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Faster Stem Cell Research Backed By Guy Basnett A leading geneticist at the North's pioneering Centre for Life last night backed a call to speed up research which could involve testing on terminally-ill people. Professor John Burn, medical director of Newcastle's Institute of Human Genetics, said he believes animal testing of stem cell technology could be sidestepped to quicken research into terminal diseases. His comments come after Professor Ian Wilmut, the Edinburgh scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep, said the emerging science should be tested on terminally ill people who volunteer. Prof Burn said: "The issue that is being raised is can we sidestep the animal experimentation stage, and the answer is possibly we can, if people are willing to take the chance." He added that a new specially designated facility at the Institute, expected to be opened in August, will take it one step closer to creating stem cell treatments for patients. Prof Burn said stem cell technology is not thought to hold the same risks as new chemical drugs or gene therapy and the process of research is likely to come under debate. He said: "Any new drugs have to be tested on animals, to prove it is as safe as possible. But this is a slightly different science. We're not talking about a new chemical that could make your teeth fall out, but cells that live in the human body. "The only real concern is that they don't grow out of control and become cancerous." However, he said, any risks can be lessened by implanting cells with mortality genes, allowing them to be killed off at a later date through the administration of a drug. He added a special ethics committee, similar to the group set up to monitor gene-therapy research in the 1990s, is expected to be set up to ensure individuals are not exploited. "People who are terminally ill can be desperate, and while some want to be altruistic and help others, we need to protect other people from being exploited." The Institute, part of Newcastle University, was recently awarded a pounds 9m grant, pounds 2m of which will go towards the creation of a new Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facility. Prof Burn said: "The GMP facility will allow that if we are donated eggs from the fertility centre, that fertilised egg can be grown and turned into stem cells. "If and when we have that we can start thinking about making treatments that can be tried on patients." Stem cells are able to grow indefinitely, producing "daughter" cells that can form different tissues. It is hoped the therapy will hold the key to treatments for devastating conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's and Motor Neurone Disease (MND). Source: The Journal - Newcastle-upon-Tyne ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn