PALO ALTO, October 31, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of foetal stem cells in human clinical trials to treat a rare genetic neurological disorder called Batten disease. The private California-based biotechnology research company, StemCells Inc., proposes to inject the foetal neural cells directly into patients’ brains, in an experiment that closely resembles two others with Parkinson’s patients in 2001 and 2003. Those experiments caused incurable side effects described as “devastating” and “catastrophic” by researchers.
StemCells Inc. is a leader in lobbying for the use of living embryos for research, and is the first to be granted permission from the FDA to test its newly patented foetal-derived product, HuCNS-SC, on human beings.
In March 2001, the New York Times reported that a group of Parkinson’s patients who had received injections of human embryonic dopamine neurons derived from aborted babies had suffered “disastrous” side effects that could not be stopped or controlled.
The lead researcher in the experiment, Dr. Paul Greene, told the New York Times that no one ought to undergo direct foetal cell transplants again. He described the results as “absolutely devastating … It was tragic, catastrophic. It’s a real nightmare. And we can’t selectively turn it off.” He called for a permanent halt to human trials with foetal tissue. Nevertheless, in August 2003 more than half the patients in a second trial suffered the same results.
Batten disease, a fatal, inherited disorder of the nervous system, begins in childhood and is incurable. The disease causes mental impairment, worsening seizures, and progressive loss of sight and motor skills. Eventually, children with Batten disease become blind, bedridden, and demented. It is always fatal, often by the late teens or twenties.
In addition, the children treated with the neural cells will need to receive anti-rejection drugs to prevent their own bodies from fighting off the foreign cells. StemCells Inc., chief executive, Martin McGlynn said, “Once you put those cells in, you can’t get them back.”
With today’s non-critical acceptance of the abortion industry by the legal establishment, the door has been opened to market exploitation of aborted babies. A lucrative side industry has been born with the rise in demand for human stem cells for experimental research.
Study Demonstrates ‘Catastrophic’ Side Effect of Foetal Tissue Transplants
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/mar/01030801.html