Adult Stem Cells Treat Incontinence

Another human trial for adult stem cells, this time derived from muscles, after successful animal studies. Hopefully, this will lead to an effective treatment of stress urinary incontinence. Also of note, it is stated in this report that the stem cells are ‘pluripotent,’ that is able to become all types of tissues, which all the embryonic stem cell boosters have long insisted only ES cells can provide. If this is true, it isn’t the first form of adult stem cell found to be pluripotent.

I am also reminded of the, what else can I call them, lies that I have seen told repeatedly and with a straight face to some legislators by “scientists” about how adult stem cells are supposedly merely ‘unipotent,’ that is, only able to become muscle if a muscle stem cell, or blood if a blood stem cell. Such patently absurd misleading statements must end or there must be consequences.

(With regard to true pluripotency of these cells, I contacted a scientist I trust about these matters. He told me: “I checked out the main author, Chancellor, and he has a previous pub. where they used the muscle-derived stem cells to make nerves for the urinary bladder in rats. So... they’ve shown that they can get at least 2 of the 3 “primary germ layers” from these cells—muscle (mesoderm) and nerve (ectoderm). I don’t know if they can get the third category (endoderm, i.e., digestive tract, liver, etc.)

Would be nice to see his data; maybe they truly are pluripotent. OR, they may be using the term the way it used to be: pluripotent makes several different kinds of cells.)