Stem Cell Research in Minnesota
Back to Table of Contents | May 2011 Commentary Stem Cell Research in Minnesota A bill moving through the Legislature threatens to disrupt progress on therapies that are already helping patients. By Meri Firpo, Ph.D., and John Wagner, M.D.Medical research that could help Minnesotans living with devastating diseases is being threatened by a bill working its way through the Minnesota Legislature. If passed, it would stifle innovation and criminalize research that could transform the way we treat disease.
On the surface, the bill (H.F. 998/S.F. 695), sponsored by Rep. Bob Dettmer, R-Forest Lake, and Sen. Michelle Fischbach, R-Paynesville, proposes banning reproductive cloning—that is, outlawing science that culminates in the creation of a human that is a replica of another. Banning human reproductive cloning is a move that every reputable biomedical scientist would wholeheartedly support. But proponents of the bill have admitted publicly at hearings in St. Paul that this legislation attempts not only to prevent human reproductive cloning but also to ban somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), which has been referred to in the lay press as “therapeutic cloning,” and restrict embryonic stem cell research.
What is particularly concerning is that the proponents of the bill are acting without an accurate understanding of the science behind SCNT or the support of an informed public. SCNT is a laboratory technique that involves the transfer of a cell nucleus from a somatic cell into an enucleated egg (one from which the nucleus has been removed). The technique produces a formless group of cells that is smaller than the cross-section of a human hair. The bill’s supporters argue that SCNT could lead to the creation of a baby. This is not feasible because cells created through SCNT cannot survive for long in culture (they survive only long enough for extraction of their inner mass, from which a new cell line can be derived). Yet SCNT does have the potential to save lives, rejuvenate the biomedical industry in Minnesota, and change the practice of medicine as we know it.
Treating Disease One of the areas most likely to benefit from SCNT for therapeutic purposes is tissue transplantation. We work at a university that is world-renowned for its success both in solid-organ and blood and marrow transplantation. We have been a leader in these areas since the 1960s. And while we have made great strides, there is more work to be done, particularly related to the problem of graft rejection. Today, all patients who undergo solid-organ and many who have cellular transplants such as islets are required to remain on lifelong immunosuppression to prevent rejection. Some reject their organ; and others suffer the toxic side effects of antirejection medicine resulting in life-threatening complications such as kidney and liver failure or opportunistic infections.
Scnt Clinical Trials - News
The ability to reprogram adult cells (iPS cells) does not eliminate the need for SCNT. Reprogramming requires genetic manipulations, which means resultant cell lines are years away from clinical testing. We know substantial hurdles need to be overcome
UCB clinical trials lag vs Embryonic, Fetal and Other Stem Cells ...
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) created the QTDP [COLOR=blue !important] [COLOR=blue !important] program [/COLOR][/COLOR] as a means to support qualified research and development projects that show significant potential to produce new and cost-saving therapies, support job growth and increase U.S. competitiveness, the Company noted. Following a competitive application process, StemCyte was awarded two grants for advance therapies using UCB stem cells for the potential treatment of chronic [COLOR=blue !important] [COLOR=blue !important] spinal [COLOR=blue !important] cord [/COLOR][COLOR=blue !significant harm] [/ COLOR] [/ COLOR] [/ COLOR] and chronic stroke. The details of the trial were displayed on http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01046786. Briefly, the trial will recruit 20 subjects with chronic traumatic spinal cord injury at C5 and T10 levels inclusive (more than one year after injury with stable neurological function ); who are classified on the ASIA Impairment Scale as A (complete spinal cord injury); who do not have significant contraindications to the surgery, methylprednisolone or lithium; and for whom we can find an umbilical cord blood unit that matches at least 4:6 human leukocyte antigens (HLA) -A, -B, and -DR. The institutional review boards (IRB) of HKU and CUHK, and Hong Kong Department of Health have approved the trial.
Scnt Clinical Trials - Bookshelf
Encyclopedia of stem cell research
A bill proposed by the Kansas state legislature would criminalize SCNT with the ... History of; Clinical Trials Within US: Batten Disease; Clinical Trials ...Reprogenetics, law, policy, and ethical issues
cacy exists for clinical trials to begin and later for products to be released to ... cells and tissues arose after the onset of animal cloning through SCNT ...Crafting a cloning policy, from Dolly to stem cells
when, after the death of Jesse Gelsinger in a gene therapy trial, the FDA faced ... sponsored clinical trials involving reproductive and therapeutic SCNT. ...Principles of Regenerative Medicine
... to starting clinical trials with human patients (Petersen et al., 2009a). ... This may be beneficial in the production of human SCNT embryos for ...Molecular medicine, an introductory text
A number of human clinical trials involving the injection of putative stem cells at ... about by the process known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). ...Perfect Information Directory
FDA Clinical Trials - California Stem Cell, Inc.
FDA Clinical Trials. For a treatment or drug to be made available on the U.S. market it ... Phase I trials are the first studies in humans and typically enroll ...
Missouri Cures: About Stem Cells
What is stem cell research? Learn about stem cells and stem cell advances ... In this first phase of the clinical trial process, researchers will review the therapy's safety. ...
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) - Center for Human ...
... SCNT-based reprogramming and to develop basic research and clinical applications based on the SCNT ... Clinical Trials. Departments, Institutes & Centers. Faculty Profiles ...
SCNT - California Stem Cell, Inc.
SCNT. Cell Replacement Therapies. FDA Clinical Trials. Hans Keirstead's Research ... SCNT has a great potential in providing a treatment for many diseases and ...
Infertility and Assisted Reproduction - Emerging ...
a regulatory and clinical consulting firm. I personally have ... and clinical trial consultant, I understand why some have expressed enthusiasm for SCNT. ...