Right to Recover

Stem Cell Treatment Reduces Inflammation and May Repair Damage of Kawasaki Syndrome and Seizures

2009-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

International Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) has successfully treated patients (including children) with seizure disorders, problems with the circulatory system, and immune deficiency.

International Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) has successfully treated patients (including children) with seizure disorders, problems with the circulatory system, and immune deficiency.

Jett Travolta, the 16-year-old son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston died on January 2. An autopsy report identified the cause of death as the result of a seizure. The public is yet to know what might have caused the seizure; however, Jett was diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome as a toddler. Even though it was not the cause of his death, it created serious health challenges for the family.

Affecting the mucous membranes, the skin, and the lymph nodes, Kawasaki Syndrome occurs in 19 out of every 100,000 children. It is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in the United States. This inflammatory, autoimmune disorder can lead to inflammation of blood vessels (vasculitis) and major arteries in the body, and may also cause myocarditis, aneurysms, arrhythmias, and abnormal functioning of the heart due to inflammation of the heart muscles, lining, valves, or the outer membrane that surrounds the heart.

Rita Alexander, Executive Director of the International Stem Cell Institute (ISCI), believes it’s very possible that the symptoms of Kawasaki Syndrome could be substantially lessened and may even be reversed with placental stem cell treatment. She bases this belief on the positive responses of more than 2,000 patients who have sought treatment at a clinic just over the border in Mexico during the past 17 years. The clinic has used placental stem cells to treat cerebral palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, skin disorders, auto-immune conditions, liver and kidney disorders, and viruses (including Hepatitis C). Some stroke patients have regained complete function of their bodies.

At the age of 35, W. R. Haynes, began having seizures. She was referred to several facilities and was examined by numerous physicians. She spent thousands of dollars seeking answers, but none of the doctors could find a reason for the seizures. In 1991, Ms. Haynes had a stroke that left her mobility challenged and unable to conduct her normal speech pattern. She had been in this condition for approximately one and a half years when she was referred to ISCI. She received her first placental stem cell implant in Mexico. Within a few days, she noted improvement in her kidney function, and a greater level of energy. Within three weeks, her speech had returned to normal. Within five weeks, she had full use of her limbs, and she returned to her full-time job six weeks after treatment.

“I am seizure free,” says Haynes, “and have reduced my medicine intake by half. I still receive a placenta stem cell treatment every six to seven months. I am thankful to God for receiving placenta stem cell implants and I now have the quality of life that I was meant to have.” (2)

“If we step outside of our traditional medical toolbox, it is easy to see how placenta stem cell treatment could offer hope to parents of children with Kawasaki Syndrome or seizure disorder,” says Rita Alexander. “We’ve observed several cases of children and adults plagued by ongoing seizures enjoy a seizure-free life after receiving placenta stem cell therapy. It’s obvious that the Travolta family used every method available in the US to treat, manage, and monitor Jett’s condition. Our heartfelt condolences go out to John Travolta, Kelly Preston, and daughter Ella at the unimaginable loss of Jett, their son and brother.”

While ISCI has not treated a child with Kawasaki Syndrome, they have successfully treated patients (including children) with similar seizure disorders, problems with the circulatory system, and immune deficiency. Perhaps it’s a big leap, but this type of stem cell treatment may be worth considering when parents run out of conventional treatment options for their child who is suffering.

Scientists have known for many years that stem cells restore the body's health by targeting sites of injury and disease, clearing toxins from threatened tissue, and replacing dead and dying cells. In a 2004 study, Dr. Evan Snyder, a stem cell biologist at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, California, reported that stem cells transplanted into an animal will travel to sites where an abnormality exists and stimulate the body's ability to repair itself. (2)

What many people may not be aware of is that well-documented placental stem cell implant therapy has been safely and effectively improving and restoring the health of patients in Europe for 25 years. Because they are harvested after the birth of a healthy baby, placental stem cells are not encumbered by the political and religious trappings of their embryonic counterparts.

The US has fallen behind other countries in stem cell research and it could be decades before the FDA approves and makes safe, ethical stem cell treatments available to the general public. International Stem Cell Institute was launched in April and is managed by its founder, Rita Alexander, a businesswoman who has a desire to bring stem cell treatment to those who are suffering with a condition that has not responded to traditional medicine. She hopes to someday bring placental stem cell therapy to the US.

About ISCI

International Stem Cell Institute was launched in April 2008 as a result of 17 years of stem cell treatment experience. ISCI assists with patient education, pre- and post-treatment support, travel logistics, and financial matters regarding treatment. The company is managed by Rita Alexander, a businesswoman with a desire to bring stem cell treatment to those who are suffering with a condition that has not responded to traditional medicine. Rita’s passion for this treatment comes from her own experience when she found her way back to a healthy life after being brought to her knees by a very humbling illness. ISCI assists with patient education, pre- and post-treatment support, travel logistics, and financial matters regarding treatment. For more information about ISCI or to arrange a consultation or schedule an appointment, please visit http://www.iStemCelli.com.

Placenta Stem Cell Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis

2009-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

After writing my book about stem cell research, I kept hoping that a breakthrough that didn’t have any controversy attached to it would come forth to help people who suffer with illnesses and medical conditions. I found such a breakthrough when I met Rita Alexander, the founder and executive directorof International Stem Cell Institute (ISCI), and learned about placenta stem cells.

The use of placenta stem cells is non-controversial and has been proven successful for 25 years in treating a variety of conditions in people from all over the world. The drawback is that the treatment is not yet approved by the FDA; therefore, it is not available in the United States. It’s a shame that our treatment options are determined by a restrictive regulatory agency that keeps our nation’s citizens shackled by diseases that could be cured, or at least significantly improved, through stem cell treatment.

For those who are able to travel to Mexico, a placenta stem cell treatment can be given to help alleviate cancer, cerebral palsy, dermatomyositis, diabetes, hepatitis C, HIV, immune deficiency, kidney disorders, multiple sclerosis, migraines, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's, retinitis pigmentosa, rheumatoid arthritis, spina bifida, and stroke. Rita has reported astounding benefits that are positively life altering for the patients who are treated at the clinic.

Twenty-six years ago, Rita was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). She tried every conventional medication and alternative/complementary option available and even traveled to the Bahamas and Mexico looking for a treatment that would relieve her suffering. Most physicians told her that RA was something she would just have to learn to live with. But, even when she became extremely debilitated and practically bedridden, she refused to accept this reality. Out of sheer desperation and feeling she had little to lose, she decided to go to a treatment center in Mexico to receive placental stem cell therapy.

The physician administering the stem cell treatments at the Mexico clinic was trained by a physician in Europe where placental treatments have been done for 25 years. Within four months of her first stem cell treatment, Rita improved significantly and experienced a reduction of pain and swelling in her joints. She immediately noticed a dramatic increase in energy. She required several treatments over the next few years to bring her condition under control, but at age 52 today, her back pain has been completely eliminated, and her overall health has improved significantly. Now, she enjoys a quality of life she once thought was lost. She sincerely believes that her disease will be in complete remission with additional stem cell treatments.

Because she was fortunate enough to find her way back to a healthy life through placental stem cell therapy, she formed International Stem Cell Institute (ISCI), soon to be headquartered in San Diego—the epicenter for the biotech industry. Rita is now assisting other patients who are desperate for a solution. Her goal is to help patients access placental stem cell treatment at the Mexico clinic where she received treatment. She hopes to acquire the funding to begin clinical trials and bring placenta stem cell treatments to the United States.

If you are suffering with arthritis, I encourage you to contact ISCI (800-609-7795) to learn how Rita Alexander can assist you with patient education, pre- and post-treatment support, travel logistics, and financial matters regarding treatment. Visit http://www.iStemCelli.com for more information.

Placenta Stem Cell Treatment for Kawasaki Syndrome

2009-09-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Scientists have known for many years that stem cells restore the body's health by targeting sites of injury and disease, clearing toxins from threatened tissue, and replacing dead and dying cells. In a 2004 study, Dr. Evan Snyder, a stem cell biologist at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, California, reported that stem cells transplanted into an animal will travel to sites where an abnormality exists and stimulate the body's ability to repair itself.

What many people may not be aware of is that well-documented placenta stem cell implant therapy has been safely and effectively improving and restoring the health of patients in Europe for 25 years.For more than 18 years, a clinic in Mexico has successfully used placenta stem cell treatmentsto help patients (including children) with seizure disorders, problems with the circulatory system, and immune deficiency. Because they are harvested after the birth of a healthy baby, placental stem cells are not encumbered by the political and religious trappings of their embryonic counterparts.

Affecting the mucous membranes, the skin, and the lymph nodes, Kawasaki Syndrome occurs in 19 out of every 100,000 children. This inflammatory, autoimmune disorder can lead to inflammation of blood vessels (vasculitis) and major arteries in the body, and may also cause myocarditis, aneurysms, arrhythmias, and abnormal functioning of the heart due to inflammation of the heart muscles, lining, valves, or the outer membrane that surrounds the heart.

Jett Travolta, the 16-year-old son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston who died on January 2, 2009, was diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome as a toddler. Even though it was not the cause of his death, it created serious health challenges for the family. Rita Alexander, Executive Director of the International Stem Cell Institute (ISCI), believes it’s very possible that the symptoms of Kawasaki Syndrome could be substantially lessened and may even be reversed with placental stem cell treatment. She bases this belief on the positive responses of more than 2,000 patients who have sought treatment at a clinic just over the border in Mexico during the past 18 years. The clinic has used placental stem cells to treat cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, skin disorders, auto-immune conditions, liver and kidney disorders, and viruses (including Hepatitis C). Some stroke patients have regained complete function of their bodies.

It’s obvious that the Travolta family used every method available in the US to treat, manage, and monitor Jett’s condition, but perhaps they didn’t know about placenta stem cell treatments. While ISCI has not treated a child with Kawasaki Syndrome, they have successfully treated patients (including children) with similar seizure disorders, problems with the circulatory system, and immune deficiency. Since several cases of children and adults plagued by ongoing seizures enjoy a seizure-free life after receiving placenta stem cell therapy at the clinic in Mexico, it is easy to see how placenta stem cell treatment could offer hope to parents of children with Kawasaki Syndrome. Perhaps it’s a big leap, but this type of stem cell treatment may be worth considering when parents run out of conventional treatment options for their child who is suffering.

Isn’t it a bit ironic to think that the most revolutionary medical treatment of our time will come from places other than the richest, most powerful nations in the world? Yet, the U.S. has fallen behind other countries in stem cell research, and more importantly, actual treatments. Rita Alexander hopes to someday bring placental stem cell therapy to the U.S. Rita’s passion for this treatment comes from her own experience when she found her way back to a healthy life with placental stem cell implants after being brought to her knees by rheumatoid arthritis.

Why wait two decades, one decade, or even five years for safe, ethical stem cell treatments to be available to the American people? For more information about ISCI or to arrange a consultation or schedule an appointment, please visit http://www.iStemCelli.com or contact Rita Alexander at International Stem Cell Institute 800-609-7795.

Area Child Battling Cerebral Plasy

2009-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

By Angela Cummings / Special to The Journal August 17, 2009

MARTINSBURG — Two years ago, the Kee family had never heard of a little town in Mexico called Nuevo Progresso, so obviously they didn’t know what a great role it would play in their lives. Brodie Kee, 20 months old, made his trip to Nuevo Progresso when he was only 14 months old. This wasn’t a vacation to see the sights of Mexico, but a visit to a clinic called the International Stem Cell Institute.

“I had the perfect pregnancy. Nothing was wrong,” said 20-year-old Kayla Kee, Brodie’s mother. But two weeks before her due date, she became very ill and started having severe contractions. She noticed Brodie hadn’t been moving as much as usual. The pain was so severe she decided to go to the emergency room, and after a through examination, her doctors at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown decided she needed an emergency Caesarean section because the baby’s heart rate was extremely slow. When he was born, Brodie wasn’t breathing. Brodie’s father, 22-year-old Adam Kee, said it took eight minutes to revive him.

The doctor’s recommended Brodie be immediately flown to Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., for a treatment called “total body cooling.” According to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, body cooling is a procedure used to protect against brain injury in full-term infants born with birth asphyxia. The hope of body cooling is that it will increase the infant’s chances for survival and possibly decrease the severity of neurological disability.

Read more here.. http://ow.ly/lxfR

Stem Cell Treatments Boost Medical Tourism

2009-08-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

As technology and standards of care in many countries improve, more and more Americans are seeking treatment outside the US.

Medical tourism is the term used to refer to the practice of seeking healthcare services by crossing international borders. While there continues to be an increase in inbound medical tourism in the US, a large number of Americans are traveling outside the US for medical procedures.

Medical tourism is popular because people like to travel to an exotic destination and save money on elective and alternative medical and dental treatments. But, some patients are seeking treatments that are not available in their own country due to national governmental regulations. For example, treatments using placenta stem cells have not been approved in the US, but they have been showing remarkable results for more than 25 years in other countries.

Umbilical cord blood and bone marrow stem cells have been used for treating several illnesses and conditions, but placenta stem cells harvested from the discarded placentas of healthy newborn babies have even more potential. Not only are they more plenteous and easier to safely extract for transplantation, the Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland says placenta stem cells can be used to treat more disorders and the recipient does not have to be perfectly matched to the donor.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) spent $938 million on stem cell research in 2008. The state-funded California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has approved approximately $693 million on research grants since its inception in 2005. Approximately 30,000 patients have received stem cell-based therapy outside the US within the past three years.

International Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) was launched in April 2008 as a result of 17 years of stem cell treatment experience. The company was founded and is managed by Rita Alexander, a businesswoman with a desire to bring stem cell treatment to those who are suffering with a condition that has not responded to traditional medicine.

