Posted: August 23, 2014 at 10:44 am
Ice Bucket Challenge - Challenge ALS Association
I cannot support the ALS Association but have accepted the "Ice Bucket Challenge" to challenge the ALS Association in their embryonic stem cell research, which destroys life days after conception....
By: Fr. Michael Denk
Read more:
Ice Bucket Challenge - Challenge ALS Association - Video
Posted: August 23, 2014 at 10:44 am
Coach Ag and the ice bucket challenge
Scientifically literate society and all methods of stem cell research NOW.
By: MrEvodevo
Visit link:
Coach Ag and the ice bucket challenge - Video
Posted: August 23, 2014 at 10:44 am
ALS #icebucketchallenge
So I finally caved and did it. ALS/ Lou Gehrig #39;s Disease is very serious and its important to raise awareness. But embryo stemcell research is wrong and other possible cures should be explored....
By: Josiah LaRue: Vlogs and Vines
Read this article:
ALS #icebucketchallenge - Video
Posted: August 23, 2014 at 10:44 am
Nikki Spangler ice bucket challenge
I did the als ice bucket challenge but instead donated to Team Gleason because they don #39;t do stem cell research. I nominate my favorite nascar driver Kasey Kahne!
By: Nikki Spangler
Read the original:
Nikki Spangler ice bucket challenge - Video
Posted: August 23, 2014 at 10:44 am
American Chronicles 7:14 Embryonic Stem Cell Research
American Chronicles 7:14 Embryonic Stem Cell Research.
By: whatthingssoever
Read the rest here:
American Chronicles 7:14 Embryonic Stem Cell Research - Video
Posted: August 23, 2014 at 10:05 am
Because life is precious and human dignity needs to be respected, of course now anti-choice groups are now coming down on the Ice Bucket Challenge.
There are plenty of legitimate reasons to question the unlikely philanthropic viral sensation of the summer from its gimmicky premise to the way it overshadows our own governments slashing of medical research funding but its hard to argue with the more than $13 million raised for ALS so far, or the awareness the stunt has raised for the vicious and so far incurable degenerative disease. But the story has taken a new twist as religious groups are now beginning to discourage followers from participating because ALS research at times relies on embryonic stem cells.
This week, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati specifically asked Catholic school leaders at 113 schools to immediately cease any fundraising plans connected to the challenge, because the ALS Association funds at least one study using embryonic stem cells in direct conflict with Catholic teaching. Speaking to Religion News Service Tuesday, ALS Association representative Carrie Munk said, Currently, The Association is funding one study using embryonic stem cells (ESC), and the stem cell line was established many years ago under ethical guidelines set by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); this research is funded by one specific donor, who is committed to this area of research. The project is in its final phase and will come to an end very soon. She added that donors can stipulate where their money goes and can ask that it not pay for embryonic stem cell research.
But thats still not acceptable to some. Archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco explained to Cincinnati.com Thursday that We appreciate the compassion that has caused so many people to engage in this, Andriacco said. But its a well established moral principle that a good end is not enough. The means to that ends must be morally licit. The Archdiocese suggests people who want to do the challenge contribute to the John Paul II Medical Research Institute, where the research is only conducted using adult stem cells. Similarly, Father Michael Duffy, in a post for Patheos, wrote earlier this month, While I cant donate to the ALS Association, I will certainly pray for those that suffer from this disease. Ill also be on the lookout for a charity that doesnt violate the Sanctity of Human Life. And LifeNews this week warned that If you give to the ALS Association your money may end up supporting clinical trials that use aborted fetal cells. The reference is likely to a four-year-old clinical trial involving eight-week-old fetal tissue taken from a single source of spinal cord cells: cells that were extracted from fetal tissue, which was donated. The provenance of the source has not been disclosed, but the results of the FDA approved trial were reported last year as extraordinary.Fetal tissue research has existed in the U.S. for decades.Early polio research included the use of embryonic tissue. Thechickenpox, rubella, hepatitis A,shingles and one rabies vaccine all derive from fetal embryo fibroblast cells cultivated in the 1960s and Catholic leadership has wrestled with the ethics of using those vaccines.
Not all religious leaders are opposed to the Ice Bucket Challenge. Don Clemmer of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called the Cincinnati decision a local matter, and the National Catholics Bioethics Center plans to issue its own statement on the moral controversy that has arisen soon. And evangelical pastor Greg Laurieand Texas megachurch pastor T.D. Jakeshave jumped in, as has Catholic Paul Ryan.
