The first clinical trial in injecting fetal stem cells into unborn babies in the womb has been announced.
It is hoped the cells, which are able to transform into a range of tissues, will lessen symptoms of incurable brittle bone disease.
The trial, starting in January, will be led by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and in the UK by Great Ormond Street Hospital, BBC website reported. The fetal stem cells will come from terminated pregnancies.
Brittle bone disease affects around one in every 25,000 births. It can be fatal with babies born with multiple fractures. Even those who survive face up to 15 bone fractures a year, brittle teeth, impaired hearing and growth problems.
It is caused by errors in the developing baby’s DNA - their blueprint of life - that mean the collagen supposed to give bone its structure is either missing or of poor quality.