The cost of stem cell therapy is generally about $40,000 in China, $30,000 in the Dominican Republic, and about $25,000 in India. The price for placental stem cell treatment at the ISCI clinic in Mexico is $9,950 (excluding travel expenses). ISCI specializes in helping people with financing medical procedures at the clinic by providing low-interest loans and a 12-month interest-free option. ISCI also assists with patient education, pre- and post-treatment support, and travel logistics regarding placenta stem cell treatment.

Rita Alexander says “The benefit for US and Canadian citizens is that they can travel to Texas, spend just a couple of hours across the border in Mexico and receive a very effective stem cell treatment at a fraction of the cost of other treatments half way around the world.”

Jeff Blank is an ISCI patient diagnosed with a condition known as ataxia, which is a genetic neurological disorder effecting motor skills and cognitive function similar to that of Parkinson’s disease. Jeff traveled to China twice for stem cell treatment at a cost of over $60,000. After minimal results from two China stem cell treatments, Jeff found ISCI and was elated when all of his symptoms, including slurred speech, balance, gait, and motor skill issues improved a few days following this stem cell treatment.

“ISCI’s patient volume has doubled over the last six months due to the positive responses of our patients,” says Rita Alexander. “Patients are discovering that lower cost treatment does not mean giving up quality of care and cutting edge treatment options such as stem cell treatment for a wide range of conditions are only available outside of the US. The impending healthcare plan may actually drive more US patients to consider treatment in other countries and we are rapidly preparing for this expected growth.”

Stem cell therapies are estimated to generate $8 billion in annual revenue in the U.S. by 2018. Hopefully, by then, placenta stem cell therapy will be part of standard medical treatment in the US, so that those who are unable to travel abroad may access this promise of restored health and life.

For more information about ISCI or to arrange a consultation or schedule an appointment, please visit http://www.iStemCelli.com or call 800-609-7795 toll free.

Rita Alexander
Executive Director
International Stem Cell Institute
Rita@iStemCelli.com
770.231.3500
http://www.iStemCelli.com

Cambridge Can Retain Stem Cell Lead in Obama Era

2009-08-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Cambridge has kept a global market lead over the newly-liberalised US in stem cell science after adding manufacturing capability, a leading local proponent has claimed.

Dr Hermann Hauser, chairman of the East of England Stem Cell Network, believes the region’s progress in the field of stem cell research and regenerative medicine, will repel the looming threat from across the Atlantic.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/m9hyoy

NY to Pay for Eggs for Research

2009-07-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

New York has become the first and only state to opt to pay women for eggs donated for human embryonic stem cell research. The Empire State Stem Cell Board (ESSCB), which oversees New York's $600 million stem cell research program that was launched last year, came to the decision last week (June 11) following "extensive deliberation" from its ethics committee.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/nczrqw

Stem Cells Used To Reverse Paralysis In Animals

2009-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

A new study has found that transplantation of stem cells from the lining of the spinal cord, called ependymal stem cells, reverses paralysis associated with spinal cord injuries in laboratory tests. The findings show that the population of these cells after spinal cord injury was many times greater than comparable cells from healthy animal subjects. The results open a new window on spinal cord regenerative strategies.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/cc49vw

Adult Stem Cells Show Wider Potential Than Previously Thought

2009-07-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Chemists are developing new insights and techniques in an effort to expand the therapeutic potential of stem cells, which includes possible treatments for Parkinson's disease, diabetes, spinal cord injury and other devastating conditions.

Embryonic stem cells are the most versatile stem cells, capable of being transformed into any other cell type, depending on their desired therapeutic use.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/nryz5v

The Healing Power of Stem Cells

2009-07-08T08:00:00.001-07:00

Someone is finally starting to see the potential of stem cells derived from placenta (afterbirth). Rita Alexander has been witnessing the healing power of these stem cells on more than 2,000 patients who have sought treatment at a clinic just over the border in Mexico during the past 17 years. She has personally received several treatments that have been effective in relieving the rheumatoid arthritis that nearly crippled her. We’ve been writing about this for nearly a year.
Read more . . .

India Ready for Profits from Stem Cell Research

2009-07-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

India is not far behind the US in practical use of stem cells for treatment and technology. The cost for conducting research and clinical trials is less expensive in India than in the US.

Not one to miss a dollar, pharmaceutical companies are geared up and ready to develop new drugs and make a profit from embryonic stem cell research. Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) holds patent rights for development of new drug therapies using human embryonic stem cells. Pfizer has already signed an agreement with WARF hoping to determine how new medicines may be able to improve the way stem cells regenerate damaged tissues.

Read more . . . http://tinyurl.com/mcnlu6

Stem Cell Transplant Study Shows Promise For Multiple Sclerosis

2009-07-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Multiple sclerosis occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath protecting nerve cells. It affects 2.5 million people globally and can cause mild illness in some people and permanent disability in others. U.S. researchers have reversed multiple sclerosis symptoms in early stage patients by using bone marrow stem cell transplants to reset the immune system.

Read more … http://tr.im/oob7

Editorial: Promising news on stem cell research

2009-06-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here is some good news amid the general gloom: Scientists at the Salk Institute in La Jolla say they have cured a cell.

In a paper in the journal Nature, the Salk team reports it has fixed a defective gene in cells taken from patients with Fanconi anemia, a disease that can cause bone-marrow failure, leukemia and other cancers.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/o8effx

Stem-Cell Guidelines Are a Good Start

2009-06-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

The storm raised by stem-cell scientists about the failure of the National Institutes of Health draft guidelines to grandfather in stem-cell lines already in use is overshadowing other important issues raised by these guidelines ["New Rules on Stem Cells Threaten Current Research," news story, May 25].

The guidelines admirably add certain protections for those who make the difficult decision to donate, for stem-cell research, embryos remaining after in vitro fertilization treatment. Such protections did not appear in the Bush-era guidelines. While the protections complicate the informed-consent process, the grandfathering issue they raise can be remedied by adopting sections of the National Academy of Sciences guidelines addressing it.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/qmrgzv

Saving Cord Blood

2009-06-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have four grandbabies coming this year. One is already here and the next one is due today. I hope they never have to use it, but I have encouraged each of my daughters to save their baby’s cord blood.

I believe there are cures to be found in stem cells—the younger the cells, the more potential they have. In fact, I know that people have been helped and even cured of many illnesses using placental stem cells at a clinic in Mexico.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/m5gznu

Embryonic Stem Cell Research for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

2009-06-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

ALS is often called Lou Gehrig's disease, but the face of ALS today is Stephen Hawking. He's the wheelchair-bound British astrophysicist who has lived with the crippling disease for almost 50 years.

He got married, had children, and rose to international fame as a professor at Cambridge after his diagnosis. His web site, http://hawking.org.uk, chronicles the life of this remarkable man. My favorite part is the photo: he can still smile.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/kwmajb

Another Attack on California Stem Cell Research Program?

2009-06-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Action Requested: share this information with friends. Consider sending polite letter of support for the California stem cell program to: littlehoover@lhc.ca.gov, attention Stuart Drown. Watch www.stemcellbattles.com for a potential new law attacking the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Dear Stem Cell Research Supporter:

On May 27th, an open meeting of the Little Hoover Commission was held to discuss ways to drastically overhaul the California stem cell program.

It was a disaster.

First, a little background. The Little Hoover Commission* (LHC) is a California "efficiency organization" with the power to suggest new laws to "improve" the function of California programs. That sounds okay, doesn’t it?

But the California stem cell program has already been "improved" half to death; much more such "improvement" and the patient may not survive!

As you know, the CIRM (California Institute of Regenerative Medicine) has endured three lawsuits, (which nearly shut it down for two years); been audited five times (came up squeaky clean, thank you very much), and has had seven (7) laws thrown at it; can anyone name a government program which has been more systematically investigated, almost to the point of harassment?

And yet it has prevailed. All seven laws were defeated, the audits found the CIRM open and honest, the lawsuits were defeated on every point.

But now comes the Little Hoover Commission anyway, to take its turn.

Friends of this column might remember I have been worried about this group.

As you know, stem cell research’s greatest enemy in California is probably Senator George Runner. Mr. Runner, described by one newspaper (the Los Angeles City Beat, 3/24/05) as "virulently anti-embryonic stem cell Republican George Runner" is against our research in general and Proposition 71 in particular. He is, I believe, co-author to every anti-CIRM law that has been proposed. One of his bills was the source of the original request for the Little Hoover Commission to study the California program, and his wife, Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, was until very recently a member of the Little Hoover Commission.

However, at the first meeting of the LHC discussing the stem cell program, several board members complimented it. One said Bob Klein deserved "an A plus" for leveraging $272 million in California dollars into $1.15 billion in purchasing power; another said the program should be studied as an example of government at its best: successful public/private partnership.

So was I worried for nothing?

Unfortunately, no. My worst fears were just realized.

Here are three of the LHC’s proposed changes. (They said a lot more, but they were talking very fast, and I am only a two-finger typist—not to mention they provided zero written documents as to their recommendations, which made things rough on people trying to provide accurate coverage of the public meeting.)

1. The Little Hoover Committee would gut the leadership board of the California stem cell program, the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC): weakening it, and putting it under political control. They would reduce the ICOC by half, from 29 to 15 members. And, in place of the non-political structure of the board, the LHC would impose a new way to select the membership, politicizing it.

The ICOC is a non-political governing board, designed to be above ideology and partisan politics.

It is deliberately large, 29 members, so as to provide a diverse cross-section of opinion: science, education, business, patient advocates.

The LHC was quite open about their intention: they wanted to impose a "more traditional board where the Governor and Legislation have control". This not only opens up the possibility of removing our funding, but flouts the voters’ will; California voted for a program where science would be judged on its own merits, not subject to the changing winds of political ideology.

2. The Little Hoover Commission would take away the ICOC board Chairman’s salary, as well as the vice-Chair’s. They would deliberately weaken the Chair’s authority by transferring most of his responsibilities to the President. Also, they would shorten his term in office from 6 years to two; there was even talk of eliminating his position altogether, or passing it around the ICOC membership, taking turns, making the position a "non-executive executive"!

This is ludicrous.

To understand what a mistake this would be, consider what skills the chairperson must provide, both by need, and by California law.

First, how is our program funded? Our only source of money is the sale of California bonds. No bond sales, no funding. Fortunately, our current Chairperson, Robert N. Klein II is an acknowledged expert on these bonds, having worked with them since 1975. (Klein set up and helped run the highly successful California Housing Finance Agency, also financed by bonds.)

Second, the success of our program depends on deep knowledge of and experience in interaction with state and federal law.

The chair is Bob Klein, the man who designed the California stem cell program, and who has steered it through innumerable crises. He served unpaid for the first five years, before financial conditions forced him to take a salary, $150,000 a year, small compared to most executives.

Could he be replaced by a board member or even the President of CIRM?

Under the law, "Mandatory Chairperson Criteria" Proposition 71 requires:

"...(ii) Experience with state and federal legislative processes that must include some experience with medical legislative approvals of standards and/or funding."

It also suggests: "(B) Additional criteria for Consideration:...

(iv) Direct knowledge of and experience in bond financing."

Do we know anybody like that? Hmm, let’s see. The President, esteemed scientist Dr. Alan Trounson, (being Australian) would not be eligible under the law, because he has no such experience; also according to his testimony, he has no understanding of bond sales, which are the lifeblood of our program.

Who does know about bond sales, and whose idea was it to use them to fund the stem cell program? Bob Klein.

Whose idea was it to develop and sell "bridge anticipation notes"—BANs, another form of bond—which got us through the first two years when law suits blocked our funding? Bob Klein.

And who is trying right now to negotiate federal guarantees for our loans to biomed companies—as much as a billion dollars backup funding? Bob Klein.

One false step, and we could lose millions of dollars of new money for California.

We must have a chair who understands not only the twists and turns of stem cell politics, but also the complications of bond finance.

To the best of my knowledge, there is exactly one person in the world with a skill set like that—
the man the Little Hoover Commission would "term out" of office.

3. The LHC proposes hiring more staff to help with the work at CIRM. That sounds pretty good, at first—except they would not authorize any more money for this. Prop 71, by law, can only spend 6% of total funding on employees. The LHC noted that, but suggests no provision to change it. Apparently they expect current employees to take a pay cut to hire the new workers.

So, if we cut everyone’s salary in half, we could hire twice as many people! An interesting concept. I wonder which of the LHC members would like to go first, and reduce his or her income, by way of example? Throughout the hearing, LHC board members displayed a staggering lack of knowledge about the program they would so radically change.

Example: as a reason to change the ICOC governing board, one LHC member stated that biotech was "locked out of representation on the (ICOC) board"...apparently not realizing four biotech representatives are in fact installed on that board.

Example: Objections were raised to the alleged "throwing out" of the CIRM’s strategic plan. CIRM spokesperson Don Gibbons pointed out that this was incorrect: the "new" strategic plan was an addition to and extension of the previous one, not a replacement: and this fact was plainly labeled as such, from the front page onward. These additions included the new loan program, and also reflected some major changes in science.

Example: One member came close to slandering the men and women of the ICOC, accusing them of "giving themselves grants... anyone would want to play cards, if they could be guaranteed a stacked deck." This is not only insulting, but factually inaccurate; board members are not even allowed to speak about grants affecting their institutions, let alone vote on "giving themselves grants".

The public was not allowed to view the LHC draft document.

True. The board members and staff were allowed to have copies of the proposed changes, but not the public. This would seem contradictory to the LHC’s mission of increasing transparency of government. Apparently, the only time the public will see the actual document-- will be after it is too late to offer comments on it!

Important: LHC members stated several times that they were against any legislative changes which would require "going to the people", i.e. needing a public vote. They much preferred a legislature-only approach. The people, one individual noted, are "not interested in change".

