Seven-year-old boy suffering illness causing untreatable wounds over 80% of his body has had his skin replaced by new, genetically modified epidermisScientists have grown a replacement, genetically modified skin to cover almost the entire body of a seven-year-old Syrian boy who was suffering from a devastating genetic disorder. Prof Cédric Blanpain, a stem cell scientist at the Free University of Brussels, described the work as one of the most impressive examples to date of the use of stem cells in humans. The treatment, outlined in a paper in the journal Nature, involved first taking a sample from the patient’s remaining healthy skin. The scientists then genetically modified these skin cells, using a virus to deliver a healthy version of the LAMB3 gene into the nuclei. The genetically modified cells in the graft include specialised skin stem cells that meant once the transplant was integrated it was able to renew and sustain the healthy skin.

Source: The Guardian November 08, 2017 18:00 UTC