Will Oboama do something for stem cell research?

[lefty]

Let's hope so

[balli]

Already has. My sister has diabetes. George Bush and Republicans wanted to keep it that way, ostensibly in the name of treating individual cells as human life. Joyous day.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/23/AR2009012302168.html

FDA OKs 1st Embryonic Stem Cell Trial

FRIDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- The first human trial using embryonic stem cells as a medical treatment has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Geron Corp., a California-based biotech company, has been given the OK to implant embryonic stem cells in eight to 10 paraplegic patients who can use their arms but can't walk. Stem cell injections will be given within two weeks of the injury. The study will begin this summer, and will be conducted at up to seven different medical centers.

"This marks the dawn of a new era in medical therapeutics," Dr. Thomas B. Okarma, Geron's president and CEO said during a Friday morning teleconference. "This approach is one that reaches beyond pills and scalpels to achieve a new level of healing."

Ultimately, this type of therapy might have the power to restore permanent organ and tissue function, Okarma said. The goal of this first trial is to see if injecting embryonic stem cells into humans is safe. However, the researchers will also be looking for signs of improvement in the patients' ability to feel sensation in or move their legs.

Patients will receive injections at the site of the injury. It is hoped these cells will mature into cells that will repair damaged nerves and produce chemicals that nerve cells need to function and grow.

This phase I trial will be limited to patients whose injury is located in the middle of the spine. If the trial is successful, Okarma said, the hope is to extend the treatment to patients with cervical spine injuries who are paralyzed from the neck down.

Okarma said the injections must be given early after the injury, before scar tissue has developed that would prevent the cells from growing, but after the initial swelling has subsided.

In addition, patients will receive anti-rejection drugs for about two months, after which they should no longer need those drugs. Patients will be followed for at least one year, he said.

The treatment is not expected to restore full function to patients, but the researchers hope to see modest gains. "Any return of bladder or bowel function, a return of sensation, or a return of lower extremity locomotion would be a very exciting finding," Okarma said.

In experiments with rats, researchers found these cells were safe and did restore some function. "These cells insulate as well as stimulate nerve fibers, leading to restoration of function in animal models of spinal cord injury," Okarma said.

The cost of this therapy isn't known yet, but Okarma said it would be "affordable."

Embryonic stem cells are the most basic human cells. These cells are believed to be capable of growing into any type of cell.

The controversy surrounding the use of these cells has become a political issue, with some objecting that the use of these cells destroys potential life because they must be extracted from human embryos. This belief resulted in the Bush administration banning federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

While the Obama administration has indicated that it will lift the ban, the stem cells used in this trial were obtained from one of the Bush administration's approved stem cell lines. However, no federal funds were used in the development of this treatment.

A decade has passed since the first embryonic stem cells were isolated at the University of Wisconsin, in groundbreaking research that was funded by Geron Corp.

Geron is also working on using embryonic stem cells to treat failing hearts and to create insulin-producing islets for type 1 diabetics, Okarma said.

"Embryonic stem cells are really nature's own way of making more of ourselves," Okarma said. "We are simply harnessing the biology of normal human development in our attempts to achieve permanent cures to chronic disease and injury."

Peter Kiernan, chairman of the Christopher And Dana Reeves Foundation, said he's excited about this latest development in stem cell research.

"This is not just a comet across our sky, this is really more like dawn," Kiernan said. "We are beginning a vast human experiment, and we have been waiting an extremely long time to get to this point. This is a very significant development."

At the same time, Kiernan said he does not overestimate what can be expected from this trial.

"Of the millions of people dealing with paralysis in our nation, they are all delighted with subtle increases in function," Kiernan said. "We eat, drink, sleep getting people out of wheelchairs, but the reality of the world we are in is if people get bowel function, some sexual function, some ability for movement, that is a wonderful outcome."

[ChumpDumper]

Too late for my brother. Thanks again, Bush.

