In yet another advance in Adult Stem Cell research, doctors in Barcelona, Spain are now curing Crohn's Disease patients with stem cell therapy using the patient's own stem cells.

Crohn's Disease affects approximately 600,000 Americans and millions more worldwide. It is an irritable bowel disease in which the patients suffer from cramps, diarrhea, and continuous abdominal pain. In many cases, Crohn's Disease sufferers have a diminished quality of life due to the crippling symptoms. For Crohn's Disease patients, there are almost no treatment options, most are not effective.

At the Hospital Clinic, in Barcelona, Dr. Julián Panés and Dr. Elena Ricart are now treating Crohn's patients with Adult Stem Cells taken from the patient's bone marrow. They are reporting that they have treated 6 patients- 3 successfully and 3 others are still being treated.  From the press release:

• Hospital Clínic de Barcelona is one of the few hospitals in the world to instate cellular therapy using autologous stem-cell transplantation. In the US, the stem cell treatment has been tested on 12 patients with severe Crohn's disease, of whom 11 have had very good results; in Italy, the treatment has been applied to 4 patients, 3 of whom are also showing excellent progress following the transplant. As Hospital Clínic, 6 patients with Crohn's disease are already included in the process and, following the international examples, increasing numbers of patients are expected to choose this option to treat the disease in a state that was, to date, practically untreatable.

To summarize that:

• 11 of 12 Crohn's Disease patients in the USA who underwent the stem cell therapy had very good results.   That is almost 92%!!!


• 3 of 4 patients in Italy who received this stem cell treatment had excellent results.  That is 75%.


• If we put them both together, 14 of 16 had great results from the Adult Stem Cells-- that is 87.5%Can we call the stem cells a cure yet???

6 Steps:

Here are the 6 steps in the Crohn's Disease Stem Cell Treatment process at Hospital Clinic in Barcelona. I imagine it is similar to stem cell transplants elsewhere for Crohn's. :

1. Initial Chemotherapy (Cyclophosphamide + G-CSF). In this initial phase, leukopenia or reduction of the number of leukocytes (immune-system cells) in the blood is induced in the patient.


2. Migration of Stem-Cells to the Blood. Following the previous immunosuppression, the organism reacts by releasing stem cells from the bone marrow into the blood; these are the cells which will later be used for the transplant.


3. Collection of Stem Cells by means of Apheresis. Apheresis is a technique that separates components of the blood. Here, the stem cells that previously migrated from the bone marrow are separated.


4. Cryopreservation of Stem Cells. When the stem cells have been collected by apheresis, they are frozen and preserved until ready for transplant.


5. Second Chemotherapy. In this phase, total leukopenia is induced; that is, the immune system is left devoid of leukocytes, ready to be reset with the stem-cell transplant.


6. Autologous Stem-Cell Transplant. The patient receives the transplant by means of transfusion with his or her own stem cells. The immune system is reset, leading to remission or reduction of the abnormal inflammatory process of Crohn's disease.

Additional Info:

I previously covered Billy Tytaneck in Canada who was facing surgery from Crohn's Disease and went through this stem cell process. It was a great success story!

I also covered a clinical trial using stem cells to treat Crohn's Disease in Topeka, Kansas.

Clinical trials testing stem cells for Crohn's in the United States

And I can't find anything in the archives, but according to my now forgetful 74 year old memory, Dr. Richard Burt at Northwestern University has previously treated Crohn's Disease patients with their own stem cells too.

Three (3) Multiple Sclerosis patients from Texas have successfully been helped by stem cell research using Adult Stem Cells. Angie Adcox, Joey Quinn, and Juli Balli all traveled to Costa Rica recently for the stem cell treatment and unsurprisingly, all three have seen miraculous improvements in their quality of life.

Angie Adcox went to Costa Rica to receive cord blood stem cells to treat her Multiple Sclerosis in September, 2008. Her MS had progressed to the point where she said-

"I'm going to go try this," she said. "If not, who's to say where I'm going to be in another six months? In a home somewhere?"

These days, Angie has a lot more energy and can be seen at the local rink--ROLLER SKATING!

In her blog, Angie says:

"I have been amazed at my energy level! I have much more energy than I did before I went to Costa Rica. I have just been feeling good the last few weeks."

Joey Quinn also went to receive the stem cell treatment in Costa Rica. Multiple Sclerosis had forced him into a wheelchair:

"After the third shot that I had with the stem cells, I threw my cane away," he said. "I got rid of that, didn't need that no more."

Juli Balli also received the cord blood stem cells approximately 4 months ago:

Julie Balli doesn't know precise details of the treatment she got four months ago. What she does know is she can wear high heels and stand up without help for the first time in years.

These three patients all have followed in the footsteps of Preston Walker and Richard Humphries who were the first to go to Costa Rica to receive Adult Stem Cells from umbilical cord blood.

