Stem Cell Research Helps Heart Attack Victim Get His Life Back
Posted 1 June, 2009 in Heart Disease |
Adult Stem Cells Fix Damaged Heart Muscle
Stem cell research has helped James Eilert repair his damaged heart muscle after a severe heart attack. Using his own Adult Stem Cells, James has made almost a complete recovery after his heart attack 3 years ago.
Heart Attack Left Him Devastated
James, only 34 at the time of his heart attack, had lost hope. He was short of breath, fatigued and sweating all the time. Work was getting very difficult. Depression had set in. James had given up hope.
Stem Cell Research in Thailand
One day, James stumbled upon the Vescell website. In Bangkok, Thailand, the company Theravitae, a stem cell research company and makers of Vescell use a patient’s own Adult Stem Cells to help heal heart attack, heart failure, and heart disease patients.
James quickly contacted them and on November 14, 2007 had his own stem cells implanted using a catheter.
Before the Stem Cell Therapy
- Ejection fraction was 20-25%
- Difficulty Working
- Gasping for breath, sweating all the time
After the Adult Stem Cell Treatment
- Ejection fraction at 50%
- Can Work Full Time
- No Restriction or Limitations
From the
stem cell article:
After the treatment, James was thrilled with the results of the Vescell ™. “I had an echocardiogram
only 2 weeks after my stem cell therapy and my completely dead apex was beating again. I was shocked and ecstatic at the same time.”
James now is going on 20 mile bike rides and living life to the fullest.
Stem Cell Treatment? Why Not the USA?
What would have happened if there was no Vescell in Thailand for James? Most likely he would still be suffering from congestive heart failure- shortness of breath, fatigue, sweating all the time and depressed. He was one of the lucky ones. Most people in the US who have heart disease usually either can’t go abroad for treatment or don’t want to because they believe the US offers the highest standards in health care. Sadly, in the case of congestive heart failure, these people are mistaken. The US is falling behind by not allowing the use of the patient’s own Adult Stem Cells to heal themselves. Yes, I’m talking to you US FDA. You are making people suffer.
Please feel free to contact James via email
jameseilert@att.net or phone- 248-227-3016
It looks like my old friends at Theravitae, the makers of
Vescell are becoming more active on the internet. It is about time. Keep it up guys. I’m cheering for you.
via
Stem Cell Research Helps Heart Attack Victim Get His Life Back | Adult Stem Cell Research.
Regular readers of this blog (and my blog
Reflections of a Paralytic) know that I am a steadfast advocate for ethical research and treatments and I will frequently point out the ineffectiveness of embryonic stem cell research and the existence of more effective and ethical alternatives. Although I make it a point to stress the fact that, in the final analysis, the question of whether or not science should proceed with ESCR is really a matter of ethics, not science (in other words, it’s not a battle between ASC and ESC research, that’s not the point) - it still really bothers me when successful, ethical research is constantly dismissed or belittled by those who advocate destroying tiny human beings in the name of science.
A commenter on
this post from Regular Guy Paul’s blog recently objected to some claims against ESCR by quoting from
this piece on Scienceblogs.com regarding the claims from adult stem cell research advocates that ASCs have treated over 72 different diseases and/or disabilities. The author’s main objection is that there aren’t actually 72 “different” treatments, but only one treatment (Hematopoietic stem cell replacement of bone marrow) for most of those 72 conditions.
First of all, those of us who use
that list of
72 ASC successes, don’t claim that it’s 72 different treatments, but that -
in humans - 72 different diseases and conditions are or have been treated with ASCs - whether it was the “same” treatment or not - something that cannot be said of ESCs, even in animal models. At any rate, he goes on to say:
while these cells (ASCs) are great at doing their job, the issue with adult stem cell research is, can they do another stem cell’s job? That is, instead of making just blood, could a hematopoietic stem cell make, say, an insulin secreting pancreatic cell? The answer, despite some initial promising results around 2001, is no.
And the commenter asserts:
ASCs don’t look like they have the potential to rebuild organs or repair the CNS…Hematopoietic stem cell replacement of marrow is a far simpler matter than using ESCs to treat Parkinson’s or spinal cord injuries, or to regenerate livers and kidneys.
