent research proved more fruitful and today the technology has led to massive investment from research institutions and companies seeking to grow the cells needed for the procedures. There are two categories of cell therapy, which is also known as cellular therapy or cytotherapy. One is used in mainstream medicine when a human cell is transplanted from a donor into a patient and, although such research has can be controversial when it involves human embryonic material, by and large the feeling is that it holds great promise. The second category is more controversial and is practiced in alternative medicine where it continues the practice of injecting animal materials in an attempt to cure disease. However, the practice is beset by
claims that it is not backed by medical evidence. The origins of cell therapy can be traced to Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard (1817– 1894) who unsuccessfully injected animal testicle extracts in an attempt to stop the effects of aging. His work was followed in 1931 by Paul Niehans, who attempted to cure a patient by injecting material from calf embryos. Niehans claimed to have treated many people for cancer with the technique, although his claims have never been fully validated by research. In 1953, more credible breakthroughs were made with researchers discovering through tests on laboratory animals that rejection of transplanted organs could be prevented by pre-inoculating them with cells from donor animals, followed in 1968, in Minnesota, USA, by the first successful human bone marrow transplant. Today, the procedure has been extended to other kinds of therapy such as treating damaged knee cartilage and the use of stem cells. T cells have shown themselves capable of fighting cancer cells as part of immunotherapy treatment and research is offering hope to victims of neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease and diabetes.
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