Fw: Stem Cell Research 2011

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Potential uses for stem cells

There are many areas in medicine in whch stem cell research could have a

significant impact. For example, there are a variety of diseases and injuries in

which a patient's cells or tissues are destroyed and must be replaced by tissue

or organ transplants. Stem cells may be able to generate brand new tissue in

these cases, and even cure diseases for which there currently is no adequate

therapy. Diseases that could see revolutionary advances include Alzheimer's and

Parkinson's disease, diabetes, spinal cord injury, heart disease, stroke,

arthritis, cancer, and burns.

Stem cells could also be used to gain a better understanding of how genetics

work in the early stages of cell development. This can help scientists

understand why some cells develop abnormally and lead to medical problems such

as birth defects and cancer. By understanding the genetic basis for cell

development, scientists may learn how to prevent some of these diseases.

Finally, stem cells may be useful in the testing and development of drugs.

Because stem cells can be used to create unlimited amounts of specialized

tissue, such as heart tissue, it may be possible to test how drugs react on

these specialized tissues before trying the drugs on animals and human subjects.

Drugs could be tested for effectiveness and side effects more rapidly.

Court Ruling Halts Embryonic Stem Cell Research: What Now????

Health Experts Main

Behind the Headlines

by Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D.

Recent Posts

a.. Inappropriate Implantation of Heart Devices

b.. Hormone Replacement in Older Men

c.. Daily Aspirin Prevents Many Cancers

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Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth threw the research community into a tailspin

earlier this month with a court ruling that blocks President Obama’s executive

order that expanded embryonic stem cell (ESC) research. The judge stated that

the executive order violated an earlier ban on the use of federal money with

regard to research that destroys embryos. So what does this mean for continued

ESC research?

Obama's executive order allowed the use of federal money for research on ESCs,

provided the ESCs themselves were obtained with money from private sources, and

donors complied with certain rules, such as signing consent forms.

However, in the recent court ruling the chief judge said that “if one step or

‘piece of research’ of an ESC research project results in the destruction of an

embryo, the entire project is precluded from receiving federal funding.” He

stated that the executive order violates the Dickey-Wicker Amendment--an

amendment passed by Congress that bans federal financing for any " research in

which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded or knowingly subjected

to risk of injury or death. "

http://tinyurl.com/4dscccv

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Asprin, The Cure for Some Cancers????????

Benefits of long-term aspirin treatment confirmed

A report in a recent issue of Lancet pooled the data from seven trials with

23,535 participants and showed that a small daily dose of aspirin prevented

deaths from colon and several other cancers. The aspirin treatment in the

various trials lasted for 4 to 8 years, but the protection continued for at

least 20 years in both men and women.

Even more impressive, the benefit increased with the duration of aspirin

treatment during the trial. The overall 20-year risk of death from all solid

cancers was reduced by 20 percent in those taking aspirin. Significant

reductions in death were seen for cancers of the esophagus (60 percent), colon

and rectum (40 percent), stomach (30 percent), and lung (30 percent). The 10

percent lower death rate for prostate cancer was not statistically significant.

Unfortunately, there was no significant protection against pancreatic cancer,

and too few women were enrolled in the trials to determine the effects of

aspirin treatment on breast or ovarian cancer.

http://tinyurl.com/46lnrcj

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All you need to know about blood thinners:

http://www.healthline.com/news/is-vitamin-d-a-blood-thinner

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FYI,

Lottie Duthu