Endocrine Society calls for expanded NIH funding for stem cell research

The Endocrine Society has released a position statement calling for increased National Institutes of Health funding for stem cell research and expansion of the scope of funding to include what the society considers neglected areas of stem cell research.

“The Endocrine Society updated its position statement, originally created in 2005, in response to recent changes in stem cell research policy as well as new advances in stem cell research,” Robert Vigersky, MD, president of the Endocrine Society, told Endocrine Today. “Specifically, we would like the NIH guidelines to expand to allow NIH-funded research on stem cells derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer. We would also like Congress to expand federal funding to include the derivation of stem cells.”

Executive Order 13505, signed by President Obama on March 9, 2009, overturned the restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cells imposed by President Bush in 2001. However, the executive order does not address funding for research on cell lines derived from sources other than in vitro fertilization embryos, according to a press release. This has prompted the Endocrine Society to revise its position on stem cell research and ask Congress to consider passing legislation that would allow federal funding for the derivation of human embryonic stem cells.

“In light of the promise of somatic cell nuclear transfer and of the need for scientists to be able to generate disease-specific stem cells for research, the executive order alone is insufficient to take full therapeutic advantage of the technology at our fingertips,” the society members wrote in the statement.

The Endocrine Society also supports the following positions:

An increase in the number of embryonic stem cell lines for NIH-funded research;
Availability of federal funding to derive 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.

“Practicing clinicians should be aware that the great potential of stem cell research for therapies will remain out of reach as long as scientists remain restricted in what they can research in this field,” Vigersky said. “Though the new policy increases the number of stem cell lines eligible for federally funded research, the policy does not increase the scope of the research scientists can perform.”

The Endocrine Society supports strict ethical oversight on all stem cell research, and says that the dependence on private funding for the derivation process makes strict ethical oversight susceptible to relaxed oversight. The society is also firmly against reproductive cloning.

Stem cell research holds great promise for the treatment of debilitating and fatal diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, spinal cord injury, stroke, muscular dystrophy, Lou Gehrig’s disease, lung disease, kidney disease, liver disease, HIV/AIDS, arthritis and anemias. No research in recent history has offered as much hope in treating such a constellation of diseases as stem cell research, experts said. – by Tina DiMarcantonio