An aunt of mine died recently after a three year bout with Alzheimer's disease. Her deterioration was not pretty to watch. The ability to walk went first, then bowel control. All this while her memory faded until even close relatives became strangers. But Leona may have been more than my aunt. She might have been a mirror. Some of us will get Alzheimer's. No matter how big a star we may be now, things could turn ugly. So, consider this question: Would you sacrifice small humans (embryos) in the name of medical research that promises a cure?

Some have answered with a resounding “yes” not only with regard to Alzheimer's, but also for Parkinson's and other ailments. These people clamor for the federal government to open the money spigots so funds will flow into a few research labs in pursuit of the tantalizing promises. Proponents of such research say there is strong support for more funding. The clamor, however, is almost always for embryonic-stem cell or ESC research.

As usual, there are a few problems. For instance, plucking in vitro eggs is not a simple task. Some reports say it takes at least a two-day hospital stay. So human eggs are not readily available. And then there is the moral objection of slaughtering human embryos, a practice too close to abortion for wide acceptance. Even in grade school, we learned the philosophical concept that the ends do not always justify the means. ESC work is a perfect example.

But such objections don't bother ESC proponents, although something else should: Despite all the promises, there is nothing to show for some 25 years of ESC research. There are no therapies, no medicines, no procedures that start with ESCs and end with cures. Even now, there are no ESC procedures in clinical trials. So the persistent clamor for more federal funding must be traceable to one reason — great sales people. You have to applaud them. With lofty promises and a track record of exactly nothing, they get celebs to bang on the doors of the Capitol begging to be heard and asking for money.

If ESC research is as close to fulfillment as they say they are, why aren't venture capitalists pouring in millions? One reason: a basic rule of investing says don't throw good money after bad. Beside, research on adult stem cells, which does not require the killing of embryos, is paying off with treatments and cures. For example, using adult neural stem cells, Michel Levesque at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A., reports a total reversal of symptoms in the first Parkinson's patient treated. Levesque says the patient is without symptoms three years after adult neural stem cells were removed from his brain, coaxed into becoming dopamine-producing cells, and then reimplanted. And because the stem cells came from the patient, there is no hazard of rejection. Furthermore, over 1,000 clinical trials based on adult stem cells are underway. (See clinicaltrials.gov)

If I had Parkinson's disease and an ounce of sense, I'd be knocking on the doors of Cedars-Sinai shouting, “You need volunteers? I'll volunteer. You need money? Let me write you a check.”

Now, about that question in the headline. It's a trick. Alzheimer's is a full brain disease and there is no cure even with ESCs, although other methods might prevent it. But the ESC proponents won't advertise that. It tends to put a damper on fund raising.