HOUSTON — In response to the dismal failure of embryonic stem-cell research to produce any advances in medical treatment to date, despite massive expenditures, some commercial biotechnology companies are turning, often at the insistence of investors and shareholders, to the exclusive development of adult stem cells.
One such company, PharmaFrontiers, based in Texas, specializes in obtaining and using autologous stem-cell therapy applications for diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and congestive heart failure. Autologous stem cells, those collected from the patient’s flowing blood, are often thought to be less flexible than embryonic cells. Until recently, bone marrow was thought to be the best source of adult stem cells, but more evidence is coming forward that stem cells from flowing blood are as easily differentiated as embryo cells.
Patrick Linbeck, a representative of the company, said that PharmaFrontiers has developed the technique of harvesting stem cells directly from a patient’s blood. Bone marrow stem cells, he says, are “not cheap, easily obtained, or pluripotent.” Linbeck told LifeSiteNews.com, “Pharma’s cells, like embryonic stem cells, have been differentiated into every type of stem cell in the body. Pharma could even have your blood stem cells extracted to produce every major line of stem cells for you.”
Autologous stem-cell treatments, combined with high-dose chemotherapy, have also proved to be successful in treating a variety of cancers, including Multiple Myeloma, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and Breast cancer.
(This update courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)
