"This work marks a new age in regenerative medicine," commented Dr. Len Horovitz of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. It seems to be the first tissue engineering product that has withstood the test of time and the first time that artificial organs more complicated than skin and bone have been implanted in humans. ~ Los Angeles Times, Apr 4
A fourth American state has voted help to fund embryonic stem cell research. The Maryland legislature has passed a bill authorising US$15 million in grants to universities in the state and private- sector researchers. Although most members of his party voted against the measure, Republican Governor Robert L. Erhlich Jr strongly supported it. Like other politicians around the world, he predicts that embryo research will further his state's national and international reputation and will prevent a brain drain of "our best and brightest". California, New Jersey and Connecticut also support embryo research.
The New York Times pointed out in an editorial that the regulation of stem cell research has been left to the states because of Federal paralysis. As a result, the US stem cell scene is a patchwork of conflicting laws. On the more conservative side of the stem cell divide, South Dakota has banned all research on embryonic stem cells and other states have banned therapeutic cloning. This is "an absurd way to conduct research that may have extraordinary importance if it pans out," says the Times.
Stem cell research could become a hot political issue in November's congressional elections, just as it was in John Kerry's failed tilt at the White House. The Democrats plan to push the issue hard to appeal to women and to demonstrate that they stand for progress and the Republicans for the status quo. Their opponents are sceptical. "House races tend to be much more about pocketbook issues," Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, says. "I can guarantee you that there will not be a competitive House race in the country where stem cells are discussed" in campaign ads.
Depending upon how the numbers are spun, the US is either lagging badly behind in stem cell research because of Federal restrictions, or it is a world leader. A survey of current literature in the German science magazine Bild der Wissenschaft shows that Israeli scientists have the highest per capita publishing rate in the world, and Germany's have the lowest. However, it turns out that US-based scientists have published 42% of all stem cell research articles (both adult and embryonic) between 2000 and 2005, with Germany second, at 10%. The UK, with probably the world's most liberal stem cell research laws, publishes less by both criteria. ~ The Scientist, Mar 21; Wesley Smith's blog, Mar 27; Washington Post, Mar 30; South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Mar 27;
PUZZLE OVER JAPANESE EUTHANASIA CASE
A trickle of conflicting information about a Japanese surgeon accused of the mercy killing of seven patients shows the importance of terminology in discussing euthanasia. Now it appears that the unnamed doctor, who was the chief surgeon at a hospital in the city of Imizu, did not disconnect respirators so that his patients could die with dignity". Instead, he told newspapers that that only six patients were involved and that he was asked by families to remove the respirators after it became clear that they were beyond recovery. He admits that he failed to obtain written consent for his actions. "I think I was imprudent," he told reporters.
Although the facts of the case are still being pieced together, it does seem clear that it is not a clear-cut case of so-called "mercy killing", although the Japanese media have consistently described it as such. According to euthanasia expert Wesley Smith, removing desperately ill people from a respirator is not necessarily euthanasia, at least as the term is used in the West, which refers to killing by some artificial means. ~ Mainichi Shimbun, Mar 29; Daily Yomiuri, Apr 2; Wesley Smith's blog
TERRI'S RELATIVES STILL IN TRENCHES
A year after the death of Terri Schiavo, the controversy over whether the brain-damaged woman should have died still rages, but in bookshops and talk shows rather than in the courts. Her feuding husband and parents have just released competing memoirs. Michael Schiavo is promoting his book "Terri: The Truth" (Dutton) and Robert and Mary Schindler have written "A Life That Matters: The Legacy of Terri Schiavo, a Lesson For Us All" (Warner). On every major point they have completely different versions of Terri's life.
Mr Schiavo has cast himself as a warrior against the Christian Right. A blurb for his book says: "A religious zealot offered $250,000 to anyone who would kill me. My two babies were threatened with death. I was condemned by the president, the majority leaders of the House and Senate, the governor of Florida, the Pope, and the rightwing media, all because I was doing what Terri -- the woman I loved -- wanted."
The version offered by her parents and her brother and sister claims to relate the inside story of the troubled relationship between Terri and Michael Schiavo. It promises details that "will haunt readers forever: a bereft family barred by the police from their daughter's hospice room in the final moments of her life".
