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Willerson Gives State Legislators Tutorial
in Stem Cell Research
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston President James T. Willerson, M.D., and four other experts in January took members and staff of the 79th Texas Legislature to "stem cell school" at the State Capitol.
Urging lawmakers to find state dollars for stem cell research, Willerson said, "To fail to take advantage, we'll just watch the rest of the world do it - and we don't have to take the back seat here in Texas when we're in a position to develop this research better than anyone."
We have to take away the mystery and the hype from this topic
if the Legislature is to make a sound policy decision,"
said State Rep. Hardcastle.
He explained the potential therapeutic uses for stem cells, particularly those from non-controversial sources such as umbilical cord blood and adult bone marrow. A pioneering clinical study with desperately ill heart patients in Brazil, completed by Willerson and Texas Medical Center colleagues, showed dramatic results in improving blood flow and heart function. The ability of adult stem cell therapy to improve the quality of life has now been demonstrated by more than 100 heart patients worldwide.
Willerson and Emerson Perin, M.D., Ph.D., director of New Interventional Cardiovascular Technology at the Texas Heart Institute, now are leading one of the first Food and Drug Administration-approved clinical trials for stem cell therapy. They are treating patients with severe heart failure using the patient's own bone-marrow derived stem cells.
"If I sound excited by this, I am!" Willerson said. "I'm not sending anybody to a foreign country for heart treatment - we need to see how much we can do right here in Texas."
Willerson was one of five panelists on the topic, "What is Stem Cell Research?" during a Texas Legislative Educational Stem Cell Research Forum, which was open to the public and Webcast on the Texas Senate Web site. The half-day program was organized by State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, and State Rep. Rick Hardcastle, R-Vernon.
"Our intention today is to educate," said Hardcastle, himself a multiple sclerosis patient. "We have to take away the mystery and the hype from this topic if the Legislature is to make a sound policy decision with the purpose of Texas staying in the forefront of scientific discoveries."
In his State of the State address, Gov. Rick Perry called for a ban on human cloning in Texas. He also has said he won't support embryonic stem cell research.
Democrats in New York recently proposed a $1 billion initiative to promote stem cell research there. California voters have approved a $3 billion fund for embryonic stem cell research.
By David R. Bates, Public Affairs