Stem Cell Ads.

macallan25 · #1 10-25-2006, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by centaur532

Michael J Fox was not acting during the ad. The medications he takes causes the jerks and spasmodic movements you saw. A parkinson's tremor looks like the shake of an old man's hand, very slight.

Rush is a tool and yet again proves that talking heads should not be allowed to comment on science.

He has said on TV that he has not taken his medicine on occasion to add an extra dimension to his speeches........such as the one that has been seen on TV many times from a year or two ago when he addressed Congress..

AlexMack · #2 10-25-2006, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macallan25

He has said on TV that he has not taken his medicine on occasion to add an extra dimension to his speeches........such as the one that has been seen on TV many times from a year or two ago when he addressed Congress..

I know that. However, I've already had an indepth discussion about this very subject on another forum. What you see in this commercial is typical of his Parkinsons medications. Parkinsons Disease alone will not cause dyskinetic movements.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/1...tor-after-all/

Quote:

the chorea that Michael J Fox has in that ad comes from chronic use of dopamine agonists in the context of Parkinson's. They're movements from the medicine, not the disease itself. Although he might have odd movements OFF of his meds, they wouldn't look like the ones in the ad. They'd look like the Parkinson's-like presentation of Muhammed Ali's Dementia Pugilistica.

In addition, those movements are hard to imitate accurately because they stem from circuits between the basal ganglia and cortex that you can't just turn off or on. Those aren't volitional circuits. There is little chance he was acting, and if he was, he could only accentuate slightly movementse already had. In other words, this is as tragic as it looks.

http://www.pdf.org/AboutPD/med_treatment.cfm

Quote:

Carbidopa/Levodopa (Sinemet) Levodopa is a substance that is converted into dopamine by an enzyme in the brain. It is then released by brain cells and activates dopamine receptors allowing for normal function of the movement control centers of the brain. Forty years after its discovery, levodopa remains the most effective medication for Parkinson's disease. In fact, 70 to 80 percent of treated Parkinson's patients are on levodopa therapy. Levodopa is the gold standard by which all treatments for Parkinson's are measured.

Levodopa combined with carbidopa (or Sinemet) represented a significant improvement in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The addition of carbidopa prevents levodopa from being converted into dopamine in the bloodstream, allowing more of it to get to the brain. Therefore, a smaller dose of levodopa is needed to treat symptoms. In addition, the nausea and vomiting often associated with levodopa treatment is greatly reduced by the presence of carbidopa. Unfortunately, with increased dosing and prolonged use of levodopa, patients experience other side-effects including dyskinesias (spontaneous, involuntary movements) and "on-off" periods when the medication will suddenly and unpredictably start or stop working.

(Bolding by me.)

The replacements for the L-Dopa therapy can cause hallucinations, so Fox would either have to jerk spasmodically in front of congress or hallucinate. It does not surprise me that he did come off his medications in order to address them. However, that's not the issue at hand.

RACooper · #3 10-26-2006, 09:18 AM

The ads, and of course Rush's a**hole comments, were the major topic of discussion at the opening/launch of the new McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine yesterday ~ a place specifically built to advance research in the fields of stem cell therapy, gene therapy and tissue engineering. I can easily say that all of the 200+ researchers were supportive of Fox's efforts, an disgusted by Rush... which is about the only part of the conversations that I could even remotely follow

At least there was Champaign and OJ...

Other than that - an outright ban on stem cell research is profoundly stupid, and extremely damaging to medical research and advancement.

Drolefille · #4 10-26-2006, 09:20 AM

Correct me if I'm wrong centaur, but if he does NOT take his medicine he can actually lock up where it would be almost impossible to speak or move. Especially not quickly. If he in fact chose to not take his medicine while speaking in front of a group he risks a more dramatic demonstration of the effects of Parkinsons because he'll just stop functioning. So if he WAS moving, it's the medicines.

If you watched him on Scrubs (playing an OCD doctor) you could still tell even though they have multiple takes and angles. And there he was acting as a doctor without twitches.

