a story about stem cells is a story about hope. which my dictionary
tells me is to cherish a desire. for paul gallagher a 26 year old
from edinburgh he found out 5 years ago he had huntington's disease.
huntington's is a genetic condition that attacks nerve cells in the
brain. usually sufferers find out between the ages of 30 and 50 that
they have been given a death sentence. but dispite being so young
paul is already showing some of the classic signs of huntington's.
uncontrollable twitches and forgetfulness. huntington's has plagued
pauls family for generations. he was 8 when his mum hellen first
found out she had inherited huntington's from her father.for more
than 10 years paul helped nurse his mother through the condition. his
mum was only 42 when she died just a couple of months later pauls
uncle who also had huntington's died too.the symptoms can vary but
usually sufferers only have around 15 to 20 years to live after
diagnosis. pauls sister has just had the test to see if she has the
hd gene and it was very sad news for her and her family. she had it
too.but dispite lots of research into the condition there still no
sign of a cure.however a private american foundation (the high q
foundation) dicided to sponsor the huntington's project with over
$57.000.000. the euro-hd network aims to provide a platform for
professionals and people affected by h.d to assist working together
throughout europe. it aims to facilitate natural history studies and
interventional trials meeting high standards thus helping on the road
towards a cure for h.d. paul is among the first in scotland to
registar for euro hd this month.but i think stem cells will bring
hope and not only to people with hd. if debilitating illness can be
conquered with stem cell therapy why is it so controversial. isn't it
a medical miracle to be celebrated ? yes and no. though we stand on
the threshold of the realm of possibility we are not yet inside it.
the door opened by science include one marked moral dilemma. many
scientists believe that stem cells from human embryos offer even more
hope for cures than the ones found in bonemarrow. yet to destroy
embryos to create stem cell therapies is an unforgivable obstacle for
many people.hope must break through the rhetoric. my own hope the
disire i cherish is that we can freely discuss the complex sometimes
uncomfortable,friction between science and ethics. that is what this
stem cell story is about.
http://groups.msn.com/scottishhuntingtons