New stem-cell treatment saving lives

Thanapat Kitjakosol The Nation on Sunday September 23, 2012 1:00 am

Doctors in Saraburi told her the boy would not survive without a bone-marrow transplant, which costs up to Bt1 million.

Petcharat could not afford it. But as the boy's condition worsened - the whites of his eyes turned red and he experienced oral bleeding - his local doctor helped him to obtain assistance from the Ramathibodi Hospital Foundation to seek free treatment. Ton Kla received a stem-cell transplant using tissue taken from his younger brother Noppaklao in August. He was released from hospital one month later and now lives a normal life, playing with his friends.

Initially, Petcharat believed it was her son's karma to suffer from such a deadly disease. She blamed herself, because she had tried to have an abortion when she was bearing her youngest son. However, the doctors told her the disease could have been caused by any one of a number of factors, such as living close to factories releasing toxic chemicals, heredity, or insecticides from fruits and vegetables.

Ton Kla's is just one of many lives that the Ramathibodi Hospital Foundation has saved. Among the many other survivors is 4-year-old Anat Thongta, who was diagnosed with thalassemia when he was 2. He will undergo a bone-marrow transplant tomorrow, thanks to the foundation's help. Saengduan Thongta, Anat's mother, said getting support from the foundation meant the world to her family, which has been paying Bt5,000 a month for blood transfusions to keep the child alive.

Maneerat Pimnont, 32, who suffers from systemic lupus erythematosus and chronic renal failure, received a free kidney transplant in April last year. She is profoundly grateful to the foundation, saying she has embraced her new life and gone are the days when she suffered torment and misery.

Prof Dr Suradet Hong-ing, vice president in charge of stem-cell transplants at Ramathibodi Hospital, said stem-cell technology had enabled the hospital to treat patients suffering from liver and kidney disease, leukaemia, lymphoma, thalassemia, aplastic anemia and immuno-deficiency.

The hospital is seeking approval from the National Health Security Office (NHSO) to allow patients suffering from these diseases to receive free treatment under NHSO sponsorship. Less than 10 per cent of the Thai population can afford a Bt1-million organ or stem-cell transplant, Suradet said.

"There are more than 4,000 people who are suffering from thalassemia and waiting to get stem-cell transplants; every day some die before they can reach hospital,'' he said. The hospital was the first in Thailand to carry out a liver transplant from a parent to a child, and the first in Asia to successfully perform kidney and bone-marrow transplants, which free patients from the need to take immune system suppressants.

"We are the first hospital in the country to perform a stem-cell transplant from a person who was not a blood relative of the patient,'' Suradet said.

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New stem-cell treatment saving lives

Former Detroit Lions great Gail Cogdill turns to crowdfunding for stem cell heart treatment

A screengrab of Gail Cogdill's crowdfunding page from GoFundMe.com

Dick Cheney's heart transplant at 71 spurs age debate Retired teacher gets New England's first total artificial heart implant Skin cells transformed into beating heart tissue, fueling heart failure treatment hopes

The 75-year-old who won the 1960 NFL Rookie of the Year for the Lions and became one of the top wide receivers in the franchise's history is raising money online to help pay for an experimental stem cell treatment in the Bahamas, reports Mashable.

His wife Dian has created a page on the crowdfunding site, GoFundMe.com to raise $35,000 for the procedure. She writes as a result of the bumps and bruises and his genetics, Cogdill's heart only operates at 18 percent of its capacity and he's been battling heart failure, but besides his age limitations for transplants, they feel an artificial heart is not a viable option because it would only last for a select number of years and may hinder his quality of life.

The Detroit Free Press reports Codgill had a six-way bypass surgery 10 years ago after a virus attacked his heart. He already has a defibrillator and pacemaker in his chest, and had three stents put in during the spring, according to the paper.

Then the Codgill's heard about procedures in which stem cells are taken from his blood and put back in his heart to strengthen it - a procedure not covered by insurance.

"Gail has a family to live for still, things he has yet to experience, and moments in life that we need him for," Dian writes in her appeal.

Recent research on procedures that harvest stem cells from patients, purify them and allow them to grow, before rein fusing them into the heart have showed promise in patients with heart failure.

Last November, a study of 16 heart failure patients found up to a 38 percent improvement in heart function among patients, with eight patients showing more dramatic improvement. One man even went from not being able to walk 30 feet to playing basketball with his granddaughter and running thirty minutes on his treadmill three days a week, according to the lead researcher.

Mashable reports Cogdill has drained his savings by about $500,000 for his heart problems and knee, ankle, hip and shoulder surgeries as a result of his playing days and that's why he's turning to the Web for financial help.