Researchers investigating many other conditions, including Parkinsons, also have been known to use embryonic stem cells. The National Institutes of Health notes that embryonic stem cells are derived from donors and created in vitro and not derived from eggs fertilized in a womans body. And the ALS Association, while acknowledging that stem cell research raises a great deal of ethical questions also calls it a major medical breakthrough.
Medical research almost always inspires moral questions, and those questions need to be asked and debated. There are also plenty of reasons to opt out of the ice bucket challenge and choose to put ones time and money somewhere else; there are reasons to have conversations about embryonic stem cell research and fetal tissue research. But ignorance helps no one, and if youre going to take a stand on an issue, at least do your own soul searching and get the facts straight first.
Originally posted here:
Posted: August 23, 2014 at 10:05 am
Autologous Stem Cell Transplant / Bone Marrow Transplant
candidates | stem cells | process | team | questions | contact
Thompson Cancer Survival Center in Knoxville is the only East Tennessee stem cell transplant program ever to earn accreditation and reaccreditation from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy.
This FACT accreditation attests that the Thompson stem cell transplant program's clinical and technical excellence are among the best in the nation. So East Tennessee patients who need high-dose chemotherapy don't have to travel far from home at a time when they need the comfort and support family and friends can provide.
Thompson's Fellowship Center provides free accommodation for patients and family members from outside the Knoxville area.
More than 160 multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia, Hodgkin's disease and testicular cancer patients have received stem cell transplants at Thompson with excellent outcomes.
Stem cell transplant therapy at Thompson takes 45 to 60 days of outpatient or inpatient treatment. Each patient's referring physician is fully informed about every step of the procedure. After the process is successfully completed, patients return to their regular physician for follow-up care.
Many national and regional health insurers cover stem cell transplant therapy, and Thompson is included in most networks as an autologous stem cell transplant center.
The Thompson Stem Cell Transplant program is located at the Thompson downtown facility at 1915 White Ave., Knoxville, TN. For more information about the program, please call 865-541-2161.
Link:
Posted: August 23, 2014 at 10:04 am
Earlier this year, Ohio State researchers found that pretreating adult stem cells with an anti-angina drug allows them to better adapt to the harsh environment of their transplantation site. Scientists are studying whether transplanted cells eliminate or slow the tissue deterioration that would lead to heart failure.
In research published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, adult stem cells from the bone marrow of rats were pretreated with the drug trimetazidine, or TMZ. The stem cells were then grown under low oxygen conditions to mimic their native and destination environments, and then exposed to stressful conditions that exist in the damaged heart tissue. The pretreated stem cells provided a substantially better therapeutic effect in restoring heart function.
Transplanted stem cells can repair many types of damaged tissue, including heart tissue, says Dr. Periannan Kuppusamy, associate director of the Ohio State Medical Centers Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute. However, most of the stem cells transplanted in the heart die within a few days due to lack of oxygen and nutrients.
Stem cell-based cardiac therapy is an experimental procedure in which stem cells are transplanted to the damaged region of the heart in patients who have suffered a heart attack. Funding from the National Institutes of Health supported Kuppusamys research.
In early 2008, OSU Medical Centers Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital began collaborating with Arteriocyte, a biotechnology company created at Case Western Reserve University, to develop stem-cell therapies for human use.
The biggest challenge is that heart muscle doesnt typically regenerate, says Dr. Vincent Pompili, Ohio States director of cardiovascular cell-based therapies, who previously served at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. These studies are allowing us to study individual disease processes and identify ways to accelerate the bodys healing mechanisms.
Two recent Phase I trials offer a glimpse into the potential of stem-cell therapy. The first infused a very low dose of umbilical cord blood stem cells into patients with chronic ischemia, a condition characterized by a constant lack of blood and oxygen supply to the heart. After receiving the stem cells, a significant number of trial participants saw improved blood flow to the heart. According to Pompili, this resulted from the stem cells ability to help the body repair itself.
The second study examined the effect of human umbilical cord blood stem cells in genetically-engineered mice experiencing a chronic lack of blood flow to one of their limbs. One month after stem cell infusion, researchers noted nearly normal blood flow in the mice limbs.
