Multiple Sclerosis Advancements with Non-Embryonic Stem Cells

Once again, we have news of medical advancements as the result of the use of NON-embryonic stem cells, and this time it's news that hits a personal note for me. Scientists have been able to stabilize or reverse Multiple Sclerosis using haemopoeitic stem cells harvested from the patient's own bone marrow. It essentially allows them to reset the immune system by removing the white blood cells that are attacking the myelin coating around the nerves and using the stem cells to create new white blood cells. While it's not the first time this has been done, it's the first time they've done it in patients with Relapsing-Remitting MS that have only had the disease for a relatively short period of time (about five years or so).

I'm excited about this news because so much progress is being made right now in treating this disease, and doubly so because this is yet another example of medical advancements being achieved using non-embryonic stem cells. The fact remains as well that in over ten years of research now, there is not a single approved treatment or human trial using embryonic stem cells. There are literally dozens upon dozens of therapies and and cures that have been developed using non-embryonic stem cells, including things like bone marrow transplants for leukemia patients. Despite what the media would have you believe, there IS embryonic stem cell research being done...it's simply not federally funded. All the research that has been done thusfar has not produced a single cure or therapy, yet some insist we must ignore ethical concerns about an embryo being a human life and use tax money taken from taxpayers who DO have those ethical concerns to fund further research in a field that has thusfar produced absolutely nothing.

It's ironic that these people have no qualms about destroying life in the name of preserving it.

Stem Cell Cure for Diabetics

Another medical breakthrough has been made with the aid of stem cells, and once again it involves the non-embryonic variety!

Thirteen out of the fifteen people who participated in this trial, which utilizes stem cells drawn from their own blood, no longer have to endure daily insulin shots to control their Type 1 diabetes. The results of the trial have scientists very optimistic about the possiblity of a "cure" for Type 1 diabetes in the next decade.

Of course, the article still laments the opposition to embryonic stem cell research by implying that we are missing out on so many major cures because we choose the ethical path of preserving life. By the rationale being used, we should start conducting medical trials on the comatose, invalids, etc since humans are the best and most accurate test subjects for developing cures for human diseases, right?

Still, this trial stands as yet another example of medical advancements from stem cell research that does not depend on the destruction of life.

Another Stem Cell Breakthrough

A British team has announced that they successfully grew a human heart valve using stem cells. Trials will begin soon with animals to test the viability of the valves, and if all goes well they could begin work on using these valves for the thousands of patients out there with valve-related heart problems.

What equally interests me in this article is what is glossed over: the fact that once again scientific breakthroughs have been made using non-embryonic stem cells. To date, all the major advancements derived from stem cells have been using non-embryonic stem cells, and new advancements are constantly being made.

This latest advancement simply reinforces the fact that we can continue to use ethical science (that does not rely upon conceived human beings as cell farms) to improve our health and quality of life.