Stem Cell Clinical Trials

Using the world's largest registry for clinical trials called Clinical Trials.gov which is maintained by the National Institute of Health, "The Stem Cell" blogger, Christopher Scott, reports a substantial increase in stem cell clinical trials since 2004. A total of 2319 stem cell related clinical trials (a 227% increase) were conducted last year. These stem cell trials tested treatments for a variety of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and parkinsons. No trials using human embryonic stem cells were performed last year. But 334 gene therapy trials using stem cells were conducted.

It is apparent that stem cell research has been actively pursured, despite President Bush's restraints on human embryonic stem cell research. The first human embryonic stem cell clinical trial will be conducted this year.