Rick Perry Shows Ultimate Support for Using Adult Stem Cells

An Interesting story appeared in the Texas Tribune the other day. It was about the back surgery Texas Governor Rick Perry had on 1 July. Now that wouldn't normally merit much attention for this blog, except for 1 thing. As a part of the “little procedure” — a spinal fusion & nerve decompression designed to treat a recurring injury, he underwent an experimental injection of his own stem cells.

The treatment involved removing his own adult stem cells from healthy tissue & injecting them back into his body at the time of surgery, with the belief that the cells would assist tissue regeneration and speed recovery. Last Wednesday, Perry spokesman Mark Miner called the procedure “successful”. He confirmed that it included “the innovative use of his own adult stem cells.”

Governor Perry has long been a proponant of adult stem cell research & developing the industry in Texas. It is wonderful to see that he is willing to practice what he preaches. He is showing that there are treatments out there now that can be used.

Which leads me to some interesting things in the article that raised some questions in my mind.

But before that, this news forced the paper to admit something you normally don't hear when it comes to talking about stem cell research. They had to make it clear that there are various types of stem cells. Even worse for the Main Stream Media, they had to make it clear that Perry & the rest of us are only ardently opposes to using embryonic stem cells for medical research on both religious & moral grounds. & that means we do support all other forms of stem cell research (adult & umbilical cord). the fact that they had to explain the difference shows that the author knew the media has been creating that confusion in the past to make it sound like we are opposed to all forms of stem cell research.

Of course that didn't stop the author from making it clear the only FDA approved use of adult stem cells is for bone marrow transplants. This is where the questions began to be raised in my mind. Why hasn't the FDA approved other treatments that are approved elsewhere, especially given how readily it has approved drugs like the morning after pill that have been used in other countries & had more proof of how dangerous they were as a result?

A lot of it is politics, both within the drug industry as well as within the Obama Administration. The drug industry knows that with adult stem cells taken from the person there is no rejection. Embryonic stem cells are another matter. Using embryonic stem cells guarentees the need for a lifetime of drugs to prevent rejection. Part of it has to do with the fact that embryonic stem cell research is a threshold of cloning. (Australasian Bioethics paper page 2) That is the only way to produce embryonic stem cells that won't be rejected. A huge part of it is about the profits, not saving lives as is claimed.

Another part of the profit relates what can & can't be patented in the USA. "In the United States, regulations preclude any patent “claim . . . including within its scope a human being,” but the United States Patent andTrademark Office (USPTO) has not deemed embryonic stem cells to be the equivalent of a human being." (How Will Patents Impact the Commercialization of Stem Cell Therapeutics?) This shouldn't be surprizing given how unborn babies are already treated.

The fact that there is no need to use embryonic stem cells as adult stem cells have proven successful time after time. As for the claim that embryonic stem cells are more flexible, that has also been shot down as well. & the fact that adult stem cells are found in every major organ of the body, including the brain (Australasian paper, page 3) is another reason why there is no need.

The rest of the article goes on to betray the anti-adult stem cell research attitude. They do mention 2 groups that push the use of adult stem cells, Celling Technologies & SpineSmith. But is interesting how their experts downplay the successes. & the expert they quote is from the International Society for Stem Cell Research, a group that pushes for embryonic stem cell research. While claiming to support all kinds of research, it is clear their bias is in favor of embryonic stem cell use.

In short, embryonic stem cell research is all about scientists playing god & making money while doing so.

Check out The John Paul II Stem Cell Research Institute (JP2SRI), Do No Harm: The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics & Stem Cell Research Facts (SCRF) for more on ethical adult stem cell research & the successes already out there.
(Added 8 August 2011 @ 12:08 am) I need to clarify 1 thing, I am not criticizing profits per se. There is a huge difference between a fair profit & greed. What Big Pharma is doing is based on greed, not making a fair profit that will enable them to fund more research.

Source:Rick Perry Uses Own Adult Stem Cells for Back Surgery