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The Hill’s Congress Blog - March 16, 2011 - A Valuable Opportunity Exists in Federally Funded Research
Thursday, 17 March 2011
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An opinion editorial, penned by Foundation chief science staff members Drs. Steven Bramer and Stephen Rose, advocating for increased federal support of embryonic stem cell research was published on The Hill’s Congress Blog. Embryonic stem cells hold incredible promise for the development of treatments for all retinal degenerative diseases and the furthering of other areas in retinal research. By Steven Bramer, Ph.D. and Stephen Rose, Ph.D. Published March 16, 2011 on The Hill’s Congress Blog The U.S. Food and Drug Administration made the right decision recently, allowing Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. to use retinal cells derived from embryonic stem cells for clinical trials, and I urge the federal government to increase such permissions and continue funding embryonic stem cell research. Our nation has justly debated over if and how to experiment with embryonic stem cells, but we now have findings in the field of vision research that give credibility to the expectations that these special cells could profoundly advance our ability to prevent, treat and cure diseases. Our nation has a valuable opportunity to take a significant step forward in medical research, but we need the federal government’s support. Our elected leaders’ careful deliberation of how to introduce embryonic stem cells into scientific research has been completely warranted, but now is the time for our country to come to a conclusion on how we should move forward. Suffering Americans and the doctors trying to help them are increasingly frustrated by the potential treatments and cures being tied-up in political debate. Private sector funding has enabled some noteworthy research, but it is not a substitute for federal funding. Private philanthropic capital typically covers the early exploratory stages of a study. Scientists will need funds of a larger magnitude, however, to carry their work to its fullest potential and move embryonic stem cell research out of the labs and into clinical trials. In most cases, only the federal government can allocate the resources and provide the imprimatur to make such advancements. Additionally, a ban on federal funds prohibits embryonic stem cell research in any lab that receives federal support, which means researchers must construct completely separate labs in order to pursue the rich promise of embryonic stem cells. That kind of investment is an obstacle to even the most hopeful studies. The Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. trial exemplifies the type of promising research experts can perform with fully funded embryonic stem cell research. This study could produce vision-saving treatments for patients with Stargardt disease, a form of macular degeneration that causes severe vision loss in children. There is currently no treatment for this disease. The pre-clinical trials for this study, however, suggest that the retinal cells derived from embryonic stem cells have the ability to be transplanted into the eyes of Stargardt patients and replace the dead cells in their retinas. If the technique works as expected, the scientists should be able to slow or halt the vision loss in Stargardt patients. In other promising studies, researchers have shown that they can successfully transform embryonic stem cells into light-sensing cells in the retina. These adaptable cells will help identify potential drugs that could slow or stop vision loss and could be transplanted into patients to restore vision one day. These advancements just begin to reveal what is possible with embryonic stem cell research. We cannot come close to exploring the full potential of these cells, however, without the federal government’s support. Ten million Americans with retinal degenerative diseases are watching their world fade to black. For many, it is simply a matter of time until they can no longer drive a car, read a book, or see a loved one’s face. Those of us working to end vision loss believe that by expanding federal funding, we could dramatically increase the cutting-edge research needed to move stem cell research forward and help people with blinding diseases and other devastating conditions. Stephen Rose, Ph.D. is the chief research officer of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Dr. Rose is responsible for the leadership of the Foundation’s research initiatives. Steven Bramer, Ph.D. is the chief drug development officer of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Dr. Bramer directs the Foundation’s clinical research efforts.
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