Misleading Michigan on Stem Cells
by David Prentice
May 11, 2010
An odd, and definitely misleading, statement appeared in an article on a stem cell trial with ALS being led by Eva Feldman of the University of Michigan.
“Dr. Eva Feldman had to turn to a company outside Michigan for the stem cells needed for her ongoing Phase I trials on patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease.
“Feldman said Neuralstem’s stem cells are more developed than cells available at the University of Michigan because of the ban on research in Michigan before the 2008 passage of Proposal 2.”
But there are several things misleading in that statement.
First, Neuralstem uses fetal stem cells, not embryonic stem cells. Fetal tissue research and fetal stem cell research have been legal, and even federally funded, since 1993, including in Michigan.
Even for human embryonic stem cells, the University of Michigan received one of the first three federal grants for the research in 2002, using the approved human embryonic stem cell lines.
The Michigan “ban on research” only prohibited destroying embryos for research. The passage of Proposal 2 in 2008 allows that destruction to take place in the state now. But the research with the stem cell lines has been allowed, and funded, all along.
So the only accurate part of the statement is that Feldman had to look for cells other than newly-isolated embryonic stem cells, or embryonic stem cells in general, to do her study. The rest is just so much political whining.
In fact, Richard Garr, president of Neuralstem, has said:
“the use of neural stem cells isolated from humans in the fetal stage of development is better suited to the study as opposed to embryonic stem cells.”
Adult stem cells are even better suited, and have already been used in promising clinical trials with ALS.
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Comments
How does anyone know how effective hesc will be if they are not allowed to research it’s full potential. Please keep your religious ideology in church.
http://tinyurl.com/ya5wwrw
QUESTION: Do you have pet peeves regarding how the public perceives stem cell research?
ANSWER: I have a few.
The first is the myth that human embryonic stem cells come from aborted fetuses. This is nonsense. It’s just not true. These stem cells come from frozen blastocysts (a very early embryo consisting of 150-300 cells) not used in in-vitro fertilization procedures. These cells are going to be discarded, no matter what. End of story. There’s no abortion involved.
Second, people sometimes think stem cell research is just one thing. In fact, the research covers lots of different kinds of stem cells with different properties related to different diseases. No one kind of stem cell can substitute for another. What makes ESCs so special is they can make many kinds of stem cells that we can’t otherwise get in reasonable qualities.
Third, there’s the oft-repeated myth that adult stem cells can do everything. This is completely undocumented and misleading. People have to remember that a collection of press releases doesn’t establish a fact. Just because one or two scientists think something may be true doesn’t necessarily define it as an independently reproducible, consistent, useful finding that forms a correct foundation.
Fourth and most dangerous are the pronouncements by some people that adult stem cells can cure any disease. This has resulted in a proliferation of clinics across the border and around the world that will, for a price, offer unproven therapies. People go to them for help without enough information necessarily to know what they’re getting. These clinics are unregulated. There’s no accountability to make sure they tell the truth. The treatments are so hyped that people are putting their lives at risk. We’re seeing cases of people who have gone to these clinics and come back with real damage.
This man will be conducting safety trials for ALS. Instead of arguing over what she said why don’t more people use their energy to help find cures? Oh whats that… your not affected by incurable debilitating disease? Figures…
http://singularityhub.com/2010/03/15/watch-this-5-minute-video-explain-why-stem-cell-research-has-to-take-so-long/
CALIFORNIA STEM CELL AND ALS THERAPY DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE EXTEND THEIR COLLABORATION TO ADVANCE POTENTIAL STEM CELL ASSISTED THERAPY FOR ALS
Collaboration will further evaluate novel stem cell-derived product for the treatment of fatal neurodegenerative disease by regulating genes relevant to disease progression
http://www.californiastemcell.com/cgi-bin/pressrel?20100202
There have been numerous cures using adult stem cells. To date, no cures have resulted from embryonic stem cell, just tumors. With this track record, don’t you think that the adult cells are the way to go?
By: Ceecee | May 11, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Adult stem cells that don’t harm fetuses aren’t good propaganda fodder for the abortion industry. The pro-aborts want to cry crocodile tears about the poor, suffering people who could be helped by the stem cells of embryos and fetuses. They want to say we pro-lifers are cruel monsters, heartlessly keeping life saving and suffering reducing treatment away from these poor people.
If it becomes obvious that adult stem cells are the way to go, for treatments and cures, that’s one more propaganda ploy they won’t have on us any more. Worse, for them, it will show THEY are really the ones keeping relief and treatment away from people, due to their extreme abortion politics. Can’t have people knowing that, now can we.