On 2 Jun 2001, at 8:57, Linda J Herman wrote: (in part)
Editorial - Developments Affirm Stem Cell Importance

Hi Linda,
Thank you so very much for this morning's editorial....

Part of the "Editorial" reads....
"As expected, the University of Nebraska's bioethics committee
released a report saying the use of such cells from embryos should
be allowed if it is warranted."

I looked it up....

*******

Omaha World-Herald
Published Wednesday
May 30, 2001
Stem-Cell Research Supported
BY ROBERT DORR - WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Research using human embryonic stem cells should be permitted
at the University of Nebraska under proper guidelines, a bioethics
committee has recommended in its final report.

The committee's report goes to NU President L. Dennis Smith for
review, but Smith said he would not take any action until a federal
review of embryonic stem-cell research is complete.

Sixteen of the committee's 21 members endorsed stem-cell research,
and two minority reports were submitted.

The minority reports contend that research with embryonic stem cells
should not be conducted under any circumstances and that research
should use only adult stem cells.

Adult stem cells are used in transplants at the NU Medical Center
to treat patients with certain types of cancer and other disorders.

Smith said the fact that the committee members could not develop
unanimous recommendations "indicates their attitudes mirror those
of the general population."

The ongoing federal review is in response to a request from
President Bush for a re-examination of current National Institutes
of Health guidelines for funding embryonic stem-cell research.

Stem cells are often called the master cells of the body - capable
of producing all the other cells and tissues needed in life. Stem
cells can be found in children and adults, but some scientists think
that the stem cells found in embryos are easier to obtain and offer
more potential to generate treatments or transplants for many
disorders, including neurological ones such as Alzheimer's.

No embryonic stem-cell research is occurring at the University
of Nebraska. The bioethics advisory committee has proposed
policies that would allow it to take place under certain conditions.

That research would be different from the research being conducted
at the NU Medical Center that uses brain cells from aborted fetuses
in neurological research, but it has raised similar objections.

Under the proposed university policy, researchers would use only
embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization that otherwise would be
thrown out. Researchers would have to justify the scientific necessity
of using embryonic stem cells in their work.

The Nebraska Bioethics Advisory Committee was formed after it was
revealed in late 1999 that the NU Medical Center was using fetal
tissue from elective abortions for research into Alzheimer's and
other diseases.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_div=3&u_hdg=0&u_sid=152564

Among the "Comments" at the bottom....

Steve Flott said...
I'm prolife.  The guideline mentitioned here seems reasonable.
I do not agree with abortion or using aborted fetuses for research.
In-vitro fertilization gives an opportunity for life and should not be
banned.  What should be done with the rest of the embryos?
Should it be required that all embyros from in-vitro fertilization be
brought to term, should we throw them away, should we bury them?
- Steve Flott

Read the complete stem-cell research report.......
Final Report of the University of Nebraska Bioethics Advisory Committee
Recommendations for Human Stem Cell Research
http://www.uneb.edu/administration/Reports/Bioethics/BioethicsCommittee.htm

*******

Part of the "Editorial" reads....
"And at the university's medical center,
researchers believe they are on track toward a vaccine to cure
Parkinson's disease."

I looked it up too...

********

Omaha World-Herald
Published Wednesday
May 30, 2001
UNMC Developing Parkinson's Vaccine
BY MICHAEL O`CONNOR - WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center said
Wednesday that they are developing a vaccine to treat
Parkinson's disease.

The researchers, Dr. Howard Gendelman and Eric Benner, have
applied for a patent for the vaccine and hope to receive one within
a year.

There is no vaccine to treat Parkinson's, Gendelman said. Existing
drugs, he said, treat the symptoms of Parkinson's but do not
prevent progression of the disease.

Gendelman said he plans to begin testing the vaccine on mice in
three to five months.

Testing on humans is probably three to five years away, said
Gendelman, director of the Center for Neurovirology and
Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Medical Center.

Vaccine research on Alzheimer's disease has been conducted
nationally and internationally for the past two years. Gendelman
said his research is based in part on that work but directs it in a
"new approach" for treating Parkinson's.

"It's a new arena, and Nebraska is at the forefront of this
cutting-edge research," Gendelman said.

The vaccine would induce the brain's support cells to fight the
nerve cell destruction caused by Parkinson's, Gendelman said.
The goal is to halt or slow the progression of the disease.

Gendelman said he would be able to provide additional details on
how the vaccine would work once a patent has been approved.

He spoke about his Parkinson's research during a meeting at the
University of Nebraska at Omaha.

The session was sponsored by Nebraskans for Research,
a not-for-profit organization working to make people more aware
of the benefits of medical research.

The group opposed a ban on fetal-tissue research that was
introduced this year in the Nebraska Legislature. The bill failed
to advance for the second year in a row and will return to the
legislative agenda in January.

