We've had some great news from Thyroid Uk. They've sent us a link to an article about the development of stem cell thyroid transplants. (If you've a problem with animal experiments you might not want to look.) Basically they've managed to make thyroid glands in a petri dish. That's really exciting because it's not just the cells they've made grow, but they've managed to shape them together in the right way.
We think this is a great step forward not just because it's a way forward to transplants but because it's an acknowledgement that taking thyroxine is not like having a working thyroid gland. Using stem cells for transplants means that there's less need for immuno-suppressant drugs.
The primary concern is for babies born without a thyroid, because that can affect their development in so many ways, so we agree that's the most urgent application, but we hope that if it's successful the treatment would become more widely available.
It might be a long journey but there's lots of reason to be very happy about this news.
http://www.nature.com/news/thyroid-is-latest-success-in-regenerative-medicine-1.11574
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