Stem cell treatment warnings

By adminJuly 29, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

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While stem cells have many applications in treating bone tumors and early leukaemia and lymphoma cases Dr Tony Bartone says patients undergoing unproven treatments are taking "life into a Tatts Lotto" situation.

Authorities are warning of the risks of unproven stem cell treatments available in Australia and overseas after the death of an Australian woman in Russia.

Brisbane mother-of-two Kellie van Meurs travelled to Moscow for treatment for a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome but died from a heart attack while undergoing the controversial treatment on July 19.

Her death - and the continued marketing of stem cell tourism by groups including Adult Stem Cell Foundation - prompted warnings that manyof the therapies on offer are untested and not acceptedby mainstream science.

Stem Cells Australia's head of education, ethics, law and community awareness Megan Munsie said a proliferation of private clinics combined with a growing consumer base was a potentially dangerous mix.

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''This sad case illustrates that some people are prepared to take the risk,'' she said. ''But people should balance their high hopes with the acknowledgement that there is a risk.''

She also cautioned that treatment decisions should be based more on the advice of medical professionals than the experiences outlined in social media, which was flush with success stories and often failed to reflect reality.

In December the country's main medical research funding body, the National Health and Medical Research Council, released a guide for patients and doctors highlighting the risks associated with unproven stem cell treatments in Australia and overseas.

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Stem cell treatment warnings

Stem cell treatment warnings after Australian woman dies in Russia

By adminJuly 29, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

Video will begin in 5 seconds.

While stem cells have many applications in treating bone tumors and early leukaemia and lymphoma cases Dr Tony Bartone says patients undergoing unproven treatments are taking "life into a Tatts Lotto" situation.

Authorities are warning of the risks of unproven stem cell treatments available in Australia and overseas after the death of an Australian woman in Russia.

Brisbane mother-of-two Kellie van Meurs travelled to Moscow for treatment for a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome but died from a heart attack while undergoing the controversial treatment on July 19.

Her death - and the continued marketing of stem cell tourism by groups including Adult Stem Cell Foundation - prompted warnings that manyof the therapies on offer are untested and not acceptedby mainstream science.

Stem Cells Australia's head of education, ethics, law and community awareness Megan Munsie said a proliferation of private clinics combined with a growing consumer base was a potentially dangerous mix.

Advertisement

''This sad case illustrates that some people are prepared to take the risk,'' she said. ''But people should balance their high hopes with the acknowledgement that there is a risk.''

She also cautioned that treatment decisions should be based more on the advice of medical professionals than the experiences outlined in social media, which was flush with success stories and often failed to reflect reality.

In December the country's main medical research funding body, the National Health and Medical Research Council, released a guide for patients and doctors highlighting the risks associated with unproven stem cell treatments in Australia and overseas.

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Stem cell treatment warnings after Australian woman dies in Russia

'Sad case' reveals stem cell risk

By adminJuly 29, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

Video will begin in 5 seconds.

While stem cells have many applications in treating bone tumors and early leukaemia and lymphoma cases Dr Tony Bartone says patients undergoing unproven treatments are taking "life into a Tatts Lotto" situation.

Authorities are warning of the risks of unproven stem cell treatments available in Australia and overseas after the death of an Australian woman in Russia.

Brisbane mother-of-two Kellie van Meurs travelled to Moscow for treatment for a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome but died from a heart attack while undergoing the controversial treatment on July 19.

Her death - and the continued marketing of stem cell tourism by groups including Adult Stem Cell Foundation - prompted warnings that manyof the therapies on offer are untested and not acceptedby mainstream science.

Stem Cells Australia's head of education, ethics, law and community awareness Megan Munsie said a proliferation of private clinics combined with a growing consumer base was a potentially dangerous mix.

Advertisement

''This sad case illustrates that some people are prepared to take the risk,'' she said. ''But people should balance their high hopes with the acknowledgement that there is a risk.''

She also cautioned that treatment decisions should be based more on the advice of medical professionals than the experiences outlined in social media, which was flush with success stories and often failed to reflect reality.

In December the country's main medical research funding body, the National Health and Medical Research Council, released a guide for patients and doctors highlighting the risks associated with unproven stem cell treatments in Australia and overseas.

Excerpt from:
'Sad case' reveals stem cell risk

Mum dies during stem cell therapy

By adminJuly 29, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

Kellie van Meurs, pictured with her husband Mark, died while undergoing stem cell treatment in Russia. Photo: Facebook

Supporters of a Brisbane mother-of-two who died while undergoing a controversial stem cell treatment in Russia say it did not cause her death, nor have others been discouraged from seeking it.

Kellie van Meurs suffered from a rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome, which causes progressive rigidity of the body and chronic pain.