[lefty]

Already has. My sister has diabetes. George Bush and Republicans wanted to keep it that way, ostensibly in the name of treating individual cells as human life. Joyous day.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/23/AR2009012302168.html

Damn, talk about timing :D


Too late for my brother. Thanks again, Bush.

So sorry for your brother :(

[fyatuk]

Already has. My sister has diabetes. George Bush and Republicans wanted to keep it that way, ostensibly in the name of treating individual cells as human life. Joyous day.


No he hasn't, according to the article you posted. The treatment going to human trial was developed under W's rules (which really boiled down to not creating any new embyonic stem cell lines).

Not that I agree with W's stance or anything, just clarifying.

[ChumpDumper]

True enough, getting around the ban was just an unnecessary hoop to jump through.

[balli]

The treatment going to human trial was developed under W's rules (which really boiled down to not creating any new embyonic stem cell lines).
That's true, and I'm :oops for only having read a little past the headline. Still, whether the cells were developed under Bush's guidelines, I doubt his FDA would've approved their usage had he remained president.

[SnakeBoy]

My sister has diabetes.

What kind?

[balli]

Type 1

Sorry to hear that chump.

[fyatuk]

True enough, getting around the ban was just an unnecessary hoop to jump through.

Quite true. This might have been ready years earlier if Bush had allowed it.


That's true, and I'm :oops for only having read a little past the headline. Still, whether the cells were developed under Bush's guidelines, I doubt his FDA would've approved their usage had he remained president.

Quite likely. It's a stupid ban anyway.

[Creepn]

This issue is right up there with the economy issue for me.

[FreeMason]

I am very glad we will finally see progression in stem cell research.

I give you guys, chump and bali, a lot of shit but I am sorry your loved ones were victims of the times.

[temujin]

Stem cells research was actively pursued in the US under the Bush administration.

They stopped grants from federal agencies and derivation of new cell lines from human embryos.

That said, some of the major advancements recently made to the field were contributed from US labs, thanks to state and charities money.

In a much as Bush was manifestly one of the worst american presidents, to sell the idea that nothing was done because of some veto of his is simply wrong.

[temujin]

Too late for my brother. Thanks again, Bush.

Sorry to read that.

[ChumpDumper]

Thanks. I don't blame Bush for his death -- he was in a bad way. I just don't want any progress that could help others in his position artificially stymied by pointless ideology.

[Nbadan]

Shame on all of you for wanting to torture stem cells in the name of safety....

[Wild Cobra]

Title:


Will Oboama do something for stem cell research?

I am tired of people lacking essential specificity.

President Bush and most republicans are only against “Embryonic” Stem Cell research. Not Stem Cell research!

Please, keep the proper context, or I will label you as ignorant!

The problem with promoting Embryonic Stem Cell research, is then you create a market of creating life for the sole purpose of experimenting on it and killing it!

There are two other types of stem cells that do not destroy embryos, and have been more promising!

[Wild Cobra]

I am very glad we will finally see progression in stem cell research.

Again, you forget to say "Embryonic" stem cell!

Adult stem cell research has been advancing nicely. Just not newsworthy because you cannot do Bush Bashing over it. To date, only Adult Stem Cell research has practical applications.

From wiki, Adult stem cell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_stem_cell):



Adult stem cell treatments have been used for many years to successfully treat leukemia and related bone/blood cancers utilizing bone marrow transplants. The use of adult stem cells in research and therapy is not considered as controversial as the use of embryonic stem cells, because the production of adult stem cells does not require the destruction of an embryo. Consequently, the majority of US government funding provided for research in this field is restricted to supporting adult stem cell research.


