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Dkgk

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Friend was DX
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11/2015
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ontario
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Recent article so I found interesting, has anyone tried this? my brother is in total denial of his diagnoisis of ALS and I would like to offer some hope to help him come to terms and accept his diagnosis so he can get the help he needs.


Tuesday, January 12, 2016 12:14PM
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- There has been a potential breakthrough in the treatment of ALS, health officials announced on Monday.

Until now, there have been no proven methods to slow the progression of Lou Gehrig's disease, but a new treatment may help some patients regain movement and function.

In the study, stem cells were collected from a patient's own bone marrow and then treated in a proprietary process.

It was then injected into the patient's spinal fluid.

"In some of the patients the disease not only stopped progressing, but there was a notable improvement in their neurological functions," ALS researcher Dr. Dimitrios Karussis said.

Karussis and his Hadassah Medical Center colleagues in Israel said they are on the brink of something big.

Researchers followed 26 patients for the past four years and 90 percent of patients experienced improvements in walking, talking and hand movement within a month of treatment and the results lasted for several months.

Karussis' most compelling story is how well the new therapy helped a 22-year-old ALS patient.

"The disease completely stopped progressing and he had a significant improvement in many of his functions including his ability to speak and his motor functions of the hands," Karussis said.

Neurologist Cliff Segil of Providence St. John's Medical Center in Santa Monica said it's easy to create tissue from stem cells, but motor-neurons are a completely different challenge.

That's why Israeli doctors partnered with biotech firm BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, which pioneered the cocktail of growth factors added to stem cells.

The process encourages cells to become neurons.

"If this study pans out and they repeat these results in the U.S., and we get 26 patients in the U.S. with similar results, it would really change ALS forever," Segil said.

Similar studies are underway at the Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University.

Karussis said if successful, the approach may be used to treat Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injuries.
 
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Re: Stem Cell Research

D,
We have a number of threads here about Brainstorm. It isn't something you can just "try" yourself, only in the context of a clinical trial. At present, I don't believe they have any open trials (recruiting new patients) but as the article mentions, work is ongoing. The small number of pts who have received treatment to date, the refinements that are being done on the types/numbers/sites of cells used, coupled with the invasive nature of the procedure, means that this is years from the mainstream so I'm not sure I would try to use this to shake your brother's denial, exactly, though you know him best.

It might be more to the point to go through some of the threads here around range of motion exercise, massage, beds, BiPAP, wheelchairs, lifts, transportation,communication devices, travel, all the things people still do, to try to surface what he fears or is avoiding the most and deal with that first. Or if you have insight into that already, we are happy to answer any questions with which we can help.

Of course, he is also very welcome here as he "accepts" his diagnosis.

Best,
Laurie
 
Re: Stem Cell Research

ok thanks so much, good to know, about everything, I believe he will accept at some point, he really has to, and the more he progresses the more he will be forced to deal with it, I appreciate your response and I will go read some more threads, thanks again
 
Re: Stem Cell Research

Laurie could you pm me? not sure how to do it, would like to discuss further with you in a private setting, if you don't mind and have a moment :) thank you
 
Re: Stem Cell Research

Done.
--Laurie
 
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