Shane recently received his first Repair Stem Cell treatment for Spinal Cord Injury.
He has this to say…
Hello All,
First, let me begin by wishing all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays for all my friends of faith. Regardless of our individual beliefs, we all cling to hope of a better world and brighter futures for our children. Nowhere has this been more obvious to me than right here at the treatment center. I have been attended to by Buddhist, Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Different people of different faiths have all provided different services but with one common goal of rendering the best care for their patients. I am not about to deliver a sermon to anyone…God knows that I’m poorly qualified to do this. With the Holy season of Christmas fast approaching, it’s just something I’ve noticed. Now some quick highlights and I’ll close with my Don’t Be Stupid tag line.
The highlights:
I got my latest spinal tap this Friday. Unlike the other time, the Dr. had a difficult time inserting the needle into my spine. This time, they moved pretty quickly in the process of administering the valium. They did not wait until I was completely out. I was groggy, but awake…somewhat anyway. So, each time the surgeon would begin, I’d flinch and tighten my back and compress my spine. When this happens, it reduces the gap in between the vertebrae. This kind of makes it hard to accomplish the task without forcing it. I am sure that they did not want me to come all the way here just to go home in a wheelchair. Well it took four attempts, but finally, success. When the delayed drugs wore off…you can imagine the back pain I had.
With 3 more injections to go, I’m deliberating whether or not to go via the spinal tap method. We are all still adjusting and are adapting well. They really do try here and take their time explaining everything. One more thing I’ve noticed, the docs here are all polite and humble. Back in the US, I have run into more with a God complex than the healers they’re supposed to be. This is a society that’s run for the most part by the govt. You will not become wealthy as a doctor here. If you choose to be a doctor in this country, your doing it purely for the passion of helping people…at least this has been my experience.
We continue to get new folks arriving every day. I do my best to meet them all. They come from all parts of the world. All of them are seeking the keys for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have become a motley group of sorts…and i don’t mean the glam band from the 80’s. Yes, I was a fan. Now, that we’ve got another Shane confession out there, we can move forward. This place is more like Ellis island, with hundreds of families seeking one thing…much in the same way that so many immigrants sought a new future and freedom from persecution from their places of birth to our shores. Here at this place, many come seeking freedom from their physical limitations and afflictions.
Sadly, much like the story of our nation; some will not find the answers they seek or the relief they want. But the hope, the promise is enough for many of them to risk all that they may have for the children. You know, it’s giving me a new appreciation for my parents and all the familiarity that they left behind, the risks taken so that their children may have a chance at a brighter future.
Many of the stories are downright tragic. There are victims of drowning, boating accidents, genetic conditions and others. Some families seemed to be especially hard hit. There’s a Brazilian family here with not just one but three children that suffer from blindness and neurological issues that affect motor skills, speech, coordination and such. It has been emotionally draining for me with my swinging wildly from hope to despair and back again. One wonders what type of God would allow this to happen to the most innocent of his children. I don’t have the answers to this question. I believe it’s an individual quest with individual answers that will hopefully shed light prior to the end of our time here in this life. With most answers not crystal clear, we cling to the only thing that any of us really have…hope. Now I want to make my “don’t be stupid” point. What I should say is” “Don’t be like me.”
Prior to all this happening, I was always too busy to take more time with my wife, kids, family and friends. Work always seemed to come first, last and everything in between. It certainly was the case at my last place of employment. Nobody really knows what the future holds. So, don’t be stupid. When your spouse suggests that the two of you get away for awhile…do it. When your kids would like you home to have dinner with you, leave the office at 5 so you can fight traffic and be there before the food gets cold. When your family and friends need you in their times of need, drop what you’re doing and show up and help them thru their most difficult times. When your aging and at times…crusty parents want you to come visit, go do it. Do it no matter what the costs are from the professional perspective.
Now, I know that we all need to work and provide for our families. What I’m suggesting is that we take the time to conduct audits from time to time. Track how your spending your time and with whom. We men need to be weary of the breadwinner trap. For me, the fact that I went to work to provide for my family, made me feel I was entitled to some things…right? The least of which was time for myself. You know, this is so much easier than the things my wife deals with everyday. The kids, doctors visits, countless trips to school because our lovable tornados left something at home…yet again, meetings with teachers…you Mom’s know exactly what I’m talking about. If at the end of your audit over 60 days, your raw objective data proves that your heavily tilted towards work…and your spouse is beginning to give you that stare…then I suggest you look for work elsewhere. If they try to make you feel guilty or question your commitment to the company, let me ask you.
Do you really want to work for anyone that does not support your concern for your family? Often these companies make stupid short term choices, take poor risks, and make bold and unrealistic claims to investors and bankers. And when the money people come to call in their markers, the employees suffer and the families suffer. No amount of money or stock options are worth losing your relationships with your spouse, kids an family…trust me, I came close to losing all of it. Now, if you’re fortunate enough to work for a company or boss that not only talks the talk but also walks the walk of family values and corporate governance, hold tight with both hands. What you have there is more precious than diamonds. I am not talking perfection but striving everyday to do right by the people that make any business run.
But you know…God is good. In spite of my mistakes, my family and friends have stepped in to provide moral, financial, logistical and emotional help. All of you have been extraordinary. Each time of this year Bob with Cross would encourage me to focus on my family, hug on the kids until they fought to get away and hug them some more, spend time with my wife and really reflect on what I have to be really thankful for. You know, I can’t really top that advice other than the fact I should have followed it much closer and sooner.
Take care my friends and loved one’s. Thanks for being in my life please continue to pray for all those that maybe suffering, our leaders and…As a favor to me, give your families what I struggled so hard to give…
I want to welcome you to the STEM CELL TREATMENT FUND RAISING INITIATIVE and wish you and yours Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
Over the past year, many patients asked me for fund raising help and despite a ridiculous pre-existing workload, I could not deny their requests for help any longer. Well, no good deed goes unpunished! This little grass roots project created on a wing and a prayer and meant to help the few is quickly growing by leaps and bounds! There has been an incredible amount of positive response!
In the near future, I am going to expand the tactics and services available so all can participate with a variety of options, regardless of their budget or condition. I am looking forward to fact finding meetings coming up after the New Year with fund raising officers from the University of Pennsylvania and the Templeton Foundation. I’m also looking into setting up some raffles to generate donations for treatment. If anyone has new ideas on fund raising tactics, please let me know. If anyone has found something to work exceedingly well, please let me know!
Some of you may have already received the information below but I wanted to make sure everyone was on the email list so they could receive future mailings. Best of luck to all in their FUND RAISING endeavors and please let me know if I can be of further assistance!
Please email me at dsgrano@gmail.com to receive the free primer: Fund Raising Tactics for Stem Cell Treatments in WORD and PDF formats. Review the information within and contact me with any questions.
FYI, To find the best treatment center in the world for treating a particular disorder; fill out the treatment request form at the Repair Stem Cell Institute website: http://www.repairstemcells.org/Treatment/Treatment-Request.aspx Your medical info will be sent to the top 8 treatment centers in the world and they will contact you shortly with information, costs, etc. if they meet your personal requirements. There is no cost for treatment request and info.
Also…
If you would like to be signed up for a free one year subscription to my Stem Cell newsletter, reply with the word NEWSLETTER.
Published: December 21, 2009 – Pfizer said Sunday that it was buying the rights to a somewhat controversial cell therapy from Athersys, a biotechnology company — a sign of big pharmaceutical companies’ growing interest in (ADULT or REPAIR) stem cells.
Why is this controversial? There are no embryos involved. These are adult or repair stem cells. There are thousands of clinical trials and tens of thousands of scholarly papers showing their safety and efficacy. If a new cancer drug comes out that is not through all stages of clinical trials it is not controversial; why is this? -dg
Athersys’s cells, derived from human bone marrow (these are Adult or Repair Stem Cells, not embryonic – dg), have not yet been tested in people with inflammatory bowel disease, a term that encompasses ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. But the product, called MultiStem, is in early human testing as a treatment for heart attacks and for cancer patients receiving bone marrow transplants.
Pfizer will have the rights to develop Athersys’s cells to treat inflammatory bowel diseases, the companies are expected to announce on Monday.
CLICK PICTURE for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Colitis, Crohn's Disease Treatment Info
STOCK ALERT
Pfizer will pay Athersys $6 million initially and up to $105 million in the future. Athersys [ NASDAQ:ATHX ] soared as high as $3.95 today on the news and has leveled off to $2.80, a 180% gain by noon today.)
Nerve-cell transplants help brain-damaged rats fully recover lost ability to learn
www.sciencedaily.com
ScienceDaily (Dec. 11, 2009) Nerve cells transplanted into brain-damaged rats helped them to fully recover their ability to learn and remember, probably by promoting nurturing, protective growth factors, according to a new study.
Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer cells begin in a lymph node—often in the neck—then progress to other nodes.
SURGERY VS. HODGKINS LYMPHOMA… HL IS THE VICTOR!
CHEMOTHERAPY VS. HODGKINS LYMPHOMA… HL IS THE VICTOR!
RADIATION VS. HODGKINS LYMPHOMA… HL IS THE VICTOR!
STEM CELLS VS. HODGKINS LYMPHOMA…
…STEM CELLS KICK HODGKINS LYMPHOMA’S BUTT!
In 2003, 13 year-old Kirk Lee was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a disease that affects the body’s lymph nodes.
Kirk Lee first noticed something was wrong when he detected a knot on his neck. His grandmother Carolyn Lee said he was taken to the hospital and consequently diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. He was immediately transported to Jackson for surgery to remove tissue from his lungs and undergo chemotherapy.
After receiving radiation, chemotherapy and some experimental treatment in Jackson, Lee still had third-stage lymphoma, meaning the disease was in his abdomen and his neck. (1)
When neither of those treatments was successful, he was taken for stem cell transplant therapy.
That stem cell treatment put his illness into remission.
* * * * *
To see if you are a candidate for stem cell treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, click here [ REQUEST INFO ]
I recently created a treatment fund raising strategy for patients. Email me at dsgrano@gmail.com with the words “FUND RAISING” in the subject line and I will send you a primer on FUND RASING TACTICS. All are welcome and this information is free of cost.
Science vs. Religion: Solved? (hardly. my comments below)
Despite their inevitable conflicts–science, religion and New Age spirituality are essentially compatible and complementary activities.
“Until recently it seemed that the continued expansion of scientific ways of thinking was destined to render religion extinct and spirituality unfeasible. But the example of the United States disproves this, since America is the most successful scientific nation of this era, church-going remains strong and New Age spiritualities are thriving. Therefore, despite the obvious conflicts; science, religion and spirituality are essentially compatible.”
First of all, I have a problem with the statement “America is the most” anything when the era is not over and we are already losing ground significantly to much of the world.
“Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development finds that Americans are below average in science competency. Among OECD countries, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and Mexico have lower mean scores than the US; Sweden, Hungary, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Germany, Korea, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and Finland, as well as students in the combined area of the European Union, have higher mean scores than the US. Denmark, France, Iceland, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Norway and Luxembourg cannot be distinguished from US performance with statistical significance.” (1)
Second, you can’t use a backwards looking statement as a forward looking argument. To paraphrase: “America WAS a scientific force so science and religion ARE compatible and will continue to become more so in the future?” Third, what about all of those “death of religion” articles I keep reading? Ok, this is a morass so let’s stick to America as a leader in science.
America is NOT the most successful scientific nation of this era…especially when it comes to stem cell treatments.
“…since few people can afford to travel outside the country for adult stem cell treatments, ESC-crazed America, the Bangladesh of stem cells, with its focus on “treatment useless” research, and 4-8 years behind the rest of the world on available adult stem cell treatments, has become exactly that, a death row prison cell for those suffering from so-called untreatable diseases.”
While many nations have taken the innovation challenge to heart and put in place a host of policies to spur innovation, the United States has done little, consequently falling behind in innovation policies and risking falling behind in innovation performance as well.
Dec. 17, 2007 (San Antonio) — In a medical first, researchers have used stem cells to help reshape the breasts of women who have undergone a lumpectomy to remove a breast tumor.
In a small study, nearly four-fifths of women who got injections of stem cells derived from their own fat tissue were satisfied with the cosmetic results.
During a lumpectomy, surgeons take out only the tumor and surrounding tissue, sparing the remainder of the breast. Radiation is typically given afterward to kill any missed cancer cells.
While the goal is to preserve as much of the breast as possible, the procedures can leave a woman with a scarred, misshapen, and cratered breast.
Currently, there’s not much doctors can offer these women, says Eric Daniels, MD, a surgeon at Cytori Therapeutics. Cytori developed the device used in the stem cell treatment but was not involved in the new study.
“The defect is too small to make her a candidate for the breast implants [offered to women who have a breast removed during a mastectomy],” he says.
Doctors can try rearranging the breast tissue that is left or modifying the other breast to match the flawed one, says Sameer Patel, MD, a reconstructive surgeon at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia that was not involved with the work.
But this involves surgery and can leave additional scars. “It’s far from ideal,” he tells WebMD.
Stem Cells Overcome Problems With Fat Implants
Patel says that injections of fat tissue have been tried, but the fat is often reabsorbed or dies.
That happens, he says, primarily because of a poor blood supply between the implanted fat cells and the breast cells.
That’s where stem cells — those miraculous master cells that have the potential to form many other types of cells — come in.
While the research is still early, it is thought that the stem cells develop into the cells needed to form new blood vessels.
“The stem cells likely stimulate the breast tissue to make new blood vessels,” Daniels says. The new blood vessels supply oxygen and nourishment to the implanted cells, keeping the graft alive.
It’s possible, but unlikely, that the procedure actually builds new fat tissue, he says.
Stem Cell Injections Increase Breast Thickness
The new study involved 21 women who had undergone a lumpectomy. Using liposuction, fat was removed from their abdomens, hips, thighs, or lower backs. Half was set aside as the main implant material. The rest of the fat was processed so that only stem cells and other types of tissue capable of regeneration were left behind.
The stem cell juice was then combined with the reserved fat and injected into the area of the breast defect. The procedure takes about three hours. Six months after treatment, 79% of 19 women surveyed were satisfied with the results, says researcher Keizo Sugimachi, MD, president of Kyushu Central Hospital in Fukuoka, Japan. He presented the findings here at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
In addition, the improvement in breast tissue thickness that was observed at one month persisted at six months. That’s how the researchers know it is working, Daniels says. If the fat tissue hadn’t been supercharged, a portion probably would have died off during the six-month period, he tells WebMD.
“The work is in its infancy but shows a lot of promise,” Patel says. Cytori Therapeutics plans to undertake two additional studies of the technique in Europe and Japan next year.
Several recent reports, using animal models, provide evidence for treating lung disorders with adult stem cells.
Premature babies are often placed on ventilators to deliver oxygen and expand underdeveloped lungs, but the high oxygen and mechanical ventilation can lead to lung inflammation, inhibit proper lung growth, and lead to long-term complications. Work out of Children’s Hospital in Boston found that bone marrow stromal cells, a type of adult stem cell, can reduce inflammation in lung tissue. Using newborn mice as a model, the researchers injected adult bone marrow stem cells intravenously. The cells migrated to the lungs and prevented inflammation. The cells seem to work by secreting protective and stimulatory factors that help the lung cells and blood vessels; the same effects could be obtained by injecting the growth medium in which the adult stem cells had been grown. The results are published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
More breathable news comes from a team in South Korea led by Dr. Won Soon Park from the Samsung Medical Center. Using newborn laboratory rats with oxygen-deprived lung injury, the researchers found that mesenchymal stem cells, a type of adult stem cell from umbilical cord blood, had a protective effect against low-oxygen-induced lung injury. They noted that their findings could have important therapeutic potential for the currently untreatable hyperoxic neonatal lung disease, or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), in premature human infants. The easy availability of umbilical cord blood is also an associated benefit. The results are published in the journal Cell Transplantation.
John Stewart has repair stem cell treatment patient and musician Jack Mennequin on the Daily Show. Jack Mennequin documented the process of receiving a stem cell transplant from his sister and the repair stem cell treatment for his leukemia. He made a DVD about the process. He was on the Daily show and they talked about it and he performed his song Swim.
THE LATEST B.S. ARTICLE FOR YOU TO LAUGH AT. I MEAN REALLY, IT’S GETTING RIDICULOUS ALREADY. YOU CAN NOT CITE SOMETHING AS THE “first evidence” WHEN THERE IS ALMOST A DECADE OF SOLID RESEARCH THAT PREDATES IT. FOR PETE’S SAKE, THERE’S EVEN A CHILDREN’S BOOK ABOUT ADULT STEM CELLS TREATING HEART DISEASE – • SUPER STEMMYS – DORIS & THE SUPERCELLS! - https://www.createspace.com/3391680
THE TIMELINE FOR STEM CELLS VS HEART DISEASE IS BELOW AND HERE ARE SOME HUMOROUS STATS:
Google the title as keywords [Your Own Stem Cells Can Treat Heart Disease] and you get over 7 million hits…And this is first evidence?!
Google the title as a complete sentence “Your Own Stem Cells Can Treat Heart Disease” and you get over 148,000 hits…And this is first evidence?!
Your Own Stem Cells Can Treat Heart Disease -November 17, 2009 | Research – By Marla Paul
Transplanting people’s own stem cells into heart lessens pain, improves ability to walk
CHICAGO — The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. The transplant subjects also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn’t receive stem cells.
THIS IS YEARS BEHIND!! HERE’S WHY:
“First came a year or two of (repair stem cell/cardiac) animal tests, then, in Paris, 2000, doctors gave a dying 70-year-old heart patient bone marrow cells and he lived four years, at which time the doctors ‘fessed up and released his name.
In 2001, USA pioneer Warren Sherman, MD (Columbia U, Mt. Sinai NY Hosp) went to Rotterdam and became the first American to implant ASC into a human heart. However, if you can believe it, the same Sherman, calls those that have taken forward what he did eight years ago, “snake oil salesmen.”
In 2002, a very daring clinical trial led by Dr. Hans Dohmann plus six colleagues in Brazil took 21 transplant candidates and gave 14 of them bone marrow cells. The results were so spectacular that the AHA accepted the paper and it was presented in 2003. Five of the seven in the control group opted in to make a total of 19 stem cell transplants. The mortality rate for transplant candidates is about 35% per year. At that rate there would be, of those 19, only 2.2 patients still alive after five years. There were, in fact, 12 alive as of Dec. 31, 2007; more than five years down the road.
In 2003, Dr. Andreas Zeiher of the Goethe Institute in Frankfurt began much larger trials. As of 2007, he has overseen more ASC implants into hearts than anyone, both in and out of clinical trials.
In 2004, Dr. Amit Patel of Pittsburgh completed two of the most successful trials ever, especially when, in Uruguay, he proved, on a group of ischemic heart failure patients, that a bypass plus cells was infinitely better than a bypass only. That same year, TheraVitae, in Israel, developed a new, powerful blood-derived stem cell and dared to treat the sickest patients no clinical trial would consider.
Also in 2004, one of the Brazilians, Dr. Perin, came to Texas and used the Brazil results to get the first ASC heart clinical trial approved by the FDA. Over a dozen such approvals were granted in the next 12-18 months.
Meanwhile, around the world, while USA stem cell research remains mired in politics instead of science, ASC advances in virtually every sector of medicine are rocketing forward without any sign of letting up.
In 2005, Drs. Vina & Saslavsky in Argentina completed the very first successful diabetes2 stem cell clinical trial in the world: 13 out of 16 successfully cured. Spinal problems and emphysema and renal failure and cirrhosis of the liver treatments will be moving to the forefront in 2008-9. (Yes, but mostly in China and elsewhere, while Americans die with those diseases without a chance of help from their “doctors.”
Patients are being treated all over the world today with years of research and clinical trials behind the procedures. For more information, go to: http://repairstemcells.org
New Research Shows Versatility of Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells
ScienceDaily (Nov. 23, 2009) — For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that stem cells found in amniotic fluid meet an important test of potential to become specialized cell types, which suggests they may be useful for treating a wider array of diseases and conditions than scientists originally thought.
btw, AMNIOTIC FLUID STEM CELLS ARE ADULT/REPAIR STEM CELLS. -DG
THIS article is full of so many holes, inconsistencies, half truths, biases and misinformation that it is difficult to even critique it. My comments in blue…
The author does not make any differentiation between adult/repair stem cells (RSC) and embryonic stem cells (ESC). Why? Since he neglected to do this, here are the simple differences between adult/repair stem cells and embryonic stem cells:
RSC = Repair Stem Cells (same as ASC/adult stem cell but a more appropriate name)
•used in bone marrow transplants for 40 years
•can currently treat 100+ diseases
•~zero problems (virtually zero side effects)
•comes from blood, umbilical cords, marrow, fat, nose, breast milk, menstruation, etc etc etc
ESC = embryonic stem cell
•can currently treat zero diseases
•lotsa problems (tumors, rejection, controversy, etc)
•comes from embryos
Now to the article (warning on lies from Australian newspaper)
Warning on cancer risk from stem cell therapy – NICK MILLER, November 23, 2009
EXPERTS fear that a Victorian man with leukaemia may be the first Australian ”infected” with cancer after treatment at a private overseas stem cell therapy centre.
Experts? Who are the experts? You mention “Stem cell specialists and patient support groups” but you give no credentials. In fact, the only credentials you list are from the Embryonic stem cell doctor – Dr Kirsten Herbert and as far as I can tell, she did not even comment on this story, although she “plans next month to investigate the case.” So she hasn’t even investigated the patient’s condition?
Experts don’t “fear”; they assess, research, deduce, investigate and make clinical and scientific observations. They pride themselves on their impartiality and emotionless scientific evaluatory skills. To say they fear goes agianst the very core of being a scientist. To say they fear is merely sensationalistic.
Did he go for Leukemia treatment? Leukemia has been treated with bone marrow transplants utilizing adult/repair stem cells (RSC) for over 40 years without negative side effects. All of a sudden there is a cancer risk? Why? Did they use embryonic stem cells in a leukemia bone marrow transplant? That would explain it…or did he get leukemia from a stem cell treatment for another disease? What disease? There is so little real info here in the opening line it is hard to judge what is really going on.
Stem cell specialists and patient support groups are calling for more public education about the dangers of such services, saying they get hundreds of calls a year from people considering using them – and the numbers are rising.
The Repair Stem Cell Institute (RSCI) is a comprehensive, experienced and knowledgeable Stem Cell Patient Advocacyorganization. RSCI does not treat patients. RSCI is a worldwide public service organization negotiating access to high-quality stem cell treatment care through education, empowerment and advocacy. RSCI offers professional case management services to individuals needing access to expert and reliable stem cell treatments for chronic and disabling disease at no cost to the patient. There is no cost for this service.
There are over 500 treatment centers in the world and through a rigorous set of standards, RSCI has distilled out the top 9 in the world and they do NOT recommend that any patient go to any treatment center that does not meet or exceed the RSCI standards.
The companies advertise on the internet and via local information sessions, offering injections of foetal stem cells…
Foetal stem cells are essentially embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells develop into cysts and tumors. This procedure has a history of tumors development when used.
…and stem cells extracted from the patient’s spinal cord. They claim to treat conditions such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, autism and spinal injury.
Private, largely unregulated clinics in Asia and Europe…
Many of them are regulated by oversight groups and standards from 3rd parties.
…charge tens of thousands of dollars plus travel costs.
Please find me one doctor or hospital in the world that pays for your travel costs.
However few have published, clinical proof of their efficacy, relying instead on slick websites and individual testimonies.
Many of them have published studies and trials. The ONE treatment center this article focuses on does not (is the treatment center ever mentioned or is this just an attempt to paint all of the treatment centers in a bad light because of one?). As for the other qualified and reviewed treatment centers…
Costs for the majority of stem cell treatments range from US$15,000 to $35,000 including hotel but not airfare and food.
• You can get simple intravenous stem cell implants in some countries for as little as US$5000. Even if they are your own stem cells, this means in most instances that the cells are not separated and cultured from their parent tissue or fluid, which costs time and money; so we would not expect the therapy to be as effective for that reason.
You can go to a treatment center that provides inexpensive and lower quality treatments and pay the inexpensive costs…or you can go to a treatment facility that provides the best treatments and pay a higher cost…but you can NOT go to a crappy treatment center and complain about crappy treatments or get the best treatments in the world and complain about appropriate higher costs.
• It also means that the stem cells will not be implanted into a specific area based on the disease; i.e. into the heart for cardiovascular diseases, or into the pancreas for diabetes, or into the spinal canal for neurological diseases such as MS, CP, ALS and Autism.
• Some stem cells cost over US$10,000 to prepare. Some implant procedures cost over US$15,000 to perform. Some clinics include days or even weeks of physical therapy and care, which costs extra.
• In some cases expensive medical devices must be brought in to implant the cells into difficult areas such as the brain or the heart or the lungs, often doubling the cost from the above-mentioned range.
You get what you pay for, the choice is yours!
Advocacy groups for people targeted as possible clients will meet in Canberra today to discuss how to protect people from being emotionally and financially exploited.
Already covered. “The Repair Stem Cell Institute (RSCI) is a comprehensive, experienced and knowledgeable Stem Cell Patient Advocacy organization.”
The stem cell treatments ranged in quality and safety but very few, if any, offered genuine hope, said Dr Kirsten Herbert, a hematologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and clinical adviser to the Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC).
Australia, like the US, is years behind the rest of the world in regard to Repair Stem Cell treatments. In fact, up until very recently, the focus in both countries has been entirely on embryonic stem cells.
”One man in Queensland paid $40,000 for a treatment [at a private German clinic] and was told he needed two or three more [visits] for a treatment that I cannot imagine, even with the most blue-sky open mind, could have helped him,” she said.
Which man? What disease, what clinic, what procedure, how many have been treated there for that disease with that procedure? What are the success rates? There is no info in here, just the status of her title to carry an empty and unsubstantiated and unreferenced comment. A quick search brought up this info from another article. I believe this is the article she was quoted out of context from:
“From what Dr Herbert’s read about Mr Tomasiello’s case, she doesn’t understand how the course of treatment prescribed for him will work. And among other grave concerns she has for his safety, she wants to know if the clinic is using cells that have been cultured using animal products, as that could introduce diseases such as Mad Cow. The prospect of cells causing cancer also troubles her. Dr Herbert denies Australia is dragging its feet in stem cell research, saying it is a world leader, and she shrugs off gasps over the use of embryonic stem cells. The creation of embryonic stem cells for scientific use is legal under federal law. All ethical dilemmas ultimately come down to an individual’s personal views, she said. And the testing that we particularly expect to see in stem cells science is what viruses could potentially have infected those cells, so HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and some of the other related viruses. And also have those cells been tested for their capacity to form tumours?”
Of course she is worried! Everything she is concerned about is in regard to embryonic or foetal stem cells. Repair Stem Cell extraction has about as much negative side-effect potential as giving blood. She is pro-embryonic stem cell research when so many in the world have abandoned embryonic research has fruitless for developing safe treatments. She should catch up. She is also anti-”embryonic caused problems” in the same breath. What a very awkward position for her.
”But they will take his money and not do anything to look after him when he leaves. If we practised a treatment like that we would be disbarred.”
The top treatment centers do follow ups and make sure the patient’s GP or specialist are contacted and informed.
Dr Herbert plans next month to investigate the case of a Victorian man being treated for leukaemia, which was diagnosed after his recent return from overseas stem cell therapy.
She said it was difficult to prove a link, but there was an international precedent: in February the journal PLoS Medicine reported the case of a teenage Israeli boy who developed brain tumours from experimental stem cell injections at a Russian clinic.
Correct. He was given EMBRYONIC stem cells. Embryonic stem cells produce tumors because their job is to split and split until they produce a fetus. You can manipulate them to repair but when they are finished they go back to splitting and often tumors are the result.
The Israeli boy, after he got tumors from embryonic stem cells was then healed with Repair Stem Cells at one of the top treatment centers in the world. Repair stem cells don’t produce tumors because their job is to repair and fix the tissues and organs of the body.
Dr Herbert said cancer was a rare but possible side-effect of [EMBRYONIC] experimental stem cell therapy.
There has not been a single incident of cancer from adult or repair stem cell treatments…and yet embryonic studies show cyst and tumor growth over and over. Even the pharmaceutical giant Geron with unlimited resources and finances can’t solve this problem.
”Most stem cells grow in a culture that is exposed to proteins and hormones that encourage growth, and cancer is out-of-control growth, so these [EMBRYONIC stem] cells have a greater potential to cause cancer,” she said.
Amazing how when you drop a word or two, the entire content changes.
Other risks included contamination from animal products used in laboratory processing of the stem cells, which could introduce Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Of the over 2,700 “adult stem cell” clinical trials (1,500+ complete) and 7,540 “adult stem cell” scholarly papers, evidence supports that the risk of RSC treatments are about the same as the risks associated with drawing blood. (Standard safe practice of lab protocols removes these risks almost entirely.)
Some clinics also instructed patients to go on medication to suppress their immune systems, with potentially dangerous side-effects.
ESC treatments require the use of immunosuppressive drugs (ISD) because ESC are typically allogenic (from outside the patient’s body). RSC are autologous (from patient’s own body) or from other sources that do NOT require ISD. ISD are needed to offset the potential of rejection or Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). GVHD occurs with ESC. Standard practice is to HLA type match the donors stem cells to the recipient’s body [“Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing is used to match patients and donors for bone marrow or cord blood transplants (also called BMT). HLA are proteins — or markers — found on most cells in your body. Your immune system uses these markers to recognize which cells belong in your body and which do not.”] Unfortunately,even when the ESCs are HLA type matched (both 1+2) you still need ISD because the recipient’s body can still reject the differences in many other aspects of the donated tissue. RSC DO NOT cause rejection issues or require ISD for GVHD.
”They don’t follow these patients up,” Dr Herbert said. ”They prescribe and wave goodbye without any duty of care.”
The top treatment centers follow up with patients, the sub-standard ones don’t. Only go to the top treatment centers. If they do NOT follow up, they will not stay at the top for long.
The financial and emotional risks to patients were just as great, Dr Herbert said. ”Most likely, the treatment you are going to receive is not going to work.” It was important not to demonise people who sought these cures, but instead to help them find the right advice.
RSC are treating about 80% of diseases successfully and more people are discovering their benefits every day. RSC give significant improvements to about 2/3 of the patients who are treated.
Patient advocacy groups are meeting stem cell experts in Canberra today to discuss a co-ordinated approach to public education on overseas experimental treatments.
You said this almost identical sentence above:
“Advocacy groups for people targeted as possible clients will meet in Canberra today to discuss how to protect people from being emotionally and financially exploited.”
Plus the issue is already covered:“The Repair Stem Cell Institute (RSCI) is a comprehensive, experienced and knowledgeable Stem Cell Patient Advocacy organization.”
The ASCC is about to release a patient handbook to help people critically analyse stem cell treatments. It has a list of questions to ask before signing up.
This article just proves the need for the Repair Stem Cell Instituteto navigate the negligent reporting, avoid the substandard treatment centers and embryonic pitfalls and find you the right path towards safe, effective, proven beneficial treatments with repair stem cells.
Stem cells in breast milk are adult or repair stem cells. Is it any wonder repair stem cells are so good for you? – dg
Stem cells in breast milk could fulfil baby’s ‘genetic destiny’
by ANI on November 22, 2009
London, Nov 22 (ANI): A new research has found three different types of stem cells in breast milk which may be the reason why mother’s milk is deemed best for babies.
Dr Mark Cregan, medical director at the Swiss healthcare and baby equipment company Medela, has discovered adult stem cells of epithelial (mammary) and immune origin and found “very preliminary evidence” that stem cells in breast milk boost the growth of muscle and bone tissue.
According to him, mother’s milk could enable a child to “fulfil its genetic destiny”.
“Breast milk is the only adult tissue where more than one type of stem cell has been discovered. That is very unique and implies a lot about the impressive bioactivity of breast milk and the consequential benefits to the breastfed infant,” the Independent quoted Dr Cregan, as saying.
On August 23, 2009, I received a seasonal flu vaccine at a local grocery store that drastically, and potentially irreversibly, altered my future. In a matter of a few short weeks I lost the ability to walk, talk normally, and focus on more than one stimuli at a time. Whenever I eat I know, without fail, that my body will soon go into uncontrollable convulsions coupled with periods of blacking out.
Each day is a battle to control the symptoms triggered by the flu vaccine and a reminder that my life will never be the same. I set up this site to tell my story and warn people of the neurological side effects than can result from vaccinations; especially knowing that in the majority of cases, these stories are seldom heard outside of immediate families and friends.
I hope everyone that reads my story will heed my warning and think very carefully, including seeking out consultations with your family doctor, before making the decision to receive a vaccination.
Had I known the full risks of my own flu shot back in August … had I been properly educated … I may have never suffered the painful consequences. Even more importantly, after I got injured, I felt I was written off by most of the medical community simply because they couldn’t figure out what was truly wrong.
On TVN24 in Poland Baxter has admitted they contaminated 72 KG of vaccine material with the live bird flu virus.
As a result of handling this contaminated material in February, 36 people working for the labs Avir and BioTest had to be treated preventatively for the bird flu in hospitals in Austria and the Czech Republic, underlining that their health was threatened by the material in the opinion of medical experts.
Both Avir and BioTest have stated that the final purpose of the contaminated Baxter material was for use in regular seasonal flu vaccines, strongly suggesting the notion it would have been injected into people if it had not been detected by staff at BioTest.
The Times of India reported on March 6th that a global bird flu pandemic had nearly been triggerd by the Baxter material.
Because Baxter is obliged under EU rules to handle the bird flu virus using biosafety level 3 or 4 precautions in its ultra modern biomedical facilities in Austria, an accidental contamination can be virtually ruled out. No evidence has been presented by Baxter to prove otherwise.
Biosafety level 3 regulations apply to any virus that can cause a serious disease in human beings. The bird flu, a lab engineered virus, has a mortality rate of over 60%. The gigantic amount of 72 kilos of vaccine material was contaminated in Orth an der Donau.
It is not clear why Baxter had the bird flu virus in its vaccine production facilities in Orth an der Donau in the first place.
WHO supplied the bird flu virus to Baxter. For what purpose?
Super Stemmys, Doris and the Supercells is the first ever children’s story on stem cells. A stem cell named Doris and her stem cell friends must all join forces and work together to repair an ailing heart and defeat Morbidus the Vile.
100% of the proceeds from sales of
Super Stemmys, Doris and the Supercells
go to the Repair Stem Cell Institute (RSCI) to help patients.
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RSCI is the only public service institute in the world dedicated to help patients connect with the top 2% of the world’s stem cell treatment centers. Patients looking to shed the debilitating symptoms of once-untreatable diseases no longer have to wait.
“Bone union and healing was achieved in 21 of the 23 patients, to the extent that they were able to walk in regular shoes with little or no pain 6 months or more after cast removal.”
By Anthony J. Brown, MD
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – An implant consisting of bone ’scaffolding’ containing stem cells can promote bone healing in patients who have undergone foot and ankle operations, a new report shows.
The report is “first review of implantation of Trinity Multipotential Cellular Bone Matrix as a viable bone matrix product containing adult stem cells in humans,” lead researcher Dr. Shannon M. Rush told Reuters Health.
This treatment can be used instead of taking bone from another site in a patient, “as a bone void fill or bone growth stimulator,” Rush said.
Rush, at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Mountain View, California, reported his team’s findings this week at the annual meeting of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons in Washington, DC. The study is also reported in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery for March.
The researchers used the bone-matrix/stem-cell product in 23 patients who had operations involving foot and ankle bones and that failed to knit. Medical conditions often associated with “non-union” of bones, such as diabetes and kidney disease, were common among the study group.
Bone union and healing was achieved in 21 of the 23 patients, to the extent that they were able to walk in regular shoes with little or no pain 6 months or more after cast removal.
A music student is encouraged by her parents (both of whom are doctors) to get stem cell treatment for her hearing loss with spectacular results. Is the increase in her ability to hear the results of the stem cell treatment…or is this another example of the placebo effect gone wild?
So far, the deceived include the girl, her parents, the doctors and the measuring devices! Beware, you may be next! One of those people that think her improvement is due to the placebo effect was quoted dismissing the results with the comment: “You gotta be kidding me! From stem cells? Stop pulling my leg! She’s just hearing things!”
Read the story here:
An American college student who was suffering from autoimmune hearing loss and she gained her hearing back in two months after (repair stem cell) treatment.
Chloe Sohl, an 18-year old college student who majors in music at University of Arizona was suffering from autoimmune hearing loss since the age of 15. Although there is no known cause of her diagnosis, it is a serious disease that slowly damages the organs. Chloe’s father, Dr. Bertram Sohl is a director of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Long Beach, California and her mother, Dr. Veronique Jotterand is an ophthalmologist and Vice Chief of Staff at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach, California.
Even though Chloe’s parents are medical doctors, they felt helpless and devastated about their daughter’s progressive condition. They tried every possible medication, but Chloe’s condition got worse. The only options they had were for Chloe to use a hearing aid and for her to take medication to slow down her autoimmune system. Dr. Tai June Yoo, a professor from University of Tennessee and a medical advisor of (the treatment facility), explained as specialist in immune diseases, that if Chloe continues to take strong medication like Methotrexate and Humira, there will be high chances for further serious complications without guarantee of improvement. Her doctors even recommended Chloe to receive Cochlea implant that would enable Chloe to hear some sound, but would irreversibly destroy the middle ear, which scared her parents.