In 2008 the first full transplant of a human organ grown from adult stem cells was carried out by Paolo Macchiarini, at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona on Claudia Castillo, a Colombian female adult whose trachea had collapsed due to tuberculosis. Researchers from the University of Padua, the University of Bristol, and Politecnico di Milano harvested a section of trachea from a donor and stripped off the cells that could cause an immune reaction, leaving a grey trunk of cartilage. This section of trachea was then "seeded" with stem cells taken from Ms. Castillo's bone marrow and a new section of trachea was grown in the laboratory over four days. The new section of trachea was then transplanted into the left main bronchus of the patient. Because the stem cells were harvested from the patient's own bone marrow Professor Macchiarini did not think it was necessary for her to be given anti-rejection (immunosuppressive) medication and when the procedure was reported four months later in The Lancet, the patient's immune system was showing no signs of rejecting the transplant.

Please, don't force me to call people ignorant on the subject.

[Ya Vez]

nothing has stopped private companies from doing there own research or am I wrong.. what about Europe and Canada has it continued there... ?

[Wild Cobra]

nothing has stopped private companies from doing there own research or am I wrong.. what about Europe and Canada has it continued there... ?

You are exactly right. Only government funding for Embryonic Stem Cell research has been stopped. Private and corporate funds can be used all they want. Those holding the money must not see future profits on the subject!

[ChumpDumper]

Propaganda Cobra.

[lefty]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090307/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_stem_cells

Source: Obama to reverse limits on stem cell work



WASHINGTON – Reversing an eight-year-old limit on potentially life-saving science, President Barack Obama plans to lift restrictions Monday on taxpayer-funded research using embryonic stem cells.

The long-promised move will allow a rush of research aimed at one day better treating, if not curing, ailments from diabetes to paralysis — research that crosses partisan lines, backed by such notables as Nancy Reagan and the late Christopher Reeve. But it stirs intense controversy over whether government crosses a moral line with such research.

Obama will hold an event at the White House to announce the move, a senior administration official said Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy had not yet been publicly announced.

Embryonic stem cells are master cells that can morph into any cell of the body. Scientists hope to harness them so they can create replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases — such as new insulin-producing cells for diabetics, cells that could help those with Parkinson's disease or maybe even Alzheimer's, or new nerve connections to restore movement after spinal injury.

"I feel vindicated after eight years of struggle, and I know it's going to energize my research team," said Dr. George Daley of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Children's Hospital of Boston, a leading stem cell researcher.

But the research is controversial because days-old embryos must be destroyed to obtain the cells. They typically are culled from fertility-clinic leftovers otherwise destined to be thrown away.

Under President George W. Bush, taxpayer money for that research was limited to a small number of stem cell lines that were created before Aug. 9, 2001, lines that in many cases had some drawbacks that limited their potential usability.

But hundreds more of such lines — groups of cells that can continue to propagate in lab dishes — have been created since then, ones that scientists say are healthier, better suited to creating treatments for people rather than doing basic laboratory science.

Work didn't stop. Indeed, it advanced enough that this summer, the private Geron Corp. will begin the world's first study of a treatment using human embryonic stem cells, in people who recently suffered a spinal cord injury.

Nor does Obama's change fund creation of new lines. But it means that scientists who until now have had to rely on private donations to work with these newer stem cell lines can apply for government money for the research, just like they do for studies of gene therapy or other treatment approaches.

The aim of the policy is to restore "scientific integrity" to the process, the administration official said.

"America's biomedical research enterprise experienced steady decline over the past eight years, with shrinking budgets and policies that elevated ideology over science. This slowed the pace of discovery and the search for cures," said Sean Morrison, director of the University of Michigan's Center for Stem Cell Biology.

Critics immediately denounced the move.

"Taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for experiments that require the destruction of human life," said Tony Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council. "President Obama's policy change is especially troubling given the significant adult stem cell advances that are being used to treat patients now without harming or destroying human embryos."

Indeed, there are different types of stem cells: So-called adult stem cells that produce a specific type of tissue; younger stem cells found floating in amniotic fluid or the placenta. Scientists even have learned to reprogram certain cells to behave like stem cells.

But even researchers who work with varying types consider embryonic stem cells the most flexible and thus most promising form — and say that science, not politics, should ultimately judge.

"Science works best and patients are served best by having all the tools at our disposal," Daley said.

