Progress ahead
Apr 11th, 2007 at 3:14 pm by Dr. S
But in Washington, the debate continues.
Diabetics using stem-cell therapy have been able to stop taking insulin injections for the first time, after their bodies started to produce the hormone naturally again.
In a breakthrough trial, 15 young patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes were given drugs to suppress their immune systems followed by transfusions of stem cells drawn from their own blood.
The results show that insulin-dependent diabetics can be freed from reliance on needles by an injection of their own stem cells. The therapy could signal a revolution in the treatment of the condition, which affects more than 300,000 Britons.
People with type 1 diabetes have to give themselves regular injections to control blood-sugar levels, as their ability to create the hormone naturally is destroyed by an immune disorder.
All but two of the volunteers in the trial, details of which are published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), do not need daily insulin injections up to three years after stopping their treatment regimes.
The findings were released to reporters yesterday as the future of US stem-cell research was being debated in Washington.
Yep, some of our elected officials still think this is a bad idea.
Why do we always have to be dragged kicking and screaming toward progress? Is the status quo really that great?
The big thing some object to as I understand it is the use of embrionic stem cells, so since this is using adult stem cells there is no debate. Don’t use this success to confuse the debate. For the record I have no problem with any stem cell research since there are plenty of extra embryos.
But what will banning the use of embroyonic stem cells mean for the amount of research that can be done in this area?
I have no problem with that research using embryonic stem cells since there are so many. That statement of so many doesn’t even take into account any aborted babies, how many fetuses are there just from fertility treatments?
My point is that the activist on both sides are so fixated on the embryonic that they totally ignore/discredited any other research.
All I know is that my squeeze has a thing stuck semi-permanently to his side, that he has to disarm to do any number of things. He’s lost vision and feeling, in his feet mostly. And I’ve been awakened by a quivering 250-pound mass of fear and sweat looking for food, now, way more times than I need.
This is not something to discuss.
John is right
I support embryonic stem cell research 100% but this story has nothing to do with that. The Bushies themselves have suggested that use of adult stem cells should take the place of embryonic stem cells. They are likely to use this success as an arguement in their favor.
Horray for the progress - but it is not what you seem to think it is …