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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 ****** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn