ADA, Endocrine Society support federal funding for stem cell research

In response to a recent decision by a federal district judge to issue a temporary ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, two endocrine organizations have released statements declaring support for embryonic stem cell research.

As a result of the court injunction, the NIH reported that it will not review grant applications involving stem cell research and will not fund similar grants that are up for renewal.

The American Diabetes Association said it is “extremely disappointed” with the court decision blocking the federal government from funding research involving embryonic stem cells.

“This is a major setback for medical research, in particular, research toward a cure for diabetes,” Richard Bergenstal, MD, president of Medicine & Science at the ADA, said in a press release. “This decision stands as a roadblock to research that has shown great promise in finding a cure for diabetes and treating its complications.”

In 2001, President Bush imposed federal funding restrictions limiting the use and research of human embryonic stem cells. On March 9, 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13505, which overturned the previous policy restrictions and allowed for a greater number of cell lines derived from in vitro fertilization embryos to be qualified for use in federally funded research.

The latest injunction may render all research involving embryonic stem cells illegal, including work allowed under the policy adopted by Bush in 2001, according to a press release from The Endocrine Society.

In response to the court injunction, The Endocrine Society reissued its 2009 position statement calling for an increase in NIH funding for stem cell research, as well as expanding the scope of funding to include “promising yet neglected” areas of stem cell research.

In particular, The Endocrine Society supports:

Increased NIH funding for stem cell research;
An increased number of embryonic stem cell lines for NIH-funded research;
A broadened scope of federally funded research to include cells generated through somatic cell nuclear transfer;
Availabile federal funding for the derivation of embryonic stem cells from discarded in vitro fertilization embryos and through somatic cell nuclear transfer;
Adherence to the highest ethical and scientific research standards; and
Federal oversight of embryonic stem cell research to assure ethical standards are met.

The Endocrine Society statement said embryonic stem cells are promising in that they can be induced to become any cell in the body, such as insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, and it is believed that stem cell research could potentially lead to promising treatments for diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease, among others.

“We will work with other concerned organizations to find a way to remove this barrier to scientific progress,” Bergenstal said in the release.