Adult Stem Cells Help Cure

[vivi]

Hi!

Just came accross an article, I'm wondering is there any further information?
Here you can read the article:


17 Nov 2008
Adult Stem Cells Help Cure For Motor Neurone Disease Patient:


Do you think it works?

[joelc]

The quick answer is - no, not yet. I hope one day it will but right now there is no credible proof of any eficacy . You can search this forum for lots more information about stem cells.

At bottom of this page are more threads on stem cells.

[vivi]

According to this article it did help:
article from http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/11/16/baby-brother-s-gift-to-michael-91466-22266551/

... "Michael Emms, a young man from Wales, had been living a perfectly normal life. Suddenly, without warning at the age of 21, Michael was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. Michael was believed to be one of the youngest ever to be stricken with this disease.


Luckily, Michael’s parents were going to have another child, and decided to save the umbilical cord blood stem cells and use them on Michael.

Fortunately, all went according to plan. Rhys Emms was born, the cord blood stem cells were saved and frozen. Then, Michael and the stem cells were flown to China where there were experienced stem cell doctors who were willing to implant the matching stem cells into Michael.

The doctors said without the stem cell treatment, Michael would have likely died in March of 2008. But look now, it is November 2008 and things have changed thanks to the adult stem cells:

And even though it took half a year to notice any change in his condition, amazingly Michael’s muscles started to grow back.

“It paid off because the treatment in China went very well, Julian said. “He is nothing like what he was before. There has been no deterioration over the last year.

“Over there we didn’t see a marked change. But during the following three to six months there was muscle growth. His shoulder had more definition and the muscle was coming back. He still has to be aided to walk, but he’s not wheelchair-bound anymore. "

I couldn't find more recent article. I wonder if there is any update on this story?

Now that the green light have been given to stem cell research, I hope and pray that they'll find a cure. It makes me sick that such an important research was banned for such a long time!!!!!!!!

[Jennifer51]

Excuse me if I am a little sceptical about this story and put some of it down to journalistic license. There are several points in the article which dont ring entirely true. The most important one is being able to take stem cell from a sibling which actually matches... Dont get me wrong, we are about to harvest cord blood from 2 soon to be born grandchildren IN CASE they can be used. BUT the reality, from what I understand, is that there are many things which have to match to make a stem cell transplant take without any rejection, which is why most stem cell transplants come from the recipients own body or from a rigorously searched source. The first and most basic requirement, as I understand it, is that blood types must match. I have done research amongst my family, including my TWIN brother and we mostly have dfferent blood types. My twin is definately a different blood group. Then there are another load of tests which have to match. My neuro said there is a lot more to it than just injecting stem cells in. If it was that easy, we would all be getting them.

[vivi]

yes, it sounds to be too good to be true. But maybe one day it will be true.

[planningguy]

I am constantly amazed by advances in science and technology. It really is a wonderful world we live in. I think the coming years will bring tremendous advancements in various types treatments derived from stem cell research. Although we know more everyday, everything I've read seems to indicate that readily available proven treatments are still a ways out.

Rest assured, though. I am pretty confident that once someone figures out a way to effectively treat or even cure motor neuron disease, even if it involved significant side effects, it would be shouted on every housetop. It would be hard to miss the announcement. Especially on this forum ;)

Robert

[joelc]

I have corresponded with Michael and his testimony to me is nothing like what is in the article above.

[vivi]

I never liked the media, it's always about the thier popularity. It's good we have this forum! :-)

[t34gib]

Dr. at Mayo says we are still 5-10 years away from stem cell treatments working well. Too much is unknown. The problem with implanting properly to make it do what you want them to do. Also, Stem cells tend to cause tumors. There is still a lot to know before it is really viable.
5-10 years, Thanks Mr. Bush for wasting the last 8 years of our lives. Sorry, feeling a bit bitter today. But it will pass. Think of it, if the research being done today was being done 5-10 years ago, maybe we would all be rejoicing today. Again, Thanks, Mr. Bush. Hope it doesn't affect anyone in your family.

[joelc]

The good news is that it has been going on in other countries and could be a lot further along than we think.

Cures, or treatments, don't have to just come from the US.

Keep the faith and never loose hope!

[t34gib]

Hope this works, don't want to leave a posting so negative. I received this in an email today.
http://www.alscenter.org/news/briefs/090410.cfm

I guess you can copy and paste. Interesting.