Others agreed, calling it (popular vote on change) "arduous" and "futile". At an earlier meeting of the LHC, a member stated his opinion that at least some of the changes sought by critics could not be achieved without a Constitutional amendment, which means a public vote.

Prop 71 was passed by initiative, and approved by the voters of California; much of the law was placed in the Constitution, meaning a vote of the public would almost certainly be required to amend it.

So would the LHC changes be Constitutionally legal?

"That’s for the courts to decide," one member said, shrugging off the possibility of a few more years in court.

As the father of a paralyzed young man, I cannot be so casual about anything which may delay cure research. This struggle is personal to me, not some sort of intellectual exercise. The scientific challenges are difficult enough, without needless political delay.

When the meeting was over, a member of the LHC came up to me and said, "We want the CIRM to thrive and flourish!"

To which I responded, "Then why gut it? Why remove the heart and soul of a highly successful program?"

By any objective measure, the California stem cell program is an enormous success. Just one example: remember the $272 million budgeted for construction—which was leveraged into $1.15 billion in buying power. How did the ICOC and its Chairman accomplish this? They insisted that matching funds be required from institutions seeking facilities grants. In this manner the purchasing power of California dollars was multiplied three times over. How many programs, public or private, can bring in more funds than they put out? I know of none. And this is the Committee the LHC would weaken; this is the chairman whose salary the LHC would take away.

The ICOC board is a convergence of expertise, not a conflict of interest. Their diversity is a strength, and their chair makes sure every viewpoint is heard, which is probably why most decisions are close, often unanimous; they wrestle out their decisions, arguing, struggling, working it out, finding what is right—in the full light of public view-- and California benefits.

The old expression applies: "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it."

Does that mean the program is perfect? Of course not. No institution on earth should be beyond correction. If a speed-reader was to wade through the endless pages of the public record of the ICOC meetings, he or she would find countless arguments about policy and performance, as problems are identified, dealt with, and policies set up to prevent their recurrence. That is healthy.

Positive interaction with our governmental leadership in Sacramento and Washington is actively sought; witness our new Vice-President, cancer-survivor Art Torres, whose sole job that is. Mr. Torres is a veteran of many years public service, including working with Cesar Chavez and the farm workers union, and he came out of retirement just to work with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Well, there it is.

The final draft of the Little Hoover Commission report will be released soon.

If you want to offer your thoughts and recommendations, or just voice your support for the California program, send an email to littlehoover@lhc.ca.gov, attention Stuart Drown. (On a personal note, I have met Mr. Drown several times, and corresponded with him, and he has always been polite and professional.)

So what do we do now? Consider writing the letter.

Above all, get ready.

Update your email lists. If you live in California, consider the idea of visiting Sacramento in the near future. If Senator Runner or someone else puts up a law based on LHC, which he almost certainly will, there will be hearings to attend.

If you don’t live in California, we will still need your help. This will be an interactive effort. If an attack law develops, we who support the CIRM will be going through our phonebooks and e-lists, organizing our defense.

Across America, wherever you live, the success or failure of the California stem cell program
affects you and your loved ones: all who hope and work for cure.

Let there be no doubt in anybody’s mind. We in the patient advocacy community appreciate, support, and will defend the CIRM and the ICOC. It is the concrete realization of our hopes for cure, an institution dedicated solely to finding cures for illness and injury which afflict our families-- we will not sit idly by when it is attacked.

Any law calling for a weakening or political "do-over" of California’s stem cell program must and will be vigorously opposed. Don C. Reed, co-chair, Californians for Cures Californians for Cures sponsored the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act, source of the first state-funded embryonic stem cell research in America.

*Important: Not all the LHC board members were present that day, (this is budget crisis time at the California capitol) and I know of at least one member who strongly opposes the direction the committee is taking. It may be that the committee will reconsider their current position-- a good reason to send them your thoughts: littlehoover@lhc.ca.gov.

Stem cell grant seals the deal

2009-06-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Unlike what you may have heard or read, stem cells are very unlikely to cause cancer. Right-wing groups used this lie to distract people from supporting embryonic stem cell research. The truth is that these stem cells may actually be the cure for cancer once they are fully understood.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/r236wu

Activated stem cells in damaged lungs could be first step toward cancer

2009-06-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

DURHAM, N.C. – Stem cells that respond after a severe injury in the lungs of mice may be a source of rapidly dividing cells that lead to lung cancer, according to a team of American and British researchers.

"There are chemically resistant, local-tissue stem cells in the lung that only activate after severe injury," said Barry R. Stripp, Ph.D., professor of medicine and cell biology at Duke University Medical Center. "Cigarette smoke contains a host of toxic chemicals, and smoking is one factor that we anticipate would stimulate these stem cells. Our findings demonstrate that, with severe injury, the resulting repair response leads to large numbers of proliferating cells that are derived from these rare stem cells."

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/nbnoap

Medical Council finalises stem cell regulation

2009-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

The deadline for submitting comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is over and the guidelines will soon be established to monitor federal funding for blastocystic (embryonic) stem cell research in the U.S.

The Medical Council of Thailand has completed a draft regulation on clinical trials using stem cell technology to provide consumers with better protection. Once it is submitted to the public health minister for approval, the guidelines will be published in the Royal Gazette.

Read more http://tinyurl.com/m2urob

Geron: Strong Investment in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

2009-06-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Geron is scheduled to begin the first ever human clinical trial with human embryonic stem cells (hESC) as the treatment this summer. The goal is to repair and regenerate the myelin sheath of spinal cord injuries. It is also using hESC to develop cardiomyocytes for heart disease which is in product development; islets for diabetes, chondrocytes for cartilage regeneration, osteoblasts for bone regeneration, and hepatocytes for liver disease.

Read more of Ryan Pollack’s article at http://tinyurl.com/mq9tjb

Donation or destruction frame dilemma

2009-05-30T05:40:00.000-07:00

There are about 500,000 frozen blastocysts are in storage at fertility centers across the nation. Couples who don’t need the cells remaining after in-vitro fertilization can donate them to other couples, to medical research, or have them destroyed. Many do nothing, which poses a storage problem for fertility clinics.

Stem Cell Research Book on Kindle and iPhone

2009-05-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Yvonne Perry's stem cell research book is now available as an e-book for Kindle Reader or iPhone www.amazon.com.

Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars Over Stem Cell Research in America is an award-winning finalist in the current events: political/social category of the National Best Books 2007 Awards. It was also an Amazon best-selling book in biomedical category.

Today is the Last Chance to Comment on New Stem Cell Guidelines

2009-05-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

Today, Tuesday, May 26, 2009, is the last day allowed for public comment on the new stem cell guidelines proposed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

If you click on http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm, (before 11:00 Eastern Standard time tonight) you will come to the public comment page. It is all set up for you, easy as pie.

Why should you take the trouble to say something important like “I support the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s position on the new stem cell guidelines” (which would be my recommendation)--?

Three reasons:

1. The new guidelines are so cautious and conservative they would disqualify funding for almost all the embryonic stem cell lines made since 1998, when the field began. We owe the brave men and women scientists who worked in a terrifically hostile political climate—their courage, and their work, deserve to be supported now.

2. The economy of the world depends on cure research. Last year, America alone spent $2.3 trillion on medical care costs—more than all federal income taxes put together ($1.8 trillion)—and 75% of that mountain of money went to pay for chronic (incurable) illness and disability.

3. Your family deserves the best medical care science can provide.

We’re out of time, folks. Today is quite literally the last day.

Click, comment, and then share this note with your friends.

Today, please, or the opportunity is gone.

Don C. Reed, father of Roman, paralyzed, and brother of Barbara, who has cancer. For more information, go to www.stemcellbattles.com

Why is Research Not Pro-Life?

2009-05-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

I use the term "blastocyst" whenever possible; I understand it is technically a "pre-embryo." "Embryo" falsely conjures up some kind of entity from which cells can be torn and has been very costly in getting the public to understand what we are talking about.

This unfortunate appellation has allowed opponents of ESCR to confuse it with the abortion issue. Apparently the IVF clinics don't consider it to be a person as they dispose of the extras without penalty or much fanfare. There is no big movement to shut down IVF clinics. Are those thousands of blastocysts to all be adopted, thrown away, stored forever? What should happen to them?

Why is research not pro-life?

I really believe if people could see what we are talking about, they would favor ESCR. I don't consider a blastocyst to be any more sacred than a sperm or an egg and all of them don't become people and they also contain DNA. I still see fetuses and "tiny humans" referred to on the internet by opponents when they blast ESCR. This proves that they don’t understand the science behind the research.

Rayilyn Brown
Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation rbrown@aznpf.org

Bones Made From Human Skin Connective Tissue

2009-05-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

ScienceDaily (May 1, 2009) — Cartilage, bones and the internal walls of blood vessels can be created by using common connective tissue cells from human skin. Researchers in reconstructive plastic surgery at Linköping University have successfully manipulated these tissue cells to take on different shapes depending on the medium they have been cultivated in.

“This means that it will be much easier to produce autologous tissue, which is tissue created from the patient’s own body”, says Gunnar Kratz, Professor of Experimental Plastic Surgery and team leader for the research group.

The results of the group’s research are now published in three simultaneous scientific articles.

Bone, cartilage and blood vessels are important components in reconstructive surgery, where damaged tissue needs to be recreated. Minor fractures can heal spontaneously but for major bone damage and cartilage injuries there is the need to transplant tissue from other parts of the patient’s body.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/ca4orq

My Comments to the NIH for Guidelines on hESC

2009-05-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

I encourage all my readers to take action and leave comments for guidelines regarding how the National Institute of Health (NIH) should conduct research on embryonic stem cell research. I thought it would be hard to submit, but it isn't. I typed up my suggestions and simply copied and pasted them into the form at http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm. In case you are interested in what I suggested, I'll share my comments with you. Perhaps this will give you some ideas of what to put in your response.

I want to thank President Obama for allowing the public to give input to the NIH, and I thank the NIH for receiving our comments.

Let me begin by saying that I dislike the term “embryonic” stem cell research because it gives people the idea that these undifferentiated laboratory-germinated cells have body parts and are a tiny baby. Some even think that embryos are being removed from a woman’s womb, and they equate it to abortion. Please change the terminology and help educate the public about the science involved and its potential.

1. Please do not allow minority religious organizations to sway your decision about how stem cell research is conducted. These groups have the power to influence people without having full knowledge of the science involved in using in vitro blastocysts for research. These powerful and wealthy groups are many times supportive of torture, war, and capital punishment of living, breathing human beings. Therefore, I cannot understand why they are so concerned about saving cells that are not human beings. Their vocal public opinion and organized efforts have hindered science long enough. It’s time for America and the world to see what potential lies within blastocystic stem cells. Our own family members and friends could be cured or treated with technology created as a result of a better understanding of these primordial cells.

These religious groups are able to organize letter-writing campaigns that make it seem as though the majority of folks disapprove of using IVF blastocysts for research. When preparing the manuscript for my book, Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars Over Stem Cell Research in America, I gathered statistics from several nationwide surveys: Harris Interactive®, Newsweek, ABCNEWS/Beliefnet, Genetics and Public Policy Center (GPPC), and the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR). The results of those polls show that approximately 65 percent of American voters favor the use of hESC research. Please listen to our scientists and researchers on this issue.

2. Allow and accelerate blastocystic stem cell research to include funding for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) also known as therapeutic cloning. This research may very well prove helpful in finding a cure for many illnesses and conditions.

3. Don’t be fooled by the non-factual information the media has presented regarding the effectiveness of hESC research. Many have said that this research will not prove useful in the future because it has not shown promise. This is not true. At an October 24, 2006, press conference, Proposition 71 advocate Don Reed (Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act) said, “On March 1, 2002, I held in my hands a laboratory rat, which had been paralyzed, but which now walked again. It had been given human embryonic stem cells. I felt the tiny muscles moving—muscles which had been still and limp before—and this while my paralyzed son watched from his wheelchair.” Don’s story and others that give hope have not been in the forefront of the media.

These religious groups have said that adult stem cells can do the same things as blastocystic stem cells. Dr. Elias Zerhouni thinks the claim that adult stem cells are able to do all that blastocyst stem cells can do is overstated: “The presentations about adult stem cells having as much or more potential than embryonic stem cells, in my view, do not hold scientific water…I think scientists who work in adult stem cells themselves will tell you that we need to pursue as vigorously embryonic stem cells.” The Prentice list gives 58 to 100 alleged cures, treatments, or “improvements” misleadingly attributed to adult stem cells research. The source of this list is an employee of a religious right lobbying group. The truth is only nine conditions have demonstrated both safety and efficacy in all three phases of clinical trials using adult stem cells and are considered as standard therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) treatments. These are: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Aplastic Anemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia, Multiple Myeloma, Myelodysplasia, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome-X1, and Thalassemia Major.

I have personally worked with International Stem Cell Institute founder Rita Alexander, who is affiliated with a clinic in Mexico that is already using placental stem cells (derived from afterbirth) to successfully treat Parkinson’s and other conditions. Political red tape has kept treatment using these younger stem cells from being approved for use in the U.S. However, if placental and older, differentiated adult stem cells have shown this kind of hope in Mexico and Europe for over 25 years, it stands to reason that even more potential for cure lies within blastocystic stem cells that have not begun to differentiate.

The private sector has been funding blastocystic research under restrictive conditions for years, and, while we have seen tremendous progress, a lack of greater funds has definitely limited advancement toward a cure for many conditions. Scientists are still in the early stages of exploring blastocyst stem cells, so we do not know what potential lies within this scientific territory. Compare that to the medical technology we now have available using adult stem cells and you will see how much government funding helps in developing new treatments for disease. The fundamental challenge in stem cell research is not just to replace things, like in adult stem cell transplantation. Blastocyst stem cells will help us understand for the first time in the history of mankind how DNA is programmed to reprogram.

