Doctors, researchers and scientists are working every day on treatments and cures for heart disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and many other afflictions. Below are several advances announced just this year at institutions across the United States.

For our friends, families and fellow citizens, we must allow this noble and important work to continue.

Special nerve cells created from embryonic stem cells could help heal spinal cord injuries, say researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Rochester in New York. The special cells, called astrocytes, regenerated nerve fibers in the injured spinal cords of mice, helping them move again. The team is working on human forms of the cell for human clinical trials someday (University of Colorado Denver and University of Rochester, Sept. 19, 2008).

Embryonic stem cells can regenerate heart tissue in mice to treat a congenital defect called dilated cardiomyopathy, according to a study at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The discovery suggests that heart tissue could be repaired in people who suffer heart attacks or heart failure because of a genetic heart condition. Scientists at Mayo Clinic transplanted 200,000 embryonic stem cells into the heart walls of mice with congenital heart defects. One month later, stem cells had grafted into the heart, deterioration had stopped and heart performance had improved, ultimately saving the animals’ lives (Mayo Clinic, Sept. 11, 2008).

Biologists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute report they have directly reprogrammed common cells in the pancreases of living mice into special cells capable of producing insulin and fighting diabetes. The discovery, which was made possible by prior advances from embryonic stem cell research, also could lead to therapies and cures for heart disease and other afflictions in people (Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Aug. 27, 2008).

Human embryonic stem cells are used to create red blood cells, a component of blood that helps distributes oxygen throughout the body. The research, conducted by researchers from Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technologies, the University of Illinois-Chicago and Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic, could potentially create an endless blood supply and negate the need for blood donations (Advanced Cell Technology, Aug. 19, 2008).

Using mouse embryonic stem cells, researchers at the National Cancer Institute develop a method to evaluate which changes in a particular gene known to increase susceptibility to breast cancer might lead to cancer. The discovery could better inform people predisposed to developing cancer, as well as carriers of other disease-related genes (National Cancer Institute, July 6, 2008).

Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis move closer to a new generation of heart disease treatments that use human stem cells. They report that a gene they’ve been researching in mice starts the development of the cardiovascular system by locking mouse embryonic stem cells into becoming heart parts and getting them moving to the area where the heart forms. The next step is studying whether the gene can help fix damaged hearts in mice (Washington University in St. Louis, July 2, 2008).

A new technique is discovered for turning embryonic stem cells into insulin-producing pancreatic tissue, which could lead to new treatments for diabetes. Scientists at the The University of Manchester and the University of Sheffield in England genetically manipulated the stem cells to produce an important protein that helps increase specific types of desired cells pancreatic cells, in the case of diabetes (The University of Manchester, April 3, 2008).

A Stanford University study shows that neural cells created from embryonic stem cells helped repair the brains of rats damaged by stroke. The rats, which each lost partial use of a forelimb, showed improvement after they were injected with the early-stage neural cells. The cells traveled to the damaged brain section and incorporated into the surrounding tissue, working to repair damage caused by the stroke (Stanford University, Feb. 20, 2008).

Researchers at Novocell, a San Diego-based biotechnology company, announce that for the first time embryonic stem cells can be turned into pancreatic cells capable of producing insulin in mice. The discovery someday could help people who have Type 1 diabetes and require regular insulin treatment. The research builds on discoveries Novocell scientists announced in 2005 and 2006 (Novocell, Feb. 20, 2008).

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About Stem Cells

What are stem cells?

Stem cells are the building blocks of our bodies. They have the unique ability to turn into other types of specialized cells that make up our tissues, bones and organs. Basically, there are two types of stem cells: adult stem cells; and early, or embryonic, stem cells (ES cells). Back »

What are the basic sources of stem cells for medical treatments?

Adult stem cells are found in body tissues, including bone marrow and certain other tissues in the bodies of adults and in discarded umbilical cord blood. ES cells are available from two basic sources. One source is leftover fertility clinic blastocysts that would otherwise be discarded and destroyed. The other source is a process called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), which provides a way to use a patient’s own cell and an unfertilized human egg to make ES cells in a lab dish.

A NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY: Although laymen and news reports often refer to blastocysts as "embryos," the scientific definition of an "embryo" more correctly applies to the stage of development that comes after a fertilized egg has passed through the zygote, morula and blastocyst stages of development and the blastocyst has been implanted in a uterus. Blastocysts used for ES cell research are microscopic balls of undifferentiated cells that have not been implanted and never will be implanted in a woman’s uterus. Nonetheless, because most people are not familiar with the term "blastocyst," we have used the phrase "leftover fertility clinic embryos" elsewhere in our FAQs and other materials. Back »

What’s the difference between adult stem cells and ES cells?

Adult stem cells are partially specialized cells that can turn into a limited number of body cells and tissues. For example, blood-forming adult stem cells in bone marrow can turn into some types of blood-related cells. Scientists have been conducting research with adult stem cells for over 50 years and have developed a number of medical therapies that use adult stem cells, such as bone marrow transplants to treat leukemia. ES cell research is a new frontier. Human ES cells were first isolated in 1998 and SCNT was first performed with human cells in 2001. Unlike adult stem cells, ES cells are "pluripotent," meaning that they are totally unspecialized cells that have the potential to turn into and regenerate any type of cell or tissue in the human body. Thus, the overwhelming majority of medical experts, medical organizations, disease foundations and patient groups agree that ES cells could provide cures for many diseases and injuries that have not been cured and probably cannot be cured with adult stem cells. Back »

What diseases and injuries could benefit from ES cell research?

ES cells could provide cures for many currently incurable or common diseases and injuries, including diabetes, Parkinson's, MS, cancer, heart disease, ALS, sickle cell disease, spinal cord injury and dozens of other debilitating medical conditions. In fact, it is estimated that over 70 different diseases and injuries could benefit from ES cell research. For more information on diseases and injuries that could benefit from ES cell research, please see the "Diseases and Injuries" section of our website. Back »

How could ES cells provide cures for diseases and injuries?

Most diseases and injuries involve defective or damaged cells and tissue. ES cells could be transplanted into a patient's body to generate the type of cells and tissues needed to cure the patient's disease or injury. For example, juvenile diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas. ES cells could solve this problem by providing a way to generate healthy new islet cells. Many neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's and ALS, are caused by the loss or destruction of nerve cells. ES cells could be used to generate new nerve cells that could cure such diseases and could someday be used to repair spinal cord injuries, allowing people who are paralyzed by accidents to walk again. ES cell research also provides medical researchers with new ways to study how human cells develop and how diseases progress at the cellular level. In addition, ES cell research provides a new way to test the safety and effectiveness of drugs or other treatments that may cure or slow the progress of the disease before those treatments are tested in human clinical trials. Back »

Who supports ES cell research?

Because of its potential to save lives and reduce human suffering, ES cell research is strongly supported by the overwhelming majority of medical researchers, including more than 60 Nobel Prize winning scientists; by many major medical organizations, like the American Medical Association, National Medical Association, American Association for Cancer Research and American Association of Neurological Surgeons; by dozens of disease foundations and patient groups, like the American Diabetes Association, Christopher Reeve Foundation, Hereditary Disease Foundation, Jack Orchard ALS Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, Lance Armstrong Foundation, National Council on Spinal Cord Injury, National Parkinson Foundation, National Prostate Cancer Coalition and Parkinson’s Action Network; and by leading patient advocates, like Michael J. Fox and Nancy Reagan. Back »

Do supporters of ES cell research also support adult stem cell research?

Yes, of course. Each type of stem cell has its own special characteristics and potential to provide therapies and cures for different diseases and injuries. That’s why the overwhelming majority of medical experts, medical organizations and patient advocacy groups including the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures agree that both adult stem cell research and ES cell should be pursued in the effort to find lifesaving cures. As stated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH): "Given the enormous promise of stem cells therapies for so many devastating diseases, NIH believes that it is important to simultaneously pursue all lines of research and search for the very best sources of these cells." Back »

What are some examples of research indicating the potential benefits of ES cell treatments?

