We must be wary of making too much of this story since it is early research, but it could be very good news. Bone marrow stem cells may be able to treat Alzheimer’s, according to mouse studies. If so, all we can say is, wow!
I have been very critical of cloning and ESCR boosters for almost always listing Alzheimer’s as a disease that they claim could be cured by stem cell therapies. The media list the disease as part of the pro-therapeutic cloning mantra. But the truth has been that Alzheimer’s is an unlikely disease to benefit from either embryonic, cloned, or adult stem cell therapies because it is not an affliction in which one discreet area degenerates. Rather, Alzheimer’s is a whole brain disease. Thus, stem cells were not deemed likely to be of much curative benefit.
But this experiment is different. Rather than seeking to regenerate damaged tissues, apparently the bone marrow stem cells were used to help the brain’s own immune system defeat the plaques that cause Alzheimer’s. That’s a completely different approach. Let us not hype this. There is still a long way to go before we can get truly excited. Still, if this pans out, it would alleviate immeasurable amounts of human suffering. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
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