Stem cell treatment could work in decade: scientist

January 9, 2008

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Wed Jan 9, 5:25 AM

TOKYO (AFP) - Stem cell technologies could be used to cure diseases

and heal injuries within 10 years, a Japanese scientist who recently

broke new ground in the field said Wednesday.

Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, whose team reported in November

they reprogrammed human skin cells to be indistinguishable from stem

cells taken from human embryos, said the new technology is so simple

that many laboratories are competing to make further breakthroughs.

Yamanaka, meeting reporters in Tokyo, said it was a matter of time

before such stem cell technology was used in hospitals.

" I can tell for some patients and for some diseases it may be not,

like, 10 years, but for some diseases I can imagine it can take longer

than 10 years, " Yamanaka said.

" That depends on diseases and injuries. There's no single answer, " he

said.

Stem cells are primitive cells that eventually turn into any of the

220 different types of cells in the human body.

Stem cells offer enormous potential for curing and treating disease

because it is hoped they can replace damaged or diseased cells,

tissues and organs.

But stem cell research has been highly controversial because -- until

now -- viable embryos had to be destroyed to extract the stem cells.

The research by Yamanaka's team, who worked alongside US researchers

led by Thomson of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, was

praised by the Roman Catholic Church and other critics of embryo research.

The research has since accelerated. Yamanaka said that up to five

laboratories in the United States and several in Japan have since also

produced stem cells from human skin, known as pluripotent stem cells,

or iPS cells.

" This is because technology is very simple, " he said. " All you need is

a basic technology, cell biology " and " you don't need special

technology or equipments. "

Yamanaka said having lots of rivals in his research area has caused

him a lot of stress but that he believes " it speeds up everything, the

process, because of the competition. "

" So I think it's very good for patients who are waiting " for

treatment, he said.

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