a cause for concern

2005-01-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

Prior to becoming paralyzed in a 1997 spinal cord injury (SCI), I enjoyed a twenty-year railroad career in multiple problem-solving capacities, including communications and signals installation and repair, locomotive electronics repair, and rail traffic management.

Since my injury, I've extensively studied research journals and corresponded with leading neuroscientists to understand the roadblocks to curing SCI, and to encourage communication and collaboration between researchers.

In early 2002, I became alarmed over widely-publicized claims regarding science, which my investigations led me to believe were misleading the American public and its government concerning important research and clinical potentials.

Using the same process I’d used to understand my own condition, I began evaluating research claims regarding Diabetes, Heart Disease, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS, and Stroke.

I concluded that although medical research is generally promoted under the banner of ‘finding cures’ or ‘saving lives,’ that broad areas of basic research may be attractive to the biotech, pharmaceutical, and research industries more for financial reasons, or to promote long term basic research growth, than any practical potentials for producing treatments or cures.

Since 'disability' and 'disease' are consistently used to justify increases in state and federal research funding, or to solicit non-profit research donations, areas of research that offer the most realistic potentials for producing treatments or cures in the shortest time may be the least attractive to Science. Wheras avenues that present the least chance of producing treatments in the immediate or foreseeable future may hold the most attraction.

Because cord blood may offer medical benefits for several high-profile conditions immediately, and because of its potential for showing the way to more effective treatments or outright cures in the foreseeable future, cord blood presents a serious threat to long range foundation, pharmaceutical, biotech, and basic research goals.

My primary concern is that treatments and cures that offer less financial or basic research potential may be ignored, delayed, or blocked, so that industry and science might prosper. Therefore, because I believe that the purpose of science should be to serve mankind, not the reverse, I support the efficent use of research resources for the sake of producing cures.

James Kelly
Manitou Springs, CO

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Cord Blood Research

FDA Cord Blood for ALS Suppression

Letters of Anger and Hope

FDA says "No!" to Congressional Request

the author: an introduction

a cause for concern