Why Monitor Clinical Trials for Adult Stem Cells
May 21st, 2008 Posted by: admin
There are many different stem cell clinical trials involving adult stem cells that are leading to life-saving results, and offering new alternatives to surgeries and drugs. With stem cell clinical trials, a cellular approach is used, which in many different studies has appeared to benefit patients in many new ways that were not available before. There are stringent minimum monitoring requirements in clinical trials studies to ensure patient safety, as well, so participants and researchers can feel secure about what they are doing.
Adult stem cell clinical trials do not involve embryonic stem cells that result in the destruction of an embryo; they involve adult stem cells that come from the patient’s own blood or bone marrow, or someone else’s. The transplant appears to be safe, and minimum monitoring requirements in clinical trials studies are in place to make sure of it. Many of these stem cell clinical trials have involved various cancers and multiple sclerosis. Stem cell clinical trials for liver disease have also recently started, and trials for cerebrovascular disease and spinal cord injuries are being considered.
Why monitor clinical trials involving adult stem cells so closely when the patients are using their own stem cells and not those of an embryo? Well, it is still vitally important to be sure that standard practices are followed so the results of the research are likely to be replicated in other patients if the treatment is introduced to the public. Stem cell clinical trials are still very new, and research must be monitored to ensure the safety for patients and the accuracy of results. With minimum monitoring requirements in clinical trials studies, patients and their families can be assured that the research will be as safe as possible. This is vitally important in the continuing support for this type of research, which has already been shown to save lives.