Most diseases and injuries involve defective or damaged cells and tissues. Recent laboratory and animal research indicates that ES cells, or more specialized cells made from ES cells, could be transplanted into a patient’s body, where they could regenerate or repair a patient’s damaged cells or tissues. For example, in recent experiments conducted at Washington University in St. Louis, ES cell transplants have repaired damaged spinal cords in rats, allowing previously paralyzed rats to walk again. In January 2005, a study by Japanese scientists found that ES cell transplants reversed Parkinson’s symptoms in monkeys. Recent animal studies by medical researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that ES cell transplants restored movement to rats paralyzed with an ALS-like syndrome. And, researchers at Stanford University have successfully turned mouse ES cells into insulin-making tissue that kept diabetic mice alive, indicating that ES cells could provide a cure for juvenile diabetes. For more examples, please see the "Diseases and Injuries" section of our Web site. How many people suffer from diseases and injuries that could benefit from ES cell research?

It is estimated that the various medical conditions that could someday be cured or treated with ES cells currently afflict over 500,000 Missouri children and adults and millions of other Americans including a child, parent or grandparent in over half of all families. In fact, almost everyone has a family member or friend who could benefit from ES cell research. Back »

What’s the special importance of stem cell research involving SCNT?

SCNT is a recent medical breakthrough that provides a way to use a patient's own cell, like a skin cell, and a donated, unfertilized human egg to make ES cells that match the patient's genetic makeup. Because SCNT stem cells will be pluripotent ES cells, they will have the potential to turn into any cell or tissue in the human body. In addition, because SCNT stem cells will be made with the patient's own genetic material, or DNA, they will match the patient’s genetic makeup. As a result, SCNT stem cells will avoid the need to find a genetically matching donor and the problem of immune system rejection two limitations associated with both donated adult stem cells and ES cells from leftover fertility clinic embryos. This means that SCNT stem cells could provide cures for diseases and injuries that cannot be cured with adult stem cells or with ES cells from leftover fertility clinic embryos. For more information about SCNT, please see the following "About Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer" FAQs. Back »

Are ES cell treatments currently available for patients?

Not yet. ES cell research is a new field. Human ES cells were first isolated in 1998 and SCNT was first performed with human cells in 2001. It takes years to do the basic research, animal studies and human trials needed to develop and test any new medical treatments and get them approved for general use by doctors and patients. However, a number of encouraging animal studies have already been conducted. And, recently medical researchers in the U.S. and Great Britain submitted the first applications to use SCNT to make ES cells that match a patient's genetic makeup. This planned research involves patients who have degenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s, diabetes and ALS. It’s possible that ES cell cures for some diseases and injuries could become available within the next five to 10 years. Others could take longer to develop. Voter approval of the Stem Cell Amendment ensures that Missouri patients will have access to new ES cell cures as soon as they are approved for use in the U.S. and ensures that Missouri’s medical institutions can provide and help find those cures. Back »

Opponents of ES cell research claim that adult stem cells already provide cures for 65 (or more) diseases. Is that claim true?

No, that is a false claim made by opponents of ES cell research who want to make people think ES cell research isn’t worthwhile. The claim is apparently based on a list created by an opponent of ES cell research named David Prentice. Amazingly, there are a number of medical conditions included on his list such as Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury that are currently incurable with any form of treatment, including adult stem cells. Moreover, no existing FDA-approved adult stem cell treatments are available for the majority of the other medical conditions on the Prentice list. The truth is, there are currently approved adult stem cell treatments for about 10 medical conditions. Adult stem cells from bone marrow are also used to ameliorate the side effects caused by drug or radiation treatments used to treat some types of cancer and other diseases. However, the supposed list of "65 adult stem cell treatments" touted by opponents of ES cell research is a cynical distortion of the facts that is cruelly misleading to patients. Back »

Does ES cell research involve abortion?

