Promising new stem cell therapy
Dr. Duncan Stewart, a world-leader in stem cell research, has set his sights on developing a treatment for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a major killer in the intensive care unit. The condition involves severe inflammation in the lungs and affects patients with many types of infection (including sepsis), as well as those with traumatic injuries. No effective treatment exists. Dr. Stewart and his team have developed a novel therapeutic approach involving bone marrow stem cells engineered to express a gene called angiopoietin 1. In a mouse model of ARDS, they found that this therapy was able to reduce inflammation in the lung and stimulate regeneration and repair of damaged tissue. After further laboratory studies, they hope to test this promising therapy in patients. The study was published in PLoS Medicine and funded by NSERC, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Northern Therapeutics, a company founded by Dr. Stewart.