Michael J. Fox And Embryonic Stem Cell Research

[Lil Red]

I feel sorrow for Michael J. Fox because of his condition. And I wish there was a cure for Parkinson's disease. But to say that embryonic stem cell research is the way to go, when it is not proven that it will help - I just feel sorry for him that he believes it will. I found this at [url="http://theanchoressonline.com/"]The Anchoress Blog[/url]:

Today we’re being treated to[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9WB_PXjTBo"] this political commercial[/url] by Michael J Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and is allowing himself to be used by Claire McCaskill’s political campaign to pull on the heartstrings (and create a sense of “moral outrage”) so as to defeat her opponant. McCaskill “shares my hope for a cure,” says Fox, while her (presumably evil) opponant apparently wants Fox to suffer. Booo…Hiss….

The video is indeed difficult to watch, and one sincerely wishes there was immediately in place a cure for Fox and his fellow sufferers. Fox believes that his cure lies in the use of Embryonic Stem Cells Research (ESCR) and puts his hope in research currently being done by using precisely those sorts of cells on Parkinson’s patients. So, [url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061022/sc_nm/stemcells_dc"]this story must have been very unwelcome, yesterday.[/url]

[i]Stem cells might cause brain tumors, study finds

Injecting human embryonic stem cells into the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients may cause tumors to form, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday.

Steven Goldman and colleagues at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York said human stem cells injected into rat brains turned into cells that looked like early tumors.

[…]Goldman’s team used human embryonic stem cells. Taken from days-old embryos, these cells can form any kind of cell in the body. This batch had been cultured in substances aimed at making them become brain cells.

[…]The animals did get better.

But the grafted cells started to show areas that no longer consisted of dopamine-releasing neurons, but of dividing cells that had the potential to give rise to tumors. The researchers killed the animals before they could know for sure, and said any experiments in humans would have to be done very cautiously. Scientists have long feared that human embryonic stem cells could turn into tumors, because of their pliability.[/i]

This is not the first time ESC research for Parkinson’s sufferers has frightened scientists and halted experimentation. As reported by the New England Journal of Medicine, and - ahem - the New York Times, the injection of ESC’s into the brains of Parkinson’s patients became nightmarish experimentations gone bad.

The dystonia and dyskinesia referred to here is more detailed in the report by the NY Times piece:

[i]Although the paper depicts the patients with side effect in impassive clinical terms, doctors who have seen them paint a much different picture. Paul. E. Greene, a neurologist at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and a researcher in the study, [emphasis mine - admin] said the uncontrollable movements some patients suffer are “absolutely devastating.”

“They chew constantly, their fingers go up and down, their wrists flex and distend,” he said. And the patients writhe and twist, jerk their heads, fling their arms about.”It was tragic, catastrophic,” Greene said. “It’s a real nightmare. And we can’t selectively turn it off.”

One man was so badly affected that he could no longer eat and had to use a feeding tube, Greene said. In another, the condition came and went unpredictably throughout the day, and when it occurred, the man’s speech was unintelligible.

For now, Greene said, his position is clear: “No more fetal transplants. We are absolutely and adamantly convinced that this should be considered for research only. And whether it should be research in people is an open question.”[/i]

In the past when I have cited this article, I have heard from supporters of ESC research that this study used not “embryonic” stem cells, but “fetal stem cells from aborted fetuses.” I know that is what the NY Times piece says, but I don’t see that in the NEJM report. Moreover, we must not forget that before a fetus is a fetus it is an embryo for 8 weeks. If these scientists got their stem cells from aborted pregnancies, they clearly were looking for embryos, and I think might be a safe presumption to say that the words “fetal” and “embryonic” were being used rather interchangably in the Times piece.

But the NEJM report clearly uses the world EMBRYONIC both in its title and throughout the study, as we see here:

[i][b]Background[/b] Transplantation of human embryonic dopamine neurons into the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease has proved beneficial in open clinical trials. However, whether this intervention would be more effective than sham surgery in a controlled trial is not known.

