Why People Are Traveling For Stem Cell Treatment – Huffington Post

Medical tourism is alive and well in places all over the world. Thailand, Mexico and Colombia are just some of the destinations where people travel in order to get affordable health care. While finances are the main concern of medical tourists, another reason to make the trip is for services that arent provided in a travelers local city or country. Stem Cells are still a controversial topic in many countries and while research is being conducted, people who might benefit from the treatments may not be able to locate a qualified provider. Why travel so far just for stem cell treatment? Well.

They May Be Able To Cure Cancer

Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases out there without a cure. With so many people falling ill to this disease, the need for a cure is more important than ever. Stem cell studies are being conducted and researchers have found that stem cell therapy can be used to add healthy cells into the system to suppress the disease while stimulating the growth of new and healthy marrow. Hodgkins Lymphoma, breast cancer and ovarian cancer may benefit the most from these treatments.

They Could Be Capable of Treating Blood Disease

According to NSI Stem Cell, stem cell therapy may be able to provide the body with regenerative and healthy blood cells to combat blood disease. With healthy blood cells in the system, diseases like Sickle Cell Anemia, Fanconi Anemia and Thalassemia could be effectively treated.

They Have The Ability To Treat Injuries and Wounds

By increasing blood vessels and improving blood supply, stem cells could treat both chronic and acute wounds, especially in older patients who dont heal as quickly. Specifically, stem cell therapy could help treat surface wounds, limb gangrene and the replacement of jawbone.

Research Is Being Done On a Huge Variety of Treatment Potential

Stem cells are constantly undergoing research to uncover their potential when it comes to medical treatments. Some of the treatments being explored include:

-Auto-immune Disease: These cells may be able to repair and regenerate damaged tissue for people suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Buergers Disease, and Systemic Lupus.

-Neurodegeneration: They could help with diseases such as MS and Parkinsons.

-Brain & Spinal Cord Injuries: The cells could reduce inflammation and help to form healthy, new tissue.

-Heart Conditions: Stem cells are being utilized to create new blood vessels, reverse tissue loss and regenerate heart muscle tissue.

-Tooth & Hair Replacement: They can help grow thinning hair and replace missing teeth.

-Vision Loss: Retinal cells are being injected into the eyes to improve vision.

-Pancreatic Cells: Healthy Beta Cells in the pancreas are being produced by stem cells. These therapies would help diabetic patients and allow them to decrease their dependence on insulin.

-Orthopedics: Stem cells can be utilized to treat arthritis and ligament/tendon injuries.

-HIV/Aids: Researchers are looking into using stem cells to produce an immune system that is resistant to disease.

The Cost of Treatment Will Vary But Can Be Affordable

While it may seem that the cost of stem cell therapy would be extremely high, the truth is that it varies. It all depends on the treatment necessary but the range could be from $1,000 to $100,000. In the future, insurance companies may even cover costs for some treatments.

Stem Cells Come From Multiple Sources

Stem cells come from a whole variety of places including bone marrow, adipose tissue, blood and umbilical cords. In the case of extraction from adipose tissue, they can be harvested and then put back in a patient after only a couple of days. All of the procedures to acquire the stem cells can be done with willing participants and donors.

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Why People Are Traveling For Stem Cell Treatment - Huffington Post

Multiple sclerosis treatment could ‘reset’ immune system with stem … – Genetic Literacy Project

New research provides further evidence of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as an effective treatment for multiple sclerosis, after finding the procedure halted disease progression for 5 years in almost half of patients.

However, [Dr. Paolo Muraro, of the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London,] warn that further trials are needed to determine the efficacy and safety of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT).

In AHSCT, a patients own stem cells are harvested. The patient is then subject to high-dose chemotherapy to eliminate any diseased cells. Next, the harvested stem cells are returned to the patients bloodstreamIn simple terms, AHSCT resets the immune system.

Overall, the researchers found that 46 percent of patients experienced no disease progression in the 5 years after treatmentAdditionally, patients experienced small improvements in MS symptoms after AHSCT.

While these findings show promise for the use of AHSCT for patients with MS, the team notes that there were eight deaths in the 100 days after AHSCT, which were thought to have been treatment related.