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Former Detroit Lions great Gail Cogdill turns to crowdfunding for stem cell heart treatment

Immortality and 3 Stem Cell Research Stocks

By Karen Rogers - September 21, 2012 | Tickers: BAX, NBS, OSIR | 0 Comments

Karen is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.

Stem cell research puts immortality in our hands. By medically treating stem cells to repair damaged organs, one could, in theory, live forever. The following three stem cell research companies are achingly close to perfecting techniques that will repair and strengthen damaged human hearts.

Osiris Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OSIR) Prochymal is the only drug thats been granted fast track status and Orphan Drug status by the FDA. Already in Phase III clinical evaluations, Prochymal repairs heart tissue damaged by a heart attack and it is also under evaluation for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Osiris biologic drugs utilize either human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) or stem cells taken from adult bone marrow to avoid the ethical controversy surrounding embryonic or fetal stem cell research usage. MSC are taken directly from the donors human bone marrow and one single donation can produce up to 10,000 treatments. Osiris has designed their treatment to be universally accepted by all recipients to eliminate rejection problems. This treatment can be frozen and kept at end-user medical facilities until it is needed.

Osiris has a market cap of $312.25 million and a P/E ratio of 93.14, which far exceeds the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. The stock is up 77.57% over the past 52 weeks, and closed at $9.50 this past Friday. Osiris has cash of $38.75 million, zero debt, and operating cash flow of -$17.47 million. The company reports $27.92 million in revenue, and net income of $3.53 million for this year. Analysts following Osiris rate it a strong buy/buy.

Neostem (NYSEMKT: NBS) is developing AMR-1000, a stem cell therapy designed to rebuild heart tissue damaged after a heart attack that has also shown promise in treating congestive heart failure. For the first time, a U.S. patent has been issued to Neostem for their Compositions and Methods of Vascular Injury Repair, to protect the treatment and the delivery method.

The company offers consumers the opportunity to store their own stem cells for future treatment. During a four-hour collection process, adult stem cells are harvested from the circulating blood. Fifty-percent of the stem cells are stored in immune reconstitution bags to be used for stem cell treatable cancers or immune system transplants. The remaining cells are stored in separate containers for future use as new stem cell treatments are developed.

Neostem has a market cap of $106.32 million and a P/E ratio of -1.64%. The stock is up 9.38% over the past 52 weeks, and closed at $0.69 this past Friday. Neostem has cash of $2.12 million, debt of $3.75 million, and operating cash of -$8.51 million. The company has earned revenue of $77.20 million and net income of -$42.64 million this year. Of the 3 analysts following Neostem, 2 rate it a strong buy and 1 rates it as buy.

Earlier this year, Baxter Internationals (NYSE: BAX) CD34+ entered Phase III trials, a stem cell treatment designed to strengthen the heart by increasing exercise capacity and reducing angina attacks due to chronic myocardial ischemia. This autologous stem cell therapy harvests the cells from the donors bone marrow, and everything but the stem cells is returned to the donor.

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Immortality and 3 Stem Cell Research Stocks

Einstein Hosts Its First Stem Cell Institute Symposium

Newswise September 21, 2012 (BRONX, NY) The promise of stem cells seems limitless. If they can be coaxed into rebuilding organs, repairing damaged spinal cords and restoring ravaged immune systems, these malleable cells would revolutionize medical treatment. But stem cell research is still in its infancy, as scientists seek to better understand the role of these cells in normal human development and disease.

On Friday, September 14, the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University offered the Einstein community and invited guests an opportunity to hear from leading stem cell scientists investigating the dynamic field. The 2012 Einstein Stem Cell Institute Symposium featured speakers from around the globe presenting the latest research on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), cell reprogramming, as well as cancer and hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells.

This symposium was an important milestone for stem cell research at Einstein and confirms our intent to contribute to advances in stem cell biology, said the events host and organizer, Paul Frenette, M.D., director and chair of Einsteins Stem Cell Institute and professor of medicine and of cell biology.

There has been a lot of hype in the past few years about the promise of stem cell research and some concerns that perhaps it was oversold to the public, said Dr. Frenette. The symposiums speakers nicely illustrated the tremendous progress that has been made thus far and showed how outstanding research is helping us to realize the full potential of stem cells.

The afternoon event included four presentations: George Q. Daley, M.D., Ph.D., discussed Lin28 in Stem Cells and Disease. Dr. Daley is the Samuel E. Lux IV Professor of Hematology/Oncology and director of the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Boston Childrens Hospital; professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology, of medicine, and of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Kathrin Plath, Ph.D., gave a talk on the Mechanisms of Reprogramming of Pluripotency. Dr. Plath is associate professor of biological chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeless David Geffen School of Medicine.

