California Offering Hope to the Millions of Children Afflicted with Neurological Disorders
Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation Sees Dramatic Hope for Treatments and Cures as Californians Approve Proposition 71, the $3 Billion California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) November 14, 2004
Proposition 71, The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative approved by voters November 2, will provide three billion dollars for research using stem cells.
"Stem cell research has the potential to eliminate the suffering of the 14 million children in the U. S. who are afflicted with any of a broad spectrum of debilitating neurological disorders for which there are currently no cures," said Fia Richmond, founder and president of Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation (CNS). "The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative will provide the critical funding needed to make new treatments and cures possible."
Scientists believe that recent discoveries promise great hope for stem cells to provide the cure for disorders that have failed to respond to the best efforts of the medical and scientific communities so far, according to CNS's Richmond.
CNS is a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating research for pediatric brain repair and regeneration, seeking treatments and cures for the nation's 14 million children suffering from neurological disorders. The most widely-known among these debilitating conditions are adrenoleukodystrophy, autism, Canavan disease, cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, leukodystrophy, pediatric brain tumors, pediatric stroke, Rett syndrome, shaken baby syndrome, and Tay-Sachs disease. Hearing loss and vision impairments also contribute to this list.
The harsh reality in this day of medical miracles is that medical science does not currently understand the underlying causes of more than 90 percent of these devastating conditions. Treatments are limited and there are no known cures.
Children suffering from profound neurological disabilities, and their families, have never before had promise or hope for treatments or cures.
"My nine-year-old son Palmer has an undiagnosed brain injury," said Fia Richmond, founder and president of Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation. "He cannot walk, talk, or sit without help and he needs around-the-clock assistance and care. With no cures or therapies available, we have and continue to experience the disappointment of limited medical options."
By approving Proposition 71, Californians encourage and fund stem cell research to create a repair system for the body. They retain their potential to develop into different cell types within a body, replicating healthy new cells to replace damaged ones.
Beyond the dramatic needs of children suffering neurological damage, there are 128 million Americans suffering from diseases and injuries that could be treated or cured with stem cell therapies. These conditions include Alzheimer's disease, cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, heart disease, HIV infection and AIDS, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, Parkinson's disease, severe burns, and spinal cord trauma.
The $3 billion earmarked by The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative is significantly less than the $67 billion estimated lifetime cost nationwide of long-term care for America's disabled individuals.
Proposition 71 will make California the leader in what could ultimately be a huge new industry that creates jobs and brings California hundreds of millions of dollars in patent royalties.
"This is going to be the stem cell center of the world, not just the country," said CNS Board member Evan Snyder, director of the program in stem cell biology at the Burnham Institute in San Diego.
According to Nobel Prize winner Paul Berg, PhD, Professor of Cancer Research Emeritus, Stanford University, "Passage of The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative will energize vitally needed research, not only for the use of stem cells to cure millions of children and adults, but also to reduce the state's burdensome health care costs and boost California's economy."
About CNS
Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation (CNS) is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to orchestrate collaborative research to expedite creation of effective treatments and therapies for children with neurodevelopmental abnormalities, birth injuries to the nervous system, and related neurological problems. CNS will transform the approach to pediatric neurological research by fostering partnerships among leading neuroscientists that deliver measurable improvements in the lives of afflicted children and their families.
In addition, CNS provides families and health care providers with current information and education supporting their decision-making processes.
Copyright © 2004 Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation. All rights reserved.
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