There are so many fascinating diabetes- and health-related events taking place all around the country; I wish I could go to them all! But thankfully, sometimes I can cover them in absentia here at the ‘Mine with a little help from my friends.
A guest post by Allison Blass
Last week, I was invited to attend the New York Stem Cell Foundation’s panel entitled “Stem Cell Research & Diabetes: Realizing the Promise.” As you can imagine, I was intrigued to hear what the illustrious panel of stem cell and diabetes experts would present, given the fact that we are constantly bombarded by “diabetes cured in mice!” articles again and again… and again.
The panel included Gary Hall, Jr. (Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer and type 1 diabetic), Kevin Eggan, Ph.D. (NYSCF Chief Scientific Officer and Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard), Alan Lewis, Ph.D. (the newest President and CEO of JDRF), Allen Spiegel, MD (Dean of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University, and former Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the NIH – whew!) and finally, Susan Solomon, JD (CEO of the NYSCF and mom of a type 1 diabetic). It was moderated by Kurt Anderson, co-creator and host of Studio 360 on WNYC — and a long-time type 1 diabetic himself.
Photo: ABC News
Having a moderator who actually is a type 1 diabetic was a breath of fresh air. The basic questions about what diabetes is and what stem cells are were asked, but they were asked in a way that did not have any underlying false assumptions, like “Aren’t type 1 diabetics all kids?”
After the proper introduction of all the panelists, getting to know who they were and their respective expertise (I will offer Google to you at this time, in order to save space), Kurt and the panelists discussed various ways that stem cell research affects the diabetes community.
Here are some highlights:
- The federal government’s involvement is critical, but it will not happen overnight based solely on President Obama’s signature on the executive order to allow federal funding for work on embryonic stem cells. Susan Soloman explained that a few years ago, something called the Dickey-Wicker amendment was passed, which “prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from using appropriated funds for the creation of human embryos for research purposes or for research in which human embryos are destroyed.” This bill was passed in 1996, during the Clinton Administration, and has been renewed every year. Despite Obama’s executive order, the Dickey-Wicker amendment will remain an obstacle until it is overturned. Allen Spiegel noted that it prohibits not just the destruction of embryos, but anything to do with human embryos in research.
- A fundamental issue, says Kevin Eggan, is that the scientists have never been given access to mass quantities of islet cells to work with. Therefore, we (all of us) have a very limited understanding of why and how islet cells get sick, or how you could stop it. The immune system is an enormous obstacle for people with type 1 diabetes, and unfortunately, you can’t study islet cells in a cadaver (because they don’t do anything), or in people with diabetes (because they’re already not functioning, so that doesn’t help) or in people without diabetes (because they’re pretty attached to their perfectly normal islet cells). The desire to create a limitless quantity of islet cells out of embryonic stem cells is not just for purposes of transplanting them into humans, but also to study how diabetes works and how it could be cured in hundreds of different scenarios without putting anyone at risk.
- Kevin Eggan stated that he thinks the first stem cell therapy “won’t be cells.” Hmm? The first therapy, he surmised, could possibly be in the form of drugs that work better because of what we learn through stem cell research. He used the example of islet cells being a poor kid at school getting beat up by the big bad immune system. “Then we could put in different chemicals,” he said, “to see which one breaks up the fight. We could find a cure — or something like it — through trial and investigation using mass quantities of islet cells that are only made possible through the availability of stem cells.”
- What about pharma companies? Alan Lewis, JDRF’s newest president and former CEO of NovoCell, had a positive theory for how our “friendly foes” will handle this topic. “There is a lot of intrigue from big pharma,” he said, adding that Pfizer is already interested in regenerative medicine. Lewis believes stem cell research is the future of medicine and that pharmaceuticals will find a way to tap into it as a money-maker — which means that we, the patients who put the money in their pockets, will hopefully not need to worry about any backdoor blocking. Indeed, production and distribution of stem cells will have to come from someone, someday.
- When will this all happen? The number that was thrown around was a 12-15 year timeframe. But I thank Alan Lewis, who finally broke down the JDRF mantra of “5 more years” when he said: “There’s a danger in projecting a time, so I’m not going to volunteer that.” Well said. Allen Spiegel later added, “This isn’t rocket science. It’s a lot harder.”
- One question stood out from the audience Q & A that followed: “What can we do to help?” It’s not a question we usually hear, so I wanted to share the experts’ answer: Encourage science. Stem cell research has been the black sheep in this country for so long that we are going to lose our researchers, they said. So please encourage fellows to apply to the New York Stem Cell Foundation, which privately funds researchers. We need people in the labs to do this important work!
Please visit the New York Stem Cell Foundation website for more information on their activities as well as more information about the panel.
Also, the JDRF is calling for your support in commenting on the new draft NIH guidelines for embryonic stem cell research (they’re currently gathering public comments). If you’re interested in supporting this effort, click here.
