You may have heard of the Longitude Prize – a UK-based scientific committee
offering a £10m prize for the solution of one of humanities greatest
challenges. Six challenges have been shortlisted, one of which is paralysis.
A
BBC documentary series called Horizon aired
on 22 May to introduce the six challenges. Much to our dismay, the segment
on paralysis focussed primarily on compensatory devices such as wearable robotic
suit with almost no mention of regenerative medicine or cell-based therapies.
Prize organisers have highlighted that complications due to paralysis reach
further than just mobility and yet the ‘solution’ to paralysis proposed by
Horizon focussed solely on robotic walking.
Robotics are very popular
at the moment and the media appear fixated with images of people ‘standing’ and
‘walking’. However, for a majority of those living with paralysis, compensatory
devices offer little in the way of dealing with the real problems of paralysis.
These wearable devices do not offer any recovery of function resulting in a continuous
struggle with bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction, neuropathic pain, poor
circulation and a whole host of other paralysis-related health issues. To some
in the paralysed community it feels as though funding of compensatory devices
is money spent on keeping people paralysed. It’s also worth mentioning that
wearable robotic suits do nothing to mitigate the huge financial burden that
paralysed people place on governments.
We
know that many in the community desire the return of different functions and
not just walking. Regeneration of the spinal cord has the potential to improve
many different functions while wearable suits will only ever deal with robotic
walking. It is disheartening to see the media so fixated with these devices
when they offer so little to paralysed people. Why is so little airtime being
given to regenerative medicine? Regenerative medicine actually has the
potential to radically transform people’s lives by addressing priorities as
identified by the community themselves.
Thankfully,
regenerative medicine IS focussing on paralysis and all the associated
problems, but how come there was no mention of this approach on the show? There
are numerous clinical trials which are testing emerging therapies
involving cells, genes and enzymes and yet none of these were discussed or even
mentioned by the BBC. These therapies don’t seek to compensate, they seek to
cure and it’s time that there was fair representation of this approach in the
media.
Join us in
asking the BBC to fairly represent the current state of regenerative medicine
by using the simple online form below.
We're hoping
that with enough emails going to
Ms. Diane Doyle, Acting Chair of the BBC Trust (the BBC Trust is the guardian
of the public interest at the BBC), some airtime will be dedicated to the many
varied and exciting avenues which are currently
being pursued in regenerative medicine, with regards to paralysis. Time has
been given to compensatory devices and robotics and we'd now like our fair
share of media coverage to redress this balance.
Compensatory
devices = no return of function
Regenerative
medicine = return of all function
Which do you
want the media to be discussing?
Go below to send an email to the BBC
and ask them to be honest about regenerative medicine for paralysis cure.