Toshio Suda, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell differentiation at the Graduate School of Medicine, Keio University in Tokyo, Japan, presented Hematopoietic Stem Cells in Hypoxic Niches.

Andreas Trumpp, Ph.D., professor and head of the division of stem cells and cancer, and managing director of the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine in Heidleberg, Germany, discussed Circulating Metastasis-initiating Cells in Breast Cancer.

Dr. Frenette closed the event by thanking the speakers and the 100 attendees in the Ethel and Samuel J. LeFrak Auditorium, as well as additional attendees viewing the proceedings from overflow rooms in Einsteins Michael F. Price Center for Genetic and Translational Medicine/Harold and Muriel Block Research Pavilion.

We hope this symposium will foster collaborations between Einstein faculty members and leaders in the field, and embolden our developing program toward new heights of research excellence, said Dr. Frenette.

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Einstein Hosts Its First Stem Cell Institute Symposium

Treatment failing for Arroyo

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TREATMENT NOT WORKING. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is experiencing more intense pain and "numbness" in her neck. File photo

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not recovering from her spinal condition despite having undergone stem cell treatment and tried other remedies.

Arroyo is suffering numbness and shooting pain near her neck, she said on her official Twitter account @gmarroyo on Thursday, September 20.

The Pampanga Rep. added that her doctors have advised her to wear her neck brace for longer periods of time in order to cope with the pain, and a recent CT scan showed that her neck muscles have "atrophied" due to her spinal condition.

According to Arroyo, the pain was so intense that she was unable to attend a scheduled pictorial for the members of the House of Representatives and sent a file photo.

After the former President was granted bail by a Pasay City Court last July, she contacted alternative medicine doctor Antonia Park, who owns a wellness center in Tagaytay City, and this week Arroyo started searching for another specialist who can correct her spinal condition.

Arroyo still has physical therapy sessions 3 times a week at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, where the Pampanga Rep. had spent 8 months in hospital arrest over electoral sabotage charges in connection with the 2007 midterm polls.

Dr. Roberto Anastacio, her physician at the Makati Medical Center, earlier said the treatment for Arroyos condition cannot be found in the Philippines.

However, the former President is prevented from traveling abroad by 3 hold departure orders issued by the courts in relation to electoral sabotage, plunder and graft cases filed against her. - Rappler.com

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Treatment failing for Arroyo

Embattled Bonita Springs doctor back in stem cell business

Dr. Zannos Grekos is back in the stem cell business in his Bonita Springs office even though state health-care regulators suspended his license in February.

Grekos, a cardiologist, is chief medical officer of a new company, Intercellular Sciences, which "follows in the footsteps" of his earlier practice called Regenocyte Therapeutics, according to Intercellular's website.

Intercellular operates at 9500 Bonita Beach Road where Regenocyte is located.

The new company website says all stem cell treatment is done in the Dominican Republic, which follows how Grekos was doing the therapy before he faced state sanctions for performing it in his Bonita Springs practice.

Staff at Intercellular Sciences could not be reached for comment.

The state health department is aware of Grekos involvement with Intercellular but cannot say whether serving as chief medical officer means he is actively practicing medicine against the suspension, health department spokeswoman Ashley Carr said.

Incorporation papers were submitted and filed May 15 for Intercellular with the state Division of Corporations, but Grekos is not listed as an agent or manager, the documents show.

The registered agent, Mike Calcaterra, of North Fort Myers, serves as president and chief operating officer of Intercellular. He could not be reached for comment.

Several years ago, Grekos' medical practice evolved into stem cell therapy, where patients would come to his practice in Bonita Springs for medical evaluation and a blood sample would get sent to a laboratory in Israel for cultivating the stem cells. The blood would then be sent to the Dominican Republic.

The patient would travel to the island nation and Grekos' physician partner there would inject the stem cells into the patient. The hope is the therapeutic healing abilities of the stem cells would help the patient buy more time against congestive heart failure, lung disease and other conditions where conventional treatment was no longer effective.

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Embattled Bonita Springs doctor back in stem cell business

Bonita Springs stem cell doctor back working again

BONITA SPRINGS, fla - A controversial stem cell doctor, who lost his medical license in March, is back in business.

Dr. Zannos Grekos is listed as the Chief Medical Officer on the website for Intercellular Sciences, a new company that is "following in the footsteps of Regenocyte," a stem cell company started by Grekos.

WINK News has not been able to confirm whether or not that means the stem cell doctor is practicing medicine at the new company.

In 2011, Grekos was ordered to stop practicing medicine after a cancer patient died following an unapproved stem cell treatment at Regenocyte.

