Really interesting discussion about CNS injuries and stem cell therapy...

Shamira Aizza · Mar 21, 2007

Since we routinely get overwhelming amounts of info from some forum participants regarding issues of political note (this is the activism/politics forum), please allow me to summarize.

They didn't show a positive outcome or proof of anything with this research, and they didn't show any advantage of using embryonic cells vs. adult.

AND, they did this with grants from six gov't agencies.

Burnham has experienced it's greatest growth under Republican administrations.

HM2VikingRN, RN · Mar 28, 2007

The speaker was highly critical of the Bush Administration and its approach to research funding...

Shamira Aizza · Mar 29, 2007

The speaker was highly critical of the Bush Administration and its approach to research funding...

Of course he was...he has a national platform to complain about his ability to get 'paid' by the gov't for something with dubious results. I wonder why he didn't criticize his audience for their failure to throw money at him for this research.

HM2VikingRN, RN · Apr 14, 2007

Of course he was...he has a national platform to complain about his ability to get 'paid' by the gov't for something with dubious results. I wonder why he didn't criticize his audience for their failure to throw money at him for this research.

HM2VikingRN, RN · Apr 14, 2007

even the president's own scientists have said that his policy is not working. dr. elias zerhouni, director of the national institutes of health, [color=#48537a]told a senate subcommittee that "it is clear today that american science will be better-served, and the nation will be better-served, if we let our scientists have access to more stem cell lines" and that the current policy forces his agency "to fight with one hand tied behind our back."
a few weeks earlier, dr. story landis, interim director of the nih stem cell task force, [color=#48537a]said that updating the current policy to allow funding for new stem cell lines "would be incredibly important." as she explained, "science works best when scientists can pursue all avenues of research. if the cure for parkinson's disease or juvenile diabetes lay behind one of four doors, wouldn't you want
the option to open all four doors at once instead of one door?"

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/04/hope.html

Jolie, BSN · Apr 14, 2007

Let us not forget that there was a time in our nation's history when a majority of citizens thought slavery was OK.

I will not allow my moral beliefs to be swayed by "majority rules".

HM2VikingRN, RN · Apr 14, 2007

Let us not forget that there was a time in our nation's history when a majority of citizens thought slavery was OK.
I will not allow my moral beliefs to be swayed by "majority rules".

here are 500,000 embryos on ice in fertility clinics. Patients should have the ability to donate their surplus embryos for research purposes. Mother Jones had an interesting article on this very topic last fall.

HM2VikingRN, RN · Apr 30, 2007

geron's lead therapy has already shown dramatic success in animal models. in 2005, hans keirstead, a neuroscientist at the university of california, irvine, who developed the treatment with funding from geron, published a paper showing that paralyzed rats injected with the cells were able to walk again.
in geron's therapy, embryonic stem cells are the starting ingredient rather than the treatment itself. the embryonic stems cells, which are potentially able to form any human cell type, are transformed into oligodendrocytes -- a type of brain cell that wraps itself around neurons, forming a fatty insulation layer that allows electrical messages to be conducted throughout the nervous system. these cells are then injected into the site of the injury, coating neuronal projections that were damaged in the accident and restoring communication to the nervous system.
...
geron's pilot trial will likely become a test case for future trials of embryonic stem cells treatments. as stem cell research moves from the research lab to human trials, hospitals, doctors, and scientists conducting the tests will face many of the same regulatory and ethical issues faced by scientists using stem cells for research purposes. for example, stem cell research requires complex approval procedures from institutional review boards and an array of ethical oversight boards. "i was shocked to find out many institutions outside california don't have escro [embryonic stem cell research oversight] committees," says david magnus, an bioethicist at stanford university. "that's where i think one of the big challenges is going to be

http://www.technologyreview.com/biotech/17256/page1/

HM2VikingRN, RN · Apr 30, 2007

tucson, ariz., nov. 15, 2006 – researchers have successfully used stem cells to treat dogs with a form of muscular dystrophy similar to the duchenne (dmd) type in humans, the muscular dystrophy association (mda) announced today.
the investigators, including maurilio sampaolesi and mda-funded guilio cossu of the san raffeale scientific institute in milan, italy, used a special kind of stem cell called a “mesoangioblasts” that can be isolated from muscle biopsies of living donors.
thirteen dogs, divided into three groups, received either cells from healthy donors, their own cells that had been corrected to have the protein missing in dmd or no cells at all. the dogs that received cells from healthy donors responded the best, with one of that group walking well at 13 months (most dogs with the disease have difficulty walking by eight months of age and die at about one year).
“many therapeutic approaches have been successful in mice with muscular dystrophy, but this is the first example of functional improvement in a large-animal model of the disease, and a major step toward testing these cells in the clinic,” said sharon hesterlee, mda vice president of translational research.

http://mdausa.org/research/061115dmd_stem_cell_treatment.html

DarrenWright · May 23, 2007

here are 500,000 embryos on ice in fertility clinics. Patients should have the ability to donate their surplus embryos for research purposes. Mother Jones had an interesting article on this very topic last fall.

I agree; they should be allowed to do what they want with them, and they are allowed to do what they want with them. I've never heard that they weren't allowed to donate them for research.

I, however, should not be forced to pay for it.

HM2VikingRN, RN · May 25, 2007

Arguably most of the true advances in development of care and treatment of any disease/disease process over the past hundred years have been paid for by people through their government. Whether it is basic science research or public health initiatives. (Vaccines for Polio, clean water systems, nutrition research etc.) Taxes are the price we pay for living in a civilized society. If through the political process we have decided to fund and pursue research taxes will end up being used to pay for medical research.

I agree; they should be allowed to do what they want with them, and they are allowed to do what they want with them. I've never heard that they weren't allowed to donate them for research.
I, however, should not be forced to pay for it.

I think that the following graphic describes the differences between positions:

In other words, a progressive is someone who is idealistic enough to believe that things can be better and pragmatic enough to get it done.

http://www.americanprogress.org/aboutus