Stem Cells in Illinois, SB 4, and the Mask of Parkinson's
by diverdonreed
Mon Jun 25, 2007 at 12:09:40 PM PDT
Reaching across the political aisle, people like Republican Representative
Tom Cross (R-Oswego) Democrat Comptroller Dan Hynes, and Democrat Governor
Rod Blagojevich, are working together to ease suffering and save lives
through embryonic stem cell research.
Senate Bill 4 is a positive bill, supporting stem cell research in Illinois,
and is necessary to allow more funding.
It is in the Governor's hands...
diverdonreed's diary :: ::
ILLINOIS, SB 4, AND THE MASK OF PARKINSON'S
Illinois has always been a place of American magic to me. Our greatest
President began his life here, in that famously humble little log cabin.
Here he fought his childhood battles against local lad Jack Armstrong, whom
he later defended in court, freeing him on a false charge of murder; here he
had his first glimpse of slavery, and reportedly said: "If I ever get a
chance to hit that, I'll hit it hard."
How proud Lincoln would have been today, seeing his state working together
to end the slavery of life-threatening disease.
Reaching across the political aisle, people like Republican Representative
Tom Cross (R-Oswego) Democrat Comptroller Dan Hynes, and Democrat Governor
Rod Blagojevich, are working together to ease suffering and save lives
through embryonic stem cell research.
The Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute was begun by an executive order
from Governor Blagojevich. Staking his political future on it, he said:
"The promise of stem cell research is unlimited.  We need to do everything
we can to help our scientists and researchers make the most of it."
But that was only the beginning. A source of reliable funding had to be
found, or the Governor's shining start would remain just that, like the
front of a house with no rooms behind it.
Senate Bill 4, officially supporting the research, passed the House 70-44,
strongly supported by House Republican leader Tom Cross, who said: "It shows
the research community that Illinois accepts stem cell research... (I) have
a daughter with diabetes, and that's one of the diseases we feel there's
promise... (and) for so many other people, so many other diseases, there's a
lot of promise."
How successful will they be?
It all comes down to dollars and cents: how much funding will be made
available for the research which may save lives and ease suffering in
Illinois,  America, and the world.
Stem cell research, of course, is the gift that keeps on giving: a cure for
any disease is a gift for everyone. Always remember polio; when it was cured
by Jonas Salk, it not only saved lives, but also billions of dollars every
year.
Senate Bill 4, a law permanently establishing support for Illinois stem cell
research has passed both houses of the state legislation, and was just
placed in the Governor's hands. He will do what is in his heart already, and
sign it, and support the funding (probably through tobacco taxes)-and
naturally, we all want that amount to be as much as possible.
As Lincoln said, "Before can know where we are going, we must first know
where we are."
The Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute has already given grants: here
is a 2006 press release from the Governor's office.
Gov. Blagojevich, Comptroller Hynes announce $10 million in state stem cell
research grants
Ten grants awarded to Illinois hospitals and universities to conduct
critical stem cell research
CHICAGO - Governor Rod R. Blagojevich and Comptroller Dan Hynes today
announced ten grants worth a total of $10 million for the life-saving work
of stem cell research at several Illinois hospitals and research
institutions.  Last summer by Executive Order, Governor Blagojevich and
Comptroller Hynes created the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute
(IRMI), making Illinois the first state in the Midwest, and only the fourth
state in the nation, to commit public funds to stem cell research.
Researching and studying stem cells allows scientists and doctors to better
understand what causes serious medical illnesses and conditions such as
Alzheimer's, diabetes, spinal cord injury, stroke, and heart disease, in
hopes of discovering new ways to treat or even cure them.
"This is the first time Illinois is awarding state funded grants for stem
cell research and that makes today an important day for our state. " said
Governor Blagojevich.
"In the world of medical research, the fight for cures is waged one grant at
a time.  Today, I am proud to say we've given our scientists ten million
more weapons to win that fight. In so doing, we are also giving hope to the
millions of Americans who suffer from debilitating diseases that stem cell
research has the potential to defeat," said Comptroller Hynes.
"Today's investments in stem cell research are vital to finding cures for
life threatening diseases that afflict thousands of Illinois citizens," said
Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, who's also been a steadfast supporter of stem cell
research in the state.
"Today marks an important step not only for the medical research community
in Illinois, but also for the many people who hope to one day benefit from
the cures and treatments their research will help develop," said
Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago).  "I am pleased to stand with
Governor Blagojevich and Comptroller Hynes in affirming the state's
commitment to this potentially life-saving research."
Gov. Blagojevich's Executive Order last July directed the Illinois
Department of Public Health (IDPH) to create a program to award $10 million
in grants for stem cell research.  IDPH developed the Illinois Regenerative
Medicine Institute (IRMI) after looking at what stem cell research efforts
were already underway in Illinois, and determined the best method of
awarding the grant money to yield the greatest benefits.  IDPH created a
panel consisting of two bio-ethicists and six medical professionals with
expertise in stem cells from Ireland and all over the United States, with
the exception of Illinois, to review grant applications.
