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Updated July 16, 2006
Benefits of Stem Cells to Human Patients - Do No Harm
Posted on 07/20/2006 4:55:28 AM PDT by 13Sisters76
Science’s Stem Cell Scam By Michael Fumento Thursday, July 20, 2006 Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) receive tremendous media attention, with oft-repeated claims that they have the potential to cure virtually every disease known. Yet there are spoilsports, self included, who point out that they have yet to even make it into a human clinical trial. This is even as alternatives – adult stem cells (ASCs) from numerous places in the body as well as umbilical cord blood and placenta – are curing diseases here and now and have been doing so for decades. And that makes ESC advocates very, very angry. How many diseases ASCs can treat or cure is debatable, with one website claiming almost 80 for umbilical cord blood alone. Dr. David Prentice of the Family Research Council, using stricter standards of evidence, has constituted a list of 72 for all types of ASCs. But now three ESC advocates have directly challenged Prentice’s list. They’ve published a letter in Science magazine, released ahead of publication obviously to influence Pres. Bush’s promise to veto legislation that would open wide the federal funding spigot for ESC research. The letter claims ASC “treatments fully tested in all required phases of clinical trials and approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration are available to treat only nine of the conditions” on his list.
Well! One answer to that is that it’s nine more than can be claimed for ESCs. Further, there are 1175 clinical trials for ASCs, including those no longer recruiting patients, with zero for ESCs. But a better response is that the letter authors come from the Kenneth Lay School for honesty, as do the editors at Science.
In the detailed attachment to their letter, the Science magazine writers aren’t just at odds with Prentice but the medical community as a whole. For example, regarding sickle cell anemia, they claim “adult stem cell transplants from bone marrow or umbilical cord blood can provide some benefit to sickle cell patients” and “hold the potential to treat sickle cell anemia.” “Some benefit” and “potential?”
An article from the May 2006 issue of Current Opinion in Hematology notes that “there is presently no curative therapy” for sickle cell anemia other than allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. “Hematopoietic” means from marrow or blood; “allogeneic” means the cells are from another person. Seminars in Hematology (2004) states, “. . . curative allogeneic stem cell transplantation therapy” has “been developed for sickle cell anemia.” Meanwhile, “. . . curative allogeneic stem cell transplantation therapy [has] been developed for” sickle cell anemia according to Current Opinions in Molecular Therapy (2003), while “hematopoietic stem cells for allogeneic transplantation” are “currently the only curative approach for sickle cell anemia” observes the journal Blood (2002). (All emphasis mine.)
What does everybody seem to know that the Science writers and Science editors don’t?
Words like “could” and “potential” are trick phraseology used throughout the letter attachment for ASC curative therapies that have been used routinely for years. This appears to give them no advantage over ESC therapy, all of which boasts nothing but potential.
The writers are correct about FDA approval; but that’s a trick. Some ASC therapies are approved in other countries but not yet here. More importantly, stem cell therapy is not a drug and therefore the FDA doesn’t regulate it the same way. Some have been used successfully for decades with no one seeking or receiving federal approval.
For that matter, aspirin is a drug but by their standards it only has potential use for aches and pains since it never went through the clinical trial process and the FDA has never given it formal approval.
How can Science not know all this? Simple; it does. I’ve written repeatedly of how Science has made itself a propaganda sheet for ESC research, as well as other political causes. At the least, it should change its name to Pseudoscience. Sometimes it prints easily falsifiable studies, such as this, attacking the usefulness of ASCs. Other times it falsely promotes ESCs. That culminated in January when the journal was forced to retract two groundbreaking ESC studies that proved frauds.
The journal wants to flood unpromising ESC research with taxpayer dollars because private investors know just how very unpromising it is. Now yet again Science has showcased the scientific and moral bankruptcy of the entire ESC advocacy movement.
Copyright © 2006 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved.
The problem is that the stem cell lines are very limited and only a fraction of them were viable for research and the rest are slowly deteriorating. Personally, if these embryos are going to be thrown in the trash, I would at least try to get some good out of it.
Many have made the same claim. The left idolizes eugenicists such as Sanger and Singer. If there is no "divine spark" in humans, then they can be used for the greater good- yes?
I liked the Eloi reference btw...
Well, that didn't exactly address your gross statements about ESC research being restricted to the private sector.
What is telling is that there is not overwhelming demand for what IS available.
and "the greater good" always is ultimately the good of the ruling class, always a small portion of the population.
The point is...Money flows to the promise...
Adult stem cells have private funding because it has attracted investors.
ESC's have not attracted investors because there doesn't seem to be any way to make it profitable in the short term.
Hence they stick their grubby paws out to the government for tax dollars.
"For the greater good" is a phrase that has been used to slaughter millions.
Please let me know if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.
Not only should government funding not be used, but experimenting on human life should be outlawed, as well as abortion.
What have we become?
You are correct. Howard Hugues Medical research is awash in $$, not because Howard was into medical reasearch, Howard was looking for a TAX break. Anyhow they do reasearch on stem cell. It hasn't produced a cure for all ills yet.
BUMP!
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This is a great commentary!
ESC research is funded in other countries. I hope you trust that there are capable scientists in other places than the US,
EU funding for stem cell research continues
The EU research ministers have reached a political agreement on the FP7, backing EU funding for embryonic stem cell research.
Here's another interesting article
Embryonic Stem Cells Have Never Been Used to Treat Anyone and no Plans Exist to do so
Modern stem-cell advancements in umbilical cord blood have rendered human embryonic stem-cell research unnecessary according to a prestigious UK researcher, who calls cord blood the “realistic future of stem-cell technology.”In this second part of an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews.com, Dr. Peter Hollands, the Chief Science Officer of the UK Blood Bank and early pioneer of embryonic stem-cell research, explains that embryonic stem-cell researchers will keep their public mandate unless a vast media campaign educates the public about the superior benefits and proven cures of cord blood.
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