Rep. Dave Weldon comments on stem therapy and type I diabetes

Apr 11 2007

In yet another advance in adult stem cell therapy, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a study in which 14 of 15 Juvenile Diabetes patients demonstrated significant improvement as a result of an adult stem cell treatment.

According to U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-FL), the study is significant in that it's the first attempt at using stem cells of any kind to reverse the effects of Type I diabetes in humans.

"This is a very promising study for those who are suffering from Juvenile Diabetes," said Weldon, a Florida physician, who noted that while only a preliminary study, the treatment appears to be quite promising since 14 of the patients remain insulin-free after the adult stem cell transplant using their own adult stem cells. One patient has now gone 34 months without insulin therapy.

"It's very important that the public be told what this is: an adult stem cell success, not the much touted embryo stem cell research. Also, one of the first things I noticed was that this research was done by Americans overseas. Why? Because much of the American biomedical research community has placed an irrational reliance on embryo stem cell research above all others. Adult stem cell science in America is being crowded out and in some cases ignored. This bias is now denying American patients access to therapies that are much more promising. We need to focus on human treatments for today, not those with false hope for tomorrow."

For years, Type I (Juvenile) diabetes has been known to be an autoimmune disorder where the body's own immune cells attack the insulin producing cell in the pancreas. These researchers used an adult stem cell transplant protocol that has previously been used with success in treating other autoimmune disorders such as lupus and MS (multiple sclerosis), crohns disease, scleroderma, and rheumatoid arthritis. The study was conducted in Brazil with the support of several U.S. clinical researchers.

"The beauty of the treatment protocol used here is that the patient's own bone marrow stem cells were used, guaranteeing a perfect match. There was no controversial destruction of human embryos. Embryo stem cells form tumors and have never been shown to be safe for use in humans.

"Should these patients remain insulin-free, the treatment is likely to be particularly useful for those suffering from Juvenile Diabetes who have difficultly in maintaining proper insulin levels, as well as for those who have difficulty accessing appropriate health care," Weldon concluded.