Stem Cell Clinic

The American Academy of Stem Cell Physicians Recommends a Treatment Protocol for COVID-19 to the WHO – Yahoo Finance

Treatment plans are outlined for doctors and hospitals by The American Academy of Stem Cell Physicians

MIAMI, March 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --The American Academy of Stem Cell Physicians has Recommendations for the Treatment of COVID-19. Treatment plans were sent to the WHO representatives and DirectorDr. Tedros Adhanom earlier today.

The following are recommendations of The American Academy of Stem Cell Physicians for treatment of COVID-19:

For Hospitalized Patients (Based on 70KG weight):

1. Intravenous Vitamin C 50 grams QD (Need to check patients for G6PD deficiency before high dose IVC.)2. Zinc 8mg IV QD3. Vitamin D3 100000-150000 IU Intramuscularly QD4. Chloroquine 10mg/kg bid5. Umbilical Cord Blood - 1 million MNC/kg QD6. Nebulizer with Amniotic fluid derived Exosomes 1 Billion/Kg Q4h.

Please note the vitamins and minerals are given at a higher dose than are normally recommended and physicians should do prophylaxis for gastrointestinal protection and add probiotics.

Non-Hospitalized Patients:

1. Zinc 40 mg BID2. Vitamin C 5000mg/day3. Chloroquine 500mg BID initial loading dose of 1000mg4. Vitamin D 5000 IU QD5. Oral iodine 300mg PO bid

6. Dietary and lifestyle recommendations:a. 8oz of water/hourb. No sugarc. More vegetables at each meal.d. Exercise 30 minutes per day.e. Meditate.f. Sleep minimum of 7-8 hours/day.

A spokesman for The American Academy of Stem Cell Physicians, Dr. A.J. Farshchian said earlier today,"The AASCP members have been working on the above protocol this past week. We have to thank all the physicians contributing to this protocol in particular."

Thephysicians are :

Kristine Salter, M.D.Sunny Kim, M.D.Pedro Abrantes, DPMTom Yarema, M.D.Robert Hamilton, M.D.

This protocol is to be tailored for each individual patient. Physicians from around the world are welcome to contact us, as we will continuously be updating this protocol.

For updates, check The American Academy of Stem Cell Physicians website: http://www.aascp.net.

About AASCP

The American Academy of Stem Cell Physicians (AASCP) is an organization created to advance research and the development of therapeutics in regenerative medicine, including diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease related to or occurring within the human body. The AASCP aims to serve as an educational resource for physicians, scientists, and the public.

Contact Marie Barba at AASCP.net or305-891-4686.

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aascp-recommendations-to-treat.jpeg AASCP recommendations to treat Covid-19 AASCP recommendation memo

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SOURCE The American Academy of Stem Cell Physicians

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The American Academy of Stem Cell Physicians Recommends a Treatment Protocol for COVID-19 to the WHO - Yahoo Finance

March 21: 7 best things that happened this week – The Vanderbilt Hustler

Whether youre feeling anxious, stressed, fearful or straight bored, everyones emotions were running high this week. But believe it or not, some (shocker!) actually great things happened while we were drowning in the headlines. Read on for the seven best things that happened over the last seven days.

MAttigan Kelly

While the world feels like it's falling apart, at least people are fostering more puppies! Read on for other great things that happened this week.

1. Britney Spears made a stand for herself and, well, everyone.

Contrary to popular belief, Britney is very much still in. If you dont follow her Instagram, do yourself a favor, follow it and prepare for your feed to be flooded with her washboard abs and clich screenshots of quotes thatll bring you back to 2012. At 38 and with 2 kids, I can only hope to look like Britney when I grow up. With that being said, she receives her fair share of hate on social media for her Ill post whatever I want attitude and stream of bikini shots. On Wednesday, the Queen of Pop had had enough. She clapped back on all her haters with a genuine post (featuring yet another screenshotted quote) advocating for her right to basically do what she wants and post what she wants without having to deal with online bullies. Especially in todays climate of fear and anxiety, Britney shouldnt have to deal with strangers telling her what to post, and neither should we.

2. The second patient ever was cured of HIV in London.

While everyones busy worrying about not contracting COVID-19, a medical breakthrough happened on March 10 in London. Fourty-year-old Adam Castillejo had been taking HIV medication for months, but it was not that which cured him. Doctors say a stem cell treatment that he received for cancer involved an uncommon gene which stopped the virus from replicating in his body. It is now a year after he was announced clear of the virus, which researcher Prof. Ravindra Kumar Gupta told BBCindicates an almost certain cure. While the solution isnt permanent for certain, it is a step in the right direction for the millions of people living with HIV.