4. Allow research on stem cell lines developed from sources other than surplus blastocysts from in-vitro fertilization at fertility clinics. Since we do not yet know what may be discovered once research is in full progress, we do not want to construct barriers by stating that only surplus blastocysts can be used. SCNT may offer a new line of viable stem cells.

5. Encourage research that can be quickly transferred to those who are currently suffering. Allow human clinical trials on cases where a patient has a terminal illness and is willing to participate in experimental trials. Help Geron and other research and technology companies get their clinical trials proposals passed through FDA.

6. Allow collaboration and information sharing among NIH-funded and privately-funded researchers. This will lessen the overall costs of doing research because efforts would no longer need to be duplicated in separate labs that isolate research conducted through federal funds from research conducted through private funding.

I believe that cures for diseases could be found using blastocystic stem cell research. The only way we are going to discover the potential contained in blastocyst stem cells is to allow research to take place with more funding, fewer restrictions, and good oversight.
I appreciate your consideration of my suggestions and I look forward to a time when, as a result of blastocystic stem cell research, diseases such as Parkinson's, diabetes, and paralysis due to spinal cord trauma can be reduced or eliminated.

Editorial: California stem cell policy keeps paying dividends

2009-05-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

One of the most compelling arguments for California's bold experiment in funding stem cell research — Proposition 71 — was that it would remove the political whims of Washington as a barrier to scientific advances.

That was obvious in 2004, when state voters overwhelmingly approved the proposition while George W. Bush was president. But it's still proving to be true with Barack Obama in the Oval Office.

Stem cell advocates rejoiced in March when Obama signed an executive order lifting Bush's restrictions, which had limited federal research to only two dozen stem cell lines. This cleared the way for federal funding for a wider range of research. In addition, the economic stimulus package included $10 billion for the National Institutes of Health, which could use some for stem cell research.

But the NIH guidelines released last week still include some limits on federal funding — probably an effort by Obama to deal with ethical concerns and move toward a more bipartisan consensus.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/c2o4h4

Two Valley families plan journey of hope

2009-05-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

People are going out of country to receive stem cell treatments not available in the US. This story by Barbara Anderson of The Fresno Bee shows how desperate people are to get help for their children and to treat adult illnesses.

Two families living in the San Joaquin Valley will travel to China for an umbilical-cord stem-cell therapy treatment for their children. Read More...

Did you know you can receive proven placental stem cell treatments in Mexico that costs less money and requires less time for travel days? My friend, Rita Alexander, is the founder of International Stem Cell Institute and has seen multiple illnesses cured at the Mexico clinic. She isn't just talking the talk; she has actually received several treatments to improve rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Read her story...

Stem cell research into blindness given boost by drug company

2009-05-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

British stem cell research into the commonest form of blindness has been given a major boost after the world's biggest drug company backed the work.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Last Updated: 8:48PM
BST 24 Apr 2009

Scientists at University College London teamed up with Pfizer to develop a treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that affects more than 500,000 people in Britain.

The deal will help the research team to turn its scientific discoveries into treatments for AMD, which causes loss of sight through progressive loss of cells in the retina.

The UCL group, led by Professor Pete Coffey, has already used embryonic stem cells to grow eye tissue that is destroyed in AMD and has transplanted it into animals to reverse eye damage from the disease.

Prof Coffey's team intends to begin patient trials in 2010 or 2011 and will receive funding and back up from the drug company who in turn will have the right to exploit commercially any cure.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/dyyerr

The National Institutes of Health is asking for public commentary

2009-05-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

This post is from Rick McGirr, who suffers with Parkinson's disease. Please read what he has to say:

The National Institutes of Health is asking for public commentary on the proposed changes in guidelines for the use of stem cells in medical research. The Obama administration wants to loosen the restrictions to allow use of certain stem cells, derived from excess embryos developed by fertility clinics in support of efforts by couples to conceive, with the consent of the persons owning the embryos, and when the embryos would otherwise be discarded.

This is by no means a large change, nor a wholesale reversal of the cautious position of the previous administration. But it would open the door for researchers to be supported by federal dollars as they carry on the noble work of finding cures and better treatments for millions of people who suffer from a wide array of diseases, like Juvenile Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, to name a few.

Surprising to some, there is much opposition to this change, a large portion of it coming from religious organizations. An example is the Catholic Church. This is the position of the US Conference of Bishops regarding the use of stem cells in medical research...

“NIH & Congress: Oppose Funding of Destructive Embryonic Stem Cell Research - Support Cures We Can All Live With!

Following President Obama's March 9 executive order, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has proposed guidelines for federally funded embryonic stem cell research. The guidelines would - for the first time - use taxpayer funds to encourage the killing of embryonic human beings for their stem cells.

This marks a new chapter in divorcing biomedical research from its necessary ethical foundation, respect for human life at all stages.

Embryonic stem cell research treats innocent human beings as mere sources of body parts, as commodities for our use.

Even if, like the embryos targeted by the NIH policy, an embryo may be at risk of being abandoned by his or her parents in a fertility clinic, that does not give researchers or the government a right to kill that human being - much less a right to make the rest of us subsidize that destructive agenda.

Some in Congress and the Administration want an even broader policy. They want to obtain stem cells by destroying human embryos specially generated for research through in vitro fertilization (IVF) or cloning procedures - a "create to kill" policy.

Neither of these policies is ethical or promotes responsible science. They both violate the fundamental right to life.

Patients suffering from devastating illnesses deserve our compassion and our committed response - but not at the cost of innocent life. The Church supports ethical stem cell research and treatments that do no harm and respect the inherent dignity of persons - cutting-edge medical advances that are already benefiting patients with dozens of conditions in clinical trials.

It is time to focus on cures and treatments we can all live with.”

Embryonic human beings?? Body parts?? Abandoned?? Create to kill?? Respect??

These are outrageous distortions of plain facts. It is obvious that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops must not have done due diligence, know nothing of medical research, have no respect for my life nor of the millions of other afflicted persons, know nothing about the true nature of the materials being made available by President Obama’s executive order, and are doing their own parishioners a great disservice, nay, dishonor by opposing what is clearly one of the most promising areas in the search for cures and better treatments of disease.

My friends, embryos can hardly be called human beings, any more than a germinated seed can be called a flower, or squash, or seaweed. I encourage you all to research what embryos are. There is no basis in law, in ethics, in morals, in history, in medicine, in science, nor even in the bible itself to speak against the use of embryonic stem cells for legitimate purposes of helping find cures for many diseases afflicting millions.

Even the suggestion that the microscopic group of cells as it sits in a Petri dish is indeed a human being brings up a shipload of difficult questions which have never arisen before, such as when to grant citizenship and constitutional protections. Such ridiculous scenarios play out as to make one’s head hurt.

Consider the status under law of those who would potentially benefit from a cure using stem cells. If these embryos are to be considered citizens, what does that do to the status of the millions who have been born, lived as autonomous beings, and who have suffered for years with a myriad of disorders? Are they to be granted no rights? Are their rights to be held in abeyance while we take pity on these poor little Petri dishes? Am I not as worthy of consideration in the eyes of God, or the US conference of Catholic Bishops?

Further, let me point out once more that these embryos are actually being saved from being garbage. That’s right, excess embryos created at fertility clinics are routinely discarded! How could this be allowed if embryos are people? If their use in research is not allowed, then there is nothing good that can be said of their existence, and millions of people with many illnesses will be relegated to a status lower than the medical waste in the dumpsters behind fertility clinics. Is my life or yours not sanctified? I have raised children, paid taxes, voted. I’m a citizen. Do I have no rights at all? Will I not be allowed the right to seek a cure for my Parkinson’s disease? Will doctors be barred from even pursuing a most promising area of research on the grounds of wholly non-scientific dogma which has no basis in science, law, or indeed any religious text?

Rest assured that careful government oversight of the use of these controversial cell lines will continue, and researchers will have to adhere to a very narrow code of ethical use of such materials.

The deadline for public comments is May 26, 2009. See links below for the NIH draft document itself, lots more information, and instructions on how to comment online.

However ill-informed the position of those opposed to stem cell research may be, make no mistake – the opposition is organized and mobilized. Every one of us will have to make our voices heard again and again in order to thwart this threat to our rights and our very well-being.

On behalf of the afflicted, I urge you to 1) read the backward, ignorant, anti-science view of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops 2) go to the web sites below to learn more about the changes being proposed 3) most importantly, I urge you to make your opinion known to the NIH, and to the Obama administration, and to your own elected officials on every level.

I have informed the NIH of my approval of robust federal support for this and all research which could lead to the alleviation of suffering for millions of people now living with horrible diseases that you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy. I hope that you will do the same, and encourage your friends and family to do so as well. Thank you.

To read the draft policy:
http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/2009draft

For more information:
http://stemcells.nih.gov/index.asp

To give your opinion on what the NIH should do regarding ESCR:
http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm

Stem Cell Therapy May Reverse Symptoms of MS

2009-05-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Findings of a preliminary study give hope to people suffering from multiple sclerosis showing that stem cells extracted from these people’s own fat improved their condition, prompting calls for further scientific research to establish the potential benefits of the procedure.

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is an autoimmune disorder – one in which the body, through its immune system, launches a defensive attack against its own tissues. In the case of MS, the nerve-insulating myelin comes under assault. The degeneration of myelin affects nerves by lessening their ability to conduct signals. These problems in nerve transmission cause complications in movement, sensation, cognition, vision and other functions. MS is also known to cause muscle weakness, severe fatigue, loss of balance and coordination, and depression. The condition has no cure, as current drugs only ease symptoms. Several studies have tried to give answers to what will cure MS, but the latest one seems to offer more hope than ever.

The current research involved three patients with MS. Cells taken from these patients through a procedure called stromal vascular fraction (SVF) were specially treated in the lab and then put back as infusions into the patients’ bloodstream.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/clutx3

Scientists Find New Way to Create Stem Cells

2009-05-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

‘Chemical’ programming avoids problems genetic manipulation poses, study findsFrom Forbes.com

April 23 (HealthDay News) — Scientists have converted adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells by using chemical programming instead of genetic manipulation.

Gene manipulation is an older method that has posed the risk of serious health problems such as cancer, the researchers explained.

The ability to make stem cells without genetically altering them could lead to the development of many new types of therapies for a wide range of diseases, including type 1 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, the team noted.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/ca96qx

Proposition 71 Living Up to Its Promises

2009-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Don C. Reed, Founder of Roman Reed Spinal Cord Research Act of 1999, edited my book Right to Recover. SFWeekly.com ran a story about CIRM's effectiveness to find cures or treatments using blastocystic stem cells for research. Read the story here...

Alan Selsor poses the question as to whether or not the $3 billion granted by Proposition 71 make California a new, cutting-edge industry that could, in turn, develop such cures and treatment?

To that, I reply, "California (particularly San Diego) is already the stem cell research capital of the world. If CIRM hadn't had to fight court battles with the opposing religious right-wingers who are trying to stop the research, perhaps they could have focused on the research and found cure/treatments by now."

Biotech firm Mesoblast gets approval for next stage of stem-cell research

2009-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

BIOTECHNOLOGY firm Mesoblast has received approval at Melbourne's Epworth hospital to start a Phase II trial of its stem-cell therapy product for fusion of the cervical spine.

Mesoblast develops treatments for orthopaedic conditions, including an adult stem-cell technology aimed at the regeneration and repair of bone and cartilage.

The trial will compare the safety and effectiveness of Mesoblast's product, NeoFuse, against a fusion procedure using a patient's own hipbone.

Mesoblast shares were four cents lower at 73 cents at 3.04pm AEST on Tuesday.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/c7y5cm

What is Diabetes? Latest stem cell research for Diabetes

2009-05-06T14:32:00.000-07:00

Read about how stem cell research is helping diabetes: http://www.prlog.org/10223216.html.

If you have diabetes and want to learn how to prevent amputation, you will find this book helpful: Keep the Legs You Stand On! (http://tr.im/i2v7)

Submit Comments to the NIH on its Draft Guidelines

2009-05-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

Help ensure strong federal support for blastocystic (some call it embryonic) stem cell research. Submit comments to the NIH (National Institute of Health) on its draft guidelines.

For the next 3 weeks, until May 26th, 2009, comments on the guidelines will be accepted from you, me, everybody. Read how you can help by offering your opinion.
http://stemcellbattles.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/please-contact-nih/

Brand New Interview on Stem Cell Research

2009-05-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed by Jaxx on her Blog Talk Radio Show this past week, Real Talk~Real Woman.

In this interview, you may learn:

Why Pres. Obama's decision to reverse Bush's limitation on research changed things for the better and how this may help you and your loved ones.
What potential do these cells hold?
What is the future of stem cell research?
Stem cell research from a spiritual perspective.

I also shared some spiritual understanding regarding when life begins, and discussed my other books.

The Science Behind Embryonic Stem Cell Research

2009-04-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

There are three types of embryonic stem cells: embryonic stem (ES) cells, embryonic germ (EG) cells, and embryonic carcinoma (EC) cells, but only EC cells that come from a tumor that occasionally occurs in a gonad of a fetus can cause cancer. Scientists do not inject embryonic stem cells without first programming or coaxing them into becoming the type of cell that is needed to do the job.

That is where embryonic stem cells differ from placental and adult cells. By being taken after the fetus is formed, placenta and adult stem cells have already differentiated by receiving the signals from the mother’s body as to what type of cell they should become. The thing about embryonic stem cells is that they have “plasticity” or the ability to become any cell in the body. Adult stem cells need to be brought back to a pluripotent state before they can be used for treatment.

Read more on the science behind embryonic stem cell research…

The Miracle of Regenerative Medicine

2009-04-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a video showing the miracle of regenerative medicine.

Regeneration of cells

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxhi4Q8EDTU

Two year old girl can see for the first time following stem cell treatment

2009-04-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Two-year-old British girl Dakota Clarke can see for the first time after undergoing pioneering stem cell treatment in China.