[The study can be found here.]

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:Multiple sclerosis: Stem cell transplantation may halt disease progression

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Multiple sclerosis treatment could 'reset' immune system with stem ... - Genetic Literacy Project

Health Beat: Stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis – WFMZ Allentown

Health Beat: Stem cell therapy for...

CHICAGO - As a professional photographer, climbing up step ladders and walking down stairs are part of the daily grind for 65-year-old Linda Schwartz.

"There's constant activity; you're moving the whole time, really," Schwartz said

But the pain of osteoarthritis in both of her knees was making all that activity a little harder.

"I tried cortisone shots. I had something called Euflexxa," Schwartz detailed. "I was sent to physical therapy twice. I mean, I did try acupuncture in my knees, but it didn't really seem to make a difference."

"It's like the rubber on the tire, so as you start to lose the rubber in your tire and the rim hits the road, that's what happens when you have bone on bone arthritis and you've lost all the cartilage in your knee," explained Dr. Adam Yanke, an orthopedic surgeon at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Yanke enrolled Schwartz in an experimental new therapy that involved injecting amniotic fluid that contained stem cells donated by healthy mothers into the knees of osteoarthritis patients.

"Between the two of those, they're a potent anti-inflammatory and they also have growth factors that help promote healing or healthy growth of tissue," Yanke said.

It was, by far, the most effective pain treatment that Schwartz has tried. Unlike cortisone shots, there are no side-effects. The pain relief has so far lasted up to a year.

Research summary - Stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis

"It was a very gradual feeling of it's a little bit better, it's a little bit better, and then realizing, wow, it's really pretty good," said Schwartz.

The one drawback is the therapy is not for patients whose arthritis is so bad it requires knee replacement surgery. Even though it's still in the experimental stage, Yanke offers the stem cell treatment to his patients, but at a cost of $2,200 a shot, it is not yet covered by insurance.

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Health Beat: Stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis - WFMZ Allentown

Stem Cell Therapy Could Reverse Hearing Loss – Seeker

Humans have about 15,000 inner ear-hair cells, each one picking up sound vibrations, converting them to electric signals and sending them to the brain for processing.

Over time, loud noise, medications and old age combine to kill these cells and their microscopic hairs called stereocilia which leads to hearing loss. Unlike other animals, however, humans and mammals can't regrow them. But a group of scientists based in Boston say they've figured out a way to switch on the body's cellular factories and possibly reverse hearing loss.

"The biology is there, we just need to awaken it," said Jeffrey Karp, associate professor at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and an author on the new study appearing Tuesday in the journal Cell Reports. "For some reason there are brakes that we need to release for a short period of time to allow new hair cells to be produced."

RELATED: Can We Reverse Hearing Damage?

Karp and colleagues were able to regrow the hair cells by activating a stem cell in the cochlea called Lgr5 with a small molecule drug treatment. A similar stem cell is found in the human intestine and allows the body to regrow the exterior lining of the organ every five days.

The team also obtained a human cochlea from a patient who suffered from cancer and were able to regrow hair cells with their drug treatment.

"We don't want to provide false hope, but we are highly encouraged by this work. And our ability to produce bona fide functional hair cells is very compelling," Karp said.

The next step is taking the experimental data and starting a human clinical trial. Karp and Robert Langer of MIT are co-founders in a small startup firm, Frequency Therapeutics, that's working toward a phase I trial in the next 18 months, according to Karp.

A possible drug treatment for hearing loss could help the 360 million people worldwide who suffer from the condition.

RELATED: Why Does Loud Music Cause Hearing Loss?

"Their proposal is very novel and essentially by activating these supporting cells, a natural process will take over and a certain percentage would become hair cells capable of playing a role in the encoding of sound," said Nicolas Reed, an instructor in otolaryngology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "I don't see any obvious negative indications right now."

Hearing loss can lead to big problems as we age, including the onset of Alzheimer's disease, falls and social isolation, according to Larry Medwetsky, chairman of our Department of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences at Gallaudet University.

"It is not a minor matter," Medwetsky said. "Hearing loss can affect you mentally and emotionally. If you can prevent or remediate it than you can also you can restore quality of life and avoid some of these issues."

