Heparin contaminant ID’d

Heparin contaminant ID’d

WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials have identified a contaminant in batches of the blood thinner heparin associated with 19 deaths and are trying to determine how the chemical got into the drug.

The lots of heparin, whose key ingredient was imported from China, were recalled Feb. 28, and Food and Drug Administration officials said Wednesday that no new deaths have been reported since that time.

Dr. Janet Woodcock, head of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said the contaminant is oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, a chemical that does not occur naturally.

Chondroitin sulfate is a natural compound that occurs widely and is used as a dietary supplement, but the oversulfated version has not been widely studied.

Chondroitin sulfate is a compound in the same family as heparin, so preliminary testing did not identify it, Woodcock said. She said more exacting tests by the government and university researchers uncovered the contaminant.

Congress quickly reacted to the report, with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations scheduling an April 15 hearing.

Topic: stem-cell therapy

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — In an elegant hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean, more than 30 of the world’s leading stem cell researchers gathered Wednesday to strategize on the most effective means of developing novel stem cell medical treatments, while keeping public expectations in line with the actual state of scientific research.

The oft-cited potential of stem cells to one day possibly cure devastating ailments such as Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries and diabetes is also luring desperate patients to try so-called stem cell therapies abroad, six stem cell researchers at a noon press conference emphasized.

The panelists devoted much of their discussion to guidelines the International Society for Stem Cell Research will issue later this year for identifying or developing credible stem cell research initiatives.

Wednesday’s conference was the first global gathering organized by the society, a premier stem cell research organization with a membership roster that includes the luminaries of the field. During the event sessions, which were closed to the public and the press, participants explored the scientific, clinical, regulatory, ethical and social issues of the complex and promising research.

Stem cells, found in days-old embryos, are capable of developing into any of the more than 200 types of tissue found in the human body.

Going free after 23 years

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County district attorney’s officials announced Wednesday that they would not retry a man whose 23-year-old murder conviction was overturned last week when a judge found that the key prosecution witness had lied.

The decision paves the way for the release of Willie Earl Green at a court hearing today.

Green, 55, has maintained he was wrongly convicted of the 1983 slaying of a woman at a crack house in South Los Angeles.

Superior Court Judge Stephen A. Marcus found that Green did not receive a fair trial because jurors were never given information that probably would have undermined the credibility of the only witness who identified Green as one of two men responsible for the killing.

The witness, Willie Finley, recently recanted his trial testimony, saying he was high on cocaine during the killing and had been helped by police to identify Green as a suspect. Among other problems, Marcus found that detectives improperly tainted the identification process by telling Finley that Green had been convicted of stealing from the victim.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that they would not appeal the ruling nor oppose a motion by Green’s attorneys to release him.

Various wire services

School bus snags, drags 9-year-old

PORTERSVILLE, Pa. — State police say a 9-year-old Lawrence County boy is fine after being dragged about two-tenths of a mile after his backpack bag got caught in a school bus door.

Police are not releasing the boy’s name but say he was treated for scrapes to his right forearm at Jameson Hospital in New Castle.

Police say the incident happened about 4 p.m. Tuesday in Slippery Rock Township. Police say the driver pulled away after the boy got off the bus but his backpack stuck in the door.

Police say the boy was dragged to the next stop.

The driver, 44-year-old Scott Kaufman of New Castle, has been cited for careless driving.

A woman who answered Kaufman’s phone Wednesday says he isn’t commenting.