No. ES cell research does not involve abortion in any way whatsoever. The two basic sources of ES cells are leftover fertility clinic embryos, which have not been implanted in a woman’s uterus and would otherwise be discarded and destroyed, and the SCNT process, which provides a way to use a patient’s own cell and an unfertilized human egg to make ES cells in a lab dish. Neither of these sources uses an embryo or a fetus in a woman’s uterus and they do not involve abortion. Back »

What are other states and countries doing in the field of ES cell research?

ES cell research is being actively pursued at medical research facilities in states throughout the country. Some states such as California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey have recently passed legislation to support and encourage ES cell research. Researchers in many other countries that have advanced medical research facilities are also actively pursuing ES cell research, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Sweden, India, Australia, Israel and Spain. Back »

About Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT)

What is Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer?

SCNT is a recent medical breakthrough that provides a way to use a patient's own cell and a donated, unfertilized human egg to make ES cells in a lab dish that will match the patient's genetic makeup. These stem cells, or specialized cells made from them, could then be transplanted into the patient's body to cure a disease or injury by generating healthy new cells and tissues, such as heart, muscle or nerve cells.
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How can SCNT be used to make stem cells?

The specialized cells that make up our bodies such as heart, muscle, skin and nerve cells are called somatic cells. To make stem cells using the SCNT process, medical researchers will take the nucleus from a patient's somatic cell, like a skin cell, and transfer it into a donated, unfertilized egg cell that has had its own nucleus removed. The nucleus in the patient’s cell contains the patient’s DNA, or genetic material, which is unique to every person. The "nuclear transfer" process essentially reprograms the nucleus from the patient's cell and causes it to produce unspecialized ES cells in a lab dish. Back »

What’s the special importance of stem cell research involving SCNT?

Because stem cells made with the SCNT process will be pluripotent ES cells, they will have the potential to turn into any cell or tissue in the human body. In addition, because SCNT stem cells will be made with the patient's own DNA, they will match the patient’s genetic makeup. As a result, SCNT stem cells will avoid the need to find a genetically matching donor and the problem of immune system rejection two limitations associated with both donated adult stem cells and ES cells from leftover fertility clinic embryos. This means that SCNT stem cells could provide cures for diseases and injuries that cannot be cured with adult stem cells or with ES cells from leftover fertility clinic embryos. Back »

Is SCNT the same thing as cloning a human being?

No. The medical purpose of SCNT is to make lifesaving stem cells not babies. The use of SCNT to make stem cells for medical treatments is sometimes called "therapeutic cloning" because it will involve copying, or cloning, genetic material from a patient's cell to make lifesaving stem cells that match the patient's genetic makeup and avoid transplant rejection problems. Scientists already clone cells and genes for a number of existing medical purposes, such as developing new therapeutic drugs, creating insulin and replacing the skin of burn victims. "Human cloning" or "cloning a human being" which has never been done and may not even be scientifically possible would involve creating a "duplicate" human being by implanting a cloned embryo into a woman's uterus to make a baby. Creating a duplicate human being would be what is sometimes called "reproductive cloning." The Stem Cell Amendment in the Missouri Constitution only allows SCNT to be used to create stem cells in a lab dish. It prohibits any attempt to clone a human being.
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Does the Missouri Constitution totally ban cloning a human being?

Yes. Missouri is now a leader in banning the cloning or the attempted cloning a human being. The Stem Cell Amendment clearly and strictly prohibits any attempt to create a duplicate human being and makes cloning or attempting to clone a human being a felony crime subject to a prison term of up to 15 years and a fine of up to $250,000. Opponents of stem cell research make the misleading claim that producing stem cells in a lab dish with the SCNT process is the same thing as "human cloning." Medical researchers, patient advocates and most other people disagree with that claim and understand that "human cloning" means creating a duplicate human being not making stem cells in a lab dish. The Missouri Constitution totally prohibits any attempt to use SCNT to clone a human being and create a human version of Dolly the Sheep.