Fetal tissue is used in one of the research efforts at Gendelman's
center.

Gendelman said that research on the Parkinson's vaccine does
not currently involve fetal cells but that there is a "realistic
possibility" it could in the future.

He said fetal cells would not be used in the manufacture of the
vaccine, only in the testing of it.

Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the central nervous system
that affects between 1 million and 1.5 million Americans,
according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

Symptoms include tremor, rigid muscles and loss of normal reflexes.
Risk of developing the disease increases with age.

Wednesday's meeting also included presentations on
computer-assisted surgery and lung disease research.

Sanford Goodman, executive director of Nebraskans for Research,
said the presentations were additional signs of the state's
contributions to medical research.

"It's an example of how we in Nebraska are doing our part," he said.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_div=3&u_hdg=0&u_sid=152565

And... if you got this far... browse the...
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID...

Among them...

To Research Watcher (a scientist) said...
Let us get the facts straight.  First, the release of this story had
nothing to do with UNMC PR, it was a community meeting
sponsored by Nebraskans for Research. Second, according to
NU bylaws patents are split 1/3 to the Univeristy, 1/3 to the
department where the research was done and 1/3 between the
scientists.  As there are two inventors 16% would go to
Dr. Gendelman. Third, everything in the article was 100% truthful,
patients with disease or others can judge the facts themselves.
Aren't newspapers supposed to report the news?
Honesty and integrity, try it, you might like it.

**********

On 2 Jun 2001, at 8:57, Linda J Herman wrote:

Omaha World-Herald
June 1, 2001, Friday SUNRISE EDITION
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. 10;
HEADLINE: Developments Affirm Stem Cell Importance

Two new developments connected to stem-cell research underscore
why, when the Nebraska Legislature goes back into next session
next year, it would do well to scrap legislation aimed at stopping
much of it.

As expected, the University of Nebraska's bioethics committee
released a report saying the use of such cells from embryos should
be allowed if it is warranted. And at the university's medical center,
researchers believe they are on track toward a vaccine to cure
Parkinson's disease.

Using embryonic cells here is in essence a non-issue at the moment.

Scientists have not been doing it, and NU President L. Dennis Smith
says such research is on hold. In part, it's not certain that the
researchers want to take that route. In part, the Bush administration
has put a freeze on federal funding for such work while Health and
Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson reviews federal
guidelines on the matter adopted last year.

At least, though, the committee put the matter under close scrutiny
and concluded that there should be internal safeguards but not flat
barriers. That's a proper conclusion, as long as the embryos are
destined to be discarded anyway, proper consent has been given
and no embryos are created for research purposes. These and other
guidelines are part of the panel's report.

Regarding the hoped-for Parkinson's vaccine, research chief Howard
Gendelman points out that even if the research is successful, it will
be years before such treatment is approved for general use. Although
he and fellow researcher Eric Bender have applied for a patent, there
have not yet even been tests on mice, much less humans. Gendelman
is also quick to point out that the work here builds on that of many
scientists and others at many institutions.

That said, the Parkinson's work could prove to be some of the most
important ever performed by Gendelman's team or anyone else at
UNMC. And although stem cells (in this instance, those of fetuses
from legal elective abortions) won't be used in making the vaccine,
they will play a role in testing it.

On all sides of the debate over fetal-cell research, people are hoping
that some source of useful cells can be developed other than those
from embryos and fetuses. But, with some exceptions, that hope
doesn't yet represent the state of the researchers' art. And we have
not seen anything like credible evidence to support the notion that
either embryos or fetuses are being created or destroyed because of
such research. The scientists are merely trying to salvage, from
regrettable circumstances, some great benefits for the human race.

Two news stories on the same day, then, point to the importance
of such work. The voices of those who object to it have been heard
and deserve respect. But if legislation to ban stem-cell work derived
from elective abortions or embryos were to be enacted, it would
change nothing in the fertilization labs or in the abortion clinics. It
would only drive potentially lifesaving research out of the state and
poison the scientific atmosphere here for many researchers
pondering future cutting-edge projects.

For these reasons, the lawmakers' wisest course will be to set such
well-meant but harmful legislation aside. We hope they'll do that.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_div=3&u_hdg=4&u_fuse=editorial&u_sid=153031

BTW Linda, Did you happen to browse the "comments" at the
bottom of the editorial?

Among them....

Sanford M. Goodman said...
The following link provides a concise argument for the continuation
of human embryonic stem cell research, despite recent indications
that stem cells may exist in adult tissues and placentas.
http://www.faseb.org/opar/news/docs/adultembyonic.htm

Additional information can be found at
http://www.nebraskansforresearch.org.
Sanford M. Goodman Executive Director
Nebraskans for Research


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