The Stem Cell Trekker

Jan 10 11

Family Sinks Hopes Into $24,000 Cerebral Palsy Treatment

by Executive Editor

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – Langley mom Nicole Morris is praying that a controversial, cutting edge U.S. stem cell treatment will allow her two-year-old daughter Savanna to lead a normal life.

“Savanna suffers from cerebral palsy and cannot walk or crawl,” said Morris.

Savanna suffered cerebral palsy after she and twin sister Kaylee were born three months premature at Royal Columbian Hospital in August 2008.

A baby brother, Ryder, was born at full term in September.

“He’s chubby and big and so cute,” said the 28-year-old Morris.

She plans to use stem cells from Ryder’s umbilical cord to help his older sister’s condition improve.

Morris did research online and saw a program on U.S. TV about successful clinical trials at Duke University in North Carolina.

But because Savanna was premature, she didn’t qualify.

Through an Internet cerebral palsy support group, Morris contacted Dr. David Steenblock, who claims to have successfully treated the illness with stem cells in California.

The family plans to fly to California next month for five days for the $24,000 U.S. treatment at Steenblock’s Mission Viejo clinic, north of San Diego.

Seeking A Few Good Ideas

by Executive Editor

Quadriplegic Mark Johnston is not begging for money, but for ideas for a fundraiser that would help him and his family raise the $25,000 needed to pay for his stem cell treatments.

In 1994, the 55-year-old Frankford native suffered a massive stroke that left him quadriplegic. Since then Johnston, who cannot walk nor move any other parts of his body but his right arm, has been among the youngest residents living at Hallowell House, a long-term care residence in Picton, and for the last five years at Hastings Manor in Belleville.

Although Johnston can barely speak, his niece Bonny Gordon said her uncle’s mind hasn’t been affected by the stroke.

“He always says that he is quadriplegic, not paralysed,” said Gordon. “A few years after he had his stroke his wife left him and took all his assets, leaving him with no choice but living in long term care residences, away from his son and two grandsons. For the last few years, Mark has been researching for stem cell treatments all over the world.”

Johnston knows he will never walk again and only wishes specialized treatments like stem cell, offered at high costs at Dr. David Steenblock’s Personalized Regenerative Medicine clinic in Mission Viejo, Calif., would help him reposition himself when he is siting in his wheel chair or lying on his bed.

Jan 10 11

Stem-Cell Transplant ‘Reason For Optimism’: MS Patient

by Executive Editor

Alex Normandin, 26, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis nearly two years ago.

He had learned in medical school that MS is an unpredictable, often disabling illness of the central nervous system.

Symptoms vary but can include blurred vision, fatigue, problems with co-ordination, speech and muscles, loss of balance, and paralysis.

Normandin figured time was on his side because normally MS progresses very slowly, but he was devastated to find out he had an extremely aggressive form of MS, and he would likely be using a wheelchair within months.

Thankfully, he was fast-tracked for a cutting edge, experimental treatment: a bone marrow stem-cell transplant.

The procedure is not without risk — It is fatal in five per cent of cases because of the toxic chemotherapy drugs used to prepare a patient to receive a stem-cell transplant.

Prosecutors Launch Probe Into Unlicensed Stem Cell Treatment In South Korea

by Executive Editor

Prosecutors have launched an investigation into a local biotechnology firm that allegedly manufactured and sold stem cell treatment products without government approval, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Friday.

The team is also investigating on five clinics that used the firm’s products for patient treatment from 2007 until recently.

This is the country’s first such probe into the highly contentious medical issue.

The probe comes days after the health ministry requested the prosecution to look into RNL Bio, a biotechnology firm that developed cell therapies using stem cells, and , according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

Artist With Parkinson’s Disease Is Painting Again After Stem Cell Therapy

by Executive Editor

[Editor's Note: This story is adapted from a news release issued by the XCell-Center. The results reported are anecdotal, and not necessarily scientifically proven.]

A personal doctor confirms significant improvements in an Australian Parkinson’s disease patient, 61 year-old Stan Lahovec, after his successful stem cell treatment in Düsseldorf, Germany. Lahovec is once again oil painting.

“By trade, I am an optical technician and have been working in the industry since March, 1984. But my passion is oil painting, which I had to put on hold because of my disease,” Lahovec said. “About three years ago, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Nobody in my family has the disease, so it was a complete surprise when the doctor told me the news. Most disturbing was the knowledge that there is no cure for this debilitating disease as I was told by the doctors.”

In October 2010, Lahovec traveled to the XCell-Center where he underwent a stem cell treatment using his own stem cells.

“After only a couple of weeks, I started to get better and am still getting better by the day. At first, I was able to shave by myself. Next, I could eat without help. Now, I can drive my car and walk straight upright. I feel like a new man!” Lahovec said. “Today, I went to see my GP and he was speechless; seeing my transformation. He thinks I have improved about 80 percent. I even took my paintbrush and unfinished pictures and started to paint again; which is making me very happy.”

The treatment begins by collecting a small amount bone marrow from the patient’s hip bone using a thin needle under local anesthesia. The stem cells are then separated from the bone marrow at the XCell-Center’s EU certified cGMP laboratory (current good manufacturing process). Before the cells leave the lab, they are counted and their vitality is confirmed. The last step involves inserting a fine spinal needle between the patient’s L4 and L5 vertebrae and injecting the stem cells into the cerebrospinal fluid which flows into the brain.

The cost for Parkinson’s treatment starts at €7,995 (US$10, 690).

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