WHAT PRICE HEALTH?

Greg said:

“Dave, word on the grapevine is a few stem cell professionals almost or did come to blows over the FDA nonsense. They couldn’t understand how the FDA has been stonewalling them when the FDA has okayed dangerous drugs with far less data and safety.”

I responded:

“This has been going on for some time. Simply put, there are a number of docs and treatment centers that are leading the charge, a full frontal assault on the FDA to obtain the right (which should not be something they need to petition for) to use autologous (from the patient’s own body) adult stem cells for treatment. There are a number of regulations that need to be met and federal, state and local law before one can treat in the USA. Almost nobody knows how to do this. Even those that do, can still come under fire and spend their entire war chest battling in the courts. Even if you win over and over, you still can waste valuable time, money and energy better spent treating patients and researching protocols and developing ideas.

There are also many patient groups who are actively lobbying for these rights and numerous petitions floating around. The call to arms I recently wrote which I am putting the finishing touches on, entitled “The Public Wants Stem Cell Treatments” addresses these issues directly. These are the front lines my friends and the docs and patients are on one side and the FDA and upstart regulatory bureaus trying to get a market share of stem cell regulation are on the other. Welcome to the wild west. The mortars and shrapnel are flying and anyone who sticks their head out of the fox hole will incur a mortal wound.

The number of hoops required to jump through are daunting and almost nobody knows how and fewer are willing to take the chance but the potential upside is thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of chronic and terminally ill patients with incurable disease recovering, going into remission, reclaiming their health and their lives.

What’s the value of that? What price can we put on our health? I’m reminded of the old credit card commercials…

Chronic disease = $30-150,000 per year
Loss of income from inability to work = $30-150,000 per year
Adult stem cell treatment = $8 – 10,000
Living without symptoms after treatment = Priceless
Living to see your daughter married = Priceless
Living to see your grandchild born = Priceless
Living without pain = PricelessRelated articles

• Snowmen Receive Stem Cells (repairstemcell.wordpress.com)
• PIONEERING??? Heart Study (repairstemcell.wordpress.com)
• A Dog’s Life Saved Through Stem Cell Treatment (repairstemcell.wordpress.com)
• Adult Stem Cells Used to Successfully Rebuild a Human Trachea (repairstemcell.wordpress.com)
• New Stem Cell Treatment Study Focuses on Preventing Sight Loss From Diabetics (repairstemcell.wordpress.com)

CHRISTOPHER REEVE’S STEM CELL SPINAL CORD MISTAKE

A SAD BIRTHDAY FOR CHRISTOPHER REEVE

Christopher Reeve would most likely have reached his 60th birthday today had he focused on adult stem cell treatments instead of embryonic.

Adult stem cell treatments have produced significant therapeutic benefits in Spinal cord injury patients for years.  Patients have regained sensation in the extremities, bladder and bowel control and even the ability to walk.  It is sad that a misinformed or misguided and certainly limited focus on embryonic stem cells resulted in the loss of potential for this iconic actor to recover from spinal cord injury.

HISTORY OF STEM CELL TREATMENTS FOR SPINAL CORD INJURY

SPINAL CORD INJURY vs ASC HISTORY OF TREATMENT – http://tinyurl.com/SCIvsASC

REGENERATING THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM  http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/regenerating-the-central-nervous-system/

Stepping Towards A Paralysis Cure, A Tale Of Two Supermen Stem Cells Cure 23 Year Old Male of Paralysis – C6…-C7 injury
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/stepping-towards-a-paralysis-cure-a-tale-of-two-supermen-stem-cells-cure-23-year-old-male-of-paralysis-c6-c7-injury/

Paraplegic – Adult Stem Cell Success Stories – Laura Dominguez
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/paraplegic-adult-stem-cell-success-stories-laura-dominguez/

PARALYZED COUSINS PLEASED WITH STEM CELL TREATMENT
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/paralyzed-cousins-pleased-with-stem-cell-treatment/

Successful Stem Cell Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury in Dogs
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/successful-stem-cell-treatment-of-spinal-cord-injury-in-dogs/

Spinal Cord Injury Patient Wins…and Loses
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/spinal-cord-injury-patient-wins-and-loses/

STEM CELLS FOR SPINAL CORD INJURY
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/stem-cells-for-spinal-cord-injury/

Adult Stem Cell Grafts Help Paralyzed Heal
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/adult-stem-cell-grafts-help-paralyzed-heal/

Medical hope as paralysed dog cured by stem cell therapy – mirror.co.ukhttp://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/medical-hope-as-paralysed-dog-cured-by-stem-cell-therapy-mirror-co-uk/

Major the Roseville police dog gets stem cell treatment - http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/01/major_police_dog_stem_cell.php

 

Christopher D’Olier Reeve^[1] (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist. He achieved stardom for his acting achievements, in particular his motion-picture portrayal of the fictional superhero Superman.