Then, in March of 2012, the Health Department revoked Grekos medical license following the death of a second patient, Richard Poling. At that time, the Lee County Sheriff's Office raided Regenocyte.

We tracked down the phone number of Intercellular Sciences, Grekos new company. The answering machine message links Grekos' old company Regenocyte and Intercellular Sciences.

Despite all the trouble Grekos faces, many of his patients stand by him. "He gave me new life," says Peter Holler. "I can't say enough for him. He's so dedicated to his work and his patients and he doesn't deserve what he's going through."

Holler, like many of Grekos patients traveled out of the United States for his procedure. Holler went to the Dominican Republic four years ago. At the time, he said his heart was half dead.

He says now, he feels great and has since had regular checkups, but has not seen or spoken to Dr. Grekos since his license was revoked.

As for the new company, Holler believes it will get Grekos away from the Regenocyte name and give his doctor a fresh start.

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Bonita Springs stem cell doctor back working again

StemGenex to Launch Adult Stem Cell-Based Therapy to Relieve COPD Symptoms

LA JOLLA, Calif., Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- New developments in regenerative medicine are bringing about exciting, novel approaches to create therapies for hard to treat diseases. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a hard to treat disorder that progressively blocks airflow in the lungs making it increasingly difficult for an individual to breathe, and is one of the leading illnesses in the US. Yet, current treatments for COPD can only try to limit the extent of damage to the lungs, and to bring some relief from symptoms. Novel treatments for COPD are urgently needed, and new applications with the use of adult stem cells may have much benefit. This is because adult stem cells have an ability to differentiate into many different types of cells, such as those required for healthy, functioning lung tissue. Also, adult stem cells can be isolated with ease from an individual's own fat tissue, and so adult stem cell therapy is not subject to the ethical or religious issues that trouble some other methods.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120920/LA78252)

StemGenex, a US based company, is finding new avenues and methods for using adipose derived adult stem cells to help in diseases with limited treatment options. StemGenex has been working with scientists and physicians over the last 5 years to specifically advance adult stem cell treatment protocols, and the hope is that COPD adult stem cell therapy can help in alleviating COPD symptoms. Results from researchers working with adult stem cells have shown anti-inflammatory and immune modulatory effects, suggesting possible roles in treating COPD. Interestingly, recent studies in mice indicate the presence of stem cells in the lungs can regenerate damaged lung tissue which occurs through infection. Encouragingly, adult stem cell treatment studies in mice appear to have positive effects across a range of respiratory diseases, which includes COPD.

Taking these research findings into account and building on their own developments, StemGenex is about to submit a plan of using adult stem cell therapy for COPD treatment to an Institutional Review Board for review. This study could scientifically define any potential benefits of such clinical treatments. Rita Alexander, the President of StemGenex, says, "Chuck Liptak, a long-term COPD sufferer, eliminated his requirement for oxygen following a stem cell treatment. It's imperative that these results be scientifically quantified."

To find out more about stem cell treatments contact StemGenex. An experienced stem cell physician reviews the patient evaluation and a patient can have any questions or requests for more detailed information addressed by a patient advocate. StemGenex is based in La Jolla, California with treatment locations on the east and west coast.

Contact: La Jolla Cove Research Center 505 Coast Boulevard South La Jolla, CA 92037 858-459-STEM (7836) Contact@StemGenex.comhttp://www.StemGenex.com

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StemGenex to Launch Adult Stem Cell-Based Therapy to Relieve COPD Symptoms

Stem cell therapy to lead DOT’s proposed ‘medical tourism’ plan

The Department of Tourism plans to add another reason for more visitors to come to the country through a soon-to-be drafted medical tourism plan, which highlights the relatively cheap yet world-class health services some of the countrys hospitals have to offer.

In this proposed plan, DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez aims to get the countrys medical sector to put its best foot forward by highlighting stem cell therapy as well as other areas of specialization.

Medical tourism focuses on some very serious, important areas of healthcare that the world will travel for, Jimenez said during a forum on stem cell science conducted at the Medical City hospital in Pasig City on Tuesday evening.

Through promoting world-class medical services in the country, such as some of Philippine hospitals stem cell programs, Jimenez said the DOT aims to draw foreigners into the country who, in his words, yung sasakay sila ng eroplano, tatawid sila ng dagat.

(Foreigners) would obviously spend less if they sought care in their own country like the United States or (places in) Europe. So you really have to have a value that will mitigate the cost of that travel. Your service has to be superior, greater value for their money, Jimenez said.

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Stem cell therapy to lead DOT’s proposed ‘medical tourism’ plan