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Get facts right on stem cells

http://www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0032694.cfm

Dear Sirs:
I am a senior research scientist and physician who is a tenured Professor at the University of Pittsburgh

 who has given major presentations on stem cell research and cloning.   I can give you volumes of details,

but think that it is important to pass on these points to the people helping develop the Republican response
strategy.

1) Human embryonic stem cells are WORSE than adult stem cells

a. They must be differentiated before they are of any clinical value(e.g. forced to move toward adult stem cells).  IF this is not done the cells will act like a cancer (teratoma)

b. Stem cells from a donor (including embryos) will be recognized as an invader by the recipients immune system an be wiped out unlessthe recipients immune system is suppressed (as after an organ
transplant)

2) Adult human stem cells are BETTER than previously thought
a. They can be transdifferentated (e.g. liver stem cells can be used to make pancreatic cells to fight diabetes), and are much moreflexible than was previously assumed.
b. There is no problem with tissue rejection

3) Limitations:
a. We do not know the best source of adult stem cells for each problem (e.g. bone marrow vs. liver, etc)
b. Human embryonic stem cell collection requires the destruction of
a human embryo – which raises MORAL issues (fundamental principles of right and wrong conduct that are not based on laws or customs)
c. Ethics (which govern rules of conduct that govern a particular class of human actions) is of limited value in this debate because there is no consensus on the “rules”


The president should consider the following position:
1) Stem cell research offers major hope
2) Medical Research must be strongly supported
3) A persons own bone marrow or liver stem cells offer all of the
advantages of embryonic stem cells but do not require the death of a
human embryo and do not require life-long concerns of tissue
rejection and need for immune system suppression.

4) The charges of the Kerry campaign are misguided, distorted and politically motivated.  They are NOT based on the best interest of either the recipient or the donor.

Glad to help in any way that I can.

David C Whitcomb MD PhD FACP FACG
Professor of Medicine, Cell Biology &Physiology, and Human Genetics
Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
University of Pittsburgh
David C. Whitcomb, M.D., Ph.D. 

• Christian Doctors Group Urges Congress to Invest in Adult Stem Cells

  by Steven Ertelt - LifeNews.com Editor - July 30, 2004
  
  Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- When Ron Reagan used a Democratic convention speech to call for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, he failed to mention what many scientists feel is a more effective method to help cure or reduce the effects of debilitating diseases -- adult stem cell research.

  That's why a group of Christian doctors is calling on Congress to fund research involving the use of adult stem cells.

  Over 2,000 doctors who are members of the Christian Medical Assoication signed a letter sent to members of Congress on Friday, "urging investment in adult stem cell research that is already providing therapies for patients."

  "As the nation's largest faith-based organization of physicians, we have a vested interest in such research because we care for patients every day who desperately need cures that might arise from regenerative medicine," explains CMA director Dr. David Stevens.

  The CMA letter noted that human embryonic stem cells have proven difficult to develop and maintain, are unstable and mutate in culture, often act abnormally and tend to form cancerous tumors.

  It also focused on the successes adult stem cells have had in clinical trials.

  "Verified accomplishments of adult (non-embryonic) stem cell research are already providing hope and therapy for patients suffering from heart muscle injury, diabetes and brain damage from stroke--with realistic promise for treating other diseases on the horizon," the CMA doctors wrote.

  Stevens said members of his group "reviewed the literature over the last three years since President Bush's policy was initialized and have found that he made the right choice."

  "The government needs to put taxpayers' money into ethical research that will get us the most affordable cures for our patients in the quickest time," Stevens said.

  Stevens said that the kind of unproven research Reagan called for would exploit women.

  "Cloning human beings for stem cells--as Ron Reagan, Jr. urged in his convention speech Tuesday--would produce abnormal embryonic stem cells while exploiting women to gain the millions of human eggs needed for human cloning," Stevens explained.

  Related web site:
  CMA letter - http://www.cmdahome.org/index.cgi?CONTEXT=art&art=2704
  Christian Medical Association - http://www.cmdahome.org

  Embryonic Stem Cell Research Won't Help Alzheimer's Patients Soon

  Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- Ron Reagan will talk about the supposed benefits of embryonic stem cell research tonight at the Democratic convention, but leading Alzheimer's researchers say the destructive research is nowhere close to helping patients, like Reagan's father, afflicted by the debilitating disease. President Ronald Reagan suffered for at least ten years with Alzheimer's, and his son will say that President George W. Bush's limits of taxpayer funding of embryonic research is limiting scientific progress. However, because Alzheimer's is not a disease involving one type of cell, one scientist says the use of embryonic stem cells is unlikely to have much effect. "Alzheimer's is a more global disease, with an effect on numerous kinds of cells," Steve Stice, a stem cell researcher at the University of Georgia, said. "That makes it much more difficult for a cell therapy to be effective."
  http://www.lifenews.com/bio402.html
   
• Pro-infanticide prof awarded ethics prize - Princeton's Peter Singer advocates killing disabled after birth
  WorldNetDaily (www.wnd.com) Posted July 12,2003
  
  A controversial professor who advocates killing the disabled up to 28 days after birth, has been honored with an international ethics award. Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton University, has been given the 2003 World Technology Award for Ethics by the World Technology Network.
  
  Singer also is known for launching the modern animal rights movement with his 1975 book "Animal Liberation," which argues against "speciesism." Singer insists animals should be accorded the same value as humans and should not be discriminated against because they belong to a non-human species.
  
  For the complete article:  http://www.wnd.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33531