On May 27, 1995, Reeve became a quadriplegic after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Virginia. He required a wheelchair and breathing apparatus for the rest of his life. He lobbied on behalf of people with spinal-cord injuries and for human embryonic stem cell research, founding the Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-founding the Reeve-Irvine Research Center.^[2]

A HISTORY OF THE GERON EMBRYONIC STEM CELL FIASCO

• ·         EMBRYONIC STEM CELL STUDIES FRONT PAGE NEWS AS BETTER ADULT STUDIES IGNORED
• ·         GERON’S EMBRYONIC “WASTE OF TIME” CONTINUES…
• ·         FIRST PATIENT TO GET STEM CELL THERAPY COMES FORWARD – LIES AND MISDIRECTION
• ·         FDA OKS FIRST EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH TRIAL ON HUMANS, DESPITE CONCERNS
• ·         CELLULAR DYNAMICS’ STEM CELLS NAMED TO TOP 10 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES LIST – JSONLINE
• ·         GERON ZOMBIE ARTICLES RISE FROM THE DEAD
• ·         THE EMBRYONIC STEM CELL HOAX: A HISTORY OF THE GERON SCANDAL
• ·         GERON RULED BY POLITICAL AGENDA
• ·         AUSTRALIAN LIES ABOUT STEM CELL TREATMENTS LEAVE BAD TASTE
• ·         GERON’S STEM CELL TRIAL
• ·         SPINAL CORD INJURY + STEM CELLS – A BRIEF HISTORY OF TREATMENT
• ·         GERON CLONE? SEC SAYS CELLCYTE GENETICS LIED TO INFLATE STOCK PRICE
• ·         THE LATEST STORIES FROM “ADULT STEM CELL AWARENESS”
• ·         HARD TO TREAT DISEASES HTDS.PK STEM CELLS + REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
• ·         GERON GIVES REASON FOR FDA HOLD; SHARES RISE
• ·         BRAINSTORM (BCLI) – BONE MARROW STEM CELL CO. PROFILE RELEASED
• ·         GERON SAYS: PRODUCT PRODUCED CYSTS
• ·         STEM CELL STOCK INDEX
• ·         ALL EYES ON THE STEM CELL INDEX AHEAD OF STUDY RESULTS
• ·         WHO SAYS EMBRYONIC TREATMENTS CAN’T HAPPEN?
• ·         GERON EMBRYONIC TRIAL HITS THE WALL
• ·         A GRIM FAIRY TALE – AMERICA’S DOOMED LOVE AFFAIR WITH EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH – PART 6 – FOLLOW THE MONEY, NOT THE SCIENCE
• ·         NEWS ANALYSIS – RETHINK STEM CELLS? SCIENCE ALREADY HAS – NYTIMES.COM
• ·         OBAMA ROCKS UP STEM CELL STOCKS (ASTM, CYTX, GERN, NBS, OSIR, STEM, KOOL) : BIOHEALTH INVESTOR – BIOTECH AND MEDICAL BUSINESS BLOG
• ·         STEM CELLS: POLITICS, PROCESSES AND POTENTIAL : NEAPOLITAN : NAPLES DAILY NEWS
• ·         GERON’S STEM-CELL RESEARCH HYPE SOAKS INVESTORS
• ·         STEM CELL SCIENTISTS EXPECTING MORE FEDERAL FUNDING

Embryonic stem cell treatment are now an unrealized potential.

Adult stem cell treatments are a realized potential.

To see if your condition can be treated with Adult stem cells, please fill out this form: http://bit.ly/PATIENTQUESTIONNAIRE

GERON GIVES UP on EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS!

THE

WAR

IS

OVER!!

