ADULT STEM CELLS

July 2004
		Adult stem cells, which come from bone marrow, skin, brain, blood and muscle, appear to have enormous potential to help repair the body. But individual studies on stem cell therapy are showing mixed results. Helen Blau, Ph.D., of the Stanford University School of Medicine and Charles Murry, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Washington's Department of Pathology take your questions. Editor's Note: Click here for forum answers.

Online NewsHour Special Report: Adult Stem Cells Browse the NewsHour's Science coverage.	In countries like Brazil, doctors are treating patients with damaged hearts with a medicine from their own bodies -- stem cells. The doctors first extracted bone marrow tissue and separated the adult stem cells from the larger mass of mature cells. After injecting the stem cells into places where a heart attack had killed muscle cells, blood flow improved and symptomatically, the patients felt better. Despite the positive outcomes among human patients, tests on animals have produced only mixed results. But the need for new treatments for a variety of diseases drives scientists to explore what appears to be the enormous potential of stem cell therapies. Two scientists active in stem cell research -- Helen Blau, Ph.D., of the Stanford University School of Medicine and Charles Murry, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Washington's Department of Pathology -- take your questions about the research and potential of adult stem cells.