Over at The Corner, they're all aflutter over a Journal of the American Medical Association article discussing the possibility of an adult stem cell breakthrough in treating Type I (early onset) diabetes. Sounds great, right?
I guess we should probably take a look at this amazing treatment before casting judgement. First the patient, usually a child, takes a massive dose of chemotherapy along with antibiotics, then the patient goes through that ever so pleasant bone marrow withdraw, which I guess is stripped down to the adult stems cells which are then injected intravenously.
For this horrible ordeal the patient then typically could go a couple of years without insulin. (Later results may prove to last longer.)
Now, you have to ask yourself, who the hell would put their child through this to avoid something that can be treated with a pump? Moreover, who did put their children through this procedure so that the study could take place. It certainly wasn't American children, that study would have never gotten approval in the US.
Instead the study was conducted on Brazilian children, probably indigent, most likely participating for a check, some as young as fourteen.
We are positive that Mengele is dead, right? Remember. Trust, but verify.
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2 comments:
The pump does not "treat" type one anymore than the Aids drugs treat that disease. The pump and regular insulin injections keep the patient alive while the body slowly deteriorates. In my case, I have had numerous eye surgeries and have no feeling in my feet and I control my blood sugar better than the pump does.
This study is very promising. (Although the British and Irish are really the leaders in field and their research involving embryonic stem cells is more promising) I would gladly go through the aforementioned process to go a couple of years without insulin dependency and thereby stop the deterioration of my body’s blood vessels.
You make some very interesting points. I have been lucky all my life having avoided serious injury or illness, so it makes me think to hear from someone who has had to deal with this.
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