Posts Tagged ‘stem cell therapy’

Remarkable Stem Cells – Here’s The Latest

Saturday, November 15th, 2014

Tammy McLash

When it comes to adult stem cells, discoveries to date and possibilities in the near future are endless. One’s own adult stem cells are the building blocks of our entire body. They have the capability to repair, renew and recharge our blood, tissue, cartilage, healthy cells, immune system, nerves, skin, tendons, muscle and organs.

It is impossible to read about the breakthroughs and not marvel how remarkable these scientific discoveries are.

Below we share a snapshot of remarkable stem cell discoveries that have emerged in the last month.

1.    Stem Cells Transplants Helping Those with Cancer and Blood Disorders

Although a stem cell transplant remains a delicate procedure, success rates are rapidly improving. There are two main types of stem cell transplants:  autologous, in which the patient receives his or her own stem cells, and allogeneic, in which stem cells are donated by another person.

With many global stem cell registers now available, an exact match is now possible for those that require donated stem cells, and with sophiscated technology and equipment,  along with proven clinical data the overall process has become a lot more streamlined and effective.

Def Leppard Guitarist Vivian Campbell Returned Home This Week After Undergoing Stem Cell Treatment

Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell has returned home after undergoing stem-cell treatment in his continuing battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In a brief message on his Facebook page, Vivian wrote: “So glad that’s over. Time to recover/recuperate and grow some hair.” He added: “Thanks for all the love you’ve sent — much appreciated! “Normal service will be resumed shortly.”

Read more at:

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/def-leppards-vivian-campbell-back-home-after-undergoing-stem-cell-treatment/

Mother of Twins Receives Stem Cell Match

By Adam Hunter, CBC News

Tammy McLash (pictured above) of Regina, Canada was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in August. Doctors told her she needs a stem cell transplant to survive. After months of searching, a match has been found.

Tammy, 38, grew up in Regina and now lives in Edmonton with husband Mat and their two year-old twins, Adam and Madeline. Tammy’s cancer has prevented her from spending a lot of time with her kids.

“She’s able to see them right now, 10 minutes to 30 minutes a day,” Mat said. “But with the transplant she won’t be able to see them for about three months at all. So that will be a big change in our lives.”

On receiving the news of a stem cell match, Mat said: “It was just tears of joy finally. It was the most happy day of our lives, there’s no doubt.”

Tammy has been undergoing chemotherapy as she must be in remission before the stem cell transplant can take place.

2.    Stem Cells Help Paralyzed Man Walk Again After A Knife Attack

A Bulgarian man, Darek Fidyka who was paralyzed from the chest down in 2010 after a knife attack is miraculously able to walk again after undergoing pioneering stem cell transplant surgery, in what scientists are hailing as “a breakthrough.”

The transplanted stem cells – called olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC) and olfactory nerve fibroblasts (ONF) – were taken from cells in the brain which control the sense of smell.

Scientists in Poland were able to then grow the stem cells and inject them into Darek Fidyka’s completely severed spinal cord.

“This is more impressive than a man walking on the moon,” said Dr. Geoffrey Raisman, a professor at London’s Institute of Neurology’s University College and one of the study’s authors. Dr. Charles Tator, a neurosurgeon at Toronto Western Hospital, told CTV News Channel what is so remarkable about OEC and ONF cells is that they have the ability to regenerate fast.

Tator said OEC and ONF cells have been studied for spinal-cord injury over the past 15 years. What is new, he said, is “mixing those cells with the graph of the peripheral leg with the same person, so they’re not being rejected is a novel combination.

Read full article here:

http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/paralyzed-man-walks-again-after-cell-transplant-in-a-world-first-1.2064805

3.    Rafael Nadal Receives Adult Stem Cells For Back Injury

This week Rafael Nadal’s doctor says the 14-time Grand Slam winner will receive stem cell treatment on his ailing back.

“Nadal has a problem typical in tennis with a back joint, he had it at the Australian Open, and we have decided to treat it with stem cells,” Ruiz-Cotorro said.

He said that stem cells were recently extracted from Nadal for a cultivation process to “produce the necessary quantities.”

“We will put them in the point of pain,” he said, with the goal of “regenerating cartilage, in the midterm, and producing an anti-inflammatory effect.”

