Can new approaches like iPS cells end the ethical/political debates over ES cells?
Work with iPS cells is still new but the technologies for producing them are moving at a rapid pace. However, whether iPS cells will prove to be a realistic therapeutic alternative to ES cells remains an unanswered question. If they can be effectively developed for either cell replacement therapy or for use as disease models in the lab, they will have fewer ethical and access issues compared to ES cells. Since their discovery, iPS cells have been generated from individuals, including those with PD. Some studies suggest that, like ES cells, dopamine cells generated from iPS cells can improve behavioral deficits in models of PD. If ultimately used for cell replacement therapy, it is also possible that iPS cells could overcome rejection issues (similar to the bodily rejection that can arise following organ transplantation) from transplanting foreign tissue. However, iPS cells share many of the same scientific challenges of ES cells, including the engineering, transplantation, manufacturin