Dakota, who was born blind, is the first British patient to undergo the new type of therapy.
The £30,000 treatment, which involves stems cells taken from an umbilical cord being fed into her forehead, has allowed her to see people, objects, colours and lights around her.

Read more on stemcelldaily.com.

CD34 Stem Cells from Cord Blood

2009-04-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

Craig Cady, Ph.D. of the Neurophysiology Research Laboratory Biology Department at
Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois has successfully processed cord blood with a new device that isolates and purifies the most powerful stem cells (CD34 stem cells) from cord blood.

The first time he and his team used this device, they isolated a large number of CD34 stem cells from one cord blood sample. They are using a new cell culture solution that should cause the CD34 stem cells to grow and increase in number by about 200 fold. They are hopeful this will provide a tremendously large number of these powerful stem cells for experiments in changing stem cells into neurons. This would be a significant feat as it could open the door to help people suffering with Parkinson's disease.

How Stem Cells are Making a Difference

2009-04-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Stem cell research and therapy is one of the latest medical technologies being researched and developed with great results. Stem cells are the cells that occur from the beginning of development and they provide the starting material for every tissue and organ in the body. Blastocystic stem cells are the earliest cells to form.

Here is a Web page that shares information on how stem cells are making a difference for many people with diseases such as cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, spinal cord injuries and blood diseases.

http://www.squidoo.com/Stem-Cells-2

Adult Stem Cells Convert Into Embryonic-like Stem Cells, With Single Factor

2009-04-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

ScienceDaily (Feb. 6, 2009) — The simple recipe scientists earlier discovered for making adult stem cells behave like embryonic-like stem cells just got even simpler. A new report in the February 6th issue of the journal Cell shows for the first time that neural stem cells taken from adult mice can take on the characteristics of embryonic stem cells with the addition of a single transcription factor. Transcription factors are genes that control the activity of other genes.

The discovery follows a 2006 report also in the journal Cell that showed that the introduction of four ingredients could transform differentiated cells taken from adult mice into "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPS) with the physical, growth, and genetic characteristics typical of embryonic stem cells. Pluripotent refers to the ability to differentiate into most other cell types. The same recipe was later shown to work with human skin cells as well.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/bas2fz

Mike Castle deserves credit for backing stem cell research

2009-04-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

I found a great letter written by Phyllis Fink to the editor of The News Journal in Wilmington, DE, that I would like to share here.

We should all appreciate Congressman Mike Castle’s support for and work on the issue of embryonic stem cell research. He took this giant step in the face of opposition from his own party, believing that such research could bring results that would benefit all of us.

Those opposed to such research are entitled to their views. Yet those who have truly done their homework on this issue understand that there is room on the side of this research for people of faith as well as for people of pure science. It should be noted that many staunch conservatives like Nancy Reagan and Sen. Orrin Hatch have joined Congressman Castle in his support for this research. Additionally, polls have shown that a majority of citizens are in favor of this research moving forward.

Already the treatment for leukemia has been improved because of embryonic stem cell research. Scientists see in this research the potential for treating cancer as well as crippling neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injuries, in addition to stroke, burns, heart disease and diabetes. Who among us would refuse treatment for any of these dread diseases because the discovery of such treatment was made possible by embryonic stem cell research?

Read more about Congressman Mike Castle…

Lifting of stem cell ban underscores lost research

2009-04-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Paralyzed in a swimming accident, 27-year-old Jonah Shea feels relieved that President Obama has lifted restrictions on embryonic stem cell research.

But he says it will be a long time before the research is actually able to benefit spinal cord injury patients such as himself, and he attributes some of the lag time to Bush-era policies on embryonic stem cells.

"Am I jumping out of my chair happy? No," said Shea, who lost control of all muscles below his armpits except his biceps after diving into a sandbar off a Dennis beach in the summer of 2007. "Who wants to wait 10 years?"

Advocates of embryonic stem cell research say former President George W. Bush slowed scientific progress into a field that shows promise for helping patients with paralysis, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson's disease and other ailments.

Under the Bush administration, federal funding was available for research on 21 lines of embryonic stem cells that had already been created before August 2001. Obama overturned the Bush limitations by executive order on March 9.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/c94wh4

A Year in The Life of California’s Stem Cell Research Program

2009-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

A Year in The Life of California’s Stem Cell Research Program

2009-04-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

A Year in The Life of California’s Stem Cell Research Program

2009-04-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is a continuation of an article titled “A Year in The Life of California’s Stem Cell Research Program” written by Don C. Reed, Sponsor of Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act, Founder and Co-Chair of Californians for Cures, and Vice President of Public Policy for Americans for Cures Foundation.

MODEL FOR THE COUNTRY

Look at the path that CIRM has laid down for cure: educating and supporting scientists, helping train their support staff, setting up loans for the companies that will risk so much to develop products for patients… this is something which should be shared, and imitated.

COMMUNICATION:

Next ICOC meeting you go to, look for a crew-cut, glasses-wearing individual with tremendous energy, listening to everything, hardly ever sitting still—this is Don Gibbons. Very often, he has the honor of being the voice of the CIRM.

A tough job indeed. For starters, he has to understand enough of the science to be able to translate it into people talk, enough legalese to do the same for those complicated aspects.

In addition to sharing information through public outreach, some of Gibbons’ projects include: updating the CIRM website, (major improvements just days away, btw) Town Hall Meetings (You MUST come to one of these—the first one was last week, and it was terrific—three outstanding scientists use people talk to share where their corner of the science is at—more info at bottom of page.

And what a message he has to share, as the CIRM’s influence grows, even leaping beyond the artificial boundaries of lines drawn on a map.

COOPERATING WITH OTHER STATES AND NATIONS:

“…no one state or nation (can) do this alone,” stated Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,”…collaborations…which bring together leading medical researchers from around the globe have a great potential in improving the lives of not only Californians, but all the people around the world.”

The CIRM has already made agreements for combined research with countries including Australia, Spain, Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada, bringing in additional funds to the effort. Those countries have already committed over $200 million dollars to collaborative efforts with CIRM.

For example, Canada will be teaming with California to fight cancer.

There is more to come. California money must always be spent inside the borders of our state (as required by Prop 71 statute), but knowledge can and should be shared.

State to state cooperation will, increase our strength. Consider the example set by Dr. Dennis Clegg of UC Santa Barbara. Working with colleagues in Massachusetts, he found a molecule that helps embryonic stem cells multiply faster, while still maintaining their stability, vital characteristics for the large quantities of pure cells we will need for cure.

CALIFORNIA GOLD

It is not enough just to labor endlessly—everybody wants results. As President Alan Trounson puts it: “I tell my colleagues here at CIRM probably at least once a week: “We are in a hurry; we have a short time frame, and we need to get genuine cures to Californians.”

The opening page of the 2008 report shows the official motto of the CIRM: “turning stem cells into cures.”—Roman Reed. That is my son who wrote those words, in case you did not know—and that is our goal.

Success will come in careful reliable steps, and we are taking them right now.

We benefit from the leadership of chief science officer Marie Csete (pronounced chet-uh) an energetic little exclamation point of a person, and the indefatigable Director of Scientific Activities, Patricia Olson.

Do you know them? If you live in California, you should. Walk up and say hello to them at the next CIRM meeting.

Are they approachable? You bet. Here is an example.

There will soon be an autism workshop: for scientists only. This is fairly common, giving the scientists a chance to speak their own language, and interchange ideas—very important. BUT— such knowledge should be shared. So, seeing Dr. Csete at another public meeting (there have been about 150 public meetings so far) I asked her if there was a way to make the autism meeting more open, because there were literally millions of people interested in this all-too-common condition. She thought about it for a minute, and then said, there should be a transcript, print and video, and that could be made available on the web. (Something I forgot to ask was: could parents of autistic children send in questions to be asked of the scientists?)

That is how this program works. The decisions are made in public, and anyone who wants to get involved is welcome.

Come to the meetings; California wants you! (to find out when and where the meetings are, go to http://www.cirm.ca.gov/ and click on Meetings; it is up near the top of the page.

Already, CIRM scientists have authored more than 70 scientific publications, adding to the world’s understanding.

If you go to the meetings, you will get to hear Dr. Trounson talking about the latest breakthroughs in stem cell science. Such as:

Remember one huge difficulty with the new stem cell method, iPS, induced Pluripotent Stem cells, mainly that the use of viruses might cause cancer? At Scripps Institute, a scientist named Sheng Ding may have found a way around that obstacle, using “small molecules rather than viruses to carry reprogramming genes into cells, moving the iPS cells closer to being safe for clinical use.”

And speaking of genes, this miniscule marvels which turn body processes on and off, it is vital we know exactly which genes do what-- and Dr. Jean Loring and her team “published a database of gene expression profiles”, vital information for the sorting of cells.

(Both those scientists, by the way, received CIRM grants.)

Sometimes, a step in one area helps in another; look at the next two paragraphs.

First, If we can learn how healthy cells are turned into cancer cells, (as Dr. Wei Guo of UCLA did with blood cells), maybe we can learn how to do the reverse-- and turn cancerous cells back into healthiness.

Second, at Stanford, Dr. Emmanuelle Passegue showed that a “family of cancer-fighting proteins also helps blood-forming stem cells divide normally.”

As CIRM President Dr. Alan Trounson observed, “These two push-and-pull findings hold great promise for uncovering novel ways of treating cancer and preventing its spread.”

CIRM helped Dr. Catriona Jamieson of UCSD as she brought a new approach to fighting leukemia to human trials.

So much more: at Stanford, human embryonic stem cells were grown into “primitive cardiac tissue (which) repaired heart damage in mice”.

At UCLA, scientists matured human embryonic stem cells into T cells and inserted a gene—why does that matter? “Their eventual goal is to insert a gene that makes the cells immune to HIV/AIDS, then replace a person’s infected cells with the resistant ones…”

Yet there are still dark days ahead, much work to do, battles yet to fight—including financial ones.

A Year in The Life of California’s Stem Cell Research Program

2009-04-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hey, Dr. Oz! Placental stem cells are already being used to successfully treat Parkinson’s!

2009-04-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

Dr. Mehmet Oz and Michael J. Fox predict the use of stem cells to treat Parkinson’s disease will begin in about eight years. ISCI founder Rita Alexander reveals true story about a clinic in Mexico that is already using placental stem cells to successfully treat PD.

Beloved actor Michael J. Fox has been living with Parkinson's disease for 18 years. Known in the early '80s as Alex P. Keaton on the hit show Family Ties, this Canadian-born actor went on to star in the blockbuster movie Back to the Future. Then, in 1991, something unexpected happened. Michael was diagnosed with a chronic neurological disorder called Parkinson's disease (PD). When his symptoms worsened and it became harder to disguise the shaking caused by the illness, Michael told the public about his battle. He also became an advocate for stem cell treatment, believing that it could someday put an end to suffering—his own as well as that of others.

Dr. Mehmet Oz appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in March 2009 with Michael J. Fox and used the human brain of a 50-year-old male to demonstrate how stem cells may help cure Parkinson's disease and other chronic illnesses. Dr. Oz showed a section of the brain where lines are not present in a person having Parkinson’s disease. He believes that stem cells could be placed in that area to regenerate the damaged brain; but he noted that scientists are single digit (8-9) years away from being able to treat Parkinson’s and diabetes using stem cells. He is wrong about the date. Placental stem cells are already being used to successfully treat Parkinson’s. More than likely, it is political red tape that keeps the treatment from being approved for use in the U.S. However, placental stem cells derived from placenta (afterbirth) have been used in Mexico and Europe to successfully treat a variety of conditions and diseases for over 25 years.

James Devlin is a resident of Hawaii, but his paradise became a nightmare 15 years ago when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Unwilling to accept the reality of continual mental and physical decline, he sought answers around the world to stop the disease from taking over his brain and his life. His symptoms were the standard Parkinson’s package including stiff muscles, decreased dexterity and coordination, insomnia, memory loss, confusion, and tremors in his arms which made it difficult for him to feed himself. Normal daily activities such as dressing, eating, and writing became increasingly challenging. James was prescribed a long list of medications to manage the increasing number of symptoms. Two and a half years ago, he found the road to recovery from PD at the International Stem Cell Institute (ISCI).

“When I first met Mr. Devlin, he was very stiff and rigid, battling constant tremors as he made his way through the airport,” said Rita Alexander, Executive Director of ISCI. “He returned six months after his first placental stem cell treatment, and he didn’t look like the same man. His body was relaxed, he walked with ease, the excessive tremors were gone, and a big smile replaced the vacant facial expression he had just a few months before.”

Today, after several stem cell treatments, James Devlin has been able to eliminate all Parkinson’s medication and spends his days surfing in paradise. “At 67 years old, I’ve had a 75 percent recovery and fully believe that with additional stem cell treatments I will be in complete remission soon,” declares Mr. Devlin. “I don’t want to think about where I would be today if I hadn’t been fortunate enough to find ISCI.”

Mr. Devlin’s response is not unusual for patients who are treated at the clinic in Mexico, where placental stem cell treatments have been given for cancer, cerebral palsy, dermatomyositis, diabetes, hepatitis C, HIV, immune deficiency, kidney disorders, multiple sclerosis, migraines, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's, retinitis pigmentosa, rheumatoid arthritis, spina bifida, and stroke. Unfortunately, not everyone is physically and financially able to travel to Mexico. That is why Rita Alexander started ISCI. “We wish many more suffering with Parkinson’s disease knew there were stem cell treatments that could change the course of their lives,” states Rita. “We want to help people access treatment that is already available and hope to bring the treatment to the U.S.”

