“Latest Stem Cells News”

Dominic King didn’t have much to say.
Worn out from horseback riding, the 10-year-old sat quietly on a recent summer afternoon, smiling, amused by his best friend, Harrison Spiers.
Harrison, for his part, was hosting a one-man yak-fest, and his topic was one any 10-year-old boy, or former 10-year-old boy, should relate to: baseball.

Neither boy, though, volunteered comment about what will surely be the most memorable event of their activity-packed summer: the trip to Germany they’re about to take. Asked about it, the boys shrug it off. No big deal. We’ve flown in airplanes before.
No big deal, except that this trip isn’t about a relaxing summer getaway to the land of bratwurst and the Brandenburg Gate.

This is a trip about hope.
Dominic and Harrison, friends, classmates since preschool, have cerebral palsy.

And after years of watching physical therapy and speech therapy, of watching their sons — who are as smart as anybody else’s 10-year-olds — struggle inside their own bodies, the boys’ parents have found, maybe, real promise.
That promise is a stem-cell treatment, one that isn’t available in the United States. So both boys and their families will head to the XCell Center in Köln, Germany, late in July.

There, technicians will collect stem cells from the boys’ bone marrow. According to the clinic, the marrow is then checked for quality and quantity of stem cells. Then, several days later, the cells are re-injected, through the spine.
“It’s not invasive, but they will have to be under anesthesia because you don’t want them to move around,” said Dominic’s mom, Christina King.

According to XCell’s website, “these re-injected stem cells have the potential to transform into multiple types of cells and are capable of regenerating damaged tissue.”
XCell statistics indicate that 70 percent of patients who undergo the treatment for cerebral palsy experience some improvement, including decreased spasticity, better coordination and motor function, improved stability or better speech.

Voicing tentative hope

Cerebral palsy is a group of chronic conditions that affect body movement and muscle coordination. It is caused by damage to the brain, usually during fetal development or during or shortly after birth.
The March of Dimes estimates it occurs in two or three of every 1,000 births.

For many of the 800,000 people in the United States who have it, the disorder causes difficulty controlling movement and speech. Some with the condition experience spasticity.
For Dominic and Harrison, the condition has meant life in wheelchairs. It means that Dominic often communicates via a computer and that Harrison doesn’t get to play football and baseball.

Neither boy’s intellect is impaired. As Harrison’s mother, Alicia Spiers, puts it, he understands everything he’s missing.
“But he has a really good attitude. He doesn’t get down too often,” she said.

The boys’ mothers can’t let themselves voice their hopes for the treatment.
Dominic and Harrison, with their 10-year-old trust, have no such hesitation.

“He’s hoping his speech becomes clearer,” Christina King said of Dominic.
And improved motor skills would be nice, she said. “He drives his wheelchair and uses his computer with his head. He’s hoping he can touch the computer screen.”

Harrison wants nothing less than to play football.
“His wish from Santa last Christmas was new stem cells,” Alicia Spiers said.

The boys, who just completed fourth grade at Cottonwood Creek Elementary in the Cherry Creek School District, spend most of their days in regular classrooms — aides help them eat, move around school and get their books out of their backpacks.
They go to birthday parties and have buddies they eat with, their moms said.

But the relationship between the boys is special.
“He has lots of friends,” Harrison’s mom said of her son. “But Dominic gets him.”

A community united

The treatment isn’t approved in the United States, and it definitely isn’t covered by insurance. So the families and their friends and relatives have been pitching in, hoping to raise $12,000 apiece for the treatments.
On June 14, a hair salon offered “Haircuts for Hope,” which raised about $1,600. Before that, runners and walkers tromped around the boys’ elementary school and raised hundreds.

“And some little girls at swim team made bracelets they sold for $1 each and are giving the money to us,” King said.
One of the girls’ moms told King she was learning a lot during the fundraising process, about cerebral palsy, about stem-cell treatment.

Both moms said they’ve learned a lot too — about their neighbors.
“We’re not alone,” King said. “This community is just wonderful.”

from Denver Post

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Adult Stem Cells Improve Young Boy with Cerebral Palsy

Corey de Gregorio, a 3 year old boy from Gordonvale, Australia has improved tremendously after going to a Stem Cell research company which implanted Adult Stem Cells from cord blood into him.

Corey’s parents, Mark and Roseanne had doubts before going to China for the stem cell treatment, but they  wanted Corey to have every chance to live a better life and therefore, they made the journey to China for the stem cell therapy which used only Adult Stem Cells.

The miracle treatment consisted of six “therapies” of cord blood stem cells.

Before the Adult Stem Cells for Cerebral Palsy

• Had very little use of his left arm/hand
• Little movement in his torso

After the Stem Cell Treatment

• Can now use his left hand, can use it to drink a cup by himself
• Increased flexibility in torso

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Medical College of Georgia researchers are conducting the first FDA-approved clinical trial to determine whether an infusion of stem cells from umbilical cord blood can improve the quality of life for children with cerebral palsy.