Full article here:

http://www.stemcellworx.com/blog/rafael-nadal-receive-stem-cell-treatment

4.    Stem Cells For Lung Regeneration

This month a research team from The Jackson Laboratory in Connecticut said they have gained a better understanding of the inner workings of the still emerging concept of lung regeneration.  Reporting on the role of certain lung stem cells in regenerating lungs damaged by disease, the study (referred to as the p63+Krt5+ distal airway stem cells are essential for lung regeneration”), published in Nature, points to therapeutic strategies that harness lung stem cells.

Dr. McKeon and his colleagues had previously identified a type of adult lung stem cell known as p63+/Krt5+ in the distal airways.  In the new paper, published  November 2014, the research team reports that the p63+/Krt5+ lung stem cells proliferate upon damage to the lung caused by H1N1 infection.  Following such damage, the cells go on to contribute to developing alveoli near sites of lung inflamation.  Alveoli are tiny sacs within our lungs that allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to move between the lungs and bloodstream.

The scientists also showed that when individual lung stem cells are isolated and subsequently tranplanted into a damaged lung, they readily contribute to the formation of new alveoli, underscoring their capacity for regeneration.

In the U.S. approximately 200,000 people have Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening lung condition that prevents enough oxygen from getting to the lungs and into the blood. This disease has a death rate of 40%, and there are 12 million patients with COPD.  The researchers hope their research will lead to new ways to help those with lung conditions and disease.

As reported by http://www.genengnews.com

For further information on how you can activate your own adult stem cells naturally, visit: http://www.stemcellworx.com

What is the difference between PRP and Stem Cell Therapy?

Thursday, April 3rd, 2014

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is offered in the U.S.A. and here at Stem Cell Worx we often get asked what is the difference between PRP and Stem Cell Therapy? 

PRP is a mix of concentrated platelets and serum.  Platelets are the smallest of the three major types of blood cells. 

PRP is created when the Doctor takes blood from a patient’s vein and places it in a special centrifuge that concentrates the platelets.  Platelets are like fertilizer. Natural growth factors within the platelets help rev up the local repair response.  This treatment has been most beneficial for tissue, ligament, tendon and bone injuries.  PRP is generally good for assisting recovery for those injuries or weaknesses that may either heal on their own (given enough time) or those that are stuck in the healing process and need a “kick-start” to get things moving towards repair.  While PRP helps recruit some new stem cells to the area, several treatments may be needed in order to recruit adequate stem cells numbers to the injured or treatment site.  

Stem cell injection therapy or full adult stem cell replacement therapy is more powerful than PRP because these treatments enable a greater concentration of stem cells to proliferate and be administered to the treatment site providing quicker renewal and repair response times.   These applications also involve a greater concentration of growth and immune factors that are crucial for the initiation of one’s own adult stem cells. Stem Cell therapy therefore remains the gold standard.

Why Isn’t Full Stem Cell Replacement Therapy Being Offered In the U.S.A?  

Although adult stem cell treatments have been widely used in hospitals for the treatment of blood cancers including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, experts here in the U.S.A. are restricted.  The current ruling means treatments whereby the cells are subjected to “minimal manipulation”, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains that the therapy becomes a “drug”, which must be specifically approved for use. 

Although this regulation does not apply to those patients who are enrolled in registered clinical trials in the U.S.A. it does result in strict regulation for all routine clinical use stem cell treatments.  For the patient and the medical provider this can be frustrating as it is a very detailed, expensive and lengthy process for the health expert to obtain approval of a clinical use stem cell treatment.  It results in many U.S.A citizens having to travel overseas for their full adult stem cell treatments and therapies.

An example of “minimal manipulation” would be adding additional natural growth and immune factors to the adult stem cells or increasing the adult stem cells in number while they are outside of the body.  Although these processes enhance the renewal and repair process once the stem cells are injected back into the body they are prohibited in the U.S.A. unless performed as part of a clinical trial. 

There is good news.  Successful results of so many U.S.A. clinical trials using adult stem cells provide absolute validation for why these treatments are needed and why they must be made widely available.  Of course there must be regulation, but progress should not be stopped because of it.  Currently, worldwide adult stem cell treatments are being used to help patients recover from over 150 debilitating chronic conditions that were previously thought to be untreatable. 

The U.S.A. has a brilliant opportunity to make adult stem cell treatments widely accessible. Let’s hope it happens sooner rather than later.

The video below shows Dr. Brian Cole of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.  He is eliminating the need for patients to have surgery by injecting platelet-rich plasma.  Marci provides an update on her procedure one year on.