The principle of adult stem cell therapy is actually simple because it utilizes the natural healing ability of our own body…
“Every part of our body already contains stem cells that play a key role in maintaining and repairing our own structural and functional system. Due to aging, the amount of stem cells decrease and that’s why the time and ability to recover from cellular damage slow down and chronic and degenerative symptoms develop as time goes by. The principle of our stem cell treatment is to make enough amount of stem cells and to bring them back to the patient’s own body. Surprisingly, we found that stem cell therapy has great potential to treat autoimmune diseases,” explained Dr. Ra.
Many stem cell researchers have demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells modulate the immune system and suppress inflammation as a major therapeutic effect. Chloe’s hearing loss falls into this example. This treatment was supposed to soothe any hypersensitive immune response and repair damaged organs so that she might hear again.
Dr. Sohl was very intrigued for his daughter to receive stem cell treatment, but his wife was skeptical about Chloe getting stem cell therapy at first. Chloe’s physicians even discouraged Chloe from receiving stem cell treatment. (What else is new?) However, they were able to decide to try this treatment for Chloe from seeing (the treatment facility’s) successful outcomes. The great safety profile of (the treatment facility’s) stem cell therapy made them comfortable. Chloe felt assured to accept the therapy.
Chloe said, “I felt very good about it. I felt very optimistic. I’ve had IV’s every month since I started to lose my hearing. It was good because I knew this could work unlike the other ones. I just felt very optimistic about the whole procedure.”
Currently, stem cell transplant is not allowed in some countries like the United States, some European countries, and South Korea unless it gets a market approval through clinical trials as new pharmaceutical drugs undergo. Chloe had to travel outside of the United States and to Japan or China where (the treatment facility) established stem cell clinics. More than 2,000 patients with various diseases have been treated with stem cell therapeutics through (the treatment facility) since 2008.
Chloe’s hearing was tested two months after the procedure was completed on October 16, 2009. The results were spectacular. Theleft ear improved to 50% from 0%. The right ear gained almost complete hearing. Dr. Jotterand could not bear her excitement, “Now it’s just been a 180 degree turnaround. She’s just enjoying life and enjoying being a freshman at the university.
She’s just having a great time and it’s just wonderful to see the joy in her own face and in her life.”
Chloe’s parents invited members of (the treatment facility) to their home in Long Beach to celebrate her miracle. They expressed their gratitude and felt like they received a gift of miracle. Thus, they promised to support (the treatment facility) promoting stem cell business in the United States.
To find out if you are a candidate for stem cell therapy for your hearing disorder, fill out this form: HEARING DISORDER TREATMENT INFO
The information is free and there is no obligation.
A stem-cell matrix can repair brain damage in rodents.
By Michael Day – Monday, March 09, 2009
A novel matrix of neural stem cells and a biodegradable polymer can quickly repair brain damage from stroke in rats. Within just seven days of injecting the concoction directly into the damaged part of the brain, new nerve tissue grew to fill stroke-induced cavities.
Growing brain: Shown here is new nerve tissue created from stem cells forming in the area of the brain with a cavity caused by a stroke.
Credit: Bible E et al., The support of neural stem cells transplanted into stroke-induced brain cavities by PGLA particles, Biomaterials (2009), doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.02.012.
Scientists say that the key to the advance, published today in the journal Biomaterials, is the use of a biodegradable polymer called PLGA, which ensures that the stem cells remain in the area of stroke damage and establish connections with surrounding brain tissue. By reducing the number of stray stem cells, the system is likely to be safer as well as more effective than other methods, the researchers add.
Nephelococcygia–Did It Cause Fidel Castro’s Death?
November 18, 2009 11:59 AM EST
In bars and internet cafes the hot word of the day is “nephelococcygia.” Rumor has it that Fidel Castro is dead as a result of excessive engagement in the practice. NNN researcher Karl F. Gauss explains:
Aristophanes coined the word. He used it in his Broadway hit, The Birds (not to be confused with Bye, Bye, Birdie or Sweet Bird of Youth) to describe a hypothetical perfect city in the clouds. It’s often translated as “cloud cuckoo land.” German philosopher Schopenhauer loved the word. He liked to describe the work of other philosophers as relating only to cloud cuckoo land. The word is often used to denote looking for shapes in clouds. Castro’s death has been attributed to oxygen starvation caused by failure to breathe while staring at clouds. He loves to look for images of Che Guevara and Charo.
Castro’s death turns out to be an unfounded rumor. The Cuban leader is still, by most accepted definitions of the word, alive. NNN sources in the mystery shrouded island where pork is pulled and the newest cars are 1958 models revealed that the longtime dictator is playing dominoes and slapping the board in his hospital room. He apparently keeps a diary of his cloud observations. This week he recorded sightings of Che and Charo in several different compromising positions.
Lisa Ray to undergo stem cell transplant for cancer
Knoxville Times – Wednesday 18th November, 2009 – (IANS)
Indo-Canadian actress Lisa Ray will undergo a stem cell transplant to treat her multiple myeloma, an incurable form of blood cancer. The 37-year-old star was diagnosed with the cancer of the bone marrow in June and has been undergoing chemotherapy since July.
Toronto-born Lisa made this announcement Tuesday while visiting the Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School where her film ‘Water’, directed by Deepa Mehta, was screened.
Ray, who was born to a Polish mother and Bengali father, said the process for a stem cell transplant would begin next week in a city hospital. The procedure would begin by releasing her own stem cells into her blood, then collecting them and later freezing them, she said. Calling it a ‘reboot’ of her system, she said the process would take up to two weeks to complete. After this, she would put on a waiting list for a stem cell transplant.
Discovered, at the age of sixteen, by Maureen Wadia, through her Glad Rags magazine, nearly ten years ago, Lisa ray flew to India from Canada,where she had been raised,little did she know what future had in store for her. Her visit to India—to meet her near and dear ones—proved to be a turning point in her life and career. Lisa’s chiseled face and sylph-like figure caught the attention of the modeling world and soon she got the offer for an ad for a well-known fabrics company. Since then there has been no looking back for Lisa as she went on to become one of the most sought after models who could steal the entire show with her shimmering presence.
But soon she got over the appreciation from the fashion fraternity and forayed into the world of films with the music video ‘Afreen’ (for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan). She is also the beautiful host of the movie show ‘Star Buzz’ (with Kelly Dorjee) on Star Movies. Now Lisa has jumped aboard the Bollywood bandwagon with Vikram Bhatt’ production in which she has acted quite well, considering it is her maiden attempt in films. For future Lisa is not much enthusiastic about pursuing an acting career in Bollywood, although there are chances of her doing more films. Indian origin actress Lisa Ray has been featured in the Canadian edition of Hello magazine as one of the ‘50 Most Beautiful People’ of the country.
As most of our readers probably know, most hearing loss is caused by deterioration of the hair cells in the cochlea. The hair cells move in response to acoustic energy entering the ear, and stimulate the auditory nerve with information regarding the characteristics of the incoming sound. Drugs, heredity, or loud noises can damage or destroy the hair cells, resulting in hearing loss.
We have known for some time that some animals (including many birds) can spontaneously regenerate damaged hair cells, but regeneration has never been observed in mammals – until now. The August 26, 2000 Issue of the British medical Journal Lancet reported successful regeneration of hair cells in a postnatal rat cochlea by introducing a particular gene (Math1) to the cochlea. Researcher Wei-Qiang Gao (Genentech, San Francisco, CA,USA) points out, “It wasn’t just a few hair cells–we had several hundred, so it’s robust production”.
The next step in the investigation is to determine whether similar techniques can regenerate hair cells in mature rats. Success in these experiments would bode well for eventual hair cell regeneration in humans.
Another possibility to replace damaged hair cells is transplantation. Matthew Holley (University of Bristol, UK) and his colleagues have developed an “ear in a test tube”, in which they have successfully grown mouse hair cells. Future advances may allow growth and transplantation of human hair cells.
Hair Cell Regeneration Update from the House Ear Institute – August 2001
The House Ear Institute has been actively involved in the research on hair cell regeneration. They are pursuing two complementary strategies in hopes of understanding the regeneration process and how to induce it in humans. Here’s a link to an article describing their recent work. http://www.hei.org/research/projects/cmb/haircellchall.htm
aGonda Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, House Ear Institute,
bCenter for Basic Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,
cDepartment of Cell and Neurobiology, University of Southern California Medical School,
24 September 2003; The sensory hair cells and supporting cells of the organ of Corti are generated by a precise program of coordinated cell division and differentiation. Since no regeneration occurs in the mature organ of Corti, loss of hair cells leads to deafness. To investigate the molecular basis of hair cell differentiation and their lack of regeneration, we have established a dissociated cell culture system in which sensory hair cells and supporting cells can be generated from mitotic precursors. By incorporating a Math1-GFP transgene expressed exclusively in hair cells, we have used this system to characterize the conditions required for the growth and differentiation of hair cells in culture. These conditions include a requirement for epidermal growth factor, as well as the presence of periotic mesenchymal cells. Lastly, we show that early postnatal cochlear tissue also contains cells that can divide and generate new sensory hair cells in vitro.
Europe Issues Patent on Hearing Loss Treatment – October 2003
Editor: Here’s more breaking news on hair cell regeneration. Sound Pharmaceuticals has been issued a European patent for its hair cell regeneration treatment. Note that this development is only part of the required solution, and it doesn’t mean that a treatment will be widely available next week. But I think it is a big step towards viable hair cell regeneration. Here’s the press release: Sound Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SPI) announced that its patent “Method for the treatment of diseases or disorders of the inner ear” has issued in Europe, effective Oct. 1, 2003.
SPI has developed a novel strategy to stimulate auditory hair cell regeneration using proprietary cell cycle inhibition technology. Typically, auditory hair cells in mammals are not replaced when injured or lost. This results in permanent and often progressive sensorineural hearing a disease that affects over 30 million in the US. In non-mammals like birds, hair cell regeneration occurs through the spontaneous proliferation of the adjacent supporting cell. These newly proliferating supporting cells can go on to become replacement hair cells. However in mammals, auditory supporting cells do not proliferate or regenerate into hair cells even in the presence of growth factors.
SPI identified that p27Kip1, a cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor, prevents supporting cells from proliferating after embryogenesis. Compounds developed by SPI to inhibit p27Kip1 have been shown to stimulate supporting cell proliferation after drug or noise induced hair cell loss. “We are the only group that has demonstrated the ability to stimulate proliferative regeneration in the cochlea of mammals” says Dr. Jonathan Kil, President & CEO. “It is anticipated that this revolutionary technology will be critical in developing treatments to restore hearing in humans.”
Sound Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a drug development company focused on treating hearing loss. To date, Sound Pharmaceuticals’ drug discovery program has identified targets for the prevention of hearing loss and for the improvement of hearing in individuals with hearing loss. For more information please visit http://www.soundpharmaceuticals.com
Transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells into the cochlea of chinchillas – 19 January 2004 – Volume 15 – Issue 1 – pp 1-4, Auditory and Vestibular Systems – Survival, migrational mobility and differentiation of autologous marrow cells in damaged cochlea suggest their potential as transplants for treatment of various degenerative inner ear diseases.
Promising Research on Hair Cell Regeneration – October 2004
Editor: For people interested in hearing loss “cures”, hair cell regeneration is the current best bet. It appears that virtually all animals except mammals regenerate hair cells on a routine basis. Dr. Edwin W. Rubel [Virginia Merrill Bloedel Professor of Hearing Science, Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Physiology and Biophysics, Psychology (Adjunct)] and his colleagues are among the researchers on the forefront of this exciting technology. “Hearing Review” recently published an interview of Dr. Rubel along with a synopsis of the research status. Here’s one question and answer from the interview. The complete article is available at: http://www.hearingreview.com/Articles.ASP?articleid=H0410F01
Hearing Review: If hair cell regeneration is indeed possible, do you think this science will ever progress to a point where there will be full restoration of hair cells, or do you think that it’s far more likely we would see a partial restoration of hair cells in the inner ear?
Rubel: In my opinion, it’s not a question of if we will regenerate, restore, or protect hair cells, it’s a question of when. Because we now know that it’s possible, it’s only a matter of time until we can apply this science to humans. My best prediction is 10-20 years. I certainly hope to see it in my lifetime.
With respect to the degree of hair cell regeneration or restoration, my gut feeling is that it will all depend on what type of hearing loss a person has to begin with. One possibility for regeneration are people who have complete loss of hair cells due to some genetic anomaly, ototoxins, aminoglycosides, etc. In these cases, hearing care professionals may someday have a choice between recommending a cochlear implant versus an approach for growing enough hair cells where hearing aids could be used more effectively and provide much more acoustic information to that patient. As another example, you might see a patient who has a 50% loss of their outer hair cells. In this case, maybe we will be able to stimulate the regrowth and replacement of these “cochlear amplifier” cells.
Stem-cell researchers hope for deafness cure within 15 years – November 2004
Editor: “The Scotsman” is reporting on research at Sheffield University that may enable hearing restoration in the foreseeable future. Here are excerpts from the story. For the complete article, please point your browser to http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1346202004 SCIENTISTS hope that stem-cell research could lead to a cure for deafness in as little as ten years. Researchers from Sheffield University are using embryonic stem cells in efforts to grow new cells in the inner ear. Although in its early stages, the team from Sheffield University hopes it could lead to a cure for deafness in ten to 15 years. Dr Rivolta added that his team hoped to undertake the first tests on animals in two years. “It could then be possible to do human trials in three to four years, but that would depend on the animal trials.”
Stem cells could cure deafness in ten years.
Scientists at Britain’s Sheffield University are hoping that stem cell research could lead to a cure for deafness within ten years! Laboratory tests have demonstrated that embryonic stem cells have the capability to regrow in damaged areas; animal testing is planned within two years. Here’s the full story.
Survey and research on acute severe hearing disorders. Study on the expression of cells similar to internal ear stem cell after acute acoustic trauma using a nestin GFP rat. – 2005 Rats that co-expressed nestin and GFP (green fluorescent protein) were used to study whether the presence of cells similar to internal ear stem cell could be identified using nestin, a filament of an intermediate size, as a marker. In the cochlea of 4-week-old nestin-GRP rats, nestin-positive cells were observed only in spiral ganglion cells but not in the sensory epithelial cell layer comprising hair cells and supprt cells of Corti organ. A very small number of nestin-positive cells were observed inside the Corti organ in the cochlea of the rats loaded with band noise at 4 kHz and 125 dB for two hours. Cells similar to internal ear stem cell are deemed likely to differentiate to support cells or hair cells. Regeneration therapy of cochlea hair cells was suggested to be possible.
Stem Cells May Be Key To Deafness Cure – August 2006
In a dusty, cluttered lab at Stanford University, a team of young scientists is on a quest. Curing deafness is the goal, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin, and Stefan Heller says stem cells hold the key. Heller and his entire team were recruited away from Harvard, and they’ve made a breakthrough discovery: They’ve found that stem cells have the capacity to regenerate in the inner ear. Full Story
Stem cell based therapy to restore nearly normal hearing Nov 2006 – hearing in humans. The current review focuses on stem cell-based therapy with particular emphasis to summarize …. restored hearing loss, which demonstrates their potential ….
First blood and bone stem cell research on deafness – December 2006 – Deafness Research UK is funding a new research programme that will be the first to try and develop a cure for deafness using stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood or bone marrow. This three-year project will be based in the Centre for Stem Cell Biology at the University of Sheffield and has been made possible by a £126,000 charitable donation from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). It will be the first research to use these promising new lines of stem cells, which are less controversial than stem cells derived from human embryos, in the search for a cure for deafness. Full Story
COSM 2007: Triological Society – Stem Cell and Genetic Therapies for Hair Cell-Related Hearing Loss
Neil Segil, PhD, from the House Ear Institute, discussed the potential of hair cell regeneration with endogenous progenitor cells—specifically supporting cells. In mice, Dr. Segil’s team tested the capacity of cochlear supporting cells to divide and transdifferentiate by using green fluorescent markers expressed only in supporting cells in the inner ear. With the resulting purified supporting cells, the scientists discovered that the cells were still capable of self-division. And, although these cells normally wouldn’t actively divide, under the culture conditions in the lab, they did.
“If we keep these cells in culture for six days, some of the cells begin to differentiate as hair cells,” he said, adding that they have not yet identified the stimulus for the division. What they did determine is that self-division is age-dependent, in early cells. It is important, Dr. Segil said, to further test whether self-division can be stimulated in mature cells. In another study, Dr. Segil’s team is targeting one pathway that keeps cells next to each other from differentiating as the same cell type. They believe that supporting cells are being actively inhibited from becoming hair cells by this pathway. Additional projects look at cell differentiation to better understand the process by which the supporting cell differentiated state is maintained.
Tech Could End Deafness – February 2007
“We have a good chance of getting normal hearing back in normal ears,” said Richard Schmiedt, an otolaryngology professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. The stem-cell approach involves restoring the tiny “hair cells” in the ear that convert sound into electrical impulses. When the cells die, people permanently lose their hearing. Bringing back the cells through stem-cell transplants, along with a shock of electricity, could restore hearing, scientists say. At Stanford University, professor Stefan Heller, who discovered stem cells in the inner ear, believes they can be used to cure deafness in mice within five years. Heller and his colleagues are trying to learn from birds, which do not become deaf, the secret genetic recipe for warding off hearing loss. Full Story
The Miracle of Hair Cells and Prospects for Regrowth – June 2007
Here’s a great article that explains the structure and function of inner and outer hair cells and also looks at some of the research into regrowing these cells. If you’re interested in this topic, it’s very much worth the read! Full Story
Stem Cell Therapy Recovers Lost Hearing – June 2007
Stem cells injected into the inner ear survived in half of the injured rats, where they migrated away from the site of injection toward the injured region within the inner ear. These stem cells divided in the new environment and expressed several proteins necessary for hearing, suggesting tissue-specific differentiation. Further, transplanted cells that migrated to the damaged area of the inner ear displayed shape similar to that of cochlear fibrocytes. Importantly, transplanted rats exhibited faster recovery from hearing loss, particularly in the high frequency range, which is difficult to restore by natural regeneration. Stem cell migration into the damaged area of the inner ear improved hearing of high frequency sound (40 kHz) by 23% compared to natural recovery in untreated animals. Full Story
Genes In Human Inner Ear Cells Restored – June 2007
Dr. Jeffrey Holt, associate professor of neuroscience and otolaryngology at UVa, and his research team, including Dr. Bradley Kesser, an assistant professor of otolaryngology, targeted a gene known as KCNQ4, which causes genetic hearing loss in humans when mutated. They engineered a correct form of the gene and created a gene therapy delivery system that successfully transferred the KCNQ4 gene into human hair cells harvested from the inner ears of patients with hearing loss. “Our results show that gene therapy reagents are effective in human inner ear tissue. Taken together with the results from another group of scientists who showed that similar gene therapy compounds can produce new hair cells and restore hearing function in guinea pigs suggest that the future of gene therapy in the human inner ear is sound,” Holt said. Full Story
Researchers Develop New Method of Growing Hair Cells – November 2007 – Researchers at the University of Virginia have developed a new method of growing inner-ear hair cells that will aid research to help people regain their hearing. Dr. Jeffrey T. Corwin, a professor of neuroscience at the UVa Health System, and Dr. Zhengqing Hu, a neuroscience research assistant, have been growing cells from inner ears of chicken embryos. They hope to extend that knowledge to re-grow the inner-ear hair cells of humans. Mammals grow inner-ear hair cells only before they are born, unlike amphibians and birds, which can re-grow damaged or lost cells. These unique structures are lost over time as mammals age, or if they contract certain infections or undergo trauma. The loss of inner-ear hair cells results in hearing loss and balance impairment. Hu and Corwin’s process is able to grow chicken inner-ear hair cells in a laboratory setting. Full Story
Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation Accelerates Hearing Recovery through the Repair of Injured Cochlear Fibrocytes – (American Journal of Pathology. 2007;171:214-226.) DOI: 10.2353/ajpath.2007.060948 – From the Laboratory of Auditory Disorders* and Division of Hearing and Balance Research, National Institute of Sensory Organs, and the Department of Plastic Surgery, National Tokyo Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan – Cochlear fibrocytes play important roles in normal hearing as well as in several types of sensorineural hearing loss attributable to inner ear homeostasis disorders. Recently, we developed a novel rat model of acute sensorineural hearing loss attributable to fibrocyte dysfunction induced by a mitochondrial toxin. In this model, we demonstrate active regeneration of the cochlear fibrocytes after severe focal apoptosis without any changes in the organ of Corti. To rescue the residual hearing loss, we transplanted mesenchymal stem cells into the lateral semicircular canal; a number of these stem cells were then detected in the injured area in the lateral wall. Rats with transplanted mesenchymal stem cells in the lateral wall demonstrated a significantly higher hearing recovery ratio than controls. The mesenchymal stem cells in the lateral wall also showed connexin 26 and connexin 30 immunostaining reminiscent of gap junctions between neighboring cells. These results indicate that reorganization of the cochlear fibrocytes leads to hearing recovery after acute sensorineural hearing loss in this model and suggest that mesenchymal stem cell transplantation into the inner ear may be a promising therapy for patients with sensorineural hearing loss attributable to degeneration of cochlear fibrocytes.
Directed differentiation of mouse cochlear neural progenitors in vitro- 18 June 2008 – Departments of 1Otolaryngology and 2Neurosurgery, 3Graduate Program in Neuroscience, 4Stem Cell Institute, and 5Bioengineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota – Multipotent cochlear neural progenitors (CNPs) in the organ of Corti hold the promise for cell replacement in degenerative hearing disorders. However, not much is known about the CNPs and the specific conditions for their differentiation. Here we isolate the CNPs from the postnatal day 1 organ of Corti in mice and demonstrate their capability to self-renew and to differentiate into hair cell-like and neuronal cell-like phenotypes under the guidance of sonic hedgehog (SHH), epidermal growth factor (EGF), retinoic acid (RA), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), herein termed SERB (abbreviation of SHH, EGF, RA, and BDNF) in an asymmetric or symmetric manner from clonal isolates. Differentiation of CNPs into hair cells by SERB was dependent on the ERK signaling pathway, whereas the differentiation of CNPs into neurons by SERB was not. This work develops a new in vitro methodology for the maintenance and self-regeneration of CNPs for future design of regenerative strategies for hearing disorders.
Novel approaches to treating sensorineural hearing loss. Auditory genetics and necessary factors for stem cell transplant. 2008 Aug;14(8):RA114-25. Sensorineural hearing loss is a chronic disease, with a serious impact on human communication and quality of life. Exposure to various factors can lead to irreversible hearing impairment, as the auditory epithelium in humans comprises terminally differentiated cells. By contrast, the inner ear of lower vertebrates and invertebrates shows regenerative capacity. Efforts to regenerate the damaged human inner ear may involve renewed cell proliferation, or transplanting cells that can differentiate into sensory cells. Literature review. Animal studies, in vitro studies, retrospective-cohort studies, community-based case-controls, clinical guidelines, and review articles. Embryonic stem cells, inner ear stem cells, and stem cells from other tissues (i.e., neural tissue, hematopoietic system) may be candidates for restoring the auditory epithelium.
Transcriptional regulation of p27kip1 is the primary determinant of terminal mitosis and the final number of postmitotic progenitors of hair and supporting cells. Basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Math1 was found to be necessary and sufficient for the production of auditory hair cells. Notch signaling seems to play a major role in the regulation of Math1, through lateral inhibition. Brn3c, Gfi1, and Barhl1 are also specific transcription factors that have been implicated in hair cell maintenance and consequent survival. Evidence concerning development, maintenance, and regeneration of hair cells is still at an embryonic stage. Combined data, as attempted in the present study, will lead to a more successful management of deafness.
Sensory Cell Regeneration and Stem Cells: What We Have Already Achieved in the Management of Deafness – Otology & Neurotology: September 2008 – Volume 29 – Issue 6 – pp 758-768, doi: 10.1097/MAO.0b013e31817fdfad – There is an already exciting progress in the fields of sensory cell regeneration and SC research in an attempt to restore hearing or prevent deafness. However, further understanding of the underlying mechanisms of auditory genetics, continuing investigation of the human genome, refinement of the delivering techniques, and specification of the therapeutic strategies have to be developed before functional regeneration of the cochlea can be achieved in clinical practice.
Umbilical Stem Cells May Repair Damaged Cochlear Hair Cells – September 2008
According to an Italian research team publishing their findings in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (17:6), hearing loss due to cochlear damage may be repaired by transplantation of human umbilical cord hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) since they show that a small number migrated to the damaged cochlea and repaired sensory hair cells and neurons. For their study, the team used animal models in which permanent hearing loss had been induced by intense noise, chemical toxicity or both. Cochlear regeneration was only observed in animal groups that received HSC transplants. Researchers used sensitive tracing methods to determine if the transplanted cells were capable of migrating to the cochlea and evaluated whether the cells could contribute to regenerating neurons and sensory tissue in the cochlea. Full Story
Researchers Make in Vitro Inner Ear Hair Cells – November 2008
Iranian researchers managed to successfully extract bone marrow stem cells from rodents and produce in vitro inner ear hair cells. “In this two-year project, researchers cultured and produced inner ear hair cells, a procedure which is not commonly performed in other countries,” research team-leader, Mohammad Farhadi told the Iranian students news agency. Farhadi reported that injecting the resulted cells into deaf mice has successfully tackled hearing loss in them. Full Story
New Stem Cell Therapy May Lead To Treatment For Deafness – ScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2009) — Deafness affects more than 250 million people worldwide. It typically involves the loss of sensory receptors, called hair cells, for their “tufts” of hair-like protrusions, and their associated neurons. The transplantation of stem cells that are capable of producing functional cell types might be a promising treatment for hearing impairment, but no human candidate cell type has been available to develop this technology. A new study led by Dr. Marcelo N. Rivolta of the University of Sheffield has successfully isolated human auditory stem cells from fetal cochleae (the auditory portion of the inner ear) and found they had the capacity to differentiate into sensory hair cells and neurons…”The results are the first in vitro renewable stem cell system derived from the human auditory organ and have the potential for a variety of applications, such as studying the development of human cochlear neurons and hair cells, as models for drug screening and helping to develop cell-based therapies for deafness,” say the authors.
Stem cells may help deaf people hear – April 2009 – Stem cells may help deaf people hear again, according to early stage research by British scientists. A team at the University of Sheffield said on Thursday they had discovered how to turn stem cells into ones that behave like sensory hair cells or auditory neurons, which could then be surgically inserted into the ear to restore lost hearing. Lead researcher Marcelo Rivolta said the approach, which is being tested on animals, held significant potential but was a long way from being offered to patients. Full Story
Hair Cell Regeneration – How It Works and What It Means for Audiologists – May 2009 – Twenty years have passed since the discovery of hair cell regeneration in birds (Corwin & Cotanche, 1988; Ryals & Rubel, 1988). The initial excitement caused by this discovery has been followed by steady progress in understanding the fundamental mechanisms that recently culminated in research evidence of hair cell regeneration in both the auditory and vestibular portions of the mammalian inner ear (Kawamoto et al., 2003; Izumikawa et al., 2005; Staecker et al., 2007). Clinical audiologists are faced with the responsibility of translating these basic science findings into potential patient application. They raise important questions: When will hair cell regeneration be a reality for my patients? What will be the measures of candidacy? What will the impact of hair cell regeneration be in my patients who use or are candidates for hearing aids or other amplification devices? Will hearing aids or cochlear implants continue to be needed in the face of hair cell regeneration? Full Story
Regrowing Hair Cells in the Human Cochlea – June 2009
More than 20 years ago, Douglas Cotanche, PhD, then at the Medical University of South Carolina and now affiliated with Children’s Hospital Boston, discovered that the hair cells within the chick cochlea were capable of a “significant amount of recovery and regeneration” following acoustic trauma.1 His unexpected discovery began a cascade of research on the question of whether hair cells within the human cochlea could someday achieve the same regenerative results. If and when this happens, many of the causes of hearing loss in humans, from noise to aging, can finally be resolved without the need for hearing aids or cochlear implants. Although steady progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms underlying hair cell regeneration, human subjects have yet to participate in clinical trials concerned with regrowing hair cells. Such trials may still be years away. Let’s look at a sampling of the research in 2008, which moves us ever closer to the goal of restoring hearing in this most natural way. Full Story
Can a Tiny Fish Save Your Ears? – August 2009
For many people, loss of hearing is irreversible. For scientists trying to figure out what can be done about that, one answer may lie-or swim, actually-in freshwater aquariums. About one of every 10 Americans suffers from hearing impairment, according to a survey conducted by the Better Hearing Institute, a nonprofit advocacy group. By far the most common cause of hearing loss is damage to the so-called hair cells in the inner ear as a result of excessive noise, certain illnesses and drugs, and simple aging. The problem is that once hair cells die, humans (like other mammals) aren’t able to grow new ones. In recent years, a research team at the University of Washington in Seattle has been working on finding a way to resolve that problem in experiments involving the zebrafish, a common aquarium denizen. The zebrafish, like many aquatic creatures, has clusters of hair cells running along the outside of its body that help sense vibrations in the water, working in a similar way to hair cells in the human inner ear. But unlike humans, zebrafish are able to regenerate their damaged hair cells. Researchers hope their work can unlock secrets to protect human hair cells from becoming damaged and to stimulate the cells to regenerate. Full Story
Results: The authors found that HSC migrated and engrafted into the cochlea of the deaf mice and that the levels of engraftment correlated with both the severity of damage and the treatment dose. Analysis at 60 days post-treatment showed that the mice in the HSC treatment group had well-repaired cochlea with dramatic hair cell regrowth, while control mice showed no sign of repair or hair cell regeneration.
Conclusion: The study shows dramatic repair of cochlear damage in mice after intravenous infusion of cord blood HSC, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy using cord blood stem cells in hearing rehabilitation therapies. Full Story
Regeneration of the mammalian inner ear sensory epithelium – Oct 2009 – …focus on ’self-repair’ of the mammalian inner ear sensory epithelium, including recruiting the in-situ proliferation and differentiation of endogenous cells at the damaged site and the autologous transplantation
and finally…
Stem Cells Cure Hearing Loss? – November 2009 – Chloe had to travel outside of the United States for stem cell treatment for her hearing disorder. Chloe’s hearing was tested two months after the procedure was completed on October 16, 2009. The results were spectacular. The left ear improved to 50% from 0%. The right ear gained almost complete hearing. http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/stem-cells-heal-hearing-loss/
(much thanks to hearinglossweb.com for compiling many of these articles!)
To find out if you are a candidate for stem cell therapy for your hearing disorder, fill out this form: HEARING DISORDER TREATMENT INFO
The information is free and there is no obligation.
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB:BCLI), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, is pleased to announce that its chief medical advisor, Professor Eldad Melamed, was interviewed on November 9, 2009 on Israel?s most popular radio broadcast, Galei Zahal. The interview was conducted by Yaron Willensky, a respected news talk show host, to discuss the latest achievements, treatment and progress of BrainStorm?s stem cell technology and therapy with respect to neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Parkinson?s disease.
?The stem cell therapy treatment is ready. We have successfully been able to process autologous adult human mesenchymal stem cells, grow them and differentiate them into other cell types for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. We are currently in middle of obtaining approval to begin the first clinical trials on ALS patients in Israel,? stated Professor Melamed during the interview. ?Regarding clinical trials for Parkinson?s disease, we are ready to begin,? continued Professor Melamed. ?However, we must still complete the regulatory approval process before that can happen.?
Kansas City, Kan., Nov 12, 2009 / 08:03 pm (CNA).- …campaign to spread awareness about how successful adult stem cells are in treating a variety of diseases. The most recent count places the number of conditions successfully treated at close to 80.
On Saturday, November 14, 2009, the FRC will kick off the “Adult Stem Cells Saved My Life Education & Awareness Campaign” at the Town Hall in Shawnee, Kansas. At the premier, they will publicly launch www.stemcellresearchfacts.com and present the stories of people who have been successfully treated with adult stem cells via short videos.
Laura Dominguez knows firsthand about the impact a stem cell treatment can make. In the summer of 2001, when Dominguez was just 16 years-old, she was involved in a car accident that broke her neck, paralyzing her from the neck down.
After a Portuguese surgeon took stem cells from her nose, cultured them, and used them to replace the scar tissue in her neck, she is now able to feel her body below her chest. She can grasp and move the mouse of a computer and is able to walk with leg braces. Though her range of motion is limited compared to her abilities before the accident, due to the treatment which used her own stem cells, she is no longer a paraplegic.
You’ll be happy to know that these rumors are completely unsubstantiated… and while this has nothing to do with stem cells, my previous Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana post
AP For Miley Cyrus “dead” rumors it’s a party in the USA, as fans google in disbelief over alleged death of teen queen Cyrus getting pummeled by a truck and …
It wouldn’t be a quality weekend without one fake celebrity death, and one of the golden oldies claiming Miley Cyrus is dead has resurfaced. The latest.
Miley Cyrus dead? Is Miley Cyrus really dead, or is this just another Internet rumor? If Miley Cyrus is dead, her death would have to be tragic as she is young. Miley Cyrus is Billy Ray Cyrus’s daughter and is best known as “Hannah …
I recently posted an article and a video about Chloe, a college student music major who lost her hearing. Both of her parents are doctors and they decided to get her stem cell treatment. Of course, it worked wonders. (story below)
Then I found a video about the story and posted that too. I patted myslef on the back, thinking about how pretty my post was with video and pictures and a great story…
DUH! The people I want to help, those with hearing disorders, can’t hear the video!!! I was blinded by my own hearing. COlor me humble and apologetic. This is the tiniest glimpse into the disparity of how people who can hear and the deaf and hearing impaired experience the world around them every second of every day.
Much thanks and appreciation to M Mcconnell for sending me the captioned version of that video of Chloe’s miraculous recovery.
It is a tragedy when someone begins to lose one of their senses. The ability of stem cells to treat mediate hearing loss is here today, currently available and has generated huge interest! Already within 36 hours of posting the article above on my blog, I helped 5 people (for free) with hearing disorders find the right stem cell treatment for their particular condition. Hearing loss from external environmental factors, natural degeneration, autoimmune disease/MS, etc.
I am in close contact with the only stem cell patient advocacy institute in the world and they are willing to help hearing impaired patients find treatments at no cost. The first step for you to find the best treatment center in the world for treating your particular hearing disorder is to fill out the treatment request form at the Repair Stem Cell Institute website: http://www.repairstemcells.org/Treatment/Treatment-Request.aspx?d=Hearing%20Disorders
Your medical info will be sent to the top 5 treatment centers in the world and they will contact you shortly with information, costs, etc. if they treat your condition.
There is no cost for treatment request and info.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, you should consider yourself very lucky!
There are a number of top-notch facilities around the world that are successfully treating lung disease.
The lungs are the greediest organ in the body when it comes to stem cells so any treatment has a high potential of success than most.
HOW TO FIND THE BEST PLACE TO TREAT YOU AND YOUR CONDITION:
It can be very time and labor consuming and difficult to work your way through all of the information in the variety of treatment centers in multiple countries. The only way I know of to find the BEST treatment center for your SPECIFIC condition is this…
INFO ON STEM CELLS AND LUNG DISEASE/EMPHYSEMA
Here are a number of articles and a description of the procedure at the bottom for your review.
Please be aware that the US is years behind the rest of the world in regard to stem cell treatments.
Also, the only treatments I would consider, use adult stem cells, not embryonic stem cells.
This is a scientific/medical bias, not a religious one. Adult stem cells work, embryonic do not.
STEM CELL THERAPY PROCESS FOR LUNG DISEASE:
Procedure to implant the patient’s own Adult Stem Cells into the lungs
(this is one of the more popular techniques to give you an idea of what’s involved):
1.A very thin special needle is injected into the crest of the patient’s iliac bone and bone marrow is drawn out
2.The aspirated bone marrow is then taken next door into the lab and put into a centrifuge. The stem cells are separated, filtered (to remove some bone remains)
3.2-3 hours later, the stem cells are injected into the veins and go directly to the lungs.
What Do The Adult Stem Cells Do In the Lungs?
The lungs grab and keep the stem cells and the alveolus starts regenerating. What happens here is that dead cells in the alveolus of the lungs leave empty spaces or niches or little caves, into which the stem cells settle down and start growing, reproducing and rebuilding the alveolus.
The stem cells go to the lungs directly as all blood passes through the lungs before going to the heart, lungs are a sort of a trap and the stem cells stay there. Recovery does not happen immediately for obvious reasons, but it takes from 3 to 6 months, though the patient starts reducing his oxygen consumption as from the 4th week onwards. How much he can reduce his oxygen consumption depends on his actual condition, how his body may react and many other factors.
Sometimes, quite rare, a second implant is required about 6 to 12 months later, for reinforcement. If this would be the case, some Doctors do not charge any additional medical fees, just the out of pocket expenses coming with it, such as hospital, hotel accommodation, ground transportation and airfares. That doesn’t sound like a bad deal at all. In other words, if it doesn’t work, a patient can try again at minimal expense.
