There has been some considerable discussion regarding the inability to put embrionic stem cells to good use. I may be way off base here, but it’s my understanding that there hasn’t been one truly beneficial ESC therapy implemented.
It seems that ESC efforts have resulted in mutated dead ends. Is that an eronious perception? I know there are about 50 to 60 adult stem cell therapies being utilized today, and I’m just wondering if ASCs still wouldn’t be the best bet here.
What’s your take on that? I would imagine from your recommendation, you must have some positive comments on ESVs, that you could provide, since you have expressed favoring their use.
I did pick up on the mention of approved ESCs BTW.
The thing is, the first isolation of human ESCs was accomplished in 1998. Other human stem cells (e.g., bone marrow stem cells) have been available for 30+ years. It’s not surprising that ESCs have failed to yield any useful therapies, given their relatively recent discovery.
ESCs are essentially the wave of the future - irregardless of the political dimensions, they have a greater potential for therapy than adult stem cells do. That is really simply scientific fact. But in terms of their use as therapy, they won’t be derived from actual embryos - because the embryos aren’t genetically matched to the recipient. Instead, ESCs actually used in therapies will likely be skin cells that have been modified to behave as ESCs (iPCs). Essentially, by turning on four (or three) genes in your skin cells, they will become ESCs.
I am fully pro-life. Harming embryos is tantamount to murder for me - thus, I endorse Bush’s stand on denying federal funding to the creation of new ESC lines. However, the list given by many organizations of adult stem cell therapies in use is woefully overexaggerated. I think that the number typically given is 74, whereas in reality, the number is between 10-20. Innocent life should not be destroyed in the pursuit of new therapies. However, I think that we should be honest about scientific realities.
Adult stem cells do not have the therapeutic potential of ESCs. There are attendant problems with ESCs, such as teratomas, etc - but the potential, to be honest, dwarfs the risks. The question essentially comes down to whether the destruction of innocent life is worth the benefits. I don’t think so. And these new iPCs offer the benefits without the moral problems. I think that this is where we should be putting our money.