[b]Methods[/b] We randomly assigned 40 patients who were 34 to 75 years of age and had severe Parkinson’s disease (mean duration, 14 years) to receive a transplant of nerve cells or undergo sham surgery; all were to be followed in a double-blind manner for one year. In the transplant recipients, cultured mesencephalic tissue from four embryos was implanted into the putamen bilaterally.[/i]

So, we see that in 2001, ESCR was showing the embryonic stem cells tended to be unmanagable and, actually, too powerful, too malleable. We see in 2006 that labrats treated with the stem cells tended to show some improvement but within a short time tissue growth becomes abnormal - one might assume that the rats, which were killed, might have displayed similiar behavior as was seen in 2001, had they lived. For all the talk we hear about the “great promise” of Embryonic Stem Cells, the research doesn’t support it. Nor, apparently, does private funding.

There are, however, wonderful results being seen in various research and testing being done with the use of Adult Stem Cells (ASCR). We don’t hear very much about it, though.

The proponants of ESC research like to say obnoxious things along the lines of “Bush is against science,” and “[Talent] doesn’t want Michael J Fox to stop moving, just like the nazis on the right didn’t want Christopher Reeve to walk again!” And they like to pretend that ESC research and funding have been - or are about to be - criminalized. The truth is and always has been that scientists are free to conduct experiments using ESC, and private investors are free to fund it. All President Bush has ever said was, “the government is not going to fund it, the government is not going to help you create more ESC lines.” Booo…Hisss….

I feel badly for Michael J Fox, and for the father of my former neighbor who worked his garden while his Parkinson’s afflicted body flailed and he paced the plantings with a scissor-like walk. I felt badly for Pope John Paul II when he could no longer control his body, and I feel badly for the Rev. Billy Graham, too. I hope with all my heart that a treatment or cure can be found to alleviate such suffering. But let’s stop pretending that to be against government funding of ESCR is to be some mustachio-curling eeeevil entity who revels in human suffering, and let’s also stop pretending that Embryonic Stem Cell Research is a hotbed of medical innovation and staggering success, when precisely the opposite is true.

Michael J. Fox’s ad is affecting, I guess. And as it is showing during the World Series in St. Louis, I suppose it’s going to win the day for his candidate, but in the end, it’s not going to do much for him, personally…and it is going to allow millions of people to feel noble and compassionate when they go to the polls and pull a wholly emotional lever while being completely underinformed about the realities of the matter.

[homeschoolmom]

I saw that on C-Span last night. Silly. Poor Michael... a pawn.

I had no idea that Canadians pronounced Missouri the same way Missourians do.

[Guest T-Bone]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1100046' date='Oct 24 2006, 12:09 PM']
I had no idea that Canadians pronounced Missouri the same way Missourians do.
[/quote]



Canadians are just mid-westerners that live a bit to far north.

[franciscanheart]

How do they pronounce Missouri?

Misery? I kid. Just something that popped into my head when I was trying to figure out how it could be pronounced...

[Lil Red]

you thread hijackers!

[homeschoolmom]

I really wasn't trying to hijack. I pointed out that he pronouced it "Missourah" which I think is only common to Missouri. I think it's a veiled attempt at saying, "hey look at me! I'm one of you! This could be you or someone you love. Not just some Hollywood dude."

[Lil Red]

well, to be fair to Canadians, he hasn't lived there in many years, so I would say he's more American than Canadian.

[Guest T-Bone]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1100089' date='Oct 24 2006, 12:57 PM']
I really wasn't trying to hijack. I pointed out that he pronouced it "Missourah" which I think is only common to Missouri. I think it's a veiled attempt at saying, "hey look at me! I'm one of you! This could be you or someone you love. Not just some Hollywood dude."
[/quote]

You might not have been trying to hijack, but I realized my comment could be construed as such.

[Birgitta Noel]

1. Most of us in St. Louis pronounce it Miss-our-e, it's the folk down south who go for the Missurah bit.

2. I believe that MJF is now an American citizen.

3. Over 80% of Missourians reject cloning, but the way in which this bill is written is utterly deceiving. Go to [url="http://www.nocloning.org"]http://www.nocloning.org[/url] to read up on the deceit.

4. If this passes the MO Constitution will be amended. It's not just a bill/law. It's a CONSTITUTIONAL change which is MUCH harder to have reversed.