If stem cell treatments were a boxing match, Embryonic stem cell treatments would be the 500 lb Gorilla and Adult stem cell treatments would be the small, unknown underdog.   Today, that Gorilla threw in the towel!

Despite the huge disparity in their media coverage, with positive Embryonic stem cell potential articles outnumbering all Adult stem cell articles by 1,000 to one, only Adult stem cells have a proven history of safety and efficacy, only Adult stem cell treatments are available today.  Click here to see if your condition can be treated with Adult stem cells:

While Geron and the US media, big Pharma, the AMA and the FDA have all given Embryonic stem cell their full throated support, the number of patients helped with adult stem cells is in the 10s of thousands while the number of patients helped by Embryonic stem cells in zero.

If Embryonic treatments were a horse race, Geron would be the strongest horse in the field.  Geron would be the horse who was 9/10 of the way around the track with all other competitors still milling about in the starting blocks.  So what would make that horse stop dead in his tracks, fall flat on his face and walk away from the race?

What does it mean for the other Embryonic focused companies when the front runner pulls out of the race?

What would cause the leading Embryonic stem cell Pharmaceutical company with multiple Embryonic stem cell products in development to end all of their Embryonic stem cell programs? 

Product		Product Description		Application		Development Stage
GRNOPC1		Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells		Spinal Cord Injury		Phase I Clinical Trial
GRNCM1		Cardiomyocytes		Heart Disease		Preclinical
GRNIC1		Islets		Type 1 Diabetes		Research
GRNCHND1		Chondrocytes		Osteoarthritis		Research
		Hepatocytes		ADME Drug Screening		Research
GRNVAC2		Mature Dendritic Cells		Cancer Immunotherapy		Product Research
		Immature Dendritic Cells		Immune Rejection		Research
		Osteoblasts		Osteoporosis		Research

via Geron.com

Perhaps their clinical trial patients developed cysts and tumors as do all Embryonic stem cell patients.  Perhaps Geron decided to end their trials before these tumors and cysts turned into cancer so they could still say their product “has been well tolerated with no serious adverse events.”

Perhaps Geron couldn’t figure out how to address the need for immunosuppressive drugs required to implant a human with ALL Embryonic stem cells when there are many Adult stem cells that have no rejection issues.

Perhaps Geron couldn’t determine how to deal with Embryonic stem cells carrying the genetic abnormalities and maladies of the donor.

Or perhaps they read some of the quotes from my articles going back to March of 2009:

• To date, ESC research has been 100% fruitless (in regard to generating treatments) for well-funded + government supported scientists around the world for the last 11 years.
• Dr James Thomson, father of ESC research said: “…[ESC] are not being used in any clinical applications yet, while alternatives such as adult stem cells figure in scores of therapies.”
• Ian Wilmut, who led the team that cloned Dolly the sheep, abandoned his license to attempt human cloning, saying that the researchers “may have achieved what no politician could: an end to the [ESC] debate.”
• Dr. Bernadine Healy, former director of the NIH in U.S. News & World Report: “…[ESC], once thought to hold the cure for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and diabetes, are obsolete….. In fact, adult stem cells, which occur in small quantities in organs throughout the body for natural growth and repair, have become stars despite great skepticism early on.

Or maybe they reviewed the timeline for Embryonic stem cell success and realized they couldn’t afford 50 YEARS OF RESEARCH!

Dr. Colin McGuckin, a noted UK embryonic research leader at Newcastle U. before departing for more useful RSC research in France announced:

• “For me, the unnecessary row over stem cells has obscured the very real issue that patients are waiting to be treated…The best estimates of the embryonic scientists in our own university in Newcastle is that embryonic stem cells may not be able to help people this side of 50 years. That’s my lifetime. And that’s worrying. We can’t wait that long.”

via Screw The Embryos, They’re Irrelevant!

I do have to applaud their spin department.  It is a brilliant move to take the news story

“GERON GIVES UP ON EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS”

and spin it into

“GERON PUTS 100% FOCUS INTO CURING CANCER.” 

Even so, we are not fooled.  The red headed step child in the family always knows when they are neglected. 

They also published their press release at 4:05 Eastern so the regular stock market was closed and couldn’t react to the news. Unfortunately for them, their stock dropped over 20% in after hours trading.

Whatever the reason for Geron abandoning Embryonic stem cells, we can now finally exalt that THE WAR IS OVER and get on with Adult Stem Cell Treatments, the only stem cells to cure a human patient.

