This morning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first human clinical trials using embryonic stem cells. The trials will be conducted by the Geron Corp. on humans suffering from paraplegia. The stem cells are those approved for use by President George W. Bush in 2001.
CNS will have a report on this next week. In the meantime, CNN has a story on the FDA announcement and an interview with company executives about the trials.
Catholic church leaders have spoken extensively about the ethics of using embryonic stem cells. Most recently Cardinal Francis E. George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote Jan. 19 to President Barack Obama discussing this and other health-related issues. Read the letter here.
In December, the Vatican issued a 32-page document, “Dignitatis Personae” (“The Dignity of a Person”) in which it warned of of the ethical dilemmas posed by new developments in stem cell research. Read the CNS story here.
Origins subscribers can see the entire Vatican document and related texts by logging into their subscriptions.
Filed under: CNS
Thank goodness we have a new president that looks like he will not be influenced by the fringe groups, they seem to think they can decide for the rest of us what we should do. Freedom of choice is what America is founded on, once we let these loud fringe groups decide for us we will no longer have the ability to decide our own destinies. We the people need to stand up and quiet these pushy fringe groups only then will we be able to make great strides forward.
I suffer from an immune disorder and unhealthy heart. I would never kill my smallest brothers and sisters– the embryos—to cure my disease. I accept what technology can bring that maintains my dignity as well as that of the preborn.
Because of his abortion policy he is not President
of the unborn child and permits the death of
Americans his empeachment proceedings should
not be delayed. He said he don t know when life
begins. Does he know when his life began?
It s sad when this man was elected to this office!!!!
a real person, did you read Cardinal Francis George’s USCCB letter to the president? It clearly indicates that embryonic stem cell research has produced no medical breakthroughs compared to adult stem cell research (latest count: 50+ adult, 0 embryo). Not to mention embryonic stem cells have only resulted in uncontrollable growths and tumors when applied in testing. Why should we as a nation promote something ineffective and controversial when there is an effective and ethical alternative? He is speaking common sense that anyone pro life or pro choice should be able to agree with. We will only make great strides forward in this nation when we begin to love and cherish each and every human being, whether it be the poor, the outcast, the orphan, the unborn, or the immigrant among us. As such a prominent nation as the US, we do in a sense set the tone for other nations. Let us be a nation of dignity, honor, and respect.
Oh get a grip, I think it’s SO unbelievable that this day in age human beings are actually against using proven and innovative means to further mankind in medicine. How are we ever going to move forward in this world when there are so many BACKWARD thinking people?!
Let me tell you why there are no medical breakthroughs with embryonic stem cells…. the funding got cut off! That was my joke potion of this letter. Here are the things that have been happening for those of you who think before you speak…….
RECENT STATEMENTS THAT NO ANIMAL HAS
BEEN TREATED OR THAT NO PROGRESS HAS
BEEN MADE USING HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM
CELLS ARE UNTRUE
While it is true that adult stem cells, which have been studied for more than
40 years, are farther along in the timeline of developing medical treatments,
they do not exist for all kinds of tissue, are difficult to isolate, and are often
not available in the quantities needed for treatment. Human embryonic stem
cells, which were discovered less than ten years ago, are not bound by the
limitations of adult stem cells.
Fortunately, the promising nature of embryonic stem cells, and their
remarkable ability to become any other type of cell, have allowed rapid
progress towards promising treatments in animal and laboratory experiments.
Some examples are listed within.