WATCH: How Did Human Hearing Evolve?

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Stem Cell Therapy Could Reverse Hearing Loss - Seeker

Stem cell therapy being used for osteoarthritis – WNDU 16 – WNDU-TV

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in the US, affecting nearly twenty-seven million adults. It is currently an incurable disease in which the joints deteriorate. Now, a therapy that has been used in eye surgery and to heal the skin of burn victims is being used for the first time in knees and this new form of treatment involves stem cells from amniotic fluid.

As a professional photographer, climbing up step ladders and walking down stairs are part of the daily grind for 65-year-old Linda Schwartz.

"Theres constant activity; youre moving the whole time, really," said Schwartz.

But the pain of osteoarthritis in both of her knees was making all that activity a little harder.

"Tried cortisone shots. I had, um, something called Euflexxa. I was sent to physical therapy twice. I mean, I did try acupuncture in my knees. But it didnt really seem to make a difference," said Schwartz.

"Its like the rubber on the tire. So as you start to lose the rubber in your tire and the rim hits the road, thats what happens when you have bone on bone arthritis and youve lost all the cartilage in your knee," said dr. Adam Yanke, an orthopedic surgeon at rush university medical center.

Orthopedic surgeon Adam Yanke enrolled Schwartz in an experimental new therapy that involved injecting amniotic fluid that contained stem cells donated by healthy mothers into the knees of osteoarthritis patients.

"Between the two of those theyre a potent anti-inflammatory and they also have growth factors that help promote healing or healthy growth of tissue," said Dr. Yanke.

It was by far the most effective pain treatment that Schwartz has tried and, unlike cortisone shots, there are no side effects. The pain relief has so far lasted up to a year.

"It was a very gradual feeling of its a little bit better, its a little bit better, and then realizing, wow, its really pretty good," said Schwartz.

The one drawback is this therapy is not for patients whose arthritis is so bad it requires knee replacement surgery. Even though its still in the experimental stage, Dr. Yanke offers the stem cell treatment to his patients, but at a cost of 2200 dollars a shot, it is not yet covered by insurance.

TOPIC: Heart Attack: Slashing Door-To-Balloon Times REPORT: MB #4218

BACKGROUND: A heart attack is an event that occurs when the blood flow that transmits oxygen to the heart is severely reduced or stopped completely. One reason for this blood flow to become reduced is because of the blockage of an artery due to fat, cholesterol or plaque. About every 43 seconds, a person in America suffers from a heart attack. The most common symptoms of a heart attack are the following: * Chest discomfort, including uncomfortable pressure, squeezing or pain in the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and later comes back. * Discomfort in other areas of the body, including pain in the arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach. * Shortness of breath. * Cold sweat, nausea and lightheadedness The most common symptom in men is chest pain, whereas women are more likely to experience shortness of breath, vomiting and pain in other parts of the body.

(Source: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartAttack/AboutHeartAttacks/About-Heart-Attacks_UCM_002038_Article.jsp)

ACTING FAST: Heart attacks are very delicate events, and in order to overcome them it is important to act fast. If you think you are suffering from a heart attack it is important to call 911 immediately in order to be treated as soon as possible in a hospital with treatments like balloon angioplasty, clot-dissolving drugs, surgery and/or a combination of all of the above.

(Source: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartAttack/TreatmentofaHeartAttack/Treatment-of-a-Heart-Attack_UCM_002042_Article.jsp)

DOOR-TO-BALLOON: In order to save lives it is not only important that the patient acts fast, but the hospital does as well; every minute matters. Normally, severe heart attacks like a STEMI are treated with a door-to-balloon protocol. Door-to-balloon is the time that elapses from when a patient enters the door of the hospital to the time blood flow is circulating to heart again. The American College of Cardiology suggests that this time should be 90 minutes or less. In order for these times to be achieved it is important that everyone involved is working consistently and together; this includes doctors, nurses, paramedics, and pharmacists. There is a checklist these professionals have to follow and the data of each patient is posted daily. The Cleveland Clinic has been able to cut the door-to-balloon time almost in half. Thirty-five percent of their patients have had door-to-balloon times of 45 minutes or less and others were able to be treated in only 21 minutes. Researchers will soon publish the results of how their protocol reduces the overall time and how it is specifically impacting death rates.