More On The Stem Cell Treatment For COPD and Emphysema
The patient is requested to arrive at one of the Treatment Centers one day prior treatment, for pre-treatment tests. The next day, the patient gets his stem cell treatment done and it is very probable he will be discharged from hospital on the same day or next morning, but he is requested to stay at a hotel nearby for observation purposes for 2 more days at least.
No Pain, No Gain With Adult Stem Cells
The patient normally does not have any pain during or after treatment, though if necessary he will get some analgesic, such as an Aspirin or Advil pill, that is all he will need. He will be at least in the same condition for traveling back as he was when he arrived. Afterwards, the patient will get his follow up by his regular attending physician, but the patient will always be able to keep in touch with the doctor whom performed the procedure.
No Rejection, No Side Effects From Your Own Stem Cells
There is no rejection as the patient gets his own cells and there are no side effects, collateral effects nor consequences of the treatment. If some of the injected Stem Cells would escape from the lungs and go to some other organs, there is no harm, just the opposite- benefits for that organ!
Feel free to contact me again if I can be of further assistance.
* Part 2 of 16: REFINED WHEAT DEFINED
Refined Wheat
* Part 3 of 16: HOW SWEET IT IS (NOT)
Refined Sugar, The Sweetest Poison of All
* Part 4 of 16: MODERN FOOD = MODERN ALCHEMY
Why McDonald’s Fries Taste So Good
* Part 5 of 16: DO YOU (REALLY) WANT FRIES WITH THAT?
California Wants to Serve a Warning With Fries
* Part 6 of 16: SUGAR CAUSES DENTAL DECAY & DISEASE
Sugar and Science
* Part 7 of 16: MEXICAN OBESITY
Mexico Pushes National Campaign to Lose Weight
* Part 8 of 16: MEXICAN DIABETES
Mexico warns diabetes may bankrupt health system
* Part 9 of 16: THE CIGARETTE CONNECTION
From the list of 599 approved cigarette additives
* Part 10 of 16: ADA REQUESTS MORE FUNDING TO FIGHT DIABETES
American Diabetes Association Urges Congress to Increase CDC Diabetes Prevention Funding By $20.8 Million: One Dollar for Every American With Diabetes
* Part 11 of 16: THE PANDEMIC…TOMORROW
Effect of current factor 1.035 annual increase in WHO diabetes prevalence
* Part 12 of 16: LEARNING FROM DIABETIC MICE
Mouse study points researchers toward early trigger for type-1 diabetes
* Part 13 of 16: THE COST OF THE PANDEMIC
Effect of 1.04 annual increase of USA diabetes prevalence coupled with 6% annual medical inflation rate for care and medical costs per diabetic combined
* Part 14 of 16: SPANISH DIABETES REFORM
Why Spain leads the world in fighting obesity and diabetes
* Part 15 of 16: YOUR PLASTIC IS KILLING YOU
Higher urinary levels of chemical used in plastic food and beverage containers associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes
* Part 16 of 16: INSULIN AND DIABETES
War On Diabetes
What better way is there to celebrate DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH than to become more aware of the amazing advances and benefits of stem cell treatments for Diabetes?
·DAM! – FIRST USE OF CORD BLOOD TO ALTER COURSE OF TYPE 1 DIABETES
June 25, 2007 – …transfusion of stored, autologous (i.e. the person’s own), umbilical cord blood into a group of children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes appears to have reduced their disease severity, possibly re-setting the immune system and slowing the destruction of their insulin-producing cells, according to a report presented today at the American Diabetes Association’s 67th Annual Scientific Sessions. (Proof the American Diabetes Association knew in 2007 that stem cells can treat Diabetes type 1 in children!) http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/media/m_pdf/ADA_T1D_PR-06-25-07.pdf
DAM! – DIABETES TYPE 1 STEM CELL CLINICAL TRIAL
Enrollment 11/2003-4/2008, follow-up until December 2008 – C-Peptide Levels and Insulin Independence Following Autologous Nonmyeloablative Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, JAMA. 2009;301(15):1573-1579.
Context In 2007, the effects of the autologous nonmyeloablativehematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in 15 patientswith type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) were reported. Most patientsbecame insulin free with normal levels of glycated hemoglobinA1c (HbA1c) during a mean 18.8-month follow-up. To investigateif this effect was due to preservation of beta-cell mass, continuedmonitoring was performed of C-peptide levels after stem celltransplantation in the 15 original and 8 additional patients. - http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/type-1-diabetes-stem-cells-clinical-trial/
·DAM! – CAN STEM CELLS CURE DIABETES TYPE 2?
See the results of this one year study of adult stem cell treatment of Diabetes type – 2. C-peptide levels, insulin levels, insulin dosage requirements and HA1c levels. – http://wp.me/prcQV-1cU
·DAM! – CAN STEM CELLS CURE DIABETES TYPE 1?
See the results of this one year study of adult stem cell treatment of Diabetes type – 1. C-peptide levels, insulin levels, insulin dosage requirements and HA1c levels. – http://wp.me/prcQV-1cJ
·DAM! – STEM CELLS TREAT DIABETES TYPE 1 SUCCESSFULLY FOR YEARS
People with type 1 diabetes who got stem cell transplants were able to go as long as four years without needing insulin treatments…the process involves injecting people with stem cells made from their bone marrow cells…appears to have a lasting effect.
The study involved patients with Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes, which occurs when the immune system goes haywire and starts attacking itself, destroying insulin-producing cells in the pancreas needed to control blood sugar. These patients typically need daily insulin therapy to control their diabetes.
Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and colleagues first reported on the short-term success of the procedure, known as autologous non-myeloablative hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, in 2007 but have since looked at how long it persisted.
In the new study, a follow-up of their previous work, Voltarelli and his colleagues detailed the same success with an additional eight patients, and also confirmed that in the majority of them, the stem cell transplant led to an appreciable repopulation of functioning insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. – http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/study-stem-cells-may-reverse-type-1-diabetes-time/
·DAM! – MICE WERE CURED IN THE EARLY 1990’S…WHERE ARE THE HUMAN CLINICAL TRIAL FOR STEM CELLS vs. DIABETES?
Weissman, a professor of pathology and developmental biology at Stanford University, states: “Stem cells are rare, self-renewing, and can regenerate body tissues.” He repeatedly expressed frustration that while many of his discoveries seemed to hold remarkable potential for life-saving treatments, commercial or regulatory hurdles have prevented his scientific research from benefiting human beings.One example is, his mid-’90s research on type I diabetes, in which he demonstrated the ability to fully cure type I diabetes in mice using stem cells.Even though the experiments avoided political controversy by using adult/repair stem cells, which do not come from embryos, Weissman ran into a road block when pharmaceutical companies refused to sponsor clinical trials. The therapy went nowhere. “The pharmaceutical companies had put profit over principle, preferring to keep diabetes sufferers dependent on costly insulin than to cure them once and for all.” – http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/research-from-90s-cures-type-1-diabetes/
·DAM! – 85% OF DIABETES TYPE 1 PATIENTS IMPROVED
A study demonstrated that stem cells implanted into type 2 diabetes patients, in direct form into the pancreas, improve the production of Endogenous Insulin, increase the levels of “C Peptide”, decrease blood glucose levels and glycated hemoglobin levels faster than other treatments. 84% of the patients that had received the autologuous bone marrow cells could also abandon the drugs that stimulate insulin production or the insulin that they had been receiving previously. There were no complications at all, demonstrating the safety of the technique, since the extraction, the cellular implants and evolution of the patients… – CATCH UP…with a twist! (Part 2) – Stem Cell Breakthrough Helps 85% Of Type 2 Diabetes Patients
First major round of research targeted at therapies takes off.
Erika Check Hayden
Dennis Slamon leads one of the teams to receive funding from CIRM.UCLA
The starting gun has fired for 14 research teams, based in California, who now have four years to make good on the therapeutic promise of stem cells.
On 28 October, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) committed US$230 million to teams of basic and clinical researchers aiming to move experimental stem-cell treatments into an investigational new-drug filing with the US Food and Drug Administration. Britain and Canada together paid an additional $43 million for four of the grants, which will include work by researchers in those countries.
Geron Corporation is a company based in Menlo Park, CA and the first biotech company in the USA to be granted permission for a clinical trial of regenerative medicine using embryonic stem cells, in humans. While permission was granted in January 2009, the trials were put on hold until last Friday (October 30, 2009) when the latest round of preclinical trials using animals revealed some side effects that warranted further investigation.
According to the Geron News Release, test animals receiving the treatment, GRNOPC1, developed a higher number of cysts at the area of spinal cord injury than in previous studies. However, the FDA has agreed to allow the studies to continue, since the cysts appear to be non-proliferative, confined to the injury site, and not associated with any serious adverse effects or SUSARS.
GRNOPC1 consists of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). Oligodendrocytes are cells of the nervous system that produce the myelin shealth, which insultates the axons of nerve cells. Injection with the cells was shown to enhance remyelination of the spinal cord in adult rats. Demyelination after spinal cord injury contributes to loss of neural function. Rats treated with GRNOPC1 seven days after injury exhibited substantially better recovery and improved locomotor ability.
Geron expects re-initiation of the clinical trial in late 2010. Since the treatment must be applied shortly after injury, anyone wanting to participate in a clinical trial must agree to injections within 7 to 14 days of spinal injury…
Court Dismisses Challenge to Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Posted on: November 2, 2009 9:30 AM, by Ed Brayton
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s new rules on federal funding for stem cell research, which reversed the Bush policy of prohibiting such funding in most cases. And I’m not usually a big fan of dismissing cases based on standing, but in this case there was just no legal basis for the challenge at all.
NIghtlight
The plaintiffs in the case were the Christian Medical Association; Nightlight, a Christian adoption agency that urges the adoption of frozen embryos from fertility clinics; two doctors, James Sherley and Theresa Deisher, who do adult stem cell research but refuse to do embryonic research; two couples who have adopted such embryos; and – amusingly – the embryos themselves. Yes, they sued on behalf of all the snowflakes sitting in fertility clinic freezers.
The court dismissed the case for all plaintiffs based on a lack of standing. And it’s really hard to imagine what the legal argument might be for the suit by any of them. Here’s how the court summarizes their claims:
NIH
Plaintiffs allege that the guidelines, by allowing NIH to fund hESC research, will cause them irreparable harm. Specifically, Drs. Sherely and Deisher contend that the new guidelines will “result in increased competition for limited federal funding and will thereby injure [their] ability to successfully compete for . . . NIH stem cell research funds.” Nightlife alleges that the guidelines will cause a decrease in the number of embryos available for adoption…The Nelsons and Flynns maintain that the guidelines will “jeopardize the likelihood that embryos will become available” for them to adopt in the future. Finally, CMA alleges that the guidelines will frustrate its purpose and require it to expend significant resources to combat the ethical problems posed by hESC research.
when are they going to allow us to use stem cells for autism in this country??? I am getting impatient evry treatment center I’ve called here (in the US) says they wont do it! I am having a baby in feb and want to use the cord blood for my son but when will I ever be able to? anyone know?
My response:
I expect that it will be at least 10 years and they will not be in the form you are expecting…the form that is so successful all over the world. Here’s why:
1. The US medical and pharmacological system is based upon the production and patenting of drugs for the treatment of symptoms.
5. The beauty of stem cells, besides that they work so well, is that they are in so many forms, from so many parts of the body. Stem cell treatment is essentially a procedure, not a drug IMO. Patenting a drug means you have exclusive rights to sell it and you have no competitors. That is the desire of the pharma industry.
A friend sent me the following comment and it got me thinking a lot about how someone makes the decision to get treated with stem cells.
Here’s his comment:
I know two [people with multiple sclerosis] personally who did the autogolous stem cell treatment procedure (stem cells are pulled from your on body and then implanted after being multiplied etc.- dg). One felt it helped a lot. The other said it helped minimally if at all.
Here’s my reply:
You always have to weigh your options when considering getting any kind of medical treatment. Getting educated on the issues and variables is (IMO) the direct responsibility of the patient (although there are patient advocates who will help in this process). There is no way that doctors (especially from the US) can keep up with the advances occurring around the world today. Add the embryonic controversy pulling eyes away from the stem cells (adult or repair stem cells) that are making all the advancements and it’s no wonder the patient is on their own to find stem cell treatment information.
But in consideration of your friend’s results:
Where should I get treated?
The success rate for “significant therapeutic benefits” seem to be around 74% at this time which is pretty amazing IMO. SO one friend was one of the lucky 3/4 and the other was one of the unlucky 1/4. Luckily there are virtually no negative side effects (soreness at the injection site treated with ibuprofen is typically the most extreme side effect if you can believe it!)
SO the worst that can happen is you get minimal response to the treatment, you take an advil andand you lose your money (which is a considerable issue considering so many people are doing fund raisers, etc on a limited budget in a bad economy). Perhaps facilities should offer a return treatment at no or minimal cost for those that do not have benefit from the first treatment. I work with one ‘future planned’ treatment center that is offering exactly that when they open their doors. We’ll have to wait and see.
moore's law
To make the question more difficult to answer, you must factor this in…the field of stem cell treatments IS in it’s infancy and changes are occurring on par or faster than Moore’s law (computing hardware – the # of transistors/integrated circuit doubles every two years). I personally know of 2 separate innovations that will advance the field significantly in the next 3 months.
Point is, things are changing and improving every day. The problem is (besides that none of us are getting any younger) neurological disease gets increasingly harder to treat the longer you wait. SO where’s the magic window? It’s different for each person. Combine severity of symptoms, impact of your disease on what your lifestyle was prior to the disease, quality of life reduction/missed opportunities due to the disease and of course, your wallet.
There are no absolute answers…but there are people who are willing to help you sort through the variables and put together a game plan. Surprisingly, these services are free. One place that is dedicated to helping the interested patient find stem cell treatment at no cost is http://repairstemcells.org They factor in all of your needs, limitations, medical status, location and economic issues and then direct you to the best treatment facility for you.
Whatever your decision, do the research. With over 800 articles, my blog [ http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com ] is a good place to get started. The info is constantly updated and I am in touch with the top stem cell docs in the world who both feed me new advances and make sure I don’t make any errors in my info. (btw, I don’t make any money from it, this is just my way of sharing what I know).
I am also happy to help people find what they are looking for. You can email me at dsgrano@gmail.com I get about one or two dozen emails per day of people asking where to get treated, what is the current status of treatment for their disease, etc. Feel free to bother me, I enjoy it
ok, this reply got very long…they sometimes get away from me when I am writing and my fingers and brain get into a zone. lol! but there’s good info in here. I hope it is helpful.
regards
david
I was going to write today about wellness being your first line of defense. I’ll put that out tomorrow. I just thought some of the articles that came out today were quite amusing. We see that the World Health Organization may take several years to reduce the pandemic level 6 alert status. Couple that with flu.gov posting that there are planning on instituting new measures at the airport to scan your body temp and evaluate your health before boarding a plane due to H1N1. As if flying wasn’t inhumane enough already, now we have to put up with body scans and health questionairres. Kurt Nimmo from Infowars put together a nice piece below that picks apart the facts vs the media spin and there is another article that will detail what to look out for from the media public relations machine over the next few weeks. Below I picked apart a few ridiculous comments by the WHO and gave my two cents about the seasonal flu virus and what really causes it. I’ve also included a link to an article where the WHO admits to releasing pandemic viruses into the population to gain fast track approval of vaccines. In other words, pure evil! Just a quick note: Infowars.com is rebroadcasting their interview with Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, considered as one of the experts regarding the swine flu and vaccines today. You can tap into it at www.infowars.com and tie into the restreaming broadcast (click on listen to alex jones live now, itunes or windows media player). Interesting Articles today: WHO States Could Take Years to Lower Pandemic Alert Level - http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL9615772._CH_.2400 (This article really sets a precedent for the next several years that swine flu isn’t going anywhere or at least the control measures they put in place aren’t (see article below)- again, fear-mongering. Having studied virology in college and having a basic understanding of biochemistry, much of what is covered by the WHO makes no sense whatsoever, however, it does create a climate of fear and sets the precedent for control measures as cited in the below article “Gov’t to use Swine Flu for Another Control Mechanism.”) Some of the ridiculous excerpts from this article are as follows:“Eventually a pandemic virus becomes more like a seasonal virus and that normally will take something like two to three years,” Hartl said. “Once enough people either have been vaccinated or have contracted the virus, then it becomes more difficult to spread. It starts acting like a seasonal flu.” – It starts “acting” like a seasonal flu.” So what exactly does this mean, acting like a seasonal flu?” Next…. “Influenza viruses thrive in colder climates and normally pack the biggest punch in winter.” – Flu virus thrives in colder climates eh? Why? Based on what? Where does it hide in the heat?
MY TWO CENTS ON THE ISSUE OF SEASONAL FLU: Cold climates and seasonal flus. So what happens here in the US in the cold fall and winter? How about massive amounts of toxic intake of candy starting in Halloween, turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and coffee (one small token veggie on the side that no one eats) until we pass out on the couch at Thanksgiving, a week or two of leftovers, christmas parties, huge “wholesome and nutritious meals at Xmas”, lets not forget the physical stress of a drop in seasonal temperature, no time for exercise, a drop in hydration as we drink less water when its cold, a significant drop in Vitamin D as we no longer play in the sun, our skin no longer breathes out the toxins because its all covered up in multiple layers, and the multiplication factor of stress the holidays can bring and oh yes, last but far from least, an extreme embibing of healthy booze and finger foods on new years EVE. And this year we can couple the stress of being at war with 3 countries (one private and not publicized) and a failing economy. Then magically its flu season, and by golly gee, which strain is it going to be this year? The Shanghai B, or the Shaghai A? The bug, it got me, I’m gettin cold….TELL MA I LOVE ER! Truth is, the flu “symptoms” are nothing shy of the same symptoms you would expect to experience if your body was poisoned, as it was from Halloween (maybe even earlier) through the entire holiday season. The Truth is, when already compromised as most americans are from their standard american diet (SAD), the body goes into its own “healing crisis” and detoxes all the crappy foods, booze, sodas, stress and emotions of the holiday season. Anybody who has embarked on a cleanse can attest to this. Its self-preservation. You can only poison your body so long before it has to pull the plug. I think the argument has long been over. You are what you eat! And the disastrous results of the SAD diet are labeled as and blamed on a seasonal flu “virus.” Is it really a virus that made us party hardy at the office xmas party? Was it the thanksgiving virus that made us unbuckle our belt so we had room for pumpkin pie ala mode? And it must have been the viruses in that last toasting glass of champagne we had on new years that you may or may not remember? Or maybe it was the childrens candy we were piecing at around Halloween that was spiked with goblin viruses? The truth is, the flu virus “causing” our seasonal illness is as phantom as the tooth fairy, as phantom as gouls and goblins on halloween and that the simple truth is; wellness, not your immune system is your first line of defense. Imagine visiting New York during a trash strike and proclaiming “look at all the trash these viruses, I mean rats brought in!” Of course that would be ridiculous. The trash was there first, then the rats came. Just the same its what orthodox medicine has been doing for years. Pasteurs Germ Theory of Infectious diseases. Agents we are supposed to fear, as they fly in on deadly air currents. Its not the trash we’ve been packing away in our bodies for months that allows these microbes a nice envirnoment to multiply in, its the pathogenic deadly virulent flu virus thats to blame. Even Pasteur admitted on his death bed “The terrain is everything, the microbe is nothing.” Since practicing health, I haven’t “caught a cold,” succumbed to a “seasonal virus” or spent uncomfortable weeks coughing up green gobs of brochial infection in 3 going on 4 years. Something that happened annually to the point I could set a watch to it. Just think of that phrase “catch a cold.” Hello, are we still in 1825? Yes, I’ve still heard the alarm bells going off at times with a sniffle, aches and pains, and general fatigue when I’ve embibbed in a few weeks worth of too much sugary goodness. But I know at those times its time to cleanse out. If you keep ramming crap into you, eventually its going to come out. It will come out through your skin as night sweats and rashes, hot flashes and pimples. It will come out of your butt as diarrhea and foul gas, it will come out of your nose and throat and lungs as nasty yeast and fungal mucous, it will collect in your gut and cause you to throw it up, it will cause you to feel stiff and soar and inflamed and feverish as the inflammation oozes from your lymph system to be dumped from the body etc etc etc. All symptoms of the body being poisoned. Not invaded by star wars looking protein particles. The truth is, the flu virus isn’t the cause of your feeling like crap in January anymore than the rats brought in the trash bags to NYC. Now, there is an element of truth to this germ theory. If you have been trashing your bodies, your chances of succumbing to some microbe sooner than later are much greater. But it will most likely start from the inside out, rather than some non-living virus particle that hides in the shadows during the OFF-season. And where exactly does the flu hide in the off-season? And then somehow sparks back into existence. Is it like a fly in the cold? Wait, thats right, the flu loves the cold, silly me. Maybe it gets too hot in the summer and faints from heat exhaustion. Then wakes back up when a cold splash of autumn chill smacks across its face? Does it have a face? No, but somehow it may mutate into some feverishly killer strain. Biochemically, thats the complex equivalent of pigs growing wings so they can fly. The CDC annouces that its only a matter of time before pigs mutate into deadly flying infectious squealing agents – we just don’t know when, but the best we can figure it will be hear just as the vaccines are ready!!!!! More and more it seems like this pig is so ridiculous it may as well have wings. Seasonal cold loving swine flu. And by the way, the flu season follows the festive season all around the globe, not just in the US. This from Tony Robbins himself who travels the world over, works with millions of people around the globe each year. But careful now, it could kill you. So you should fear it! I could puke! The only thing you should fear is the propaganda put forth by the pharmaceutical industry pumping out these vaccines and your loving gov’t who they have as a business partner – and the chump media thats run by both those outfits -Thats my soap box rant for Oct 09, 2009. And a word about the World Health Organization (WHO). Would you really trust what an organization has to say that admits to creating pandemics through mock vaccines containing live virus to get fast track approval of vaccines? Oh wait, didn’t they just add live virus to the Flumist? Yes, they did, and while they say its attenuated “declawed” (gotta love it) and it can’t get you sick (well unless you are immunocompromised – see SAD above) the insert says, don’t go near immunocompromised people for 21 days. Why? Thought it was “declawed.” WHO ADMITS TO RELEASING PANDEMIC VIRUS INTO POPULATIONS VIA MOCK UP VACCINEShttp://www.theflucase.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=488%3Awho-admits-to-releasing-pandemic-virus-into-population-via-mock-up-vaccines-&catid=41%3Ahighlighted-news&Itemid=105&lang=enGlenn Beck’s Slick Propaganda Segment on the H1N1 Vaccination This is a very well written article by Kurt Nimmo. This is a must read. Not only does it cover facts on the Nasal Spray Flumist, such as package insert warnings and contents, but also demonstrates the polarity between the Facts and the Media spin. Contains a media youtube clip of the Glenn Beck show. http://www.infowars.com/glenn-becks-slick-propaganda-segment-on-the-h1n1-vaccination/The Public Relations Machine for the Vaccine Complex http://www.infowars.com/the-public-relations-machine-for-the-vaccine-complex/
The government wants to take your temperature and/or scan you for the swine flu before you board a plane. In fact, they want you to have a “health screening.” From the Flu.gov website:
Due to the outbreak of H1N1 (Swine) flu occurring in the United States and many other countries, airport staff in some countries may check the health of arriving passengers. Travelers from the United States arriving in other countries may be checked for fever and other symptoms of H1N1 (Swine) flu, and their travel may be delayed.
According to the Militarized Flu Police, you may be asked to
Pass through a scanning device that checks your temperature. (The device may look like an airport metal detector, a camera, or a handheld device.)
Have your temperature taken with an oral or ear thermometer
Fill out a sheet of questions about your health
Review information about the symptoms of H1N1 (Swine) flu
Give your address, phone number, and other contact information
Be quarantined for a period of time if a passenger on your flight is found to have symptoms of H1N1 (Swine) flu
Contact health authorities in the country you are visiting to let them know if you become ill
If you have a “fever or respiratory symptoms” you may be asked to 1) be isolated from others, 2) submit to a medical examination, 3) take a rapid flu test with a nasal swab sample (!), 4) be hospitalized and given medical treatment if you test positive for H1N1.
I just listened to some nutcase proponent of this tyranny who was interviewed on FOX radio, and he called this “a sound public decision” and a “wise step.” The poor creep doesn’t “want to get on a plane next to someone who is sneezing and wheezing.” The analyst for FOX: “It does, in a way, make sense.” Indeed, we are living in sick times and we are surrounded by sick minds.
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Today we explore the truth behind the current tally of H1N1 cases, check global polls and see that an overwhelming majority DO NOT WANTH1N1 vaccinations and pose the question, “Why the state of National Emergency President Obama?” You may want to know! Check tomorrows Vaccine Alert!!! ————————————————————————————————————————————- CBS News Study: 80% of H1N1 Swine Flu cases not flu at all. CDC’s numbers completely exaggerated. “If you’ve been diagnosed “probable” or “presumed” 2009 H1N1 or “swine flu” in recent months, you may be surprised to know this: odds are you didn’t have H1N1 flu. In fact, you probably didn’t have flu at all.” – CBS Click here for CBS News WebpageSample Data: The numbers broken down. The following table demonstrates the number of cases reported as H1N1 and the percentages that were confirmed H1N1, other flu and negative for any flu. Bottom line: the majority of H1N1 cases reported to the CDC were in fact, not H1N1, in fact, not flu at all. So how is this happening? Well, in confirmed reports, you show up, you have symptoms, you’re labeled H1N1. State Cases reported H1N1 %H1N1 Flu Other Flu Negative for other FluFlorida 8,853 17% 83%California 13,704 2% 12% 86%Georgia 3,117 2% 97%Alaska 772 1% 5% 93% So what we find here is a complete exaggeration of cases labeled as swine flu. Through the link below, Dr. Mercola provides an excellent breakdown of the article as well as an expert interview with Barbara Loe Fisher, founder of the National Vaccine Information Center. www.nvic.org/CBS Reveals that Swine Flu Cases Seriously Overestimated
Posted by: Dr. Mercola
October 24 2009 | 190,640 views
Dr. Mercola Interviews Barbara Loe Fisher, founder of the National Vaccine Information Center
France: Only 17% in favor of vaccinations down from 55% in Sept. Nearly 1 in 2 clearly opposedGermany: Only 13% in favor of vaccinations down from 51% in July. Austria: Less than 10 people attend vaccine clinic in fourth largest city Salzburg.Luxemburg: 77% opposed to vaccinations, 15% undecided.Poland: Only 3% plan on vaccinations in Krakow, one of countries largest cities.Similar attitudes for Danes, Finns, Spanish, Belgians and Dutch and British people.
Reuters | The White House statement was similar to disaster declarations issued before hurricanes hit coastal areas.
So we see that for the most part, H1N1 is a complete non-event. 1000 deaths have been reported since March. Thats little over 100 per month. Seasonal flu comes in at 36,000 per year. An avg of 3000 per month. A National Emergency? For what? So for those of us who didn’t think it was possible that the mandatory vaccination and forcible quarantining legislation (Pennsylvania Drafts 2009 Mandatory Vaccination Law ) would ever go into effect because, well, they’ll never call a National Emergency, know this, its here. Its said, its only to cut through red tape, but be skeptical. Tomorrows post will tell you why.
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Today: Why the National Emergency? / School Children Vaccinated without Parental Consent / Vaccine Deaths and Consequences —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Why the National Emergency? While it was demonstrated through the polls in yesterdays email that the masses are awakening, are we confident enough, are we convicted enough in our stances to fend off a flank attack coming from the blindside? What do I mean? It seems as though H1N1 is a non-event, as evidenced from the data discussed yesterday. However, WE ARE under a state of national emergency. If you remember from previous emails, legislation has been passed at the Federal, State and Local levels allowing for Mandatory Vaccinations and Forcible Quarantining. And as we’ll see below, recent developments in the Ukraine, which have the WHO concerned could spark a worldwide lockdown. Can you withstand the media fearmongering that may result and the task force Government Appoints Task Force To Handle H1N1 Vaccine Propaganda appointed to “explain false alarms” to public when injuries “coincide” with shots.
I debated including the Ukraine stories, I’m not one for fearmongering, but I think its pertinent to cover these stories as it could set the stage for global lockdown. While it is yet to be determined whether there is reason for concern, its wise to anticipate. Whats curious about these stories is the confusion between the Ukraine Health Minister ruling out H1N1 and the media claiming it is in fact H1N1. Could we be seeing an unveiling of a new biological warfare agent meant to scare us into getting our H1N1 vaccinations? Could it be the pretext for mandatory vaccinations and quarantining? It’s worth questioning.
About 18 months ago I posed a movie plot scenario where a viral outreak occurs (fabricated), forcible vaccinations and quarantines result (vaccinations as part of the internment) and most die. The plot twist being that most die from the vaccine, not the virus, yet, the gov’t declares they got the viral strain wrong and that the virus was to blame. Little did I know at the time that such a scenario could actually unfold. In the face of fear, would you really want to go running out to get the shot? Below are just a handful of articles I’ve pulled regarding the H1N1 vaccine results. Again, curiously, these reports show up locally, but not mainstream. Why is this?
Scientists Create Sperm And Eggs From Stem Cells..No Men Or Women Needed
October 28th, 2009 | by KurtTheInfidel
Human eggs and sperm have been grown in the laboratory in research which could change the face of parenthood.
It paves the way for a cure for infertility and could help those left sterile by cancer treatment to have children who are biologically their own.
But it raises a number of moral and ethical concerns. These include the possibility of children being born through entirely artificial means, and men and women being sidelined from the process of making babies.
Opponents argue that it is wrong to meddle with the building blocks of life and warn that the advances taking place to tackle infertility risk distorting and damaging relations between family members.
The U.S. government-funded research also offers the prospect of a ‘miracle pill’ which staves off the menopause, allowing women to wait longer to have a child.
It centres on stem cells, widely seen as a repair kit for the body.
Adult Eyes Cells Can Be Transformed Into Pluripotent Stem Cells Without Introducing Foreign Genetic Material
Article Date: 23 Oct 2009 – 5:00 PDT
Scientists have overcome a key barrier to the clinical use of stem cells with a technique which transforms regular body cells into artificial stem cells without the need for introducing foreign genetic materials, which could be potentially harmful. The research, published in Stem Cells, suggests that cells taken from a patient’s eye can be “reprogrammed” to replace or restore cells lost to degenerative diseases.
The research, led by Professor Iqbal Ahmad and co-authors from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, is the first proof in principle that somatic, or body cells, can be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) simply through the influence of the microenvironment in which the sampled cells are cultured. Until now genetic materials were introduced into somatic cells to re-programme them to become pluripotent, enabling them to generate cells of all three embryonic lineages.
“Our findings provide evidence for an emerging view that somatic cells may be reprogrammed safely and simply by defined chemicals and other factors, which may facilitate their clinical use,” said Ahmad. “The next step is to know how robust the reprogramming is and what existed within the microenvironment to cause it.”
The team sampled progenitor eye cells, which regenerate the eye’s cornea, from laboratory rats. By reprogramming them to resemble stem cells they acquired the properties necessary to replace or restore neurons, cardiomyocytes, and hepatocytes, cell types which are degenerated in Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, and liver disease.
This reprogramming technique may allow ‘autologous cell transplantation’, where the donor of the cells is also the recipient. This is preferable to using cells from another person which may cause the patient’s immune system to reject the transplanted cells.
Also, because this technique involves the use of iPSCs derived from adult eye cells and not embryonic stem cells (ES) it side steps many of the ethical dilemmas which have embroiled stem cell research.
“This research shows that it is possible to take cells from a patient’s eye without affecting vision and reprogram them for use in autologous cell therapy to replace or rescue degenerating cells,” concluded Ahmad, “this would allow us to circumvent ethical issues and the problems caused by the immune system rejecting foreign cells.”
California Awards Grants for Research Projects in NON-EMBRYONIC Stem Cells
By ANDREW POLLACK
Published: October 28, 2009
LOS ANGELES — In a tacit acknowledgment that the promise of human embryonic stem cells is still far in the future, California’s stem cell research program on Wednesday awarded grants intended to develop therapies using mainly other, less controversial cells.
“mainly other, less controversial cells”
Really? It’s like that, is it? Ok, baby steps it is then…alright…take a deep breath…it’s ok…you can say it…don’t be afraid…say it with me…
A – D – U – L – T stem cells…
good! Now all together…
ADULT STEM CELLS!
There, was that so hard?
Adult Stem Cell
The $230 million in grants awarded Wednesday to California universities and companies represent a big step toward moving stem cells from basic research toward application in treating diseases like cancer and AIDS. Grant recipients are supposed to have a therapy ready for initial human testing in four years.
Grant Money
But only 4 of the 14 projects involve embryonic stem cells. The others will use so-called adult stem cells or conventional drugs intended to kill cancer stem cells, which are thought to give rise to tumors.
Cancer Stem Cell (from embryonic stem cells)
The grants thus represent a departure from the program’s original mission.
The USA is so far behind the rest of the world it scares me. The lungs are the greediest of all of the organs in the body for stem cells. ALI, COPD, etc have been treated around the world with adult stem cells for a long time now. There was even a clinical trial in Dresden on 86 human patients -
“Acute Lung Injury After Allogeneic Transplantation – Diagnosis and Early Treatment”
Enrollment:
86
Study Start Date:
December 2001
Primary Completion Date:
August 2005 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
…and the US is just barely putting a toe in the water with mouse studies? It’s time to CATCH UP!
-DG
Lungs
Stem Cell Therapy May Offer Hope For Acute Lung Injury
ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2009) — Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can prevent acute lung injury in a mouse model of the disease.
Their results are reported online in the October issue of the journal Stem Cells.
Acute lung injury (ALI) is responsible for an estimated 74,500 deaths in the U.S. each year. ALI can be caused by any major inflammation or injury to the lungs and is a major cause of death in patients in hospital ICUs. There is no effective drug treatment…
New ‘Schizophrenia Gene’ Prompts Researchers To Test Potential Drug Target
ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2009) — Johns Hopkins scientists report having used a commercially available drug to successfully “rescue” animal brain cells that they had intentionally damaged by manipulating a newly discovered gene that links susceptibility genes for schizophrenia and autism.
Schizophrenia
The rescue, described as “surprisingly complete” by the researchers, was accomplished with rapamycin, a drug known to act on a protein called mTOR whose role involves the production of other proteins. The idea to test this drug’s effectiveness at rescuing impaired nerve cells occurred to the team as a result of having discovered a new gene that appears to act in concert with two previously identified schizophrenia susceptibility genes, one of which is involved in the activation of the protein mTOR. This piecing together of multiple genes adds support for the idea that susceptibility to schizophrenia and autism may have common genetic fingerprints, according to the researchers.
Autism
The newfound gene, dubbed KIAA1212, serves as a bridge linking two schizophrenia genes: DISC1 and AKT. Suspecting KIAA1212 as one of many potential binding partners interacting with DISC1, whose name is an acronym for “Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia,” the researchers genetically shut down the production of DISC1 proteins in newly born neurons in the hippocampus region of an adult mouse brain. The hippocampus contains a niche where native stem cells give rise to fully developed new neurons. The idea was to deliberately cause these cells to malfunction and then watch what happened.
University of Edinburgh study paves way for stem cell library
Research could revolutionise the development of drugs to treat diseases and pave way for the creation of a library of liver cells
by Chris Grainger - Wednesday 28 October 2009, The Journal Issue 26
Scientists have, for the first time, produced liver cells from adult stem cells using technology called iPSC, or induced pluripotent stem cell.
Using induced pluripotent stem cells, aggregates of early retinal cells (green spheres) are created. The blue spheres are early brain cells. Photo: Special arrangement - University of Wisconsin
The liver cells were created by manipulating the skin cells to resemble embryonic stem cells, which have the ability to become different cells within the body.
The study, led by the University of Edinburgh’s Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine, makes possible the creation of a liver cell library, which could revolutionise the development of drugs, making them more efficient and safe.
To celebrate DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH I am posting this huge resource of the current state of diabetes treatment with stem cells.
FIRST USE OF CORD BLOOD TO ALTER COURSE OF TYPE 1 DIABETES, June 25, 2007 – (I’ll bet nobody heard of this one!)…transfusion of stored, autologous (i.e. the person’s own), umbilical cord blood into a group of children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes appears to have reduced their disease severity, possibly re-setting the immune system and slowing the destruction of their insulin-producing cells, according to a report presented today at the American Diabetes Association’s 67th Annual Scientific Sessions. –http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/media/m_pdf/ADA_T1D_PR-06-25-07.pdf – (The ADA in 2007 knew stem cells can treat Diabetes type 1 in children!)
Why no diabetes clinical trial s in the US when mice were cured of diabetes type 1 in the 1990’s? - Weissman, a professor of pathology and developmental biology at Stanford University, states: “Stem cells are rare, self-renewing, and can regenerate body tissues.” He repeatedly expressed frustration that while many of his discoveries seemed to hold remarkable potential for life-saving treatments, commercial or regulatory hurdles have prevented his scientific research from benefiting human beings. One example is, his mid-’90s research on type I diabetes, in which he demonstrated the ability to fully cure type I diabetes in mice using stem cells.Even though the experiments avoided political controversy by using adult/repair stem cells, which do not come from embryos, Weissman ran into a road block when pharmaceutical companies refused to sponsor clinical trials. The therapy went nowhere. “The pharmaceutical companies had put profit over principle, preferring to keep diabetes sufferers dependent on costly insulin than to cure them once and for all.” – http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/research-from-90s-cures-type-1-diabetes/
In the latest episode of Gilligan’s Island, we have the stunning headline:
“Embryonic stem cell breakthrough –
treatment for age-related macular degeneration”
gillians-island-mobile-car coconut bamboo ginger professor
Why Gilligan’s Island? Because on the show from the 70’s the brilliant Professor was able to make a car or a radio or a submarine out of coconuts, shells and bamboo. Pretty nifty skill to have but the only problem was; there was no gas for the car, no batteries for the radio, etc. All of these devices had to rely on Gilligan to power them and because he was… Gilligan … he always ended up “driving the same way that Woodstock flies” and the car invariably ended up sinking in the lagoon.
