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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20168914
Stem cell op may 'restore sperm'
Boys left infertile by childhood cancer treatment may one day be able to produce healthy sperm by using stored stem cells, monkey research suggests.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can kill tumours and the cells which make sperm.
A study, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, extracted sperm-producing stem cells before cancer treatment and later placed them back into the monkey.
Sperm which could fertilise an egg were produced, which experts labelled a "milestone" in research.
Most men who have cancer treatment which could affect their fertility can choose to freeze sperm before their treatment starts. This is not an option for patients who have not yet gone through puberty.
However, they do have the spermatogonial stem cells which would start to produce sperm in their teenage years.
The researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the Magee-Womens Research Institute took samples of the stem cells from macaques and stored them in a freezer.
The monkeys were then given a chemotherapy drug.
Their own stem cells were implanted back where they came from after the course of chemotherapy had ended. Nine out of 12 adult monkeys and three out of five prepubescent monkeys were later able to produce sperm again.
Separate experiments showed eggs could be fertilised with sperm produced after the procedure.
'Feasible'
Dr Kyle Orwig, from the department of obstetrics, gynaecology and reproductive medicine at Pitt School of Medicine, said: "This study demonstrates that spermatogonial stem cells from higher primates can be frozen and thawed without losing their activity, and that they can be transplanted to produce functional sperm that are able to fertilise eggs and give rise to early embryos."
He said there were still many challenges before this could be used in people: "Should we re-introduce the spermatogonial cells as soon as treatment is over, or wait until the patient is considered cured of his disease, or when he is ready to start a family? How do we eliminate the risk of cancer recurrence if we give back untreated cells that might include cancer cells?
"These are issues we still must work through, but this study does show us the concept is feasible."
Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, told the BBC that the idea had been discussed repeatedly but "experiments have never come close to suggesting it might work in humans".
However, he said: "This report is a very useful step forward and clearly shows that the science of spermatogonial stem cells transplantation might one day work for humans. And, although the authors report relatively low efficiency so far, in the context of someone who does not have any banked sperm to fall back on, these odds are probably very encouraging to make this kind of approach worthwhile."
He also highlighted safety concern saying: "It would be a disaster to give the cancer back to someone because cancer cells are lurking in the transplant.
"But also we need to make sure that the genetics of sperm produced from transplanted spermatogonial stem cells is correct and leads to the birth of healthy offspring which themselves give rise to healthy grandchildren and great grandchildren."
Pierre Fouchet, a researcher at the CEA Institute of Cellular and Molecular Radiobiology in France, said the results: "Constitute a milestone in the field of reproduction and generate hope for restoring fertility in survivors of childhood cancer."
However, he said advances in fertility research needed "intense debate" about the social consequences.
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WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic, anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews, antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
Rael
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