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Scientists of Reprogenetics, a company that specializes in preimplantation
genetic diagnosis (PGD), have pioneered a method of obtaining a potential
alternative source for human embryonic stem cells that does not require
the creation of new embryos or the destruction of viable embryos.
The scientists are associated as consultants with The Institute of
Reproductive Medicine and Science at Saint Barnabas (IRMS). The work
was completed as a collaboration between Reprogenetics and IRMS.
A paper on the subject, written by Drs. Santiago Munné,
Mohan Vemuri and Jacques Cohen, won the grand prize at the October
2005 joint meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine
and Science and the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society.
The alternative source was obtained from abnormal embryos, which
would have no chance of developing into viable pregnancies as they
have extra chromosomes, but can produce normal embryonic stem cells
with the correct number of chromosomes. The research team created
the embryonic stem cells by culturing cells from abnormal embryos
that would otherwise be discarded. Using specialized methods, they
confirmed that such cells can become stem cells.
The discovery offers the promise of human embryonic stem cell research
without the ethical dilemma of using viable embryos, reports Drs.
Munne and co-workers. Potentially, thousands of such stem cell lines
may be produced annually without creating a single embryo for research
purposes.
The research team discovered that although many human IVF embryos
do not meet basic viability criteria, such embryos may contain cells
that can convert to normal cells when cultured in the laboratory.
World-renowned embryologists and geneticists Dr. Cohen and Munne
and their research teams have accomplished almost every major medical
breakthrough in the field of reproductive medicine and reproductive
genetics. The following methods were either invented or pioneered
by Dr. Cohen and his team: assisted fertilization that later lead
to the development of ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) that
was fine-tuned by others, Assisted Hatching, Fragment Removal, Embryo
Co-Culture, Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis for Chromosomes, Blastocyst
Culture and Cryopreservation, Cytoplasmic
As one of the nations leading fertility centers, the Institute provides
patients with state-of-the-art clinical treatments supported by
the latest scientific knowledge and laboratory techniques.
Reprogenetics is an independent laboratory that provides PGD services
to over 130 clinics nationwide.
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