She travelled to Moscow in late June to undergo an autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) under the care of Dr Denis Fedorenko from the National Pirogov Medical Surgical Centre.

Kellie van Meurs, pictured with family and supporters, died while undergoing stem cell treatment in Russia. Photo: Facebook

The transplant more commonly used for multiple sclerosis patients involves rebooting a patients immune system with their own stem cells after high-dose chemotherapy.

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Ms van Meurs was Dr Fedorenkos first SPS patient, and her husband Mark said she died of a heart attack on July 19.

I do know that Rosemary [Ms van Meurs' aunt and carer in Moscow] felt she received the best possible care, especially from Dr Fedorenko, he said.

Given her level of constant pain and overlapping auto-neuronal problems I still don't think we had a better option.

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Mum dies during stem cell therapy

'She received the best care': Qld Stem cell mum dies in Russia

By adminJuly 27, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

Kellie van Meurs, pictured with her husband Mark, died while undergoing stem cell treatment in Russia. Photo: Facebook

Supporters of a Brisbane mother of two who died while undergoing a controversial stem cell treatment in Russia say it did not cause her death, nor have others been discouraged from seeking it.

Kellie van Meurs suffered from a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome, which causes progressive rigidity of the body and chronic pain.

She travelled to Moscow in late June to undergo an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) under the care of Dr Denis Fedorenko from the National Pirogov Medical Surgical Centre.

Kellie van Meurs, pictured with family and supporters, died while undergoing stem cell treatment in Russia. Photo: Facebook

The transplant more commonly used for multiple sclerosis patients involves rebooting a patients immune system with their own stem cells after high-dose chemotherapy.

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Ms van Meurs was Dr Fedorenkos first SPS patient, and her husband Mark said she died of a heart attack on July 19.

I do know that Rosemary [Kellie's aunt and carer in Moscow] felt she received the best possible care, especially from Dr Fedorenko, he said.

Given her level of constant pain and overlapping auto-neuronal problems I still don't think we had a better option.

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'She received the best care': Qld Stem cell mum dies in Russia

11-year-olds critical need for a stem cell transplant

By adminJuly 24, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

WATCH:An 11-year-old girl with a rare blood disease is in need of a stem cell transplant ideally from a match within the South Asian Community. Angie Seth reports.

Stem cell and bone marrow donations are critical for hundreds of people in Canada suffering from certain types of cancers or blood diseases.

Right now there are approximately 800 people on the transplant list. Among them is 11-year-old Cierra Singh.

Cierra has a rare blood disease calledMyelodysplastic Syndrome.

Mybone marrow and my bones are not producing enough healthy cells. So there are platelets and the white blood cells and the red blood cells. My mom tells me they are not working as well as they should work, Cierra tells Global News.

We had the opportunity to meet this incredible little girl who strives to give back to others in every which way.

Everyone says its a big deal, but I dont see it as a big deal. I just try to stay positive all the time, she says.

Cierra was diagnosed with the rare blood disease in April. A trip to Sick Kids hospital because of a swollen leg led doctors to discover Cierras immune system was not functioning properly.

Her Mothers fears paint a bleak picture.

If she were to get a fever of 38.5 and up we need to rush her into emergency within the hour . The risk of infectious diseases is very high so they need to pump her body with antibiotics because she wont be able to fight it. The only cure for Myelodysplastic Syndrome is a stem cell transplant, there is no other option, KiranBenet, Cierras Mom says.

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11-year-olds critical need for a stem cell transplant

Stem cell therapy could lead to HIV cure – SFGate

By adminJuly 23, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

Two teams of scientists with strong ties to the Bay Area are racing to develop a stem cell therapy that would provide a practical cure for people living with HIV infection, leaving them with an immune system capable of keeping them healthy without daily medication even as some virus remains circulating in their bloodstream.

Both groups of researchers are trying to capitalize on the DNA of so-called elite controllers - people who are naturally resistant to HIV due to a genetic mutation that prevents the virus from latching on to their immune cells. It was an elite controller who donated bone marrow to Timothy Brown, the "Berlin patient," who was the first in the world to be cured of HIV. Doctors attribute Brown's rebuilt HIV-resistant immune system to the genetic mutation in the bone marrow.

Bone marrow transplants are not an effective cure for HIV for the general population because they're risky and expensive. But stem cells, drawn from a patient's own bone marrow and altered to be HIV-resistant, may be able to do the job using the same premise.

"If you could make a person's immune system mutated in a way that HIV could not infect it, then you may be able to cure the HIV," said Dr. John Zaia, a virologist with the Beckman Research Institute near Los Angeles, who's working with Sangamo Biosciences in Richmond on a technique to engineer and transplant stem cells.

"That's the premise anyway," he said. "And it's based on that one case in the Berlin, that one transplant."

