David Weldon: “I have three concerns that I would like to raise about this debate. First of all, I am concerned that advocates for this…”

“I have three concerns that I would like to raise about this debate. First of all, I am concerned that advocates for this embryo stem cell research are unethically playing on the emotions of millions of Americans. Of all the conditions that have been proposed as possibly treatable with stem cells, whether embryonic or adult stem cells, Alzheimer's disease is one of the least likely where stem cells could be useful. I say this because on autopsy, the brains on Alzheimer's disease patients do not show a pure dropout of neurons. If it was a loss of normal nerve cells, cell therapy might have potential. The fact is the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients typically contain lesions called senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The plaques, which accumulate on the outside of neurons, consist mainly of deposits of a protein called beta-amyloid. Chemical and cellular markers of inflammation are also present. We need to find out what causes these plaques and how we can prevent them.”