About ISCI

International Stem Cell Institute was launched in April 2008 as a result of 18 years of stem cell treatment experience. The company is managed by Rita Alexander, a businesswoman with a desire to bring stem cell treatment to those who are suffering with a condition that has not responded to traditional medicine. ISCI assists with patient education, pre- and post-treatment support, travel logistics, and financial matters regarding treatment.

For more information about ISCI or to arrange a consultation or schedule an appointment, please visit http://www.istemcelli.com/.

Contact:
Rita Alexander
Executive Director
International Stem Cell Institute
770.231.3500
Rita@iStemCelli.com
http://www.istemcelli.com/

A Year in The Life of California’s Stem Cell Research Program

2009-04-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

A Year in The Life of California’s Stem Cell Research Program

2009-04-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

By Don C. Reed

Imagine that you and I are involved in a terrible war, against a relentless enemy which fully intends to kill us and all our families. But we are fighting back hard, and despite tremendous odds against us, we are beginning to win.

Suddenly good news arrives: reinforcements are on the way!

Should we respond by laying down our arms, to surrender?

President Obama’s reversal of the Bush stem cell restrictions is wonderful: a decision that will echo down the halls of history. But it is not victory. The Obama edict brings no guarantees of new stem cell funding. Those “extra” NIH funds you heard about? At best, they help make up for 5 years of flat-lined funding, when National Institutes of Health budgets remained stagnant, not even matching increases of inflation.

Now is the time to redouble our efforts, not relax them. Let me show you why. In the midst of all the economic gloom and doom, something shining has emerged in California: the beginning of a vastly better world.

Take a look at some highlights of what the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) did—with just twelve months of reliable funding, in 2008.

(You can verify the following amazements by going to http://www.cirm.ca.gov/ Scroll down the left side of the page, until you find a bright red picture of stem cells, click under that: 2008 report, download it for free.)

LABORATORIES: have you tried to find parking for your car at an overcrowded college campus lately? Imagine what a nightmare it is to find space for new stem cell laboratories, let alone equip them. Dedicated buildings are urgently needed.

But bricks and mortar costs a lot, and the last thing California wants is to spend precious research dollars on a bunch of unnecessary buildings. So, a limit was set: no more than 10% of the entire program’s cost, $300 million, could be used for facilities. But, that’s not much money. In today’s market, it would pay for only about three or four hundred homes: nowhere near enough for serious labs.

How did the CIRM meet this challenge?

They authorized $271 million on facilities (buildings and equipment)—and, to make sure we got the most possible bang for its buck, a special requirement. Any organization wanting a grant had to bring their own money as well.

This strategy brought in an additional $880 million dollars. Our $271 million in taxpayer money was leveraged (great word) into $1.15 billion dollars. Twelve major facilities will be built—and soon. All these buildings are contractually obligated to be up and running by the end of 2010.

And of course, we must not forget the stem cells…

Stem Cell Research Could Cure Diabetes

2009-04-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

By Greg Flakus

At the University of Texas Medical Branch, known as UTMB, in Galveston, researcher Larry Denner is working with stem cells that can be coaxed into becoming insulin-producing cells.

Peering into his microscope, Denner speaks enthusiastically about the progress they have made in growing stem cells in the laboratory.

"So we look at the cells here and we can tell just by looking at them under a regular microscope how they are growing," said Larry Denner.Such research is viewed with great anticipation by Type-One diabetes patients like Pamela Phelps.

Read more …

Bright Future Using Placenta Stem Cell Treatments

2009-04-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

With the passing of legislation that will allow federal funding for newer cells that are easier to work with, represent more diversity, and have no mouse feeder cells to contend with, no doubt, science is closer than ever to a breakthrough for many cures.

The younger the stem cells are, the more flexibility they have. After 40 years in the lab, the more mature, differentiated adult stem cells have demonstrated safety and efficacy in all three phases of clinical trials and are considered as “standard therapy” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) treatments for nine conditions. These are: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Aplastic Anemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia, Multiple Myeloma, Myelodysplasia, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome-X1, and Thalassemia Major.

For the past twenty-five years, US residents have gone out of the country to receive placental stem cell treatment for ALS, cancer, cerebral palsy, dermatomyositis, diabetes, gangrene, hepatitis C, HIV, immune deficiency, multiple sclerosis, migraines, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's, retinitis pigmentosa, rheumatoid arthritis, spina bifida, and stroke. While placental stem cell therapy has not been approved for use in the U.S., it is benefiting people who are physically and financially able to travel to Mexico.

Now, just imagine what illnesses could be cured or treated with blastocystic stem cell research once these cells have the same funding and years of research as the adult stem cells! It’s an exciting time to be a scientist!

The Basics of Placental and Cord Blood Stem Cells

2009-04-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

The placenta is a temporary organ that accompanies pregnancy. It is implanted in the wall of the uterus, where it receives nutrients and oxygen from the mother's blood and eliminates waste from the fetus. The placenta also serves as a barrier that filters out some substances that could harm the fetus. The placenta is connected to the fetus via the umbilical cord which is, of course, the lifeline to the fetus. When the baby is delivered, the placenta is delivered afterward, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the afterbirth. This temporary organ contains placental stem cells which, like cord blood stem cells, can be collected only at the time of birth.

Placenta-derived stem cells are those stem cells that remain in the placenta after cord blood collection. The placenta is a particularly rich source of CD34+ hematopoietic (blood-forming) cells, similar to those found in cord blood. CD34+ cells can transform into many other cell types including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Stem cell transplants with a higher number of CD34+ cells have been associated with an improved rate of successful engraftment.

Read more…

Placenta Stem Cells Are Promising Healer of Our Time

2009-04-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

In the search for stem cells, many sources have been used including umbilical cord, embryos, bone marrow, fat, and blood, but mainly from placenta, the most generous of all.

Methods of extracting stem cells are numerous, including one that is keeping placenta in a nutritional medium for a few days in order to maximize their harvest. Subsequently these stem cells are distributed to researchers and used in the treatment of many diseases.

Published results show substantial, and sometimes impressive, results using these cells -- but also the appearance of cancers.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/dc4xmr

Children's, UC ready for stem cell boost

2009-04-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati are preparing for an expansion of stem cell research programs.

The federal government is implementing budget increases for biomedical research and easing restrictions on funding for embryonic stem cell research. As part of the economic stimulus bill just signed into law by President Barack Obama, the National Institutes of Health is receiving a $10.4 billion increase in funding for biomedical research.

Read more here... http://tinyurl.com/bvlyyh

Adult Stem Cell Bill SB 73

2009-04-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Stem cell advocates and religious groups seemed to find a middle ground — at least for now — in testimony on a bill supporting adult stem cell research.

The legislation would create a program to coordinate and regulate adult stem cell research and seek funding and direct grants to institutions around the state.

Read the rest of “Stem Cell Fight Off to Friendly Start” by Jackie Stone (Associated Press Writer)

Stem Cell Mix Helps Paralyzed Rats Walk

2009-03-31T08:02:00.000-07:00

A complex combination of treatments, including stem cells and growth factors, can heal damaged neural circuits, allowing partially paralyzed rats to walk. These findings represent a significant step forward in regenerative medicine, providing new treatment possibilities for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and grow new neural fibers out of the spinal cord “renders transplantation approaches to repair realistic."

Previous research has shown that cell transplants and other treatments can help paralyzed rodents walk. But those experiments have focused mainly on repairing local damage within the spinal cord. They could help patients whose motor neurons -- cells carrying messages from brain to spinal cord -- remain intact after injury or disease.

Read more at http://tinyurl.com/cdtxw4

Tissue and cells do NOT have souls

2009-03-30T04:20:00.000-07:00

If you believe that two cells jointed to form one is equal to human life, you really need to rethink your position. Human life exists in a human body. Spirit life exists in ALL things.

If you think that cells created in a Petri dish are equal to human life, you would be opposing in vitro fertilization, not stem cell research. These leftover cells are being thrown in the trash or washed down the drain. Might not that be the real crime? Especially when these cells could hold the potential for improving and healing human life that already exists. Denying the right to recover to those who need it most is a crime.

Did you know that many fertilized cells are flushed in the menstrual cycle each month? Not every fertilized egg implants itself. There is a difference in fertilization and conception. Fertilization can occur in a woman's body or in a Petri dish. Conception can ONLY occur in a woman's body!

If you believe that God is in complete control of everything, wouldn't you also agree that HE is cruel to allow death of any kind to occur? But, if God was really opposed to death, which is a normal part of the life cycle, HE would not support war or killing in self-defense.

That is where most people err. God is not a person. God is the creative energy of the Universe. God doesn't have an agenda or a preference. Storms come and go destroying everything in their paths, but this is part of life on earth. We humans have free will to choose whatever we want to create. I choose to create life and healing. I choose research on all types of stem cells because I truly believe that they contain healing and life-restoring potential.

Tumors in A (quack) Human Stem Cell Therapy

2009-03-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's almost like a bad Yakov Smirnoff joke, "In America you test therapies in animals before giving them to humans, in Russia..." All I can do is wonder, what were they thinking? Injecting stem cells into a kid's spinal fluid to correct a genetic disorder? Are they insane?

Stem cells, in particular embryonic and fetal stem cells, are useful because they represent cells that are less differentiated than the cells that are working at specific functions throughout your body. Another result of being stem cells is that they are able to divide and proliferate without differentiating or undergoing apoptosis and as cells differentiate towards their final fate they tend to divide less and ultimately commit cellular suicide if they are signaled to begin dividing again - a protection against cancerous growth. The downside of this is that stem cells act, in their normal state, a bit like cancerous cells. In fact one of the assays to demonstrate the pluripotency of a cell (the ability of a stem cell to make many kinds of other tissues) is to inject them into an animal where they will make tumors called teratomas which are (usually) benign growths of cells that represent endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm - the three germ layers than give rise to all tissues in the body during development.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/c7wp2e

The Kotex Kops

2009-03-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

Rep. Dan Ruby, R-Minot, seeks to define a person in North Dakota law as “any organism with the genome of homo sapiens.”

What exactly is an organism? How do we know when an organism becomes a person? Are all organisms to be considered equal to humans?

The bill could affect in vitro fertilization treatments in which a woman's egg is fertilized with a man's sperm outside the woman's body. A few days after fertilization in the laboratory, the blastocyst is introduced into the woman’s uterus and the other two are frozen while the couple waits to see if conception will occur. *NOTE: there is a difference in fertilization and conception (see http://right2recover.blogspot.com/).* The blastocyst either implants itself or is washed out in the next menstrual flow. If personhood rights are given to fertilized eggs, a Kotex Kops division will need to be organized in every city to arrest women who flush or throw away human beings attached to their tampons! These cells will deserve to have a funeral or last rites administered and should be cremated or given a proper burial. Do you see how ridiculous Ruby’s law is?

Blastocysts with abnormalities are not normally introduced to the uterus, but under Ruby's bill, these cells would have the same rights as human beings and could not be discarded. And, because a teratoma contains the homosapien genome, it could get personhood rights.

Dr. Stephanie Dahl, reproductive endocrinologist at MeritCare Health System's Reproductive Medicine Institute in Fargo says, “Women can develop a type of ovarian tumor, called a teratoma, that has some human features, including bone and teeth. The tumors will not develop into a baby, but they 'contain the genome of homo sapien. They are tumors that contain recognizable parts of humans. There can be teeth, cartilage, bone, tissue, fat, hair ... An abnormal tumor of the ovary would be protected as a person under this bill.

Read more . . .

How to Keep from Destroying Blastocysts

2009-03-27T15:17:00.000-07:00

The only way to keep from destroying the blastocysts leftover from in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures is to implant all the blastocysts or do away with in vitro fertilization all together. And, in Italy that is exactly what the Vatican would like to see happen.

Italy’s IVF law says a woman cannot utilize IVF unless she’s married. She can’t use donated eggs or sperm so that does away with surrogacy. To them, surrogacy is equal to a married man or woman having sex with another man or woman to whom they are not married. Only three eggs can be fertilized at a time and all three blastocysts have to be implanted into the womb. That means a woman could conceive multiple pregnancies simultaneously. Worse yet, the triplets may have a disease or be deformed.

In Italy, a doctor who violates any part of the IVF law can be imprisoned for up to three years. In 2005, Italians held a referendum on whether to change the law on fertility treatments and stem cell research. Those efforts failed because Catholic bishops, with the support of Pope Benedict XVI, persuaded registered voters to stay away from the polls. Talk about religious control and loss of free will—that tops it all. The scientists who are trying to find cures are not interested in creating Frankensteins. Religious and political leaders who lie to us are the monsters we need to worry about!

It’s not right to deny anyone the privilege of being able to have children through in vitro assistance. I don’t think anyone wants to lose the remarkable IVF procedure in the U.S, but if we don’t open our eyes and start taking action to put a stop to the control religion and government has over us, we will soon be in no better shape than Italy.

Do in vitro blastocysts go to heaven when they perish?

2009-03-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

While I am not trying to be insensitive to those who have tried unsuccessfully to have children through in vitro fertilization, I want to make a logical plea to those who oppose the use of leftover blastocysts for scientific research.

The best use of in vitro fertilized eggs is to make a baby whether in the donor's body or in a surrogate mother. However, many leftover blastocysts are thrown away because their donors abandon them or because they have stayed too long in the lab freezer to be used for implantation. THESE are the cells scientists would like to use for research. They are already slated for the trash can. Scientists are NOT asking for the creation of fertilized eggs for scientific purposes. They are NOT asking for the eggs that could become snowflake babies.

Larry Churchill of Vanderbilt University's Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society made a valid point I'd like to share about the leftover cells.

Are blastocysts leftover from in vitro fertilization equal to human life?

If the Catholic Church really believed this they would be baptizing, administering last rites and conducting funerals for these cells. Instead, they go into the trash can after they are no longer useful due to freezer burn or abandonment by their donors. If these cells have the same rights as human beings, do they not at least deserve a decent burial?

