The Stem Cell Trekker » Septo-optic Dysplasia

Girl Can See For The First Time Thanks To Stem Cell Operation

Executive Editor — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:26:59 +0000

A little girl who has been blind since birth has seen her mother and father for the first time – at the age of four.

Izabelle Evans can now see up to three feet in front of her after groundbreaking stem cell treatment in China costing $79,000.

Parents James Evans and Hollie McHugh said nothing could beat the feeling of the first time their daughter looked into their eyes and said: “mummy” and “daddy”.

Hollie, 24, of Hayling Island, Hampshire (UK), said: “The results were better than we could ever have dreamed of. If you walk past she can see you and say ‘hiya.’ It is amazing because doctors here said she couldn’t see anything at all before we went.”
Izabelle can now see objects three feet in front of her

Izabelle was blind from birth after being born with septo optic displasia – a congenital condition which affects just five in one million babies and also causes hormone deficiency and mobility problems.

Read the full article at the Daily Mail.

NZ Family Spending Nearly $200K On Questionable Mexican Stem Cell Treatments

Paul — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:52:10 +0000

A New Zealand family with two children under the age of five suffering from an array of disabling maladies plans to travel to Mexico again to undergo a second round of expensive experimental umbilical cord stem cell treatments. A first round in February cost the family $100,000 — the grandparents’ entire retirement savings. The follow-up treatments will cost $80,000. One of the children, aged 4, suffers from cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and global development delay. The other child, a two-year-old, suffers from septo-optic dysplasia. “The risk in not doing it is waking up at 65 and wondering if you had tried, would it have made a difference,” a grandparent said.

By Rebecca Todd, “Family on $80,000 stem cell mission”, September 22, 2009, © The Press, Fairfax New Zealand Limited

Australian parents turn to China to help blind tot

Paul — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:42:18 +0000

The parents of a four-year-old Australian child blinded since birth by a condition called septo-optic dysplasia hope to raise $50,000 to pay for controversial stem cell treatments being offered in China. An Australian scientist, calling the treatment “risky,” noted that there was no concrete evidence to support claims that the procedure is safe and effective. “I would not recommend anyone go to an unregulated country for an unregulated trial,” says Bob Williamson. But her mother says, “We’re hoping it will give her sight but even for it to improve her pituitary gland function would . . . make a big difference to her life.”

By Janelle Miles, “Parents turn to China to help blind tot Jenna Swain”, © The Courier-Mail, July 30, 2009