3. People adopted more pets.

At this time, there is no evidence that pets can spread COVID-19. What does that mean for America? More adoption, apparently! Mans best friend comes in clutch yet again, providing endless entertainment for the millions of Americans feeling lonesome in their homes. However, not everyone is willing to take the plunge with a permanent pet pal in this time of economic uncertainty; according to The New York Times, the number of fostering requests across the United States have spiked in recent weeks. Not only is this benefitting the animals themselves whod otherwise be isolated in kennels, but it satiates the need for companionship that their new owners are craving. Reach out to your local Humane Society or Animal Care Center to learn more about how you can adopt or foster a pet in your area.

4. Italians went off.

If you havent seen the videos trending all over Twitter and Instagram, I dont know where youve been. Italians have been doing the most while under strict quarantine, taking their energy and flair to their balconies while singing hit singles karaoke-style. Theyve pulled out all the stops, even bringing out instruments to serenade each other across the streets. Time and time again, history has proven the strength of the unifying power of music in hardship, and this is no exception. The countrys death toll may surpass even Chinas, but that hasnt stopped Italians from trying to have a good time.

5. People actually started using Netflix Party.

Lets be honest, when you and your friends hang out, 5 percent of the time is spent going on spontaneous outings while the other 95 percent blows by while youre on the couch watching Netflix. With Netflix Party, a Chrome extension that synchronizes your Netflix screening, you can still host movie nights with virtually (pun intended) everyone. After downloading the extension from netflixparty.com, all you have to do is open Netflix in your browser, start watching your favorite show, and then click the NP on the upper-right corner of your screen. From there, a chat should pop up, providing you with a sharable link that you can send to all your friends. But wheres the virtual popcorn?

6. Google Arts and Culture allowed us to stroll through online museums.

Google Arts & Culture is what some would call the pioneer of virtual exploration, partnering with over 500 global art institutions to allow anyone with internet access to interact with the same enriching experience of a traditional museum from the comfort of their La-z-boy. The app officially launched in 2016, but the latest advancements in virtual reality provide a whole new platform to experience while youre bundled up at home. Whether you want to stroll through Versailles or make a pit-stop at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea, the innovators at Google allow you to do it all.

7. Everyone got better at TikTok dances.

At this point in quarantine, youd be lying if you said you hadnt even tried to memorize a TikTok dance with all this time on your hands. Savage by Megan Thee Stallion (shoutout Commodore Quake) has gone viral on the popular app, with everyone from Tyler and Hannah (The Bachelorette lovebirds) to Megan Thee Stallion herself taking their shot at the trending dance. The hashtag #boredathome has also been flooding everyones TikTok For You page, featuring families and their various shenanigans while on lockdown. But seriously, why does everyone have a funny dad?

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March 21: 7 best things that happened this week - The Vanderbilt Hustler

Letters to the editor: Goose feces – News – Mount Shasta Herald

FridayMar20,2020at12:01AM

This letter is not intended to impugn the service, doctors or staff of Mercy Medical Hospital of Mount Shasta.

There is however an issue that I have tried to call attention to for the last 4 years. The geese. I am a stage 4 lymphoma cancer survivor, and a stem cell transplant recipient.

The issue is that the feces from the geese, its everywhere including the roof of the building. I know that the hospital has made a major effort to wash the sidewalks down. Not getting all the mess and not realizing that what was washed into the grass dries out and becomes airborne when disturbed.

You really must pay attention to where you walk because if you step in it and take it home on your shoes, it gets on your carpet or other surfaces and dries then can become airborne.

I happened by chance to speak with a hospital board member that admitted the hospital made a major mistake in putting in the pond at the hospital.

Having spent time in the UC Davis Medical System (not the cleanest), I hold Mercy Medical in Redding as the most biologically clean facility in northern California, Mount Shasta would be next if the pond and geese were gone.

Please dont ignore this issue. I would be glad to help find a solution.

Ken Roseberry

Mount Shasta

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Letters to the editor: Goose feces - News - Mount Shasta Herald

For Texas ill and immunocompromised, coronavirus brings a new threat and familiar precautions – KSAT San Antonio

After she stocked the deep freezer and canceled the physical therapy appointments, there still remained the problem of the mail.

