Controversy Surrounds Stem Cell Research and Alzheimer's disease

Recent statistics indicate that 10 percent of Americans have a family member with Alzheimer's disease and as much as a third of Americans know someone with it. Close to 5 million Americans are currently struggling with the disease, and that number is expected to triple by the middle of the twenty-first century. Obviously, Alzheimer's disease is not an illness that only affects the elderly. Accordingly, researchers are struggling to find promising new treatments. Since the death of Ronald Reagan in 2004, many politicians, along with the former first lady Nancy Reagan and Reagan's daughter Patti Davis, have been rallying for government funding for embryonic stem cell research. Alzheimer's disease, they claim, can be cured if researchers are allowed to explore this line of scientific inquiry. Embryonic stem cell research is a highly politicized issue, however, with many opponents. Is the research really worth all of the political wrangling, and is it morally sound?

Some scientists believe that stem cell research could revolutionize the way physicians treat disease. Embryonic stem cells, which scientists believe are the most promising type of stem cells, have the potential to form into any type of tissue in the body, including brain cells. Researchers believe they could be used to heal paralysis, fix diseased hearts, or undo the brain damage caused by Parkinson's disease. Proponents say the possibilities are unlimited with stem cell research. Alzheimer's patients could regain their memory or, hopefully, never lose it in the first place. A recent study successfully used embryonic mouse stem cells to treat Parkinson's disease in mice. Patients with Parkinson's disease suffer from similar neurofibrillary tangles as Alzheimer's patients, so it is possible stem cells could be used to treat both diseases.

Opponents of embryonic stem cell research say that it is tantamount to murder. The stem cells are developed from fertilized embryos that would otherwise be discarded, but if life begins at conception, then using embryonic stem cells is a form of abortion. Developing a line of stem cells from a single embryo also involves cloning, bringing up a whole separate set of moral issues. As a result of the current pro-life, conservative administration, funding for embryonic stem cell research has been limited to only 22 lines of pre-existing embryos, which proponents say will not be sufficient for research purposes.

Opponents say that, regardless of the benefits of embryonic stem cell research, Alzheimer's disease can be solved some other way, using adult stem cells or umbilical cord blood. Adult stem cell research, for example, has no funding limits. Some scientists argue that adult stem cells are less versatile, since they are derived from only certain cells-brain, blood and bone marrow included-and can only be used to replicate those specific cells. Other scientists believe that adult stem cells may be more versatile than previously realized. A recent study found that bone-marrow stem cells taken from adult mice formed into many different tissues when injected into mice embryos.

As promising as adult stem cells may be, many scientists are now looking at alternative sources of funding for stem cell research, including private funding and state funding. Until the government decides to ban stem cell research, Alzheimer's patients and their families will continue to hope for the advances that science and technology can make in the fight against a debilitating disease.

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