[Editor's Note: If you're not a supporter of stem cell research, we respect your opinion. Likewise, please be respectful of others in your comments here. Thank you!]
That’s good info, nicely summarized, Allison. Thanks, Amy, for inviting Allison to share that.
Great info.
Thanks for sharing Allison with us Amy.
btw: captcha, possibly giving out phone#s?? –>
793-9065 remits
I swear, that is what it says….of course w/o the area code, who knows who it is…
Ha! Did you try calling, CAL?
The key comment is in bullet number 2, where the fact that the immune system still doesn’t work correctly is highlighted. Until the autoimmune response can be stopped, stem cell/islet cell transplantation is not going to work long term.
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Obama will only support embryonic stem cells for curing diabetes. He is betting it all on this technology because the public is so fascinated with using embryos for cures. Obama is a genius and will help cure us. Thank god we elected him.
I will not be any part of destruction of embryos for a cure for diabetes. I will not support JDRF because of this. I will also work on a political front to elect persons who are opposed to funding these deaths.
Really interesting!
Did anyone mention that since Obama is not giving the tax-break incentives for charities (including research) that there will be a HUGE loss in non-governmental sponsorships of research?
It doesn’t *fund deaths*…nice try though.
Does your religion/church give these embryos a proper funeral and burial?
Will you stop driving your car, heating your house, shopping at the supermarket? All these activities actually do cause deaths, and for very selfish reasons.
Face it, you are just as selfish as the next person, and lying to yourself and everyone else with this posturing.
Hi Allison,
Some general comments.
The original work to discover insulin was performed on dogs by Banting & Best. It is time to go back to the dogs. You may find this interesting. Are you aware that 1 in 7 dogs in America will “come down” with diabetes. It is type 1. Some as early as one plus years old to twelve years old and above. Questions to consider:
1. What is the replacement rate of beta cells? Meaning what is the lifetime of a beta cell and what is the trigger to turn on the replacement of beta cells.
2. I had the opportunity to watch very special friend develop type 1 diabetes. There was a sign of being tired. The spunk was missing. She began to drink water in large amounts and had frequent trips to the bathroom. No measure of glucose in the urine or blood. There was an increase in liver activity and the doctor (vet) suggested a different condition related to the liver. Then the urine showed gulcose and the blood results supported the diagnosis of type 1 at an age of eleven years. It took about 3 month for the condition to become detectable. It is over a year and one-half and Maggie is still going.
3. Dogs have a shorter life span and they can be studied to determine what turns on the diabetes.
This would allow the monitoring of the real condition with a real animal under viewable conditions.
We need more studies to determine what turns this condition on andhow can we shut it off.
Hope this gives you a potential and different approache to the research.
D2
Thanks Allison, that’s interesting and nice to see some realism about the time frames. I’ve nothing morally against stem cell research but have always felt that it’s been a little overhyped in terms of how soon it could deliver benefits to most type 1′s.
Micks comments are non-sensical.
Let me simplify. The issue is related to the ethics of choosing who/what gets to live or die and the supposed righteousness of the poster’s position. There are two threads.
First – and without debating whether a clump of cells is a life – if you believe it is a life then you should also believe it deserves a proper funeral/burial when it is destroyed (isn’t it ironic that you’d prefer to have it destroyed rather than used, a separate question). Why doesn’t that happen?
Second – if you believe that no one should be able to decide for someone/something else to die, you can’t cherry pick. Yet your everyday activities (as anyone else’s in Western civilizations) kill people around the world through exploitation and climate change. Why don’t you change any of those habits?
In both cases, the most likely answer is because it’s inconvenient.
If that’s the case, then opposition to this research on the basis that it is immoral/unethical is hypocrisy.
Like I said before, Micks comments are non-sensical. If it isn’t human…what is it? If offered, I know any church would properly bury and treat with respect the tiniest of human life. So what’s the point of the burial argument? Sounds like another diabetic statist.
Mick, I fell into the trap of trying to use logical arguments to disagree with fundamentalists the last time this topic came up — and trust me, the language of logic is not a language they understand, as you can see by reading some of the comments above. I’ve given up. I’m just relieved that we have a President who understands that we are living in the 21st century, not medieval times.
I continue to be very pro stem cell research. There are some very exciting findings coming out of Feinberg at Northwestern (with hematopoeitic cells). I happened to watch the Michael J. Fox documentary last night and saw how he copes with the ravages of Parkinson’s. Stem cells have the potential to improve the lives of countless patients who are bravely struggling with the unfair hand they have been dealt.
I am in medical school right now and I’m starting to see how our hopes are in the hands of the researchers. I’m glad to be entering the field of medicine in an era that holds so much promise for cures and breakthrough treatments.
I think this series of responses is being edited. Too bad. I like all points of views even coming from people who object to their taxes going to embryonic stem cell research. The other Lauren gets full reign with her views and she continually reminds everyone that she is studying to be a doctor. That must make her an expert in the editor of this sites view.