At first, Shannon Huehlefeld would pick it up in a pair of hospital gloves she keeps a box by the door and thumb through it carefully. If she needed a letter immediately, shed spray it with Lysol on both sides. Everything else she just let sit. The virus, she knew, can live on some surfaces for days.

Shed been thinking about her vacuum, which has a light on its underside thats supposed to sterilize the floor beneath it. Then, last week, while she was shopping online for bacterial wipes, a solution appeared as a suggested purchase: a UVC bulb that can sterilize a surface in 30 minutes or less. She bought one she can screw into a clip-on lamp above the counter in the laundry room. Shell do one side, then flip the mail over and do the other.

Huehlefeld is not letting anyone in or out of the house near the Gulf Coast in Freeport that she shares with her husband, Ken, and their two Maltese mixes. That goes for the two of them and, unfortunately, for her niece, who after losing her mother in January had been coming over to see them a lot.

I said, Im sorry, Im so sorry, I miss you and I want to see you but I cannot let anybody get my husband sick, said Huehlefeld, 49. Spraying the mail I know it seems ridiculous. But I dont know where this [virus] stuff is, and they dont know where this stuff is. They dont even know who has it and where it is and where its not.

I cannot let my husband get sick, she continued, in something of a mantra. He doesnt know that he could survive a bad respiratory illness like that.

For Texans with compromised immune systems or those with sick loved ones the precautions being taken in the face of the new coronavirus are high stakes, and in some cases extreme. The limited scientific research about the mysterious COVID-19 shows it is deadliest for the elderly and the sick. Already, thousands have died worldwide and at least 69 people are infected in Texas.

But if only the immunocompromised are careful, the virus will continue to spread rapidly. Experts are exhorting even the young and healthy to limit social interaction in order to flatten the curve, slowing the rate of infection to ensure hospitals can care for all who fall ill. Cities across the county, including Dallas and Houston, have closed bars and banned dine-in service at restaurants in an effort to limit the spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended canceling any event of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks. But some in the most vulnerable population fear not everyone is taking the outbreak seriously enough.

Shannon Huehlefeld has rheumatoid arthritis, which means her immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in her body, causing severe fatigue and making it painful to move around. But she worries more about her husband, a retired sheriffs deputy, who is 63 and diabetic. In December 2014, he spent 10 days in intensive care with diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious complication of diabetes. He hasnt been the same since, she said; he lost the majority of his muscle mass, and hes very frail, with a history of lung issues and pneumonia. She still remembers the nurse scolding her for not bringing him in sooner.

She hasnt left the house since Super Tuesday two weeks ago, and when she did, she wiped down the car as best she could. They have at least a months supply of groceries; the deep freezer is so full it wont close. Worst-case scenario, shell ask her niece who is young and healthy and has been making a mint lately, working for a grocery delivery service to bring something by. Then shell get out her Lysol.

The coronavirus threat is new, but for many, the precautions are familiar. Its a collective-action conundrum that keeps the immunocompromised up at night. They are doing what they can. They just wish others would take the same steps.

We are perpetually at risk, said Shelby Chiles, 42, who along with her mother has neuro-Behcets, a rare autoimmune disease. Both wear nasal cannulas and rely on external oxygen supplies. Her husband works as a high school teacher in Frisco ISD essentially a petri dish, she said.

Its not really that different for me and my family on a day-to-day level, because we have to be cautious every day, she said. Its just the overwhelming response to how everyone else is being cautious. I wish that people used common sense and hygiene proper hygiene on a daily basis.

Renee Brown of Corinth is in her 50s, but she has what her doctor calls an immature immune system, like it was a child. Nineteen months after undergoing a stem cell transplant, she is no longer taking immunosuppressants, but she is still taking care. She has aplastic anemia, an autoimmune disease in which the bone marrow produces insufficient blood cells, and after her transplant, she spent weeks isolated in the hospital. She knows for her, the virus could be a problem.

But the virus doesnt frighten me, she said. Im not afraid of it because I know what to do. I have kind of had this lifestyle, of having to avoid the flu because I couldnt get vaccinated for it. Im actually pretty used to avoiding crowds when I can, washing my hands, that sort of thing.

Its other people she frets for more. She remembers from her months of isolation that some friends dont take illness seriously. They dont understand they need to stay away when theyre fighting a cough or running a fever. Theyre not cautious in public places. Some end up drifting away.

