Twenty-one year-old Timothy J. Atchison didn't know he would be making medical history when he landed in the University of South Alabama Medical Center on September 25, 2010 and discovered he couldn't move his legs. Paralyzed from the chest down at the T-7 vertebra, after wrecking his Pontiac, the nursing student from Alabama realized that his odds of ever walking again were extremely low.
The Controversial Stem Cell Drug Could Enable Atchison to Walk Again.
The odds rose in his favor, however, when he was asked a few days later if he would be willing to be the first person to have an experimental drug, made of embryonic stem cells, injected into his body. Unable to move any part of his body below his chest, it didn't take him long to agree to the clinical trial, sponsored by Geron, a Menlo Park, California biotechnology company.
According to a recent article in the Washington Post Newspaper, Geron has been conducting a clinical trial on 10 patients at several rehabilitation centers--one of them being the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where Atchison underwent rehabilitation for three months.
After conducting rigorous testing and completing thorough interviews, researchers and Atchison's doctors felt the deeply religious young man was a good candidate for the trial. Atchison recalled that his auto accident happened on the same date as actor Christopher Reeves' tragic horseback accident.
He also realized that in order to proceed with this experiment, surgeons would need to open up his back and then infuse close to 2 million embryonic stem cells into his injured spinal cord. Although doctors could not guarantee any cure from this procedure, Atchison and his family decided that all the possible problems that could arise from this trial drug would be worth the significant risk.
It was helpful to know that the drug was beneficial to laboratory rats who had been partially paralyzed and then were able to regain movement after nine months.
Atchison, who was injected with the drug seven months ago, now reports that he's feeling some slight sensation. For example, he detects some feeling when he pulls on his leg hairs. He is optimistic that more sensation will return as the embryonic stem cells promote the new growth of spinal nerve fibers.
The Controversy Over the Use of Embryonic Stem Cells Continues
Although the cells used for Atchison's clinical trial were days-old embryos discarded at a fertility clinic, many critics have expressed concerns about the use of these cells. The concerns range from religious and moral objections to scientific concerns about too few preliminary tests being conducted on animals before using the stem cells on humans.
They cite the possibility that tumors or other ill effects could result from the use of the stem cells, or that the treatment won't be successful.
Others say that using embryonic human cells is destroying life even if the embryos have not been implanted into the womb. They feel that man is playing God when he tampers with the use of these newly produced cells.
How does T.J. Atchison feel? He hopes that someday he will be able to walk again, and that he will get his young life back. From embryonic cells to adult cells, which may someday regenerate, life continues to a be a miracle.
Sources:
- Washington Post Newspaper: Stem cells were God's will, says first recipient of treatment. April 16, 2011
- Technology Review: First Human Tests of Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy Underway By Emily Singer 10/12/10: accessed 4/29/11
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.
Anne McNulty - Anne is a freelance writer who lives in Queenstown, Maryland. She has contributed many articles to several Maryland magazines including ...
