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"..Hair is growing over the scars on his scalp, where Oregon Health & Science University doctors last month injected brain-making stem cells. It was the world's first such procedure, his doctors say, a risky and experimental trial to fight Batten disease, the brain-wasting illness killing the California boy.
In the four weeks since, his parents say, the 6-year-old has grown more lively each day. The milestones are small: More smiles, more eye contact, more words. But after years of watching Daniel lose his power to move and speak, Joanna and Marcus Kerner see a miracle. The other day, he said "OK, Mom," and the couple cried for 30 minutes. He said "Dad" for the first time in two years..."
"..Batten disease is a death sentence. Children with the illness can't make an enzyme that normally clears the brain of fatty substances, so the substances build up and grow poisonous. Children lose their ability to see, speak, think and move. They develop seizures and die by their teens. There is no cure.
Some scientists think a treatment lies in neural stem cells, an immature cell that can turn into other kinds of brain cells. A California company, StemCells Inc., harvested these cells from brain tissue of aborted or stillborn fetuses, then purified and grew the cells. In animal tests, the cells made the enzyme missing in Batten disease..."
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1165983911216650.xml&coll=7
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