People dont understand, and they often dont comply, she said. They think about colds and flus in terms of things people get over.

For Tessa Phillips, who has had a weak immune system ever since she underwent a bone marrow transplant as a teenager, what might be a cold or bronchitis for a healthy person turns into walking pneumonia. Her ear infections turn into mastoiditis. She worries about what the new virus could do to her.

I dont think other people should be foolish about how they take care of themselves and impose that upon you, she said.

A year before the virus began to spread in Texas, she was already taking precautions to keep herself from getting sick when she had to travel for work. She drives instead of flying; she avoids hotels near airports; she skips restaurants and loathes gas stations.

But she knows others are not so careful. On Friday morning, the sound of a hacking cough from somewhere in her apartment complex sent her and her husband spinning.

Right now, it seems like its a very stark contrast: You either have doomsday preppers buying all the toilet paper, or youve got people who are just out and about like nothings happening, she said. All of us should be somewhere in that sweet spot in the middle. We all need to get in the middle together. But 6 feet away from each other.

There have not been any cases confirmed yet in Winnsboro, the rural East Texas town of about 3,300 where Bette Swann, 76, lives. But in Tyler, about 40 miles away, three people tested positive, the city announced Friday.

Thats getting really close to home, she said. Thats where my doctors are and where we go shopping.

When Swann goes to see her doctor in May, itll mark 14 years in remission from lung cancer. She was never a smoker, but she has half a lung missing, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, as well as the autoimmune disease lupus. Her husband will be 80 next month.

So they are quarantining themselves at home, where she has already spent a not-insignificant portion of her time chastising Facebook friends who claim the virus is a hoax. When her sister called to remark on how few people were at Red Lobster for lunch Thursday, Swann scolded her, too: You shouldnt have been there, either.

Swann wasnt always so careful, even after cancer. She and her husband would leave the grocery store, and shed touch her face. He would scold her if she didnt use hand sanitizer first.

He really just kind of grounded me, she laughed. Id say, Dont tell me that! I can touch my nose if I want to.

But Im not doing that now, she said. I kind of learned.

Swann always gets the flu vaccine, but she still got the flu two of the last three years. Both times, it kept her bedridden for two weeks. One year, right before Christmas, the doctor told her she would need to be hospitalized if her fever didnt go down in 24 hours. She would have missed the holiday with her children. A day later, she felt well enough to go home.

She knows from her niece, an internist, that the threat of the coronavirus is far greater than that of the flu. She and her husband are up near that dangerous age. And she knows that her poor health makes her vulnerable.

Im in remission, but my immune systems not well. Evidently Im more prone to get sick, she said. Knowing how the flu affected her, she is scared about an illness that could hit her lungs even harder.

Swann and her husband dont much mind being home, where they stay most of the time anyway. They love to read. When it gets a little warmer, shell plant flowers in their garden. Her husband plants the peas.

They plan to call in grocery orders so they can get food delivered straight to the car. She doesnt miss eating out, but she does miss going to Walmart. And she hates that theyre not going to church.

Recently, Swann read a news story about a couple in Northern Italy who reportedly died of the virus within two hours of each other. Severa Belotti was 82, and Luigi Carrara was 86.

The story has stuck with her. They were just like my husband and I, active in their lives we go to church, we work in the garden, she said.

They had been isolated at home, and their son wasnt even able to see them before they died, she recalled. How sad that mustve been.

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For Texas ill and immunocompromised, coronavirus brings a new threat and familiar precautions - KSAT San Antonio

Disruptions in cancer care in the COVID-19 era – NewsDio

What your doctor is reading on Medscape.com:

MARCH 20, 2020 Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, cancer care must continue, but changes to the way care is provided may be necessary."We are heading toward a time when there will be significant disruptions in the care of cancer patients," said Len Lichtenfeld, MD, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society (ACS), in a statement. "For some it may be as simple as a delay in elective surgery. For others, it may be delaying preventive care or adjuvant chemotherapy to prevent cancer from coming back or rescheduling appointments."Lichtenfeld emphasized that cancer care teams will do their best to provide care to those most in need. However, even under those circumstances, life will not be as usual. "It will take patience from everyone as we go through this pandemic," he said."The way we treat cancer in the coming months will change enormously," writes a British oncologist in an article published in The Guardian."As oncologists, we will have to find a tenuous balance between insufficient treatment of people with cancer, leading to more deaths from the disease in the medium and long term and the increase in deaths from COVID-19 in a population of vulnerable patients. Together with our patients, we will have to make difficult decisions regarding treatments, with only low-quality evidence to guide us, "writes Lucy Gossage, MD, consulting oncologist at the University Hospital of Nottingham, UK.Evidence to date (from China's Lancet Oncology reports) suggests that people with cancer are at significantly higher risk of serious disease resulting in intensive care admissions or death when infected with COVID-19, particularly if they recently received chemotherapy or surgery."Many of the cancer treatments we use today, especially those given after surgery to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence, have relatively small benefits," he writes."In the current climate, the balance of offering these treatments may change; a small reduction in the risk of cancer recurrence in the next 5 years may be offset by the potential for a short-term increase in the risk of death from COVID- 19. In the long term, more people's cancer will come back if we can't offer these treatments, "he adds.

