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Stem Cell Governance - Airtalk On KPCC With Larry Mantle

Larry Mantle's Airtalk program on KPCC had a good program on May 24th featuring different sides of the Stem Cell Accountability Measure, proposed Constitutional Amendment 13, in California.

The show features Senator George Runner who co-wrote Constitutional Amendment  13 with Sen. Deborah Ortiz, Ted Costa, CEO of People's Advocate Inc., and Joan Samuelson, member of the ICOC (Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee).

The audio is 20 minutes long and, don't worry, it isn't full of screaming, interrupting and hanging up on people.  It's a good discussion from all sides.

Here's a direct link to the show.  Requires RealPlayer to play.
You can find a link to this show (and others) on the KPCC website.

Update:

On 5/25/2005, after the show aired, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Stem Cell Accountability Measure sending it to the Senate Floor.
Press Release here.

Stem Cell Bills H.R. 810 and H.R. 2520

The House of Representatives passed two stem cell bills yesterday.  The first, H.R 810, passed by a vote of 238 to 194.  Now it's off to the Senate with leaders from both the Republican and Democratic parties pushing for a vote without delay.

The summary of H.R. 810 (from http://thomas.loc.gov) is as follows:

"Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells, regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo. Limits such research to stem cells that meet the following ethical requirements: (1) the stem cells were derived from human embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics for the purpose of fertility treatment and were in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment; (2) the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded; and (3) such individuals donate the embryos with written informed consent and receive no financial or other inducements."

The second bill, H.R. 2520, passed by a whopping bipartisan 431-1.  H.R. 2520 is "To provide for the collection and maintenance of human cord blood stem cells for the treatment of patients and research, and to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program."

The full summary can be found here.

I'm glad to see that when the issue at hand is important enough, partisan politics can be shed and our leaders can stand up for what they truly believe in.  This isn't over yet though since President Bush has stated that he will veto bill H.R. 810.

To be continued...

Link:

Senators push for stem-cell bill - MarketWatch

Alzheimer's And Going With The Flow

"By the time I awoke to the reality of her illness, I had completed graduate training in theater studies. I would never have guessed that the degree I earned would prepare me for a decade of dementia."

This is a section of an article that was on HoustonChronicle.com on May 15, 2005 written by Elinor Fuchs. 

I wanted to point this article out because I think it illustrates very well an aspect of dealing with someone who has Alzheimer's disease.  One of the hardest things to adapt to is that you can't expect or force someone with Alzheimer's disease to live in the same world you do.  They don't understand or process information like they used to.  Their reality is different.  Their past and present collide and it all seems the same to them.

The author realized that sometimes the best thing to do is to join them in their world for awhile.  Call it role playing or just going with the flow, it does take some practice.  But it's worth it.

If it makes my mom happy to believe that she went to a party last night or that she visited her parents this morning, then that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Link to full article:

Alzheimer's: the final curtain - HoustonChronicle.com

Latinos And Alzheimer's

A recent study appears to show that Latinos in the United States are developing Alzheimer's disease earlier that white non-Latinos.

The 2 phase study indicates that Latinos developed Alzheimer's anywhere from about 4.5 to almost 7 years earlier. 

Reading the headlines for all the news articles about this study, it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that Alzheimer's is more likely to strike a particular race - in this case Latinos.  After reading the articles, I think the headlines are true, but a little misleading. 

I think this just reinforces the idea that susceptibility to Alzheimer's can have a lot to do with environment and lifestyle (where you live, foods you eat, activities, etc.).  I'm not convinced that it's because you belong to a specific race.

Hopefully more research into this will help to pinpoint the things that we can control in our lives that will help us avoid Alzheimer's or at least delay it longer.

Links:

US Latinos develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease earlier, on average, than white non-Latino people, according to a study in the May issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. - I-Newswire.com

Study: Alzheimer's Hits U.S. Latinos Earlier - MedicineNet.com

Who Discovered Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's disease seems to have been jointly discovered by Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915, whose name was given to the disease) and Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926).

