FINAL COUNTDOWN…
For years we have been urging federal funding increases in biomedical research by citing the countdown to the first wave of Baby Boomers turning age 65 and joining the Medicare rolls.
A Doctor Who Prefers ‘The Dark Side’
It seems Dr. Carl Elliott has let his instincts as a provocateur get the better of his perspective as a physician and healer. Promoting his book "White Coat, Black Hat: Adventures on the Dark Side of Medicine,” Dr. Elliott, a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and Atlantic Monthly, finds it deplorable that physicians who use drugs to relieve human misery have any actual contact with companies that research, develop and sell those medicines.
Dr. Robert N. Butler, 1927 - 2010
The sudden and unexplained death of a beloved grandfather set Robert Neil Butler on the road to be a pioneer in the science and medicine of health and aging.
A Champion Falls
U.S. primary elections have taken down a fierce champion of medical research. For all of us who count on cures and treatments for the diseases that shorten and stunt human lives, the absence of Arlen Specter from the U.S. Senate will be deeply felt.
A Long Time Coming
When I learned this week that Dr. Carol Greider will receive the 2009 Nobel Prize for Medicine I was happy for her and for the recognition this brings to science in pursuit of answers for human aging. But it is also disquieting to know how long it has taken for her contributions on the role of telomeres in cancer and aging to achieve the pinnacle of scientific recognition.
In response to President Obama’s March 9th Executive Order lifting the Bush Administration’s restrictions on stem cell research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued draft guidelines on the federal funding of this research. The public comment period for the draft is open through May 26th so there’s still time to have your voice heard!
The Alzheimer’s Epidemic Marches On
Alzheimer’s disease has taken an unfortunate step in front of the national news spotlight as of late. The last two evenings, I have seen features on the evening news highlighting the devastating effects of the disease both as a public health epidemic and as a personal, family struggle.
Major Step for Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Reaching a major milestone for embryonic stem cell research (ESCR), the Food and Drug Administration has approved the first human clinical trial for a treatment based on embryonic stem cells. The trial—to be conducted by biotechnology company Geron Corp.—will focus on the safety of a treatment for spinal cord injury. The trial will start with up to 10 paralyzed patients who can be treated within 14 days of their injury. If it’s found safe, the company will expand the trial and shift its focus to effectiveness.