Continued

Postpone routine detection

One thing that may be in the background for now is the routine cancer screening, which can be postponed for now to conserve health system resources and reduce contact with health centers, ACS says."Patients seeking routine cancer screenings should delay them until further notice," said Lichtenfeld. "While early detection is important, the need to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and reduce strain on the medical system is more important at this time."But as soon as restrictions are lifted to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and routine visits to health facilities are safe, regular screenings should be rescheduled.

ASCO Orientation

The American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has released a new guide on caring for cancer patients during the COVID-19 outbreak.First, ASCO encourages providers, centers, and anyone caring for cancer patients to follow existing guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) when possible.ASCO highlights the CDC's general recommendation for healthcare facilities that suggests that "elective surgeries" in inpatient facilities be rescheduled if possible, which has also been recommended by the American College of Surgeons.However, in many cases, cancer surgery is not elective but essential, he notes. Therefore, this is very much an individual determination that doctors and patients will need to make, considering the potential harm of delaying the cancer related surgery that is needed.Systemic treatments, including chemotherapy and immunotherapy, leave cancer patients vulnerable to infection, but ASCO says there is no direct evidence to support changes in regimens during the pandemic. Therefore, it is not recommended to routinely discontinue anticancer or immunosuppressive therapy, as the balance of potential harm that may result from delaying or stopping treatment versus the potential benefits of possibly preventing or delaying COVID-19 infection remains very unclear.Clinical decisions should be individualized, ASCO emphasized, and suggested that the following points of practice be considered:

For patients who are already in deep remission and who are receiving maintenance therapy, stopping treatment may be an option.

Some patients may switch from IV to oral therapies, which would decrease the frequency of clinic visits.

Decisions about modifying or discontinuing chemotherapy should take into account both the indication and the goals of care, as well as the patient's location in the treatment regimen and tolerance to therapy. As an example, the risk-benefit assessment for continuing chemotherapy in patients with untreated extensive small cell lung cancer is quite different from proceeding with pemetrexed maintenance for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

If local coronavirus transmission is a problem at a particular cancer center, reasonable options may include taking a 2-week break from treatment or scheduling treatment at a different center.

Assess whether the infusion at home is medically and logistically feasible.

In some settings, delaying or modifying adjuvant treatment presents a higher risk of compromised disease control and long-term survival than others, but in cases where the absolute benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy may be quite small and there are other options. available, the risk of COVID -19 can be considered an additional factor when evaluating care.

Continued

Delaying stem cell transplants

For patients who are candidates for allogeneic stem cell transplantation, a delay may be reasonable if the patient is currently well controlled with conventional treatment, ASCO says. It also directs physicians to follow the recommendations provided by the American Society for Transplantation and Cell Therapy and by the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation regarding this matter.Finally, there is also the question of prophylactic antiviral therapy: should it be considered for cancer patients undergoing active therapy?The answer to that question is currently unknown, ASCO says, but "this is an active area of research and the evidence may be available at any time."

Medscape Medical News

2020 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.. (tagsToTranslate) cancer (t) malignancy (t) carcinoma (t) Coronavirus (t) 2019 New coronavirus (t) 2019-nCoV (t) Wuhan coronavirus (t) Human coronavirus HKU1 (t) Human coronavirus OC43 (t) HCoV -OC43 (t) Human coronavirus 229E (t) HCoV-229E (t) chemotherapy (t) biological therapy (t) immunotherapy (t) cancer risk (t) pandemic (t) transplant (bone marrow) (t) bone marrow transplant (t) bone marrow (transplant) (t) bmt (t) hematology (t) patient safety

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Disruptions in cancer care in the COVID-19 era - NewsDio