Scientists doing research on stem cells realize there is no moral issue involved in the research. The cells in the Petri dish are equivalent to any other cell in the laboratory. Babies grow inside mother's, not in lab dishes!

To think that these cells deserve the same rights and protection as humans causes us to protect something that could become an embryo IF it was implanted in a uterus. Even when lab produced blastocysts are introduced into the womb, there is no guarantee that implantation or conception will occur. Without implantation, there is no pregnancy. This is why a frozen blastocyst cannot be defined as a pregnancy. Therefore, there is no baby being formed in the lab.

Protecting "potential" life at the expense of "real" life (humans already living) is inhumane. Including these cells as members of humanity violates the rights of the living humans who could be helped or even cured by research on material that is going to waste. Literally!

To put it in perspective, consider this scenario. A fertility lab is on fire. There is a daycare center next door and children are present. Would you risk your life to save the cells in the lab or would you rush in to save the children in the daycare center?

How can anyone say that blastocystic stem cell research on leftover cells is a moral issue?

Conception and fertilization are two distinct and individual events

2009-03-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

Conception and fertilization are two distinct and individual events. While fertilization can occur either in a lab or inside a woman’s body, conception can only take place in the womb. Conception occurs when a blastocyst becomes implanted or attached to the lining of the uterus where it begins to receive nourishment for continued development. After the first two months of development inside the womb, the term embryo is replaced by the word “fetus,” which applies until birth.

A pregnancy does not actually begin until the process of conception is complete. This process takes several days and can be confirmed by testing the levels of progesterone and hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) present in the mother’s blood. When conception in the uterus is complete, the blastocyst can develop into an embryo. It is very important to remember that conception can only occur inside the uterus.

In vitro blastocyst stem cells never will develop into a baby unless the entire blastocyst is implanted into a uterus—either of the female who donated the egg or that of a surrogate mother. Let me clarify that the stem cells used for blastocyst research purposes are only a few days old and have not been inside a uterus since being fertilized. These cells are not equal to a human life. They have no nerve or blood cells; they have no consciousness.

Research conducted in university laboratories in partnership with Geron Corporation supports the fact that IVF-derived blastocyst stem cells are not embryos because they are not
a complete organism, nor can they be coaxed into becoming such outside the uterus.

Not all fertilized eggs are embryos

2009-03-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

When nature’s typical course is followed and in vitro procedures are not incorporated, the fertilization of an egg, its implantation into the uterine lining (conception), and the resulting pregnancy is a smooth developmental process that will produce an embryo.

The in vitro fertilization is not a process of nature. It is a man-made, scientifically-modified process that unites the sperm and the egg in an environment outside the body. While living cells exist in a blastocyst, the development that must continue in order to carry the cells into fetal stages is not possible unless the blastocyst is introduced to a uterus and nature picks up the cue to begin the process of implantation and subsequent development of an embryo.

Even in the natural process of human reproduction, an embryo does not always develop as a result of fertilization. I am referring to a complete molar pregnancy. This genetic accident
occurs when the sperm fertilizes an egg that is either missing its nucleus or where the nucleus is inactive. Even though the egg is fertilized, there is no embryo, no placenta, no fluid, and no amniotic membranes. There is only a mass of cysts that resemble a bunch
of grapes.

So what does a molar pregnancy have to do with stem cell research? It shows that just because an egg is fertilized, it does not necessarily mean that an embryo has formed.

Paralyzed RI lawmaker hails stem cell decision

2009-03-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

PROVIDENCE, R.I.: Rep. Jim Langevin was 16 years old when a policeman's accidental gunshot severed his spinal cord and left him paralyzed.

Though doctors told him he would never walk again, Langevin said he's remained optimistic for a scientific breakthrough that would make it possible.

That's why an executive order Monday lifting federal funding restrictions for embryonic stem cell research has personal meaning for the five-term Democrat. He hopes the science can one day help him ditch his motorized wheelchair and walk on the floor of the U.S. Capitol.

Read more here... http://tinyurl.com/atvzdd

Must Be Time to Lie About Science Again

2009-03-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

Right-wing conservatives are at it again. Since President Barack Obama lifted the date restriction to allow research on stem cell clusters created after 2001, the expected political battle is hot as conservatives claim that a human life is being taken when blastocystic stem cells are used for science.Conservative leaders lobbying Congress are using lies to forward their campaign against research that could help millions of people who suffer from conditions that may be cured or positively affected through stem cell biology.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative think tank says, "With limited tax dollars available, we should not use those funds for research that is at best morally questionable."

I ask Mr. Perkins, “Is flushing or trashing unused ‘embryos’ (as you call them) a better moral choice than using them for research that may save lives?” And, I’d also like to know why telling the truth is not a moral obligation to the right wing party.

Conservatists have reported that adult stem cells have cured or treated 72 diseases, and that embryonic stem cells have cured none.

Well, here is the truth:

Only nine conditions treated with adult stem cells have demonstrated both safety and efficacy in all three phases of clinical trials and are considered as “standard therapy” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) treatments. These are: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Aplastic Anemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia, Multiple Myeloma, Myelodysplasia, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome-X1, and Thalassemia Major.

Due to the pluripotency properties of blastocyst stem cell (that older adult stem cells do not have) has demonstrated that stem cells created from leftover lab-created blastocysts have allowed a paralyzed rat (having spinal cord injury) to walk again. The blastocysts used have not been introduced into a woman’s body and therefore a pregnancy has not occurred and no life is being taken with this research. These blastocysts would have been thrown away had science not rescued them.

Seems like right-wingers would rather continue discarding usable scientific material and spend tax payer money to try and get adult stem cells to behave the same as the “embryonic” cells being tossed.

Research should be done on all types of stem cells, and the truth should be told. Read Right to Recover Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America to learn more.

Mom of Paralyzed Teen Applauds Obama's Stem Cell Ruling

2009-03-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

FRUIT COVE, FL -- A mother searching for a cure for her son's paralysis says she has new hope, after President Obama lifted restrictions on stem cell research.

Faye Armitage has spent the past eleven years lobbying for stem cell research support across the state, country and planet.

Her 18-year-old son, Jason Armitage, is paralyzed from the nose down.

During a soccer match, then seven-year-old Jason collided with another player on the field. Faye says her son brushed off his injuries at first, and continued playing the game.

The next day, however, brought extreme pain, and nausea.

Faye says doctors at first diagnosed the problem as a concussion.

Read more here.. http://tr.im/hn9o

Blastocystic Cells and Terminology

2009-03-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

The controversy over stem cell research could be alleviated with better education. I've tried to explain some of the points about blastocystic cells and terminology that may be confusing to some.

Forward on stem-cell research

2009-03-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

PRESIDENT Obama's executive order on embryonic stem-cell research yesterday put the world's most effective supporter of medical innovation - the National Institutes of Health - onto the frontline of a new and promising approach to devastating diseases. The order removes an unjustified hindrance on the ability of American science to seek new treatments.

Obama's action has the support not just of a large majority of the public but of bipartisan majorities in Congress, which twice passed bills for expanded stem cell research vetoed by former President Bush. Obama was quick to note that researchers are far from turning the capacity of embryonic stem cells to develop into all cell types into cures. But he has greatly expanded resources for them.

Read more here.. http://tr.im/hcUM

Obama Aims to Shield Science From Politics

2009-03-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

When President Obama lifts restrictions on funding for human embryonic stem cell research today, he will also issue a presidential memorandum aimed at insulating scientific decisions across the federal government from political influence, officials said yesterday.

"The president believes that it's particularly important to sign this memorandum so that we can put science and technology back at the heart of pursuing a broad range of national goals," Melody C. Barnes, director of Obama's Domestic Policy Council, told reporters during a telephone briefing yesterday.

Read more here http://tinyurl.com/d5v7m4.

Georgia colleges embrace Obama’s stem cell decision

2009-03-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

For eight years, scientists have taken extreme measures to continue researching how embryonic stem cells could treat illness and injury.

With limits on federal money for their studies, some set up freestanding labs, with dedicated equipment, to avoid commingling private donations with government grants.

They couldn’t use the same microscope for federally approved research and for analyzing newly derived stem cell lines. They weren’t even sure they could use their university e-mail accounts to discuss their research.

Georgia scientists couldn’t even go that far. Little or no private funding flowed into the state for embryonic stem cell research, forcing scientists at Georgia universities to study only the older lines of stem cells created before President George W. Bush imposed the federal funding limits in 2001.

Read more here http://tinyurl.com/ctl5no.

President Obama's Decision to Remove the Create Date Limit

2009-03-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

Here’s a video showing why you can feel good about President Obama’s decision to remove the create date limit on blastocysts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CgmrsbPa1k&feature=channel_page

Nine Conditions Helped by Adult Stem Cell Treatments

2009-03-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Nine conditions have demonstrated both safety and efficacy in all three phases of clinical trials using adult stem cells and are considered as standard therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) treatments. These are: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Aplastic Anemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia, Multiple Myeloma, Myelodysplasia, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome-X1, and Thalassemia Major.

Why does the Prentice List tout more than 72 treatments using adult stem cells?

Hematopoietic stem cell replacement of marrow being used in the course of treating many diseases. These stem cells are not treating these illnesses, they allow doctors to use chemo, or irradiation. The marrow cells are then used to replenish the patient's blood supply. The cells are not treating the disease at all. Therefore, it is dishonest to use every instance in which bone marrow is transplanted as part of disease treatment to say that adult stem cells treat 72 diseases. Chemo is treating 72 diseases. Bone marrow transplant is treating one disease in all twelve instances--that being post-chemotherapy bone marrow suppression.

Adult stem cells are only able to do one thing: create more of the same type of cells in their destined progeny. They are not transdifferentiating into many different cell types as blastocystic cells do. Cord blood and placental stem cells being much younger than bone marrow cells, have shown promise in being able to differentiate into different types of cells and treat more illnesses. However, the US has not allowed research to be done on these cells either. And, these cells have no controversy attached to them.

Learn more about all types of stem cells in Yvonne Perry’s groundbreaking book, Right to Recover.

What Exactly is an Embryo?

2009-03-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the term embryo as “an animal in the early stages of growth and differentiation that are characterized by cleavage, the laying down of fundamental tissues, and the formation of primitive organs and organ systems; especially the developing human individual from the time of implantation to the end of the eighth week after conception.”

Note: an embryo has tissues and organs; 4- to 5-day-old blastocysts in a lab do not. Implantation and conception are considered separate processes and are not synonymous with fertilization. Conception and fertilization are two distinct and individual events. While fertilization can occur either in a lab or inside a woman’s body, conception can only take place in the womb. Conception occurs when a blastocyst becomes implanted or attached to the lining of the uterus where it begins to receive nourishment for continued development.

Local scientists praise stem cell reversal

2009-03-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- President Obama has cleared the way for more federal dollars to go to stem cell research, saying he wants scientific decisions based on facts not ideology. The executive order is expected to have a major impact on the Bay Area.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/aafdke

LIers suffering from disease cheer stem cell plan

2009-03-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Louis DeCaro, 57, of Wading River, suffers from Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological condition that affects movement. He is the former president of the Long Island chapter of the American Parkinson's Disease Association and a former teacher.

"I feel very, very strongly about stem cell research. I feel that it is a ray of hope and it has promise to help the lives of the 1.2 million Americans that are afflicted with the disease. . . . I've had Parkinson's disease for seven years. Has that eight-year void affected me? Absolutely. Eight years is eight years. And in a life of a Parkinson's patient, you can never anticipate or never know when you'll turn for the worse. . . . I've gone to China in 2007, India in 2008. . . . I'm just grateful I'm able to take these trips I've always wanted to take. Just imagine what I could have done if something was done eight years ago."

Read More..

For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Stem Cell Debate Continues in Colorado

2009-03-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

The restriction former Pres. Bush put into place did not make using blastocystic stem cells illegal. It stated that taxpayer money could only be used for stem cell lines created before August 9, 2001. Obama’s reversal will remove the date restriction and allow scientists using newer cell lines to apply for government grants to fund their stem cell research. The newer cells are easier to work with, represent more diversity, and have no mouse feeder cells to contend with.

Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D- Colo.) says, "Many of my pro-life colleagues say this is the ultimate pro-life decision. Because you're taking embryos created to give life, which are no longer needed and going to be thrown away. And you're allowing people to donate them for research that could cure disease and save millions of lives."

Read more…

For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Obama Ends Stem Cell Research Ban!

2009-03-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

Researchers say the newer lines created with private money during the period of the Bush ban are healthier and better suited to creating treatment for diseases.

President Obama said Monday he is allowing federal taxpayer dollars to fund significantly broader research on embryonic stem cells because "medical miracles do not happen simply by accident," and promised his administration would make up for the ground lost under his predecessor. Fulfilling a campaign promise, Mr. Obama signed an executive order expected to set in motion increased research that supporters believe could uncover cures for serious ailments from diabetes to paralysis. Mr. Obama's action, before a packed East Room audience, reverses former President George W. Bush's policy on stem cell research by undoing a 2001 directive that banned federal funding for research into stem lines created after that date.

Read more…

Obama to Lift Ban on Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research

2009-03-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

Did you hear the good news?

President Obama is planning to sign an executive order at 11 a.m. on Monday to reverse restrictions on federal funding of embryonic (blastocystic) stem cell research. This is an incredible step forward for science.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com

Town origin of breakthough stem cell research

2009-03-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

GROUNDBREAKING stem cell technology developed at a Farnham-based company has been used for the first time to successfully cure brain damage in a stroke victim. Walter Bast, 49, is recovering following an operation in Germany, during which genetically engineered cells were injected into his brain using ‘teabag technology’ pioneered by Biocompatibles Ltd.

The company, which operates from Farnham Business Park, has been working on the new technique of inserting a small bag filled with stem cells into the brain in order to encourage brain cell growth.

