Opponents of ES cell research claim that adult stem cells already provide cures for 65 (or more) diseases. Is that claim true?
No, that is a false claim made by opponents of ES cell research who want to make people think ES cell research isn’t worthwhile. The claim is apparently based on a list created by an opponent of ES cell research named David Prentice. Amazingly, there are a number of medical conditions included on his list such as Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury that are currently incurable with any form of treatment, including adult stem cells. Moreover, no existing FDA-approved adult stem cell treatments are available for the majority of the other medical conditions on the Prentice list. The truth is, there are currently approved adult stem cell treatments for about 10 medical conditions. Adult stem cells from bone marrow are also used to ameliorate the side effects caused by drug or radiation treatments used to treat some types of cancer and other diseases. However, the supposed list of “65 adult stem cell treatments” touted by opponents of ES cell research is a cynical distortion of the f
