Wouldn’t it be nice…
Every time the ban on embryonic stem cells is challenged, there is a sudden surge of excitement about adult stem cells. In the last few weeks, much attention has been given to an article about the work of Dr. Michael Levesque. The buzz on sites like Twitter and Tumblr is that Dr. Levesque, using breakthrough techniques, has succeeded in reversing the course of PD by introducing adult stem cells into the brains of people with Parkinson’s.
We wish.
In fact, this “new” research is about five years old. The procedure was performed on only one subject. And, sadly, while that single subject did well for a while post-procedure, he is not doing very well at the moment.
Certainly, it is a good thing that Dr. Levesque (who, by the way, does not oppose embryonic stem cell research) and other researchers are exploring the potential of adult stem cells. At the same time, embryonic stem cells also should be investigated. We have much to learn from these cells. Why throw them away?
2 years ago