It must be said here that, although they have had the most success, there is way more to ASCs than just those derived from bone marrow and these folks are ignoring some pretty significant advancements that have been made in ASCR (though, in their defense they may have never seen these stories as they are typically not carried by any mainstream media outlets.) A few examples:
Re: ASCs and insulin:
5/25/07, scientists
are able to make umbilical cord blood produce insulin. 3/17/09, scientists
successfully use a gene called neurogenin3 to induce cells in the liver to produce insulin. said Dr. Vijay Yechoor:
“They look similar to normal pancreatic islet cells (that make insulin normally).”
ASCs and Parkinson’s: Dennis Turner was treated for Parkinson’s disease with his own neural stem cells, taken from his brain, nearly ten years ago. He went into a significant remission that lasted for about four or five years before symptoms returned. This study has now been
peer-reviewed as of 2/09 and phase II trials are now in the works.
Another study with humans:
Stem Cell Implant to the Brain Helps Improve Parkinson’s Symptoms - said Dr. Augusto Brazzini Armestar, MD, Director, Instituto Brazzini Radiologos Asociados, Lima, Peru when it was presented at a recent meeting for the Society of Interventional Radiology:
“Stem cells from bone marrow have the ability to differentiate into neurons and other tissues”Most recently: researchers at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass.,
have converted skin cells from people with Parkinson’s disease into the general type of neuron that the disease destroys.
ASCs and Spinal Cord Injury: I just did a
post last week on the latest ASC-SCI success in which SCI patients were treated with bone marrow derived stem cells and received increased bladder control, regained mobility and sensation.
A video accompanies the amazing story.
I link to a number of other stories on that post of SCI being treated with bone marrow derived stem cells, however, the most famous SCI study comes from
Dr. Carlos Lima’s treatment of SCI patients with stem cells from their own noses using olfactory mucosa autograft transplantation - not bone marrow.
ASCs regenerating organs:Last November scientists conducted the
first stem cell derived organ transplant when they grew a new windpipe using the patients own stem cells both from bone marrow and cells taken from the healthy part of her own trachea.
Scientists have been able to
grow a beating heart in the lab using ASCs.
Study
uses bone marrow stem cells to regenerate skin.
Also:
There is evidence that stem cells taken from a patient’s nose could produce dopamine-producing brain cells when transplanted into the brain.
Heart derived stem cells
have developed into heart muscle.
Australian trials found the
injection of adult stem cells - taken from human donors’ bone marrow,
abdominal fat, hip, skin or teeth - protected damaged knee cartilage for up to nine months.
Uterine Stem Cells
Create New Neurons That Can Curb Parkinson’s Disease.
There have been
impressive results in clinical trials using bone marrow,
muscle, and fat cells in in heart therapies.
A Finnish man was able to
replace his upper jaw thanks to stem cells taken from his own fatty tissue.
a 50 year old man awaiting a heart transplant
was treated with muscle stem cells taken out of his thigh.
According to a Japanese study, doctors have used stem cells from liposuctioned fat
to fix breast defects in women after they have undergone breast cancer surgery.
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.
Stem cells collected at birth from the umbilical cord
may help doctors fashion new heart valves for children born with heart valve defects.
Louisville clinical trial will use cardiac stem cells to regrow muscle after attack
From a snippet of a patient’s skin, researchers have
grown blood vessels in a laboratory and then implanted them to restore blood flow around the patient’s damaged arteries and veins.
Heart valves have been
grown from cells in the womb.
And I’ll just end with this one since this is starting to get rather lengthy: Scientists have been able to
grow a beating heart in the lab.
Obviously there’s much more than just bone marrow replacement here and ASCs are showing themselves to be way more diverse and useful than was ever originally thought. To assert otherwise is to simply ignore science and dismiss real advancements that are being made in either treating patients now or developing treatments for the future - this with science that does not use or destroy tiny human beings in the process.
As well as keeping your eye on this blog, also check out my
ASCR archive at Reflections and
Don Margolis’ blog for the latest in ASCR news and successes.