[t34gib]

Joel, I understand, and I try to read everything I can. I am not as down as it may sound. I have offered to go into any clinical study they come up with and give blood for anything they need. I am in one study for emotional lability now and will likely go into the anitbiotic trial later this summer. If it doesn't save me, maybe it will save the next generation. I live in a state of Hope. Coming here and reading keeps the hope alive. Thanks.
NancyS

[joelc]

t34gib, I allowed the link you provided above.

But and this is for everyone, I have read so many articles from this source over the years and they never amount to anything.
They don't even have the decency to provide a follow up article to let us know.

They seem to produce an overabundance of these articles in their attempt to get more funding.

[t34gib]

So, now we can't even trust John Hopkins? What next? I certainly don't want to spread bad information or worthless hope. I feel used. Who can we trust? My regular Doctor tells me, everytime I ask if it could be something else, that I need to trust my Neurologist at Mayo. He reads everything I read and more, and on top of that, he probably understands what he is reading! Imagine that! lol. So, I decide to trust him and stop looking for answers in every article, in every symptom I read about. But then, I just start going crazy thinking, what if it is something else and I am not doing what I could to treat it. How do you just accept and move forward? It can drive you crazy! Everytime I hear something I think positive, something else slams it down. Where is the happy medium to all this. Where is the calm acceptance?
NancyS

[joelc]

I am sorry my post has caused you some anxiety!

I left the link in so people could see what is happening, and what is currently being tried, so that they can make their own conclusions from what happens in the future.

I definitely have not lost hope, but am a very pragmatic person and don't like hype for the sake of raising $$$, which this organization is famous for.

I also definitely think a breakthrough is going to happen sometime within a few years. It will most likely come from a source none of us expected and I will be among the first PALS there to get it!
I don't care where the treatment comes from, it likely won't be from North America, but who cares!

Let's keep looking and have the faith that something can, and will, happen sometime soon!

It is unfortunately some of the most visible organizations don't have a particularly good track record so let's be open for the unobvious source.

[heartsafire2009]

Well, i know treatment with adult stem cells is working for a guy with ALS. He is from Kentucky and has seen great improvement. Although this is not a cure for ALS, I do believe it works.
-R

[Big Mike]

t34gib,

I am as frustrated with the Bush Administration as anyone, but there is a company called Neuralstem that has spent this past decade working on adult stem cells as treatment for ALS (nothing to do with embyronic stem cells, which Bush banned the federal funding of until Obama recently removed it) and is hoping to start clinical trials here in the U.S. later this year.

Although it's true it would take several years for the FDA to approve this new type of stem cell technology (cells are differentiated into motor neurons and glial cells), the company has formed a partnership with a Chinese hospital in Taiwan. The trials there will follow the initial trial here in America by 6-9 months but will go much faster. Assuming the treatments are proven safe and effective, they could be made available in Taiwan in three years or so from NOW. Yes, that's still a long time, but it is much better than waiting 5 years or more here in the states.

There is lots of information regarding Neuralstem on the forums here.

[Big Mike]

As Joel has said, please don't give up hope, folks. Some type of treatment or treatments is bound to break through in the next few years, even if it first becomes available overseas (think fundraising!). And, remember, ALS is not necessarily fatal if it is fully treated!

[tgif]

Thanks to everyone for reminding us all not to give up hope! I was feeling a bit down today; must be the cold, rainy weather we're having in MI today. One of my nurse friends told me that if they figure out one of the neuro diseases the rest will quickly follow. We all check out what's happening with ALS, but like someone said (can't remember who, sorry!), the cure might come from an unexpected source!

[leedavis]

I am constantly amazed by advances in science and technology. It really is a wonderful world we live in. I think the coming years will bring tremendous advancements in various types treatments derived from stem cell research. Although we know more everyday, everything I've read seems to indicate that readily available proven treatments are still a ways out.

Rest assured, though. I am pretty confident that once someone figures out a way to effectively treat or even cure motor neuron disease, even if it involved significant side effects, it would be shouted on every housetop. It would be hard to miss the announcement. Especially on this forum ;)

Robert

Yes I definitely agree with you. Stem cell research and development will surely be a great option and tool to improve more methods to cure neuron ailments and much more. Let's just hope that there are no long-term side effects and that the procedure will be stable as soon as possible. But as of this moment, stem cell transplant for neuron oriented diseases is not yet pushed through.