ADULT STEM CELL = ASC

• SOURCE/DERIVED FROM•comes from blood, umbilical cords, bone marrow, placenta fat tissue, muscle, nasal neurological, breast milk, menstruation, dental pulp, and many more
• PURPOSE IN BODY•they are the body’s natural healing cells
• OBSTACLES+SIDE EFFECTS•~zero problems (virtually zero side effects)
• TREATMENT HISTORY•used in bone marrow transplants to treat cancer for 40 years
• TREATMENT HISTORY•can currently treat 130+ diseases safely and effectively (CP, MS, Autism, Diabetes, CHF, PAD, etc)
• To see if your condition can be treated with Adult stem cells, please fill out this form: http://bit.ly/PATIENTQUESTIONNAIRE

via STEM CELLS 101

• 100+ DISEASES treated around the world with adult stem cells!
• 60-70% SUCCESS RATE typical therapeutic benefit on INCURABLE DISEASES!!
• POTENTIAL CURES of Autism, Parkinson’s, AIDs, Diabetes, Heart Disease and more!
• HUGE REWARDS of life extension!
• SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED quality of life!

Geron to Focus on Its Novel Cancer Programs

Company Plans to Partner All Stem Cell Programs

MENLO PARK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN) today announced that, effective immediately, the Company will focus on its first-in-class oncology programs. As a consequence, the Company will discontinue further development of its stem cell programs and is seeking partners for these novel assets.

“Our employees, collaborators and shareholders can be proud of the pioneering role they have played to advance our stem cell technology into the clinic”

“In the current environment of capital scarcity and uncertain economic conditions, we intend to focus our resources on advancing our Phase 2 clinical trials of imetelstat and GRN1005. These two novel and promising oncology drug candidates target major unmet medical needs and have important clinical development milestones occurring over the next 20 months,” said Geron’s Chief Executive Officer, John A. Scarlett, M.D. “By narrowing our focus to the oncology therapeutic area, we anticipate having sufficient financial resources to reach these important near-term value inflection points for shareholders without the necessity of raising additional capital. This would not be possible if we continue to fund the stem cell programs at the current levels.”

…The decision to narrow Geron’s technology and therapeutic focus was made after a strategic review of the costs, value inflection timelines and clinical, manufacturing and regulatory complexities associated with the Company’s research and clinical-stage assets. With this decision, Geron is eliminating 66 full-time positions, representing 38% of its workforce. As a result, the Company expects one-time cash expenditures of approximately $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and approximately $3 million in the first half of 2012. Geron expects to end 2011 with cash and investments in excess of $150 million.

Geron is seeking partners with the technical and financial resources to enable further development of its stem cell programs. “Our employees, collaborators and shareholders can be proud of the pioneering role they have played to advance our stem cell technology into the clinic,” said Dr. Scarlett. “Stem cells continue to hold great medical promise. We believe that our leadership role in the field and the quality of our stem cell assets — which are widely recognized as being among the most innovative, comprehensive and advanced cell therapy programs in the world — will be an important point of differentiation in our discussions to partner these assets.” In order to facilitate transfer of these programs to partners, Geron will retain a core group of employees from its stem cell operations through the end of the second quarter of 2012.

Geron plans to close the GRNOPC1 trial for spinal cord injury to further enrollment, although it will continue to follow all enrolled patients, accruing data and updating FDA and the medical community on their progress. In this trial, GRNOPC1 has been well tolerated with no serious adverse events…

Read more

Related articles:

A HISTORY OF THE GERON EMBRYONIC STEM CELL FIASCO November 15, 2011

EMBRYONICS’ BLEAK FUTURE AND BOTCHED PAST November 15, 2011

To see if your condition can be treated with Adult stem cells, please fill out this form:

Spinal membrane (meninges) is a Source of Stem Cells

SPINAL MENINGES

“…meninges, the membrane which envelops the central nervous system, is a potential source of self-renewing stem cells…”  

Let’s consider:

IF, “Stem cells…serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. ” via NIH

AND, there are stem cells in the spinal membrane (meninges).

THEN, the spinal column has it’s own repair system, ie. can repair itself.

