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Certain Research Could Remain Limited Under New Stem Cell Rules, New York Times Editorial States
The "good news" about the Obama administration"s final guidelines for federally funded embryonic stem cell research is that "government money will pay for a lot more research than was possible under the Bush administration"s cramped and ideologically driven restrictions," according to a New York Times editorial. However, "some of the most promising future research could still be denied public support," the editorial continues.Under former President George W. Bush, federal funding for embryonic stem cell research was limited "to a mere 21 lines that had been derived with private money from surplus embryos at fertility clinics before mid-2001," the editorial states. The new guidelines allow scientists "to use new stem cell lines provided they come from surplus fertility embryos that were donated under strict ethical rules," according to the editorial. It adds, "Those rules stipulate that donors must be fully informed that any embryo donated for research would be destroyed in the process and that there are other choices for disposing of surplus embryos." In addition, donors must "give written consent at the time of donation, have the right to change their minds and must not receive payment for the donation or expect medical or financial benefits later," the editorial notes.The editorial continues that NIH, "[f]earing controversy, ... decided to deny support to research using lines that might eventually be created in the laboratory by "therapeutic cloning" to match specific patients with specific diseases." It adds, "Such cells could provide a valuable way to study the early stages of a disease and to derive stem cell implants that would not be rejected by a patient"s immune system." The editorial states that NIH officials argued that scientists have yet to successfully derive human embryonic stem cells from therapeutic cloning and that "there is no strong public sentiment for moving beyond the use of surplus embryos that would otherwise be discarded." The editorial concludes, "The agency will need to reconsider those judgments as science and ethical thinking evolves. For now, the administration seems determined to follow congressional and public opinion rather than lead it" (New York Times, 7/8).
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Genetic Risk Factors Found For Most Common Brain Tumour
For the first time, researchers have identified genetic variants commonly found in the population that can increase an individual"s risk of developing glioma, the most prevalent brain tumour. The findings are published today in the journal Nature Genetics.
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Researchers Uncover Proteins Underlying Devastating Brain Diseases
Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered a set of brain proteins responsible for some of the most common and devastating brain diseases. The proteins underlie epilepsy, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disease, mental retardation and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer"s and Huntington"s diseases.
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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). "In countries with no cases, we will continue to recommend that people be tested so the presence of the new virus can be confirmed," Fukuda said. "In all countries, we will continue to stress testing for unusual cases, clusters, unusually severe cases and new symptoms." The Los Angeles Times writes that "the number of swine-flu-free countries is likely to be small soon. The most recent figures reported to the WHO indicate that more than 98,000 cases have been confirmed in 120 countries, with 440 deaths, though officials estimate the number of actual infections at 10 to 100 times that." Fukuda Addresses Tamiflu-Resistant H1N1 Also, during the conference call, Fukuda addressed several reports of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 over the past two weeks, according to Reuters (MacInnis/ Nebehay, 7/7). The most recent case of Tamiflu-resistance, occurred in a San Francisco teenager who was diagnosed with H1N1 when she arrived Hong Kong, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (Stannard, 7/8). The AP/SAPA/Daily News reports: "The other two resistant cases - patients in Denmark and Japan - had been taking Tamiflu as a preventive measure after coming into contact with someone with swine flu. The Californian girl had not taken Tamiflu, meaning she was apparently infected by an already-circulating resistant strain before she travelled to Hong Kong." As a result, "U.S. health officials are stepping up testing of swine flu cases for Tamiflu resistance," according to the news service (7/8). "The case suggests swine flu ò€¦ is capable of not only developing drug resistance but also spreading between humans in that resistant form, said Arthur Reingold, professor at UC Berkeley School of Public Health," the San Francisco Chronicle writes (7/8). "At this point we are not recommending any clinical changes to the approach in treating patients," Fukuda said. According to Reuters, all patients confirmed to have Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 have been responsive to the antiviral Relenza and have since recovered from their infection (7/7). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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