(Source: Dr. Travis Gullet & https://consultqd.clevelandclinic.org/2016/05/streamlined-stemi-protocol-slashes-door-balloon-times/)

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT: Andrea Pacetti pacetta@ccf.org

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Stem cell therapy being used for osteoarthritis - WNDU 16 - WNDU-TV

Opinion: Oregon patients should beware of stem cell therapy fraud – Portland Business Journal

Opinion: Oregon patients should beware of stem cell therapy fraud Portland Business Journal Patients in Oregon seeking accurate information about stem cell therapy have few reliable sources to guide them. It can be hard to separate scientific facts from science fiction. Query Dr. Google and you'll find a slew of clinics and a broad range of ...

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Opinion: Oregon patients should beware of stem cell therapy fraud - Portland Business Journal

BrainStorm seeks early approval for stem cell treatment in Canada – Fox News

TEL AVIV Israel's BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is seeking early approval in Canada for its adult stem cell treatment for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neuro-degenerative disease, even before it completes late-stage clinical trials.

BrainStorm said on Tuesday that it had signed an agreement with CCRM, a Canadian not-for-profit organization that supports development of regenerative medicine, to support a market authorisation request for its ALS treatment, called NurOwn.

CCRM is helping BrainStorm meet requirements for the Canadian health regulator's early access pathway, which provides rapid review for drugs to treat serious or life-threatening conditions.

If NurOwn qualifies, it could be authorized in Canada for distribution by the start of 2018, the company said.

"We seemingly fit the criteria," BrainStorm Chief Executive Chaim Lebovits told Reuters.

At the same time, BrainStorm will conduct a Phase 3 clinical trial for NurOwn at multiple sites in the United States and Israel. The company in December said the advanced clinical trial is expected to begin enrolling patients in the second quarter of 2017.

BrainStorm also plans to submit an application in Israel that will allow patient access to NurOwn as a treatment that has been granted "Hospital Exemption." This recently approved pathway would permit BrainStorm to partner with a medical center in Israel and be allowed to treat patients with NurOwn for a fee.

Lebovits foresees possible treatments under this pathway as early as the second half of 2017.

BrainStorm is also examining whether it may be eligible for early approval in the United States under new legislation passed in December that supporters say will speed access to new drugs.

According to the ALS Association, 5,600 people in the United States are diagnosed each year with the disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, which has severely disabled British physicist Stephen Hawking.

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BrainStorm seeks early approval for stem cell treatment in Canada - Fox News

Stem Cell Treatments Could Be The Next Frontier In Fixing Broken … – Deadspin

In an interesting dispatch from spring training, Yahoos Jeff Passan reports on Los Angeles Angels pitcher Garrett Richardss recovery from a May 2016 elbow injury that shut him down for the season.

Instead of electing to undergo standard Tommy John surgery, Richards decided to try to heal his injury by getting an injection of stem cells directly into his elbow. Passan, whose 2016 book The Arm showed hes not afraid to make his readers feel queasy, described the procedure as such: Richards was fortunate to only suffer a partial tear, which is naturally easier to repair than a full tear.

A doctor guided a needle into the iliac crest of his pelvic bone and began to extract bone marrow.

[...]

Within a few minutes, the harvested marrow was hurried to a centrifuge, spun to separate the good stuff, mixed into a slurry of platelet-rich plasma and readied to inject into Richards damaged right elbow.

Gross, but it apparently worked. Passan reports Richards is feeling great and throwing 98 mph at spring training. Richards is clearly pleased with the tentatively positive outcome: Science, bro. Im a believer now, Richards told Passan.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache, sports premiere orthopedic surgeon, says he is looking forward to seeing where the research on the efficacy of orthobiologics goes, but he also has a theory that the simple resting of the muscle could be the impetus for muscle repair. Or, at least, that the two factors combined can be effective.

