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USA TODAY 07/09/2001 - Updated 03:06 PM ET Mary Tyler Moore lobbies for diabetes research By W. Reed Moran, Spotlight Health With medical adviser Stephen A. Shoop, M.D. Being able to view life through the eyes and heart of a child is a gift most people lose after dealing with the disappointments and demands of adulthood. But for Mary Tyler Moore, maintaining her youthful exuberance, openness and optimism is essential to living fully at any stage in life. "What most adults fail to remember," says the star of long-running Mary Tyler Moore Show, "is that childhood is often filled with challenges, fears, and uncertainties as daunting as any we face decades later." But sometimes fate steps in to bridge this generational gap of empathy and understanding. "I was diagnosed with 'juvenile' or Type 1 diabetes over 30 years ago," says the five-time Emmy-winning actress. "It was initially terrifying, but as an adult, I was much better equipped to deal with this challenge than a young child." Although Moore has since undergone multiple procedures to combat complications of her disease, she refuses to complain about her condition. What Moore does focus on is the suffering of young children and our national responsibility to work to find a cure. "A child with Type 1 diabetes is a living time bomb," says Moore. "Each child faces a future with the risk of early blindness, kidney failure, amputation, heart attack, and stroke." Moore adds that the attendant psychological and emotional burden can be devastating to young diabetes patients. "Even if they do all they can to be as normal as possible, they're not," says Moore "And long before these children become old, they're forced to face the possibility of their own mortality." In the face of these stark realities, Moore has devoted a great deal of her time to ending the affliction. For the past 17 years, Moore has been the international chairperson of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the largest contributor to diabetes research of any non-profit, non-governmental health agency in the world. Supported by experts and 200 young diabetes patients, Moore recently lobbied Capitol Hill as chair of JDRF's second Children's Congress. Moore and other advocates hope to increase both awareness of and funding for the disease. Diabetes basics More than 1 million people in the USA have Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder that destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The disease strikes more than 30,000 Americans each year, including 13,000 children. Type 1 diabetes makes patients insulin-dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications. The JDRF reports that: Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, adult blindness, and non-traumatic amputations in the USA. People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke. Life expectancy of people with diabetes is shortened by an average of 15 years. Early diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes is the major weapon in forestalling the onset of significant complications. Symptoms may occur suddenly and include: Extreme thirst Frequent urination Sudden weight loss or vision changes Fruity odor on the breath Labored breathing Lethargy Diligently controlling blood sugar levels is critical to the health and survival of diabetes patients. But managing the condition is anything but easy. Despite rigorous attention to diet, exercise and maintaining the proper amount of insulin, many other factors can adversely affect a patient's blood sugar control. These include hormonal changes, growth periods, physical activity, medications, illness, and fatigue. To date, even the best care is not able to prevent eventual serious complications from diabetes. That's why Moore and others strongly advocate federal funding for the enormous promise held in embryonic stem cell research. "Science is on the verge of many treatments that can and will lead to a cure of this disease," says Moore. "But we can't make that final leap without federal funding to supplement ongoing efforts, especially in the area of stem cell research." "Stem cells have the unique capacity to become any type of cell, tissue or organ as they mature, yet they cannot themselves develop into a full human being," says Dr. Richard Furlanetto, scientific director of the JDRF. Furlanetto explains that one of the most promising ways to cure diabetes is to restore the insulin-producing function of islet cells in the pancreas. "At the present time, this can occur either through islet cell transplantation or by engineering stem cells to secrete insulin," says Furlanetto. However, Furlanetto says that islet cell transplantation on a large scale remains an impractical goal. "We have 1 million Americans with Type 1 diabetes, and fewer than 30,000 organ donors each year." "The only immediate practical hope for a cure for this disease lies in embryonic stem cell research," says Furlanetto. "If we can coax these cells to become insulin-producing islet cells, we have the potential to create an unlimited number and effectively solve the islet cell supply problem." Federal funding is critically necessary to make this final scientific leap in the near future. But funding has encountered opposition from many who find it unacceptable to destroy human embryos. "While embryonic stem cell research is perfectly legal," says Moore "our biggest obstacle is people's misunderstanding of what it actually involves." Furlanetto explains that the JDRF is specifically seeking federal funding to use human stem cells derived from in vitro fertilization (IVF). "When a woman becomes pregnant through IVF, her doctors are often left with excess fertilized eggs which are never implanted or utilized," says Furlanetto. "Without implantation in the uterus, these excess embryos never have the capacity to develop into human beings." The unfortunate result, according to Furlanetto, is that these excess embryos are simply discarded. "The tragedy is that the number of stem cells potentially available through these discarded embryos is more than sufficient to conduct the research needed to cure innumerable diseases," says Furlanetto. "Studies have shown that when the issue is explained clearly, up to 71% of the American public would approve federal funding of embryonic stem cell research to cure diabetes, Parkinson's and other diseases," says Moore. Moore recounts that after her Capitol Hill testimony on this issue, she encountered conservative Sen. Jesse Helms in the hallway. "He smiled graciously, saying that while at his age, he's pretty set in his ways, 'your argument took me halfway there.'" "My hope is that all Americans will join in to help convince Congress to take that final step to fund research," says Moore. "In the end, it's all about realizing our interconnectedness, mutual compassion, and hope for the future." SOURCE: USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlight/2001-07-09-moore-diabetes.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn