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Berlin, December 2, 2005: The current legal restrictions on stem cell
research in Germany and the focus on adult stem cells laid down in the
coalition agreement between the CDU and the SPD, the two ruling parties
in Germany, will severely affect the field of tissue engineering and
regenerative medicine in this country. Leading German and European
scientists, including Jürgen Hescheler, Cologne, and Miodrag Stojkovic,
Newcastle, expressed this concern at a Forum of the German Society for
Regenerative Medicine. “You need embryonic stem cells to explore adult
stem cells“, Hans Robert Schöler, Director of the Max-Planck-Institute
in Münster, stated at the conference, where about one hundred
participants from academia, industry and politics discussed current
stem cell research and strategies in Germany and Europe for advancing
tissue science and engineering.
Cornelia Pieper of the German Liberals, member of the Bundestag and
vice-chairperson of the Committee for Education and Research, strongly
supported the position held by the scientists. She criticised a
situation which “criminalises German researchers who work abroad using
methods and processes that are authorised in the host country”, and
called for a 500 million Euro funding initiative to enable
Germany to compete in this area of biomedical research. The European
Union spends a substantial amount of money on stem cell research – 300
million Euro alone within the 6th framework programme of the EU. But as
Dr. Gwennaël Joliff-Botrel, the Directorate-General for Research of the
European Commission, summarised, only Belgium, the United Kingdom,
Sweden and Israel can apply this money for the full spectrum of stem
cell research, while research on human embryonic stem cells is severely
restricted or even illegal in, e.g., Italy, Germany and Poland.
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Professor Dr. Hans Robert Schöler of the Max-Planck-Institute for
Molecular Biomedicine in Münster strongly opposed statements by
the new German Minister of Research, Annette Schavan, that many
researchers favour work in directions other than human embryonic stem
cells which are derived from very early embryos. In order to understand
and control the differentiation of stem cells of all sources – embryos,
umbilical cord blood and adult tissue - all options should be pursued.
The imposed restrictions, which only allow research on embryonic stem
cell lines established before January 1, 2002, could jeopardise
Germany’s position in this promising scientific field, in spite of very
productive research initiatives such as the Stem Cell Network
Northrhine-Westfalia, of which he is a member: In the future, he
predicted, researchers would realise that adult stem cells on their own
will not be appropriate for all biomedical applications.
An aging society with its increase in the prevalence of degenerative
and chronic diseases makes extensive research on stem cells and
regenerative medicine necessary. According to Professor Dr. Frank
Emmrich, University of Leipzig, the German research landscape offers an
impressive number of scientific networks and institutions. Research
groups in Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, Hannover and in the area around
Stuttgart, which was presented in detail by Professor Dr. Thomas
Skutella (Tübingen), among others, lay the basis for cell-based cures
for diabetes, spinal cord injuries or heart failure. More public
funding, however, and a clearer understanding for clinical requirements
are needed in order to compete internationally – a goal which seems
difficult to reach In view of the coordinated research efforts in the
United States, which Dr. Fred Heineken of the National Science
Foundation (USA) reviewed.
German research groups, however, are worldwide leaders in the field of
therapeutic applications of stem cells after myocardiac infarction,
stated Professor Dr. Gustav Steinhoff (University of Rostock). By
injecting adult stem cells derived from the bone marrow or cord blood,
he could achieve a significant increase in heart function by improving
the blood supply to the heart muscle. This treatment is now well
accepted and will be covered by German health insurance plans.
Yet, at the cellular level open questions remain. In the mouse model
Professor Dr. Jürgen Henscheler from Cologne found that stem cells from
the bone marrow infiltrate the heart, but in some cases differentiate
into bone cells, while embryonic stem cells clearly improve heart
function . “We have to understand the mechanisms,” he said. This
requires network structures at the local level which allows intimate
collaborations and exchange, as well as at the national and European
level which can integrate expertise in different areas.
But pan-European collaborations are hampered by different legal
frameworks. What is illegal in Germany is well accepted in other
countries – one of the reasons for Professor Dr. Miodrag Stojkovic,
University of Newcastle, to say: “I am happy that I work in the United
Kingdom and not in Germany.” There he can use donated oocytes and
surplus human embryos from in vitro fertilisations, if they are not
older than two weeks. This allowed him to generate human stem cell
lines after the transfer of nuclei from adult donor cells. If these
nuclei come from patients with a genetic disorder such as type 1
diabetes, the system provides an excellent tool to study the
development of the disease and its effects in different cell types.
Sweden is another member state of the European Union where the creation
of and the research on human embryonic stem cells is permitted.
Professor Dr. Peter Erikkson, Göteborg University, attributed this open
climate to the education of the public and an open dialogue between all
relevant societal groups. This allowed researchers to establish a large
library of embryonic stem cell lines. In his work he investigates the
conditions under which these cells develop into dopamine-producing
cells which might be used in therapies for Parkinson’s disease.
With medical applications like this stem cell-derived therapies
represent a huge potential market value. But embryonic stem cells can
also help to search for new and more efficient drugs. With his company
Cellartis (Göteborg) Dr. Boo Edgar intends to provide the
pharmaceutical industry with test systems to find and evaluate drug
candidates more efficiently. In his view Europe still has an advantage
in the field of stem cell research and regenerative medicine because of
the funding situation and extensive research networks.
One of these European projects is STEMMAT, which focuses on umbilical
cord blood stem cells for clinical applications. One finding reported
by Dr. Volker Jacobs of the Klinikum Rechts der Isar in Munich,
is that smoking causes a reduction of the number of stem cells in
umbilical cord blood. But in spite of the fact that he uses a stem cell
source which poses no ethical concerns, he also criticised the legal
differences with respect to research on embryonic stem cells in Europe.
But regenerative medicine not only requires the involvement of stem
cells. Material scinece can make a major contribution to tissue
engineering, as Professor Dr. Nureddin Ashammakhi from the Tampere
University of Technology and Professor Dr. Timo Waris, Finland, pointed
out: Novel functionalised materials can provide biodegradable scaffolds
for tissue regeneration which simultaneously fight infections at the
site of operation by releasing antibiotics.
And stem cell research can even have implications for forensic
medicine. By measuring the amount of radioactive isotopes generated
during surface atomic bomb testings in human tissue, Professor Dr.
Kirsty Spalding from Stockholm not only studied the turn-over of brain
cells, but also established a tool to determine the age of unidentified
people such as victims of the Tsunami catastrophe.
The abstracts of our speakers You will find on our website at the Press counter.
Contact:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Regenerative Medizin e.V.
Ulrike Schwemmer
Laubestr. 34
60594 Frankfurt a.M.
Germany
Tel.: +49-(0)69-61 99 51 19
Info@gesellschaft-regenerative-medizin.de |
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| Letzte Aktualisierung: 07.12.05 |
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