Albany Times Union
Feb. 18, 2007
OP/ED
Spitzer shows leadership in stem cell research
By SUSAN SOLOMON
First published: Sunday, February 18, 2007
Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed budget includes $100 million to o jump-start stem cell research and other cutting-edge science in New York. This represents a historic first step in what can and should be a concerted effort to make the state a critical center of stem-cell research. The key to this ambitious effort will be embracing an effective private-public partnership. The results could be stunning, both in their clinical implications and their economic impact.
Stem-cell science -- human embryonic stem cell research, in particular -- represents the most important and promising area of scientific endeavor in the effort to help the millions of Americans affected by the worst diseases of our time.
Equally promising is a cutting-edge technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer, in which the DNA of an unfertilized, unimplanted egg is replaced with the genetic material from a donor. The donor's DNA can be obtained, for example, from a simple skin biopsy. If the patient has a particular disease, such as diabetes or Parkinson's, this technique allows for the creation of disease-specific embryonic stem cell lines. These lines could allow scientists to "reverse engineer" diseases and greatly improve our understanding of how they develop and affect the body -- knowledge that is key to developing better treatments and cures.
State money will serve as a tremendous force in moving stem cell science forward far more rapidly, but it will not provide a total solution to the urgent need for funding. Private philanthropy will continue to play a critical role by creating cutting-edge research programs, helping to establish proof of concept and getting them off the ground.
Private funding can be nimble in a way that even the most enlightened government agency cannot. It can be the catalyst, starting programs that can then be scaled up with the benefit of an infusion of government funding. In addition, private funding sources are able to support research programs the government cannot or will not fund.
The combination of public and private dollars focused on the most advanced scientific research has the potential to be enormously powerful. We are poised to create a fertile environment in New York for the world's best scientists and, in the process, provide a significant economic boost to regions in dire need of new industry. Governor Spitzer has planted a flag in the name of scientific and fiscal progress. All New Yorkers affected by disease and disability must show their support for his bold plan.
Right now, there are scientists engaged in human embryonic stem cell research here in New York. They, like their colleagues in places like Boston and San Francisco, have their hands tied by a federal policy that has eliminated government funding for this work, with the exception of research using a few approved stem cell lines that were created using outdated techniques. We are losing a generation of scientists. Young men and women coming out of medical school and doctorate programs have no incentive to pursue stem cell research, despite the fact human embryonic cell research offers the greatest hope for medical advances in our time.
The initial funding proposed by Governor Spitzer -- envisioned as the first element of a larger $2.1 billion state effort to drive stem cell and other innovative research -- sends a clear message to young people here and around the world that advanced scientific research is vital, that we, as a society, believe in it, and that New York is a place where they can forge a career using scientific knowledge for the betterment of humankind.
Susan Solomon is the CEO and co-founder of the New York Stem Cell Research Foundation.
The study, reported on-line by Science Express today, suggests that the mutant gene, MECP2, can successfully be replaced. Healthy genes were administered to mice bred to be born with the Rett syndrome gene.
Researcher Professor Adrian Bird, of Edinburgh University, Scotland, said: "Like many other people, we expected that giving MeCP2 to mice that were already sick would not work. "The idea that you could put back an essential component after the damage to the brain is done and recover an apparently normal mouse seemed farfetched, as nerve cells that developed in the absence of a key component were assumed to be irrevocably damaged. "The results are gratifyingly clear, though, and must give hope to those who are affected by this distressing disorder."
The four week treatment eradicated tremors, restored breathing to normal and restored mobility and steady gait to the animals.
http://NL8287.celltherapynews.com
Statewide Coalition of Health Advocacy, Academic and Citizens’ Groups Lauds Spitzer-Paterson Administration on Proposed Funding of Stem-Cell Research
New York, January 31 – New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical Research (NYAMR) applauds Governor Eliot Spitzer and Lieutenant-Governor David Paterson on their proposal to include significant funding for regenerative medicine, including research involving stem cells, in the Executive Budget for the fiscal year that begins April 1.
“This proposal represents faithful and forthright delivery on an important campaign promise,” said Robin Elliott, Chair of NYAMR and Executive Director of the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. “New Yorkers – all of us, but especially those of us who live with disabling diseases that may benefit from state-sponsored research on stem cells and related issues – are grateful for this, and we congratulate our new leaders.”
As a statewide coalition of 46 health-advocacy groups, academic research centers and citizens’ organizations, NYAMR is committed to ensuring that the Administration’s proposal succeeds in the Legislature and is passed into law, permitting funds to flow to support some of the best ideas in potentially life-saving scientific research.
Political confrontation in Buffalo church for NY lawmaker
Newsday
January 24, 2007, 2:14 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Buffalo congressman Brian Higgins walked out of a Catholic church service Sunday after a deacon berated him during a sermon for the lawmaker's recent vote supporting stem cell research. The public tongue-lashing came during morning Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic church, where deacon Tom McDonnell criticized the Democratic lawmaker. Higgins, who was baptized and married in that church, walked out with his wife and son.
"Leaving was the appropriate thing to do," the two-term lawmaker said Wednesday, adding that he apologized "to the good people of St. Thomas Aquinas for their having been subjected to this whole, unfortunate and avoidable mess... Those people deserved much better."
The pastor of the church, the Rev. Art Smith, offered an apology from the pulpit after the congressman left, the Buffalo News reported in Wednesday's editions. Higgins was criticized by McDonnell for voting earlier this month for a bill that would allow federal funding for research involving stem cell lines derived from surplus embryos created in fertility clinics.
www.newsday.com
Anti-abortion group says cleric ‘did his job’
By MARK SOMMER
News Staff Reporter
1/25/2007
The Buffalo Regional Right to Life Committee on Wednesday hailed a deacon who criticized Rep. Brian Higgins during Sunday Mass in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. Deacon Tom McDonnell’s rebuke of the Buffalo Democrat for voting for federal funding for embryonic stem cell research led Higgins to walk out of the church during his sermon.
