Leaders of the Catholic Church in England and Wales said earlier this week:
Scientific research into the potential treatment and cure of various diseases is both welcome and necessary. There have been exciting developments in research using adult stem cells that do not involve the deliberate creation and destruction of human life, or the mixing of human and animal life. It is surely possible to achieve the good ends pursued by this research without recourse to ethically questionable means.
In The Tablet (29 March) Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham said "very little" progress has been made through embryonic stem cell research and added:
In contrast, work with adult stem cells is showing far better results. All the published research points in this direction ... Yet we hear little about it.
In the same magazine Professor Colin Blakemore acknowledged
... the possibility that knowledge from stem cell research might increase the potential for therapeutic use of adult stem cells.
A paper published only yesterday by the Medical Research Council says this under the heading "Which type to use" (page 5 of the pdf):
Embryonic stem cells are able to develop into many more different cell types than adult stem cells and it is easier to control their specialisation and growth. They are also more plentiful and easier to isolate than many adult stem cells. On the other hand, a patient’s own adult stem cells could be used to treat a disease without their body rejecting them as it might reject embryonic stem cells from a donor. Some scientists claim that they have managed to manipulate adult stem cells to form cells other than those they were previously destined to become, such as directing blood stem cells to form brain neurons. If this is confirmed, it may one day be possible to direct particular types of cell to function in other areas of the body and adult stem cells may then offer even more potential for improving human health. Early indications suggest that induced pluripotent stem cells also have similar properties to embryonic stem cells, offering the possibility of their future use once technological hurdles have been overcome.
Because of the advantages and disadvantages of both embryonic and adult stem cells, scientists continue to research both types in the quest for medical advances and new treatments. Information generated on one type informs research into the other.
Where is the evidence of recent "exciting developments" in adult stem cell research? Here are a few reports from the last few months:
New Scientist 27.02.08
Stem cell breakthrough may reduce cancer risk
The main obstacle to using "reprogrammed" human stem cells – the danger that they might turn cancerous – has been solved, claims a US company.Lancaster University website news, February 2008
Lancaster University is at the forefront of groundbreaking research into human stem cells which could hold the key to treatments for cancer and other serious diseases … The Department of Biological Sciences is leading an international team of scientists who have successfully located stem cells in the gastrointestinal tract and examined the chemical signature, or “fingerprints”, unique to individual cells … Stem cells could hold the key to providing effective treatment for serious conditions, such as cancer, and could be used to repair and replace diseased cells in the human body. They are present in many different parts of the body but locating them is a different matter altogether - researchers have been trying to locate the stem cell region in the stomach and intestines for several years.New Scientist 24.11.07
Adult stem cells found in menstrual blood
THE "monthly curse" may be anything but: menstrual blood appears to be a rich and accessible source of adult stem cells.Guardian 23.11.07
Hope for safer bone marrow transplants
Patients with common immune disorders such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis could one day be treated with bone marrow transplants, scientists claimed yesterday. Hopes for the new treatment follow the development of a more efficient transplant technique which avoids the need for radio- or chemotherapy, both of which have potentially dangerous side-effects. Traditional bone marrow transplants are used to treat only life-threatening conditions, such as leukaemia or lymphoma. The treatment infuses healthy adult stem cells into the patient, which then form fresh blood and immune cells. But before the transplant can be done, patients must receive a course of radiotherapy or chemotherapy to wipe out the defective cells in their bone marrow. The therapy can cause widespread damage, leaving patients brain damaged, at greater risk of cancer, or infertile. Researchers at Stanford University's institute for stem cell biology and regenerative medicine reasoned it might be possible to perform bone marrow transplants without needing risky therapy beforehand. In theory, it would allow doctors to treat auto-immune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and type one diabetes by giving patients a new, healthy immune system.
I don't recall more than one of these developments making headline news. Adult stem cell research shows real promise but it seems to be in the headlines only rarely. Why is that?
For commercial reasons, according to Mark Pritchard, the Conservative MP. Writing in the Telegraph (28 March) Pritchard claimed that the lack of progress using human embryonic stem cells was:
... a small detail omitted by the large bio-tech corporations that stand to make millions from the Government's proposals.
How much merit Pritchard's statement has I don't know. As Professor Blakemore has suggested, ethical judgements need to be based on authoritative information.
