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Statement from the European Life Sciences Group
December 19, 2001The promises and concerns engendered by stem cell research triggered debate world-wide. European citizens realise the significance of these issues and expect guidance to deal with them. The European Life Sciences Group thanks the European Commission and the European Commissioner for Research, Philippe Busquin, for arranging such a stimulating meeting on "Stem cells: Therapies for the Future?" and thereby contributing to the ongoing European dialogue on this subject.
The current research on human stem cells, either from differentiated tissue or from embryos, is scientifically sound and medically promising and should be actively developed and supported. Although the use of human stem cells in regenerative medicine is still at an early stage of development, it has the potential to deliver real progress in the treatment of various severe diseases.
The Group agrees that:
* The EU should continue to support research with all sources of human stem cells, including human embryonic stem cells.
* Reproductive cloning should be prohibited.
* Derivation of human embryonic stem cells from nuclear transplants (so-called therapeutic cloning) has not been achieved and appears to raise considerable difficulties. Research into additional strategies to overcome immune rejection is therefore to be strongly encouraged.
* Although the Group respects the special moral status of the human embryo even prior to implantation, it agrees on the use of spare human embryos for the preparation of embryonic stem cell lines. Research on human embryonic stem cells should be carefully regulated, peer reviewed, scientifically sound, directed towards substantial goals and ethically controlled.
* Publicly and privately funded research should be subject to the same regulations.
* A European registry of human embryonic stem cell lines should be established.
In summary, the Group considers that research on human stem cells offers valuable venues into developmental biology and medicine which could revolutionise therapy perhaps on a scale comparable to the introduction of antibiotics.
European Commission, Research Directorate
* The EU should continue to support research with all sources of human stem cells, including human embryonic stem cells.
* Reproductive cloning should be prohibited.
* Derivation of human embryonic stem cells from nuclear transplants (so-called therapeutic cloning) has not been achieved and appears to raise considerable difficulties. Research into additional strategies to overcome immune rejection is therefore to be strongly encouraged.
* Although the Group respects the special moral status of the human embryo even prior to implantation, it agrees on the use of spare human embryos for the preparation of embryonic stem cell lines. Research on human embryonic stem cells should be carefully regulated, peer reviewed, scientifically sound, directed towards substantial goals and ethically controlled.
* Publicly and privately funded research should be subject to the same regulations.
* A European registry of human embryonic stem cell lines should be established.
In summary, the Group considers that research on human stem cells offers valuable venues into developmental biology and medicine which could revolutionise therapy perhaps on a scale comparable to the introduction of antibiotics.
European Commission, Research Directorate
Stem Cells Current Events and Stem Cells News RSSFirst use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia
For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options.
Magnetic nanoparticles to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat
Whether it's magnetic nanoparticles (mNPs) giving an army of 'therapeutically armed' white blood cells direction to invade a deadly tumour's territory, or the use of mNPs to target specific nerve channels and induce nerve-led behaviour (such as the life-dependant thumping of our hearts), mNPs have come a long way in the past decade.
Of mice and men: Stem cells and ethical uncertainties
The recent creation of live mice from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) not only represents a remarkable scientific achievement, but also raises important issues, according to bioethicists at The Johns Hopkins University's Berman Institute of Bioethics.
NIH-funded researchers transform embryonic stem cells into human germ cells
Researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have discovered how to transform human embryonic stem cells into germ cells, the embryonic cells that ultimately give rise to sperm and eggs.
Stem cell therapy may offer hope for acute lung injury
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can prevent acute lung injury in a mouse model of the disease.
Placental precursor stem cells require testosterone-free environment to survive
Trophoblast stem cells (TSCs), cells found in the layer of peripheral embryonic stem cells from which the placenta is formed, are thought to exhibit "immune privilege" that aids cell survivability and is potentially beneficial for cell and gene therapies.
Endocrine Society calls for expanded scope and funding for stem cell research
Stem cell research holds great promise for the treatment of millions of Americans with debilitating and possibly fatal diseases.
Experimental treatments restore partial vision to blind people
Two experimental treatments, a retinal prosthesis and fetal tissue transplant, restored some vision to people with blinding eye diseases. The findings, presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health, may lead to new treatments for the blind.
Scientists demonstrate link between genetic defect and brain changes in schizophrenia
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have found that the 22q11 gene deletion - a mutation that confers the highest known genetic risk for schizophrenia - is associated with changes in the development of the brain that ultimately affect how its circuit elements are assembled.
Small mechanical forces have big impact on embryonic stem cells
Applying a small mechanical force to embryonic stem cells could be a new way of coaxing them into a specific direction of differentiation, researchers at the University of Illinois report. Applications for force-directed cell differentiation include therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine.
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