Boy, 9, to Get Muscle Cell Transplant
A 9-year-old South Carolina boy has been chosen for the first attempt to treat muscular dystrophy by transplanting healthy muscle cells, researchers said Wednesday.
Sam Looper of Pickens, S.C., who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, was to undergo the experimental operation today at the Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis, officials said.
Researchers will inject 8 million to 10 million immature muscle cells from Looper’s father’s arm into the muscle controlling one of the boy’s big toes, chosen because it is easy to study, officials said.
The operation is aimed at rejuvenating the dying muscle cells of muscular dystrophy patients, Dr. Gerald Golden said.
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