Did you think the central nervous system couldn’t repair itself? Wrong. REGENERATING THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Did you think spinal cord injuries would not respond to stem cell treatments? Wrong.  SPINAL CORD INJURY + STEM CELL TREATMENTS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Evidence for Spinal Membrane as a Source of Stem Cells May Advance Treatment of Spinal Cord Injuries

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2011) — Italian and Spanish scientists studying the use of stem cells for treating spinal cord injuries have provided the first evidence to show that meninges, the membrane which envelops the central nervous system, is a potential source of self-renewing stem cells. The research, published in Stem Cells, develops the understanding of cell activation in central nervous system injuries; advancing research into new treatments for spinal injuries and degenerative brain disorders.

---

The team focused their research on spinal cord injuries, caused when the spinal cord is damaged by trauma rather than disease. Depending on the severity a spinal injury can lead from pain to full paralysis, with high social and medical care costs. As the spinal cord lacks the ability to regenerate, the potential for patient recovery is severely limited.

“Our research offers the first evidence that the spinal cord meninges, the system of membranes which cover the surface of the brain and the spinal cord, contains stem cells which are capable of self-renewal and proliferation,” said lead authors Dr Ilaria Decimo and Dr Francesco Bifari, at the University of Verona.

Following a spinal injury meningeal cells increase in number and migrate to form glial scars and the team believe this process explains part of the mechanism of stem cell activation in central nervous system diseases; a mechanism which could in turn be used for treatments. Dr Decimo’s team microdissected samples of spinal cord meninges from adult rats revealing that meningeal cells contain crucial stem cell properties. It is these properties which increase following a spinal cord injury.

“Our research emphasizes the role of meninges cells in the reaction to spinal cord trauma and indicates for the first time that spinal cord meninges harbour stem cells which are activated by injury,” concluded Dr, Decimo. “Further testing could result in a strategic turnaround for advancing regenerative medicine for treating neurological disorders and spinal cord injuries.”

“This study underlines the importance of endogenous stem cells,” said Stem Cells Editor Dr Miodrag Stojkovic. “Identification of these cells is crucial for understanding the basic mechanisms of cell biology and tissue repair, but also to identify drugs and chemicals which might be used to mobilize meningeal stem cells.”

Journal Reference:

1. Ilaria Decimo, Francesco Bifari, Francisco Javier Rodriguez, Giorgio Malpeli, Sissi Dolci, Valentina Lavarini, Silvia Pretto, Sandra Vasquez, Marina Sciancalepore, Alberto Montalbano, Valeria Berton, Mauro Krampera, Guido Fumagalli. Nestin- and DCX-Positive Cells Reside in Adult Spinal Cord Meninges and Participate to Injury-Induced Parenchymal Reaction. Stem Cells, 2011; DOI: 10.1002/stem.766

New evidence for spinal membrane as a source of stem cells may advance treatment of spinal cord injuries.

REGENERATING THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

First off, the sense of smell is neurological AND constantly regenerating after every cold, inhalation of smoke, etc.  Secondly, our bodies do have regeneration capabilities and they are very powerful in infants and then we lose that capability. An infant <6 mos old can regrow the tip of a finger (8 min, 45 secs in to video below) just as it was proved that with stem cell grafts, an adult can as well (19min, 20 secs).  see http://www.ted.com/talks/alan_russell_on_regenerating_our_bodies.html

Even the NIH knows this.  Here is an excerpt from one of their books:
Chapter 8 – Strategies for Regeneration and Repair in the Injured Central Nervous System
8.2.4 Regeneration Is Possible Following CNS Injury

Until the 1980s, it was unclear whether CNS axons could regenerate; however, seminal studies by Aguayo and colleagues demonstrated that CNS axons could regenerate when provided with the appropriate environment. In these studies peripheral nerve grafts were implanted in the optic nerve, and axons were regenerated within the peripheral nerve graft but not beyond the graft and not into the tissue [55]. After traumatic injury to the brain or spinal cord, some neurogenesis is often observed within the first few months following injury. It has been appreciated recently that the injured brain may be attempting repair through developmental processes, as evidenced by increases in neurogenesis and angiogenesis that occur following TBI [56–58]. In SCI, neurogenesis is observed following surgical intervention where the pressure or compression exerted on the spinal cord by vertebrae is relieved by realigning these tissues [59]. via http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3941/

In that time, we have also discovered that organs including heart muscle and neurons DO have regenerative capabilities; overturning hundreds of years of ignorance.  Often in SCI patients, olfactoric mucosal stem cells are removed from the patient’s nose (remember, the sense of smell is neurological AND constantly regenerating after every cold, inhalation of smoke, etc.) multiplied and injected into the site of the injury. Obviously great care is taken to reduce existing inflammation and scarring at the injury site and avoidance of secondary injury but the link I posted shows many articles on successful stem cell implantation and varying degrees of recovery from SCI.

