“Latest Stem Cells News”

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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The extensive research on stem cells has revolutionised the way life-threatening diseases like leukaemia and aplastic anaemia can be treated.
But there are several steps before these diseases can be treated using stem cells.

To begin with, the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)-typing of the patient is done. Doctors then get into the process of finding a matched donor from the computerised list made available to them by National Marrow Donor Programme (NMDP), U.S., and New York Cord Blood Bank.
If registration of potential bone marrow donors has been in place for a long time, the emergence of a number of cord blood banks, both public and private, which store the stem cells has gone a long way in helping doctors.

Finding a match is just the first step. However, it takes at least three months to procure matched bone-marrow stem cells. It takes just two weeks in the case of cord blood stem cells.
The three-month waiting period in the case of bone marrow arises as locating the matched donor very often becomes difficult.

It requires a minimum of one to three working days to import the stem cells once the match has been found.
“We transfuse blood and platelets to aplastic anaemia patients to sustain them till such time matched stem cells are located, procured and transplanted,” said Dr. Revathy Raj, Consultant Paediatric Haemato Oncologist, Apollo Speciality Hospital, Chennai. “In the case of leukaemia, patients undergo a cycle of chemotherapy in the interim period.”

An important point worthy of mention is that the bone marrow donor is not required to come to the hospital where the patient is, but rather could go to a nearest hospital in the U.S. to donate his stem cells.
In India there are not enough registered bone marrow donors, nor are there proper facilities to harvest bone marrow. Hence the bone marrow cells have to be obtained from organisations like NMDP. The lack of adequate number of donors also results in very slim chances of finding a match in India.

India fares better in the case of cord blood banks. India has two public banks — Reliance in Mumbai and Jeevan Stem Cell Bank in Chennai. But even these banks have only a handful of units. This makes the chances of finding a match very remote.
Though there are a good number of private cord blood banks in the country, they are of little use to the public. Stem cells banked in these places are made available only to the immediate relative of the donor.

from The Hindu

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Due to the wonders of Adult Stem Cell treatment, yet another spinal cord injury patient has improved his quality of life.  A young man in India who had lost all sensations from a car accident has been helped after receiving his own Adult Stem Cells and having them injected into his spinal cord where the injury occurred (C3-c4).

Before the Stem Cell Therapy

• Loss of bladder function and control
• Weakness in all both legs and arms
• Loss of feeling and sensations

After the Adult Stem Cell Therapy

• Regained bladder function- doesn’t need urinary catheter anymore
• Getting Stronger in all limbs
• Return of more feelings and sensations

Process of Stem Cells for Spinal Cord Injury

1. Bone Marrow taken from the hip
2. 6 weeks of cultivating the adult stem cells to increase total to 100 million +
3. Adult Stem Cells injected at injury site (C3-C4) in a surgical procedure

Dr. K Eliyas Basha of Salem Manipal Hospital in India was the stem cell doctor responsible for this success story.  He contacted various stem cell treatment centers around the world and exchanged ideas and techniques.

From the stem cell article:

“We have been screening and interacting with stem cell centres around the world to know further details regarding stem cell therapy directly at the C3- C4 cervical cord injury. The whole procedure was thoroughly studied and scrutinized by various committees of Manipal health systems,” Dr. Basha said.

Perhaps he consulted with this group in Ecuador- see this amazing stem cell for spinal cord injury video

While obviously not a cure, this stem cell therapy and treatment has   helped improve this young man’s life.  That is what Adult Stem Cells do- they repair damage and improve lives with no side effects.

What if we gave every spinal cord injury patient in the United States this stem cell treatment using their own repair stem cells?  Don’t you think that would help improve thousands of lives?

I do.   We have enough proof- it is safe and helps in most cases. Let’s make Adult Stem Cells available for treatment now!

original post by Don Margolis

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The first successful stem cell therapy for traumatic brain injury in the country was conducted by doctors at BGS Global
Hospitals.

Through this therapy, bone marrow was transplanted directly into the brain. N K Venkataramana, chief neurosurgeon of BGS Hospitals, confirmed that this is the first such attempt in India and second in the world. “China made the first attempt.”