This latest triumphant headline of the “Embryonic stem cell breakthrough” is a Gilligan’s Island project. The “breakthrough” looks and sounds good, the science that went into it’s making seems strong and over all, it seems ready to take the world by storm…until you look more closely. Upon more rigorous inspection it becomes apparent that this breakthrough is really, like the Gilligan’s Island car, made of coconut husks, bamboo and shells.
Take for example that scientists haven’t figured out a way around the tumor causing qualities of embryonic stem cells (ESC). Consider also that ESC transplants require immunosuppressive drugs to counter rejection issues (autologous ASC do not). Also, and this is no minor point when you consider a “breakthrough” announcement; the article states that these results and treatments are not available today, but MAY possibly be available 7 years down the road.
“Breakthrough” indeed. I think Gilligan needs to get his hands on a compass…
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We interrupt this episode of Gilligan’s Island with a word from our sponsor, “Two Face.” “Two Face” is the evil nemesis in “Batman Forever” who is always of two minds on any given subject. He chooses to bring about good or evil based upon the outcome of a coin flip (a philosophy called creatively enough, Flipism) and he apparently rules the media in regard to stem cells with a “fixed” variation of the Flipism decision theory.
2-face-batman-forever tommy lee jones
I know, I’m on a bit of a tangent here. Bare with me, I promise it will all get tied together. So, before I lose you completely, let me spell it out in plain English.
For 6 years the media has used a coin toss to determine their coverage of and response to stem cell victories. But the coin they used was fixed.
On one side was “adult stem cells” and when a story came out on ASC there was either no coverage or highly negative coverage.
On the other side was “embryonic stem cells” and when a story came out on ESC the coverage was either positive or in the often times scenario when there was very little positive to say, incredibly optimistic and forward looking.
ESC = good, ASC = bad…
regardless of what the actual story or science or results had to say.
Do you want proof? OK. You really don’t have to work hard to see the obvious duplicitous and blatant denial, deception or ignorance that is at work here. If you want bragging rights we encourage you to be the first kid on your block to question this “historic embryonic breakthrough”. How, you ask? It’s easy and works every time on virtually every disease! Just Google the name of the disease (any disease) and the words “stem cell”.
Do you know what you get when you Google “macular degeneration” and “stem cell?”
Mixed in with this “amazing embryonic breakthrough” (I still don’t understand how it can be a breakthrough if it is only going to “maybe become a reality in 7 years.”) you will find articles dating back to 2002…that speak to the therapeutic benefits of treating AMD with adult stem cells (ASC).
Now here’s the clever part. How do they know it will take 7 years? It’s easy. WHEN did ASC treatments of macular degeneration first took place? You got it! 7 years ago! And today they are virtually common place. So 7 years seems like a good guess for how long it will take ESC to develop treatments. There aretwo big differences which are really quite large flies in their ointment though. ASC never had to cure cancer or rejection issues before their treatments could be considered a success; ESC do.
Regardless, 7 years from now embryonic stem cells MAY BE able to treat macular degeneration. Of course, the third fly in their ointment is that by then, ASC will have a 14 year history of treating AMD.
the not so proverbial fly-in-the-ointment
So we must ask the question:
Why is it that ASC treat thousands successfully with 130+ diseases and all you see are words like, “unproven”, “snake oil”, “more research needed”? Why is it that when there are monumental ASC treatment successes you see the credit going to “timing”, “physical therapy,” “dietary changes” or “a side effect of the treatment itself” (I still don’t understand that one!)? Or when they really get their back against the wall, they pull out their trump card and accuse people who are pro- ASC of being either religious zealouts or Ludites (anti-progress).
Well, I’m no zealot and I’m no Ludite; I just focus on the results.
When ESC show the remotest possibility of treating something, the horns are sounded, the confetti comes out and the balloons and the doves are released. But is it REALLY a reality? Maybe, in 7 years. But only IF they cure the rejection and tumor issues. Well then check back with me in 7 years. ASC will have cured every disease under the sun by then. But the ESC practitioners can go ahead and launch new products or a new company based on a 7 year old treatment derived from ESC.
This all just goes to illustrate the blatant two faced double standard between the media treatment of proven safe and effective ASC and the mere possibility of ESC treatments that MIGHT happen 7 years out and only if they overcome some huge obstacles.
double standard...get it?
If the media is going to be so incredibly duplicitous to the point of fraudulent claims and outright deception, they should do us all a favor and at least get better at it. These heavy handed and obvious attempts at obfuscation and misdirection are worse than watching a magician try to pull a drunk rabbit out of a hat while wearing a thick pair of wool mittens.
The sick and suffering people around the world deserve better and the truth is…
We can all “see” right through this 2 faced farce.
SEOUL, South Korea — Hwang Woo-suk, a disgraced cloning expert from South Korea who had claimed major breakthroughs in stem-cell research, was convicted Monday of falsifying his papers and embezzling government research funds. A judge sentenced him to a suspended two-year prison term, saying Dr. Hwang had shown remorse and had not taken research money for personal use.
Bloomfield man fights cancer with his own stem cells
Patti Singer • Staff writer • October 26, 2009
…pain shot through his back. “It was just killing me,” said Wheeler, 63, of Bloomfield, Ontario County.
Dr. Gordon Phillips II, left, meets with Marty and Barbara Wheeler of Bloomfield recently at Strong Memorial Hospital. Marty is the first patient in the Rochester area to undergo a stem-cell transplant as an outpatient. (JAMIE GERMANO staff photographer)
A string of medical treatments — including a procedure to repair damaged vertebrae — brought no relief. A bone biopsy finally revealed multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells that can show up as back pain.
Multiple Myeloma
Wheeler became the first person in the Rochester region to undergo a stem-cell transplant as an outpatient at the Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Wheeler’s own cells were used in a procedure that is the same whether the person stays in the hospital or is an outpatient. Stem cells are collected from the person’s blood before high-dose chemotherapy. After the chemo has cleared the bloodstream, the stem cells are re-infused and go to the bone marrow, where they make new blood cells in 10 to 14 days.
Outpatient autologous transplants with myeloma patients have been done in other parts of the country for several years, and the best candidates are those who have no other disease, said Dr. Gordon L. Phillips II, director of the Samuel E. Durand Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Wilmot.
Re-infusing a patient’s own cells lends itself to an outpatient procedure more than a transplant from a donor would, and the procedure enhances quality of life for those with a disease for which there is no cure.
A parent’s caution and skepticism when evaluating whether stem cell treatment for their child’s Autism is warranted given the number of times “miracle cure for autism” has been crammed down their throats. Placebo and expectation effects are definitely a legit concern…but (you knew there was a but, didn’t you), if you look at the science of adult or repair stem cells (these are not embryonic btw), here’s what you will find:
1. General results:
There have been ~1300 peer reviewed, FDA approved, clinical trials with adult stem cells to date and most (almost all) have shown that adult stem cell implantation is safe and effective and provides therapeutic benefit to the patient. http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/do-stem-cell-treatments-work/
2. Autism specific results:
As for Autism and stem cells, there haven’t been any FDA approved clinical trials completed to date, except for the hyperbaric chamber trial, which is weak and tangential at best. The argument appears to be:
If hyperbaric chamber therapy helps autism
And hyperbaric chamber increases stem cell production
3. Nonetheless, there is an excellent argument for the viability of stem cells to treat Autism. Here is an exhaustive study gauging the potential of a clinical trial on the benefits of stem cells treating Autism: http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/5/1/30
6. Clinic’s responsibility regarding claims of success:
Stem cell clinics must be up-front regarding the results of their therapy and unless you see this type of clear, open and honest disclaimer, I would be skeptical about going to a clinic: “We would like to point out from the start that there are still some questions concerning the function of stem cells that science has not yet been able to answer, and that despite the advances that have been made recently there is no guarantee for the success of stem cell therapy. Nevertheless, every week we see this new “medicine” helping a lot of people. Therefore, we offer therapies with adult stem cells whenever classical treatment does not yield the type of results that are satisfactory for the patient.” In addition, this facility points out that only 70% of patients responded and they are up-front as to how they define improvement. Personally, I would see this kind of clear definition of defining “improvement” than someone throwing out some empty and unsubstantiated claims.
Is it worth it? Let’s put aside for the moment that “there is no price to great to secure your child’s health” because that does not factor in your financial situation and look at the comparative costs.
Michael Ganz, an assistant Professor of Society, Human Development, and Health at Harvard School of Public Health, has examined the cost of autism for US society //and has found that the disease costs a person $3.2 million over the entire life span. – http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/The-Price-Of-Autism-9735-1/
And “…a nearby school operated by the May Institute that practices behavior modification on its autistic students charges school districts $100,000 per year in tuition. And home-based ABA/behavior modification programs charge about $75,000 a year for 25 hours a week of therapy, supervision and team meetings. Parents have been known to remortgage their homes or go bankrupt in an attempt to fund these programs.” http://autismtomorrows.blogspot.com/2009/10/cost-effectiveness-and-autism-treatment.html
So, while there has not been an Autism vs Stem Cells clinical trial per se, all evidence points to the results of one in the future will be positive. So why hasn’t there been one already? I have no idea.
Lebron James thankful to be finished with cancer scare
NBA Star Feared Growth Was Malignant
POSTED: 9:38 am CDT October 20, 2009
In an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cavaliers star LeBron James admits that his biggest worry last season wasn’t basketball. It was waiting to hear if he had cancer.
Lebron James
James had a biopsy on a growth on his parotid gland, which produces saliva, in January. According to the newspaper, doctors told James that 70 to 80 percent of tumors like his were benign, but still, they needed to be sure.
“It was a nerve-racking experience, but I knew at that point I had to get it done,” James told the Plain Dealer. “I was on edge for those few days; I was lucky the season was going on and we were playing really well so I could concentrate on basketball. My family was nervous.”
The biopsy showed that the mass was benign, but according to the Plain Dealer, James was told that it could become cancerous if it were allowed to grow. The NBA star made arrangements to have the growth removed after the season on June 3, just two days after the Cavaliers were eliminated from the playoffs.
The Kid Can Play
According to the newspaper, the procedure took more than six hours, which was more than twice as long as doctors expected the surgery would take. The Plain Dealer reported that Dr. Frank Papay performed the procedure, which ended up being so time consuming because he needed to work around nerves and muscles that controlled James’ facial movements.
The Cavaliers’ star needed to stay in bed for about a week to recover and he told the Plain Dealer that during that time he didn’t want to talk or eat very much.
“I just relaxed and got some of the best sleep I’ve had in my life,” James told the Plain Dealer.
Wayne State Study Shows Adult Stem Cell Grafts Help Paralyzed
A new study by a Wayne State University School of Medicine researcher details the outcome of adult stem cell grafts in spinal cord injuries and how the procedure led to increased mobility and quality of life for patients.
A severe spinal cord injury often causes loss of feeling and paralysis, the loss of movement and voluntary control over the muscles in the body. Spinal cord damage also causes loss of reflex function below the point of injury interrupting bodily functions such as breathing, bowel control, and bladder control. In the event of a spinal injury prompt medical attention can help to minimize further spinal cord damage.
Associate Professor Jean Peduzzi-Nelson of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology conducted the study, “Olfactory Mucosal Autografts and Rehabilitation for Chronic Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury,” which was published online in the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.
The process involves the use of adult stem-like progenitor cells in the patient’s own nasal tissue. The use of a person’s own stem cells, Peduzzi-Nelson said, lessens the problems of rejection, tumor formation and disease transmission.
In the study, 20 patients with severe chronic spinal cord injuries received a treatment combination of partial scar removal, transplantation of nasal tissue containing stem cells to the site of the spinal cord injury and rehabilitation. All of the patients had total paralysis below the level of their spinal cord injury before the treatment.
“This may be the first clinical study of patients with severe, chronic spinal cord injury to report considerable functional improvement in some patients with a combination treatment,” Peduzzi-Nelson said. “Normally, in people with spinal cord injuries that happened more than 18 months ago, there is little improvement.”
The injuries in the study patients were 18 months to 15 years old. The patients, ages 19 to 37, had no use of their legs before the treatment. One paraplegic treated almost three years after the injury now ambulates with two crutches and knee braces. Ten other patients ambulate with physical assistance and walkers (with and without braces). One 31-year-old male tetriplegic patient uses a walker without the help of knee braces or physical assistance. When the stem cell transplant and scar removal process was combined with an advanced form of rehabilitative training that employs brain-initiated weight-bearing movement, 13 patients improved in the standard measures used to assess functional independence and walking capabilities.
“We concluded that olfactory mucosal autograft is feasible, relatively safe and possibly beneficial in people with chronic spinal cord injury when combined with post-operative rehabilitation,” Peduzzi-Nelson said. “There are clear indications of efficacy based on neurological, functional and electrophysiological testing that justify moving forward to a larger, controlled clinical trial. In patients who are willing to commit to lots of intense rehabilitation, this combination treatment holds promise to improve their condition.”
Peduzzi-Nelson noted that there are many sources of stem cells in the body, including bone marrow, fat and the brain, but that the olfactory mucosa is the only suitable tissue that can be easily obtained with minimally invasive procedures.
The stem-like progenitor cells in the olfactory mucosa are special because they normally form new neurons more rapidly than cells from any other place in the adult nervous system. When such cells are transplanted into chick embryos, she said, the cells can form mature cells of the heart, trunk muscles, liver, brain and spinal cord. This suggests that olfactory stem-like progenitor cells are very immature and capable of forming a variety of cell types.
The partial scar removal and tissue transplantation procedures were performed in Portugal. The rehabilitation of patients took place in Italy and Portugal.
“Many patients in the Detroit area have had this procedure,” she said. “Along with some colleagues, I have sent questionnaires to these local patients to find out whether or not there are any side-effects or functional improvement.”
Peduzzi-Nelson said that she and Jay Meythaler, M.D., chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, along with other colleagues, are seeking FDA approval to perform the procedure in the United States.
“My recovery from stem-cell surgery has been closely monitored,” Daly said in a statement released by the PGA of Australia. “I’m relieved things have begun moving in the right direction.”
Golfer Daly to Return Ahead of Schedule After Stem-Cell Surgery – By Dan Baynes
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — John Daly will return to the U.S. PGA Tour in two weeks after stem-cell surgery helped the two- time major champion recover from a rib injury ahead of schedule.
Daly, 43, will play the Oct. 29-Nov. 1 Viking Classic at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Mississippi, before heading to Australia for its Open and PGA Championship in December.
Daly withdrew from the Australian events in September citing a flare-up of the rib injury he sustained when he stopped his downswing as a woman took his photograph at the 2007 Honda Classic.
“My recovery from stem-cell surgery has been closely monitored,” Daly said in a statement released by the PGA of Australia. “I’m relieved things have begun moving in the right direction.”
It will be the second straight year that Daly, who won the 1991 U.S. PGA Championship and 1995 British Open, has competed in Australia’s Open and PGA Championship.
Biden then Bill Clinton in visits to boost Corzine
…During his speech Corzine spoke of how he differs from Republican Party candidate Chris Christie.
Vice President Joe Biden speaks as Gov. Jon S. Corzine (left) listens Monday at a Corzine campaign stop in Edison. (AP Photo)
Corzine said he is for such measures as a woman’s right to choose, embryonic stem cell research, preschool education and has the support of public service unions, including police officers, firefighters and teachers.
Jon Corzine
“These are role models, not enemies,” he said of the public employees.
Bill Clinton
He compared the philosophy of the Democratic Party with Republicans, who believe, said Corzine, “It’s tough out there. You can make it on your own.”
As for the issues that were most important in determining which candidate to support, abortion ranked No.1 by 40% of those voting (virtually the same as last year’s straw poll). Protection of religious liberty came in second, with 18%, and same-sex marriage a distant third, with 7.3%. Other very low ranking issues included public display of the Ten Commandments, prayer in schools, embryonic stem cell research and enforcement of obscenity laws.
The Foundation for AIDS Research was founded in 1985 and since they have invested nearly $290 Million on its mission. We are talking about an average of about $10 million per year for 25 years. Yet this diseased killed over 25 million people, with over 33 million infected. A better calculation would be about $10 per fatality or $3 or $4 per causality. We are talking about an organization that spends close to 71% towards its objective of 71 cents to a dollar and I think that is very aggressive and phenomenal.
We are talking about an organization full of celebrities affiliations, yet there is not International Anthem sung in there behalf, there is not concerts in there behalf, there is just a bunch of silent watchers. It is time to blow amfAR up, with the promise of Stem Cell Research, AIDS Research promises to reach a new height. It’s time for a song and a concert, a movie and celebrity promotions on TV and radio. We cannot afford to sit silently and watch people die unnecessarily. We have to show hope, that hope be a reality. The Foundation for AIDS Research does not need celebrity money it needs your time and talents to generate awareness of the current agenda, then the money will follow. What Janet Jackson is doing is honorable and more should follow suit.
In June of 2007 an article was published in a peer-reviewed journal (refer to: http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/5/1/30) (1) proposing a role for stem cell therapy in treating autism. The account that follows provides a perspective on the implications and prevalence of autism, as well as a synopsis and a critique of the proposed use of stem cells to treat the major symptoms of autism disorder.
Autism
Autism is a complex brain developmental disorder that is characterised by impaired social interactions, communication difficulties, obsessive attachment to routines and repetition, and often an extreme dislike of certain sounds, textures and tastes. Autism usually surfaces in the first three years of life and may vary in severity from mild to disabling. Depending on degree of severity, some children with autism may develop into independent adults with full time employment and self-sufficiency; however this is seldom the case (2). There is no known single cause but abnormalities in brain function are generally attributed to environmental, immunological and neurological factors.
Social costs
It is reported as one of the fastest-growing developmental disabilities in the US, with diagnoses having increased by staggering proportions in the last decade (2). An estimated 1.5 million children and adults in the U.S. currently (as at 2007) have some form of autism (2). Presenting these statistics another way; autism spectrum disorders are believed to affect approximately 1 in 166 children (1).
Children with autism suffer from two major conditions: Hypoperfusion and Immune Dysregulation
Hypoperfusion of the brain in autism
Children with autism have shown impaired blood flow (hypoperfusion) to the brain. Hypoperfusion may contribute to functional defects not only by inducing hypoxia (an oxygen deficit that prevents normal brain function) but also by allowing for abnormal metabolite or neurotransmitter accumulation. Hypothetically, if perfusion can be improved through the revitalisation of blood vessels (angiogenesis), then this should also allow for metabolite clearance and restoration of functionality.
Immune dysregulation in autism
Successful neurodevelopment is contingent upon a normal balanced immune response. Children with autism have immune systems that do not function normally; instead an autoimmune response of the nervous system appears to prevail (3). Astrocytes (supportive brain cells) that normally play a critical role in regulating perfusion [reviewed in 1] and protection against central nervous system infection, have the potential to cause damage to the host when functioning in an aberrant (i.e. auto-immune) manner. Autistic children often have continually suppressed immune systems and chronic inflammation. Immune dysregulation is very apparent in gastrointestinal health – most autistics experience symptoms ranging from diarrhea, gas, and bloating to intestinal lesions and inflammation of their gastrointestinal system (3,4).
Autism treatments
At this time there is no universally-accepted therapy or cure for autism. Current approaches are either behavioural, medical (treatment of anxiety and depression), nutritional (restriction of allergy-associated dietary components/ supplementation of minerals and vitamins/antioxidant therapy) or a combination of these. Research has increasingly focused on the connections between the immune system and the nervous system (4) yet to date no approach has been successful in correcting immune dysregulation/chronic inflammation in autism.
Rationale for using Stem Cells to treat autism
The administration of CD34+ umbilical cord cells and mesenchymal cells are proposed as novel treatments for the two pathologies associated with autism – hypoperfusion to the brain and immune dysregulation (1). Using these two kinds of stem cells together may potentially heal both the brain and the gut (3,4).
Treatment of hypoperfusion defect with umbilical cord blood CD34+ stem cells
Angiogenesis – the formation of collateral blood vessels – is believed to be fundamental in neurological recovery. A promising method of increasing angiogenesis into damaged areas is by administration of CD34+ stem cells [reviewed in 1]. Umbilical cord blood has highly active CD34+ cells that, following injection into a patient, should induce angiogenesis in areas of cerebral hypoperfusion. Consequently improved blood flow and oxygen to the brain should also improve nervous system functioning. Safety: Allogeneic cord blood CD34+ cells are needed if this therapy is to be made available for widespread use because few, if any, patients will have access to autologous cord blood. Safety concerns regarding allogeneic CD34+ cells centre on fears of graft / host reactions. It is believed that allogeneic cord blood cells can not be used without immune suppression however Riordan et al (6) have recently published an account of the feasibility of cord blood cells administration in absence of immune suppression. Also, there are reports of stem cell treatments where no immune suppression was used in over 500 patients without a single one suffering graft vs. host disease [reviewed in 1].
Immune modulation by mesenchymal stem cells
The treatment of immune dysregulation in autism is expected to profoundly influence neurological function. The ability of mesenchymal stem cells to suppress pathological immune responses (e.g. inflammation) and to stimulate haematopoiesis (blood cell regeneration) leads to the possibility that these cells may also be useful for treatment of the defect in T cell numbers associated with autism(3). Safety: The review by Ichim et al (1) suggests that allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells administered to suppress inflammation may be used without fear of immune-mediated rejection.
Practical clinical entry
The following passage is quoted directly from the authors’ proposal in ‘Stem Cell Therapy for Autism’(1) and outlines their suggestions for clinical trials : “We propose a Phase I/II study investigating a combination of cord blood expanded CD34+ cells together with mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of autism and clinical manifestations of inflammatory intestinal disease. One of the authors (*Fabio Solano) has utilized both CD34+ and mesenchymal stem cells clinically for treatment of various diseases. In some case reports, the combination of CD34+ and mesenchymal stem cells was noted to induce synergistic effects in neurological diseases, although the numbers of patients are far too low to draw any conclusions. We propose to conduct this study based on the previous experiences of our group in this field, as well as numerous other groups that have generated anecdotal evidence of stem cell therapy for autism but have not published in conventional journals. We believe that through development of a potent clinical study with appropriate endpoints, much will be learned about the pathophysiology of autism regardless of trial outcome.”
Cautionary arguments
While the rationale for using stem cells to treat autism is indeed sound, many proponents of stem cell treatment for autism (6,7,8,9) are in agreement that clinical trials with sufficient patient numbers are needed to assess treatment efficacy. When patients and their families consider new treatments, the proposals need to be interpreted in a discerning manner that can be balanced with scientific evidence.
REFERENCES 1. Review: Stem Cell Therapy for Autism Thomas Ichim, Fabio Solano, Eduardo Glenn, Frank Morales, Leonard Smith, George Zabrecky, Neil H Riordan Journal of Translational Medicine June 2007, 5:30 http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/5/1/30
2. Alliance for stem cell research www.curesforcalifornia.com
3. The immune response in autism: a new frontier for autism research Paul Ashwood, Sharifia Wills, Judy vd Water Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 80:1–15; 2006
4. The Stem Cell and Autism Connection www.bodyecology.com
5. Autism www.stemcelltherapies.org
6. Cord blood in regenerative medicine: do we need immune suppression? Riordan N, Chan K, Marleau A, Ichim T. Journal of Translational Medicine. Jan 2007 5:8
7. www.autismvox.com/another-autism-treatment-stem-cell-therapy Kristina Chew, July 2007
8. www.cellmedicine.com (publication is equivalent to Review: Stem Cell Therapy for Autism Ichim et al.)
9. Osiris www.osiris.com
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ — Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc. (Stemedica), a world leader in stem cell research and manufacturing, announced that it completed its pre-IND meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding a proposed IND (Investigative New Drug) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Stemedica’s high potency proprietary allogeneic mesenchymal bone marrow-derived stem cells (adult human) as a treatment for ischemic stroke.
Based on a meeting October 13, 2009 with the FDA, Stemedica is planning to file an IND application in the first quarter of 2010. The proposed clinical trial will be a Phase I/II dose escalation and safety clinical trial using allogeneic mesenchymal bone marrow cells administered intravenously to patients with ischemic stroke.
The patient population will include individuals with a clinical diagnosis of chronic neurological or age-related neurodegenerative disease with significant functional or neurologic impairment that confines the subject to a wheelchair or requires the subject to have home nursing care or assistance with the general activities of daily living. The proposed trial will take place at medical centers within the United States.
Janet Jackson recently arrived in Milan, Italy to chair at an amfAR charity event, as they try to raise funds and awareness. There are a lot of organizations that operate on the frontlines of the battle against AIDS and are proportionately well funded, providing things like housing, counseling and the essentials to better living.
However, amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research) is disproportionately under-funded receiving a small amount of the money spent on AIDS Research. Whereby if there was an intelligence department in AIDS Research they are it, as in over a period about 25 years founded in 1985 they spent about $300 million on their mission. However there were over 25 million deaths due to the complications of AIDS and at least 33 million infected as of this day. People are living longer with AIDS now, but it is still for most a death sentence.
Janet Jackson arrives in Milan, Italy for amfAR Charity event
Yes it is important to serve those underserved in society such as People Living with AIDS, but the only real hope is in finding a cure to eradicate this dreadful disease. And that is the mission of amfAR. I think with the promises of Stem Cell Research there should be a resurgence of enthusiasm and not settling for just treatments that ultimately leads to death, but an actual cure.
There was a recent BUZZ stating that there is a female contraceptive ring that can prevent the transmission of AIDS, so there has been real progress in AIDS research. Hopefully a cure will be found in the life time of the many infected people as of this day.
What can Angels and Demons tell us about stem cells and religion? Not much. Here are a few snippets of analysis from different sources. – dg
Angels & Demons
…Ron Howard has grown into a more confident director of florid action sequences.Gift-wrapped in production design lifted from The Godfather and a score by Hans Zimmer that sounds like the rumbling tummies of a thousand underfed monks, Angels is studded with capably brutal set pieces building to an impressive, if ineffably silly, bit of business involving a helicopter, a parachute and a huge crowd fighting over stem cell research in Saint Peter’s Square.
The film refers to making anti-matter as a new form of energy to power cities. Is this possible?
Professor Wark: “No…we have looked for billions of light years and all we can see in the Universe is normal matter.”
But don’t let the science spoil your fun. It’s not often you watch a thriller and get lines like: “If science is allowed to claim the power of creation what is left for God?”
Or a crowd scene with people yelling: “Stem cells are murder.”
As if to counteract his cinematic love affair with Catholic Rome, Howard takes a couple visual pot shots. One of the first scenes has the cardinals entering into conclave crushing out cigarettes and flipping off cell phones (something one would never see). Given that modern sensibilities generally equate smoking with the bad guys, this is a gratuitous dig.
Howard improbably has Catholics protesting stem cell research in Saint Peter’s Square, where a riot breaks out over church and science–during the papal conclave, no less. This bizarre vignette mercifully fades quickly from memory as the movie moves to a fast-paced car chase through Rome, capturing the real energy of the Eternal City.
I get a kick out of grammatical errors (when my overworked and sleep deprived brain catch them)…errors like dangling modifiers, “eats, shoots and leaves” errors and errors of omission that completely change meaning. In the case of stem cells in the media, the word “EMBRYONIC” is almost always omitted before “stem cell” in statements like: “STEM CELL RESEARCH IS MURDER!” Only one out of 4 of the above reviews included the term “EMBRYONIC.” So what, you ask?
There are 3 main branches of stem cell research…2 of which almost never get positive mention in the US media despite their history of success.
1. ASC = adult stem cell
•used in bone marrow transplants for 40 years
•can currently treat 130+ diseases
•~zero problems (virtually zero side effects)
•comes from blood, umbilical cords, marrow, fat, nose, breast milk, menstruation, etc etc etc
2. iPSC = induced pluripotent stem cell
•fairly new
•lotsa potential (needs more research)
•may be the best of both worlds
•comes from regular skin cells that are then magically transformed by scientists into stem cells
3. ESC = embryonic stem cell
•can currently treat zero diseases
•lotsa problems (tumors, rejection, controversy, etc)
•comes from embryos
“STEM CELL RESEARCH IS MURDER” only refers to embryonic stem cell research. The only stem cell research that has no approved, successful clinical trials, virtually no success, produces tumors and has rejection issues.- dg
Pro-Life Feminist Group Sues NYS over Compensation for Women’s Eggs – FOX 40 WICZ TV – Binghamton, NY [10/14/2009]
This is a release sent to us the Rochester-based Feminists Choosing Life of New York.
ALBANY, N.Y.—Feminists Choosing Life of New York (FCLNY) filed suit Friday in New York State Supreme Court (Albany) to block the use of taxpayer funds to pay women recruited to donate their eggs for embryonic stem cell research.
FCLNY Executive Director, Wendy McVeigh stated: “New York State has the responsibility to protect women. Instead, the state is using taxpayers’ dollars to entice young, economically vulnerable women to experiment in this medically risky procedure.”
New York State is the first governmental entity anywhere in the U.S. to approve taxpayer money to pay women to undergo an invasive procedure to harvest eggs for embryonic stem cell research…
human embryonic stem cells trigger an immune response in mice, suggesting that the effectiveness of human therapies derived from the cells could be limited unless ways are found to dampen the rejection response.
NEW YORK & PETACH TIKVAH, Israel–(Business Wire)– BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB:BCLI – News) , announced today that it will reschedule the webcast audio conference to update shareholders on its strategy and report on the way forward towards clinical trials. This event will be rescheduled for a later date to be announced soon. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Do not take one step further in your plans for treatment or read one more word until we answer this question, unequivocally and without a shadow of a doubt:
ARE STEM CELL TREATMENT BENEFITS MERELY A PLACEBO EFFECT?
Ok, what is the placebo effect? H. K. Beecher evaluated 15 clinical trials concerned with different diseases and found that 35% of 1,082 patients were satisfactorily relieved by a placebo alone. A reanalysis of Beecher’s data by Kienle and Kiene (1997) found “no evidence of any placebo effect in any of the studies cited by him.” The reported improvements in heath were real but were due to other things that produced “false impressions of placebo effects.”
In May 2001, The New England Journal of Medicine published an article that called into question the validity of the placebo effect. “Is the Placebo Powerless? An Analysis of Clinical Trials Comparing Placebo with No Treatment” by Danish researchers Asbjørn Hróbjartsson and Peter C. Götzsche “found little evidence in general that placebos had powerful clinical effects.” Their meta-analysis of 114 studies found that “compared with no treatment, placebo had no significant effect on binary outcomes, regardless of whether these outcomes were subjective or objective. For the trials with continuous outcomes, placebo had a beneficial effect…The high levels of placebo effect which have been repeatedly reported in many articles, in our mind are the result of flawed research methodology,” said Dr. Hróbjartsson, professor of medical philosophy and research methodology at the University of Copenhagen.*
And bear in mind that while it is believed that the Placebo Effect can do some things, there are limits: “Because placebos often have an effect, even if it does not last long, some people think that the placebo produced a “cure.” But placebos do not cure. And in studies where doctors are looking at whether a tumor shrinks, placebos would be expected to have very little, if any, effect on cancer growth.” – http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Placebo_Effect.asp
Confused? I don’t blame you. Sometimes hard science is anything but. If placebo effect was a huge problem and completely understood then all trials would be placebo controlled, right? In fact;
The FDA doesn’t require that a drug study include a placebo control group
The NIH obviously does not completely understand placebo effect because they are currently funding several studies related to the placebo effect.
Let’s for the sake of argument, define “Placebo Effect”and see if benefits from stem cells meets that definition: “Placebo Effect: Also called the placebo response. A remarkable phenomenon in which a placebo — a fake treatment, an inactive substance like sugar, distilled water, or saline solution — can sometimes improve a patient’s condition simply because the person has the expectation that it will be helpful. Expectation to plays a potent role in the placebo effect. The more a person believes they are going to benefit from a treatment, the more likely it is that they will experience a benefit.” – http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=31481
So Placebo Effect is dependent upon:
a fake therapy
a patients level to believe/expect the therapy will help them
a patients ability to believe the therapy will help them
Of course, the gold standard for FDA approved drug testing is a clinical trial utilizing the double-blind study. The double blind study uses a “placebo” in order to eradicate any possibility of a “placebo effect”. 50% of the patients receive the medicine and 50% receive a placebo. In some studies, 33% of the patients receive the medicine, 33% receive a placebo and 33% receive nothing. This type study even more accurately limits the possibilities of a “placebo effect”. (Too bad for the 66% not getting any therapy but I guess this falls under: “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”)
Side note: the opposite of a placebo effect is a “NOCEBO”or “negative effect.” This is when the patients report that they are getting worse or that unpleasant side-effects have occurred, a word derived from the Latin “nocere”, meaning inflicting damage. Turn on the TV and you will see commercials, over and over, describing the negative effects of drugs. What are the chances that current drugs, with their associated laundry list of complications broadcasted over and over on the TV everyday are causing NOCEBO effects? Well, if NOCEBO are dependent upon the patient’s expectations of negative effects…I would guess that there is an epidemic of NOCEBO’s all over the US. And the coup de gras? The last line is always: “Ask your doctor if xyz-drug could help you,” feeding directly into that concern.
So…
ARE STEM CELL TREATMENT BENEFITS MERELY A PLACEBO EFFECT?
Multiple studies have shown that only 30% of the population responds with a placebo effect.
~70-75% of those treated with repair stem cell treatments typically have a beneficial response to the treatment.
So, either
There is no placebo effect and 70-75% really do benefit from stem cell treatments
Given the 70-75% benefit, if 30% ARE placebo effect, then 40-45% are real
Even at the lower number of 40-45%, that ain’t bad considering a drug’s effectiveness requirement is in the single digits for it to pass FDA requirements and be brought to market!!
WHEN PLACEBO EFFECTS GO WILD
Let’s assume the benefits are all placebo effect. Here are a few questions and cases that confuse me.
How can we explain the many, many results of clinical trials and peer-reviewed studies of stem cell treatments of:
congestive heart failure patients doubling their ejection fractions?
MS patients recovering from their symptoms for 2, 3, 5 years ?
type 1 diabetics (insulin dependent) halving or completely going off their insulin for 2-5 years?
How can we explain the case of James Eilert?
40% of his left ventricle was totally dead. Two months after treatment he did a follow up metabolic stress test using the standard Bruce protocol and scored 10.1 mets with a vo2 of 32. This was a 20% and 12.5% increase! The doctor that had done his prior test blurted out “absolutely stunning!” This put him in the 95th percentile for men his age (out of a 100 men his age, 50 of them could not match the performance of a guy with 40% of his left ventricle dead!).
How do you explain the results of these clinical trials (there are hundreds if not thousands of others):
“Cord blood transplantation should be considered as frontline therapy for young patients with lysosomal and peroxisomal storage diseases.”
“Transplantation of umbilical-cord blood from unrelated donors in newborns with infantile Krabbe’s disease favorably altered the natural history of the disease.”
Can a 2 year old really expect to be cured of his Cerebral Palsy by a repair stem cell treatment? Can a 2 year old even understand these concepts?
Lawrence Brown III looks at the number “10” on a family laptop and tells his mother Georgina Brown what the number is as part of a daily exercise to see if his sight is improving. For most people, it is insignificant. But for Lawrence, 16, who has been blind since birth, it was an exceptional moment.“They call it a really good placebo effect,” Lawrence said. “Whatever, if it’s a placebo effect, I want some more.”The original article was pulled, but there is a copy here – http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/stem-cell-therapy-shows-results-el-paso-times/
AUDREY Hynd-Gaw has travelled abroad for stem cell therapies to treat her multiple sclerosis…She…believes they have helped slow down the progress of her disease and given her more energy. She says she would like to go again. “I think it has worked for me,” the 39-year-old said. “It could be a placebo effect but if it works, that is fine with me.” – http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/stem-cell-tourists/
How do you explain Macie’s story and Kenidee’s story?
MACIE’s STORY
I would like you to introduce you to Macie. She is 17 and was born with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia. This is her story, in her own words. We join her in the middle of her Repair stem cell treatment:
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 – One more spinal next Wednesday. I have a spinal tomorrow as well at 2 so that should be good so after my six hours is up I can go to bed because your not really suppose to move to much even after the six hours.
Thursday, July 31, 2008 – Today will be my second to last spinal. Mom and I decided to add on one more spinal before we left. For some reason I’m not nervous this time. I will be glad to get it over with though. They’ll be coming to get me in a little less than an hour. I’m more than sure everything will go great I’ll talk to ya’ll later Bye
Friday, August 1, 2008 – I’m all done with the spinal I slept for 4 hours thankfully. It was a bit different this time. I woke up in the room where they made me go to sleep, for a few minutes I thought that I had some how woken up before they gave me the injection, after a few minutes I realized they had kept me until almost all of the anesthesia wore off.