A number of the doctors I’ve worked with have had success with adult stem cell implantation into spinal cord injury patients.  And before you go there, when one in 5,000 patients recovers some sensation in their legs due to physical therapy or reduction of inflammation over time, etc. then you can tell me: it wasn’t the stem cells, it was a placebo effect, it was an error in measurement, etc.  But when 40%, 50%, 60% of patients given a specific protocol at multiple treatment centers around the world by different doctors (on hundreds of diseases including spinal cord injury) show significant improvement; it is statistical, empirical, qualifiable and quantifiable and DUE to the adult stem cell treatments.

To learn more:

SPINAL CORD INJURY vs ASC HISTORY OF TREATMENT – http://tinyurl.com/SCIvsASC

Stepping Towards A Paralysis Cure, A Tale Of Two Supermen Stem Cells Cure 23 Year Old Male of Paralysis – C6…-C7 injury
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/stepping-towards-a-paralysis-cure-a-tale-of-two-supermen-stem-cells-cure-23-year-old-male-of-paralysis-c6-c7-injury/

Paraplegic – Adult Stem Cell Success Stories – Laura Dominguez
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/paraplegic-adult-stem-cell-success-stories-laura-dominguez/

PARALYZED COUSINS PLEASED WITH STEM CELL TREATMENT
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/paralyzed-cousins-pleased-with-stem-cell-treatment/

Successful Stem Cell Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury in Dogs
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/successful-stem-cell-treatment-of-spinal-cord-injury-in-dogs/

Spinal Cord Injury Patient Wins…and Loses
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/spinal-cord-injury-patient-wins-and-loses/

STEM CELLS FOR SPINAL CORD INJURY
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/stem-cells-for-spinal-cord-injury/

Adult Stem Cell Grafts Help Paralyzed Heal
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/adult-stem-cell-grafts-help-paralyzed-heal/

Medical hope as paralysed dog cured by stem cell therapy – mirror.co.ukhttp://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/medical-hope-as-paralysed-dog-cured-by-stem-cell-therapy-mirror-co-uk/

Major the Roseville police dog gets stem cell treatment - http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/01/major_police_dog_stem_cell.php

APATHY, IGNORANCE OR BLINDNESS?

I posted this on Montel William’s Facebook page:

“I just received 13 pages of new Stem Cell Treatments for MS info. There is editing and translation and I am trying to get fully substantiated results for these treatments…if you are interested in reviewing the info.”

SO SAD!: 

It was removed within 10 seconds of my posting it on Montel’s page.  Why would they not want to know about new treatments?  Don’t they have a responsibility as leaders of social media to share new treatment info with their followers?

It’s really a damn shame.  Christopher Reeves died chasing embryonic stem cells while adult stem cells have given the ability to walk to paraplegics.  Michael J Fox chases embryonic stem cells while adult stem cells have 60-70% success treating Parkinson’s disease.  The brilliant visionary Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer never knowing about a number of successful cancer treatments.  The blind can now see.  Diabetics are off insulin.  Heart transplant patients play tennis with their own heart healed.

It’s time people!!  If you know any leaders in media, corporate or politics; please refer them to me and I will personally explain to them why so many people do not have to die today.

Be the change in the world you want to see – Ghandi
…before it’s too late.

GERON’S EMBRYONIC “WASTE OF TIME” CONTINUES…

Here’s an 867 word article I’d like to not waste your time with.

The premise is:  “The study is not meant to determine whether the stem cells can cure or even improve the patients’ condition, but to find out if the treatment itself is safe. Researchers will be monitoring patients over the following months and years to look for side effects, including possible benign tumor growth if the stem cells start to replicate, or adverse immune reactions.”

