US News & World Report:
Adult stem cells transplanted into people with type 1-diabetes show potential as a treatment, according to a preliminary study in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "It's a very promising step forward, but I would never use the word cure," says Richard Burt, the director of the department of immunotherapy at Northwestern University and one of the study's authors.
Of the study's 15 participants, 14 were able to go off insulin injections after undergoing powerful chemotherapy followed by the infusion of their own stem cells. But Burt cautions that it's way too early for patients to get excited: One of the 14 has relapsed, and others could. In addition, complications from the procedure can cause death in about 1 in 200 people, he estimates, raising questions about whether the benefits outweigh the risks of the treatment, especially among children.
So, a step forward, but not a cure. In California research with mice, all relapsed. The cure is somewhere else. Maybe embryonic stems cells. In 2005, three University of Wisconsin researchers were able to turn embryonic stem cells into pancreatic islet cells, which produce insulin. According to Wisconsin Technology Network, "Diseases that might be treated by transplanting cells generated from human embryonic stem cells include Parkinson's disease, diabetes, traumatic spinal cord injury, Purkinje cell degeneration, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, heart disease, and vision and hearing loss."
In response to the Senate's bill, President Bush issued a statement saying, "I believe this will encourage taxpayer money to be spent on the destruction or endangerment of living human embryos -- raising serious moral concerns for millions of Americans."
Yeah, sucks to be them. Most people don't see the problem. An ABC News/Washington Post Poll taken in January shows that only 31% oppose embryonic stem cell research and slightly more -- 38% -- oppose federal funding for it. Why medicine has to be held hostage to this vast minority is beyond me...
[CLICK TO READ FULL POST]