2006
• Spinal cord injury and Lou Gehrig’s disease: Scientists are using
stem cells from a variety of sources to help animals with spinal cord
injuries regain movement. Human embryonic and adult stem cells have
been coaxed into becoming types of cells that repair damaged spinal cord
insulation and replace damaged spinal cord nerve cells in rats. Scientists
now report that they can use mouse embryonic stem cells to make
functional motor neurons. Previously paralyzed rats treated with the
motor neurons were able to move their legs again. This research gives
scientists insight on how they might one day replace human motor cord
neurons damaged by spinal cord injuries or diseases such as Lou Gehrig’s
Disease (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophies. (Annals of Neurology 60(1)
32–44, laboratory of D. Kerr)
• Liver disease: Chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatitis
affect 25 million Americans. Although liver transplantation can help some
of these individuals, there is an extreme shortage of transplantable
organs. Scientists hope to overcome the organ shortage by using stem
cells to replace lost liver function. A collaborative team of Japanese and
NIH-funded scientists coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells into becoming
liver-like cells. They used the new mouse liver-like cells in a bioartificial
liver, an implanted device that uses liver cells to replace some liver
function. Ninety percent of mice with liver failure that were implanted
with the bioartificial liver survived, while mice with liver failure that did
not receive the implant all died within two days. If scientists can repeat
these results with human stem cells, the technique offers promise both to
individuals born with liver problems and to those who develop liver
disease later in life. (Nature Biotechnology 24:1412–1419, laboratory of
I. Fox)
• Diabetes: One hopeful prospect for treating diabetes is to replace the
damaged or missing insulin-producing beta islet cells in the pancreas.
Unfortunately, the supply of transplantable pancreatic islets is unable to
meet the demand. Scientists have now succeeded in generating insulin secreting cells from hESCs by allowing the cells to mimic pancreatic
development. These hESC-derived precursor cells have almost as much
insulin as adult beta cells. If scientists succeed at getting these cells to
secrete enough insulin in response to blood sugar levels in human
beings, they may one day be useful for treating diabetes. (Nature
Biotechnology advanced online publication, laboratory of Novocell Inc.)
• Restoring vision loss: Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells within the
eye play a vital role in the survival and maintenance of the rods and
cones that detect light and color. Death of RPE cells may lead to agerelated
macular degeneration, a major cause of vision loss in persons
aged 60 and older. RPE’s have now been derived from human embryonic
stem cells and may be used to restore vision in those suffering from
macular degeneration. More recently, these same scientists report that
they used these cells in rats with a genetic eye disease similar to agerelated
macular degeneration , a major cause of vision loss in persons
aged 60 and older. After over a month of treatment with the RPE cells,
visual acuity in the rats improved. (Cloning and Stem Cells 6:217–245
and Cloning and Stem Cells 8:189–199, laboratory of R. Lanza)
2005
• Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease: Human embryonic stem cells
(hESCs) injected into the brains of embryonic mice can take cues from
the mouse brain environment and differentiated into nerve cells and
supporting cells typically found in the brain. Mice with functioning human
nerve cells and supporting cells provide a valuable model system for
learning how the human brain develops and for testing drugs to treat
human nervous system diseases such as Lou Gehrig’s and Parkinson’s
disease. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA
102(51):18644–8, laboratory of R. Gage)
• Spinal cord injury and paralysis: Transplanted stem cells have the
potential to help repair or replace damaged nerve cells in individuals who
have suffered a spinal cord injury. NIH-supported scientists injected
human neural stem cells into the damaged spinal cords of rats. Four
weeks after the injections, rats treated with human cells regained use of
their back paws and were able to coordinate steps between their front
and back paws. Although more tests must be done before this kind of
stem cell therapy is ready for use in humans, these studies provide hope
that human stem cells may one day restore mobility to individuals with
spinal cord injuries. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of
the USA 102:14069–14074, laboratory of A.J. Anderson)
• Hemophilia: Hemophilia is a rare inherited disorder in which the blood
does not clot normally. Individuals with hemophilia can be treated with
infusions of blood clotting factors, but these only help for a short time.
NIH-supported scientists used stem cells to cure mice suffering from a disorder similar to human Hemophilia B. If these results can be repeated in human beings, doctors may one day be able to use
human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to restore blood clotting abilities to
individuals with hemophilia. (Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the USA 102:2958–2963, laboratories of O. Smithies and J.
