Human Embryonic Stem Cells Reduce Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms

Declan and I have been sleeping in the same place since Sunday (on Thursday night we returned to the porch we have been sleeping in since 3 November 2006 to find an unlocked trellis gate; and on Friday night the gate was locked). We are tucked away, about twenty paces from the side entrance of a public building, down some twelve steps. It is actually quite cold and windy so probably not suitable for the winter. There is not a single pub, bar or club in the area; nonetheless, last night at about 11.30pm three or four guys came out of a car, congregated under the roof of the paved enclosure and lifted the place for fifteen minutes; then they left.

They were so out of context we take it as a warning. Declan jokes that perhaps we should make a stand and sleep outside Wood Street police station (the nearest station) – see blog "A trellis gate is installed in the porch" for Declan's latest letter to the Registrar of the European Court of Human Rights citing violation of Article 34 of the European Convention of Human Rights and requesting that the Court take this matter up with the Government (Article 34 establishes a duty on Convention states not to subject applicants to any improper indirect acts or contacts designed to dissuade or discourage applicants from pursuing a Convention remedy).

The majority of emails that I send to scientists and academics inviting them to sign Declan's petition to the UN on research cloning of embryos and stem cells are still going to spam boxes (or to cyberspace, see blog of 4 September "Obama: Yes to stem cells, funding"): yesterday I sent 127 and got three out-of-office-autoreplies; we also only got one signature.

hESCs reduce multiple sclerosis symptoms

Israel's Hadassah University Hospital and Hadasit, the technology transfer company of Hadassah Medical Organisation, announced Monday that scientists at Hadassah University Hospital have discovered a new application for human embryonic stem cells. They have demonstrated for the first time that transplanted neural cells derived from human embryonic stem cells can reduce the clinical symptoms in animals with a form of multiple sclerosis. The findings of the study are published in an article titled "Neuroprotective Effect of Transplanted Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Neural Precursors in an Animal Model of Multiple Sclerosis" in the Scientific Journal of PLoS One (see the article here).

The data presented in the report are the result of a long-term collaboration between Benjamin Reubinoff, director of the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center at Hadassah Hospital (and a signatory of Declan’s petition), and Tamir Ben Hur, director of the Neurological Department at Hadassah Hospital. Michal Aharonowiz and Ofira Einstein both from Hadassah, as well as Hans Lassmann from the University of Vienna also contributed. "Human embryonic stem cell-derived neural precursors were transplanted into the brains of mice with an experimental form of MS. The grafted human cells integrated in the mice brains and migrated towards the sites of inflammation. They suppressed the inflammatory process in the brain, and consequently protected the animals from demyelination and nerve cell extension (axonal) injury, which are the pathological hallmarks of MS," said Reubinoff.

MS is the most common disabling neurological condition affecting young adults. MS is caused by an inflammatory reaction of the patient's own immune system against the myelin sheath that envelops the nerve processes. The destruction of myelin leads to the degeneration and loss of nerve cells and permanent neurological disabilities. MS affects 2.5 million people worldwide.

"We believe that the encouraging therapeutic effects in the rodent model of MS justify moving ahead to clinical studies. We also anticipate that the anti-inflammatory effect demonstrated in the pre-clinical study may be combined in the future with the use of other human embryonic stem cell derived neural cells to repair the myelin in the brain," said Reubinoff.

The website of Hadassah Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center states the following in respect of the potential of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research for transplantation therapy:

Given their unique properties, hESCs are expected to have far-reaching applications in the study of early human development, the development of new drugs, and regenerative medicine. Human ES cell lines can serve as a renewable unlimited donor source of specialized human cells for transplantation therapy.

Human ES cell-derived mature cells could potentially be transplanted to restore tissue function in a wide range of human diseases that are associated with loss of cell function.

These conditions may include neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, Multiple Sclerosis, cerebrovascular accidents, spinal cord injuries, as well as heart failure, diabetes mellitus, and others. The number of patients that potentially could benefit from transplantation of hESCs is overwhelming. For example there are over 16 million patients worldwide with neurodegenerative disorders, and over 120 million diabetic patients. Moreover, transplantation of genetically modified hESCs may allow the transfer and expression of foreign genes in target organs in the course of gene therapy.

While the promise of hESCs for cell and gene therapy is remarkable, further extensive research and development are required to exploit their potential for regenerative medicine.

An article dated 2 October 2007 in the Jewish Advocate, titled "Hadassah brings Stem Cell Summit to Boston", quoted Rafi Hofstein, president and CEO of Hadasit, as saying: "It is common knowledge that the medicine of the future will be based on stem cell-derived treatments." In 2000, the Hadassah University Hospital in Israel teamed with Monash University in Australia and the National University of Singapore to become only the second group in the world to develop human embryonic cell lines. "[The Hadassah University Hospital] in Israel is at the forefront of stem cell medical research," Hofstein said. "We believe we are doing the right thing and something of great importance." Research has been slowed, however, due to a lack of funding for U.S. researchers, according to Hofstein. He said Israeli researchers cannot fully collaborate with their American counterparts because the Bush administration has limited the amount of funding available through the National Institute of Health.