Thursday, August 7, 2008 – Hey everyone! I am so sorry I haven’t been updating lately. Yesterday was my last spinal, everything went great, the IV went great too, it only took one poke and I didn’t even really feel it. I am all done with all my treatments and I will be coming home on Monday I’m so excited to come home I’ve been coming up with every little reason I can think of to start packing. Being on this long trip here in china has definitely changed me and given me the hope that a few months ago I didn’t even think was possible. Going through the treatments was tough at times and a few times I thought is this a good idea should I wait but once you get over that hill it all seems to just get better and better. Now my dream of becoming a vet and driving is stronger than ever and I now I know that even if I have to do another round of treatments that someday I am going to drive and I will be a vet. Before I never thought that that would be possible.
Saturday, August 9, 2008 – Last day here in China – Today is the last day here, all of my treatments have gone good, I’m feeling great and I am more than ready to go home! I’m definitely going to miss everyone here and everyone I’ve met I’ve made some great friends here. Most likely in the next few years I will be getting treatments again it may not be here but wherever it is we’ll be there. I’ve had a great time since I’ve been here and I’ve enjoyed learning new things and just being here is amazing, I never thought in a million years I would be getting stem cell treatment. I know I am one of the very fortunate ones to have improvements so quickly after the injections. Bye
Sunday, August 10, 2008 – Mom’s post!! – Well, I can’t believe in about 12 hours we will be headed back to the United States. This has been the most amazing chapter in my life as an individual and as a mother. One month ago I brought my little girl half way around the world in the hopes of improving her vision and I feel that we have succeeded. After two treatments we saw signs of improvements with her nystagmus (rapid and involuntary eye movements) and after three injections Macie had noticed that she had more distance when reading or writing.
We didn’t have any expectations for improvements while we were here in China because we were told that it usually takes some time, possibly up to three months to see any changes, so we were very delighted with our early surprise. A little gift from Heaven if you ask me!!! It’s been so great to watch Macie with this big old smile on her face when she’s reading or writing and not having to be so close to do it. She keeps telling me how she never thought it would be possible and now here she is. We are so thankful for this to be happening.
While we were here, we had Dr. Tony who did a great job with Macie and was very good about keeping Macie’s spirits up when she needed a little boost. The other doctors that worked with us were Dr. Ma, Dr. William, Dr. Lisa and the king of the doctors according to Macie, Dr. Bing. He is fabulous. This guy was like a pot of gold to us, he has pretty good English, a great sense of humor and very personable. Dr. Bing was great to communicate with. He was also very good to answer all and any questions you had.
We had countless nurses that we had so much fun with. They try so hard to talk in English. Yolanda was great because she would boss Macie around when she didn’t want to mind me. Thanks Yolanda!! Fiona and Jessica are the little sweethearts and then we had several more who we loved!!
The staff here is so amazing. We have had so much fun with our translators from the treatment center. Every translator is unique and special in their own way and can make your stay here so. They are all our favorites!!! However, Mr. Happy Jack is something you just have to experience. He is the most energetic character I have ever met in my life. Jack you are a rock star!!
All in all our trip to China to me was very successful and I’m glad we did it and took a chance. Anything to help Macie gain some vision is worth it. I have no regrets of doing stem cell injections and look forward to the future of regenerative medicine. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible, we couldn’t have done it without all of your help.
Love you all,
Macie and Shel
Saturday, August 30, 2008 – Where home and back to normal! – We got home last Wednesday evening FINALLY! After 7 weeks in china we were home. It was a very amazing and interesting trip, that’s for sure All the treatments went great I’ve made some amazing and extremely nice friends along the way plus I got to learn some interesting facts and see some pretty amazing things. That next day mom went to work and I went with her to get all my books and figure out my classes. On Friday I went to school and mom went to work, we were both pretty tired but we did it. I had my first week of High School and I love it, and all of my teachers! It’s nice to get back to my normal life and to be home. I have greatly improved vision wise as well. Mom and I were driving home from school and normally I couldn’t see the signs until about 10 feet away and very rarely did I read them…now, I can see the signs from over 100 feet away and can read the signs from about 10 feet away most of the time. Mom has me practicing on reading the signs. It’s amazing! See ya!
Saturday, December 27, 2008 – Improvements – It’s been about 5 months since we got back. Since we have been back I have noticed some life changing differences for me. I have noticed that now I can see the outline of the tree tops on the mountains, a bunny in the pasture while I was riding, seeing snow fall, being able to watch T.V. while sitting on the couch, read a good distance from the book, school work is easier to do, I’m able to see the board from the second row. All of these improvements make me think of how much going to china was worth it. I know that if mom and I had to go again we would. It was totally worth it. I have an eye check up on Monday to see how everything is going. We’re hoping that I will have enough vision to drive with a special pair of glasses, trying not to get our hopes up to high but were definitely keeping our fingers crossed. I’ll update soon.
Sunday, March 15, 2009 – A Whole New World – Hey Everyone, It’s been pretty busy lately with school and riding horses. I still have been having improvements. One of the improvements I’ve had is…
now I am actually DRIVING!!
I got my permit 3 days after my birthday!
TALK ABOUT A DREAM COME TRUE!
My vision has improved from 20/200 to 20/80 in my right eye and in my left I went from very little light perception to 20/2100, which is pretty good. When we went to the Dr to see if I could drive I read the very top row of the reading chart about 3 feet away from my face. Mom started crying and I’ll admit I got pretty teary eyed to. Driving has been going well we’ve just been driving around the neighborhood and stuff but I’m able to see the signs and lines stuff like that. It’s a little nerve racking for mom and dad when they let me drive:)
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Epilogue:
Though both said they were nervous about the new treatment, they knew it was their only chance to see Morse’s life improve. She had few friends, bad grades and didn’t know where else to turn.
“I was scared and nervous, but I tried to be strong and to be like ‘this is my opportunity. I’m ready to do it,’ ” Morse said. She received spinal injections of cord blood stem cells each week for six weeks. After her third treatment, she realized she could read and knew the treatments were working.
“I yelled, Mom, stop talking, you have to see this,” Morse said.
She made her mother write out words on a piece of paper and hold it far away so she could read it back to her. Over the next few weeks and months, her vision gradually improved.
“I saw snow fall for the first time,” she told CBS4’s Shaun Boyd.
“What has been the most beautiful thing?” Boyd asked Morse.
“I’d say many things — but (probably) my mom’s eyes.”
“What was it like when she said ‘You have green eyes?’” Boyd asked her mother Rochelle.
“My knees went weak. I felt like I had just fallen off a nine story building,” Rochelle said, “That was a huge step for her in making that human connection. They say you can see the soul through the eyes.”
Macie Morse, a 16 year old from Colorado, has made dramatic improvement in her eyesight after receiving Adult Stem Cells taken from cord blood to treat her Optic Nerve Hypoplasia. In yet another victory for stem cell research, Macie now has her driving learner’s permit after being almost totally blind before the stem cell therapy.
Macie before stem cells:
20/4000 vision in one eye and in the other eye she only had light perception- she could only make out light
Could only watch TV with her nose pressed against the glass
Macie after stem cells:
20/80 vision in one eye and the other is 20/400+
Driving her family’s van and enjoying her new driving permit
Duke University research is predated by the cardiac research by Prof Doris Taylor. In 2005, Dr Taylor rinses rat hearts with detergent until the cells washed away and all that remained was a skeleton of tissue translucent as wax paper. She then injected the scaffold with fresh heart (stem) cells from newborn rats. Four days later, “We could see these little areas that were beginning to beat. By eight days, we could see the whole heart beating.” The experiment, reported in the journal Nature Medicine, marked the first time scientists had created a functioning heart in the lab from biological tissue.
Duke U. Mends Broken Hearts
By mimicking the way embryonic stem cells develop into heart muscle in a lab, Duke University bioengineers believe they have taken an important first step toward growing a living “heart patch” to repair heart tissue damaged by disease.
In a series of experiments using mouse embryonic stem cells, the bioengineers used a novel mold of their own design to fashion a three-dimensional “patch” made up of heart muscle cells, known as cardiomyocytes. The new tissue exhibited the two most important attributes of heart muscle cells -– the ability to contract and to conduct electrical impulses. The mold looks much like a piece of Chex cereal in which researchers varied the shape and length of the pores to control the direction and orientation of the growing cells.
CHex Cereal
The researchers grew the cells in an environment much like that found in natural tissues. They encapsulated the cells within a gel composed of the blood-clotting protein fibrin, which provided mechanical support to the cells, allowing them to form a three-dimensional structure. They also found that the cardiomyocytes flourished only in the presence of a class of “helper” cells known as cardiac fibroblasts, which comprise as much as 60 percent of all cells present in a human heart.
2009: Barack Obama - In a surprise announcement on Oct. 9, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the American president for 'extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.' In this photo, President Obama addresses the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23.
You’re way better than Bush! The world hates America a whole lot less these days! Here’s a Nobel Prize! Huh?
Chairperson of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Thorbjorn Jagland, holds up a photo of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Barack Obama at The Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo Friday.
The international politics behind Obama’s Nobel Peace prize
The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Barack Obama appears to be an effort to spur on, rather than reward, peacemaking.
By Dan Murphy and Tom Sullivan | Staff writer 10.09.09
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN; and BOSTON — The surprise decision to award President Barack Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize had much of the world scratching its head on Friday, even among the president’s most ardent fans. Less than a year into office, the young president has made lofty promises, committed his administration to diplomacy, and convinced the world that a less belligerent America is in the offing.
But he is also the commander-in-chief for the Afghan and Iraq wars, as well as ongoing lower-scale US military efforts in Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, and the Philippines. Later on Friday, Obama will hold a strategy session with his war cabinet that could lead to a commitment of more combat troops to Afghanistan. A commentator on Britain’s Sky News captured the mood well when he said it appeared Obama had won the prize for “not being George Bush.”
America’s international standing was at a nadir by the end of the Bush administration, and Obama’s decision to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear program (already bearing some fruit) and promises to reinvigorate US efforts in Israel-Palestinian peacemaking have quickly remade America’s international image, with the US leaping into the top spot in a recent survey on the world’s most admired countries. That’s especially so in Europe, where Obama’s decision to cancel a planned missile-shield system in Eastern Europe that had rankled Russia has been widely praised.
And the five-member Norwegian committee that picks the annual peace-prizewinner clearly has something more in mind than simply giving Obama a $1 million high-five for being such a popular guy. Unlike the other Nobels, which are given for a lifetime of generally indisputable high achievement in areas like physics, chemistry, and literature, the peace prize has often been awarded more in hope than hindsight — and with an eye to nudging world events.
Let’s compare his efforts to other recent winners:
2008: Martti Ahtisaari – Finland’s former president received the award in 2008 ‘for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts.’ Ahtisaari worked to find peaceful solutions in Kosovo, Iraq, Northern Ireland, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa in his long diplomatic career.
2007: Al Gore – The former US vice-president and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 ‘for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.’
2006: Muhammad Yunus – The Bangladeshi banker and economist and the Bangladeshi Grameen Bank were given the prize in 2006 ‘for advancing economic and social opportunities for the poor, especially women, through their pioneering microcredit work.’ Yunus discovered that lending small amounts to the poor can make a disproportionally large impact on the fight against poverty.
2005: Mohamed ElBaradei – The Austrian-based International Atomic Energy Agency and its Egyptian Director General were awarded the prize in 2005 ‘for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way.’
2004: Wangari Muta Maathai – The Kenyan political activist and founder of the Green Belt Movement, an organization promoting sustainable development, women’s rights, and conservation, received the award in 2004 ‘for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.
2003: Shirin Ebadi – The Iranian lawyer and human rights activist was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 ‘for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children.’ Ebadi is the founder of the Iranian Centre for the Defence of Human Rights.
2002: Jimmy Carter – The former American president was given the 2002 award ‘for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.’
2001: Kofi Annan – The United Nations and its Secretary General, Kofi Annan, were awarded the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize ‘for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world.’
2000: Kim Dae Jung – The South Korean President was given the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize ‘for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular.’ Kim’s ‘Sunshine Policy’ reopened diplomatic relations between North and South Korea and was hailed by many as a major accomplishment, despite North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il’s failure to keep some of his promises.
The new bone was created from bone marrow stem cells
Scientists have created part of the jaw joint in the lab using human adult stem cells.
They say it is the first time a complex, anatomically-sized bone has been accurately created in this way.
It is hoped the technique could be used not only to treat disorders of the specific joint, but more widely to correct problems with other bones too.
The Columbia University study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The bone which has been created in the lab is known as the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
The availability of personalized bone grafts engineered from the patient’s own stem cells would revolutionise the way we currently treat these defects
Problems with the joint can be the result of birth defects, arthritis or injury.
Although they are widespread, treatment can be difficult.
The joint has a complex structure which makes it difficult to repair by using grafts from bones elsewhere in the body.
The latest study used human stem cells taken from bone marrow.
These were seeded into a tissue scaffold, formed into the precise shape of the human jaw bone by using digital images from a patient.
The cells were then cultured using a specially-designed bioreactor which was able to infuse the growing tissue with exactly the level of nutrients found during natural bone development…
Do not take one step further in your plans for treatment or read one more word about stem cells anywhere else until you believe that we have answered this question, unequivocally and without a shadow of a doubt:
DO STEM CELL TREATMENTS WORK?
Ask most US doctors if repair stem cell treatments work and they will tell you “NO!” You may also get condescending retorts, misinformation and derisive abuse. But if you press them on the question, eventually they will give you the reason why they believe repair stem cells don’t work. The top answer WHY STEM CELLS DON’T WORK is… (Survey Says!):
There have been no clinical trials to date that prove they do work.
When all is said and done, in the end, there is nothing that will convince a western doctor of the effectiveness of stem cell treatments besides clinical trials. So have there been any stem cell clinical trials? Is all of the evidence supporting the benefits of stem cell treatments anecdotal as virtually every western doctor says? NOT ON YOUR LIFE! Have there been clinical trials? The answer is a resounding “YES!”
According to the National Institutes of Health, there were and are ~2600 stem cell clinical trials around the world – http://www.clinicaltrails.gov/
Of those ~2600 trials, there are only nine mentions of embryonic stem cells.
Of those 9, there are no actual embryonic clinical trials.
Of those ~2600, there are ~2591 mentions of adult stem cells.
Of those ~2591, about half of them (~1300) are actual adult stem cell clinical trials.
Let’s look at (only) a few of those ~1300 clinical trials:
2002 – clinical trial led by Dr. Hans Dohmann plus six colleagues in Brazil took 21 transplant candidates and gave 14 of them bone marrow cells. The results were so spectacular that the American Heart Association accepted the paper and it was presented in 2003. Five of the seven in the control group opted in to make a total of 19 stem cell transplants. The mortality rate for transplant candidates is about 35% per year. At that rate there would be, of those 19, only 2.2 patients still alive without a transplant after five years. There were, in fact, 12 alive as of Dec. 31, 2007; more than five years down the road.
In 2002, if you did not want or could not get a heart transplant (as is true of 90%+ of dying heart patients in North America) then you had to make a choice between stem cell treatment or standard Western Cardiology methodology.
Western Cardiology methodology in 2002 kept 12% of transplant-waiting-patients alive for five years.
Adult/repair Stem cell treatments in 2002 kept 63% of transplant-waiting-patients alive for five years. More than 5 times more heart transplant candidates lived for 5 years with stem cell treatments than the typical heart transplant recipient! Btw, stem cell science has made huge advancements in treating heart disease over the past seven years.
2003 – Dr. Andreas Zeiher of the Goethe Institute in Frankfurt began much larger trials. As of 2007, he has overseen more ASC implants into hearts than anyone, both in and out of clinical trials and he was the first to prove that timely implant of RSC in new heart attack victims improves future mortality and morbidity – http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/search?journalcode=circulationaha&fulltext=zeiher
2004 – Dr. Amit Patel of Pittsburgh completed two of the most successful trials ever. In Uruguay, he proved, on a group of ischemic heart failure patients, that a bypass plus cells was infinitely better than a bypass only. That same year, TheraVitae, in Israel, developed a new, powerful blood-derived stem cell and dared to treat the sickest patients no clinical trial (except Brazil) would consider.
2004 – One of the Brazilians, Dr. Perin, came to Texas, used the Brazil results to get the first ASC heart clinical trial approved by the FDA. Over a dozen such approvals were granted in the next 12-18 months.
Clinical trials at the Mayo Clinic in Florida have seen successes in reversing and curing pulmonary hypertension using adult stem cells from patients’ own blood.
FIRST USE OF CORD BLOOD TO ALTER COURSE OF TYPE 1 DIABETES, June 25, 2007 – (I’ll bet nobody heard of this one!)…transfusion of stored, autologous (i.e. the person’s own), umbilical cord blood into a group of children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes appears to have reduced their disease severity, possibly re-setting the immune system and slowing the destruction of their insulin-producing cells, according to a report presented today at the American Diabetes Association’s 67th Annual Scientific Sessions. –http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/media/m_pdf/ADA_T1D_PR-06-25-07.pdf – (The ADA in 2007 knew stem cells can treat Diabetes type 1 in children!)
Why no diabetes clinical trial s in the US when mice were cured of diabetes type 1 in the 1990’s? - Weissman, a professor of pathology and developmental biology at Stanford University, states: “Stem cells are rare, self-renewing, and can regenerate body tissues.” He repeatedly expressed frustration that while many of his discoveries seemed to hold remarkable potential for life-saving treatments, commercial or regulatory hurdles have prevented his scientific research from benefiting human beings. One example is, his mid-’90s research on type I diabetes, in which he demonstrated the ability to fully cure type I diabetes in mice using stem cells.Even though the experiments avoided political controversy by using adult/repair stem cells, which do not come from embryos, Weissman ran into a road block when pharmaceutical companies refused to sponsor clinical trials. The therapy went nowhere. “The pharmaceutical companies had put profit over principle, preferring to keep diabetes sufferers dependent on costly insulin than to cure them once and for all.” – http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/research-from-90s-cures-type-1-diabetes/
Bone Marrow Stem Cell Treatment Saves Legs – The results of a clinical trial to save volunteers’ leg from amputation by injecting (autologous bone marrow) stem cell concentrate to the limb affected by thrombo angitis obliterance (TAO) have been encouraging. The clinical trial is being conducted on patients suffering from blocks in the artery of the leg. Sixty patients enrolled, all of them were smokers. Some had diabetes. “We have got very good results,”said Dr. K.S. Vijayaragavan, head of the Department of Vascular Surgery, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, who is conducting the trial. “The legs of 89 per cent of the patients have been saved.”
The University of Texas, Health Science Center at Houston July 1, 2009 Several months after becoming the first patient in the United States to undergo a revolutionary new stroke treatment, Roland “Bud” Henrich continues to improve. Doctors intravenously injected Henrich, 61, with stem cells taken from his own bone marrow…”The stem cells, we believe, may help repair the damage to his brain caused by the stroke,” said Sean Savitz, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the study’s lead investigator. “Animal studies have shown that when you administer stem cells after stroke, the cells enhance the healing. We know that stem cells have some kind of guidance system and migrate to the area of injury. They’re not making new brain cells but they may be enhancing the repair processes and reducing inflammatory damage.” http://www.texmedctr.tmc.edu/root/en/TMCServices/News/2009/07-01/Stem+Cells+Tested+for+Treatment+of+Stroke.htm
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS CLINICAL TRIALS
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for multiple sclerosis – 2002 clinical trial based on data collected from TWENTY medical institutes around the world. Conclusion: Autologous HSCT suggest positive early results in the management of progressive MS and is feasible – http://www.springerlink.com/content/1b19ldgyecqvny3w/
Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, Sep 16, 1999 These results appear better than those achieved by any other treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis, including beta-interferon… – http://www.springerlink.com/index/H6X0866N90633266.pdf
“Dose of stem cells reverses some MS” - January 31, 2009 – STUDY – “A dose of their own stem cells “reset” the malfunctioning immune system of patients with early-stage multiple sclerosis and, for the first time, reversed their disability, according to researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago. Three years after being treated, on average, 17 of the 21 patients had improved on tests, suffering fewer problems with their balance or vision, 16 had experienced no relapse, and none had deteriorated. This marks the first “reversal” of neurologic loss caused by this disease, says Richard Burt of Northwestern University in Chicago.
What is clear is that the overwhelming majority of Repair Stem Cell vs Disease clinical trials have been successful.
The majority of patients treated with stem cells get better.
Not all, but the majority.
The majority of patients treated with stem cells get better.
Not cured, but better.
No western doctor in the world can come to matching the statistical success of stem cell treatments with pill-based “cures” for diseases that they define as “untreatable” and “incurable.”
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
What have we learned?
Now you know there are 1300 real adult/repair stem cell clinical trials.
Now you know that adult/repair stem cell treatments work on most patients.
Now you know that while the disease is not cured, their condition does improve considerably.
Now you know that stem cell treatments are a significantly better choice than pill after pill after pill.
Now you know that stem cell treatments can provide more benefit to patients with so-called “incurable” diseases like Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis and Cerebral Palsy.
Based upon this information, can you now answer the question DO STEM CELL TREATMENTS WORK?
OF COURSE YOU CAN!
Based upon this information, can you now answer the question DO STEM CELL TREATMENTS WORKunequivocally and without a shadow of a doubt?
OF COURSE YOU CAN!
Well do they?
OF COURSE THEY DO!
Green light!
Green light means go! You may now take the next step in your plans for treatment!
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The Repair Stem Cell Institute is dedicated to:
Helping those with so-called “untreatable” medical conditions make educated choices and connect with the world’s finest, most advanced stem cell doctors.
RSCI:The world’s only Stem Cell Patient Advocacy company
RSCI offers professional case management services to individuals needing access to expert and reliable stem cell treatments for chronic and disabling disease at no cost to the patient. RSCI does not treat patients. RSCI can help you take the next step toward a better quality of life. To find the best treatment center in the world for your condition, click here:
Olivia Chantecaille’s mother, father and sister are essential to high-end cosmetics firm, Published On Thu Oct 08 2009
A modern creature, such as might have been imagined by writers of fashionable entertainments – novels, TV, movies – Olivia Chantecaille is both a cosmetics executive and a rail-thin representative of New York’s new guard social x-rays.
Olivia Chantecaille
As the creative director and face of Chantecaille, the high-end beauty brand with a reputation for innovation and sophistication, Chantecaille last week made her first visit to Toronto.
She did a day’s worth of interviews and hosted a lunch at Holt Renfrew attended by this city’s neo-socialites.
Once chronicled as an out-every-night gadabout, photographed at the Winter Dance for the American Museum of Natural History or the Save Venice Spring Ball, Chantecaille says she has curbed the habit since May when she married Warren G. Grady III, an investment banker. But she still maintains a crammed schedule promoting her family business.
Her French-born mother, Sylvie, already a legend in the industry for having steered the launch of Estée Lauder’s Prescriptives range in 1977, started Chantecaille in 1997 and still runs the ship.
Also on board is Olivia’s father, Olivier, who used to be a wine merchant in charge of sales for his family’s vineyard in France and is now the beauty company’s CEO, and her sister Alex, director of sales and manager of the Chantecaille Energy Spa at Barney’s New York.
Olivia Chantecaille, who studied fine art in Paris and New York, worked on the brand from the beginning.
Supported by her forward-thinking mother, she assumed greater responsibilities and grew confident in her own taste, which, as demonstrated at her Toronto engagements, is close to impeccable.
Olivia Chantecaille (left) wore Jason Wu for the lunch she hosted at Holt Renfrew.
For the lunch, Chantecaille chose a shouldered blouse and print skirt by Jason Wu. Meeting with the press, she combined a sleeveless, tiered, ecru top and slim black pants by Thakoon, with a trim jacket (a tribute to the tailoring skills of Dolce & Gabbana) and the plainest of handbags – by her friend, Sang A, a Korean pop star turned designer of bags in exotic skins – not unlike the one toted by Leighton Meester on Gossip Girl.
Starting this Fall, Sang A has created her first collection of luxurious clutches and totes created from exotic skins such as python and alligator ranging in prices from $1,000 to $10,000 and selling in boutiques across the United States and Asia.
While the Chantecaille fall collection includes a quadrant of dark metallic eyeshadows in keeping with the season’s revival of the 1980s, Chantecaille’s own makeup is ahead of the curve, more in tune with the minimalism that was the big news at the just-wrapped ready-to-wear shows in Paris.
Mega Lashes!
Her hair is long, loose and shiny. She jokes that she has put “just about everything” on her face, but you would never know. Her mouth is a modish red, in a shade more modern and understated than old-school fire engine. Except for a pale, neutral shadow, her eyes are bare. They meet the world with benefit of neither liner nor mascara, for which she says “I should be spanked.” Chantecaille, among many companies lately on a mascara kick, has just launched one that promises mega-lashes.
Apple
Chantecaille thrives on the technological advances that let the beauty industry constantly renew itself, as in a new eye product that relies on the stem cells of apples – now trending in skin care – to combat the effects of aging.
She is also knowledgeable about biodiversity in the high seas, ocean preservation being a passion of her family and a cause supported by such initiatives as coral compacts or shadows in blue whale blue.
Angelina Jolie lips
The company also maintains links to the worldlier realm of pop culture, and keeps track of its celebrity connections. Angelina Jolie is fond of a lip gloss called Charm.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Fans also include other Hollywood professionals. For the highly anticipated The Twilight Saga: New Moon, makeup artist Robin Mathews has used a Chantecaille Future Skin foundation in alabaster to achieve a pale vampire complexion.
Evidence of the fusion of stem and muscle cells. In this experiment, human mesenchymal stem cells, which in this case produce a green fluorescent dye, are being cultivated together with muscle cells derived from mice. The picture shows the result of the fusion. In the fused cells, there is evidence of both the stem cell (in green dye), and typical muscle cell protein (red and partially orange because of the overlap of the two colours). The product of the fusion contains both, cell nuclei from the mouse (in blue) and from the human cell (indicated by the arrow). These nuclei can be distinguished by size, and the weak blue-colouring of the mouse nuclei. (Image: Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research)
Middle of the upper image: the product of the fusion of a multipotent, adult stem cell, marked by the expression of a green fluorescent protein, with a muscle cell (dyed red). Next to it are unfused stem and heart muscle cells. Bottom image: a combination of phase-contrast and fluorescence microscopy shows the expression of the green stem cell markers in the nucleus of a hybrid heart muscle cell. Next to it are a number of unfused cells. (Image: Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research)
Calcium in the the bone-like nodules are fluorescent red in this image captured by the Imperial team. (Credit: Image courtesy of Imperial College London)
Skin deep. In a skin grafting experiment, skin with TCF3 and TCF4 (top), unlike skin without the two proteins (bottom), can activate epidermal stem cells to replenish skin cells on the surface that have died and flaked off. (Credit: Image courtesy of Rockefeller University)
An immunofluorescence image of the tip of the Drosophila testis, showing male germline stem cells and their daughters (green) responding to self renewal signals from the stem cell niche. Somatic stem cells, known as cyst progenitor cells, and differentiating cyst cells are labeled in red. (Credit: Dr. Monica Boyle)
“Fountain of youth” for muscle cells: muscle stem cells, also called satellite cells (marked in red) enable muscles to heal very well. They are located between the membrane of a muscle cell and the layer surrounding it. A molecular switch keeps the reservoir of satellite cells “fresh”, as researchers have now demonstrated. (Credit: Dr. Elena Vasyutina/Copyright: MDC)
In normal skin (left), the stem cells at the base, shown in green, differentiate into skin cells, shown in red. In mice whose skin has neither C/EBP-beta nor C/EBP-beta (middle), this differentiation is blocked: green-labeled stem cells appear in upper layers of skin, and there are no differentiated skin cells (no red staining). This also happens at the initial stages of basal cell carcinomas. In skin where C/EBP-beta is present but has lost its capacity to interact with E2F, a molecule that regulates the cell cycle (right), skin cells start differentiating abnormally, before they have properly exited the stem cell “program” (yellow/orange). This is similar to what is observed in the initial stages of squamous cell carcinomas, a more aggressive and invasive skin tumor
A new study may have hit upon another way to improve stem cells‘ ability to help repair damaged tissue. While stem cells can rapidly grow into any kind of new tissue, they aren’t always able to encourage new blood vessels to grow so that the tissue stays alive. But in a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists describe a way around the problem. The researchers used nanoparticles to ferry a key gene into the stem cells, which caused the cells to recruit new blood vessels, thus fueling tissue growth.
Nano particle
The nanoparticles carried a gene (VEGF) that is known to stimulate new blood vessel growth. When the modified cells were injected into mice whose hind limbs had been injured, the tissue that regrew to repair the damage had three times the blood vessel density of similar tissue in mice given unmodified cells. Four weeks later, only 20 per cent of the mice given modified cells had lost limbs, compared with 60 per cent in mice that received unmodified cells [New Scientist].
Nano particle
The researchers are optimistic about the nanoparticle approach, however they state in the study that the effect may be transient. They note that there was a significant increase in VEGF levels in mouse muscle two days following cell grafting, but VEGF levels produced by the cells dropped sharply after four days [The Scientist]. They say that using a virus to transmit the gene may be a better approach to stimulate new blood vessels over a longer period of time. However, the viral approach is not without risks–viruses can integrate into the genome of cells and linger permanently, potentially causing cancer or immune reactions [Bloomberg].
Three months of chemotherapy this past summer weren’t enough to knock out Ethan Zohn’s case of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. So he’s back in the hospital, connected to tubes and wires, undergoing even more chemotherapy – and in his latest video diary, he takes viewers inside his tiny room to share the experience and let his fans know how he’s doing.
“I have been locked in this room for three days, and I’ve gone a little bit stir crazy, I’m not gonna lie,” says the Survivor: Africa winner, reclining in a hospital bed in part one of a new three-stage battle he’s waging against the resurgent cancer.
Ethan Zohn_ & Jenna Morasca
In late August, Zohn discovered that the cancer he had been treating since May had actually spread. Last month, he began an intense treatment regimen, starting with two new chemo sessions. Those will be followed by radiation therapy, and – in December – a complete stem-cell replacement therapy that will keep him in the hospital for 30 days straight.
Finding a way to break his stir-craziness after three days, the always-driven athlete says in the video that he was excited to finally get up and walk around – just before taping his message to viewers.
Ethan Zohn - Survivor
“They finally let me out in the hallway where I could do some walking,” he says. “Fourteen laps [around the hall] is a mile, and of course I tried to break the record – so I did 28 laps. Which I’m pretty happy about.”
Showing his usual upbeat nature, Zohn adds that he’s feeling positive about the new chemotherapy: “So far so good. I feel it killing all the cancer in my body, and I’m excited to keep doing what I’m doing – and I’ll see you soon,” he says.
Aastrom Biosciences Inc. will request hearing to avoid Nasdaq delisting – By Gabe Nelson
Aastrom is a leader in regenerative medicine developing autologous cell products for the treatment of chronic cardiovascular diseases.
Ann Arbor-based Aastrom Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq: ASTM) is in danger of being removed from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange because the company’s stock price has remained below the listing threshold of $1, the company said today.
Aastrom plans to request a hearing with Nasdaq by Oct. 13 to request an extension, according to a statement.
Aastrom produces stem cell-based therapeutics to repair human tissue. The stem cells, grown from a patient’s bone marrow, are used to treat conditions such as chronic cardiovascular diseases.
The company first faced delisting in December 2007 and received a 180-day extension the following June.
Though Aastrom’s stock price stayed below $1, the company remained listed because of a temporary change to Nasdaq policy. The exchange suspended threshold requirements from last October until this July because so many companies saw their stock fall below $1 during the recession.
The most recent extension, granted in July, gave Aastrom until Oct. 1.
The exchange could choose to grant Aastrom an additional 180 days, or until March 31, 2010, to meet listing criteria.
The company’s stock price would need to close at $1 or above for 10 consecutive days of trading.
Recent, Vigorous Exercise Is Associated With Reduced Breast Cancer Risk
ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2009) — Post-menopausal women who engage in moderate to vigorous exercise have a reduced risk of breast cancer. This comes from researchers writing the open access journal BMC Cancer who investigated the link between breast cancer and exercise.
“With an estimated 182,460 new cases diagnosed in the United States in 2008, breast cancer is recognized as the most common cancer affecting U.S. women,” says Dr. Tricia M Peters from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, who headed up an international team of researchers. Vigorous exercise has been hypothesized to reduce cancer risk for some time. However, this new study is one of the first prospective investigations to look at the importance of various intensities of exercise at different stages in an individual’s life.
Over 110,000 post menopausal women were asked to rate their level of physical activity at ages 15-18, 19-29, 35-39, and in the past 10 years. It was found, over 6.6 years of follow up, that women who engaged in more than 7 hours per week of moderate-to-vigorous exercise for the last ten years were 16% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who were inactive. However, no link was observed between breast cancer risk and physical activity in women who were active at a younger age.
Stem Cells Which ‘Fool Immune System’ May Provide Vaccination For Cancer
cancer stem cell
ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2009) — Scientists from the United States and China have revealed the potential for human stem cells to provide a vaccination against colon cancer, reports a study published in Stem Cells.
This discovery, led by experts in immunology, Dr. Bei Liu and Dr. Zihai Li, builds upon a century old theory that immunizing with embryonic materials may generate an anti-tumour response. However, this theory has never before been advanced beyond animal research so the discovery that human stem cells are able to immunize against colon cancer is both new and unexpected.
“This finding potentially opens up a new paradigm for cancer vaccine research,” said Dr. Zihai Li. “Cancer and stem cells share many molecular and biological features. By immunizing the host with stem cells, we are able to ‘fool’ the immune system to believe that cancer cells are present and thus to initiate a tumor-combating immune program.”
Major Improvements Made In Engineering Heart Repair Patches From Stem Cells
ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2009) — University of Washington (UW) researchers have succeeded in engineering human tissue patches free of some problems that have stymied stem-cell repair for damaged hearts.
The disk-shaped patches can be fabricated in sizes ranging from less than a millimeter to a half-inch in diameter.
The Danville d’Elegance is a major fundraiser for the Parkinson’s Institute, contributing to patient care and research projects. The institute, located in Sunnyvale, offers physicians, consultations, physical therapy — all under one roof.
Robin Halloran, one of the many dedicated volunteers, is excited about the “wonderful areas of research developing, especially with skin cells as well as stem cells.”
…The hecklers… I mean comedians… just thought they were being funny. I, on the other hand, didn’t — but I forgive them because I know why they can’t help themselves from snickering whenever anyone mentions the environment.
They all voted for George W. Bush as card carrying Republicans while I, as a smart and forward thinking registered Independent for reasons related to environment, civil rights protections for all, stem cell research, and affirmative action alone (which benefits races and genders), didn’t. Now, I get to remind them of that.
Canadian actor Lisa Ray appears on CTV’s Canada AM from downtown Toronto during the Toronto International Film Festival, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009.
…”We’re very close to, if not a cure, at least prolonging life. It’s all about bringing in the new sort of cocktail of drugs, and stem cell research. It’s amazing how much has happened.”
Her blog suggests her treatments are working, with her doctors writing to her to tell her test results show she is moving toward remission. Healing is what Lisa Ray is now focusing on.
“It’s so simple to illuminate the reality of living and healing a long term illness,” she writes, “We just have to talk. Openly.”
MAYWOOD, Ill. – It was an emotional moment when Illinois cancer survivor Rosalind Beard met the Georgia man who donated his bone marrow to help her fight Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Beard, a 37-year-old mother of four from Melrose Park, and Tim Crawford, 40, of Adairsville, Ga., cried and embraced Sunday when they met for the first time at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, a Chicago suburb.
The pair had to wait two years to meet because of confidentiality agreements, but Beard said it was important to thank Crawford personally.
“He saved me,” she said. “We have the same stem cells, so I feel like I knew him already.”…
A promising premise, but not supported well enough. -Yun Xie
Chris Mooney, author of the bestselling book The Republican War on Science, teamed up with scientist Sheril Kirshenbaum to write Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future…
Out of all the topics that they could have used—stem cell research, alternate energy sources, global warming, evolution—it’s baffling that they begin with Pluto. Still, there were plenty more pages, so I soldiered on with optimism, hoping that at least some part of the book would reveal a unique perspective. Sadly, what was revealed were incomplete arguments and vague suggestions.
“UCSF Medical Center (has)begun enrollment for an early-stage clinical trial…(using) adult stem cell therapy for patients who have just experienced their first acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack.”
THIS IS YEARS BEHIND!! HERE’S WHY:
“First came a year or two of (repair stem cell/cardiac) animal tests, then, in Paris, 2000, doctors gave a dying 70-year-old heart patient bone marrow cells and he lived four years, at which time the doctors ‘fessed up and released his name.
In 2001, USA pioneer Warren Sherman, MD (Columbia U, Mt. Sinai NY Hosp) went to Rotterdam and became the first American to implant ASC into a human heart. However, if you can believe it, the same Sherman, calls those that have taken forward what he did eight years ago, “snake oil salesmen.”