So let’s not waste your time, I’ll give you the results right now:

EMBRYONIC STEM CELL = ESC

• SOURCE/DERIVED FROM•comes from embryos
• PURPOSE IN BODY•split for 7 weeks until you have a fetus the size of a thumbnail
• OBSTACLES+SIDE EFFECTS•they create cysts and tumors, rejection requires immunosuppressive drugs for the ill patient, they carry the genetic anomalies of the donor, etc
• TREATMENT HISTORY•can currently treat zero diseases, probably need to cure cancer first to use them

Read it if you want but that’s really “all she wrote.“  Then again, this will allow billions to be pumped into embryonic research for treatments over “the following months and years” despite this fact…

SCREW THE EMBRYOS, THEY’RE IRRELEVANT!

———————————————

———————————————

Paralyzed patient in major Geron stem cell study

Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer, Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A Bay Area patient who recently suffered a serious spinal cord injury and is now paralyzed from the waist down joined the world’s first-ever embryonic stem cell study in humans last week, when Stanford doctors injected 2 million cells designed to replace damaged neurons in the patient’s spine.

The patient, who is not being identified, is the fourth person to be enrolled in the clinical trial being run by Menlo Park’s Geron Corp. and the first person in California. The patient, whose participation in the trial was revealed Tuesday, received the stem cell injection Saturday at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and is now at the rehabilitation center there.

The study is not meant to determine whether the stem cells can cure or even improve the patients’ condition, but to find out if the treatment itself is safe. Researchers will be monitoring patients over the following months and years to look for side effects, including possible benign tumor growth if the stem cells start to replicate, or adverse immune reactions…

Read more

First patient to get stem cell therapy comes forward – LIES and MISDIRECTION

LIES & MISDIRECTION

There are HUGE problems with this article.  In no particular order…

IT’s A LIE!

The title of the article is a bold faced, straight up LIE. “First patient to get stem cell therapy is identified”. For the record, ADULT stem cells have safely and effectively treated tens of thousands of patients to date (SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY!), some with their own stem cells from their own bone marrow or fat tissue, some with stem cells from umbilical cords, etc.  In fact, bone marrow transplants have been used for about 40 years.  If you want to consider this a “stem cell therapy” then you should consider BMT’s a “stem cell therapy” also which adds thousands more to the tally.

IT”s MISDIRECTION!

Embryonic stem cells have been known to cause cysts and tumors that can become cancer. Embryonic stem cells require immunosuppressiv drugs.  But wait a second folks!  this isn’t even embryonic stem cell therapy….cue the magician!

This is A DRUG MADE FROM EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS!  Why make drugs from embryonic stem cells when YOUR OWN adult stem cells can fix you? It’s about the money folk,s the cash, the profit margins.  Here’s a more detailed explanation – http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/why-no-stem-cells-in-the-us/

What else:

Let’s not get too excited too soon…drugs have been known to have side effects.  At this stage, they are merely testing for safety.  If it is deemed safe or should I say: “safe” (and nobody turns on their TV to see the drug commercials with their allowable side effects followed by the commercials by the lawyers suing drug companies for heart, attack, death, stroke, and ED.) then perhaps one day you can get some at a drug store near you.  Lucky you!

What’s with all the secrecy? Secret teams? secret training? secret volunteer?  secret results?  When there is this much secrecy shrouding a medical treatment, watch out!  One of 2 things is happening.  This is a huge marketing ploy to generate hype so the most insignificant information released will be heralded with fanfare OR something is going to be hidden. Bank on it!

Or perhaps Geron, who is not mentioned until halfway down the page, finally got tired of announcing HUGE MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH WITH EMBRYONIC STEM CELL TREATMENTS for 6 years in a row only to end up with egg on their face when nothing panned out, nobody got healed, nothing worked as well as adult stem cells.  Of course, they were able to artificially pump up their stock with every announcement so:  “while nobody got any closer to getting healed, the execs made a killing and the shareholders got screwed.”  For more on Geron, scroll down to the list of articles at the bottom of this one- http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/fda-oks-first-embryonic-stem-cell-research-trial-on-humans-despite-concerns/

First patient to get stem cell therapy comes forward

By Rob Stein, Thursday, April 7, 12:22 AM

In the six months since scientists announced they had infused a drug made from human embryonic stem cells into a partially paralyzed patient’s spine, the identity of the recipient has been shrouded in secrecy.

Recently, rumors began circulating in Internet chat rooms that details about the closely guarded experiment were finally about to be revealed.