The study will include 40 children age 2-12 whose parents have stored cord blood at the Cord Blood Registry in Tucson, Ariz.
Umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells, which can divide and morph into different types of cells throughout the body, said Dr. James Carroll, professor and chief of pediatric neurology in MCG School of Medicine and principal investigator on the study.

Cerebral palsy, caused by a brain injury or lack of oxygen in the brain before birth or during the first few years of life, can impair movement, learning, hearing, vision and cognitive skills. Two to 3 children in 1,000 are affected by it, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Animal studies indicate that infused stem cells help injured brain cells recover and replace brain cells that have died, Dr. Carroll said.

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Sierra Rose Hill, a young girl from Australia with cerebral palsy who was already helped by Adult Stem Cells is off again to Germany for a 2nd stem cell treatment.  Sierra went to Germany in December, 2008 for the therapy with her own stem cells and it paid big dividends.  We first covered Sierra here in this stem cell post in March

Adult Stem Cells Successful First Time- Now Going for Two!

As a result of the first stem cell treatment, Sierra got “looser” in her limbs, more flexibility and a better ability to control her tongue. Sierra responded so well to her own Adult Stem Cells that her parents have now raised enough money to return to Germany for more stem cell therapy.

Stem Cell Research Documentary

Sierra and her parents are leaving for Germany on June 25th for the treatment. However, this time, they will have company. Pia Niebel is producing a documentary called ‘Little Mountains’ about Sierra and in Pia’s words:

‘Little Mountains’ is an intimate portrayal of an Australian family’s struggle with cerebral palsy and the risks and choices associated with emerging stem cell technologies. It is a character driven documentary that enquires about the current status of adult stem cell treatment and why it is not available in Australia.

Adult Stem Cells Available to Help In Australia? No

I often moan on how adult stem cells are not available in the United States.  However, of course, there are people everywhere who have diseases and conditions that adult stem cells could help.  There is no reason why Australia shouldn’t be making a person’s own stem cells available for treatment as well.

And as Sierra’s father said once  “If that (stem cell treatment) was available in Australia, at an affordable price, if it was at a hospital from a professional service, that could make such a huge difference to people with cerebral palsy and various other conditions,” he said. “I know they want to do their clinical trials. But they are providing this service already around the world. I would like to see it here.”

Pia is looking for funding to help her produce this Adult Stem Cell research documentary which would be a nice step in the right direction in getting Adult Stem Cell treatment approved in Australia.  If you would like to help Pia get the word out, you can contact her here:
Pia Niebel
LIGHT PUZZLE MEDIA
Creative Producer
mobile +61 (0)4 388 77 183
Email: happy@pia.net.au

Here is a preview of Pia’s stem cell research documentary featuring the lovely Sierra and her parents:

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A woman from India with cerebral palsy has made significant improvements in her quality of life after receiving stem cell therapy using her own Adult Stem Cells removed from her bone marrow.  Ms. Aditi Kulkarni, 24, was the recipient of the life changing stem cell treatment.

Suffering from cerebral palsy after a lack of oxygen left her with brain damage, Aditi’s parents took care of her growing up.  However, as they have gotten older, they feared what would happen when they died.  How would Aditi survive and get her basic necessities?

Stem Cell Therapy – Improvements in Quality of Life

Aditi received her adult stem cell therapy in February 2009.  Aditi started experiencing improvements in her quality of life approximately one week after her Adult Stem Cells were implanted.

From the stem cell article:

During the course of  the week that followed after the first shot of stem cells, Aditi showed remarkable improvements in her ability to hold her head upright and started experiencing good gripping power in her hands than she had prior to stem cell therapy. Tremors in both her hands and even the stiffness in her fingers have reduced dramatically.

The kind and degree of positive change in Aditi was so striking that her therapist and doctors argued in favor of a second shot of stem cells. Aditi made additional gains following the second shot in her ability to lift weights from the weight box without much effort.

More Stem Cell Research Success Stories for Cerebral Palsy

This is the first cerebral palsy success story for stem cell research using Adult Stem Cells this week.  I think I will add another one later this week so be on the look out for that.    Before this week, we have had plenty more of these stem cell success stories.  Please see our Cerebral Palsy stem cell treatment successes here.

Stem Cell Treatment Information

For treatment information, please fill out our stem cell treatment form (see link below)- and one of the Repair Stem Cell Institute’s staff will provide you with more information – free.

For full information, write me at donmargolis@gmail.com and just put “Treatment”  in the subject box. Or, if you want to start the process to treat a loved one now, fill out this stem cell treatment form and one of the Repair Stem Cell Institute’s staff will provide you with all the help you need -free.

original post by Don Margolis

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