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group is the 3rd largest political group in the European Parliament. Speaking before the ALDE Conference "Secularism and Religions in the European Union" in the European Parliament (28-29 August), ALDE Group Leader Graham Watson (UK, LibDem) stressed that the Catholic Church has the right both to spread its word and to lobby governments with its points of view on matters like abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. But Watson believes that "for policy makers reason has to be the basis. Faith should not underpin policy-making."

Thirteenth visit by the police

Last night at 8.20pm we had yet another visit from the Bishopsgate City of London police at the porch we sleep in at night. I suppose that after being visited so many times (we’ve been sleeping in this particular porch since being made rough sleepers on 3 November 2006), we have a knack for it and can take their questioning this way and that way – well, Declan does most of the talking. In the past, we have been questioned twice by two police officers on horses, by a police officer that was mainly concerned about our welfare, by female police officers, etc.

This time, however, it was quite close to Samuel L Jackson’s S.W.A.T. squad (without a Colin Farrell): five police officers came out of a big police van that had just parked across the road and made their way straight for us. Anyway, Declan was drilled with the usual questions, except this time they wanted to know why didn’t we want to return to Ireland. Declan’s answer was that we are European citizens and waiting for relief from the European Court of Human Rights. British police have a bit of a reputation for being institutionally racist – the one that suggested we leave the UK was from the Middle East though – so we are not taking it personally.

You have to be caught begging to be arrested which is why Declan had no trouble informing them that, as a result of The Big Issue not sorting out the problems we are having on our pitches, we are being forced to beg for money (it seems The Sun tabloid newspaper has completely taken over my pitch after 11.00am, which means I can only step in to sell the Big Issue to passers-by between 7.30am and 9.15am – I say 9.15am because after 9.10am the morning rush hour dies and things don’t pick up again until well past midday). Declan did tell them that twice we have had £350 for the deposit The Big Issue requested of Declan to find us a place to live.

I don’t know which is worse: to be hungry or cold. I am quite used now to going to sleep quite hungry and, although it is not something I welcome with open arms, it has given me a sharp edge which I appreciate: I wrote the draft of Declan’s application of 8 September to the European Court and the urgent request for expedition that went with it – as early as 5.00am and sometimes until 11.00pm – and now I am going full-on to see what NAC could do in embryonic stem cell research, for private funding. So I am very much hoping that the cold won’t work against me. There is another reason why I am cold though. On 11 April I was forced to ask the nun in charge of clothes in the Sisters of Mercy-run Dellow Centre for a pair of jeans and really I am not looking forward to asking her again for clothes, this time for the winter. The Methodist Church-run Whitechapel Mission didn’t give me much either and it’s of course rather unsurprising that on 18 June we were barred from its premises, albeit because the minister’s wife was concerned about our safety.

Back to embryonic stem cell research, there was an article yesterday in The Guardian stating that according to the new head of the Medical Research Council, the UK is in danger of losing its leading position in stem cell research if the next US president relaxes federal restrictions on funding imposed by President Bush. Apparently Bush's policy on embryonic stem cell research looks unlikely to survive long after his political demise because the leading Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were both involved in trying to steer a bill liberalising stem cell research through the senate this year and Republican candidates John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani are both in favour – although in Mr Giuliani's case with reservations. One of the principal arguments of those who oppose the research is that life begins at conception, and, in effect, any embryonic cell is sacred.

The science is very complex, but the bottom line is that embryonic stem cells are what is called "pluripotent" – in that they can potentially be tweaked to form any cell structure in the human body from lung tissue to epidermal tissue or heart muscles. Adult stem cells can (mostly) only reproduce their existing form.

In Australia, the legislation – the Research Involving Human Embryos and Prohibition of Human Cloning Amendment Bill – is due to be debated within weeks, with the sitting beginning on October 9. Meanwhile, the Australian Christian Lobby – trenchantly opposed to the Bill – has directly lobbied all but a handful of state MPs.

In July 2006, the European Union agreed to allow funding for human embryonic stem cell experiments after member states compromised on the way the research is financed – Germany, which had led opposition, agreed to the compromise after a five-and-a-half hour debate while Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Lithuania and Malta maintained their rejection but lacked the votes to block it. The compromise will prevent scientists using EU cash to extract stem cells from human embryos, although they will be able to work on new embryonic cells from national and other sources.

On 22 December 2006 the Secretary General of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) stated: “We continue to insist that the EU should concentrate its joint research efforts on research areas which do not violate deeply held convictions about the inviolability of human life. We are at a loss to understand why the European institutions insisted on allowing EU-funding for very contentious research involving the instrumentalisation of human embryos. We recall our fundamental ethical and anthropological concern regarding the pursuit of such research.”

Perhaps the final word, though, belongs to Michael O'Neill, a 21-year-old Business and Health Science student at the Queensland University of Technology suffering from cystic fibrosis, who says that those who oppose this new frontier of research "don't understand what's involved, they are not the ones sitting here in this hospital bed".