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Posted on 08/05/2005 8:13:00 AM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists looking for easier and less-controversial alternatives to stem cells from human embryos said on Friday they found a potential source in placentas saved during childbirth.
They described primitive cells found in a part of the placenta called the amnion, which they coaxed into forming a variety of cell types and which look very similar to sought-after embryonic stem cells.
With 4 million children born in the United States each year, placentas could provide a ready source of the cells, the team at the University of Pittsburgh said.
It is not yet certain that the cells they found are true stem cells, said Stephen Strom, who worked on the study. But they carry two important genes, called Oct 4 and nanog, which so far have only been seen on embryonic stem cells.
"We were just blown away when we found those two genes expressed in those cells," Strom said in a telephone interview.
"The presence of these two genes suggests these cells are pluripotent, which means they should be able to form any cell type in the body."
Stem cells are the body's master cells. So-called adult stem cells are found in the tissue and blood are a source for renewing cells.
Embryonic stem cells are found in days-old embryos. While powerful, their use is controversial because some people, President Bush among them, believe destroying an embryo is immoral and unethical.
Supporters of embryonic stem-cell research say it may provide an important path to a new field called regenerative medicine, in which diseases ranging from juvenile diabetes to paralysis could be cured using transplants of carefully cultivated stem cells.
There are moves in Congress to expand funding of embryonic stem cell research, in case it proves to be the best way forward, but also counter-measures to further restrict it.
GETTING AROUND POLITICS
Mindful of the controversy, Strom's team looked for other sources of stem cells.
"We looked and we found them. The politics is important," Strom said.
Writing in the journal Stem Cells, Strom and colleagues said they looked in a part of the placenta called the amnion -- the outer membrane of the amniotic sac.
The placenta is the interface between mother and fetus during gestation, and is produced by the embryo. The embryo and later fetus floats inside the sac of amniotic fluid.
Other teams of researchers, notably Dr. Anthony Atala of Wake Forest University in North Carolina, have found stem cells resembling embryonic cells in amniotic fluid, but research is still early and it is not known how useful those would be.
Strom says his cells are different are different from the ones the Wake Forest team found, and they may not be true stem cells because they did not form tumors in his experiments, as a true stem cell would.
Strom said the cells he worked with also do not appear to be immortal, meaning they die out after a while in the lab, unlike true stem cells.
Strom's team tested the cells in lab dishes, incubating them in various compounds, and got them to form into what looked like heart cells, nerve cells, liver cells and pancreatic cells.
Strom's lab works specifically on liver transplants and he hopes to develop the cells to use them instead of donated liver. Pancreatic cells would be important because they could be used to treat diabetes.
The university has licensed the technology to a company called Stemnion, LLC, and the researchers are shareholders and will receive license fees as part of the agreement.
fascinating
Congress will produce a bill aimed at this source, soon I think.
If Senator Frist's plan to provide federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research that uses discarded embryos from artificial insemination, then no scientist would waste a second trying to develop pluripotent stem cells from placentas. Thus, Frist would ensure that embryos will be unnecessarily destroyed in the name of science. All true pro-lifers should oppose Frist's plan and support President Bush's position on embryonic stem-cell research.
I'd like to see more federal funding for placental stem cell research and research on converting adult stem cells into plurimpotent stem cells. While I prefer a limited federal government, it seems to me that there is a role for helping bring about cures to diseases that affect millions of Americans, especially if that federal role would help prevent the detruction of human life.
Father, Please show Your Will & Your Plan for every unborn-baby's life to Senator Bill Frist.
Father, Please show Your Will & Your Plan for every unborn-baby's life to Senator Bill Frist.
Most medical research results in improved rates of curing disease, rather that 100% cures -- just like antibiotics. And even more importantly, research has made a lot of deadly conditions preventable. For starters, colon cancer. Curing it once it's beyond the early stages is still difficult, but it is now 100% preventable, if you can be bothered to go in for a simple scoping every few years. Spina bifida (and the more severe neural tube defects, such as anencephaly) are now almost entirely preventable. While a few women seem to have some unusual defect which allows these devastating conditions to develop even when they have ample folic acid intake, the vast majority of cases have become preventable -- first by taking a simple vitamin pill daily, BEFORE becoming pregnant, and now, for the women who don't have their acts together enough to manage even that, folic acid has fairly recently started to be added to common foods, so that even a woman living on Twinkies and potatp chips is now getting plenty of folic acid. Another prevention on the horizon is cervical cancer, over 99% of which is caused by the endemic human papilloma virus (HPV). An HPV vaccine is already in human trials, and having tremendous success.
Medical research has produced amazing progress in length and quality of life, especially for people who can be bothered to take advantage of the simple preventive and screening measures that are now available. It's silly to imagine that one day we'll open up the newspaper and see a headline proclaiming "The Cure for Cancer has been Found!", notwithstanding the simplistic scenarios suggested by fundraising hucksters like Jerry Lewis. It doesn't work that way; it works incrementally, but still improves and saves hundreds of millions of lives.
I happen to know for sure, that the placentas were being saved at the hospital in California where my son was born in in 1964. I was shown the freezer where they were kept, and my husband asked why the person who "donated" the placenta was not reimbursed for it's value? And no answer was given.
That was almost 40 years ago, so I do know that much time has passed since then, so why have we not learned more what embronic stem cells can really do? I have no answer.
Very encouraging.
However, I predict that this will NOT reduce the call for embryonic stem cells. Why? Because the call for embryonic stem cells is simply an excuse for abortion.
This is why they continue to IGNORE the successes of adult stem cells, and to IGNORE the gross malformations and failures resulting from embryonic ones.
Whether the choice is (A) destroying unborn human beings for convenience or (B) gruesome harvesting of their body parts, make no mistake -- this is about continuing the culture of death.
Finding cures goes against the self-interests of the researchers and doctors. Why would they want to put themselves and their multi-billion dollar "health care" empire out of work? I have zero trust or confidence in the medical field from research to care. (But that's just me)
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And the lack of tumors is a bad thing???
Interesting ... but it looks like just a "hope" again. The title is misleading.
GOVERNMENTSHRINKER WROTE: "It's silly to imagine that one day we'll open up the newspaper and see a headline proclaiming "The Cure for Cancer has been Found!", notwithstanding the simplistic scenarios suggested by fundraising hucksters like Jerry Lewis."
About three years ago, my 86 year old Mom was diagnosed with "smoldering" Multiple Myeloma. Her cancer marker numbers were increasing by 50% every time she went in. We found out about a product called PolyMVA and her cancer marker numbers DECREASED by more than 50% within a couple of months---and have STAYED down ever since.
PolyMVA is not a "cure," but it REVERSES cancer and keeps it in check. It is not cheap, but it has come WAY down since my Mom started taking it---I'm sure because of word of mouth about how fantastically well it works. And fortunately, the biggest expense is short lived because you can begin to taper off to a maintenance level (1/4th of the original amount) after a fairly short period of time.
BTW, I have NO ownership in the product, and in fact, would like to make a grant to the company in the foreseeable future, for people who cannot afford it.
I believe the first website below is run by thankful people who have been using PolyMVA and the second is the company's official website:
http://www.polymvacancersurvivors.com/information/comparison.php
http://www.polyMVA.com
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