Frelinger)
• Multiple sclerosis: Multiple sclerosis and some other nervous system
disorders are caused by damage of a protective coating around nerve
cells called the myelin sheath, which is formed when cells known as
oligodendrocytes wrap themselves around the axon of the nerve.
Scientists have formed oligodendrocytes from human embryonic stem
cells and used them to restore the myelin sheath in mice. If this work
can be repeated in humans, it may enable scientists to help individuals
with nervous system disorders recover some of their mobility and
sensations. (Glia 49:385–396, laboratory of H.S. Keirstead)
• Lou Gehrig’s Disease and spinal cord injury: Individuals who suffer
spinal cord or motor neuron diseases such as Lou Gehrig’s disease
(amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS), currently have no treatment
option available to reverse their condition. NIH-funded scientists have
directed human embryonic stem cells into cells that express markers and
transmit nerve impulses in a manner similar to motor neurons. If they
are able to function in human beings after transplantation, these cells
may also serve as a renewable source of replacement motor neurons to
treat spinal cord injury and motor neuron diseases. (Nature
Biotechnology 23:215–221, laboratory of S-C. Zhang)
2004
• Heart Disease: Mice with severe heart defects appeared to return to
normal heart function following injections of embryonic stem cells.
(Science 306:247–252, laboratory of R. Benezra) In addition, heart
muscle cells derived from human embryonic stem cells were also able to
restore heart rhythm in 11 out of 13 pigs whose biological pacemaker
had been damaged. If this work can be repeated in human beings,
scientists may be able to use these cells to replace human heart
pacemakers rather than the current implanted electronic devices. (Nat
Biotech 22:1282–1289, laboratory of L. Gepstein) • Parkinson’s Disease: In 2002, scientists reported that they had
successfully derived dopaminergic neurons from mouse embryonic stem
cells. (Nature 418:50–56, 2002, laboratory of R. McKay) When grafted
into rat models of Parkinson’s disease, the cells were able to improve
motor function. More recent work has produced human dopamine
producing cells from human embryonic stem cells, which may be used to
treat humans with Parkinson’s disease. (PNAS 101:12543–8, laboratory
of L. Studer)
2003
• Infertility treatment: Scientists report production of functional sperm
in mice from human embryonic stem cells, which may be used to treat
men who are suffering from sterility or infertility. (Nature 427:148–154,
laboratory of G.Q. Daley) In addition, oocytes (eggs) have been
generated from embryonic stem cells. This has important implications
for: creation of new hESC lines, generation of tissue for transplantation,
generation of human oocytes, and infertility treatment. (Science
300:1251–1256, 2003, laboratory of H.R. Schöler)
• Lou Gehrig’s Disease and Spinal Cord Injury: Using pluripotent cells
derived from human embryonic germ cells, scientists have been able to
partially restore paralyzed rats’ ability to move. The rats serve as an
animal model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou
Gehrig’s disease. This work provides hope that scientists may one day be
able to use embryonic stem cells to restore movement to patients
suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. (J Neurosci 23:5131–5140, 2003,
laboratories of J.D. Gearhart and J.D. Rothstein)
2002
• Diabetes: scientists at Stanford University recently reported that they
could use mouse embryonic stem cells to “cure” a mouse model of
diabetes. Their results suggest that embryonic stem cells could serve as
a source of insulin-producing replacement tissue and provide hope that
this technique, adapted to human embryonic stem cells, may lead to a
cure for human diabetes patients. (PNAS USA 99:16105–16110, 2002,
laboratory of S.K. Kim)
Information source: http://stemcells.nih.gov
As soon as one of these cures becomes available and you are on your death bed with the disease it cures and it’s do or die, you are soooooooooo going to go the stem cell route.
Nice attempt at an argument citing the use of animal embryonic stem cells. human embryonic stem cells still have shown minimal success and potential and are a mere shadow of the effectiveness of adult cells. politics should be cast aside, and money should be invested where there’s a demonstrable return.