See the following links for more information:

Did Alzheimer discover Alzheimer's Disease? - article.

International Kraepelin Society - website.

Alois Alzheimer - Wikipedia

Emil Kraepelin - Wikipedia

Alzheimer's Vaccine Testing

Sweden will begin testing on a new Alzheimer's vaccine.  The study will be small with the testing on 60 Swedish patients at mild to moderate stages of the disease.

It is hoped that the vaccine will get the body to produce anti-bodies against the amyloid beta protein.  Testing of the vaccine on mice has been very successful.

A previous international vaccine test was stopped in 2002 due to some severe side effects, including encephalitis.  Despite the side effects, that testing did show some success.  The University of Michigan is preparing to continue with new testing that will hopefully provide the benefits but eliminate the side effects.

Links:

Sweden to test new Alzheimer's vaccine

Alzheimer's Vaccine Research Back On Track

Being Overweight Could Lead To Alzheimer's

Being overweight in your 40's could mean an increased chance of developing Alzheimer's disease.

The study by the Kaiser Permanente Medical Foundation followed 30,000 Californians for almost 30 years.  The study showed the risk for developing Alzheimer's ranged from 8 out of 100 to 9 out of 100 for overweight to obese people, respectively.

The risk for normal weight people was 7 out of 100.

I've met a lot of people with Alzheimer's since mom got sick.  The vast majority of them are normal to thin to very thin.  I can't think of any offhand that were particularly overweight.  Weight loss is pretty common with Alzheimer's and I don't know what they weighed at the beginning stages of their disease, but after seeing this study I'm somewhat surprised that more aren't at least a little overweight.

See the following article for more information:

Risk of dementia higher for overweight adults - Newsday.

Alzheimer's Association's "Rally For Research" Fundraiser Results

The Alzheimer's Association's Rally For Research auction on eBay has ended with the results available here.

While the auction did raise some much needed money to help with research, I must say I'm a little disapointed in the results.  I realize that the items up for auction were out of the charity giving price range for most people right from the start.  But 2 of the 5 items did not get any bids at all.

Maybe the items were things people just weren't interested in.  Maybe not enough people were aware of the auction (I found out about it because I'm constantly looking at news regarding Alzheimer's.  I never did hear anyone else mention it).

Maybe it's just me.  No amount is enough until there's a cure.

Thanks to the Alzheimer's Association for all the money they raise throughout the year and for the unbelievable amount of work they do and information they provide to everyone involved with, impacted by or curious about Alzheimer's.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Due to a lawsuit, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is having trouble borrowing the money voters approved with California's proposition 71 stem cell initiative.

No one wants to buy bonds that the lawsuit may make worthless.  The state is considering going with shorter term bonds with a higher interest rate but that will increase the overall costs.

This looks like it will be playing out for awhile.  I don't want to see the costs for this skyrocket but the costs of not going forward with the research could be much higher.  Let's hope they find a way to work this out.

Links:

Lawsuit Hampers Calif. Stem Cell Funding - Washingtonpost.com
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Don't Worry, Be Happy

There's some evidence that people who are pessimistic or depressed (or both) may be at higher risk for developing dementia in later life.

Being pessimistic or depressed could mean a 30% increase in the risk of developing dementia.  Scoring high for both anxiety and pessimism could mean a 40% increase.

Living a full, happy, active life - while not always easy - is some good advice.

I wonder if this is related to other studies that show:

-Participating in a variety of exercises is more important than the intensity of the exercises, or
-Studies that recommend keeping your mind active by reading, doing crossword puzzles, enjoying a variety of hobbies or having a challenging career.

Variety seems to be important in exercising your mind to keep it functioning properly.  Always looking at the glass as half empty is limiting and lacks the variety that being open-minded can bring.

Links:

Pessimism and Depression Increase Dementia Risk - Mayo Clinic