Does anyone know of stem cell research on CP My son was smart enough
to get the stem cells from Case's older brother Max. It cost a lot to
save them and in this country we can do nothing but if there is a
break through Case will have stem cells that can possibly help him.
He would have gotten Case's as well but because of the prematurity
the hospital was not set up for it. Hooray for Israel, not bending to
the anti intellectualism of this country.
At 04:15 AM 9/3/2006, you wrote:
>http://www.forward.com/articles/israel-leads-the-way-on-stem-cells/
>
>Israel Leads the Way on Stem Cells
>How the Jewish state became the world's stem-cell capital
>
>Joshua Yaffa | Fri. August 25, 2006
>For people who suffer from familial dysautonomia (FD), hope recently
>came in the
>form of an Israeli chicken egg.
>
>
>In 2001, a team led by Bar-Ilan University professor Ron Goldstein implanted
>human embryonic stem cells into chicken embryos to study the early stages of
>normal cellular development.
>
>Now, Goldstein is using embryonic stem cells to create FD-carrying human nerve
>cells in an attempt to better understand how the degenerative genetic disease
>works and to test possible treatments.
>
>"Once we can produce FD-infected nerve tissue in a petri dish, we will have a
>model to understand what is happening on a molecular level,"
>Goldstein told the
>Forward. "And this model could also be used to test new drug therapies for the
>disease."
>
>Familial dysautonomia is a degenerative disease of the peripheral
>nervous system
>- the nerves and neurons outside the central nervous system - that is found
>exclusively among Ashkenazic Jews. People who suffer from dysautonomia have
>difficulty swallowing and regulating such involuntary responses as body
>temperature and blood pressure.
>
>Embryonic stem cells are particularly useful for advanced FD research, because
>of their pluripotent nature, which means they can proliferate indefinitely and
>develop into virtually any cell type. Essentially they are a "blank slate,"
>Goldstein said. These unique traits also make stem cells an
>attractive resource
>for medical researchers studying other, more common degenerative diseases such
>as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
>
>But because days-old human embryos are destroyed in this process, various
>religious and pro-life groups have opposed the research. In July,
>President Bush
>vetoed a bill designed to award federal funding for embryonic stem-cell
>research.
>
>Unlike some branches of Christianity, Judaism places no theological
>restrictions
>on research work with embryonic stem cells. While experimental work has slowed
>in the United States, scientists such as Goldstein have flourished
>in Israel in
>recent years.
>
>"According to how Jewish tradition understands the fetus in utero, until the
>40th day it is 'like water,'" explained Rabbi Elliot Dorff, professor at the
>University of Judaism and author of "Stem Cell Research," a rabbinic edict
>approved by The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. From the 41st day
>onward, Jewish tradition considers a fetus "like the thigh of its mother," and
>therefore a full human being. Stem cells are harvested from embryos within 14
>days of gestation, so there is no theological prohibition against
>their medical
>use according to the Conservative movement.
>
>"The Jewish religion would consider it far better to use [embryonic
>stem cells]
>for cures than to simply throw them away," Dorff said, citing the talmudic
>concept of saving a life in jeopardy, pikuach nefesh.
>
>A wide range of Jewish organizations, including Hadassah, the
>Orthodox Union and
>B'nai B'rith International have pushed for increased domestic funding for
>stem-cell research. The chief officer of medical ethics at the Israeli Health
>Ministry, Rabbi Mordechai Halperin, said everyone agrees that using stem cells
>to research potential medical cures is permissible. "If Jews have ever been in
>complete agreement on anything, then this issue is it," Dorff said.
>
>With no religious or legal restrictions on using stem cells for scientific
>purposes, Israel has emerged as a leading center. According to a recent study
>published in the magazine The Scientist, Israeli researchers, per capita, are
>the world's most prolific authors of articles in scientific journals on stem
>cells. The United States is number six on the list. State research
>centers such
>as Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center and Haifa's Rambam Medical Center have
>emerged as global leaders in advanced stem- cell research.
>
>"The big difference is, here you can get governmental money," Goldstein said,
>noting that the National Institutes of Health would not have approved funding
>for his earlier stem-cell experiments.
>
>Medical advocacy groups in the United States, like the New York-based Familial
>Dysautonomia Foundation, are acutely aware of both the promise of Goldstein's
>research and the difficulty in supporting such work domestically.
>"The best work
>we could have done was in Israel," said David Brenner, president of the FD
>Foundation. The foundation gave Goldstein a $200,000 grant.
>
>"U.S. labs couldn't take our money for work on embryonic stem cells
>if they also
>receive money from the government," Brenner said.
>
>To circumvent these restrictions, however, private groups such as the $100
>million Harvard Stem Cell Institute are forming to create an
>alternative funding
>stream for stem-cell projects in the United States.
>
>"We [Israelis] had a little bit of head start," Goldstein acknowledged, but "I
>think more and more we will lose our edge."
>
>Goldstein cautioned that more advanced treatments - like using stem cells to
>grow functioning nerve cells to replace those that did not develop properly in
>FD patients - are not yet on the medical horizon. "People may think that stem-
>cell replacement therapy is right around the corner, but it's not," Goldstein
>said. "It may not be five or even 10 years away."
>
>But Goldstein does hope that his six-person team will have the ability to test
>human neurons with FD within the next couple of years. "Mostly the issue is
>raising funds," he said, echoing a common sentiment in the stem-cell research
>community.
>
>Dorff, who authored the book "Matters of Life and Death: A Jewish Approach to
>Modern Medical Ethics," suggested that it is no accident Israelis have emerged
>at the forefront of stem-cell research.
>
>"Judaism is unique among the religions of the world in the emphasis
>it places on
>medical research," he said. "Our theology portrays the doctor as the
>partner and
>agent of God in the ongoing act of healing."
>
>Fri. August 25, 2006
>
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