What does this have to do with stem cells? Well...for that you are going to have to wait and see. But rest assured, when you do learn, it will BLOW YOUR MIND!! -dg
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy gaining in popularitySat, 28 Feb 2009 6:26p.m.
Doctors have discovered breathing in pure oxygen can give people with wounds that won't heal a new lease of life.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was seen as a last resort for those suffering from injuries that did not respond to treatment, but at a privately run clinic its success has meant it is gaining in popularity.
After part of his leg was amputated four years ago, Malcolm Fleck was in agony and could hardly move. His stump was ulcerated and infected and as a last resort he tried hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
"I had 11 operations in four years and this is getting rid of it where antibiotics and so-called well, modern medicine can't," Mr Fleck says.
The technology has been used by divers suffering from the bends for decades, but now it is becoming an accepted part of mainstream medicine.
Patients sit inside the chamber breathing pure oxygen through helmets under pressure. It is this combination that accelerates healing by up to 80 percent.
With titanium implants inserted into her neck, Paparoa schoolteacher Audrey Campbell was in constant pain. She could not stand, let a long work.
Having tried numerous treatments in the past she was cynical at first, but now she's a convert.
"I wouldn't have believed it, it's a really positive experience," Ms Campbell says.
Both patients are now breathing easy as the pain subsides and their recovery takes off.
via
3 News > Science-Tech > Story > Hyperbaric oxygen therapy gaining in popularity.
senate-chamber
"The governor’s proposed budget (HB1600) was passed on Feb. 12 with several amendments by the House of Delegates. These amendments were created by the House Appropriations Committee and resulted in unsuccessful objections by House Democrats to several harmful amendments in such areas as education (K-12 and higher ed.),
stem cell research, energy and water quality improvement. The Senate has decided to wait until at least Feb. 18 before considering the governor’s introduced budget. The Senate wanted to wait until the January revenue data was available and for the details of what Virginia would receive from the recent federal economic stimulus package. The Speaker of the House decided to not wait."
General Assembly 2009 Half Time ReportBy Del. Chuck Caputo (D-67) -Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The 2009 legislative session reached halftime this past week with the event known as crossover. This is when both the Senate and House of Delegates complete work on each chamber’s own legislation with the exception of the state budget. Now, we in the House can only consider the Senate’s bills (and vice versa). About 2,300 bills and resolutions were introduced this year and about half are still alive. So, here’s a rundown of some of the significant pieces of legislation:
via
General Assembly 2009 Half Time Report.
Mountain Lion Receives Stem Cell Therapy
A six-person veterinary team performs the procedure on big cat in Colorado. -Posted: Jan. 23, 2009, 3 a.m. EST
Elissa, 23, received regenerative (adult) stem cell therapy because of osteoarthritis in both of her elbows.
A 23-year-old feline named Elissa became the first mountain lion to receive stem cell therapy when Peak Performance Veterinary Group of Colorado Springs, Colo., recently performed regenerative stem cell therapy on her.
Elissa, the oldest mountain lion in protective care (She's at Catamount Creek Rescue in Florissant, Colo.), successfully received RSCT injections from a team of six individuals. The crew, which consisted of four veterinarians, a veterinary technician specialist in anesthesia and an assistant, headed to the Rocky Mountains to perform the on-site procedure under the direction of Dr. James Gaynor of the veterinary group.
Since Elissa was rescued 12 years ago from an environment where she had been declawed and put on photography exhibition, she has been under the care of Chris Oldham. The big cat’s activity and comfort level started to decline because of osteoarthritis in both elbows.
Gaynor has performed numerous successful regenerative stem cell therapy procedures on canines. Though confident in the therapy and procedure method, he said, “The typical case for RSCT is an arthritic dog. Regenerative stem cell therapy is still an unexplored area of veterinary medicine when it comes to wildlife.”
Peak Performance Veterinary Group performs approximately 25 percent of canine regenerative stem cell therapy procedures in the United States. Gaynor added that while he is hopeful for a positive outcome for Elissa, it will take time to measure the results.
Elissa was sedated during the process, and her blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate were monitored.
via
Mountain Lion Receives Stem Cell Therapy.