Newest Adult Stem Therapy Treats Diabetes

    WASHINGTON, April 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In yet another advance
 in adult stem cell therapy, the Journal of the American Medical Association
 (JAMA) today released a study in which 14 of 15 Juvenile Diabetes patients
 demonstrated significant improvement as a result of an adult stem cell
 treatment. According to U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-FL), the study is
 significant in that it's the first attempt at using stem cells of any kind
 to reverse the effects of Type I diabetes in humans.
     "This is a very promising study for those who are suffering from
 Juvenile Diabetes," said Weldon, a Florida physician, who noted that while
 only a preliminary study, the treatment appears to be quite promising since
 14 of the patients remain insulin-free after the adult stem cell transplant
 using their own adult stem cells. One patient has now gone 34 months
 without insulin therapy.
     "It's very important that the public be told what this is: an adult
 stem cell success, not the much touted embryo stem cell research. Also, one
 of the first things I noticed was that this research was done by Americans
 overseas. Why? Because much of the American biomedical research community
 has placed an irrational reliance on embryo stem cell research above all
 others. Adult stem cell science in America is being crowded out and in some
 cases ignored. This bias is now denying American patients access to
 therapies that are much more promising. We need to focus on human
 treatments for today, not those with false hope for tomorrow."
     For years, Type I (Juvenile) diabetes has been known to be an
 autoimmune disorder where the body's own immune cells attack the insulin
 producing cell in the pancreas. These researchers used an adult stem cell
 transplant protocol that has previously been used with success in treating
 other autoimmune disorders such as lupus and MS (multiple sclerosis),
 crohns disease, scleroderma, and rheumatoid arthritis. The study was
 conducted in Brazil with the support of several U.S. clinical researchers.
     "The beauty of the treatment protocol used here is that the patient's
 own bone marrow stem cells were used, guaranteeing a perfect match. There
 was no controversial destruction of human embryos. Embryo stem cells form
 tumors and have never been shown to be safe for use in humans.
     "Should these patients remain insulin-free, the treatment is likely to
 be particularly useful for those suffering from Juvenile Diabetes who have
 difficultly in maintaining proper insulin levels, as well as for those who
 have difficulty accessing appropriate health care," Weldon concluded.
 
 

SOURCE Office of Representative Dave Weldon