Source: Clive Cookson, The Financial Times, June 24 2009.The discovery of stem cells only occurred ten years ago, but there are huge, probably excessive expectations of their medical importance and the speed with which stem cell therapies will enter clinical practice.
The Bush administration crippled embryonic stem cell research, but several years ago researchers discovered means to turn the stem cells of adults into a pluripotent form. Research is under way now to discover whether these induced pluripotent stem cells are true equivaltents of embryonic stem cells, or if not in which ways they differ.
The Obama administration has complied with a campaign promise and reduced restrictions on government funding of embryonic stem cell funding, but this article holds that states that have established embryonic stem cell research funding initiatives should continue to fund stem cell research since the new administration still has some restrictions.
Interestingly, much of the current research funding has been generated in response to advocacy groups and focuses on the public service aspect of stem cell research, although the pharmaceutical industry is now entering the field with profits in mind.
The first human clinical trials are about to be authorized in the United States. However. although the article does not say so, some hospitals in other countries are already offering (unproven) stem cell therapies.
Other approaches will be forthcoming, including drugs intended to increase the effectiveness of the patient's own stem cells in combating disease and disability.
No comments:
Post a Comment