Tom Earp · #5 10-26-2006, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Correct me if I'm wrong centaur, but if he does NOT take his medicine he can actually lock up where it would be almost impossible to speak or move. Especially not quickly. If he in fact chose to not take his medicine while speaking in front of a group he risks a more dramatic demonstration of the effects of Parkinsons because he'll just stop functioning. So if he WAS moving, it's the medicines.

If you watched him on Scrubs (playing an OCD doctor) you could still tell even though they have multiple takes and angles. And there he was acting as a doctor without twitches.

Cameras can take angles to take out of many things, but it did show him trembling with his left hand.

It is a terrible desease and if a cure can be found, along with others, it should be followed up on.

My Mother shook like that and it is a horrible thing to see happen to someone who is especially near and dear to you.

What is amazing today is the many so called mirale cures are and have been causing more problems.

shinerbock · #6 10-26-2006, 05:23 PM

I also agree that Rush has lost it. That being said, I think it was a bit of a low blow to use an add like that. I mean, its politics, so whatever, but its still a little dirty. Jim Talent is a class act, and he'll win regardless.

Drolefille · #7 10-26-2006, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shinerbock

I also agree that Rush has lost it. That being said, I think it was a bit of a low blow to use an add like that. I mean, its politics, so whatever, but its still a little dirty. Jim Talent is a class act, and he'll win regardless.

It's nothing more than celebrity endorsement.

You want to see low blows you should see the 101st Congressional District in Illinois. "Bob Flider, what are you doing to help Illinois? I make lame people walk and the blind see. Dick Cain, what are you doing to help Illinois, and let me remind you, no LIES. *crickets* I thought so" I'm sick of both of them.

OtterXO · #8 10-26-2006, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Correct me if I'm wrong centaur, but if he does NOT take his medicine he can actually lock up where it would be almost impossible to speak or move. Especially not quickly. If he in fact chose to not take his medicine while speaking in front of a group he risks a more dramatic demonstration of the effects of Parkinsons because he'll just stop functioning. So if he WAS moving, it's the medicines.

As far as I know you're correct (anyone with more knowledge feel free to correct me). From what I've read if he wasn't taking medication his body would essentially freeze. The medication gives him the ability to move but the side effect is that it also causes tremors when the muscles are at rest.

I think Rush Limbaugh is free to comment on any political ad, but it probably didn't do much for his reputation to comment on this one. Making fun of "the man" (or any political figure) is usually accepted but it's not as acceptable to criticize people who are seen as sick or disabled. His goal was probably to put a question in the back of the minds of like minded people who already are opposed to or mildly opposed to stem cell research. I'm sure he accomplished that goal even after he apologized for his criticisms. Political campaigning is what it is....not much surprises me about it these days.

Drolefille · #9 10-26-2006, 06:42 PM

There's an article on slate.com (i may try to find a linky) that says that Rush just plays stupid. He knows better, but this is how he gets listeners and press coverage.

shinerbock · #10 10-26-2006, 06:42 PM

Its a celebrity endorsement which basically says that McCaskill cares about people like me, but Talent doesn't. It ignores central issues in the debate over stem cell research. Like I said, its all fair in politics, but Fox put himself out there, so he's fair game as well. Of course, Rush's comments were pretty stupid, but the underlying idea that he's using public sentiment regarding his illness to help/harm certain candidates is not without merit.

RU OX Alum · #11 10-30-2006, 02:02 PM

if you want to get technical about it, don't do cough syrup. Cough syrup has "meth."

Meth can refer to lots of things, mainly a type of amphetimine, and is very bad stimulant. Crystal meth is what you get on the street. It gets its name b/c it is basically street meth (crushed up diet pills, any stimulant, sometimes dirty things like shoe polish, kerosene, etc.) added to the mix are crushed up quartz crystals, because people think they give extra energy. They give extra brain damage. People seriously, the speed they will give you at the doctor, OTC, etc. is bad enough. Who would cook it all up together?