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Advocates Express Concern About Embryonic Stem Cell Research Guidelines As Comment Period Closes
Supporters of embryonic stem cell research have expressed concern about the impact on existing research efforts under the Obama administration"s draft guidelines outlining criteria for federal funding of stem cell research, the Washington Post reports. The public comment period for the guidelines ends Tuesday and has generated more than 20,000 comments addressing nearly every element of the proposal. The guidelines, which NIH issued in April, propose limiting federal funding for the research to stem cells derived from unused embryos created for fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients who have given written consent. Former President George W. Bush in August 2001 enacted restrictions limiting federal funding for the research to the 21 stem cell lines existing at the time. Although President Obama in March signed an executive order lifting Bush"s restrictions, some proponents of embryonic stem cell research have suggested that Obama"s plan could actually jeopardize many existing research efforts. The Obama administration is expected to issue its final version of the guidelines by July 7, the Post reports.After Bush restricted federal funding to the embryonic stem cell lines already in existence, many researchers turned to private donors and state governments for the financial support to create hundreds of new lines. Although supporters of the research initially were pleased that the Obama administration"s guidelines would allow federal funding for research on these new existing lines, some are now concerned that certain stipulations in the new guidelines could actually disqualify these research efforts from receiving federal funding. For example, NIH"s proposal requires that couples who wish to donate unused embryos for research sign a consent form indicating that they were fully informed of their alternatives. Although many fertility clinics provide information for couples about their other options, few clinics note these details in written consent forms, according to the Post. Therefore, existing stem cell lines derived from embryos donated by couples who did not sign the required consent forms could be ineligible under NIH"s draft proposal, the Post reports. In addition, many stem cell research supporters also expressed disappointment that only unused embryos created for fertility treatments would be eligible for federal funding.George Daley of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute said that the Obama administration"s guidelines "take 2009 standards and attempt to apply them retroactively, which isn"t really a standard that would allow most of the pre-existing lines to be acceptable for NIH funding." Lawrence Goldstein, director of the University of California-San Diego"s stem cell program, said, "It"s not that past practices were shoddy. But they don"t necessarily meet every letter of the new guidelines moving forward." Goldstein added that researchers would "have to throw everything out and start all over again" under the new proposed guidelines. Amy Comstock Rick, CEO of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, said that her group is "very concerned" about the funding prospects for existing research efforts, adding that if NIH officials do not modify the guidelines, "very little current research would be eligible" to receive federal funds. However, Raynard Kington, acting NIH director, said the agency is aware of the concerns and "will take them into consideration." He added that "it"s unambiguous that the intent of the president was to expand opportunities and research in this area," as long as such research is "scientifically worthy" and "ethically responsible" (Stein, Washington Post, 5/25).

Campaigners Put HIV Testing On The Parliamentary Agenda, UK
Local campaigners met with MPs and senior primary care trust staff at a parliamentary event today to raise awareness of HIV and discuss ways to increase HIV testing.
News of the day
WHO To Recommend Countries Stop Testing For H1N1
Within the next few days, the WHO "will recommend that countries stop trying to test all suspected cases of swine flu, said Keiji Fukuda, the agency"s assistant director-general of health security and environment," Tuesday during a conference call with reporters, Bloomberg reports. Instead, countries who have previously confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in their population should diagnose the flu based on symptoms alone, opening up "laboratories to test samples in unusual or severe cases, clusters of illnesses and cases with odd symptoms, he said," Bloomberg writes (Serafino/Hallam, 7/7).
Diagnostics

Roswell Park Awarded $2.8 Million Grant To Study Ovarian Cancer

The National Cancer Institute has awarded a five-year, $2.8 million Research Project (RO1) grant to Roswell Park Cancer Institute http://www.roswellpark.org/ (RPCI) researchers to investigate the role of immunological pathways in the development of ovarian cancer. Roswell Park investigators are Kirsten Moysich, PhD , Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences; Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD , Department of Gynecologic Oncology; and Lara Sucheston, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, University at Buffalo. "The coveted RO1 grants support individual scientists whose grant applications, after stringent peer review, have demonstrated outstanding science," said Candace Johnson, PhD, Deputy Director and the Wallace Family Chair in Translational Research, RPCI. "Roswell Park donations were critical in helping us initiate this research to generate novel preliminary data needed for our successful submission." While the causes of ovarian cancer remain largely unknown, scientific studies have consistently linked high regulatory T-cell levels to cancer. Unlike so-called effector T cells that attack foreign substances in the body, regulatory T cells actually suppress an immune reaction. Roswell Park scientists will, for the first time, conduct a comprehensive investigation of the role of regulatory T cells in ovarian cancer development and prognosis. Using a population-based case control study, Roswell Park scientists will compare regulatory T-cell levels in women diagnosed with ovarian cancer with those of healthy women. The research will help determine if women with ovarian cancer have higher blood regulatory T-cell levels than healthy women and if ovarian cancer patients with genetically determined high regulatory T-cell profiles have poorer clinical outcomes. "These data will be useful in the development of novel treatment options for ovarian cancer. Manipulation of regulatory T cells may afford a novel method to stimulate an immune response to this deadly disease. Additionally, physicians may find information concerning regulatory T-cell levels a useful tool as they evaluate the best treatments for their patients," said Dr. Moysich. Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecological malignancies and the second most common gynecological cancer in the US. In 2009, an estimated 21,550 women will be diagnosed and 14,600 women will die from ovarian cancer. Roswell Park Cancer Institute


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