The therapy was done on Madhumalika, 27, who was admitted to BGS Global Hospitals following a road accident on December 14 last year. She suffered from `diffuse axonal brain injury’ — a severe form of brain injury where the patient remains unconscious for a variable period. The patient needs to be assisted in his or her daily activities. In her case, she remained in a coma for more than three months.

Her mother had to resign from work and her father opted for the voluntary retirement scheme to look after their only daughter. “We had no hope of getting her back after the fatal injury. Also, we were unsure of the effects of the therapy on her. But we had to take a chance,” her father said.

In the surgery done in March, four million stem cells per body weight, which were prepared at Stempeutics Research Pvt Ltd, were injected directly into her brain.

After a month of the transplant, she showed considerable improvement. She became conscious, started talking and could move her limbs. She was also able to recognize family members and friends. But the prolonged stay in bed resulted in stiffness of the joints, for which she is undergoing physiotherapy.

Venkataramana said the belief that brain injuries aren’t curable has been proved wrong. “The need to help accident victims led us to work on stem cell therapy,” he added.

“Since 2004, there has been a pressing need to help the rising number of people who were disabled following road accidents. Stem cell therapy was one of the means to face the situation,” he explained.

“We’re planning to carry out a pilot study in treating head injuries with stem cells.”

from The Times of India

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Stem Cell Research using the patient’s own Adult Stem Cells has brought us another great discovery- Stem Cell Contact Lens. In Australia, a group of doctors in a research study treated 3 patients who had some form of cornea problems and they all were able to see after the stem cell treatment in which their own stem cells healed damage to their cornea

The Process of Stem Cells for the Cornea

1. The doctors removed Adult Stem Cells from the patient’s good eye
2. The stem cells were grown on a contact lens for 10 days
3. The contact lens was placed on the damaged eye for 3 weeks
4. The stem cells “blend” into the eye and repair the damage in the cornea

From the stem cell article:

The researchers, led by Dr Nick di Girolamo, said each person’s sight improved significantly within weeks of the procedure, and that it was a simple inexpensive technique which required a minimal hospital stay

Stem Cell Research Abstract

Also, here is the  stem cell research abstract for the cornea study.  Here are some of the actual results:

Results. A stable transparent corneal epithelium was restored in each patient. There was no recurrence of conjunctivalization or corneal vascularization, and a significant improvement in symptom score occurred in all patients. Best-corrected visual acuity was increased in all eyes after the procedure.

This technique is simple, non invasive, and uses the patient’s own stem cells– so the patient has nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying something like this.  What can be easier than popping in a contact lens?

Covering Old Stem Cell Ground?

However, it seems like they have doing something similar in India for a number of years. Notice in the story, that the doctors removed stem cells from the good eye of the patient. What happens if the patient has two bad eyes? Well there are  doctors in India are getting the stem cells from under the lip of the patient. This stem cell story didn’t get any run when it came out in October of 2008- but it probably should have. Read more about what this group of stem cell doctors in India have for stem cells for the cornea here

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Stem Cell Research Study Reveals Stroke Patients Helped by Own Stem Cells

A new stem cell research study/trial recently completed shows that implanting a person’s own Adult Stem Cells helps stroke patients overcome partial paralysis. Dr. Kameshwar Prasad of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will present his stem cell study at the European Stroke Research Conference in May, 2009.

Stroke Victims Own Adult Stem Cells Used

In the stem cell study that took place in New Delhi, India, 12 stroke victims had their own stem cells implanted within 1 month after a stroke. Also, 3 stroke patients were used as a control group and were not given any stem cells.

Process of Stem Cells for Stroke

1. Adult Stem Cells extracted from patient’s bone marrow
2. Stem Cells are then purified
3. Patient’s own stem cells are then reintroduced intravenously into the antecubital vein (in the forearms, near the elbow)
4. Stem Cells migrate to area of injury (in this case- the brain)
5. Adult Stem Cells enhance repair process and reduce brain damage

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