ABC Nightline report on stem cell research by Bill Weir, January 18, 2013.
PROMO:
At 11:35 p.m. CT on Friday, Jan. 18 Mayo Clinic and the lab of Dr. Tim Nelson will be featured on ABC’s Nightline. The topic is stem cells and regenerative medicine (See Nightline anchor Bill Weir tease the segment above).
Weir was visiting Mayo Clinic for a story about organ transplants in early 2012 when he stopped at the lab of Dr. Nelson, director of the Program for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, to learn about a new discovery that could one day replace transplants for some patients.
Dr. Nelson discusses the research happening in the HLHS lab:
Dr. Nelson and colleagues are reprogramming adult stem cells to create heart muscle so that patients can heal themselves. Weir watched in amazement at a sample of beating heart tissue created from skin tissue.
Weir said what he was seeing was worthy another trip to Mayo. Dr. Nelson took a sample of skin tissue from Weir’s arm and worked with his staff to reprogram stem cells from the sample into heart tissue. When Weir returned to Mayo Clinic a few months ago, he was able to watch his own heart tissue beat.
Dr. Tim Nelson discusses the experiment he conducted with Weir and what they were able to show him during his visit:
Dr. Nelson’s program is just one of many examples of regenerative medicine being studied at Mayo. By finding ways to rejuvenate, repair and regenerate the body’s own tissue, the Center for Regenerative Medicine hopes to offer therapies to cure major disease – such as diabetes, heart disease, degenerative joint conditions and neurological disorders – as well as injuries and congenital conditions.
Dr. Nelson talks about the promise of stem cell research:
However, none of the research, work in the HLHS lab or clinical trials in general would be possible without the help of patients. Dr. Nelson explains:
I’m so excited to hear all this!! My son, Sebastian, was born in March with HLHS and because we received the diagnosis when I was 19 weeks pregnant, we were able to “prepare” by banking both his cord blood and stem cells. We did this in hopes that in 20 or 30 years when he’d need a transplant medical research would have advanced enough to be able to grow his own heart, rather than needing to sit and wait on the transplant list. Fast forward 7 months, he’s now post-Norwood but while waiting for the Glenn his heart got too big, making him not a good candidate and suddenly we’re told transplant is the only way to go. Sebastian is now 10 months old and was listed for transplant in Novemeber. We’ve undergone 4 IVIG treatments to make him a better match for a donor heart, but the folks here at Stanford say to expect a long wait…6 to 9 months, maybe a year, before a donor can be found. Since Sebastian is post-Norwood, we’re not sure he has that time…please, please tell me if there’s anything we can do now to grow him a heart!