Obama made it clear during the campaign he would overturn Bush's directive.

During the campaign, Obama said, "I strongly support expanding research on stem cells. I believe that the restrictions that President Bush has placed on funding of human embryonic stem cell research have handcuffed our scientists and hindered our ability to compete with other nations."

He said he would lift Bush's ban and "ensure that all research on stem cells is conducted ethically and with rigorous oversight."

"Patients and people who've been patient advocates are going to be really happy," said Amy Comstock Rick of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research.

The ruling will bring one immediate change: As of Monday, scientists who've had to meticulously keep separate their federally funded research and their privately funded stem cell work — from buying separate microscopes to even setting up labs in different buildings — won't have that expensive hurdle anymore.

Next, scientists can start applying for research grants from the National Institutes of Health. The NIH already has begun writing guidelines that, among other things, are expected to demand that the cells being used were derived with proper informed consent from the woman or couple who donated the original embryo

[TDMVPDPOY]

i think the govt are hypocrites reason being

its okay to have designer babies, but not okay for stem cell research? they should drop the ideals and approve such projects, who knows what we can cure...someone has to make the first step....

[ducks]

Too late for my brother. Thanks again, Bush.
bush did not stop stem research to begin with
but blame him
he gets blame for everthing
does he get blamed for your job you have now to?
the money in your bank?
or does he get blamed for everything bad in your life

[balli]

Yup, ducks with his obligatory "I'm the douche of the day" post. Fuck you ducks.

[LnGrrrR]

WC, where do you get the idea that people will start having babies in order to perform research on embryonic stem cells?

Are people going to have babies to then 'donate' them to this? I've read of no program advocating this.

Embryonic stem cells are harvested from fetuses/babies that would be terminated anyways. If you know of some program that does otherwise, I would love to read about it.

[sook]

Embryonic stem cells aren't even needed now.

A scientist in Japan has found a way to take normal cells back to the pluepotent stage. It is epic, uncontrovercial, and i'm surprised not that many people know about it.

[Yonivore]

Embryonic stem cells aren't even needed now.

A scientist in Japan has found a way to take normal cells back to the pluepotent stage. It is epic, uncontrovercial, and i'm surprised not that many people know about it.
It's about the politics, sook.

Liberals have never let science stand in the way of making political hay out of a policy they deem wrong-minded.

[Wild Cobra]

WC, where do you get the idea that people will start having babies in order to perform research on embryonic stem cells?

Where did I say that?

Where did you learn reading comprehension? Must have been a liberal indoctrination center.



Are people going to have babies to then 'donate' them to this? I've read of no program advocating this.

Please, what are my words that prompted such a misunderstanding?



Embryonic stem cells are harvested from fetuses/babies that would be terminated anyways. If you know of some program that does otherwise, I would love to read about it.
As far as I can fugure, you are basing this on the following statement:


The problem with promoting Embryonic Stem Cell research, is then you create a market of creating life for the sole purpose of experimenting on it and killing it!

I never said anything about having babies. I said life. Now, when you create a market for embryos, what happens is that now there is a market to pay women to harvest eggs, and fertilize them Creating life for the sole purpose of destroying and experimenting on it.

Sorry, I'm not sick, evil, and twisted like you libtards.

Embryonic stem cells aren't even needed now.

A scientist in Japan has found a way to take normal cells back to the pluepotent stage. It is epic, uncontrovercial, and i'm surprised not that many people know about it.
Yep. Proven ways, yet the libtards want to destroy life.

I wonder which of their elitist friend stand to gain from this taxpayer dollars?

[word]

Let's hope so

It was never prohibited. It was prohibited to use fedeeral funding for research. Embryonic stem cell research has been going on as well as other stem cell research. An adult makes stem cells, in the nasal area, well into their 40's and some even later and there have been cases of people growing damaged heart tissue with their own stem cells. But if anyone thinks GW's ban on federal funding stopped it, you'd be wrong.