Dr. Pasquale Montesano, operating Thursday at Sutter Memorial Hospital, shapes a piece of bone that he will fill with adult stem cells harvested from donor cadavers, then place into the spine of Perry Anderson. The hope is that the surgery will help Anderson finally heal from earlier spinal surgery. Bryan Patrick / bpatrick@sacbee.com
They are not from human embryos, but the stem cells being packed into Perry Anderson's spine may help him heal from a surgery that failed to heal the first time, leaving him hobbled and unable to work for nearly three years. The same type of cells, derived from bone marrow, one day may help heart attack patients recover, ease the misery of inflammatory bowel disease, and allow diabetics to continue producing insulin. While the ethical debate rages over the use of stem cells taken from discarded human embryos, bone marrow stem cells, harvested both from cadavers and from live donors, are being developed for use against a range of illnesses. These cells have shown a remarkable ability to form bone, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and fat, and are proving useful in experimental drug therapies to control diseases caused by the sometimes harmful effects of the body's own immune system.
In Sacramento, Dr. Pasquale Montesano is using them in spine surgery. At UC Davis, stem cell scientist Jan Nolta will try an adult stem cell-based drug in patients with Crohn's, a chronic and painful bowel disease.