> Thank you Murray, perhaps more energy should be spent heading in a
direction
> that all can agree on.  Time and effort is really wasted on both sides
> throwing stones at the president and making him the center of all evil.
It
> may make you feel good but it accomplishes very little.  That is a mistake
> that is to often reflected in this group.
>
> Statements and political stands are made that polarize people instead of
> uniting them and finding common ground.  Real gains in science and in the
> betterment of human life have always been made through compromise, common
> ground and innovative thinking.  War is the ultimate end result of failure
> to find common ground, compromise and respect for others opinions and
> beliefs.
>
> History has shown us that when one path is closed you have a binary
decision
> to make, stand there and complain or find another path.  Those that find
> that other path and concentrate their energy on finding the way tend to
> succeed.  Thank goodness there are other paths to follow and those who
> consider our plight and not politics take honest and earnest efforts to
> continue to look for a cure.  Let's give them equal backing.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Murray Charters" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 9:49 PM
> Subject: Scientists, Patients, Promote Alternatives To Embryonic Stem
Cells
>
>
> > Scientists, patients, promote alternatives to embryonic stem cells
> >
> > By JIM ABRAMS
> > The Associated Press
> > 6/12/03 5:46 PM
> >
> > WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists told a Senate panel Thursday that
> alternatives to human embryonic stem cells, including
> > adult stem cell treatment and umbilical cord blood transplants, have had
> proven success in helping people with
> > crippling and ordinarily fatal diseases.
> >
> > "There is abundant evidence that adult stem cells can be used as a
therapy
> and are readily available in people," Dr.
> > Jean Peduzzi-Nelson of the University of Alabama at Birmingham told the
> Senate Commerce science subcommittee. "The
> > conclusion from the preclinical studies is that adult stem cells work
just
> as well, if not better, than embryonic stem
> > cells and are probably safer."
> >
> > The hearing was lead by subcommittee chairman Sen. Sam Brownback,
R-Kan.,
> who has questioned the ethical propriety and
> > the necessity of embryonic stem cell research.
> >
> > President Bush also opposes using human embryonic stem cells in medical
> research for a wide range of neurological and
> > genetic diseases because it involves the death of an embryo, and the
Bush
> administration has put in place strict
> > guidelines controlling the use of federal dollars for embryonic stem
cell
> research.
> >
> > Brownback trumpeted the "amazing results" from alternative methods,
> inviting to the witness stand 17-year-old Keone
> > Penn of Snellville, Ga., who five years ago became one of the first to
be
> successfully treated for sickle cell anemia
> > with unrelated umbilical cord blood stem cells.
> >
> > Penn was treated at the National Cord Blood Program at the New York
Blood
> Center, whose director, Dr. Pablo Rubinstein,
> > said cord blood banks have provided transplants for more than 3,500
> patients worldwide, and 1,370 at his center.
> >
> > He said blood left behind in the placenta and umbilical cord after birth
> and usually discarded has resulted in less
> > immune reactions, greater availability in less time and less risk of
virus
> infection.
> >
> > Brownback promised to push for federal funds for a national cord blood
> bank system.
> >
> > Dr. David Hess, head of the neurology department at the Medical College
of
> Georgia, cited the advantages of obtaining
> > adult stem cells from bone marrow, saying they are easily isolated, will
> not be rejected by the patient from which they
> > are taken and avoid the ethical concerns of embryonic stem cells. "The
> field is moving fast. Bone marrow derived stem
> > cells are already being tested in small numbers of patients with heart
> attacks."
> >
> > Proponents of embryonic stem cells say they have greater potential for
> regenerative medicine because they are less
> > developed than adult cells and thus can more easily be cultured into new
> tissue that can be used to replace or repair
> > diseased organs.
> >
> > Peduzzi-Nelson, however, cited studies that adult stem cells from the
> brain, the upper nose, the cornea and other parts
> > of the eye, teeth and skin are capable of forming neurons.
> >
> > One witness, Dr. John McDonald of the Washington University School of
> Medicine neurology department, stressed that no
> > research door, including that leading to embryonic stem cell research,
> should be closed.
> >
> > Because of their less formed state, it's "much more feasible to try to
> encourage embryonic stem cells to develop into
> > whichever type of cell is needed," he said. "It's entirely too early to
> rule out any one of these areas of research in
> > favor of any other."
> >
> > ------
> >
> > On the Net: Brownback: http://brownback.senate.gov/
> >
> > SOURCE: NewsFlash / Associated Press
> >
>
http://www.nj.com/newsflash/washington/index.ssf?/base/politics-0/1055455447145030.xml
> >
> > * * *
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
>

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