Celebrities Mislead & Confuse The Stem Cell Issue
Embryonic and adult stem cells. The media, celebs, and politics are
misleading the public.

Distribution Source : PRWeb

Date : Sunday - October 31, 2004

(PRWEB) October 31, 2004 -- Like Michael J Fox I am a young onset
Parkinson's disease patient, one of thousands in the United States.
However I do not have the star power to influence voters.

I was diagnosed four years ago at the age of 33 while serving in the
US Air Force. The disease ended my marriage and my carreer but also
gave me new direction in life. My days are like a roller coaster ride
as medication swings me back and forth between "on" and "off" stages.
I work full time now for the Department of Energy as a computer
specialist, which is no easy task, but I fight my way through each
and every day determined not to lose the battle.

With the pending election the topic of stem cells has found itself
pushed into the spotlight. This is both good and bad. Good for the
awareness and bad for the misleading statements, articles, and other
media released on the subject. It is my hope that this article will
help set the record straight.

There is no total restriction on stem cell research in the United
States. The restrictions imposed are for "embryonic stem cell
research" and the policy restricts utilizing federal funds (tax
dollars) for embryonic stem cell research, it does not ban all stem
cell research as the public is often lead to believe. Researchers in
the United States are free to use pre-existing lines using federal
money and new lines using private funding to pursue embryonic stem
cell research. Embryonic stem cell research in fact is flourishing at
Universities as well as through private grants across the United
States. Not to mention the work being accomplished worldwide.
Adult stem cells have brought us treatments and cures for over 140
conditions. Embryonic stem cells have yielded none. The policy
imposed by President Bush is a fair policy and it is working. Yes it
was made using values and ethics, but those are two values that this
country is supposed to represent.

Unfortunately celebrities fall prey to the pressures of politics.
Displaying public support for a candidate, making unfair and
unresearched statements about current stem cell policies, and
creating misleading stem cell commercials is not the answer. We must
educate the public on the issues and get away from the politics.

Embryonic stem cells (source: NIH)

Embryonic stem cells, as their name suggests, are derived from
embryos. Specifically, embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos
that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro—in an in
vitro fertilization clinic—and then donated for research purposes
with informed consent of the donors. They are not derived from eggs
fertilized in a woman's body. The embryos from which human embryonic
stem cells are derived are typically four or five days old and are a
hollow microscopic ball of cells called the blastocyst.

Adult Stem Cells (source: NIH)

An adult stem cell is an undifferentiated cell found among
differentiated cells in a tissue or organ, can renew itself, and can
differentiate to yield the major specialized cell types of the tissue
or organ. The primary roles of adult stem cells in a living organism
are to maintain and repair the tissue in which they are found. Some
scientists now use the term somatic stem cell instead of adult stem
cell. Unlike embryonic stem cells, which are defined by their origin
(the inner cell mass of the blastocyst), the origin of adult stem
cells in mature tissues is unknown.

While I am for embryonic stem cell research (excluding the fetal
tissue stem cells they avoid talking about) I am very happy with the
current policy. It would be morally wrong for our government to use
tax payers money to do research on embryos from IVF clinics or other
sources.

The study of embryonic stem cells is important.and should continue.
We do not need to rely on federal funds. In 2003 an estimated $120
million of private funds was given to various researchers and
universities to pursue embryonic research.

Researchers recently revealed research in which adult stem cells have
been converted to long-lasting, dopamine-producing brain cells that
could eventually be used to treat diseases such as Parkinson's. Dr
Michel Levesque of Cedars Sinai has also shown the potential of adult
stem cells for Parkinson"s disease.

So What Is The Truth?

The report "Monitoring Stem Cell Research" by The President's Council
on Bioethics released in January 2004 does a great job of separating
the fact from fiction in regards to current policy regarding stem
cell research in the United States. This report can be viewed in its
entirety at: http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/stemcell/fulldoc.html

Here are a few of the facts that the report brings to light:

•This law effectively prohibits the use of federal funds to support
any research that destroys human embryos or puts them at serious risk
of destruction. It does not, however, prohibit the conduct of such
research using private funding. Thus, it addresses itself not to what
may or may not be lawfully done, but only to what may or may not be
supported by taxpayer dollars. At the federal level, research that
involves the destruction of embryos is neither prohibited nor
supported and encouraged.

•Scientists may receive federal funding for using or deriving new
animal embryonic stem cell lines, to assess the potential of these
cells for treatment of animal models of human disease.

•Researchers can use federal funds for work involving human embryonic
germ cells, obtained from aborted fetuses.

•Researchers can receive federal funds for work conducted on human
adult (non-embryonic) stem cells.

•There are no restrictions regarding what American scientists can do
with regard to adult stem cells using taxpayer funds, other than
those requiring them to honor the usual human subject protections and
clinical research requirements (if they are to be transplanted into
human patients). The NIH has devoted substantial resources to the
study of human adult stem cells, allocating over $170 million to the
field in fiscal year 2002, and approximately $181.5 million in fiscal
year 2003 (approximately ten times the amount devoted to human
embryonic stem cell work).

•Researchers remain free to pursue work (including the derivation of
new lines of embryonic stem cells) in the private sector, without
government funding.

•Under present law, work supported by private funds can proceed
without restriction.

Stem cells, embryonic or adult, can possibly one day cure Parkinson's
and many other diseases. Being very much pro-embryonic stem cell
research I can see both sides of the coin on this complex issue and
am very comfortable with the decision made by President Bush.

Thomas N. Berdine
Albuquerque, NM
http://www.youngparkinsons.com

# # #

http://www.YoungParkinsons.com
Thomas Berdine
505-293-5612
E-mail Information
http://www.prweb.com/emailmember.php?prid=173517

SOURCE: PRWeb / Arrive.net Top Stories, Oct 31, 2004
http://press.arrivenet.com/pol/article.php/494681.html

Comment:

Tom, at your youthful age, given the longevity of Parkinson's, you
may have the requisite 30 years to wait this out...

Others, like myself, have already endured more than 20 years and for
us time is definitely of the essence!

cheers ... murray

PS: Feel free to lambaste or embrace Tom's position...

* * *
Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]>
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Web site: Parkinsons Resources on the WWWeb
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