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Are you waiting for an umbilical cord? Brownback Holds News Conference To Highlight Successes Of Adult, Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Main Category: Stem Cell Research News Article Date: 23 Jun 2006 - 1:00am (PDT) Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) on Tuesday held a news conference on Capitol Hill to highlight the contrast between medical successes of treatments from adult and umbilical cord stem cells -- which do not involve the destruction of human embryos -- and the "speculative" prospects for treatments derived from human embryonic stem cell research, CQ HealthBeat reports. Brownback said the 70th peer-reviewed publication showing a medical success from adult stem cells or stem cells from umbilical cord blood will be published this week, and he brought people who had received such treatments to speak at the conference. Brownback said it is important for umbilical cord blood to be stored and for adult stem cell treatment barriers to be lowered so that people do not have to travel outside of the U.S. to receive stem cell treatments. According to CQ HealthBeat, the press conference "countered" one recently held by senators who support embryonic stem cell research (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 6/20). Reps. Michael Castle (R-Del.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) last month participated in a conference organized by the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research calling on Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to bring to a vote a measure (HR 810, S 471) that would allow federal funding for research using stem cells derived from embryos originally created for fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients. Frist last month said he plans to schedule debate this summer on three separate bills involving stem cell research, but he did not stipulate which measures would be discussed. Other pending stem cell measures include a proposal (S 658) sponsored by Brownback that would prohibit human cloning for research and reproductive purposes, legislation (S 2754) introduced by Sens. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Specter that would provide funding for NIH to research and create ways to retrieve pluripotent stem cells -- which, like embryonic stem cells, can produce all types of tissues in the body -- without destroying embryos; and a bill (S 1520) sponsored by Feinstein that would ban human cloning for reproductive purposes but not for therapeutic or research reasons (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 5/24). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn