1. You have your own opinion to air but, as a 66 year old diabetic and Christian, I will tell you that it's not about religious pressure applied to some polititions. It's all about money! I check my blood sugar 8-10 times a day to keep track of it at
$1.00 per test! I take 6 shots a day because I'm married to a beautiful vibrant 50 yr. old and keep myself fit. You on the otherhand have some misconseption about what believing in Jesus Christ is about. It will benefit you to investigate Christ and then determine where the real problem is. Don't you know about the drug deals our leaders make with the drug companies? Check it out,
you arn't alone. I would like to see this desease
cured. I'm going to take your advice and write my senator too. Good luck and God Bless you.

Posted at 8:59PM on Apr 6th 2007 by Bart V.

2. I sent off my personal story to both of the Senators in my state... Hopefully based on clinical trials from the medical team at Harvard, this bill will pass and they'll have the same success as they did with the lab mice... and that is completely reversing the effects of diabetes through an adult stem cell injection and without the need for any transplants. Needless to say that new islets cells were growing in 40 days, and the disease was completely gone when these tests were conducted.

I'm a Christian too, and please let's not make this thread into a debate about beliefs. If anything, we should be so lucky that we have the right to vote, complain, or help to make a difference all the while praising whatever God you serve.

Posted at 12:09PM on Apr 7th 2007 by Symphony1125

3. I am a 24 year old Christian with type I diabetes, and stand to benefit greatly from any cure or improved treatment for diabetes. I am opposed to embryonic stem cell research on principle, but have honestly struggled with whether or not I am principled enough to turn down any cure derived from a type of research I oppose (I believe and hope the answer is yes). I have to imagine every adult in this country, including Christian adults, knows and cares about at least one person with a chronic disease.

Christians, just like everyone else, recognize the pain and difficulty of living with diabetes and diseases worse than diabetes. We fully understand the desire to develop a cure for diseases at all costs, and we share the desire to be cured and have our loved ones cured. Our opposition to embryonic stem cell research has nothing to do with where we "will end UP in the afterlife," or with any desire to impose our beliefs on others. It is based purely on a respect for life, and the belief that every life, no matter how young or in what stage of development, is valuable and is to be protected.

We don't believe in a God that randomly generates human life for amusement. That is the extent to which our religion affects our viewpoint on this; beyond this belief, common ethics that every decent person shares take over. We believe every human life (at any age, and at any stage of development) has purpose and that every person has free will, and so an undeveloped child to us is just as human as us as we are.

If there was a toddler with an antibody in his system that could cure AIDS, and the only way to extract that antibody was to kill the child, you would likely be opposed to killing the toddler to extract the cure. You would believe that the toddler has his own life, and that his own right to live trumps the desires of the millions of people that would benefit from the antibody to be cured.

You and I would both agree on what to do in the case of toddler. The only reason we disagree on what to do in the case of the embryo is that we disagree on what the embryo is. Christians believe that the embryo is a human in the earliest stages of life, and as a human it shares the same rights and dignity as any other human, even if the length of its natural existence is confined to a few hours in a lab (I believe the solution of what to do with the excess embryos in fertility treatments is not create them in the first place, but that isn't relevant to this discussion). Many non-Christians see the embryo as a discardable byproduct of fertility treatments, so the idea of "making something" out of an organism that would just be discarded anyway makes sense to them.

I assure you, we want a cure as much as anyone else, and our opposition to stem-cell research has nothing to do with anyone's afterlife. Our stance on this is only to protect the human dignity of what the rest of society has deemed discardable, the same way any decent adult would step up to protect the life of a child.

I should point out that Symphony's comment references a study on adult stem-cell research, which senate bill S5: "A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for human embryonic stem cell research." does not address.

Posted at 4:07PM on Apr 7th 2007 by Ismael

4. Why don't we work on PREVENTING diabetes in the first place? It will have better results and cost less.
Dr. Lisa Landymore-Lim (DPhil, UK)
Author: Poisonous Prescriptions - Do antibiotics cause asthma and diabetes?

Posted at 12:44PM on Apr 8th 2007 by atomichealth

5. your “FAITH” is too big…

mustard seed size “faith” is the issue and matthew 0618 & 1721 outlined the cure for diabetes approx 2000 years ago following ‘blogs’ for ‘help’ published on an egyptian papyrus the ‘papyrus ebeas’ approx 3500 years ago.

yes there is a need to read between the lines [or it would be too easy and too hard to believe] but please note that there’s plenty of stem cells in your body already! and joel fuhrman md sets out how to cure approx 95% of all type 2 cases and reduce insulin injection units by approx 50% in all type 1 cases … right now!!!


“…After World War I, when insulin was first discovered, the medical profession thought diabetes would be totally curable as a medical problem. Diabetes was believed to be due to insulin deficiency, and everyone thought that since insulin would now be given to patients there would be no more problems. It seemed this way for a few years, but terrible things started happening to patients with diabetes who were given insulin to control their blood sugar levels. They developed eye disease, kidney disease, and, most important, accelerating atherosclerosis leading to blood vessel disease and early heart attacks. Their problems were worse than ever. Decades later, when the insulin assay became available and doctors were able to measure insulin levels in their patients’ bloodstreams, they found most interesting results: the insulin levels of type 1 (childhood-onset) diabetics were indeed low, but the levels in type 2 (adult-onset) diabetics were not only not low, but also were higher than those of people without diabetes. It became clear that type 2 diabetes is a disease of insulin resistance, not insulin deficiency. Type 2 diabetics produce plenty of insulin … I can only view today’s treatment of diabetic patients as malpractice…”
(1995) Dr Joel Fuhrman [a board-certified Family Physician practising in Belle Mead, New Jersey who specialises in preventing and reversing chronic conditions of high blood sugar; Dr Fuhrman is an active staff member of Hunterdon Medical Centre and provides nutritionally oriented medical care to Patients as well as nutritional education to other Physicians; Author of “Fasting and Eating for Health” ‘A Medical Doctor’s Program for Conquering Disease’].

Warm thanks, Nicholas Dynes Gracey, BSc(Hons) Medical Biochemistry, Birmingham University, UK c/o www.TheDiabetesBlog.com @ 17:47hrs MON.09.APR.2007.

Posted at 12:54PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81DmeC_EXKI

Posted at 1:02PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWrpWjP8rFI

Posted at 1:06PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5StFwfAYV0

Posted at 1:11PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pssR-NL_LNE [please compare type 1A & type 1B and 'interrupted' ... "honeymoon period"]

Posted at 1:27PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISFPJL66p4c [please compare 'vulnerability' of newly diagnosed type 1A & type 1B and repeatedly 'interrupted' ... "honeymoon period"]

Posted at 1:41PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

11. without lifting a FINGER …
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=a042812e-492c-4f07-8245-8a598ab5d1bf&k=63970
chronic stress [distress] = cause … acute recovery [destress] = cure … how to destress ‘mind & body’ [UNdrugTREATED] … every day better in every way?

Posted at 2:51PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

12. http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=106137

JDRF says…
“What If My Child Is in the "Honeymoon Period?"
If your child’s blood sugar levels return to the normal range soon after diagnosis, you are in what is called the "honeymoon period." This is a time when the remaining insulin-producing cells in your pancreas are working harder to supply enough insulin for your body. Treatment during this time may include:
• Talking with your doctor every day or so until the honeymoon period is over.
• Monitoring your blood sugar level frequently to see whether it is rising.
• Taking very small amounts of insulin or no insulin. Even though you may not need insulin, some doctors prefer that you take small doses of insulin daily throughout the honeymoon period. This may decrease the stress on the pancreas. It may also help prevent your child with diabetes from thinking that the disease is gone.”
JDRF says…
“Even though you may not need insulin, some doctors prefer that you take small doses of insulin daily throughout the honeymoon period.”
“some doctors”?
JDRF says…
“This may decrease the stress on the pancreas.”

“may”?

JDRF says…

“It may also help prevent your child with diabetes from thinking that the disease is gone.”

“help”?

Posted at 3:20PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

13. http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=106137

JDRF says…

"What If My Child Is in the "Honeymoon Period?"

"If your child’s blood sugar levels return to the normal range soon after diagnosis, you are in what is called the "honeymoon period." This is a time when the remaining insulin-producing cells in your pancreas are working harder to supply enough insulin for your body. Treatment during this time may include:
• Talking with your doctor every day or so until the honeymoon period is over.
• Monitoring your blood sugar level frequently to see whether it is rising.
• Taking very small amounts of insulin or no insulin. Even though you may not need insulin, some doctors prefer that you take small doses of insulin daily throughout the honeymoon period. This may decrease the stress on the pancreas. It may also help prevent your child with diabetes from thinking that the disease is gone.”

JDRF says…

"Talking ... until the honeymoon period is over."

... "Talking"?

JDRF says…

“Even though you may not need insulin, some doctors prefer that you take small doses of insulin daily throughout the honeymoon period.”

...“may”? ... “some doctors”?

JDRF says…

“This may decrease the stress on the pancreas.”

...“may”?

JDRF says…

“It may also help prevent your child with diabetes from thinking that the disease is gone.”

...“may”? ... “help”??


[this is so IMPORTANT it may have been worth repeating with better formatting] ps...

JDRF =

" Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
120 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005-4001
Phone: 1-800-533-CURE (2873)
Fax: (212) 785-9595
E-mail: info@jdrf.org

For feedback about our website content, including story ideas:

E-mail: feedback@jdrf.org "


PLEASE EVERYONE WRITE TO JDRF AND FIND OUT ALL ABOUT THEIR scientific USE OF THE WORD "may".

Posted at 3:42PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

14. THIRD TIME LUCKY ...

please read this one more time ...

JDRF says…

“It may also help prevent your child with diabetes from thinking that the disease is gone.”

Posted at 3:52PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

15. Mr. Gracey,

It seems that you have begun to deviate from merely responding to the posts, and begun talking about other issues. While I do not want to discourage democratic debate, I don't think that your ideas are best served in the comments section of someone elses blog where it is not always clear how they relate to the subject of the post. There are plenty of free blogging tools, and I would encourage you to start your own blog where you could direct the discussion yourself, particularly in the sharing of scientific resources.

Some free blogging sites:
http://www.blogger.com
http://www.livejournal.com
http://wordpress.com

Sincerely,
Emily

Posted at 10:37AM on Apr 10th 2007 by Emily

16. http://www.drfuhrman.com/shop/books.aspx

Posted at 11:40AM on Apr 10th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

17. Emily ?

Who's blog is this yours or Allison Beatty's ?

In my opinion ALL my comments [and Everyone else's except yours] are directly relevant to Allison's post in relation to 'JDRF Government Relations'.

Why do all posts allegedly have to be "clear"?

If your post "15." had been made by Allison then 'fair enough' ... otherwise "discourage democratic debate" is at the very core of your post ... which is the only post that is other than relevant to "the subject of" Allison Beatty's post.

Please explain what is other than "clear" about:-

JDRF says…

“It may also help prevent your child with diabetes from thinking that the disease is gone.”

Warm thanks; Nick

Posted at 11:57AM on Apr 10th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

18. Good Riddance to Bush + his Flock of Brainwashed Christian Fundamentalist Taliban-like Holier-than-Thou Zealots who have Wasted Precious Time + Money on this Important Scientific Research*

Yer Pompous Arrogance is beyond all Belief*

Here is some Great Stem Cell News for Diabetics + All People Suffering from Diseases who can be Helped by Stem Cell Research!

Stem cells could spell end for diabetes jabs
By DANIEL MARTIN - More by this author » Last updated at 00:20am on 11th April 2007

Comments Comments
Hopes have been raised of a new treatment to free thousands of diabetes sufferers from the burden of daily insulin injections.

Scientists revealed findings of a study which shows that 15 young patients with type one diabetes overcame their dependence on insulin after being treated with their own stem cells.

scroll down for more
insulin

A new scientific breakthrough could spell the end of insulin injections

The researchers say it could herald the start of a revolution in treating type one diabetes, which affects 300,000 patients in Britain.

Type one diabetics have to regularly inject themselves with the hormone insulin to control their blood sugar levels.

The new research has emerged a month after it was revealed that the number of British children under the age of five who had developed type one diabetes had risen fivefold in the past 20 years.

A team of US and Brazilian scientists gave the patients powerful drugs to suppress their immune systems followed by injections of stem cells drawn from their own blood.

After treatment, 14 of the 15 were able to put away their injection pens after losing their insulin dependence.

And so far, one patient has been free of insulin dependency for 35 months.

Study leader Dr Julio Voltarelli from the University of Sao Paolo said he had rushed out his findings because of the positive results.

He said: "Very encouraging results were obtained in a small number of patients with early-onset disease.

"Ninety-three per cent of patients achieved different periods of insulin dependence and treatment-related toxicity was low, with no mortality."

Type one diabetes is caused by insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas being destroyed by the patient's own immune system.

Stem cells are immature cells that can develop to become a range of different adult cells.

In the latest trial, patients' immune systems were suppressed using powerful drugs - to eliminate the white blood cells that were attacking the pancreas.

The patient was then injected with a chemical which loosened stem cells from their bone marrow. These were filtered out, collected and later injected back into the patient's bloodstream.

Some of the 14 patients responded more quickly than others, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers believe the stem cells developed into new white blood cells which did not attack the pancreatic beta cells.

But they admit there are other possible interpretations - the stem cells could have developed into new beta cells in the pancreas. Or something might have happened to stop the existing beta cells being destroyed.

The study only included a small number of patients between 14 and 31, and did not monitor their progress for very long.

Because of the nature of the study, it is not known if further stem cell injections would be required at a later date.

And unlike most medical trials there was no comparison with patients left untreated or only given drugs to suppress their immune system.

Malcolm Alison, professor of stem cell biology at the Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry in London, said: "In principle this is a cure because these people developed long-term control of their glucose levels.

"But these patients haven't been followed up long enough, so we cannot yet be sure."

Dr Ian Frame, research manager at Diabetes UK, said: "This is interesting new research that demonstrates that there may have been a substantial improvement in beta cell fundtion. However we would wish to avoid false hope based on the very preliminary nature of these results.

"This study had a very small number of participants and importantly did not include a randomised control group for comparison of results.

"Also, as the researchers say, those who took part have not been sufficiently followed up to find out whether or not the improvements have continued.

"All these issues need to be addressed through more research before there are any conclusive findings in this area."

There have been several pointers towards this latest discovery.

Studies have alreday shown that bone marrow transplants given to cancer patients also seemed to reverse certain auto-immune disease such as type one diabetes. Bone marrow is full of stem cells.

Later it was found that treating patients with stem cells from their own blood could benefit individuals with a range of auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Chron's disease.

Posted at 3:18AM on Apr 11th 2007 by Bill Braithwaite

19. Hi Bill,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6541887.stm

OR stem cell ‘Scientists’ [seeking lots of money from ?] use chemotherapy on healthy Children, with high blood glucose readings, to create type 1 Diabetics and deliberately [or do Scientists now withhold ‘a control Group’ by chance ?] withhold monitoring and/or data of an UNdrugTREATED control Group [or even 1 Child] which was far more likely, in each case, to result in the total remission “Honeymoon Period” ie CURE [subject to proof any Child was other than healthy in the first place] than the partial remission “Honeymoon Period” [results] allegedly ‘discovered’, in Brazil, by the stem cell ‘Scientists’ …

http://www.thediabetesblog.com/2007/04/03/the-honeymoon-period/

… the “Honeymoon Period” which is extremely common [and capable of being extended indefinitely] provided JDRF advice on treating the “Honeymoon Period” with insulin is questioned and questioned and questioned…

http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=106137

JDRF says…

“Even though you may not need insulin, some doctors prefer that you take small doses of insulin daily throughout the honeymoon period.”

“some doctors”?

JDRF says…

“This may decrease the stress on the pancreas.”

“may”?

JDRF says…

“It may also help prevent your child with diabetes from thinking that the disease is gone.”

“help”? "from thinking that the disease is gone.”??

Warm thanks, Nick Dynes Gracey, BSc(Hons) Medical Biochemistry, Birmingham University, UK c/o www.TheDiabetesBlog.com @ 14:53hrs WED.11.APR.2007.

Posted at 10:15AM on Apr 11th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey

20. Mr Gracey,

I will admit, I am not Allie Beatty. I do not have the right to say who can or who cannot comment in this blog. I apologize for the hypocrisy that I myself committed by posting an off-comment topic on the subject of off-comment topics, and for now repeating the transgression in this post. Allie or Chris may request me to stop posting if they wish, and I will readily comply. I merely wished to observe, that as someone who is obviously passionate about the subject of diabetes (and likely other issues of public health), you might welcome the opportunity to have your own web presence where you can direct the discussion yourself, and not be limited to the subjects begun by the authors of this blog.

While Comment #13 does mention JDRF, it seemed to me that the subject of the post was about stem cell research, not about the scientific basis of insulin use during the honeymoon period. I admit that determination is subjective, but I saw it as a symptom of someone with a lot to say looking for a place to make himself heard and wished to kindly offer additional outlets. I am sure that you have piqued enough interest here to ensure that you would have readers.

I will only say that at the heart of your comments is a very important message, which is that critical inspection of scientific findings is important. We should all be cautious in accepting something merely because it is “science” or is said by someone who has some extra letters at the end of their name.

With my sincerest respect and apologies,
Emily

Posted at 8:00PM on Apr 11th 2007 by Emily