Frist’s Stem Cell Reversal Will Someday Save Lives

The recent decision of Senate Republican leader Bill Frist to support a bill to expand federal financing of embryonic stem cell research is a very welcome development to bring potential new treatment for sufferers of such degenerative genetic diseases as Alzheimer’s, diabetes and Parkinson’s.

Many have been arguing for using adult stem cells instead of embryonic stem cells for such treatment of genetic disease; however, the limitations of adult stem cells are many.

Adult stem cells are already differentiated and programmed for a specific function (for example, a cultured skin graft can be used only to repair the damaged skin of the donor). Such cells are already mature and do not grow efficiently for long periods of time. Furthermore, adult stem cells from a damaged heart or an Alzheimer patient have already lost their functions and cannot be regenerated easily.

However, unused embryonic stem cells from a fertility clinic or an egg cell receiving a transferred nucleus (analogous to germinating seeds) have the potential to differentiate into a wide variety of different functional cell types that could potentially be used for treatment of many different diseases.

Embryonic stem cells also multiply efficiently and can be maintained for a long time. It is very encouraging to note that there has been some success with stem cell therapy in treatment of diabetes with insulin producing cells, regenerating heart tissue with adult heart stem cells, treatment of certain cancers with bone marrow cells and immune disorders with umbilical cord cells.

It should be noted that unlike the wonder drug penicillin (an antibiotic) for general treatment of most bacterial infectious diseases, stem cell therapy (such as an organ transplant) would be very complex and tailor made for each patient with a specific degenerative disease.

It has also been suggested that instead of new stem cells, already existing “research stem cell lines” could be used for the treatment of patients. Such a proposition is unfounded. Research stem cells are just that, for research only. They are programmed for gaining specific knowledge of interest to that particular investigator, and are not matched to any particular patient for a specific remedy. Furthermore, the growth potential of research cell lines is limited.

For certain, the stem cell controversy will pass some day, like the very first heart transplant controversy more than 30 years ago. (Now tens of thousands of patients are benefiting each year from a variety of organ transplants.)

The question becomes, can progress be made soon enough for the long living Baby Boomer generation? The question is even more relevant to our students and younger generation. The next generation will carry the baggage of our genetic risk factors and live longer with more stressful and riskier life styles.

In schools and colleges students learn about various human diseases and problems. At the same time they are receiving mixed messages from our political and religious leaders and many parental groups for not encouraging them to focus their intellects on stem cell research to cure dreadful genetic diseases like Alzheimer’s, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson’s.

The role of political leaders should be to lead the nation by encouraging and challenging the scientific community to find solutions for complex diseases through new frontiers of research and technology — to expand, not limit, human intellect.

Instead of destroying unused embryonic stem cells, after storage for a period of time, it is highly desirable to utilize their enormous potential to gain knowledge through research and apply that knowledge to prolong and enhance the quality of human lives through appropriate stem cell therapy.

It is hoped that Sen. Frist’s declaration of “principle over politics” will energize the medical community and encourage scientists and future generation of investigators to make rapid progress in various areas of stem cell research and apply that knowledge to the development of therapies.

J.K. Bhattacharjee

Gary R. Janssen

Miami University

Oxford, Ohio