With Due Respect By Artemio V. Panganiban Philippine Daily Inquirer The interesting tsika among celebrities and common folks alike during Yuletide was the dawning biotechnological age, especially stem cell therapy, as the modern fountain of youth to arrest aging and to regenerate body organs. Many stem cell clinics and specialty centers now abound, offering stem cells extracted from sheep fetuses, or from the very patients themselves, or worse, from aborted pregnancies. Altering genetics. The aim is to enable our body and its many organs to repair themselves, or to accept new parts made from animals, or other people, or harvested from the patients own regenerated cells and tissues. Or sometimes from metals, plastic or other inanimate manufactures. But the new biosciences and biotechnologies go beyond mere physiognomy; they delve deeper into health, well-being, and longevity, and affect all human endeavors. While, basically, they involve the repair and regeneration of worn-out body parts, they also plunge to in-vitro fertilization, reproductive cloning and genetic modification of humans, animals and plants. They also extend to hair-width electrodes that carry electronic impulses to the motor cortex of the brain detectable by computers, making it possible to bypass spinal injuries and help paralyzed people move … Continue reading →

Boca Raton parents Gary and Judy Susser say they know the hope and promise of stem-cell therapy. Nine years ago they traveled to Mexico for stem cell injections for their son Adam, who has cerebral palsy. "Maybe it will do some good," Gary Susser said he and his wife thought at the time. They spent $25,000. But the Sussers stopped stem cell injections in 2005, after spending about $25,000 and seeing no improvement. Now armed with more information, the Sussers are grateful the treatments didn't harm Adam, now 12. While they are advocates of "responsible" stem cell research, they warn other parents against making trips to Costa Rica, Mexico, Russia or other offshore clinics for experimental treatments. With promising breakthroughs making the news, as well as Internet hype, desperate parents and seriously ill patients may look to stem-cell therapy as the modern miracle that could cure them. And one day, stem cells may be routinely used to repair damaged cells, improve the treatment of diseases and even cure paralysis. But there are hidden dangers to today's stem cell treatments, both in the U.S. and offshore, scientists said at the recent World Stem Cell Summit in West Palm Beach. They pointed … Continue reading →

The Sugar Land company involved in Gov. Rick Perry's unlicensed adult stem-cell procedure is rife with basic manufacturing problems, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In a report one expert called a blow to the entire adult stem-cell industry, the FDA found that Celltex Therapeutics Corp. cannot guarantee the sterility, uniformity and integrity of stem cells it takes from people and then stores and grows for eventual therapeutic reinjection. "You have not performed a validation of your banking and thawing process to assure viability" of the stem cells, reads the April 27 report, meaning that the company cannot verify the cells are alive. The FDA report, which followed an April 16-27 inspection of Celltex, was released under the Freedom of Information Act Monday to the Houston Chronicle and a University of Minnesota bioethicist who complained in February that Celltex is a potential danger to patients and not in compliance with federal law. The report, partially redacted, was not accompanied by a warning letter. A former FDA official who asked not to be identified, however, said the deficiencies - 79 in all, from incorrectly labeled products to failed sterility tests - are so serious that Celltex risks being shut … Continue reading →

Gov. Rick Perry pushed Friday for Texas to become the center of adult stem-cell therapy, disregarding the federal government's increasing crackdown on clinics marketing the experimental medicine. Perry told a crowd of stem-cell researchers, industry leaders and patients gathered in Houston that the young science "holds the promise of miracles" desperately needed by people across the world and suggested Texas' "wildcat spirit" and "conducive climate" can make it happen here. "I'm not shy about asking people to relocate or start up their companies in Texas," said Perry, likening stem-cell treatment to previous innovations in space and heart care. "All of you outside the state of Texas - come on in. The water's fine. We've got an amazing environment here." Perry, who famously got the unlicensed treatment for an ailing back in 2011, said the state has made sure that innovators won't be "hindered by exorbitant taxes, wrapped up by bureaucratic red tape or at the mercy of predatory attorneys, seeking to make steady money off extensive, drawn-out court cases." Perry's remarks, made at the first of a planned annual Houston conference, came as the state appears headed toward a collision with the Food and Drug Administration, which has begun stepping … Continue reading →