Now, a 21-year-old Alabama nursing student who was paralyzed from the chest down in a car crash in September has come forward to identify himself as the volunteer.

“I was the first patient,” Timothy J. Atchison of Chatom, Ala., said in a telephone interview with The Washington Post on Wednesday evening. “I’m doing well.”….

First patient to get stem cell therapy comes forward – The Washington Post.

Cerebral spinal fluid guides stem cell development in the brain | Science Codex

Cerebral spinal fluid guides stem cell development in the brain

Posted On: March 9, 2011 – 5:30pm

Cerebrospinal fluid—the clear and watery substance that bathes the brain and spinal cord—is much more important to brain development than previously realized.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Christopher Walsh, his postdoctoral fellow Maria Lehtinen, former student Mauro Zappaterra, and their colleagues have discovered that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contains a complex mix of proteins that changes dramatically with age. In the lab, CSF by itself is enough to support the growth of neural stem cells, and this effect is particularly robust in young brains.

What’s more, the protein make-up of CSF in people with malignant brain cancer is different from that of healthy people, the researchers found. “This suggests that the CSF can make a more supportive or less supportive environment for tumor growth,” notes Walsh, Chief of Genetics at Children’s Hospital Boston. The work is published in the March 10, 2011, issue of the journal Neuron.

Centuries ago, philosophers thought spinal fluid held particular importance for health. The French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes, for example, described the brain as a simple hydraulic machine, pumping fluid—pneuma anima, or ‘animal spirits’—through the body’s nerves like a Parisian water fountain.

“Recent history has not been so kind to CSF,” Walsh notes. Today, most researchers think of it as a relatively simple salt solution that gives the brain buoyancy and helps protect it from knocking against the skull.

Several years ago, Walsh’s work on brain development led him to suspect that there is much more to the unassuming fluid. He noticed that neural stem cells tend to line up around the brain’s inner chambers, where CSF is stored, and stick cellular fingers, called cilia, into the pool of CSF. “That made us think, there’s got to be something in CSF that’s binding to cilia and controlling how the cell divides,” Walsh says.

In 2007, Zappaterra and Walsh performed the first comprehensive analysis of embryonic human CSF. They found it holds hundreds of different proteins that are involved in a variety of tasks, including cell growth, transport, support, and signaling. “We were amazed at the diversity of substances that we identified in there, many of which people had no clue would be there,” Walsh says.

In the new study, the researchers took small pieces of embryonic rat brain tissue and, using a thin platinum wire, deftly moved them onto culture plates made up of CSF from rats of different ages. They found that when brain stem cells bathe in CSF from young rats, they furiously divide. In contrast, when grown on CSF from older rats, there is less cell division, but CSF from all ages contains all that is needed to maintain brain stem cells in a dish. Subsequent analysis of the fluid showed that the amount of a protein called Insulin-like growth factor 2 (Igf2) strongly correlates with the level of cell division.

The researchers then teamed up with a group of scientists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center that has a unique collection of CSF samples isolated from people with various stages of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer in which tumors infiltrate the whole brain. The Beth Israel Deaconess group, led by Eric Wong, found that people with more advanced cancer have higher levels of Igf2 in CSF than do those with less severe forms of the disease.

The scientists don’t know whether the increase in Igf2 levels is partly causing the cancer, or is instead a consequence of living with the disease. “We certainly don’t think Igf2 is the only contributor to the pathology, because glioblastomas are very complex. But it may be an interesting biomarker to consider,” says Maria Lehtinen, who is a joint first author of the study, along with Zappaterra.

Taking a closer look at CSF could be helpful in other brain diseases as well. Some researchers are investigating whether the levels of certain proteins, like Tau and Beta amyloid, might be used as predictors of Alzheimer’s disease, for example.

Because CSF is made in the choroid plexus—the tiny knob in the brain’s chambers that forms the interface between the bloodstream and the brain—it could explain part of the mystery of how changes in the body link up to the brain. For example, if you exercise a lot, you form more brain cells, but no one knows exactly how this works.

“We sometimes get very spiritual about this,” Walsh says, laughing. “It presents mechanisms about how different parts of the body are talking to each other in ways that I hadn’t really conceived of before.”

 

Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

via Cerebral spinal fluid guides stem cell development in the brain | Science Codex.