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Begging for space to make the case: Dear Editor: The news that adult stem cell research has cured thousands of people as Tanya Mihailov claims (letter 7-22-06), would be most welcome if it were true. Patients and patient advocacy groups would rejoice. But scientists like Dr. Michael Clarke, Associate Director of the Stem Cell Institute at Stanford University, who in 2003 published the first study showing how adult stem cells replenish themselves, says such hype is false. The current big push for adult stem cell research after 40 years is a ruse to promote a religious agenda. Embryonic stem cell opponents rely upon bible-based Family Research Council's Dr. David Prentice's list of 72 ASC treatments for diseases in order to stall science. There are only nine effective adult stem cell treatments for diseases, not 70 as Jennifer Clark of The Center for Arizona Policy asserts. Three scientists in the journal "Science" recently challenged Prentice's claims for ASCs: "Prentice not only misrepresents existing adult stem cell treatments but also frequently distorts the nature and content of the references he cites," wrote Shane Smith of the Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation in Santa Barbara, Calif.; William B. Neaves of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Mo.; and Steven Teitelbaum of Washington University in St. Louis." I have read the Prentice list and most of the treatments utilize cord blood and bone marrow, which is nothing new. The overwhelming majority are anecdotes of ASCs as an adjunct to chemotherapy which resulted in remissions, but the final outcomes were death or return of the disease. Such was the case with Dennis Turner, who received his own brain cells to treat his Parkinson's disease. He enjoyed a 4-5 year reprieve from symptoms, but when I talked to him on 4-24-06 he confirmed that his PD had returned with a vengeance and that his Dr. Levesque's Phase II experiment was stalled. Senator Sam Brownback still referred to his photo on the Senate floor during the HR 810 debate last week. While nobody who supports embryonic stem cell research opposes adult stem cell research, we are hurt when non-scientists like Clark, who represent tax deductible religious based organizations such as The Center for Arizona Policy, insist upon misleading the public. If you think embryonic stem cell research is immoral it shouldn't matter which kind of stem cells are "better". We will never know what works for which disease unless the research is done. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific organization, supports embryonic stem cell research. The general public may be fooled by James Dobson, David Prentice and Jennifer Clark, but patients and their families, patient advocacy groups, Nobel Laurettes and stem cell researchers are not. Religious ideology should not be allowed to trump science in a secular nation. Rayilyn Brown 18507 N. Windfall Dr. Surprise AZ 85374 623-584-5869 [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn