The Miracle Teabag

 The Miracle Teabag

Doctors have used a revolutionary stem cell treatment to restore the power of speech for a stroke victim.

Walter Bast also regained¹ the use of his right arm after the operation to place a 'teabag' of drug-producing stem cells in his brain.

Speaking a week after the operation  -  the first of its kind in the world  -  he said: 'I feel a lucky guy.'

If further trials prove the treatment's worth, it could be on the market in as little as five years, providing fresh hope for the 45,000 Britons each year who suffer a haemorrhagic stroke, where a blood vessel² in the brain bursts.

Currently, the only treatment option is surgery, which has a variable success rate.

Half will die within a month and just one in 20 patients will recover to the extent of Mr Bast, a 49-year-old mechanic.

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British experts described the operation as 'very promising³'.

The CellBeads treatment is the brainchild of scientists at the British medical technology firm Biocompatibles International, based in Farnham, Surrey.

At its centre is a teabag-like sachet filled with tiny capsules, each containing around a million stem cells.

The stem cells, taken from bone marrow⁵, have been genetically⁶ engineered to make a drug that protects brain cells from dying.

This lets the cells rejuvenate⁷ and repair the damage done by the stroke.

The stem cells are encapsulated in beads⁴ to hide them from the immune system and ensure they are not rejected by the body.

Enclosing everything in the 2cm square 'teabag' ensures the surgeon can easily remove it at the end of the treatment period.

Mr Bast, who lives near Bremen in Germany, agreed to be the first to test the operation after suffering two strokes in quick succession. 

Doctors at the International Neuroscience-Institute in Hanover left the teabag in his brain for a fortnight while the stem cells pumped out the drug, known only as CM1.

Now, six weeks after surgery, Mr Bast's body has returned almost to normal.

His surgeon, Professor Thomas Brinker, said: 'We see a recovery as good as this in only the minority of patients, so it is an encouraging start. It is important that we found no side-effects.'

Dr Peter Stratford, of Biocompatibles, said a one-size-fits-all treatment could be stored in hospital freezers ready for use when required.

If effective, it could have a huge impact on patients' quality of life and save the NHS billions.

But stem cell scientists cautioned that many safety and ethical⁸ hurdles⁹ would have to be crossed before the treatment was accepted for widespread use.

Haemorrhagic strokes account for around 30 per cent of the 150,000 strokes in the UK each year.

Stroke is Britain's third biggest killer¹⁰, after heart disease and cancer, and causes more disability than any other disease.

It costs the economy about ? 7billion a year, including NHS bills and lost productivity.

1 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

5 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

6 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

7 rejuvenate   

v.(使)返老还童；(使)恢复活力

参考例句：

• The mountain air will rejuvenate you.山里的空气会使你恢复活力。
• Exercise is perhaps the most effective way to rejuvenate your skin.锻炼可能是使皮肤恢复活力的最好手段。

8 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

9 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

10 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。