To read more click here.. http://tinyurl.com/644mya

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For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

What About Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Mr. President?

2009-02-27T07:31:00.000-08:00

It has now been over one month since President Obama was inaugurated. As someone who stands to benefit from the proper federal funding and oversight of embryonic stem cell research, I want to know why the President has yet to rescind the Bush administration restrictions of August 9, 2001 that were one of his signature appeasements to the Religious Right.
topic: Attack on Science

In the 2008 New York Presidential Primary I voted for Hillary Clinton. One of the deciding factors for me was her promise to rescind the Bush administration's onerous restrictions on the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. At the time, then-candidate Obama was barely giving lip-service to the issue.

Although Obama eventually won the nomination, I soon became comfortable with his position on embryonic stem cell research. I was confident that shortly after his inauguration - perhaps within minutes -- that the August 9, 2001 restrictions would be history.

Or, so I thought.

It now seems that the president is now awaiting Congressional legislation that would fund the research. That may be well and good, but an immediate executive order rescinding the August 9, 2001 restrictions is still necessary. At the very least it would allow research laboratories more leeway in their current work.

As the The Baltimore Sun recently reported:

Little federal research has been conducted on human embryonic stem cells over the past eight years. In 2007, for example, the federal government allocated a mere $41 million to this research, compared with approximately $400 million invested by the states last year. The federal funding ban made it extremely difficult to attract young or new researchers to stem cell research, while prompting many established investigators to look elsewhere to conduct their work. The lack of progress in embryonic stem cell research has held back venture capital investment in this field as well.

The Sun previously reported that universities and other research centers are wary to begin this important work:

Researchers and their institutions are also hopeful that lifting the Bush administration's ban would end a logistical nightmare. Fear of violating the federal edict forced researchers to keep everything from pipettes to buildings paid for with federal dollars separate from anything and anyone involved with stem cell lines not approved for federal funding.

"It's going to make a huge difference," said Dr. Chi Dang, vice dean for research at the Johns Hopkins University's Institute for Cell Engineering. "Especially if I'm an investigator working on both types of cell lines, I have to be very careful. ... It's been a nightmare for some institutions."

Amy Comstock Rick, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, one of the leading advocacy organizations for this research, was spot-on when she recently declared, "Time matters, and we would really like to see an executive order out of the White House rescinding the Bush policy."

The issue of stem cell research extends into a larger issue: freedom of conscience. And to stand up for embryonic stem cell research is often synonymous with standing up to both the Religious Right and their neoconservative backers.

In an earlier article I outlined what so upsets ultra-orthodox Catholics, hard-line evangelicals and neocons about this issue:

But the greater issue here is Modernity. Both Straussian-neoconservatives as well as ultra-orthodox Catholics rail against it. Their common opposition to hESC research is classic manifestation of such a belief. Value Pluralism is not acceptable, only submission by all to one selective version of "the truth." Embryonic stem cell research clearly interferes with this scenario because it begins to demystify science and in their eyes, removes the virtue of human heroism (something Eric Cohen has elaborated upon in his writings).

It is the very same obsession with modernity that leads this strident alliance to also lash out against feminism, reproductive rights and at times, evolution. So it is puzzling why President Obama is dragging his heals on this issue.

Is he still trying to be bipartisan on this issue? That doesn't seem to make sense since there is already such support for the issue. Even anti-abortion conservatives such as U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch and John McCain have already expressed their desire to federally fund embryonic stem cell research.

One explanation I heard from a frontline stem cell activist that President Obama did not issue a rescission order on Inauguration Day simply because he did not want to throw sand in the eyes of the anti-abortion movement who would be holding their annual March for Life rally in the Capital on January 22.

Or perhaps the president has been listening too much to Rev. Rick Warren's tortured logic in opposition to this research? If so, it would be another example of this president needlessly bowing down to the Religious Right.

This past December I wrote, "The good news is that beginning shortly after noon on January 20, 2009 a presidential Executive Order will allow us to follow that admonition, despite what Pastor Warren or the Vatican may think." I earnestly believed that if Hillary Clinton would have issued an Executive Order on January 20, 2009 freeing embryonic stem cell research, so would a President Obama.

I was wrong.

To post comments click here.. http://tinyurl.com/cbuomp

Bowling for Breakthroughs

2009-02-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Third Annual "Bowling for Breakthroughs" to benefit the Sabrina Cohen Foundation is right around the corner on March 5th at Lucky Strikes in Miami Beach. Pre-registering online is highly recommended to reserve your spot and lane in the bowling tournament. It is also mandatory to know what time you would like to play, whether at 7pm, 8pm or 9pm. Teams will bowl in groups of 6 and I'll need to know who's team you'll be on (whether you make up your own or randomly get placed). If you don't want to play but just attend, you can too

Please send all inquiries and RSVP's to sabrina@sabrinacohenfoundation.org

You can register online at
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://sabrinacohenfoundation.org%2Fdonations.html

Visit the event page with DETAILS on facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=40667514311&ref=nf

Looking forward to another fun night!
Sabrina Cohen

Couples in US prefer to donate embryos for research, study finds

2009-02-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Duke University study shows that 41% of patients who finished fertility treatment consider donating embryos

The US debate over embryonic stem cell research centres on the sanctity of life.
But the couples who create the leftover embryos would rather they be destroyed in the course of scientific research than be given a chance at becoming babies, a new study from Duke University Medical Centre has found.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/6y3r64

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For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Stem cells drafted for war on wounds

2009-02-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

A new programme at the US Department of Defense funds regenerative medicine to help wounded vets, but a surprising level of detail seems top secret

Cell-holding scaffolds might help regenerate faces of severely injured veterans

AFIRM, MITAs body armor improves, soldiers are less likely to be wounded by bullets. Explosive devices now account for more than 75% of injuries sustained by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike a bullet, which pierces a single spot, explosives tear away skin and muscle.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/69z554

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For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Scientists Achieve Robust Repair Of Injured Heart Muscle

2009-02-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have been able to effectively repair damaged heart muscle in an animal model using a novel population of stem cells they discovered that is derived from human skeletal muscle tissue.

The research team — led by Johnny Huard, PhD — transplanted stem cells purified from human muscle-derived blood vessels into the hearts of mice that had heart damage similar to that which would occur in people who had suffered a heart attack.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/6xbh67

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For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

An About-Face on Stem Cells

2009-02-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

New federal grants, less red tape likely with reversal of Bush ban.

One of Barack Obama's first acts as president is expected to be a reversal of the Bush administration's restrictions on federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cells.Maryland scientists say that's good news because it will uncork the nation's largest source of funding for promising medical research using hundreds of new cell lines, including many offering clues to the nature of genetically based diseases. Those cells are now off-limits for federal grants.

Read more here... http://tinyurl.com/66kyzs

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For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Stem Cell Dispatches from the Struggling State of Michigan

2009-02-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

On November 4 of this year, Michigan voters approved Proposal 2, which repealed the state's ban on embryonic stem cell research.

In a state with one of the highest employment rates in the nation and an economy shattered by the collapsing auto industry, Proposal 2, which passed by a margin of 52.6 to 47.4 percent, quickly was embraced by scientists, entrepreneurs, and many citizens as a potential life saver.

Last week, Sean Morrison, who directs the University of Michigan's Center for Stem Cell Biology, told Crain's Detroit that "very quickly there will be an infusion of millions in grants to support research here."

Click here to read more.. http://tinyurl.com/5zktep

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For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Obama plans to lift Bush's ban on stem cell research

2009-02-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

U.S. President Barack Obama may soon issue an executive order lifting an eight-year ban on embryonic stem cell research imposed by his predecessor, President George W. Bush.

In an article by Reuters today, the reporter indicated that stem cells come from cells that must be extracted from human embryos. That makes it sound like these cells are being taken from the womb, and this simply is not true. I wish the media would clarify that these cells are being cultivated and stored in a laboratory, not a woman's body.

Federal funding will not destroy any embryos. The cells used by scientists come from blastocysts leftover from in vitro fertilization. Those cells would have been disposed of anyway, unless they are adopted by another couple! The freezer life of these cells are not eternal, so while we are waiting for a reversal, a decision is being made. We have decided that these cells are better off in the trash than they would be if used for research that could help millions of living human beings. A sad commentary for all of us--especially conservative pro-lifers.

The Bush Administration did not ban research on all blastocyst cells; just on the ones created after April 2001. Therefore, Bush is not a hero for saving poor little embryos that were on the chopping block. Those cells are still being discarded. Instead, he delayed research that could have advanced science to a point where we could have seen cures for many illnesses by now.

Blastocysts created prior to 2001 used old technology and a limited cross-section of the population. Newer technology is easier to work with and represents better diversity. Obama's reversal of Bush's veto will still mean we are eight years behind schedule, and that people have had to suffer (and die) for a religious cause based on a misinformed opinion rather than scientific fact.

Obama Can't Save Stem Cell Companies

2009-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

In 2001, President George Bush hampered stem cell research by restricting government funding on embryonic stem cell research to the then-available embryonic stem cell lines. Today, there's a big buzz in the scientific community because President-elect Barack Obama plans to issue an executive order allowing federal funding for new embryonic stem cell research.

Unfortunately, that's not going to help existing stem cell companies and their investors all that much. Let me explain.

Click here to read more.. http://tinyurl.com/5ty6as

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For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Obama policy a lift for stem cell researchers

2009-02-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Stem cell research advocates have waited nearly eight years for the policy change President-elect Barack Obama has signaled he'll make in the early days of his administration: lifting the restrictions imposed by President Bush on federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cells.

Those limits, and earlier laws, have left stem cell labs hungering for support since the versatile human stem cells were first derived in 1998.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/66cegp

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For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Obama and the future of stem cell politics

2009-02-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Remember stem cell politics during the 2004 presidential campaign?

VP candidate John Edwards told a crowd that embryonic stem cell research would allow people like Christopher Reeve "to walk, get up out of that wheelchair and walk again." In a speech at the Democratic convention, Ron Reagan Jr. predicted that cloning-based stem cell research would produce for each of us a "personal biological repair kit standing by at the hospital." Meanwhile, opponents of deriving stem cells from embryos lost no opportunity to proclaim equally miraculous powers for "adult" stem cells.

What a difference four years make.

To read more click here.. http://tinyurl.com/5jzpok

For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

A Call for a New Federal Embryonic Stem Cell Research Agenda

2009-02-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

The incoming Obama administration will soon have the opportunity to reassert U.S. scientific leadership in two of the most exciting and promising fields of biomedical research—embryonic stem cell science and regenerative medicine. It’s an opportunity our nation cannot afford to miss.

In the 10 years since researchers at the University of Wisconsin first isolated and characterized human embryonic stem cells, scientific studies have repeatedly shown the vast potential these cells offer. As research tools they are already deepening our understanding of human development, health, and disease. And as therapeutic tools they show enormous promise for their potential to replace, reconstruct, or regenerate failing tissues and organs. In both cases, embryonic stem cells give patients the hope and promise of defeating diseases for which there is little or no hope today.

Read more here.. http://tinyurl.com/5olysx

For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Learn Science Behind Stem Cell Research

2009-02-08T07:02:00.000-08:00

I have created a presentation about stem cell research and posted it on YouTube. It gives a basic overview of stem cells and shares the difference between a blastocyst and an embryo, the difference between fertilization, implantation, and conception, what to do about leftover blastocysts, a logical debate about why the controversy is needless, and why the US Government should fund all types of stem cell research.

Plan Now to Save Your Baby's Cord Blood

2009-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

New parents have the option of storing their newborn's cord blood at a private cord blood bank or donating it to a public cord blood bank. The cost of private cord blood banking is approximately $2,000 for collection and approximately $125 per year for storage, as of 2007.

Donation to a public cord blood bank is not possible everywhere, but availability is increasing. Several local cord blood banks across the United States are now accepting donations from within their own states. The cord blood bank will not charge the donor for the donation; the OB/GYN may still charge a collection fee, although many OB/GYNs choose to donate their time.

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For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Time Magazine Front Cover Story on Stem Cells

2009-02-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

Time Magazine published a cover story today on stem cell research. It's a good article, but their graphic Web exclusive in error shows embryonic stem cells being removed from a woman's womb at two weeks after fertilization. While those cells could be used, this is not the typical process for deriving cells used for research and treatment. The cells used for research are taken from blastocysts (2-5 days after fertilization) leftover from in vitro procedures. These cells have never been inside a woman after fertilization. These cells would have been discarded if not used for research.

It is this type of misinformation that gives fuel to the myth that embryonic stem cell research kills babies. This should be corrected in the media if we are ever to see the full benefit of what these cells can do. We already know they can cure spinal cord injury in a rat. Let's not hold up the research with any more false information like this.

Laboratory Stem Cell Development

2009-02-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Embryonic stem cell lines are cultures of cells derived from the epiblast tissue of the inner cell mass of a blastocyst or earlier morula stage embryos. A blastocyst is an early stage embryo—approximately four to five days old in humans and consisting of 50–150 cells.

Nearly all laboratory research to date has taken place using mouse blastocyst stem cells or human blastocyst stem cells. Both have the essential stem cell characteristics, yet they require very different environments in order to maintain an undifferentiated state. Mouse cells are grown on a layer of gelatin and require the presence of Leukemia Inhibitory Factor. Human cells are grown on a feeder layer of mouse embryonic fibroblasts and require the presence of basic Fibroblast Growth Factor.

Read more on Wikipedia...

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For more information about stem cell research, please read Right to Recover, Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. Available on Amazon.com

Easy to Understand Booklet about Stem Cells

2009-01-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a very easy-to-understand booklet about stem cells with an explanation of the different stages of development: morula, blastocyst, and pre-implantation embryo.

Read more... http://tinyurl.com/9vtoay