|
Adult stem
cells from human fat were transformed into healthy muscle,
cartilage and bone cells in the latest breakthrough for
stem cell research.
The study is one of several recent discoveries
that have begun to shatter a long held belief that embryos
and fetuses are the only significant source of stem cells.
Fat may answer claims that adult cells,
formerly taken from the brain or bone marrow, are too difficult
to obtain. "We usually think about fat as sort of worthless,
something that everyone just wants to get rid of and throw
away," said research co-leader Marc Hedrick, of the
U of Calif. School of Medicine. "This work makes us
think much differently about fat tissue." The researchers
used quarts of fat obtained through liposuction of patients'
hips and thighs.
Washington Post April
01, 2001 p A01
| 