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Neuralstem CEO BLog >> Anti Stem Cell Bluff Called

Anti Stem Cell Bluff Called


There is an old adage that goes something like this:  be careful of what you ask for because you just might get it.

The recent announcement by ACTC that they have been able to generate Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines without harming the embryo (from which a single cell is removed leaving the embryo otherwise intact and able to grow normally) seems to have caught the “anti” stem cell crowd by surprise.

Anti Stem Cell Bluff Called

There is an old adage that goes something like this:  be careful of what you ask for because you just might get it.

The recent announcement by ACTC that they have been able to generate Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines without harming the embryo (from which a single cell is removed leaving the embryo otherwise intact and able to grow normally) seems to have caught the “anti” stem cell crowd by surprise.  That’s interesting since many of them cited the potential of exactly this type of technology, as their main reason for opposing the recent House and Senate bipartisan “pro” stem cell legislation vetoed by the President.  Listening to the debate on the House or Senate floor one heard countless opponents decry technology that requires the destruction of an embryo; and then laud the “exciting” “promising” research that would some day allow for the use of stem cells “without” destroying embryos.  This is of course, exactly what ACTC’s new technique allows for.  Chief among the proponents of this argument was the Commander in Chief himself.  Did any of them really mean it?   It was not an argument without some merit and it was delivered by many with seemingly true passion and conviction; the President again being a prime example. 

Now we know the answer.  It was just a cynical ploy; an attempt to sound compassionate and reasonable in the face of overwhelming bipartisan support for stem cell research; while killing the funding that would ensure its success.  It was a bluff and their bluff has been called (interestingly enough, before the November election).  The President’s veto  ensured that Stem Cells will remain an important issue going into the election. Only his “side” has been stripped of its main argument  for opposing the Bill.  They are already back pedaling and “rephrasing” their arguments;  “…unanticipated potential harm to an embryo” has started to replace “willful destruction of an embryo” as their prime “concern”.  It seems as though they have been caught off guard by events. And so finally, in true Washington fashion, opponents have started to “attack the messenger” to take away from the message.  Already the Scientists from ACTC have been hauled up in front of a Senate Committee and already right wing pundits are trying to link this study in the public’s eye, with the fraudulent Korean Cloning study (more on that in a later blog).  There is no link of course, and nothing to even suggest fraudulent data here. By merely mentioning the two studies in the same sentence however,  they begin to muddy the water.  While there is no substantive story to report on, it becomes “legitimate” for right wing media to mention (read report on) that the Korean scandal “was mentioned” by critics, and so they press on.  It is a very effective tactic. 

Neuralstem of course, does not use embryonic stem cells, we use neural stem cells, and so (in the parlance of the last Administration) we don’t have a dog in this fight.  But of course the attitude of the Public at large is important to us, and to some extent all Stem Cell Companies are painted with the same brush.  Not all opponents of the Stem Cell Bill were insincere.  For some, this milestone may indeed be the tipping point that allows them to change their vote to one of support.  My guess is that it may shake lose a few votes in the Senate, but not enough to over ride the President’s veto.  And of course it won’t come close to changing enough votes in the House to over ride.

Opponents will try desperately now to keep the Stem Cell Bill from being reintroduced prior to this election.  The President’s recent challenge to Congress to enact legislation around his warrantless wiretapping program and around anticipated trials for “enemy combatants” will probably insure that little else can or does come up.   But the Stem Cell Bill will come back up, if not this year, than early next year.  Regardless of the election results, there is simply too much support for Stem Cell research to keep it from being reintroduced in the next Congress. Also, the inexorable march of progress in stem cell science will bring a steady stream of new publications and “breakthroughs” at varying levels into the public view continuing to build momentum for further support by the public. 

I believe that the debate over stem cells will continue until we (in the industry) show real, quantifiable, important improvement in function in patients with a stem cell therapy. We of course (Neuralstem) are on record as targeting 2007 to begin our first human trials (using our spinal cord stem cells to treat Ischemic Paraplegia).  And if people are skeptical until that time comes, who can blame them.  The field has seen more than its share of hype to go with the true hope.  The legislative debate wasn’t about performance though.  It was an ethical debate in which the President laid out a clear line.  He said he wouldn’t support a process that required the destruction of an embryo to create stem cells; and as is his want he said it clearly and without qualification.  ACTC has showed that they can create the very same stem cells without harming the embryo in any way.  The President’s bluff has been called. 

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