5. All that is needed is a simple majority, not a super majority to amend the constitution.

6. Pray for us. Many, many good people are making a decision based on false information. [url="http://www.morosarycrusade.org/"]http://www.morosarycrusade.org/[/url]



7. This week EWTN's World Over Live had a good long bit about what's going on in Missouri. The Church in MO showed a video at mass on Sunday to inform parishioners about the TRUTH of this amendment. (more info here [url="http://www.mocatholic.org/StemCell-Cloning/SCHCDex.htm)"]http://www.mocatholic.org/StemCell-Cloning/SCHCDex.htm)[/url]

Edited October 24, 2006 by The Little Way

[Lil Red]

thanks for the info, tlw!

[Jaime]

The evidence that embryonic stem cell research can help people with Parkinsons is shaky at best.

[MIKolbe]

MIT Prof: Embryonic Stem Cell Research Nowhere Close to Helping Patients
Life News ^ | 10/10/06 | Steven Ertelt


Posted on 10/10/2006 4:17:41 PM PDT by wagglebee


Canberra, Australia (LifeNews.com) -- An MIT professor says that embryonic stem cell research is nowhere close to helping patients. He said that's because scientists haven't yet figured out how to stop embryonic stem cells from causing tumors when injected into patients.

Professor James Sherley, a stem cell researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was in Australia to talk with lawmakers about why they should resist backing legislation promoting human cloning.

Sherley said that embryonic stem cells cause tumors and cancers when injected into human tissue and, as a result, they can't be used to treat patients with various diseases. He said the tumors form because embryonic stem cells have the potential to turn into various other kinds of tissues -- including the wrong ones.

“When you put them in an environment where they can grow and develop, they make lots of different kind of tissues,” Sherley said, according to a Courier Mail newspaper report.

Sherley said that the "tumor formation property is an inherent feature of the cells" and warned that the possibility of overcoming it is likely very far into the future.

"And although some might say we can solve the tumor problem down the road, that's equivalent to saying we can solve the cancer problem and we may, but that's a long time coming," he explained.

According to the Courier Mail, the MIT professor said that the tumors embryonic stem cells cause are mostly benign but they could metastasize or produce chemicals that can adversely affect parts of the body.

Sherley also said that numerous American scientists agree with his view that embryonic stem cells cause problems and are a very long way off from helping patients but that they have been reluctant to speak out due to the highly political nature of the debate and worries over losing funding for their research.

He said adult stem cells have been successful in treating patients because they don't cause tumors when injected.

University of Melbourne Emeritus Professor of Medicine Thomas Martin agreed with Sherley's concerns and told lawmakers that a previous review of the science undertaken by the Lockhart panel failed to consider the tumors issue when issuing its report.

Martin said he did not think that embryonic stem cell research would even lead to cures for major diseases such as diabetes or Parkinson's.

Martin, an internationally recognized Fellow of the Royal Society, said the embryonic stem cells produced from human cloning would have the same problems.


[url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1717112/posts"]SOURCE[/url]

[Ash Wednesday]

This reminds me of that movie, Extreme Measures, with Hugh Grant where he was investigating some underground research operation where medical experimentation was being done on transients and street bums. The basic message of the movie emphasized the importance of ethics in medicine, that there is a right way and a wrong way to help people.

Someone made a wry joke once, that "Bush killed Superman" -- they were being sarcastic, of course -- basically making fun of the same bogus idea that just because someone doesn't support embryonic stem cell research (or wants in limited, in Bush's case) then they don't want to see people like MJF get well or wouldn't have wanted Christopher Reeve to walk again.

It seems that they use this just for leverage with the abortion agenda, really. Why else would they make such a fuss about something that is scientifically shaky to begin with?

Edited October 24, 2006 by Ash Wednesday

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='hot stuff' post='1100171' date='Oct 24 2006, 04:31 PM']
The evidence that embryonic stem cell research can help people with Parkinsons is shaky at best.
[/quote]
That will earn you extra time in purgatory. You're bad.

[Matty_boy]

YouTube just posted the response to Michael J Fox's ad. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nguJQ_dRPXw"]New video starring Jim Caviezel[/url] to air tonight!