Alzheimer’s: Mouse study may have uncovered drug that can prevent the disease
NCER Comments: One in 14 people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s disease. This translates to 5.7 M in the US alone. There is no cure, only drug therapies that may lose their efficacy within months. Plaques are sticky deposits that build up in the brain and prevent communication between brain cells, leading to cognitive impairment. But three new protein, antibody and drug breakthroughs are on the cusp of changing everything.
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Apr
2020 Was a Breakout Year for Crispr
NCER Comments: Sickle Cell Anemia is a heritable disease that 1 in every 13 Black or African American babies possess when born. Red blood cells are abnormally shaped, so are unable to carry oxygen needed for all tissues and organs to survive. The average lifespan is only 40 years, but a new development using the CRISPR gene editing tool looks like a true cure.
2020 Was a Breakout
Apr
Breakthrough discovery could turn cancer into a treatable disease
NCER Comments:
Cancer is the #2 killer in the US, with over 600,000 patients dying annually. Presently, there is no cure BUT… an old drug is being used in a new way to halt cancer from metastasis; and a new cancer vaccine is close to human trials.
Professor Michael Lisanti and Professor Federica Sotgia have made a discovery that could turn cancer into a treatable disease and …
Apr
Stem Cell Therapy: A Potential Crohn’s Disease Breakthrough?
NCER Comments: Inherited chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract is referred to as Crohn’s disease. Drug therapy only scratches the surface of the pain it inflicts. However, there is new hope! Researchers have used the patients own stem cells to substantially reduced symptoms.
Louis A. Cona, MD
Medical Director | DVC Stem
Stem cell therapy may be a viable new treatment option for Crohn’s Disease. Studies have shown that stem cells may be able …
Apr
COVID Vaccine – Ethics and Efficacy Update
All of us will soon be making a decision on whether we will be receiving one of the new COVID-19 vaccines. The goal of NCER is to provide knowledge and understanding of these vaccines, which will give us power to make ethical choices, giving us peace of mind and heart for ourselves and our families.
The Pfizer COVID vaccine has just been approved for emergency use, and Healthcare workers are the first in line to
Thank You for Making 2020 our Best Year Yet
Dear NCER Supporter,
The year 2020 has been quite the rollercoaster ride, and we hope you and your families have withstood the barrage of challenges it has brought. We reported the following medical ethics developments to you over the last year:
- The rogue Chinese medical researcher, He Jiankui, was sentenced to prison for unethically creating the world’s first gene-edited children.
- Women who donated their eggs for in vitro fertilization or gene editing research faced detrimental
NIH approves 70 new human embryonic stem cell lines for use in federally funded research
NCER Comments:
New human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines created in an Israeli medical center have just been approved by the acting NIH director, Francis Collins for use in federally funded research in the Unites States. While federal funding for the creation of new embryonic cell lines is banned, private funding is still legal, and use of these 70 new stem cell lines in research is not prohibited.
NCER does not support research in, and …
Scientists Edited Human Embryos in the Lab, and It Was a Disaster
NCER Comments:
The Francis Crick Institute used the tool CRISPR to edit genes in human embryos, leading to disastrous results. Over 50% of the edited embryos had countless unintended edits to their genomes which would lead to birth defects and disease, precisely what this research is attempting to prevent. This is not news, as these uncontrollable “mosaic” results have been seen in previous studies. Human DNA is extremely complicated, and the CRISPR tool is a …
The Appalling Price of Unborn Babies’ Body Parts
NCER Comments:
Between 2012 and 2018, the FDA paid just under $100,000 for “fresh and never frozen” aborted fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood to be used in research. Currently, federal law still allows for the sale (without profit) of aborted fetal parts. The term “fresh” refers to the fact that when possible, aborted fetuses are dissected while still alive to obtain their organs and tissue. This tissue was then used by the FDA to create …
COVID-19 Vaccine Update
NCER Comments:
Several COVID-19 vaccines are currently in development and being tested on a small number of humans. Janssen Pharmaceutical (Johnson & Johnson), Moderna and the University of Pittsburgh have chosen to use fetal cell lines obtained from abortions to create their vaccines, while Sanofi-Pasteur and Inovio are utilizing ethical sources such as insects and donated blood as their vaccine substrate. Using cells from aborted fetuses is unethical because it denies the value of human …