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Wednesday July 18 3:26 PM ET Key Senator, U.S. NIH Back Embryo Stem Cell Research By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of President Bush 's closest allies in Congress on health issues called on Wednesday for federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, while the agency that provides money for medical research said ``the door should be left open'' for the promising field. The comments by Sen. Bill Frist (news - bio - voting record), a Tennessee Republican who is the only physician in the Senate, and officials of the National Institutes of Health (news - web sites) (NIH) came as Bush considers prohibiting federal funding for research involving stem cells harvested from human embryos. NIH entered the debate on one of the most contentious issues facing the White House by releasing an internal report touting several advantages of using stem cells that are formed in embryos within days of fertilization over stem cells harbored in the bodies of children and adults. Bush is under pressure from a wide range of interest groups on both sides of the debate, from celebrities including quadriplegic Christopher Reeve, who favors funding the research, to the Roman Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups, which oppose any research involving the destruction of a human embryo. The NIH report cited several advantages in the embryonic cells over the so-called adult stem cells, including their superior potential to transform themselves into virtually any cell type in the body -- a quality that offers the promise of regenerating tissue and organs damaged by disease or injury. ``Scientists all agree that stem cell research holds enormous promise to lengthen and improve the quality of life for many patients suffering from perhaps a broad spectrum of diseases -- spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease (news - web sites), heart disease, kidney disease, liver failure, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease (news - web sites) and diabetes, to name a few,'' Lana Skirboll, director of NIH's Office of Science Policy, told the Senate subcommittee that oversees the agency's budget. ``In sum, because we do not know from which stem cell type the best therapies will come for these diseases, scientists believe the door should be left open to conduct research on both embryonic and adult stem cells,'' Skirboll added. Frist, a heart and lung transplant surgeon and anti-abortion senator who has provided the White House with advice on health-care issues, said research to date has shown the embryonic stem cells to be ``more versatile'' than the adult ones and the embryonic cells offer ``greater potential'' to yield new treatments for diseases. ``VERY CAREFULLY REGULATED'' ``We should increase adult stem-cell research,'' Frist told the panel. ``But I also conclude that both embryonic stem-cell research as well as the adult stem-cell research should be federally funded within a very carefully regulated, fully transparent framework that ensures the highest respect for the moral significance of the human embryo.'' Frist proposed several limitations to such funding, including continuing a ban on federal funds for deriving stem cell tissue from embryos and limiting the number of stem cell lines -- reservoirs of stem cells coming from a single embryo. ``I don't think we need to pay for every aspect of research,'' Frist said. The research generally involves embryos left over in fertility clinics after in vitro fertilization -- joining sperm and eggs cells in a test tube. Frist noted that these embryos otherwise would be ``discarded, disposed of'' by the clinic. He also called for banning human cloning. Massachusetts biotechnology firm Advanced Cell Technology last week said it was planning to create cloned human embryos from which stem cells could be derived. Frist opposed the creation of human embryos solely for the purpose of harvesting stem cells. The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Virginia last week said it had recruited volunteers to donate eggs and sperm to create embryos specifically for research purposes and not live births. BUSH PONDERS THE ISSUE With his own party split over the issue, Bush has been pondering for weeks whether to allow federal money for research into embryonic stem cells. A Republican consultant with close ties to the White House said he expected Bush to announce a decision in favor of expanded federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research soon after he returns from a six-day trip to Europe next Tuesday. Asked if Frist's announcement was part of a coordinated effort leading up to Bush's decision, White House spokesman Scott McClellan replied, ``There's no tie.'' ``The president has been talking to a number of people from a diverse group. He is looking at all the scientific, ethical and legal issues involved. It is a complex issue which he is taking seriously,'' McClellan added. Experts said a ban on federal funding would push most embryonic stem-cell research into private companies and would exclude all but a handful of university researchers. SOURCE: Yahoo Daily News / Reuters http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010718/pl/health_stemcell_dc_3.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn