Mass General Stem Cell : planning stage one trial with a larger number of patients

Quote, "we feel that we have enough information to begin planning a phase one trial with a larger number of patients."

advances.massgeneral.org/ne...

[WinnieThePoo]

Am I right in thinking this was the guy who had funded the research who was the initial trial subject provoking some fairly hostile response from Loring and aspen neuroscience.Either way, it sounds very promising

[jimcaster in reply to WinnieThePoo]

Yes, Winnie. Mass General implanted stem cells into a PD patient (a retired doctor) who basically funded his own procedure through a large donation. I think it raises ethical concerns, but selfishly I'm just glad the procedure was done and appears to have been successful.

[Farooqji in reply to jimcaster]

This gentleman had self financed his procedure by spending 2 million dollars. If I had that much money, I would have done it as well. No ethical violation in my opinion. Loring experiment is just good for making us happy but will never be realised

[jimcaster in reply to Farooqji]

I agree with you, Farooq, that there are no ethical issues regarding the patient. I admire his courage (and his bank account 😊), but I do question the ethics of the institution. It's a pretty sad situation if rich folks can essentially bribe their way to the front of the line and/or if better candidates for a particular therapy are denied simply because of their financial condition. All in all, I'm glad it was done, but in the long run, I don't think this is the way human trials should be conducted.

[Hidden in reply to jimcaster]

He did not bribe his way in front of the line. He created the opportunity. Without him there was no line to get to the front of. It is the rich that create opportunities like this and propel things forward.

[jimcaster in reply to Hidden]

That's a fair interpretation, too. I don't begrudge the patient at all and I'm grateful for his contributions to our collective knowledge. At the same time, it's not a sustainable model for ongoing research unless most of us are multimillionaires.

[Hidden in reply to jimcaster]

The key is “ongoing research.” Research is in fits and spurts at best so whatever is required for it to be ongoing I am in full support of. A handful of generous and brave multimillionaires can have for more impact than a million PWP especially when most can not be bothered with even signing a petition or participating in trials. We desperately need wealthy advocates.