In 2002, a very daring clinical trial led by Dr. Hans Dohmann plus six colleagues in Brazil took 21 transplant candidates and gave 14 of them bone marrow cells. The results were so spectacular that the AHA accepted the paper and it was presented in 2003. Five of the seven in the control group opted in to make a total of 19 stem cell transplants. The mortality rate for transplant candidates is about 35% per year. At that rate there would be, of those 19, only 2.2 patients still alive after five years. There were, in fact, 12 alive as of Dec. 31, 2007; more than five years down the road.
In 2003, Dr. Andreas Zeiher of the Goethe Institute in Frankfurt began much larger trials. As of 2007, he has overseen more ASC implants into hearts than anyone, both in and out of clinical trials.
In 2004, Dr. Amit Patel of Pittsburgh completed two of the most successful trials ever, especially when, in Uruguay, he proved, on a group of ischemic heart failure patients, that a bypass plus cells was infinitely better than a bypass only. That same year, TheraVitae, in Israel, developed a new, powerful blood-derived stem cell and dared to treat the sickest patients no clinical trial would consider.
Also in 2004, one of the Brazilians, Dr. Perin, came to Texas and used the Brazil results to get the first ASC heart clinical trial approved by the FDA. Over a dozen such approvals were granted in the next 12-18 months.
Meanwhile, around the world, while USA stem cell research remains mired in politics instead of science, ASC advances in virtually every sector of medicine are rocketing forward without any sign of letting up.
In 2005, Drs. Vina & Saslavsky in Argentina completed the very first successful diabetes2 stem cell clinical trial in the world: 13 out of 16 successfully cured. Spinal problems and emphysema and renal failure and cirrhosis of the liver treatments will be moving to the forefront in 2008-9. (Yes, but mostly in China and elsewhere, while Americans die with those diseases without a chance of help from their “doctors.”
Patients are being treated all over the world today with years of research and clinical trials behind the procedures. For more information, go to: http://repairstemcells.org
Excerpt from the original YEARS BEHIND article:
Cardiac Stem Cell Trial Seeks To Treat Some Heart Attack Patients
Monday, October 05, 2009
Researchers at UCSF Medical Center have begun enrollment for an early-stage clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an adult stem cell therapy for patients who have just experienced their first acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack. The trial is part of a multi-center national study.
The cells used, known as mesenchymal stem cells, were obtained from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors. Depending on their location in the body, mesenchymal stem cells give rise to bone, cartilage, fat, muscle and connective tissue.
The experimental therapy is intended to combat the symptoms related to heart damage that continue to develop following a heart attack, including low pumping capacity, inflammation and increased scar tissue.
Stem cell therapy is quietly entering areas where it provides improved or alternative therapeutic results. Cytori is showing continually improved study and anecdotal results in breast reconstruction with adipose stem cells, a result which implicitly includes the creation of new blood vessels. If positive results continue, breast reconstruction is going to be an excellent market for Cytori, one already generating the lion’s share of its current revenues, and one in which it is clearly establishing a leadership position.
Web site on Johns Hopkins stem cell research is launched
September 28, 2009 – By Gazette Contributor
In conjunction with last week’s 2009 World Stem Cell Summit, co-hosted by Johns Hopkins and held in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Medicine launched an interactive Web site on which its researchers and clinicians collectively describe their explorations into stem cell biology and engineering.
The multimedia production, which went live Sept. 21 at www.hopkinsmedicine.org/stem_cell_research, emphasizes applications of stem cell technologies in regenerative medicine and underscores the collaborative effort that is fundamental to translational research.
The site includes everything from a narrated timeline of stem cell research to a video feature of a Johns Hopkins patient, physician and bench scientist who are linked by stem cell research as it relates to Parkinson’s disease. Johns Hopkins experts also weigh in on state-of-the-art issues of ethics and safety as they apply to stem cells.
“…the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the US.”
Death by Medicine
By Gary Null, PhD; Carolyn Dean MD, ND; Martin Feldman, MD; Debora Rasio, MD; and Dorothy Smith, PhD
…researchers meticulously reviewed the statistical evidence and their findings are absolutely shocking. These researchers have authored a paper titled “Death by Medicine” that presents compelling evidence that today’s system frequently causes more harm than good.
This fully referenced report shows the number of people having in-hospital, adverse reactions to prescribed drugs to be 2.2 million per year.
The number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections is 20 million per year.
The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million per year.
The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million per year.
The most stunning statistic, however, is that the total number of deaths caused by conventional medicine is an astounding 783,936 per year.
It is now evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the US.
(By contrast, the number of deaths attributable to heart disease in 2001 was 699,697, while the number of deaths attributable to cancer was 553,251.5)
ALS Stem Cell Trial Gets FDA Go Ahead The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the first clinical trial to test a new stem cell treatment for the fatal neurodegenerative disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) this month (ALS) can go ahead.
Three U.S. scientists who discovered key aspects of how cells and animals age and how cancer cells become immortal today won the 2009 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
Elizabeth Blackburn of UC San Francisco, Carol W. Greider of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Jack W. Szostak of Harvard Medical School share the $1.4-million award for their discovery of telomeres, small sections of DNA that protect the integrity of cellular DNA as animals and most other organisms age. They also discovered telomerase, the enzyme that manufactures telomeres and gives cancer cells their eternal life.
Biologists Elizabeth Blackburn, left, and Carol Greider, two of the three Nobel prize winners, are shown in March, when they won the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize in Frankfurt, Germany
Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco, was named the Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine for discovering how chromosomes are protected…
Chromosome
The discoveries have an impact on cancer research as well as research into aging and other diseases. Blackburn and her UCSF colleagues have found, for example, that telomeres are worn down in people who are stressed for long periods of time, like a parent caring for a chronically ill child.
Blackburn is the fourth UCSF Nobel Prize winner, joining Stanley Prusiner, Harold Varmus and former chancellor J. Michael Bishop.
Blackburn, Greider and Szostak beat out other notable scientists, including Shinya Yamanaka of UCSF and the J. David Gladstone Institutes, whose work at Kyoto University in Japan produced an embryonic-like stem cell from adult stem cells.
Yamanaka last month won the Lasker Award, considered a precursor to a Nobel Prize. It is the same award that Blackburn, Greider and Szostak won in 2006.
Charlie Butts – OneNewsNow – 10/2/2009 6:30:00 AM//
Use of adult stem cells has helped a swimming champion continue to compete.
Lexi Spann, a swimmer for the University of Texas, suffered a serious shoulder injury which put her on the sidelines. Texas Alliance for Life talked with her.
“It was already hard to deal with not swimming in the national championships,” she shares, “but then to find out that I wasn’t going to get to try out for the Olympics, which has been my life long dream, was extremely depressing.”
Spann’s own adult stem cells were used to treat the injury. “They removed some of my own adult stem cells and then put them into my shoulder during the surgery,” she explains.
The competitive swimmer had to give her shoulder about three months to heal and let the adult stem cells work. Spann was pleased with the results.
“I was surprised, because I missed some training because of my surgery,” says Spann, “but I was able to, at trials, end up going right next to my best time [in the 100-meter breast stroke] — so I was ecstatic to be at that point so fast.” She was able to compete in the Olympic trials and then nationals just as if she were her old self.
Texas Alliance for Life says Spann’s case is another clear example that adult stem cells work in more than 70 diseases and medical conditions, while embryonic stem-cell research has produced no results.
T-Boz recently revealed to People magazine that she battled a brain tumor for three years. Who knew…
T-Boz says she battled her tumor secretly because she didn’t want any pity from people who could be helping or paying attention to other people with bigger issues. She even failed to talk about her brain tumor while participating on Celebrity Apprentice which we’re sure would have earned her major pity votes, but that’s besides the point.
T-Boz underwent a 7 hour surgery in 2006, which involved the doctor peeling the tumor from the brain stem by making a cut behind her ear. T-Boz is staying in high spirits and says it will take a lot more than a tumor to stop her. Got to love her determination; hope something good comes her way, and rarely do we feel that way.
JO: You support PETA, which directly opposes biomedical HIV research; you also support HIV research and advocacy groups such as Keep A Child Alive. Do you personally oppose biomedical HIV research? Should the gay community support or oppose biomedical research?
PH: You know, it wouldn’t be fair to say I support PETA—it’d be fair to say I support some of the things they say, but at the same time, fuck—I eat meat and own some leather shoes. I don’t wear fur, though. You know, I’m a human being, and human beings are walking contradictions! I think we should explore all avenues for finding a cure for HIV and AIDS—and all diseases! Like stem cell research—I’m all for it!
The Ray Romano and Kevin James Celebrity Golf Classic to Benefit Advancement in Vision Research
LA JOLLA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Ray Romano and Kevin James Celebrity Golf Classic will be held on Monday, November 16, 2009 at the El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California. This year’s golf classic will benefit the advancement in vision science at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
The celebrity tournament is an annual event hosted by television and film stars Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond, Ice Age) and Kevin James (The King of Queens, Paul Blart: Mall Cop). Each year, Romano and James choose a cause to support that is close to their hearts. Funds raised by this year’s golf tournament will support the research and treating of such debilitating vision diseases as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration.
“My scientific team and I greatly appreciate Ray and Kevin for choosing The Scripps Research Institute as the beneficiary of this year’s golf tournament. The Ray Romano & Kevin James Celebrity Golf Classic’s contribution will be dedicated to research on stem cells for RP and MD patients,” said Scripps Research Professor Martin Friedlander, M.D./Ph.D., who is also a practicing ophthalmologist at the Scripps Clinic.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH FOUND: “in case of older people, the protein called mitogen-activated protein kinase, was missing…when it was added to samples of elderly patients’ muscles, they began to repair. “
Chemical ’switch’ that reverses biological clock pinpointed
London, Oct 1 (ANI): For the first time, scientists have pinpointed a chemical ’switch’ that can reverse the “biological clock” by making human muscles younger and stronger.
As time passes, our muscles slowly lose their ability to regenerate. This not only occurs in the muscles of our arms, legs and torso but also the internal ones such as our hearts. As the muscles weaken, we lose strength, become less agile and eventually our organs fail leading to death.
However, all this can now be overturned – thanks to the breakthrough which implies a drug that rejuvenates old muscles and prevents young muscles from ageing can be created.
In the study, researchers have shown that the process appears to turn-off in elderly patients – preventing the fibres from repairing themselves so they begin to wither away, reports The Daily Express.
But when the switch is turned back on, it triggers a chain of events that allows muscles to rejuvenate.
To reach the conclusion, researchers from the University of California at Berkeley carried out tests on tissue samples from around 30 healthy men. Half the volunteers were 21 to 24-year-olds and half aged between 68 and 74, reports The Daily Express.
Samples of tissue were surgically removed from the participants’ thighs.
Then the volunteers had one of their legs immobilised in a cast for two weeks so their muscles began to waste. Following the removal of the casts, the men exercised with weights. Then more tissue samples were removed three days and then four weeks later.
When tests were carried out on these samples, the scientists found that during the exercise period the muscles of younger volunteers had four times more regenerative stem cells engaged in tissue repair than those of older participants. Old muscle also showed signs of damaging inflammation and scarring.
Dr Morgan Carlson, a member of the Berkeley research team, said: “The old muscle didn’t recover as well with exercise. This emphasises the importance of older populations staying active because the evidence is that for their muscle, long periods of disuse may irrevocably worsen the stem cells’ regenerative environment.”
After understanding what happens when humans age, scientists began to look at how to stop it happening. After analyses, they found that a key protein is needed to allow muscle stem cells to get to work repairing tissue. But in case of older people, the protein called mitogen-activated protein kinase, was missing.
However, when it was added to samples of elderly patients’ muscles, they began to repair. And when it was blocked in younger patients, they did not repair as well.
The team believes this protein and the switch it turns on and off, called Notch, will be the key for drug development in the future. (ANI)
“Our study shows that the ability of old human muscle to be maintained and repaired by muscle stem cells can be restored to youthful vigor”
Clues To Reversing Aging Of Human Muscle Discovered
ScienceDaily (Sep. 30, 2009) — A study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle. By manipulating these pathways, the researchers were able to turn back the clock on old human muscle, restoring its ability to repair and rebuild itself.
The findings will be reported in the Sept. 30 issue of the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, a peer-reviewed, scientific publication of the European Molecular Biology Organization.
“Our study shows that the ability of old human muscle to be maintained and repaired by muscle stem cells can be restored to youthful vigor given the right mix of biochemical signals,” said Professor Irina Conboy, a faculty member in the graduate bioengineering program that is run jointly by UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, and head of the research team conducting the study. “This provides promising new targets for forestalling the debilitating muscle atrophy that accompanies aging, and perhaps other tissue degenerative disorders as well.”
Eli Lilly is now the sole manufacturer of rBGH — the artificial growth hormone given to dairy cows that increases people’s risk of cancer. Eli Lilly also manufactures breast cancer treatment medications and a pill that “reduces the risk” of breast cancer. Eli Lilly is milking cancer. Tell them to stop making rBGH.
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A form of motor neuron disease that affects children has been treated in mice with injections of stem cells into the spinal cord. The treatment extended the lives of the mice beyond and kept them more mobile, giving hope that similar approaches might help people.
The treated mice were bred to have a form of motor neuron disease called spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1, or SMARD 1, which affects 1 or 2 in every 100,000 children.
Diaphragms of infant children with the disease stop working, so they need mechanical ventilators to stay alive. Nerves in muscles of the extremities are also affected, gradually limiting movement of hands and feet.
“At present there is no cure for this disorder, besides ventilation and prevention of infections,” says Giacomo Comi of the University of Milan, Italy, who led the research…
Browse > Home / Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, News, Progressive Relapsed Hodgkin’s Lymphoma / Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation Viable for Children and Adolescents with Relapsed Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation Viable for Children and Adolescents with Relapsed Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
September 24, 2009
Children and adolescents with relapsed Hodgkin’s lymphoma respond well to allogeneic stem cell transplantation, according to the results of a study published in Blood.[1]
Although children and adolescents with Hodgkin’s lymphoma have an excellent prognosis, some do relapse. These patients may benefit from stem cell transplantation, which involves the delivery of high doses of chemotherapy, followed by the infusion of stem cells, which serve to “rescue” bone marrow and hasten blood cell production and immune system recovery. Autologous stem cell transplants involve the patient’s own stem cells, whereas allogeneic stem cell transplants require the collection of donor stem cells.
Allogeneic stem cell transplantation has not been widely used in children and adolescents with Hodgkin’s lymphoma because of a high rate of nonrelapse mortality (NRM), which is mainly caused by acute and/or chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD); GVHD occurs when the patient’s body rejects the donor cells. Researchers from the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation conducted a study that involved 91 children age 18 or younger with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin’s lymphoma who were treated with an allogeneic stem cell transplant between 1987 and 2005. Fifty-one patients received reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) (lower doses of chemotherapy), and 40 patients received myeloablative conditioning (MAC) (higher doses of chemotherapy). (Of the 40 patients who had failed a prior autologous transplant, 32 received RIC.) The results of the study indicated the following:
Non-relapse mortality at one year was 21%, with similar results for RIC or MAC.
The two-year relapse rate was 36%.
The five-year relapse rate was 44%.
There were more relapses in the RIC group than the MAC group.
Progression-free survival was 40%.
Overall survival was 54%.
The researchers concluded that allogeneic stem cell transplantation “is a viable treatment strategy for children and adolescents with relapsed Hodgkin’s lymphoma who failed most if not all other options available.” Reference:[1] Claviez A, Canals C, Dierickx D, et al. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children and adolescents with recurrent and refractory Hodgkin’s lymphoma: An analysis of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Blood. 2009; 114: 2060-2067.
STEM CELL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL (OTCBB: SCII)
“Up 41.54% on Friday”
Stem Cell Therapy International, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Stem Cell Therapy International Corp., engages in licensing of stem cell technology and the sale of stem cell products, as well as the provision of information, education, and referral services. It provides allo stem cell biological solutions that are used in the treatment of patients suffering from degenerative disorders of the human body, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, ALS, leukemia, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, spinal cord injuries, brain injury, stroke, heart disease, liver and retinal disease, and diabetes, as well as certain types of cancer. The company’s stem cell biological solutions can be used to alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy. Its principal stem cell products are solutions containing allo stem cell biological solutions, either adult stem cells, and stem cells that are extracted from umbilical cord blood. It intends to offer biological solutions containing stem cell products primarily in the United States to universities, institutes, and privately funded laboratory facilities for research purposes and clinical trials. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
Excellent SC Mobilization + Safety Profile for TG-0054
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — TaiGen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced today that in a phase 1 study in healthy volunteers TG-0054, a chemokine receptor CXCR4 antagonist, was well tolerated and rapidly mobilized stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells from bone marrow into peripheral blood. The number of CD34+ stem cells in circulation after one dose of TG-0054 was equal or higher than reported cell numbers needed for stem cell transplantation in cancer patients. The observed AEs were all mild and transient. A phase 2 study in stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin disease patients is currently being initiated.
The trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single intravenous dose study including 64 healthy volunteers in US, to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of TG-0054 in 8 cohorts. The mobilized stem and progenitor cells peaked at 4-6 hours following one single intravenous dose.
“We are greatly encouraged by the phase 1 study results which indicates that TG-0054 has the potential to be used alone, not in combination with G- CSF, for allogenic or autologous stem cell transplantation in cancer patients. This should greatly reduce the hospital and other associated cost for such a procedure. Importantly, the activity and safety profile in the phase 1 study will support our future development of TG-0054 in chemosensitization and tissue ischemia, including myocardial infarction, stroke and severe intermittent claudication. Our preclinical animal disease models and the phase 1 study results lend strong support to clinical development for these clinical indications,” said Dr. Ming-Chu Hsu, Chairman & CEO of TaiGen.
University of Utah medical ethics expert Jeffrey R. Botkin has been named chairman of a new nine-member group that will act as a clearinghouse for science research project requests for embryonic stem cells.
Requests for the cells are expected to increase significantly with the lifting of restrictions imposed by the Bush administration on National Institutes of Health research guidelines that all but prohibited embryonic stem cells to be used in scientific research.
NIH moves forward with expanded funding for stem cell research
September 21, 2009 | 12:25 pm
The National Institutes of Health moved closer today to fulfilling President Obama’s pledge to expand the number of stem cell lines eligible for use in federally funded research projects.
Dr. Francis Collins, the NIH’s new director, named members of a working group that will vet applications from researchers who want to add specific lines of human embryonic stem cells to the agency’s official stem cell registry. The group’s analysis will go to an NIH advisory committee, which will make recommendations to Collins, who will make the final decision about whether a particular cell line is acceptable.
To be eligible for federal funding, embryonic stem cell lines derived since July 9 – when the new rules went into effect – must meet strict ethical rules for embryo donation and informed consent. For instance, fertility clinic patients who are interested in donating their excess embryos to medical researchers must give their consent on two separate occasions. It must also be made explicit that their embryos will be destroyed if they are used to make stem cell lines.
Spectacles that help rewire the brain are being used to help frail and elderly patients walk again.
The specs, which cost around £1,600 and were developed in Israel, are designed for those who are unsteady on their feet.
They work by prompting the brain to send signals to nerves in the legs and feet to get moving.
Specs appeal: Glasses that help rewire the brain are being used to help frail and elderly patients who are unsteady on their feet
Specs appeal: Glasses that help rewire the brain are being used to help frail and elderly patients who are unsteady on their feet
One of the most effective ways of doing this is to project an image of a tiled black and white floor in front of the patient’s eyes.
As the patient steps forward, this image appears in the corner of each eyepiece. The floor appears to move towards them as their body advances. This provides a continuous brain prompt to stimulate movement.
Boosting activity in the elderly can improve muscle strength and reduce the risk of falls and fractures.
South Dakota Voters Could Face Ballot Prop for Embryonic Stem Cell Research – by Steven Ertelt – LifeNews.com Editor – September 28, 2009
Pierre, SD (LifeNews.com) — When voters in South Dakota head to the polls next November, they could face a statewide ballot measure that would force taxpayers to pay for embryonic stem cell research. That is the science that has yet to provide any cures for patients and has had problems in animal studies.
Former state Treasurer David Volk of Sioux Falls, who is a cancer survivor, says he doesn’t like the current state restrictions against funding the controversial research.
He says he wants the regulations thrown out so taxpayer dollars can flow to embryonic stem cell research involving cancer, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and other diseases — even though the use of adult stem cells is already helping patients now.
Volk has created a new group called South Dakotans for Lifesaving Cures that will file papers with the Secretary of State for the ballot measure. It will need to obtain 6,776 valid signatures by April 6 to get the measure on the November 2010 ballot…
Science Pitt Researchers Grab $5M in Grants for Stem Cell Research
Shane McGlaun (Blog) – September 28, 2009 11:30 AM
Researchers working on growing tissues inside of lymph nodes from stem cells
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have received two grants that total over $5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore new methods for cultivating replacement cells from inside the body and organs. The grant will be used to study ways to coax stem cells to grow into specific types of tissue inside the lymph nodes of the body.
One of the grants was for $2.9 million and was awarded to Eric Lagasse, a professor of pathology in Pitt’s School of Medicine. Lagasse is also a researcher in the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. He will use the funds on research to use the many lymph nodes in the body as sites for growing replacement cells for other tissues. His research will use the lymph nodes as bioreactors to grow cells within the body.
Dr. Chuck Murry, a University of Washington researcher who works with heart muscles and stem cells, doesn’t call himself a futurist, but adds: “I think we …
[The Free Democrats] have a distinctly liberal approach in hot-button areas such as genetically modified crops and stem cells. … If the Free Democrats, …
The Corporation currently has one project which is to collaborate with and provide $300000 of funding for certain brain tumour and stem cell research being …
Today’s alerts include: getfugu, Inc. (OTCBB: GFGU), Power3 Medical Products, Inc. (OTCBB: PWRM), and Stem Cell Therapy International, Inc. (OTCBB: SCII). …
There is no longer a failure to deliver in shares of DNE Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIR), a stem cell therapeutic company, develops products to
Once more, the press is missing the point entirely. Ms Sikora, are you kidding me? It’s almost like you are doing it on purpose! To correct the writing from this journalist:
Michaela will receive ADULT/REPAIR stem cells (RSC), not EMBRYONIC. What’s the difference? EMBRYONIC treatments have caused tumors. RSC NEVER have.
This is not an untested or unproven science. Thousands of RSC treatments have been performed with virtually no side effects & resulting in significant improvements to the patient’s health. There are 2,572 “stem cell” clinical trials results at clinicaltrials.gov There are 1,160,000 “stem cell” scholarly papers on google. Evidence supports that the risk of RSC treatments are about the same as the risks associated with drawing blood. (Standard safe practice of lab protocols removes these risks almost entirely.)
Secondary dystonia includes dystonia associated with approximately 50 neurological & metabolic diseases & result from outside factors & can be attributed to a specific cause such as exposure to certain medications, trauma, toxins, infections or stroke. This is an extremely “specific to the patient” disease. To say “never tried the procedure on…her condition before” is ridiculous. She is essential the only person with her condition. Neuro diseases treated successfully include MS, MD, ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimers.
Mr & Mrs Rodrigues – As the media twists the truth about the incredible healing powers of REPAIR STEM CELLS and stories are coming out equating “trying to get your child healed” with “committing heinous child abuse,” I want to applaud you for standing strong and refusing to be swayed by ignorance and mass (read: “incorrect”) opinion. I wish you and Michaela the best of luck and the best of health! -David
And yes! I changed the title from:
“Couple offers daughter as guinea pig for stem cell gamble”
to
“Couple offers daughter A CHANCE AT HEALTH.”
By Kate Sikora-The Daily Telegraph- September 14, 2009 12:00AM
Stem cell salvation … Chris and Wendy Rodriguez are taking their daughter Michaela, 9, to China for radical treatment. Source: The Daily Telegraph
CHRIS and Wendy Rodrigues want to give their child the best chance at life – that’s why they are offering their daughter as a human guinea pig.
Michaela is about to undergo radical and controversial stem cell therapy in China, where doctors have never tried the procedure on a person with her condition before.
The vibrant nine-year-old has the neurological disease secondary dystonia, which causes her muscles to contract and spasm involuntarily.
While the condition doesn’t affect her mind, Michaela has difficulty speaking, is confined to a wheelchair and needs to be fed and taken to the bathroom by a carer.
The experiment she will undergo is dangerous, with Australian doctors warning against travelling overseas for stem cell therapy. But her parents think the risk is worth it.
“We know she is a guinea pig, but we hope it is for the good of others,” Mrs Rodrigues, of Ashfield, said.
“We don’t expect a miracle. I am not expecting her to get up and start walking. But we have to know that we have tried every possible thing to help her have quality of life.”
Doctors will extract her bone marrow stem cells, grow them in a laboratory, select the best quality cells and then reinject them.
They will also give her six injections into her spine of umbilical cord blood stem cells which can heal the damaged part of her brain.
Afterwards, her parents hope Michaela will be relaxed and able to eat and sleep and talk better.
What they don’t want is for the operation to fail or, even worse, cause their “princess” to develop cancer, which has happened in some cases.
Stem cell therapy using adult cells is not available in Australia. Overseas medical tourism is growing rapidly, reportedly a $60 billion industry.
Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories director Richard Boyd said overseas labs were unregulated.
“I am not saying you shouldn’t go but the bottom line is don’t go to these clinics unless there’s proof,” he said.
“These clinics in China are going out and saying they can do all these things. There’s no evidence. It’s dangerous.”
The Rodrigues family is spending $70,000 on the treatment.
“We are excited and we are also frightened,” Mr Rodrigues said.
“We hope this will give her something to carry on with her life.”
After they return, the couple hope to help other parents wanting overseas stem cell therapy.
Anyone wishing to donate should contact cmyangel@bigpond.net. au
Repair Stem Cell Treatments in Portugal and China A Boon To Spinal Cord Injury Patient
Spinal Cord Injury Patient Improves After Repair Stem Cells ImplantedKit Bond, a spinal cord injury patient, is reporting that multiple stem cell treatments in Portugal and China have improved his quality of life and that is the reason he continues to go to receive Repair Stem Cells aka Adult Stem Cells.
Treated by Dr. Carlos Lima in PortugalBond, who suffered his spinal cord injury SCI in a horrific car accident in 2003, first went for Repair Stem Cell treatment in Portugal in 2005. Dr. Carlos Lima, an esteemed member of the Repair Stem Cell Institute’s scientific advisory board, was the treating doctor and gave Bond adult stem cells removed from Bond’s nose olfactory stem cells.
Bond was the 54th person in the world to have the procedure done.
Although he knew it was risky, he said it was worth it.
Immediately after the surgery, Bond’s body regained the ability to regulate temperature. Before that moment, Bond had a problem where he always felt cold — a common problem among quadriplegics.
“It was the best feeling in the world,” Bond said. “I felt a cold breeze and thought, ‘Oh, this is OK.’”
Second Stem Cell Therapy in China Pays Off Again
Later after a year of rehab and school, Bond went for another stem cell therapy in China in May, 2008, this time he received adult stem cells taken from donated umbilical cord blood (not embryonic stem cells). And how did the treatment work for his spinal cord injury this time? Let’s ask his physical therapist:
Trey Ratzlaff, a physical therapist assistant at Stillwater Medical Center’s Total Health, has worked with Bond since before he started the stem cell treatments.
Ratzlaff said after Bond’s first trip to China, he was convinced the treatments were working after Bond came in for therapy for the first time after returning.
“Before, I always had to help him get on the treatment table,” Ratzlaff said. “He said, ‘Hey, watch what I can do,’ and then he got himself up on the table and rolled around and got himself sitting up on his own. I almost had tears in my eyes.”
Third Time a Charm!
The first two stem cell therapies worked, so why not go for 3? That’s exactly what Bond did. He went for a third stem cell treatment in China in May 2009.
Bond’s next trip to China was May 2009 where he received six injections.
Bond said he has gained a lot more independence and strength in his core and his arms thanks to the stem cell injections.
However, the treatments definitely come with a monetary cost health insurance doesn’t cover.
Danny Harvey, Bond’s stepfather, said the treatments, plane tickets for Bond and his family, lodging and food along with other miscellaneous costs total between $45,000 and $50,000 per trip.
But Harvey said he doesn’t mind the cost because of the benefits for his son.
After each treatment, Bond is always in an even better mood and his independence increases, Harvey said.
“We wouldn’t keep doing it if there weren’t some kinds of signs,” he said.
Harvey is not skeptical the stem cell treatments are working.
“Since we’ve started, he has went from 20 prescriptions to five,” Harvey said. “That’s a sign of independence to us.”
Harvey said Bond’s siblings have noticed improvements in their brother, as well.
Stem cell and artificial heart treatment hailed as world first
Thursday, 24 September 2009
A British surgeon saved a dying heart patient by giving him an artificial heart and injecting him with stem cells to rebuild the damaged muscle in a procedure believed to be a world first, it was revealed.
Professor Stephen Westaby, based at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, led the team that operated on Ioannis Manolopoulos in Thessaloniki, Greece to fit him with the mechanical pump.
Artificial hearts are used in only a handful of patients in the UK and Mr Westaby believes that the use of the patient’s own cells extracted from his bone marrow represents the first time the two treatments have ever been combined.
Bill Moyer’s take on the health care reform: With almost 20 years inside the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter saw for-profit insurers hijack our health care system and put profits before patients. Now, he speaks with Bill Moyers about how those companies are standing in the way of health care reform.
The U.S. currently pays a higher percentage of health dollars for administration than any other nation.
The U.S. also ranks highest in total cost of care, but according to a recent report by the Commonwealth Fund,
RANKS LAST among industrialized countries “in preventing deaths through use of timely and effective medical care.”
In a recent FRONTLINE report comparing the health care systems of five other capitalist democracies, “Sick Around the World,” WASHINGTON POST reporter T.R. Reid notes that, “The World Health Organization says the U.S. health care system rates 37th in the world in terms of quality and fairness. All the other rich countries do better than we do, and yet they spend a heck of a lot less.”
With almost 20 years inside the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter saw for-profit insurers hijack our health care system and put profits before patients. Now, he speaks with Bill Moyers about how those companies are standing in the way of health care reform.
WENDELL POTTER: “Recently it became abundantly clear to me that the industry’s charm offensive, which is the most visible part of a duplicitous and well-financed PR and lobbying campaign, may well shape reform in a way that benefits Wall Street far more than average Americans.
The industry and its backers are using fear tactics, as they did in 1994, to tar a transparent and accountable, publicly accountable health care option as, quote, “government-run health care.” What we have today, Mr. Chairman, is Wall Street-run health care that has proven itself an untrustworthy partner to its customers, to the doctors and hospitals who deliver care and to the state and federal governments that attempt to regulate it.”
The factual information is only half here and the conclusions are all wrong! My comments in red. -dg
No proof’ of benefit to children
By REBECCA TODD – The PressLast updated 05:00 23/09/2009
Stem-cell treatment is “highly experimental”, with “potential hazards“, the Paediatric Society of New Zealand warns.
Re: “highly experimental”
There have been thousands of adult/repair stem cell treatments with virtually no side effects and a significant proportion were successful.
Re: “potential hazards”
By not differentiating between the problematic embryonic stem cells with a history of causing tumors and the non-problematic adult stem cells with a history of treating people successfully, the author effectively generalizes to the point of ridiculousness. This is like saying: “all bacteria is bad.” (think pro-biotic and beneficial flora in the digetive tract)
… society president Rosemary Marks said the therapy (had) no controlled studies to back claims of dramatic improvements.
Re: “No controlled studies:”
5,030 scholarly paperswhen you type “stem cell” and cerebral palsy into google’s scholarly papers
2,572 clinical trials completed or in process when you type “stem cell” into clinicaltrials.gov (After “studies,” scientists perform even more rigorous clinical trials to back up their findings.)
1,160,000 scholarly paperswhen you type “stem cell” into google’s scholarly papers
It said the stem-cell operation carried risks of introducing viral diseases or bacterial infections, and even malignant tumours developing after the transplant.
Any blood drawn that goes through a lab is at risk of “viral diseases or bacterial infections.”
So too, any stem cell rich sample drawn that goes through a lab is at risk of “viral diseases or bacterial infections.”
Evidence supports that the risk is the same for both and standard safe practice of lab protocols removes this risk almost entirely.
ONLY embryonic stem cells have a history of creating tumors and malignant tumors.
Adult stem cells have no history of generating tumors in thousands of studies, clinical trials and patients treated.
“…stem-cell treatment for children with cerebral palsy is unproven…“
Re: “Unproven”
How about the Duke University CLINICAL TRIAL? http://pediatrics.duke.edu/modules/dept_peds_annc/index.php?id=79 - “a toddler with cerebral palsy, who experienced dramatic improvements in his disability following an experimental procedure involving a stem cell transplant.”
“Most centres offering this treatment also follow the treatment with intensive physical-therapy programmes,” the pamphlet said. “It is very difficult to know whether improvements are the result of the stem-cell treatment itself, or the intensive physical therapy, or are the result of the child growing and developing.”
Re: “It is very difficult to know whether improvements are the result of the stem-cell treatment itself, or the intensive physical therapy, or are the result of the child growing and developing.”
Adult stem cells work on cerebral palsy in the studies that don’t involve children, it works in the studies that do inv0lve children, it works in the lab on studies that involve animals and in the test tube, etc. etc.
“…there was “no evidence” that using your own cord blood had benefits, he said.”
Re: “no evidence”
One stem cell center uses a treatment method involving any cord blood. The cord blood does not have to be autologous or from the patient’s own body. So far, it’s been effective in treating cerebral palsy with an 80 percent success rate in over 200 patients.
Dramatic cerebral palsy improvement seen after cord blood stem celll treatment
March 26th, 2008 by Donald Saiontz | PERMALINK
NBC’s Today Show recently reported on the story about a toddler with cerebral palsy, who experienced dramatic improvements in his disability following an experimental procedure involving a stem cell transplant. While still an unproven treatment, this provides hope that some children may be able to recover from cerebral palsy, or at least experience improvement of cerebral palsy symptoms.
Dallas Hextell, a 2-year-old from Sacramento, California, received an infusion of his own umbilical cord blood as part of a Duke University clinical trial. Within five days, he showed improvements in the limitations imposed by the condition, and his parents are hopeful that a cerebral palsy recovery, with no signs of the disability, may be possible for Dallas by the time he is 7-years-old.
“bicoastal agreement with the state of California to enable hundreds of scientists funded by agencies in each state to pool their scientific talents and hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants.”
Scientists in 2 states to work together
By Frank D. Roylance Baltimore Sun reporter
September 22, 2009
Against the backdrop of the 2009 World Stem Cell Summit in Baltimore, Maryland authorities on Monday signed a first-ever bicoastal agreement with the state of California to enable hundreds of scientists funded by agencies in each state to pool their scientific talents and hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants.
“By forging collaborations with California, we can create together intellectual powerhouse teams to accelerate the search for cures and … therapies for the benefit of people across the country and around the world,”
Adult stem cell research creating miracles in Covington
By Debbie Glover, St. Tammany News
Published on Sunday, September 20, 2009 12:25 AM CDT
In the emerging field of adult stem cell therapy, Drs. Gabriel Lasala and Jose Minguell of TCA Cellular Therapy, LLC, are conducting ground breaking innovative research into the regenerative properties of adult stem cells.
“This is like penicillin was a century ago,” said Lasala about his research.
Dr. Miguell of TCA Cellular Therapy lifts the cover of the liquid nitrogen freezer where the adult stem cells are stored.
A visit to their facility in Covington is like meeting Louis Pasteur when he proved the germ theory of disease.
Working through scientific protocols and funding their studies themselves, Lasala and Minguell have successful treated limb ischemia or peripheral vascular disease, saving people from amputation surgery due to gangrene from diabetes.
They have successfully treated cardiac and other vascular conditions as well.
Lasala said that clinical trials in treating Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and spinal cord injury are awaiting approval by the FDA, expected in as little as 30-60 days.
Imagine a veteran of the Iraqi War on Terror with shrapnel-inflicted spinal cord compression that has been doomed to life in a wheelchair. His life may be changed and he may walk again in as little as a few months with the help of Lasala and Minguell’s research.
Taken a step further, the researchers are designing protocols for other possible uses such as Parkinson’s disease and even diabetes. The possibilities are endless.
It’s science virtually at the speed of light.
The research involves two types of stem cells that are found in bone marrow. Bone marrow transplants have been used for years in the treatment of certain types of cancer.
Their research involves the use of MCS, or Mesenchymal stem cells that can differentiate into a variety of cells types and can regenerate damaged tissues such as bone, muscle, heart muscle and tendons; and EPC or endothelial progenitor cells that circulates in the blood and can differentiate into cells that make up the lining of blood vessels.
The procedure from the vantage point of the patient is rather simple. Bone marrow is removed from the rear hip through a minimally invasive, in-office procedure. The bone marrow contains a number of different types of adult stem cells.
The cells are then separated into the EPC and MSC cells. The cells are then washed and placed in a special medium for expansion, similar to a Petri dish. Over a two to three week period, the original 1,000 cells grow into 30-40 million cells while in a specialized incubator.
Once they have multiplied, the cells go through a seven-step protocol to check the cells prior to patient infusion.
The infusion is similar to a blood transfusion or injection.
The cells used are from the patient, or autologous cells. No one else’s cells are put into a patient.
If for some reason the patient cannot undergo the scheduled procedure due to illness or some other reason, the cells are frozen in liquid nitrogen and kept in the on-site lab at minus 190 degrees Celsius or about minus 310 degrees Fahrenheit.