To learn more about Missouri’s ban on human cloning, please visit our page explaining the Stem Cell Amendment’s strict ban on the cloning of a human being. Back »

What kinds of diseases and injuries could be cured by SCNT?

Medical researchers believe that SCNT could lead to cures for many currently incurable or common diseases and injuries, including diabetes, Parkinson's, MS, cancer, heart disease, ALS, sickle cell disease, spinal cord injury and dozens of other debilitating medical conditions. For more examples, please see the "Diseases and Injuries" section of our website. Back »

How could SCNT provide cures for diseases and injuries?

Most diseases and injuries involve defective or damaged cells and tissue. SCNT provides a way to make patient-specific stem cells that could be transplanted into a patient's body to generate the type of cells and tissues needed to cure the patient's disease or injury. For example, juvenile diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas. SCNT could solve this problem by providing a way to generate healthy new islet cells. Many neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's and ALS, are caused by the loss or destruction of nerve cells. SCNT could be used to generate new nerve cells that could cure such diseases and could someday be used to repair spinal cord injuries, allowing people who are paralyzed by accidents to walk again. Back »

Are there other ways that SCNT can help lead to new cures?

Yes. SCNT has also given medical researchers a new way to grow and study cells that have the defects associated with a disease in a laboratory setting. This use of SCNT provides medical researchers with new ways to study how human cells develop and how diseases progress at the cellular level. In addition, SCNT provides a new way to test the safety and effectiveness of drugs or other treatments that may cure or slow the progress of the disease before those treatments are tested in human clinical trials. Back »

How many people could benefit from SCNT research?

Current medical statistics indicate that tens of millions of Americans including hundreds of thousands of Missouri children and adults suffer from diseases and injuries that could benefit from SCNT research and therapies. One recent study estimated that over half of all Missouri families include a child, parent or grandparent who suffers from a medical condition that could benefit from SCNT. (A copy of the Missouri SCNT Study is available by clicking here.) Back »

Who supports SCNT?

Because of its potential to cure diseases and save lives, SCNT research is strongly supported by the overwhelming majority of medical researchers, including more than 60 Nobel Prize winning scientists; by many major medical organizations, like the American Medical Association, National Medical Association, American Association for Cancer Research and American Association of Neurological Surgeons; by dozens of disease foundations and patient groups, like the American Diabetes Association, Christopher Reeve Foundation, Hereditary Disease Foundation, Jack Orchard ALS Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, Lance Armstrong Foundation, National Council on Spinal Cord Injury, National Parkinson Foundation, National Prostate Cancer Coalition and Parkinson’s Action Network; and by leading patient advocates, like Michael J. Fox and Nancy Reagan. Back »

Are the stem cells made with the SCNT process the same thing as an embryo?

No. The stem cells made with SCNT are a microscopic group of a few dozen undifferentiated cells in a lab dish. SCNT stem cells are made with the DNA from a patient’s own cell, like a skin cell, and a donated, unfertilized egg that has had its own nucleus removed. SCNT does not involve the fertilization of an egg by a sperm and its medical uses do not involve the implantation of a fertilized egg or anything else into a woman’s uterus. Back »

Where will scientists get human eggs for SCNT research and cures?

The Missouri Constitution requires that any human eggs used for stem cell research and cures must be voluntarily donated with informed consent, documented in writing. For example, a woman could chose to donate an egg to help cure her child, another family member, a friend or herself. The Initiative strictly bans buying or selling human eggs. These requirements are in keeping with the ethical guidelines for stem cell research recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and adopted by a number of other states and countries. The medical procedures involved in having a woman donate eggs for SCNT are the same as those that have been used for 25 years at fertility clinics. As SCNT research moves ahead, part of the research will focus on learning to use the fewest possible number of donated eggs. Ultimately, SCNT research has the potential to lead to cell reprogramming techniques that won't even require eggs. Back »