DALLAS, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have successfully used embryonic stem cells to grow healthy, functioning muscle cells in mice afflicted with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas said their study marks the first time transplanted embryonic stem cells have been shown to restore function to defective muscles in a model of muscular dystrophy.
The technique, which involves stringent sorting to preserve all stem cells destined to become muscle, avoids the risk of tumor formation while improving the overall muscle strength and coordination of the mice, the scientists said.
The mice used in the study lacked dystrophin, the same protein that humans with the fatal wasting disease also are missing.
The study, led by Assistant Professor Rita Perlingeiro, is detailed in the journal Nature Medicine.
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