The teams at the forefront of stem cell HIV therapy are led by Sangamo and Calimmune, a San Diego company that is testing its treatment in patients in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Calimmune was the first to start human clinical trials, in July 2013, and last month reported that the first group of patients was doing well enough that they were ready to begin treating a second group. Sangamo expects to start clinical trials as early as this fall.

Both groups are being funded in part by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state's stem cell agency.

The research is based on the discovery in the mid-1990s of a specific genetic mutation that blocks a protein called CCR5. The protein is found on the surface of some cells where it acts as a receptor, allowing HIV to attach and ultimately fuse with the cell. Without CCR5, it's much more difficult, although not impossible, for the virus to infect a cell.

In elite controllers, the CCR5 receptor is mutated in such a way that HIV cannot latch onto it. Scientists believe that only about 1 percent of people worldwide have the CCR5 genetic mutation.

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Stem cell therapy could lead to HIV cure - SFGate

Montreal woman pleading with B.C. residents to save her life

By adminJuly 21, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

VANCOUVER Mai Duong, 34, only has six weeksleft to get a life-saving stem cell or bone marrow transplant and shes pleading with the Lower Mainlands Asian population tosave her.

The mother of one was born and raised in Montreal. Shes had good health for most of her life, until she was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2013, while pregnant with her second child. Doctors told her she had to terminate the pregnancy she was at 15 weeks and start chemotherapy immediately.

Duongwent into remission, but ten months later the cancer was back. And this time it was more aggressive and chemotherapy wouldnt work, she was told. Instead, she needed stem cells or a bone marrow transplant.

Even though Im on the international registry list for donors, I did not have a match for the bone marrow. I was devastated when they told me that, she toldGlobal News.

It turns out the problem of finding a match, and a perfect one at that, is more common among those of Asian descent. In 2012, 2-year-old Jeremy Kong of San Francisco was diagnosed with leukemia and couldnt find a match until he went public. After doing so, he found a nine out of tenbone marrow donor match and underwent a transplant, but died a year later. Experts say Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino and other South Asian populations are behind Caucasians when it comes to donating blood and organs.

Were severely underrepresented in the international list. So its not even a local or a national problem; its a global problem, said Duong.

Duong is turning to Vancouver because of its large Asian population, and urging people to get tested. She needs a donor of Vietnamese or Filipino descent for a perfect match, and she needs to find them within six weeks or its unlikely shell survive.

For more information on how you can help Duong, visit her Facebook pageor websiteand get tested at OneMatch.ca.

With files from Darlene Heidemann.

Shaw Media, 2014

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Montreal woman pleading with B.C. residents to save her life

Stranger pays $128Gs for dying woman's treatment

By adminJuly 16, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

OTTAWA -- She knows he's tall, slender and generous, but she does not know the name of the man who anonymously donated $128,000 so she can receive "life-saving" stem cell treatment in Chicago.

"We just can't believe it. The future is incredible right now," said Stephanie Headley, 47, who uses an oxygen tank due to damaged lungs.

The single mother of four was diagnosed in 2002 with an aggressive form of systemic scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that hardens the skin and organs.

Doctors didn't expect her to survive this long, but she credits a positive outlook and the support from her parents after her marriage fell apart.

Nonetheless, the disease is progressing and Headley was expecting to die sooner than later from heart failure.

Her family launched a fundraising campaign on youcaring.com, titled Please Save Our Mom, two months ago for a stem cell transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Headley was stunned when a man delivered a $128,000 bank draft on July 3.

"He's given me my life," said Headley.

"He's saved my kids enormous pain."

She said the man phoned and wanted to stop by with a donation.

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Stranger pays $128Gs for dying woman's treatment

Stranger pays for dying woman's treatment

By adminJuly 16, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

OTTAWA -- She knows he's tall, slender and generous, but she does not know the name of the man who anonymously donated $128,000 so she can receive "life-saving" stem cell treatment in Chicago.

"We just can't believe it. The future is incredible right now," said Stephanie Headley, 47, who uses an oxygen tank due to damaged lungs.

The single mother of four was diagnosed in 2002 with an aggressive form of systemic scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that hardens the skin and organs.

Doctors didn't expect her to survive this long, but she credits a positive outlook and the support from her parents after her marriage fell apart.

Nonetheless, the disease is progressing and Headley was expecting to die sooner than later from heart failure.

Her family launched a fundraising campaign on youcaring.com, titled Please Save Our Mom, two months ago for a stem cell transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Headley was stunned when a man delivered a $128,000 bank draft on July 3.

"He's given me my life," said Headley.

"He's saved my kids enormous pain."

She said the man phoned and wanted to stop by with a donation.

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Stranger pays for dying woman's treatment