Stanford Radio

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: "Tony Oro: Stem cell therapies for incurable diseases" A new class of gatekeeper physicians is helping make scientific and ethical sense of stem cell and gene therapies that offer hope to many patients who once had none. By last count, there are 5,000 genetic diseases in the human body. A few are merely annoying, but far more are devastating and without cure. In the last decade, much popular attention has been focused on the potential for stem cells and gene therapies to cure these once-intractable diseases. While the promise is clear, Tony Oro cautions patience. Oro is a dermatologist and associate director of the Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine at Stanford. He is a leading expert in the scientific and ethical dilemmas such therapies raise. He and many others say cures are close at hand, but there is still much to be determined before these therapies can be pronounced both effective and safe. Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 6, 2019. Recorded