|
Potential Impact of Stem-Cell Research
Detroit Free Press
26 May 2005
From knee replacement to heart attack treatment, stem cells promise an inexhaustible supply of cells for repair purposes, says a University of Virginia researcher who helped write legislation passed by the U.S. House to expand stem-cell research.
"Everyone I know who works in the field, or in medicine, feels this is the future," said Dr. Ray Ogle, director of the stem-cell research center in Virginia. "We're losing our competitive edge with Europe and Asia. It's very important for the future of our people. There are cures for degenerative diseases, and we need to educate the public."
Ogle spoke in a telephone interview before giving the keynote address Wednesday at the annual "Frontiers in Research" lecture at Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester Hills. Wayne State and Oakland universities sponsored the lecture.
Ogle said he and others, notably Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., spent months gathering support for the bill passed Tuesday by the House to allow a broader number of stem-cell lines for federally funded research.
Researchers using federal funds currently are limited to about a dozen stem-cell lines cultured prior to August 2001.
"In America, we have probably one of the most genetically diverse populations on ... Earth," he said. "We need hundreds of cell lines" to better understand how disease occurrence and outcomes may differ among ethnic and racial groups, he said.
Ogle said he would like to see a national library from which researchers could access a broad range of stem cells obtained from discarded frozen embryos. "We thought this would get around virtually all the objections that ethical and religious leaders have raised until recently," he said.
By Patricia Anstett
|
