19572

I was very glad to read of the research done by Stefano Pluchino with adult-mouse stem cells. I am, however, terribly disappointed with his comment that therapeutic trials in humans are 4 to 5 years away. As someone with multiple sclerosis and a scientific background, I see no reason why the timetable can’t be moved up.

Lauri Riley Dowling
Valley Glen, Calif.

In our interview, Pluchino, of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy, suggested that researchers need 4 to 5 years to know whether adult neural stem cells will have anti-inflammatory effects in people, not that it will take 4 to 5 years before a human trial to determine that will start .—N. Moreira