Stem cells responsible for medical discoveries and ethics controversy

President Bush's recent decision to support stem cell research with federal funding raises hopes for many cures of fatal diseases.

Stem cells are derived from embryos. They have the ability to specialize into any tissue cells in the body, such as muscle, skin and brain cells.

Scientists invest great hopes in the stem cell's ability to aid cures for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The president would allow limited federal funding of research using the 60 strains of existing stem cell lines as of Aug. 9, 2001. President Bush said, "I have made this decision with great care, and I pray that it is the right one."

Recently scientists at the University of Wisconsion developed blood cells from stem cells. This discovery may lead to future treatments for blood disorders such as leukemia and lymphoma.

Dan Kaufman, a hematologist and the lead author of the Wisconsion study said, "This is a way to start heading down that road, and it's a beginning stage, it's an early stage. We don't have cells yet that we're going to use to treat patients, but this shows that the potential is there one day."

Dr. Douglas Kerr, a stem cell researcher at the Department of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University comments on this new discovery as "the Holy Grail."

"As is, undifferentiated, naive embryonic stem cells don't have a therapeutic use. They are too dangerous," Kerr said. "However, if we learn to appropriately shunt them down toward a particular cell lineage, then we have the potential to treat a wide variety of diseases, and that's really an important next step."

"All of us stand today at the precipice of a new era, where science holds the promise of curing the most devastating diseases," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

"The thoughtful and deliberate decision that our administration made will support policies that preserve and support the sanctity of life, while allowing human embryonic stem cell research to proceed," continued Thompson.

Last month, researchers in Melbourne, Australia generated stem cells from mouse brain cells. "The experience has been, and it makes logical sense, that the adult cells have some capacity of turning themselves into something else; but they are not as good at it as embryonic stem cells," said Professor Hugo Moser, the head of the Neurology and Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University.

Researchers question Bush?s decision to limit research to the existing stem cell lines over concerns they had about the robustness of the existing lines.

"A key statement by the president related to 60 stem cell lines, now expanded to 64," said Sen. Arlen Specter. "But in the intervening several weeks, it has become apparent that many of those are not really viable or robust or usable."

Due to the time it takes for stem cell lines to develop, it is estimated that only 24 or 25 cells lines are currently available to scientists for research.

Some sectors of the scientific community argue that President Bush?s decision to limit research to existing cell lines will severely hamper broader research goals.

Panel Chairman Ted Kennedy said, "Many in the scientific community are concerned that the president's decision will delay development of cures for dread disease for many years, at the cost of countless lives and immeasurable suffering,"

Some scientists are pursuing stem cell research utilizing private funding as a means to circumvent Bush?s decree. Harvard professor Douglas Melton, supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has worked out a two year agreement with Boston IVF, to get embryos, and with funding from Harvard, plans to make these embryos available to other scientists.

Perry Bartlett, the head of the neurobiology group at the Melbourne based institute, and his colleagues developed a technique that enables them to obtain 80% of the stem cells as opposed to the 5% effective rate of previous methods.

As of August 10, 2001, a poll with a sample error of +/- 3% consisting of 1,017 adult Americans shows that 60% approve, 34% disapprove, and 6 % is unsure of stem cell research.