Their equipment is tied into the Lakeview Regional Medical Center’s emergency backup system and there is also a manual backup so cells will be kept pristine for use.
Cells can be stored for at least 30 years, said Dr. Minguell.
Their facility also contains a “clean room” lab. Even the outer office of the lab requires booties on one’s feet. The innermost room is a GMP lab, ISO-7 Class 10,000, a designation recognized worldwide for the control and management of manufacturing and quality control testing of pharmaceutical and/or biological products.
It is held to the highest standard by the FDA.
The scientists have designed the lab themselves, and it is built specifically for stem cell processing. The air pressure keeps the room sterile.
This is where the cells are checked for viability and “grown.”
Although it only takes a few days to begin to multiply, it takes about two to three weeks to get the 15 million or more cells needed for the transplant.
The transplant itself only takes one injection and some improvement is apparent in a few days.
In one recent case of limb ischemia, or blockage of blood vessels in the leg, the patient was scheduled for amputation surgery because gangrene had started to set in.
The stem cell procedure was done and the two types of cells were able to create new vessels while at the same time coating the vessels and creating the membrane.
The patient still needed amputation, but instead of a below the knee procedure, only part of the foot had to be removed.
If they reach patients before gangrene, the results are more pronounced with relief in such symptoms, as pain and neuropathy and the patient will never need to face the threat of amputation.
There are 33 participants in limb ischemia clinical trials.
Lasala said that there is research in China whereby cells are being introduced in the liver and as a result pancreatic cells are creating insulin. This could be the cure for Type I diabetes in the next two years, said Lasala.
Currently, there are 60 participants in coronary ischemia clinical trials. This includes people who have had heart attacks, severe coronary artery disease, coronary ischemia, acute myocardial infarction and patients undergoing bypass surgery.
“In some cases, people who could not walk a block now walk, move, lift things after the stem cell therapy,” said Lasala.
In bypass surgery, another patient only had about 25 percent of their heart functioning. At the same time as the bypass surgery, stem cells were injected into the dead part of the heart. After two months, tests indicated the affected area was beginning to show compression and squeezing.
Are you or a loved one interested in receiving stem cell treatment? For free treatment information, please fill out our treatment form or email don@repairstemcells.org and just put Therapy in the subject box.
WORCESTER, Mass.–(Business Wire)– Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (Advanced Cell, ACT) (OTC: ACTC) announced today that shareholders have approved each proposal in the Company`s proxy statement dated August 5, 2009.
As a result, the 2005 Stock Incentive Plan has been amended to increase the total number of shares available for issuance and the certificate of incorporation has been amended to increase the authorized shares eligible for issuance by the Company.
“We are pleased that shareholders have elected to approve each of the proposals in the proxy, supporting the Company`s efforts to further develop its stem cell technology platform,” said William M. Caldwell IV, the Company`s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“We remain focused on submitting an IND for the RPE program to the FDA for approval to commence a Phase I Clinical Trial prior to the end of the year.”
Are you or a loved one interested in receiving stem cell treatment? For free treatment information, please fill out our treatment form or email don@repairstemcells.org and just put Therapy in the subject box.
Stem Cell Therapy International, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Stem Cell Therapy International Corp., engages in licensing of stem cell technology and the sale of stem cell products, as well as the provision of information, education, and referral services. It provides allo stem cell biological solutions that are used in the treatment of patients suffering from degenerative disorders of the human body, such as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, ALS, leukemia, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, spinal cord injuries, brain injury, stroke, heart disease, liver and retinal disease, and diabetes, as well as certain types of cancer. The company's stem cell biological solutions can be used to alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy
. Its principal stem cell products are solutions containing allo stem cell biological solutions, either adult stem cells, and stem cells that are extracted from umbilical cord blood. It intends to offer biological solutions containing stem cell products primarily in the United States to universities, institutes, and privately funded laboratory facilities for research purposes and clinical trials. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
An injection of stem cells could be a new treatment for male infertility. Research suggests that as many as one in three men has problems producing sperm.
In the trial, due to start this month in Jordan, bone marrow cells will be taken from men aged 20 to 50 and added to a solution similar to that found in the testes.
The mixture will then be injected into and around the tubes in the testes where sperm cells develop. The idea is that the stem cells will convert into those that help make sperm. Initial laboratory tests have found this to be the case.
Doctors will monitor the amount of sperm in semen samples taken over the following six months, and will also look at pregnancy rates after around one year.
GENova Biotherapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB: GVBP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) up 17.8% on 39 million shares traded.
On Sept 10, 2009 GENova Biotherapeutics, Inc. a biotechnology company that identifies, acquires, and develops novel drug targets that disrupt the advance of life-threatening diseases, recently announced it has filed a patent for a potential blockbuster drug target that combats breast cancer. The target, Tetanolic acid, is a tailor-made lipid which induces cell death in breast cancer cells, thus curtailing development of the harmful cancer.
breast cancer cell
This novel approach – using proteins to stop cancer – is based on recent discoveries that indicate that most tumors are derived from a cancer stem cell. The technology behind Tetanolic acid involved identifying specific characteristics of these cancer stem cells and then tailoring a lipid (Tetanolic acid) that can identify these characteristics and then attack the malignant cells whilst leaving healthy cells intact. This tailor-made cancer treatment strategy is far superior to any existing therapies, as it terminates the cancer at the source, with no side effects, and no harm to surrounding healthy tissues.
chemotherapy
“This target has tremendous market potential, as it can ultimately eliminate the need for surgery and chemotherapy,” says Aaron Whiteman for GENova.
Worldwide, breast cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death, and is the most common cancer (and cause of cancer death) in women. The demand for new and better treatments for the disease is as urgent as ever.
You have to see Beyonce peform her I Am Tour live in concert to really believe it is humanly capable to do what she does. She’s like wonder woman on heels. Insane.
No one makes it look as easy as Beyonce. Her dancers know how hard she works, that’s why they did this shout out to her. Beyonce must be investing in stem cell research…to heal her back every night. For the best of Beyonce muppetry, see pic below.
Video birthday card from Kanye West, Shakira, Hugh Jackman, John Legend, Gayle King, Rachel Ray …
C-Peptide Levels and Insulin Independence Following Autologous Nonmyeloablative Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
Carlos E. B. Couri, MD, PhD; Maria C. B. Oliveira, MD; Ana B. P. L. Stracieri, MD, PhD; Daniela A. Moraes, MD; Fabiano Pieroni, MD, PhD; George M. N. Barros, MD; Maria Isabel A. Madeira, MD; Kelen C. R. Malmegrim, PhD; Maria C. Foss-Freitas, MD, PhD; Belinda P. Simões, MD, PhD; Edson Z. Martinez, PhD; Milton C. Foss, MD, PhD; Richard K. Burt, MD; Júlio C. Voltarelli, MD, PhD
JAMA. 2009;301(15):1573-1579.
Context In 2007, the effects of the autologous nonmyeloablativehematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in 15 patientswith type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) were reported. Most patientsbecame insulin free with normal levels of glycated hemoglobinA1c (HbA1c) during a mean 18.8-month follow-up. To investigateif this effect was due to preservation of beta-cell mass, continuedmonitoring was performed of C-peptide levels after stem celltransplantation in the 15 original and 8 additional patients.
Objective To determine C-peptide levels after autologousnonmyeloablative HSCT in patients with newly diagnosed type1 DM during a longer follow-up.
Design, Setting, and Participants A prospective phase1/2 study of 23 patients with type 1 DM (aged 13-31 years) diagnosedin the previous 6 weeks by clinical findings with hyperglycemiaand confirmed by measurement of serum levels of anti–glutamicacid decarboxylase antibodies. Enrollment was November 2003-April2008, with follow-up until December 2008 at the Bone MarrowTransplantation Unit of the School of Medicine of RibeirãoPreto, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Hematopoietic stem cellswere mobilized via the 2007 protocol.
Main Outcome Measures C-peptide levels measured duringthe mixed-meal tolerance test, before, and at different timesfollowing HSCT. Secondary end points included morbidity andmortality from transplantation, temporal changes in exogenousinsulin requirements, and serum levels of HbA1c.
Results During a 7- to 58-month follow-up (mean, 29.8months; median, 30 months), 20 patients without previous ketoacidosisand not receiving corticosteroids during the preparative regimenbecame insulin free. Twelve patients maintained this statusfor a mean 31 months (range, 14-52 months) and 8 patients relapsedand resumed insulin use at low dose (0.1-0.3 IU/kg). In thecontinuous insulin–independent group, HbA1c levels wereless than 7.0% and mean (SE) area under the curve (AUC) of C-peptidelevels increased significantly from 225.0 (75.2) ng/mL per 2hours pretransplantation to 785.4 (90.3) ng/mL per 2 hours at24 months posttransplantation (P < .001) and to728.1 (144.4) ng/mL per 2 hours at 36 months (P = .001).In the transient insulin–independent group, mean (SE)AUC of C-peptide levels also increased from 148.9 (75.2) ng/mLper 2 hours pretransplantation to 546.8 (96.9) ng/mL per 2 hoursat 36 months (P = .001), which was sustained at 48months. In this group, 2 patients regained insulin independenceafter treatment with sitagliptin, which was associated withincrease in C-peptide levels. Two patients developed bilateralnosocomial pneumonia, 3 patients developed late endocrine dysfunction,and 9 patients developed oligospermia. There was no mortality.
Conclusion After a mean follow-up of 29.8 months followingautologous nonmyeloablative HSCT in patients with newly diagnosedtype 1 DM, C-peptide levels increased significantly and themajority of patients achieved insulin independence with goodglycemic control.
Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00315133 Author Affiliations: Departments of Clinical Medicine (Drs Couri, Oliveira, Stracieri, Moraes, Pieroni, Barros, Madeira, Malmegrim, Foss-Freitas, Simões, Foss, and Voltarelli) and Social Medicine (Dr Martinez), School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; and Division of Immunotherapy, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois (Dr Burt).
‘Hannah Montana’ episode on diabetes set to air on Disney Channel
By Richard Huff, DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR, Thursday, September 10th 2009, 4:00 AM
On an upcoming ‘Hannah Montana,’ Oliver, played by Mitchel Musso, and his Type I diabetes are the focus of a storyline.
An episode of “Hannah Montana” dealing with diabetes will finally hit the Disney Channel schedule 10 months after the show was pulled from the lineup because of content issues. It’s now scheduled for Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m.
The episode revolves around Miley (Miley Cyrus) and Lilly (Emily Osment) reacting to the knowledge that Oliver (Mitchel Musso) has been diagnosed with Type I diabetes. The pair then turn into food police at a sweet 16 party, to keep Oliver away from certain foods.
Eventually, Oliver puts them at ease: together they – and he – can work through the challenge of diabetes. The segment ends with a feel-good message.
Twelve years ago, Irving Weissman discovered a treatment that might have saved the lives of thousands of women with advanced breast cancer, but pharmaceutical companies weren’t interested in developing the therapy. Though that interest is finally being reignited, Weissman doesn’t pull any punches. “I hate to say I told you so,” he said.
Weissman, a professor of pathology and developmental biology at Stanford University, spoke Wednesday and Thursday at Columbia University.
Weissman laid out the conceptual foundation of his work—that stem cells are rare, self-renewing, and can regenerate body tissues. Weissman repeatedly expressed frustration that while many of his discoveries seemed to hold remarkable potential for life-saving treatments, commercial or regulatory hurdles have prevented his scientific research from benefiting human beings.
One example is
Weissman’s mid-’90s research on type I diabetes, in which he demonstrated the ability to fully cure type I diabetes in mice using stem cells.
But even though the experiments avoided political controversy by using so-called adult stem cells, which do not come from embryos, Weissman ran into a road block when pharmaceutical companies refused to sponsor clinical trials. The therapy went nowhere. Weissman implied that the pharmaceutical companies had put profit over principle, preferring to keep diabetes sufferers dependent on costly insulin than to cure them once and for all.
“He [Weissman] has a long history of being at the forefront of his field,” Arthur Palmer, professor of structural biology at Columbia said, remarking that Weissman has never been afraid to challenge scientific orthodoxy.
Tick saliva could hold cancer cure: Brazilian scientists
By Marc Burleigh (AFP) – Aug 28, 2009
SAO PAULO — It may be one of nature’s repulsive little blood-sucking parasites, but the humble tick could yield a future cure for cancers of the skin, liver and pancreas, Brazilian researchers have discovered.
They have identified a protein in the saliva of a common South American tick, Amblyomma cajennense, that apparently reduces and can even eradicate cancerous cells while leaving healthy cells alone.
“This is a radical innovation,” said Ana Marisa Chudzinski-Tavassi, the molecular biologist at the Instituto Butantan in Sao Paulo who is leading the research.
“The component of the saliva of this tick… could be the cure for cancer,” she told AFP.
Nova Southeastern University’s dental researchers at the College of Dental Medicine are growing and harvesting human dental stem cells in the laboratory.A 2009 NSU survey of dentists around the nation revealed that more than half thought that they would be using stem cell and tissue engineering therapies on their patients within the next decade.
An overwhelming 96 percent of dentists believe the ability to regenerate and replace teeth and dental tissues is the future of dentistry, according to the survey.
The practical application of NSU’s research is for replacement teeth and dental tissues to be grown in the lab and implanted into patients. Having “real” replacement teeth will allow patients to better experience normal dental sensations, such as taste. Their teeth will have the ability to function, grow and develop as normal healthy teeth.
The goal of NSU’s research is to ultimately put an end to the fear of millions of Americans, who will no longer have to worry about a lack of teeth, dental pain, dental disease and using dentures.
BY JAMES EILERT
Vice President
Save A Life Heal A Heart Foundation
JUNE 24, 2009
Below are links showing how adult stem cell therapy has regrown much of my heart. I am now living a much fuller life and wish others to enjoy these benefits as well. Please take the time to watch these videos and tell others what you have seen. Heart failure does not have to be a death sentence anymore. Spread the word, you may just save a life just from talking about it!
BY JAMES EILERT
Vice President
Save A Life Heal A Heart Foundation
JUNE 24, 2009
Three days after my stem cell implantation I started walking through Bangkok again, my breathing had improved, my stamina was up, and for some reason I was really hungry all the time.
Before the treatment after walking it would take half and hour in air conditioning to stop sweating and my hr would be 110 to 120 for quite while cooling down.
In three days when I tried again my hr was 85 and I would stop sweating in 5 minutes. A week and a half later I had an echo done before I left and the bottom of my heart was very weakly beating again. This really gave me hope.
Two months later I did another metabolic stress test using the standard Bruce protocol and I scored 10.1 mets with a vo2 of 32. A 20% and 12.5% increase the doctor that had done my last one blurted out “absolutely stunning!” this put me in the 95th percentile for men my age of 37 years old, in other words out of a 100men my age 50 of them could not match my performance. If I lost 50 lbs then I would be way over the average.
Now 18 months later only a very small part of the bottom of my heart isn’t beating normally and I can do nearly everything I want to now. The only thing I have not done is hard sports because I still have a fear of maxing out my heart rate – old fears die hard.
All of my body chemical stats are now in normal range, I have maintained a cholesterol of 144 total without using any statins – I quite those several months ago.
The last three weeks of july I have worked over 90+ hours and I don’t feel especially tired
My last bike ride on a recumbent bike I rode 33.5 miles in 2 hours 20 minutes.
I can walk 5 miles on a whim, and not have to relax afterwards
I did a six minute walk test and I did 804 meters in 5 minutes which is on video
The next video I make I will attempt to do 1100 to 1300 meters in 6 minutes. – what else can I say.
Adult stem cells work. No placebo effect can change the physiological effects of heart failure that are easy to see and impossible to mask.
BY JAMES EILERT
Vice President
Save A Life Heal A Heart Foundation
JUNE 24, 2009
During rehab I worked very hard, finally being able to jog slowly up to two miles, but I could never get beyond that and that combined with going back to my job left me a shell of a man. Crashing from exhaustion on the couch every night and spending my weekends in bed trying make it through the next week of work. During this time my leg pain did go away, and with a good diet I dropped 90 lbs over the next 6 months.
Then the other shoe dropped, a CT was done on my chest and it was discovered that I had not only a pulmonary embolism, but I also had a giant branchial carciniod tumor that completely filled up the cavity occupied but my right middle lung. During my stay for those issues a team of cardios also looked after me. they told me at best I had maybe 5 years left if I was lucky and the very good transplant surgeon that would crack the right side of my chest gave the same chances of making threw the lobectomy as an 80 year old man.
Well I ended up being so stable during the surgery he worked an extra 2 hours on me and I recovered. I did have a bought with pneumonia also but I survived that as well.
1 ½ after my heart attack I went to Thailand for my stem cell therapy.
Before I left I had a metabolic stress test done using the advance haskell protocol. I scored 8 mets with a vo2 of 28.
40% of my left ventricle was totally dead – mri mapping
BY JAMES EILERT
Vice President
Save A Life Heal A Heart Foundation
JUNE 24, 2009
When I was 27 years old I was a bodybuilder, 200lbs of solid muscle I worked out at the gym 6 days a week every day after work. Then the first of a series of medical problems happened, I completely destroyed one of my lumbar discs l5-s1. Three years later I also destroyed the disc above it l4-l5 and suffered from severe nerve damage to my legs. The nerves did eventually grow back but I suffered from excruciating leg cramping and spasms in my feet and calves for the next four years. It was hell to even sit down for my job, needless to say I stopped exercising and due to a very poor diet and 8 cans of mountain dew a day my weight jumped up to 280lbs. I started smoking because for a few minutes the spasms quite and gave me a little peace, this allowed me to work an extra 10 hours a week and I became hooked.
Four years later at age 34 after spending two years working 80 hour weeks at a very stressful job I was working the Chrysler plant in belvidere ill. I woke up in the middle of a heart attack, not knowing what it was I walked around my hotel room for the next 45 minutes until I realized the pain wasn’t going away.
The paramedics took me to the hospital and I was sent to surgery, when I woke up the doctor informed me that I had a widowmaker – 100 blocked LAD and they had determined that 50% of my left ventricle was not moving any more. They told me that more often than not people usually don’t make it very long after one of these.
A prostatic cancer cell in an undated microscopic image.[Agencies]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Researchers have found a stem cell, a kind of master cell, that may cause at least some types of prostate cancer.
Their findings are only experimental — the stem cells were found in mice — but could explain at least some types of prostate cancer and eventually offer new ways to treat it, they reported on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
The findings also show a potential new source for prostate tumors — so-called luminal cells, which secrete various compounds used in the prostate.
SEC: Bothell biotech firm lied to inflate stock price
By LEVI PULKKINENSEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Federal regulators filed complaints Tuesday against (CellCyte Genetics Corp.) a Bothell-based biotechnology company, saying management of the firm defrauded investors by inflating claims about a stem cell technology it was developing.
In a statement to media, a Securities and Exchange Commission spokesperson alleged that CellCyte Genetics Corp. misled investors into believing the technology was headed for human trials when in fact the company’s product remained in the early stages of development.
SEC officials allege stock promoters hired by CellCyte then spread the false information to investors, driving the stock price to $7.50-a-share before it plummeted back to less than a dime.
The complaints, filed in federal district court in Seattle, allege that in multiple public filings with the SEC and in other investor materials CellCyte falsely claimed it had received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to begin human clinical trials with a special stem cell compound to repair the heart, the spokesperson said.
The SEC alleges that CellCyte did not know how to properly formulate the stem cell compound, had never tried experiments with the compound to repair organs and had not satisfied any of the FDA requirements to begin human clinical trials.
In addition to the corporation, the SEC named in the suit CellCyte’s then-Chief Scientific Officer Ronald Berninger, of Mukilteo, who allegedly approved or participated in the drafting of false and misleading statements.
CellCyte and Berninger agreed to a settlement, without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, in which they each consented to a permanent injunction, according to the news statement. Berninger also agreed to pay a $50,000 penalty and be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years.
Speaking Tuesday, CellCyte attorney Steve Fogg noted that the company did not pay a financial penalty and emphasized that the decision to settle with the SEC carried no admittion of guilt. Fogg said the company is no longer pursuing the technology at issue in the complaint.
“Given that they’re moving forward with a separate technology, it just made sense to settle this lawsuit,” said Fogg, adding that “nobody cashed in on CellCyte stock who was an officer or director of CellCyte.”
In a separate action, the SEC has accused ex-CellCyte CEO Gary Reys, of Freeland, of approving the company’s fraudulent SEC filings. Federal regulators are seeking injunctive relief, a monetary penalty and an order barring Reys from serving as an officer or director of a public company.
Will you feel something strange if you wake up this morning at 09:09:09 on September 9th, 2009 (also 09/09/09)?
There are some strange associations with 090909 if you look around…a quick search on google will give you everything from marketing strategies to world calamity and alien encounter and Obama assassination predictions!!
What else?
It represents the last set of repeating, single-digit dates for almost a century (until January 1, 2101) or a millennium (January 1, 3001) depending on how it is counted.
The last of the single-digits dates for the next 92 years.
Historically, ancient Chinese emperors associated themselves closely with the number nine, which appeared prominently in architecture and royal dress, often in the form of nine fearsome dragons. The imperial dynasties were so convinced of the power of the number nine that the palace complex at Beijing’s Forbidden City is rumored to have been built with 9,999 rooms.
The day itself falls on a Wednesday in September…Both Wednesday & September have 9 letters.
In Japanese, the word for nine is a homophone for the word for suffering, so the number is considered highly unlucky – second only to four, which sounds like death.
According to numerologists, as the final numeral, the number nine holds special rank, and is associated with forgiveness, compassion, and success on the positive side as well as arrogance and self-righteousness on the negative.
The Beatles Rock Band – Number Nine, Number Nine, Number Nine
Apple Corps, Ltd., Harmonix and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), today announced the 9/9/09 worldwide release of The Beatles: Rock Band (http://www.thebeatlesrockband.com). The music-based video game, an unprecedented, experiential progression through and celebration of the music and artistry of The Beatles, will be available simultaneously worldwide in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other territories for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Wii home videogame console from Nintendo.
The Beatles: Rock Band will allow fans to pick up the guitar, bass, mic or drums and experience The Beatles extraordinary catalogue of music through gameplay that takes players on a journey through the legacy and evolution of the band’s legendary career. In addition, The Beatles: Rock Band will offer a limited number of new hardware offerings modeled after instruments used by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr throughout their career.
The ADA (American Diabetes Association) has influence over their 70,000 members, the 350,000 people who contacted them over the past year and the nearly 24 million children and adults in the U.S. with diabetes their advocacy efforts support…
That is why it is so sad to see them placing all of their hope on embryonic stem cell research.
…Excerpted from the original article: “The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, also known as H.R.3… would ease up on the existing restrictions on embryonic stem cell research…The American Diabetes Association knows thatthe passing of this act is the best hope humans have for advancement in the cure for Diabetes.”
…
Here is a only a small collection of articles that show that ADULTstem cells are the REAL and CURRENT and “BEST hope humans have for advancement in the cure for Diabetes.“
‘Bionic’ Nerve To Bring Damaged Limbs And Organs Back To Life (Oct. 18, 2007) — University of Manchester researchers have transformed fat tissue stem cells into nerve cells — and now plan to develop an artificial nerve that will bring damaged limbs and organs back to life. In a … > read more
Stem cells exploitation for Pediatric Surgery: current research and perspective
Journal Pediatric Surgery International
Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
ISSN 0179-0358 (Print) 1437-9813 (Online) – DOI 10.1007/s00383-009-2478-8
SpringerLink Date Thursday, September 03, 2009
ES, iPS, MSC, and AFS cells. Stem cells exploitation for Pediatric Surgery: current research and perspective
Michela Pozzobon1, Marco Ghionzoli2 and Paolo De Coppi2 Contact Information
(1) Stem Cell Processing Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
(2) Surgery Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health & Great Ormond St Hospital, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH, UK
Accepted: 18 August 2009 Published online: 1 September 2009
Abstract Despite the advancements that have been made in treating infants with congenital malformations, these still represent a major cause of disease and death during the first years of life and childhood. Regeneration of natural tissue from living cells to restore damaged tissues and organs is the main purpose of regenerative medicine. This relatively new field has emerged by the combination of tissue engineering and stem cell transplantation as a possible strategy for the replacement of damaged organs or tissues. This review would like to offer an insight on the latest evolution of stem cells with a glance at their possible application for regenerative medicine, particularly in the Paediatric Surgery field.
Keywords Stem cells – Regenerative medicine – ES – iPS – MSC – AFS cells – Pediatric Surgery
Or would you rather have your life saved by having your
appendix pulled out through your mouth
or your
gallbladder removed through your vagina?
Body has Holes; Can Surgeons Use Them?
Omaha World-Herald February 13, 2009 http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1219&u_sid=10562747
An appendix pulled out through the mouth. A gallbladder removed through the vagina. It almost sounds bizarre. But surgeons at a handful of medical centers across the country are performing these experimental procedures. This type of surgery, which involves removing organs through natural body openings, could be available locally if a Nebraska Medical Center surgeon succeeds in making a device to improve the procedure…
Dr. Nathaniel Soper, chairman of the surgery department at NORTHWESTERN University, said no major complications have been reported in the United States from the surgery. He has performed it himself and said a study beginning within the next year will compare it with laparoscopic surgery to assess risks and benefits…
Oz had a decent enough career before television beckoned. He’s a prominent surgeon with expertise in repairing heart valves. He will continue to perform surgery one day a week.
Yet Oz noticed that he was getting more jazzed up persuading people they didn’t need surgery than operating on them.
He landed a show, “Second Opinion,” on the Discovery Channel and persuaded Winfrey to appear. That opened the door to Winfrey’s media kingdom, resulting in 55 appearances on her talk show in five years, and eventually his own show. It’s co-produced by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television. He’s contractually prohibited from airing in direct competition with her.
“I found myself going to work and taking care of people who wanted to get better who believed that their only path to salvation was through my scalpel,” he said. “I can heal with steel. I know how to do that. But it’s very disenfranchising when you realize the true solutions are outside the operating room.”
Korean University To Distribute Puppies Of World’s First Cloned Dog
Yes, we know, this is not the type of story we usually follow. The truth? It is apparently a first even if, in itself, the event does not advance the cause of stem cell research. Seoul National University (SNU) said the nine dogs were all fathered by Snuppy, an Afghan Hound cloned by disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk in 2005, who, as it turns out, may have gotten some important things right without knowing it. According to a team led by George Daley at Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Hwang may have managed to create stem cells solely from human eggs, without fertilization with sperm. This breakthrough is possibly much more valuable than his original false claims about his work.
“Unfortunately,” said Daley, “at the time they published their work they did not know what they had done so they had mistakenly isolated these parthenogenic embryonic stem cells and misrepresented them as true clones.” The Daley team concluded that it is possible Hwang and his team managed to pull off the world’s first human case of parthenogenesis, or ‘virgin birth’, a conclusion that would seem to suggest that even with good research it’s preferable to know the meaning of what has been accomplished.
Scientists grow fully functional tooth from stem cells
August 22, 4:12 PMNY Holistic Body & Spirit ExaminerTima Vlasto
Though teeth have been grown in mice before, scientists revealed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences their success at growing a “fully functional” tooth from stem cells in mice.
The article states:
“Here, we report a successful fully functioning tooth replacement in an adult mouse achieved through the transplantation of bioengineered tooth germ into the alveolar bone in the lost tooth region. We propose this technology as a model for future organ replacement therapies. The bioengineered tooth, which was erupted and occluded, had the correct tooth structure, hardness of mineralized tissues for mastication, and response to noxious stimulations such as mechanical stress and pain in cooperation with other oral and maxillofacial tissues. This study represents a substantial advance and emphasizes the potential for bioengineered organ replacement in future regenerative therapies.”
The process is described in a paper titled “The development of a bioengineered organ germ method” in the journal Nature Methods by researchers with the Department of Biological Science and Technology at the Tokyo University of Science.
Scientists have uncovered a vital link in the chain of events that gives stem cells their remarkable properties.
Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research at the University of Cambridge have pinpointed the final step in a complex process that gives embryonic stem cells their unique ability to develop into any of the different types of cells in the body (from liver cells to skin cells). Their findings, published today in the journal Cell, have important implications for efforts to harness the power of stem cells for medical applications.
Earlier this year the drug developer Geron Corp. announced that it was given FDA approval to begin the first trial of an embryonic stem cell treatment in humans. But alas, the FDA reversed its decision last week:
Geron said the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing new data from studies of the therapy, called GRNOPC1, on animals. The company plans to start testing its product on humans this summer, but that testing will be delayed during the FDA’s review. Geron said it will work with the FDA, and did not estimate how long the review will take.
This is significant given that most people think that ESCs have already been used to treat human patients. Meanwhile, ethical stem cells continue to kick butt and outperform – in animals as well as many humans. Full speed ahead!
There is no known cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. But new hope, in the form of stem cells created from the patient’s own bone marrow, can be found ― and literally seen ― in laboratories at Tel Aviv University.
Dr. Yoram Cohen of TAU’s School of Chemistry has recently proven the viability of these innovative stem cells, called mesenchymal stem cells, using in-vivo MRI. Dr. Cohen has been able to track their progress within the brain, and initial studies indicate they can identify unhealthy or damaged tissues, migrate to them, and potentially repair or halt cell degeneration. His findings have been reported in the journal Stem Cells.
“By monitoring the motion of these cells, you get information about how viable they are, and how they can benefit the tissue,” he explains. “We have been able to prove that these stem cells travel within the brain, and only travel where they are needed. They read the chemical signalling of the tissue, which indicate areas of stress. And then they go and try to repair the situation.”…
Dr. Cohen and his team of researchers took magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and used them to label the stem cells they tested. When injected into the brain, they could then be identified as clear black dots on an MRI picture. The stem cells were then injected into the brain of an animal that had an experimental model of Huntington’s disease. These animals suffer from a similar neuropathology as the one seen in human Huntington’s patients, and therefore serve as research tool for the disease.
On MRI, it was possible to watch the stem cells migrating towards the diseased area of the brain. “Cells that go toward a certain position that needs to be rescued are the best indirect proof that they are live and viable,” explains Dr. Cohen. “If they can migrate towards the target, they are alive and can read chemical signalling.”…
Although there is a drawback to using this particular type of stem cell ― the higher degree of difficulty involved in rendering them “neuron-like” ― the benefits are numerous. “Bone marrow-derived MSCs bypass ethical and production complications,” says Dr. Cohen, “and in the long run, the cells are less likely to be rejected because they come from the patients themselves. This means you don’t need immunosuppressant therapy.”
Dr Settimio Grimaldi, an expert at the Institute of Neurobiology and Molecular Medicine in Rome, asked Vatican Radio listeners this week “Why we should complicate things by going and taking embryonic cells, with all the ethical questions that follow?”
The Vatican radio show discussed the latest developments in adult stem cell research which have revealed a method to repair a damaged heart by cultivating cardiac stem cells and re-injecting them to replace damaged tissue. Researchers revealed that the treatment could be available within three years following successful testing.
Dr. Grimaldi said: “The adult stem cell is already prepared to differentiate in the tissue we want to repair. And it is certainly more productive, less wasteful and less dangerous, beyond the ethical aspects, to work with adult stem cells instead of embryonic stem cells.”
The results of a clinical trial to save volunteers’ leg from amputation by injecting stem cell concentrate to the limb affected by thrombo angitis obliterance (TAO) have been encouraging. The stem cells were taken from the patients’ bone marrow.
The clinical trial is being conducted on patients suffering from blocks in the artery of the leg. Sixty patients were enrolled in the trial, and all of them were smokers. Some had diabetes as well.
Thirty nine of the 44 patients who had already undergone the mandatory 6-month follow-up did not require amputation following stem cell injection to the affected legs. Follow-up of the remaining 16 patients is under way.
The last patient, enrolled on May 25, will complete his six-month follow up in November.
“We have got very good results,” said Dr. K.S. Vijayaragavan. “The legs of 89 per cent of the patients have been saved.” Dr. Vijayaragavan, Head of the Department of Vascular Surgery, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, is conducting the trial.
According to him, the failure to save the leg of five patients was because they continued to smoke even after stem cell injection. Immediate and complete cessation of smoking is the most basic and important requirement for saving the leg. Diabetes should also be under control.
Professor James B. Richardson of the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry, UK has been carrying out pioneering work combining geneX with selected and culture expanded Mesenchymal stem cells to treat fracture non-unions. The stem cells are collected in a sample of bone marrow, then purified and cultured expanded at the Oscell GMP laboratory (http://www.oscell.enta.
Globs of human fat removed during liposuction conceal versatile cells that are more quickly and easily coaxed to become induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, than are the skin cells most often used by researchers, according to a new study from Stanford’s School of Medicine. “We’ve identified a great natural resource,” said Stanford surgery professor and co-author of the research, Michael Longaker, MD, who has called the readily available liposuction leftovers “liquid gold.
A new study finds substantial improvement in a mouse model of a rare, hereditary neurodegenerative disease after transplantation of normal human neural stem cells.
Vulnerable patients who travel abroad for unproven and potentially unsafe stem cell treatments need to be better protected says a report published by a team of expert researchers from Europe and China today. The report calls for countries to develop more effective regulation of experimental stem cell procedures by insisting on rigorous clinical studies and ethical reviews before they can be offered as treatments.
An injectable biomaterial gel may help brain tissue grow at the site of a traumatic brain injury, according to findings by a Clemson University bioengineer. Research by assistant professor of bioengineering Ning Zhang shows that the biomaterial gel made up of both synthetic and natural sources has the potential to spur the growth of a patient’s own neural stem cells in the body, structurally repairing the brain injury site.
A key compound resupplies bone marrow with fast-acting stem cells that can more quickly rekindle blood cell production, according to a study published online today in the journal Blood. While the study was in mice, in the study authors say it has the potential to increase survival among patients with life-threatening blood cell shortages. Thanks to stem cells, humans develop from one cell into a complex being with as many as 400 cell types.
This week TCA Cellular Therapy`s Medical Director Gabriel Lasala, M.D. presents advances in adult stem cell treatments for severe limb ischemia and refractory coronary ischemia at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
An article published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet reports that minimal-intensity conditioning (MIC) regimen using antibodies instead of high dose chemotherapy may reduce the short and long term toxicity related with stem cell transplants in children. This could allow successful transplantation even in the sickest children.
Rhode Island Hospital has received an $11 million renewal of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to fund its Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Center for Cancer Research Development (CCRD). Rhode Island Hospital’s COBRE CCRD offers cancer researchers access to the latest technologies in molecular pathology and the emerging field of proteomics.
The extent to which protein targets are modulated by drugs or small molecule compounds depends on a number of factors, including the expression levels of the target, the effective concentration of the compound, and the time needed for the compound to perturb the target. One of the limitations of current multidimensional phenotypic profiling approaches is that typically a single time point is chosen to assess the effect of compounds.
Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) have been awarded $2.9 million in grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to support research into stem cell discoveries that lay the foundation for future therapies. The Basic Biology Awards received formal approval Thursday from the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC), the 29-member governing board of the institute.
Scientists in Switzerland have discovered a way to block the growth of human colon cancer cells, preventing the disease from reaching advanced stages and the development of liver metastases. The research, published today in EMBO Molecular Medicine, shows that blocking the so-called Hedgehog-GLI pathway can prevent the growth of tumours, metastatic lesions and cancer stem cells, the cells thought to lie at the root of cancer growth.
Researchers at INSERM (France) have engineered a chimeric protein that increases cell survival, migration and proliferation to improve stem cell engraftment. The results, which appear in the September 2009 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, show that TAT-Tpr-Met, a cell permeable form of the hepatocyte growth factor receptor can increase the number of hepatic stem cells integrated into the liver of the mouse.
Two of the most powerful approaches to cancer treatment — a stem cell transplant and an immune system-stimulating vaccine — appear to reinforce each other in patients with an aggressive, hard-to-control form of leukemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have found. In a study to be published in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of Aug.
A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health has successfully grown multiple types of retina cells from two types of stem cells suggesting a future in which damaged retinas could be repaired by cells grown from the patient’s own skin.
Victorian stem cell scientists from Monash University have modified a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line to glow red when the stem cells become red blood cells. The modified hESC line, ErythRED, represents a major step forward to the eventual aim of generating mature, fully functional red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells.
Scientists have uncovered a vital link in the chain of events that gives stem cells their remarkable properties. Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research at the University of Cambridge have pinpointed the final step in a complex process that gives embryonic stem cells their unique ability to develop into any of the different types of cells in the body (from liver cells to skin cells).
Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc. USA, a leader in adult stem cell research and manufacturing, has requested a pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to discuss a proposed IND to use Stemedica’s proprietary line of allogeneic mesenchymal bone marrow cells (adult human) as a treatment for ischemic stroke.
Flab and freckles could advance stem cell research
Alternative tissues shown to yield reprogrammed cells aplenty.
Elie Dolgin
BellyFat cells are more easily turned into iPS cells than fibroblasts.
Fat cells and pigment-producing skin cells can be reprogrammed into stem cells much faster and more efficiently than the skin cells that are usually used — suggesting large bellies and little black moles could provide much-needed material for deriving patient-specific stem cells.
