Cloner of Dolly the Sheep Now Supports Adult Stem Cell Use Over Embryonic Stem Cell Use

According to a PRWeb Newswire, Ian Wilmut, who cloned the famous sheep named Dolly and who has been a major supporter of embryonic stem cell research and use, surprised the science world with his statement that he now favors adult stem cell use.

According to Wilmut, he is not basing his opinion on any moral or religious criteria. Wilmut states that the public has not been told the truth about embryonic stem cells. He states that, although billions of dollars have been set aside for research, there have been no successful embryonic stem cell treatments for any of the diseases that were supposed to have been helped by using embryonic stem cells. The list of diseases include: spinal injury, Parkinson's, blindness, MS and diabetes. He questions why the public has not been informed of this fact. Dr.Carlos Lima, a neurologist states that even though research has been limited in the United State and In England, the rest of the world has done unlimited research in this area for the last ten years. Places where research has been conducted on ESC include: China, Russia, Korea, India and Germany. Lima states that there have been no successful Embryonic Stem Cell treatments for any disease in any of these countries.

Wilmut states that he now feels that there is a better option: one that will not destroy the embryo. According to the press release, adult stem cells are already being successfully used to treat Parkinson's, blindness, traumatic brain injury, MS some cancers and diabetes. The press release states that four hundred fifty people in India have been cured of corneal blindness and that in Cincinnati eight patients per month experience this cure because of adult stem cell treatment. In London, Argentina and Brazil, diabetics have been insulin free because of the use of adult stem cells.

The press release also cites a new book by Christian Wilde, called Miracle Stem Cell Heart Repair. Wilde states, "Even if you take the moral, political and ethical concerns off the table, the scientific issues alone confronting Embryonic Stem Cell research (according to many scientists) are in themselves, daunting. Before an ESC can be safely injected into a human being it must be proven safe in an animal study. In cases to date, animal subjects have experienced dangerous tumor growth and rejection by the body." According to Wilde, the public should have un-biased information about both forms of stem cell research.

Wilmut is endorsing this book by Christian Wilde, stating that the book documents the FDA trials in which patients who had exhausted all other treatments experienced a successful heart repair procedure using their own stem cells. He states that this could possible be the "most important medical advancement in medical history".

Statistics in the press release state that heart failure is responsible for 22 million deaths world wide. It further states that the FDA trials have brought some of these patients from "near death to recovery following this one time, minimally invasive procedure using their own thigh muscle stem cells". Wilde asks why it is front page news that an embryonic stem cell may someday cure a heart defect in an animal , but there are no headlines about the hundreds of people who have experienced successful heart damage repairs with adult stem cells.

One example in the book is of a heart patient who went into the procedure with 75% of his heart not functioning. Following the one-time treatment at the Arizona Heart Institute, the patient is walking two miles a day and is still doing well two years after the surgery.

According to the press release, the FDA has now completed the first phase of the trial and is starting the Myoheart heart failure study, which will involve 450 more patients.

Sources used:
PRWeb
Adult Stem Cells Winning on Pure Science (Not on Political, Religious or Ethical Grounds)
www.prweb.com//releases/2007/12/prweb573917.htm