"We received 24 applications for stem cell research grants, all of which
were innovative and had great potential," said Illinois Department of Public
Health Director Dr. Eric E. Whitaker.  "With the grants awarded today, we
are looking forward to the groundbreaking medical advancements for many
debilitating diseases that stem cell research will yield."
Grants were awarded to the following institutions: (partial list-DR)
.        $870,000 - Guillermo A. Ameer, Northwestern University for stem
cell-based vascular tissue engineering to enable the development of
replacement blood vessels and therefore eliminating the need to harvest
existing blood vessels from the patient.
.        $800,000 - George H. DeVries, University of Illinois at Chicago for
stem cell therapy for recovery from ischemic stroke.
.        $1,999,944 - Mary J. Hendrix, Children's Memorial Hospital for
reversal of disease progression by stem cells.
.        $1,990,309 - Ronald Hoffman, University of Illinois at Chicago for
the Center for the Development of Stem Cell Therapies for Human Diseases to
focus on the use of human embryonic stems cells and adult tissue-specific
stem cells for the treatment of blood disorders, lung diseases and heart
repair.
.        $800,000 - Gwendolyn L. Kartje, Hines VA Hospital for human adult
bone marrow-derived stem cell therapy for recovery from Ischemic stroke.
.        $250,000 - Stephen J. Kaufman, University of Illinois at
Urbana/Champaign for therapeutic implementation of mesoangioblast stem cells
in muscular dystrophy to advance stem cell therapy for muscle and
neurodegenerative disease and injury and provide a mechanism for repairing a
variety of diseased tissues.
.        $473,212 - Dorothy A. Sipkins, University of Chicago for mechanisms
of hematopietic stem cell homing in normal and disease states with the goal
of understanding the molecular signals that blood-producing cells use to
travel to specific areas where these cells can survive and regenerate.
.        $1,400,000 - Patrick J. Stiff, Loyola University for unlocking the
clinical potential of umbilical cord blood derived stem cells to use as both
blood cells as well as other tissues, including the heart muscle and nerves.
.        $564,512 - Xiaozhong A. Wang, Northwestern University for genetic
control of pluripotency and differentiation in embryonic stem cells to
control the self-renewal and multipotency of stem cells...

The IRMI program is designed to issue grants for stem cell research to study
therapies, protocols, medical procedures, possible cures for, and potential
mitigations of major diseases, injuries, and orphan diseases; to support all
stages of the process of developing cures from laboratory research through
successful clinical trials; and to establish the appropriate regulatory
standards for research and facilities development.
Why should Illinois have to work so hard for cure? It's only one state,
after all, why should it have to bear the burden of research for cure?
One reason is people like Marian Licko.
Marian is a regular salt-of-the-earth sort of person, married 41 years to
her childhood sweetheart, mom of five children, grandmom of 11, and a
greatgrandma to one more.
But ten years ago, Marian was given the dread diagnosis: Parkinson's.
Faced with the prospect of a degenerative disease like Parkinson's, many
people might consider giving up, and just live day by day, numbly existing,
taking no thought for any one but themselves.
But Marian Licko got involved in the struggle to fight Parkinsons: in the
words of the immortal bard, she chose to "take arms against a sea of
troubles, and by opposing, end them."
She joined numerous Parkinson's groups: local, state, national and
international. She worked with support groups, so patients and families
could work together, trying for care as well as cure; to try and ease the
suffering of today while working for the remedies of tomorrow-and she made
non-Parkinson's sufferers consider what it might be like-if they heard the
terrible words from their doctor.
She was instrumental in getting the Mayor of Chicago to declare April as the
official Parkinson's Awareness month.
She was honored at the 2006 World's Parkinson's Congress.
And, she began to write poems: some lovely and gentle as flowers, others
horrific, like the embodiment of a scream.
One is reprinted here with her permission.
The Mask of Parkinson's
Rocking back and forth, thrashing all around,
Twisting like a pretzel, head, legs and arm,
Constantly moving, with no control,
Strange sensations running right through,
Hoping it will pass soon, that's what Parkinson's does to you.
Talking is hard, but listening is worse,
Wanting to scream until you almost burst,
Mouth so dry nothing can quench your thirst,
Not knowing where to go, or what to do first,
Afraid of going out, your legs you cannot trust.
Sharing this with others, who are not the same,
It sounds made up, almost like a game--
One you would not wish to play.
With continued research and trials,
We have everything to gain,
Please give us some hope,
So we can live our lives again."-Marian Licko
Illinois listened.
Illinois acted.
Lincoln would be proud of Senate Bill 4.
:
Rayilyn Brown
Board Member AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
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