United States Patent and Trademark Office Publishes Stemedica’s Patent Application for the Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ — http://www.stemedica.com/
Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc., (“Stemedica”), a world leader in stem cell research and manufacturing, has filed a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) for a proprietary methodology in the treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy. The patent application was published by the USPTO on August 27th of this year. The application is supported by extensive data and results from patients treated within a Clinical Study conducted outside of the United States beginning in January of 2006.
“Our patent application describes a dynamic method for treating diabetic retinopathy and other degenerative conditions of the eye,” said Nikolai Tankovich, MD, PhD, Stemedica’s President and Chief Medical Officer. “The breakthrough results from this study provide new hope for the thousands of patients suffering from the debilitating disease of Diabetic Retinopathy.”
Stemedica’s invention relates to the use of multiple stem cells and a transplantation methodology in the treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy. Participating patients had varying degrees of Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Optic Neuropathy. Patients received neural progenitor cells by retrobulbar injection and mesenchymal stem cells administered intravenously.
Patients were observed at baseline and then after treatment at days 2, 8, 14, 30, 60, 90, and 120. Annual physical and ophthalmic examinations were conducted each year thereafter for a three year period. Noticeable patient findings included: overall visual function improvements by all eight patients within sixty (60) days of treatment; reduction in absolute scotomas; increases in the thickness of the optic nerve fiber; resorption of hemorrhages; no new micro bleeding edema of the nerve fiber layer; and, a decrease in macular edema.
Improvement in the function of different layers of the retina and optic nerve were experienced as well as a reduction in the number of scotomas in the field of vision. None of the patients developed tumors, had impaired vision or experienced adverse health effects connected with the cell injections, and seven of the eight participating patients have maintained the overall vision improvements they gained from treatment three years later. Diabetic retinopathy is damage to the eye’s retina that occurs with long-term diabetes. It is a leading cause of adult blindness in the United States.
Todd Finkelmeyer | Posted: Monday, September 7, 2009 9:15 am |
UW-Madison researcher Kurt Saupe, who studies the effects of age and diet on stem cells, found himself in need of a stem cell transplant.
It was the day after Christmas in 2007 when Kurt Saupe finally agreed to head into urgent care.
His wife had noticed that the seemingly fit and healthy researcher with UW-Madison’s department of medicine was getting out of breath simply walking up stairs at home, and prodded him to get checked out.
An X-ray showed that much of Saupe’s left lung was filled with liquid. Two days later, a needle was inserted between his ribs, and three liters of fluid were drained off.
“And I was feeling much better,” says Saupe, whose name rhymes with “copy.”
But Saupe’s wife, a heart failure and transplant specialist with UW Hospital and Clinics, sensed something was very wrong.
“He was confident he just had a little pneumonia and would get better,” says Dr. Nancy Sweitzer. “But as soon as I looked at (the X-ray), I knew that for this to happen to a 45-year-old, something really bad was going on.”
So Sweitzer kept logging onto the UW Hospital and Clinics’ database in an attempt to find information on the lab work performed on her husband. At about 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 28, the results were finally in – it appeared Saupe had leukemia.
It would be five long days – due to the weekend and New Year’s holiday – before the family could track down the necessary experts to give them more information on what, exactly, the lab results meant.
“That was probably the worst five days of my life,” says Saupe. “There were a lot of tears shed those days. But that was also the time I sort of came to terms with how bad it was.”
The official diagnosis: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a relatively curable form of cancer among children. But among middle-age adults, ALL is extremely rare and very lethal.
In this cancer of the white blood cells, malignant, immature cells continuously multiply and are overproduced in the bone marrow. It ultimately kills by crowding out normal cells in the bone marrow and by spreading to other organs.
Saupe was told the one-year survival rate for his condition was about 50 percent – with the five-year rate about 25 percent.
It quickly became apparent that if Saupe – who currently devotes about half of his energy to researching the effects of age and diet on stem cells – was going to be around to watch his two young children grow up, he would need a new immune system via a successful stem cell transplant from a donor.
“When some people hear about stem cells, they think of science fiction and promises of cures years from now,” says Saupe. “But it’s important to show people that stem cell therapy isn’t a Frankenstein thing or 10 years away – it’s something that’s the standard of care for people like me.”
Adult stem cells appear in different parts of the body and have specialized roles. Found in places such as the liver, heart, fats and blood, they help repair and rejuvenate specific tissues.
In Saupe’s case, the adult stem cells found in bone marrow were the key to beating leukemia.
Adult stem cells don’t carry the ethical implications attached to embryonic stem cells that have ignited a firestorm of controversy over the last decade and engulfed Saupe’s research colleague, Jamie Thomson. In a critical development more than 10 years ago, Thomson was the first scientist to coax stem cells from human embryos. These stem cells are capable of transforming into cells from any tissue in the body, and scientists believe these so-called pluripotent cells hold the key to discovering the causes and cures for many human ailments, including Parkinson’s disease, juvenile diabetes and spinal cord injuries. But because embryos are destroyed in the process, embryonic stem cell research is a target of anti-abortion groups and socially conservative politicians.
More recently, in November of 2007, Thomson and others recorded another ground-breaking discovery – this time announcing that ordinary adult skin cells had been reprogrammed to resemble embryonic stem cells. These so-called induced pluripotent stem cells appear to have the ability to change into any type of cell in the body. And while some believe this discovery could finally end the ethical debate surrounding stem cell science, others contend more studies must be done to show these iPS cells don’t differ from the embryonic stem cells in unexpected ways.
As a stem cell researcher married to a transplant specialist, Saupe saw the irony of his situation.
“We’ve been talking for years about organ transplantation and heart transplants and what it’s like for a donor family and a recipient to go through all this,” says Saupe, a 47-year-old Madison native who graduated from Memorial High School in 1980. “So the idea that I was going to be the recipient of an organ (stem cell) transplant was sort of ironic in the context that Nancy has been working in this field for years.”
As for Saupe’s area of expertise, although he works with stem cells, it’s not like he was in a position to make a breakthrough that would directly impact his life.
Part of his research focuses on the effects an anti-aging, low-calorie diet has on the adult stem cells in the hearts of mice. In a nutshell, low-calorie diets have proven to increase the health and life expectancy of lab animals, and the staff in Saupe’s lab are interested in why and how this is so, especially as it relates to the heart.
The other half of Saupe’s research focuses on the role of an enzyme and its connection to brown adipose tissue, which helps control body weight and how many calories a body burns.
“We’re kind of looking for a fountain of youth, trying to find the molecular mechanism that triggers youthfulness,” says Saupe, whose research is currently connected with the UW Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, UW Institute on Aging, UW Cardiovascular Research Center and UW Physiology Department. “After all, none of us want to live longer if it means we’re going to be hungry and crabby.”
Despite his background as a scientist, Saupe said he decided shortly after being diagnosed with leukemia that he wasn’t going to spend too much energy delving into scientific literature to learn every detail about his disease.
“Sometimes it became very draining when I’d try to process too much information,” he says. “There were times when I just wanted to be the patient, I didn’t want to be the co-doctor or too involved with my treatment. I decided to let my oncologist be the expert.”
Conversely, his experiences as a researcher and the knowledge Sweitzer brought to the table about transplants and UW Hospital and Clinics was invaluable.
“One of the major things I’ve learned as a patient is the more you know about your treatment options, the more background you have, the better off you’re going to be,” says Saupe. “In the hospital, lots of things can fall through the cracks – switches in nursing shifts and doctors handing you off to different doctors. And if you don’t understand what pills you’re taking, what your treatment options are, you need to press them on it. Being a well-informed patient in general is incredibly important for your successful treatment.”
After the initial diagnosis early in 2008, Saupe started chemotherapy almost immediately. He handled the treatment well, and his disease went into remission.
But after a second round of chemo, blood work revealed mutations in his cells and it was determined a stem cell transplant would likely be necessary to save his life.
“You have to weigh the costs versus the potential benefits,” says Saupe.
The risks, as Saupe recalls, included a 2 percent to 10 percent chance that the transplant wouldn’t take, and he would die in the hospital. Additionally, the transplant process generally includes a gruelling, four- to six-week hospital stay.
The benefit was a potential large increase in lifespan.
“For us, it was a 30-second decision,” says Saupe, whose children now are 8 and 10.
But seven “perfect matches” were found in the National Marrow Donor Program Registry, which is linked to many transplant centers outside the United States.
“I don’t want to downplay the significance of the donor or what they go through, but it’s really a lot like giving blood,” says Saupe.
In the weeks leading up to the stem cell transplant, Saupe spent time regaining his strength. At the beginning of May in 2008, he weighed about 185 pounds as he entered the hospital to prepare for the transplant.
Over the next week, he received six rounds of high-dose chemotherapy and two high-dose radiation treatments.
With his immune system killed off, he was given one day of rest before it was time for the transplant on May 9. “It’s anticlimactic, really,” says Saupe. “You get half a liter of yellowish fluid.”
Over a two-hour period, Saupe received roughly 5 million stem cells through a simple IV drip.
“And somehow, these cells home to the bone marrow and do what they do,” he says. “When they give you the high-dose radiation and chemo, your white blood cell count goes to zero. So they start checking that count every day, looking for your immune system to start back up again. They say that around day 14 it should start up, and if they don’t see anything by day 18, you’re in deep trouble.”
Adds Saupe: “Mine started on day 12. It was a really encouraging sign and things sort of improved from there.”
After his month-long stay in the hospital, Saupe had dropped about 45 pounds. But the transplant appeared to be a success. “I’m incredibly grateful,” says Saupe.
Now, more than one year after the transplant, Saupe’s outlook is good. He is cancer-free and his immune system is entirely female – composed solely of the XX chromosome instead of the XY chromosome – showing that the stem cell transplant provided by the woman from Germany took completely.
“That’s lead to some jokes among friends,” Saupe said of having the immune system of a woman. “But that’s OK.” With the damaged cells out of his body, Saupe says he is convinced that if something bad is going to happen to him now, “it’s not going to be the cancer, but some sort of bacterial or fungal infection. But they have such good drugs to threat those things these days, I’m feeling pretty confident.”
“It has in some ways changed my outlook,” he says. “But the healthier I get, the more I recover and the stronger I get, those lessons sort of get pushed to the background. When I’m having bad days and not doing well, then I start remembering all these great lessons about appreciating every day. But it’s strange, I tend to have a very short memory in that regard.”
The bad news about Johan Djourou’s knee means that he is going to be out of action for around 6 months. I suspect the problem with Johan’s knee is an osteochondral defect, I shall try to explain this to those of you without the medical knowledge. An osteochondral defect means an area where the smooth joint lining, the cartilage, has been damaged, this is different to the meniscus of the knee which is the cup shaped bits which are made of fibrocartilage.
If Johan had torn his meniscus then one would expect him to have it tidied up with key hole surgery and he’d be back relatively quickly. Either he is having a repair to his meniscus which would take a lot longer to get back to football from, or he has an area of damaged cartilage, an osteochondral defect. There are different treatments for osteochondral defects and none of them are perfect by any means.
One can try to regrow a sort of cartilage in the hole by ‘microfracture’ treatment, one can transplant cartilage from the patient or from elsewhere, plus there are some emerging stem cell treatments. All require a substantial period of rehabilitation to allow the new cartilage to bed down as it were. Good luck and a speedy recovery Johan, it’s a shame to lose such a talented young player when he was showing such signs of developing into a very solid centre back.
Charlie Butts and Marty Cooper – OneNewsNow – 9/5/2009 4:10:00 AM
Medical Research - The Culture and Media Institute believes the media is biased in favor of research on human embryos, but that there is scant coverage of successful work with adult stem cells.
CMI’s Colleen Raezler says the media is playing upon emotions in its promotion of embryonic stem-cell research. “Reporter after reporter keeps touting the line that scientists believe that by turning embryonic stem cells into cells damaged by injury or disease, they can treat or even cure everything from spine cord injuries to Alzheimer’s disease to diabetes,” she notes.
She contends the media fails to mention that such research has proven nothing and has been scientifically ineffective.
Colleen Raezler”And they’re also ignoring the fact that adult stem-cell research has provided 73 different breakthroughs to help people with spinal cord injuries, with Alzheimer’s disease, with Parkinson’s, and with diabetes,” Raezler adds.
The CMI spokeswoman points out that adult stem cells can be taken from hair, skin, and fat and do not involve killing a tiny human being. Those successes, she laments, are not being reported in the media and should be.
Racing at speeds upwards of 120 mph, nothing holds Michael Johnson back.
Paralyzed from the waist down in a 2005 motorcycle crash, the Vienna Township teen, 16, uses his hands to propel himself around the track in his specially equipped go-kart—winning one state and one national title in races as far away as Quebec and Florida.
This week, the Frankenmuth High School junior is racing toward another goal: He’s flying to Portugal to undergo an experimental stem cell transplant he hopes will repair his spinal cord and enable him to walk again for the first time since he was 12 years old.
LifeCell International inks pact with Max New York Life Insurance
Submitted by Harish Dhawan on Sun, 09/06/2009 – 11:42.
LifeCell InternatiMAXonal, India’s first and the largest stem cell banking service provider, has entered into an arrangement with Max New York Life Insurance.
Under the arrangement, Max New York will reach out to LifeCell’s customers who are expectant parents and create awareness on the importance of securing a child’s future against unseen health and financial needs.
LifeCell ensures biological insurance for children by banking their umbilical cord blood stem cells for future therapeutic use, Max New York will offer life insurance options to LifeCell customers helping them meet the future financial needs of their children.
According to an official release, every LifeCell customer will get the opportunity to analyze their future financial needs and explore various insurance and savings options available with Max New York Life Insurance.
GENEGO KICKS OFF THE METAMINER STEM CELL PROJECT WITH INDUSTRY AND ACADEMICS
St. Joseph, MI. September 1st, 2009 – GeneGo, Inc., the leading systems biology tools company, announced today that it launched a collaborative development project on systems biology of stem cells with global pharmaceutical companies and leading academic centers as members. The 24-month project aims to create a comprehensive “knowledge base” on development and biology of different types of stem cells. The knowledge base will be supported by GeneGo’s MetaDiscovery tools and applied in experimental research on stem cells and human diseases.
“We are really excited about this project,” said Yuri Nikolsky, CEO of GeneGo. “Although one of the hottest areas of life science, no systematic effort was done on methodical annotation of current experimental knowledge on stem cells, and we intend to fill this gap. Understanding the biology of embryonic adult and neoplastic…
(Neoplasm: A tumor. An abnormal growth of tissue. The word neoplasm is not synonymous with cancer. A neoplasm may be benign or malignant. )
…stem cells is key in both drug discovery and fundamental research in many fields from embryology and ontogenesis to cancer and diabetes.
“We are very glad to be able to attract an excellent team of members for the cause,” said Julie Bryant, GeneGo’s VP of Business Development. “An industry-academia consortium model fits well with our development objectives in such a complex and controversial field. We believe that the members will see a strong positive return on their investment within several months from the project’s launch.”
Liposuction Fat Turns to Stem Cells Quicker Than Skin in Study
By Rob Waters
Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) — Human fat, widely available and easily harvested with liposuction, morphed into stem cells more efficiently than skin cells in a study, giving scientists an alternative to the use of embryonic cells.
Three years ago, Shinya Yamanaka, of Kyoto University in Japan, showed that skin cells could be genetically manipulated to become any other cell type, much like embryonic stem cells. This process was hailed as avoiding the destruction of embryos and letting scientists create new therapies by making stem cells from patients who are ill.
Since then, researchers have sought to overcome two drawbacks to Yamanaka’s method. One is that the viruses and genes used to reprogram skin cells can trigger tumor growth. The second is that the process is inefficient, with less than 1 percent of skin cells becoming all-purpose cells. The new research, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may solve the second problem.
The Jordanian Stem Cell Company Acquires Stem Cell Technology
From Stemedica International S.A.Posted on: Sunday, 6 September 2009, 23:01 CDTSAN DIEGO, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/
Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc., “Stemedica”, a world leader in stem cell research and manufacturing, announced the signing of an agreement today for its breakthrough stem cell and related technology. The Jordanian Stem Cell Company has signed a five year multi-million dollar agreement to purchase the technology from Stemedica’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Stemedica International, S.A.
The signing ceremony took place at the European Burns Association Congress in Lausanne, Switzerland.”This is an important day for Stemedica International,” said Frank Schuller, PhD, Stemedica International’s Chairman. “This is a real testament to the quality and integrity of our products and the experience, dedication and professionalism of our team.”
The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. Sam Alkhass, Chief Executive Officer of the Jordanian Stem Cell Company as well as several representatives from Stemedica, including Dr. Schuller; Mark Tager, MD, Executive for Stemedica’s Dermatological Operations; Alex Kharazi, MD, PhD, Stemedica’s Vice President for Research and Manufacturing; and, Riccardo Nisato, MBA, PhD, Director of Manufacturing and Business Development, Stemedica International S.A.
The move brings Brainstorm a step closer to a clinical trial for its ALS product.
Gali Weinreb6 Sep 09 12:52
Despite falling 30% on Thursday and Friday, Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Ltd. (Bulletin Board:BCLI.OB), a developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, still saw its share rise 60% over last week after reporting a production deal. The share closed at $0.24 on Friday, giving a market cap of $14.35 million.
Brainstorm said that it had agreed to start production with Protein Production Services Ltd. (PPS), a manufacturing contractor. The clinical-grade product will be used in a pre-clinical safety trial for the company’s innovative therapy for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).
StemCells Inc’s (NASD: STEM) announced a significant advance in its stem cell therapeutic program. Positive results from a study of the company’s HuCNS-SC cells (purified human neural stem cells) were published as the cover story in the latest issue of Cell Stem Cell, a leading scientific journal focused in the area of stem cells.
The findings of this study represent a key advance in the evaluation of stem cells as potential therapies for human diseases as it demonstrates for the first time that StemCells’ HuCNS-SC cells are able to delay the loss of motor function in a mouse model of NCL. The company has already demonstrated that HuCNS-CS has a favorable safety profile in human patients with NCL (Phase 1 study results announced in June 2009). These latest study results suggest that HuCNS-SC cells may ultimately represent a breakthrough treatment for neurodegenerative diseases such as NCL for which there are currently no cures.
Pfizer To Pay $2.3B To Settle Case On Drug Marketing – DOJ
* SEPTEMBER 2, 2009, 10:43 A.M. ET – By Brent Kendall Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–Pfizer Inc. (PFE) has agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle charges that it illegally marketed the pain drug Bextra and three other medicines for uses that weren’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.
The Justice Department said the agreement was the largest health-care fraud settlement in the department’s history.
The department said that, as part of the settlement, Pfizer subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. agreed to plead guilty to a felony violation for misbranding Bextra.
The department said Pfizer promoted Bextra for several uses and dosages that the FDA specifically declined to approve because of safety concerns.
Pfizer also improperly promoted the anti-psychotic drug Geodon, the antibiotic drug Zyvox and the anti-epileptic drug Lyrica, the department said.
The department said Pfizer will pay $1.3 billion in criminal fines and another $1 billion in civil fines.
Pfizer alerted investors in January that a settlement was near, saying in an earnings release that it took a $2.3 billion charge in the fourth quarter of 2008 to cover the cost of the settlement. That announcement came the same day the New York drug maker said it was acquiring New Jersey-based Wyeth in a $68 billion deal.
Another adult stem cell miracle…CONGRATS to Richard + Laura Humphries for having the sight and the gumption to pursue non-conventional treatments!
…but is it truly a miracle? Let’s see:
mir·a·cle – Pronunciation: ˈmir-i-kəl Function: noun – Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin miraculum, from Latin, a wonder, marvel, from mirari to wonder at – Date: 12th century
1 : an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs
2 : an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment
Nope. Definitely not a miracle. These kind of success stories of so called “incurable diseases” improving are happening every day, all over the world, with adult stem cells…EXCEPT in the US!
Richard, Laura, thanks for blazing the trail and getting the word out! I wish you continued health and hope many, many people follow your example! -dg
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Seventeen months ago, Humphries, a 54-year-old Alexandria native who lives in Fort Worth, Texas, was bedridden and suffering from excruciating pain with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.
“Very few people know this,” he said, “but I prayed to die every day and night, for the pain was off the charts.”…
…”The night after the second injection, I started to feel better and the fog had lifted. The time was midnight, and I had not been able to stay up that late in some time. The pain was gone….
…In February, Humphries underwent another experimental stem cell treatment to regrow inner ear nerve hairs. It not only improved his hearing but helped him tolerate heat, which can be a problem for people with MS…
Richard Humphries, an Alexandria native from Fort Worth, Texas, has plans to play in the 2009 Deep South Four Ball golf tournament, despite suffering from secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.
“It’s an amazing recovery,” Ichem said (Dr. Tom Ichem of San Diego, a scientist). “I was with him in (Washington) D.C. and spent three days with him, and I was, honestly, bona fide flabbergasted. It’s one thing to read about recoveries like this, but to see it first hand — I hate to say ‘miracle,’ but it was absolutely something very, very stunning. Usually when we develop new treatments, we see results with some impact, but I’ve never seen this kind of stunning impact. It literally shocked me.”
Ailing economy leaves California struggling to build research labs.
Rex Dalton
California’s troubled economy has hit the state’s ambitious stem-cell research programme, delaying the construction of facilities and disrupting recruitment.
At least three of the dozen groups that received a share of US$271 million in building grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) won’t make the construction deadline of the end of 2010. And efforts to recruit stem-cell researchers have stalled at some institutions, because of the delays in setting up lab space and because of university hiring freezes.
Christopher Reeve’s clip is the 2nd one down on the left side. The other clips address cloning, egg harvesting, etc.Description below – dg
The documentary also introduces the moral issues being argued in the public square – issues of human life and the medical utilization of embryos, as well as women’s health issues that arise from the procurement of eggs used in much of the research. Scientists, doctors and ethicists on both sides weigh in with their views.
One of the solutions to achieving the mass amount of stem cell lines needed for this burgeoning stem cell industry is cloning. The documentary examines cloning, what it is, what it isn’t, as well as the current scientific, moral and political issues surrounding this volatile issue in the debate.
Kiger’s Notebook – By Jeff Kiger, Post-Bulletin business columnist
September 01, 2009
Mayo Clinic-linked stem cell biotech = “Tremendous potential”
I’ve written about Cardio3, a Belgium biotech that is using Mayo Clinic research as part of its stem cell-based cardiac treatment, a few times before here and here.Today the company kicked out a release about its presentation at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Here a little from the release:
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A unique second generation stem-cell derived therapy, C-Cure allows the differentiation of a patient’s own cells into ‘cardiopoietic’ cells which grow into new heart cells and repair heart muscle. C-Cure is currently undergoing a randomized, multi-center pivotal trial, designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy beyond optimal clinical care in patients with heart failure…
Stemedica Achieves Major Milestone – Company Receives License to Manufacture Clinical Grade Stem Cells
By stemedica
(Source: September 1, 2009; Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc.)
Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc., (“Stemedica”), a leader in adult stem cell research and manufacturing, announced today that it has been granted a license by the State of California’s Food & Drug Branch to manufacture stem cells for human clinical trials. This Drug Manufacturing License recognizes Stemedica as being compliant with California law and the applicable provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Dr. Alex Kharazi, MD, PhD, Vice President Research and Manufacturing for Stemedica is joined by Eugene Helsel (Left), Sr. Director of Quality and Carl Bullen, (Right) Director of Manufacturing in accepting the California cGMP Manufacturing License.From left – Dr. Alex Kharazi, MD, PhD, Vice President Research and Manufacturing for Stemedica is joined by Eugene Helsel (Left), Sr. Director of Quality and Carl Bullen, (Right) Director of Manufacturing in accepting the California cGMP Manufacturing License.
Stemedica develops and manufactures adult stem cells and stem cell factors for use by approved research institutions and hospitals for pre-clinical and human clinical trials.
…Lazard analyst Joel Sendek, for example, advised investors to wash their hands of the company, based on the COPD slip and earlier troubles with a clinical trial in Crohn’s disease that resulted in a high placebo response. But for the most part, investors and analysts shrugged off the data, choosing to view it as a learning experience in a secondary indication, while keeping their eyes focused on the pending GvHD results.
It would have been nice to see Prochymal succeed in COPD because that’s a very large market, “but is it a major setback? I don’t think so,” says Lutz Giebel, PhD, a managing partner at SV Life Sciences. Giebel co-founded the embryonic stem cell company CyThera Inc. in 1999; the biotech merged with another SC company, BresaGen Inc., in 2004 to form Novocell Inc.
Certainly major pharma companies are tracking the news flow from Osiris closely. Keenly aware that they got into the biologics game too late, but nonetheless wary of the incredibly complicated biology involved, Big Pharma is in a state of cognitive dissonance when it comes to stem cells. “They’d like to see a true product,” Giebel says, noting that the preference is for allogeneic therapies, “because one size fits all.” The problem with creating an allogeneic therapy, which arguably could be treated as a product in the traditional pharma sense, is that the stem cells are derived from someone other than the ultimate recipient, bringing into play the challenge of immune response. (Mesenchymal stem cells are unique in that they are not “seen” by the immune system and in fact have the effect of down-regulating T-cells, making them potentially effective in autoimmune indications, like GvHD.)
Meanwhile, autologous therapies, in which the patient’s own cells are collected, treated, and put back in, are more transplant than therapy, and not an appealing acquisition for pharma in Giebel’s opinion. But given the nascent state of the field and as yet no clear clinical success stories, there are many others with divergent views.
The very latest development in the private stem cell storage industry is a US company offering the private storage of embryonic stem cells. This service is offered to people who have excess frozen human embryos stored in infertility clinics. Such embryos are thawed, embryonic stem cells extracted and the resultant cells re-frozen for possible later use by the clients.
On the face of it this might sound like a useful service but there are many objections to such a service including:
# Embryonic stem cells have no current clinical applications. There are no plans at all for clinical trials involving embryonic stem cells.
# The current technology for the derivation of embryonic stem cells will no doubt improve with time making derivation at this point in time potentially damaging
# Much more research is needed before there is any justification at all for such a service
# In the event that the clients need their frozen embryos (for example the death of a child) then this option will have been taken away from them and the creation of further new embryos might not be possible
# There are still many technical problems to be resolved not least the problem of cell stability and tumor formation by embryonic stem cells
# Current adult and cord blood stem cell technology is providing current therapy and clinical trials in regenerative medicine
This novel approach represents a shift from the paradigm that intensive chemotherapy or radiotherapy is needed for donor stem-cell engraftment.
New Technique Reduces Toxicity Associated With Stem Cell Transplants in Children
NEW YORK — September 1, 2009 — A minimal-intensity conditioning (MIC) regimen using antibodies instead of high dose chemotherapy may reduce the short and long term toxicity associated with stem cell transplants in children, and enable successful transplantation even in the sickest children, according to a study published online first and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet…
…This study analysed the results of antibody-based conditioning in 16 children with primary immunodeficiencies (PID) who were too sick to undergo a traditional stem cell transplant. The average age of these patients was 11 months and 11 of 16 had previously been ventilated on a life-support machine. The majority (11) were transplanted from unrelated donors and 5 from matched siblings.
The researchers found that antibody-based MIC was well tolerated despite the fact that most patients were extremely sick at the time of transplant, with only 2 cases of serious toxicity. The sickness and hair loss associated with high dose chemotherapy were not seen, and there was much less damage to the liver, lungs, and gut.
Patients recovered twice as quickly as those given standard treatment and the rates of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD were similar to with conventional transplant. Fifteen of the 16 patients (94%) engrafted, although in 2 cases this was not sufficient for cure.
At an average of 40 months post-transplant, 13 of 16 patients (81%) were alive and cured from their underlying disease. Almost all of these patients now have excellent quality of life and it is predicted that they will have very little in the way of late effects.
This novel approach represents a shift from the paradigm that intensive chemotherapy or radiotherapy is needed for donor stem-cell engraftment.
Stem Cell Central – September 2009 – By Meredith W. Salisbury
Advances in stem cell research have been coming fast and furious in recent years, and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute has been right in the middle of the fray. Founded by scientific co-directors David Scadden and Doug Melton just five years ago, the institute was conceived as “a convening force” that would “bring together people who work on different parts of the large portfolio of research in stem cell biology and stem cell ethics and other aspects,” Scadden says. A hematologist and oncologist by training, Scadden says his perspective at the time was informed by how clinically useful stem cells appeared to be, while Melton came from a developmental biology background and had an appreciation for what the research community could do…
PIRAN, Slovenia/BELGRADE, Serbia, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – Hard To Treat Diseases HTDS.PK financed the participation of Dr. Ivana Gadjanski in the International Summer School for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine held in Piran, Slovenia 21-29. Aug 2009 where a number of eminent speakers presented their work.
Among them were Dr. Stephen Minger from King’s College,London; Dr. Smadar Cohen from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel; Dr. Thomas Ekstrom from Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; Dr. Zoran Ivanovic from EFS, Bordeaux, France; Dr. Dasa Cziskova from Institute of Neurobiology, Kosice, Slovakia, Dr. Tanja Dominko and Dr. Raymond L. Page from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA, Dr. Darja Marolt from Columbia University, USA.
Several main topics were discussed: stem cell sources most suitable for clinical application, ethical issues related to stem cell use,obstacles of stem cell therapy (e.g. teratoma formation), future clinical trials (the most interest evokes the FDA-approved world’s first human clinical trial of an embryonic stem cell-based therapy for acute spinal cord injury which will be perfomed by Geron using their human embrionic stem cell-derived oligodendrocytes GRNOPC1.
The Investigational New Drug Application is currently on clinical hold by the FDA pending the agency’s review of new nonclinical animal study data submitted by the company. More information availaible from http://www.geron.com/patients/clinicaltrials/hESC.aspx). Also more technical issues were discussed, e.g. types of biomaterials used for scaffolds, types of bioreactors for growing cells, protocols for cell isolation from various tissues, ways of inducing pluripotency in somatic stem cells (producing iPS), using umbilical cord blood as a source of stem cells.
Very promising are adipose-derived stem cells (APC), where first reports are available on the in vivo bone formation and bone augmentation using APC. This type of stem cells raises the least ethical issues and might hold the highest potential for clinical application. However, the takehome message of the whole symposium was that the major task should be to stimulate endogenous potential for repair rather than to force usage of stem cell therapy per se. The company intends to provide further updates on a timely basis.
Stem Cell Infusion And Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Improve Islet Function In Diabetes
ScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2009) — A study to determine if patients with type 2 diabetes can benefit from a combination of autologous (patient self-donated) stem cell infusions (ASC) and hyperbaric (above the normal air pressure of ) oxygen treatment (HBO) before and after ASC has found “significant benefits” in terms of “improvements in glycemic control” along with “reduced insulin requirements.”
The combination therapy could decrease type 2 diabetes morbidity and mortality, said the authors, who published their study results in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation (Vol. 17 No.12).
MONDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) — Using skin cells from people with type 1 diabetes, researchers were able to produce cells that made insulin in response to changing blood sugar levels, though not as efficiently as normal insulin-producing cells do.
The major immediate implication from this experiment is that scientists now have a preliminary lab model of human type 1 diabetes cells, and the hope is that an animal model of the disease could be developed from this research. Down the road, this finding could lead to a way to replace the islet cells that were destroyed when the disease first developed.
Baptist Press – Federal suit challenges stem cell funding guidelines – News with a Christian Perspective
Posted on Aug 28, 2009 | by Tom Strode
WASHINGTON (BP)–The Obama administration’s guidelines for federal funding of stem cell research that results in the destruction of human embryos have been challenged in court, and a lawyer behind the suit says he thinks its “chances are very good.”
The National Institutes of Health’s decision to fund embryonic stem cell research is “unethical, scientifically unnecessary, fiscally irresponsible and counterproductive,” opponents said in their complaint filed Aug. 19 in District of Columbia federal court.
Their suit contends the guidelines violate a 13-year-old congressional ban on funds for research that destroys embryos. It also says the National Institutes of Health (NIH) failed to follow procedures required by law before issuing the guidelines, including in its dismissal of substantial studies that show other stem cells are “ethically and medically superior alternatives.” …
New York plans to invest $20.4 million in stem-cell research.
Gov. David Paterson announced that $5.4 million will be earmarked to recruit research fellows to research institutions in New York. The remaining $15.4 million will be used to establish “multi-institutional research facilities” that will be shared by researchers from across the state.
“Investment in stem cell research is part of our vision to make New York a global leader in the new economy,” Paterson said.
New York State Health Commissioner Richard Daines, who is also the chair of the Empire State Stem Cell Board, said the funding will “ensure the best and the brightest new stem-cell investigators conduct their research in New York state.”
The governor put out two Requests for Applications. More detail on the applications, which are due Dec. 1, is available at the state’s Web site.
Can stem cells cure Diabetes – type 2? See the results of this one year study of adult stem cell treatment of Diabetes type – 2. C-peptide levels, insulin levels, insulin dosage requirements and HA1c levels.
Can stem cells cure Diabetes – type 1? See the results of this one year study of adult stem cell treatment of Diabetes type – 1. C-peptide levels, insulin levels, insulin dosage requirements and HA1c levels.
Retinal stem cell – Wallace group Retinal stem cells have now been created from human skin, adding yet another specialized cell type to a rapidly growing list of cells that can be created using induced pluripotent (iPS) methodology. The finding could prove to be an important method in the production of human retinal cells, which would help overcome one of the greatest obstacles to successful stem cell therapies to treat eye conditions. The announcement was made on Monday by a team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Stem cells in breast milk could fulfil baby’s ‘genetic destiny’
“Bone union and healing was achieved in 21 of the 23 patients, to the extent that they were able to walk in regular shoes with little or no pain 6 months or more after cast removal.”
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Aristophanes coined the word. He used it in his Broadway hit, The Birds (not to be confused with Bye, Bye, Birdie or Sweet Bird of Youth) to describe a hypothetical perfect city in the clouds. It’s often translated as “cloud cuckoo land.” German philosopher Schopenhauer loved the word. He liked to describe the work of other philosophers as relating only to cloud cuckoo land. The word is often used to denote looking for shapes in clouds. Castro’s death has been attributed to oxygen starvation caused by failure to breathe while staring at clouds. He loves to look for images of Che Guevara and Charo.
efinitions of the word, alive. NNN sources in the mystery shrouded island where pork is pulled and the newest cars are 1958 models revealed that the longtime dictator is playing dominoes and slapping the board in his hospital room. He apparently keeps a diary of his cloud observations. This week he recorded sightings of Che and Charo in several different compromising positions.
My response:
Bye
“…the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the US.”
Use of adult stem cells has helped a swimming champion continue to compete.
JO: You support PETA, which directly opposes biomedical HIV research; you also support HIV research and advocacy groups such as Keep A Child Alive. Do you personally oppose biomedical HIV research? Should the gay community support or oppose biomedical research?
LA JOLLA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Ray Romano and Kevin James Celebrity Golf Classic will be held on Monday, November 16, 2009 at the El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California. This year’s golf classic will benefit the advancement in vision science at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
Stem Cell Therapy International, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Stem Cell Therapy International Corp., engages in licensing of stem cell technology and the sale of stem cell products, as well as the provision of information, education, and referral services. It provides allo stem cell biological solutions that are used in the treatment of patients suffering from degenerative disorders of the human body, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, ALS, leukemia, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, spinal cord injuries, brain injury, stroke, heart disease, liver and retinal disease, and diabetes, as well as certain types of cancer. The company’s stem cell biological solutions can be used to alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy. Its principal stem cell products are solutions containing allo stem cell biological solutions, either adult stem cells, and stem cells that are extracted from umbilical cord blood. It intends to offer biological solutions containing stem cell products primarily in the United States to universities, institutes, and privately funded laboratory facilities for research purposes and clinical trials. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
U. expert to lead stem cell research panel
The National Institutes of Health moved closer today to fulfilling President Obama’s pledge to expand the number of stem cell lines eligible for use in federally funded research projects.
Pierre, SD (LifeNews.com) — When voters in South Dakota head to the polls next November, they could face a statewide ballot measure that would force taxpayers to pay for embryonic stem cell research. That is the science that has yet to provide any cures for patients and has had problems in animal studies.
Shane McGlaun (Blog) – September 28, 2009 11:30 AM
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On Sept 10, 2009 GENova Biotherapeutics, Inc. a biotechnology company that identifies, acquires, and develops novel drug targets that disrupt the advance of life-threatening diseases, recently announced it has filed a patent for a potential blockbuster drug target that combats breast cancer. The target, Tetanolic acid, is a tailor-made lipid which induces cell death in breast cancer cells, thus curtailing development of the harmful cancer.
The episode revolves around Miley (Miley Cyrus) and Lilly (Emily Osment) reacting to the knowledge that Oliver (Mitchel Musso) has been diagnosed with Type I diabetes. The pair then turn into food police at a sweet 16 party, to keep Oliver away from certain foods.
Eventually, Oliver puts them at ease: together they – and he – can work through the challenge of diabetes. The segment ends with a feel-good message.
Tick saliva could hold cancer cure: Brazilian scientists
cancerous cells while leaving healthy cells alone.
cure for cancer,” she told AFP.
Nova Southeastern University’s dental researchers at the College of Dental Medicine are growing and harvesting human dental stem cells in the laboratory.A 2009 NSU survey of dentists around the nation revealed that more than half thought that they would be using stem cell and tissue engineering therapies on their patients within the next decade.
Someone should tell Michael J. Fox:
v http://zoacell.com/investor/ascsummary.aspx