Although this research is still in its early stages, it holds great promise as a potential therapy for patients suffering from a chronic lack of blood flow to and from the heart, adds Pompili, who also serves as Ohio States section director of interventional cardiology. Ohio States partnership with biotechnology companies illustrates our commitment to offering stem cell therapies in cardiovascular medicine.
See the rest here:
Posted: August 23, 2014 at 10:01 am
The ALS ice bucket fundraising phenomenon sweeping across social media wont be chilled by a Cincinnati church leaders objection to the organization backing embryonic stem cell research, a local theologian predicted.
I dont think that bishops really give marching orders to lay people, said Stephen Pope, a theology professor at Boston College. I dont know that the statement is really going to have much impact.
He added that the Catholic Church teaches against the use of birth control, but that most Catholics who are married, at some point, use birth control.
The Herald reported yesterday that Jim Rigg, the superintendent of Catholic schools for the Cincinnati archdiocese, told students to avoid donating to the ALS Association because it supports research using embryonic stem cells, which runs counter to church teachings.
John Frates, the Catholic Beverly father of former BC baseball player Peter Frates who inspired the ice bucket challenge, told the Herald this week he understands the objections, but he just wants a cure for his son.
Although people giving to the ALS Association can direct their donations away from embryonic stem cell studies, its still a cooperation with evil, according to John Di Camillo, staff ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center.
Just as theyre raising awareness to try and eliminate ALS, we want to raise awareness of the immorality of stem cell research and have that eliminated, he said.
The ALS Association said it has raised $41.8 million nationwide since the ice bucket challenge was launched last month 14 times the amount it raised during this time last year.
The organization only gives money to one stem cell study, according to Jan Obermann, care services manager for the nonprofits Massachusetts chapter.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called the Cincinnati protest a local matter.
Read the original post:
Expert: Catholic objections wont leave ALS fundraiser all wet
Posted: August 23, 2014 at 10:01 am
Youd probably think that raising millions of dollars to fund research to find a cure for a terminal illness that robs sufferers of the ability to move or speak would be a good thing. Well, some pro-life advocates found a way to disagree.
Pro-life activists and religious leaders are encouraging people to stop donating to the ALS Association. Their logic: at least one of the studies funded bv the ALS Association uses embryonic stem cells, and embryos (i.e. babies) must be killed in order to harvest those cells. While those opposed to the research are still okay with the pouring of cold water over ones head, they want donations to instead go to ALS charities that only fund research that uses adult stem cells, or that dont fund research at all.
In an article titled The ALS challenge kills babies, the American Family Associations Kevin McCullough wrote: Millions of dollars raised through this specific challenge may be used to create a child only to kill it for what amounts to fruitless experimentation and this very challenge is contributing to the on going destruction of human life--intentionally.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
According to New York magazine, it was pro-life news site LifeNews.com that first advocated against donating to the ALS Association, saying: if you give to the ALS Association your money may end up supporting clinical trials that use aborted fetal cells. Even if the money is not directly going to facilitate such research, it will be going to organizations that see no problem in using aborted innocents as biological material for medical use.
LifeNews suggested giving money to Team Gleason instead, as it helps people with ALS but does not appear to fund any research into curing the disease. Team Gleason is named after Steve Gleason, a former NFL player who has ALS. Incidentally, Gleason took part in the ice bucket challenge last week. He told the Seattle Times that ALS is a silent, brutal, and until now an anonymous death. There is still no treatment or cure ... So, my advice is to pour ice over your head, donate, learn, share and care for someone with ALS.
The anti-ALS Association cause was recently taken up by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, which encouraged area Catholic schools to tell students to donate money to the John Paul II Medical Research Institute. The Institute does not use embryonic stem cells. Cincinnati Catholic schools superintendent Jim Rigg did just that when he took part in the ice bucket challenge on Thursday:
In trying to explain how it could advocate taking money out of a charitys pocket, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese told another pro-life website, LifeSiteNews.com: Its a well established moral principle that a good end is not enough. The means to that end must be morally licit.
The Christian Broadcasting Network followed suit, posting a video of some of its employees dumping water on themselves and making it clear that they would not be donating to the ALS Association:
Time reports that the John Paul II Medical Research Institute has received dozens of donations since the anti-ALS Association challenge began.
The rest is here:
