Just the beginning: Embryonic stem cells used on first patient

For the first time, surgeons have injected a spinal cord injury patient with human embryonic stem cells in a federally approved experiment, a biomedical firm said Oct. 11.

Food and Drug Administration officials approved the start of the privately funded safety trial in July, allowing a long-awaited test of the cells, which were grown from a single embryo to resemble forerunners to spinal cells. The unnamed patient received the cells at the Shepherd Center, an Atlanta hospital specializing in brain, spine and related ailments. Continue Reading »