“God bless the deacon a thousand times. He did his job. If every bishop, every clergy member of all faiths did their jobs, we wouldn’t have the shedding of innocent life in our country,” said Stacey Vogel of the Buffalo Regional Right to Life Committee. The anti-abortion group’s position was in stark contrast with the phone calls and e-mails at Higgins’ Buffalo and Washington offices, which were running in his favor by a nearly 4 to 1 ratio, according to a staff member.
Higgins said his relationship with St. Thomas Aquinas Church, where he was baptized and married, is “very deep, very meaningful and very long.” He apologized earlier for the congregation’s having to be subjected to criticism of him during the morning Mass. “The lesson here is that the Catholic Church has enough problems and should take greater care before allowing nonpriests to use the church as a forum to advance what clearly was a political agenda,” Higgins said. “I think the letters and e-mails speak for themselves and show the inconsistencies in what the church leaders have said,” he added. One of the callers to his office, Marie Fitzgerald, a 45-year member of St. Thomas Aquinas parish, told The Buffalo News she was appalled by what happened.
“I think it was terrible the way [the Mass] was done. It’s an embarrassment to Brian and to a lot of a parishioners who were there,” Fitzgerald said. She said she held the Rev. Art Smith, the church’s pastor, partly responsible. “I think he’s the boss, and I think he should have put a stop to it,” Fitzgerald said. She also said McDonnell owes the congregation an apology. “I think he should make a public apology to all of us and to Brian in particular,” Fitzgerald said. Vogel said she did not understand why anyone would be rallying to the congressman’s side. “You shouldn’t care so much about Brian’s feelings so much as Brian’s salvation,” Vogel said. She also said the clergy owed McDonnell an apology for any criticism of him for “doing his duty” and said her committee would be giving him an award at its fall dinner.
The researchers, Professor Thompson and Dr. Radboud Duintjer Tebbens, a research associate at HSPH, estimated the costs and the effectiveness of historical polio vaccination strategies. They found that the U.S. invested over $35 billion between 1955 and 2005 and will continue to invest billions into the future to pay for polio vaccination. They estimated that these historical and future investments translate into over 1.7 billion vaccinations that prevent approximately 1.1 million cases of paralytic polio and over 160,000 deaths, thus saving Americans hundreds of billions of dollars in treatment costs.http://tinyurl.com/ynu3qt
The House voted to expand government-financed embryonic stem cell research Thursday, but for the second time in two years lawmakers were unable to muster enough votes to overcome a promised presidential veto. Still, the 253-174 vote was a high watermark in the stem cell debate, drawing advocates closer to the two-thirds vote threshold needed to override President Bush's objections.With stem cells offering hope for major health care cures, lawmakers on both sides of the issue punctuated the debate with poignant personal stories and clashed over the ethics of the science. Addressing "those who do not have the will to stand up against a presidential veto," freshman Rep. Zach Space, D-Ohio, described his 16-year-old son's battle against juvenile diabetes and wondered aloud what awaited him as an adult. "This research represents the only meaningful hope for a cure in my son's lifetime," Space said.
Embryonic stem cells hold the promise of medical breakthroughs because they have the ability to become any tissue in the body. But the research typically involves the destruction of frozen embryos created for in vitro fertilization, a step that stirs passions over the beginning of life.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., blind in one eye, said she would benefit from stem cell science to replace a detached retina. But she said the federal government should emphasize research into adult stem cells, not those derived from embryos. "Killing human life does not have to be accomplished to create efficacious treatment for people and diseases," she said.
The legislation would lift Bush's 2001 ban on the use of federal dollars spent on deriving new stem cells from fertilized embryos. Bush vetoed similar legislation last year and actor Michael J. Fox elevated the issue into prominence with political ads during last fall's congressional elections. Democrats credit that issue, among others, for helping them drive Republicans from power in Congress.
Shares of biotech companies working on stem cell-related therapies surged Thursday as Democrats in Congress prepared to promote once again legislation that would increase government-funded research in this area.
Link
You can view the entire article here: http://www.michaelspecter.com/ny/2006/2006_03_13_bush.html
Vaccinations for contagious diseases like measles and mumps are required before a child can enter public school. That won't be the case with the HPV [cervical cancer] vaccine, however. The Bush Administration, its allies on Capitol Hill, and the religious base of the Republican Party are opposed to mandatory HPV vaccinations. They prefer to rely on education programs that promote abstinence from sexual activity, and see the HPV vaccine as a threat to that policy. For years, conservatives have regarded the human papillomavirus as a kind of index of promiscuity. Many abstinence supporters argue that eliminating the threat of infection would only encourage teen-agers to have sex. "I personally object to vaccinating children when they don't need vaccinations, particularly against a disease that is one hundred per cent preventable with proper sexual behavior,'' Leslee J. Unruh, the founder and president of the Abstinence Clearinghouse, said. "Premarital sex is dangerous, even deadly. Let's not encourage it by vaccinating ten-year-olds so they think they're safe.'' Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, a family physician and a prominent leader among those who believe that abortion should be illegal, has argued repeatedly in Congress that since condoms can fail, the nation should stop relying on them so heavily. In 2004, he made his position clear when he testified about his experience treating patients who have been infected with HPV: "Studies have indicated for years that promiscuity was associated with cervical cancer.''