A stem cell procedure is less invasive than UCL surgery, of course, and right now it looks like the healing process could be much shorter than that of Tommy John surgery, at least for pitchers with partial UCL tears. Standard TJ recovery time is 14 monthsnearly long enough to inspire an oh yeah, that guy reaction when the player eventually returns. Richards underwent his stem cell procedure in May 2016 and Passan reports that he was throwing by August and was ready to go by October.

Richards will, of course, be kept on a short leash this season as he and the Angels look to avoid a setback or worse, but the potential for an expedited return from partial UCL tears is a major development for the science of pitching.

If stem cell treatments can get electric pitchers like Richards healed and back on the field quicker than surgery can, thats obviously a good thing for baseball. Still, its hard to read Passans story and not come away from it asking, Whats a PED again? Heres Richards talking about his stem cell treatment in the Los Angeles Timesback in 2016:

Stem cells are a remarkable thing. The body heals itself, so thats awesome. Were not out of the woods yet, but todays a good day.

HGH doesnt exactly work the same way this stem cell treatment appears to, but their essential benefits are the same. While the term performance enhancing drugs is still commonly associated with the mega-roids 1990s, HGH is of value to athletes largely for its ability to quicken injury recovery and extend careers. Doctors pushing orthobiologics experiments on their patients are free of the whiff of impropriety, but it seems that has less to do with their virtue than it does their good fortune at being on the right side of baseballs arbitrary PED laws.

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Stem Cell Treatments Could Be The Next Frontier In Fixing Broken ... - Deadspin

New stem cell treatment ‘freezes’ multiple sclerosis – Telegraph.co.uk

The disease is caused by the immune system malfunctioning and mistakenly attacking nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

It leads to problems with movement, vision, balance and speech.

The treatment, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT), was given to patients with advanced forms of the disease who had failed to respond to other medications.

A similar approach has been trialed on people with certain forms of cancer, with encouraging early results.

Dr Paolo Muraro, the new study's lead author, said: "We previously knew this treatment reboots or resets the immune system but we didn't know how long the benefits lasted.

"In this study, which is the largest long-term follow-up study of this procedure, we've shown we can 'freeze' a patient's disease - and stop it from becoming worse, for up to five years."

The researchers noted, however, that the nature of the treatment, which involves aggressive chemotherapy, carried significant risks.

The chemotherapy deactivates the immune system for a short period of time, which can lead to greater risk of infection - of the 281 patients who received AHSCT, eight died in the 100 days after treatment.

The treatment works by destroying the immune cells responsible for attacking the nervous system.

Patients were given a drug which encourages stem cells to move from the bone marrow into the bloodstream, where they were removed from the body.

High-dose chemotherapy was then administered to kill all immune cells, before the patient's own stem cells were put back into the body to "reset" the immune system.

Nearly three in four (73%) patients with relapsing MS - where the disease flares up before symptoms improve - found their symptoms did not worsen for five years after having AHSCT, compared with one in three patients with progressive MS, the more severe variant of the disease.

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New stem cell treatment 'freezes' multiple sclerosis - Telegraph.co.uk

Saitama clinic ordered to halt unauthorized stem cell ‘anti-aging’ therapy using umbilical cord blood – The Japan Times

SAITAMA The health ministry on Monday ordered a Saitama clinic to stop injecting stem cells of human umbilical cord blood into patients as an anti-aging treatment.

Saitama Medical Clinic in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, was found to have been engaged in such therapy without getting permission from the ministry. The regenerative medicine safety law mandates that all hospitals and clinics submit plans for stem cell therapy and get permission from the ministry beforehand.

The ministry conducted an on-site inspection of the clinic on Friday, based on tips from an outsider, and confirmed the clinic offered the unauthorized therapy, boasting that umbilical cord cell shots would boost health and help with anti-aging.

Several men and women are believed to have undergone treatment there. The ministry has asked the clinic to report the number of cases, any health damage and the kind of stem cells used and how they were obtained.

For clinics to receive approval for medical procedures using cells of others, they need to submit a detailed plan and have it screened by a panel of experts under the health ministry. The clinic had not submitted such a plan.

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Saitama clinic ordered to halt unauthorized stem cell 'anti-aging' therapy using umbilical cord blood - The Japan Times