And these are just two of ten books on the Schiavo case, both popular and academic. Each side has also launched a foundation to carry its message. The Schindlers have started the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation to form an anti-euthanasia network. Michael Schiavo has created Terripac.com which encourages people to write living wills. ~ Guardian (UK), Mar 28; Miami Herald, Mar 31
DRUG TRIAL CHANGES MOOTED
German authorities are considering changes to how drug trials are conducted because of a disastrous outcome in London last month. Six British volunteers became violently ill when they took a monoclonal antibody treatment designed and manufactured in Germany. The new rules may forbid simultaneous testing of high risk drugs and stipulate that the product be given to one volunteer at a time.
Originally the drug, TGN1412, was to have been tested in Berlin, but because British authorities gave the green light for the Phase 1 trial first, the contract research company Parexel, chose London. The drug was created by a small biotech in Bavaria started by scientists from Würzberg University and was manufactured by one of Germany's largest drug companies, Boehringer Ingelheim.
Several of the volunteers have been discharged from hospital, but one is still in a serious condition. Two have been telling their story to British newspapers and on television. The pain felt as though "a truck had been parked on my head", 24-year-old Nav Modi told The Sun. He had planned to use his £2,000 fee to buy a laptop after completing his MBA. ~ BMJ, Apr 1; The Sun, Apr 2; Independent (UK), Apr 4
DESIGNER BABY" CLINIC TO OPEN IN UK
Britain's first made-to-order baby clinic is to open in Nottingham within 3 months, the London Telegraph reports. The £5 million facility will be able to screen embryos for up to 100 inherited gene disorders, such as muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis. Those with bad genes will be discarded. The Care in the Park IVF Clinic is one of a group of eight IVF centres run by the innovative Care network, which has notched up a number of world firsts, including the delivery of the world's first IVF baby.
Dr Simon Fishel, a leading IVF specialist working at Care in the Park, says that the National Health Service ought to fund "designer baby" treatments. A single cycle of IVF with embryo screening will probably cost £6,000, compared to £3,000 for standard IVF. It will probably save the government money in the long run, suggests Dr Fishel. The lifetime cost for some children with genetic diseases can be as much as £1 million.
The new facility is sure to be controversial, although its focus is preventing the birth of defective babies rather than enhancing the genetic make-up of normal ones. "Paying £5 million of a state-of- the-art centre in order to eliminate more embryos sounds like aggressive eugenics," says Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics. "We need to develop real cures for genetic disease, not kill the carriers." ~ London Telegraph, Mar 26
BABY BUSINESS ROUND-UP
Tbilisi, Georgia | Unregulated surrogacy has opened up market opportunities in Georgia, EurasiaNet reports. The Surrogate Motherhood Centre, a clinic supported by the Ministry of Health, brokers deals between unemployed women and infertile couples. "Most of the women offering their services to us are desperate," says Dr Tamar Khachapuridze. "They have children and the family has no money." The minimum price for gestational surrogacy is normally US$5,000 for Georgian couples. But Dr Khachapuridze hopes to attract more Westerners who will pay twice that amount. "In France," she says, "couples are looking and waiting for surrogate mothers. Here, it is the other way around." The Georgian parliament is currently drafting a law on assisted reproduction, but at the moment, there are no restrictions, even on the number of times a woman can be a surrogate. This concerns Dr Khachapuridze, as it could lead to unwitting incest. ~ EurasiaNet, Mar 29
Mumbai, India | With medical tourism to India is predicted to be a major industry in a few years time, IVF clinics are making their own contribution. Dr Aniruddha Malpani, an entrepreneurial IVF specialist who has marketed his services extensively through the internet, says that he treats at least one foreign couple a week. Another Mumbai clinic is planning to open a branch in Goa so that its European clients can combine treatment with a beach holiday. Although it is easier to get treatment in India than in the UK, where there are long waiting lists, the doctors take more risks. A 39-year-old UK woman interviewed by the Observer had six embryos implanted -- two of her own and four donated by locals -- which horrified her doctors back home in Britain. She gave birth to an Indian baby. ~ Observer, Mar 26
Twelve years after a law was passed banning Indian doctors from helping pregnant women to select the sex of their children, two medical professionals have been convicted, jailed and fined. Dr Anil Sabhani and his X-ray technician Kartar Singh were nabbed in a sting operation in the northern state of Haryana in 2001, which has one of the worst gender ratios in the world. Previous convictions have resulted only in fines.