One more reason to get behind the stem cell watch: new brain cells have been created by a U.S. scientist, offering more hope for curing Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Epilepsy. It's a considerable accomplishment in the face of the Bush Administration's continued aggression against science in the name of religio-conservative political appeal.
Anti-aging medicine advances now hinge on what we can do to reverse the diseases of neurotransmitter malfunction. Put simply, no matter what you add to your daily health regimen, whether you are bolstered by exercise, stringent diet and hormone replacement therapy at one end of the spectrum, or at the opposite end, sitting on your couch storing the various ravages of age, your neurotransmitters will decide the rate at which the damage or the enhancement is done. They are norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and their common enemy is stress. A lot of brain science now is about protecting neurotransmitters.
Anti-aging medicine, brain science in particular, presents the kind of disease-preventive possibilities large insurance conglomerates and pharmaceutical companies might not want you to know about, at least not too soon. Eliminating significant diseases in number will play havoc with actuarial tables in the short run, and potentially trim medicine sales in the long run. But forward momentum requires that consumers be aware of their growing options for living longer and better.
Given continued progress in stem cell research, it might be possible not only to build new brain cells but to make their benefits available to the population as a whole, rather than just to an elite few. The fight against funding is still couched in moral terms, even now that established regimens can insure research growth without involving emryonic tissues or issues.
But this, of course, is advanced science. The question is, how assertive are we as Americans willing to be in support of scientific advance, as opposed to political symbolism?