Interestingly enough, the reporter for this article tried to get doctors/specialists to talk about this stem cell treatment:
They all refused, saying it's unproven, potentially dangerous, and could give patients false hope. MS societies warn against it.

Could give patients false hope? These specialists would rather watch MS patients deteriorate more and more rather than "give false hope"? There are very few things in life that are a 100% sure thing, but now with Adult Stem Cells in the form of cord blood stem cells and autologous stem cells (stem cells taken from the patient, usually from the bone marrow or peripheral blood), Multiple Sclerosis patients have another weapon (very safe) to fight this disease. Why not use it?

You can read the full stem cell article here along with a stem cell video that I couldn't get to play

And I would also like to address the big story in the news today of the Israeli boy who got tumors after receiving Fetal stem cells to try to treat his Ataxia. These fetal stem cells are very different than cord blood stem cells.

Fetal Stem Cells are stem cells taken from aborted fetuses. For example, when a young woman has an abortion after being pregnant for three months, the stem cells are then extracted from the aborted fetus. These are fetal stem cells and are what caused the tumor in the Israeli boy with Ataxia. These fetal stem cells are widely available in Eastern Europe and Russia (where the boy was treated).

The cord blood stem cells are different! These stem cells are taken from the umbilical cord blood of new born babies  ie. when you cut the umbilical cord separating the newborn from his/her mother. There is nothing controversial about these Adult Stem Cells and are used in a vast array of stem cell treatments including Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy and dozens of other diseases and conditions.  They are considered very safe and are not to be confused with Fetal stem cells.

A Special Note: We are quickly building up a nice cache of stories and videos of patients who have Multiple Sclerosis and have been helped by Adult Stem Cell research. If you or someone you know has MS, you may want to take a quick peek at our Multiple Sclerosis Archives.

Macie Morse, a 16 year old from Colorado, has made dramatic improvement in her eyesight after receiving Adult Stem Cells taken from cord blood to treat her Optic Nerve Hypoplasia. In yet another victory for stem cell research, Macie now has her driving learner's permit after being almost totally blind before the stem cell therapy.

Macie before stem cells:

• 20/4000 vision in one eye and in the other eye she only had light perception- she could only make out light


• Could only watch TV with her nose pressed against the glass

Macie after stem cells:

• 20/80 vision in one eye and the other is 20/400+


• Driving her family's van and enjoying her new driving permit

Now after the Adult Stem Cell research has helped her, Macie is realizing her dreams:

“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to lay on the couch and watch TV,” she said. “It looked so comfortable.”

“I always wondered what it would be like to see my friends,” she said.

Macie was treated with Adult Stem Cells taken from umbilical cord blood (not Embryonic stem cells) by Beike Biotech in China.   Macie joins our " Optic Nerve Hypoplasia Club" with others who  have made similar improvements from this stem cell research.  Others such as Cody Fend, Cameron Petersen, Lydia Black, Lydia Olmsted and Rylea Barlett, Savannah Watring, Xavier Carballo, and Connor Corkern all have made great strides since receiving cord blood stem cells for their Optic Nerve Hypoplasia and Septo-Optic Dysplasia in China.

For more information about this stem cell treatment, you can contact Beike Biotech's Medical Director  Dr. Kara Zhang directly at dr.zhang@beikebiotech.com

Click here to see the full article

Due to advances in Adult Stem Cell research, Dr. Dennis Turner was helped by his own stem cells to treat his Parkinson's Disease.  Treated by Dr. Michael Levesque of  NeuroGeneration, in 1999,   Dr. Turner's  "motor scales improved by over 80% for at least 36 months."

While the case of Dr. Dennis Turner has been well known for a long period of time, this is significant to some in that it finally appeared in a peer reviewed study published in a medical journal- Bentham Open Stem Cell Journal.   Michael J Fox, are you reading this?  A man suffering from Parkinson's was helped by his own Adult Stem Cells.  There are also other patients like Penny Thomas who have been helped with their Parkinson's due to Adult Stem Cells outside of the United States.

From the press release:

Our paper describes how we were able to isolate patient-derived neural stem cells, multiply them in vitro and ultimately differentiate them to produce mature neurons before they are reintroduced into the brain's basal ganglia. This is performed without the patient requiring immunosuppressants.

Scientists at NeuroGeneration are planning a larger prospective clinical trial for Parkinson's disease. "It's our hope that this trial will result in the launch of a cost-effective and lasting therapies for the millions of patients suffering from debilitating neurodegenerative disorders," concludes Levesque.

I also found a  full transcript of when Dennis Turner testified in front of Congress in 2004  about how Adult Stem Cells helped him.  Here is what Dennis said about his stem cell treatment for Parkinson's:

However, since this cell-replacement approach had never been tried in a human patient we hoped for the best. And since my only other realistic alternative was to continue growing worse until I eventually died, I decided to have the surgical procedures in 1999, one to remove the tissue and another to inject the cells. I was awake for both procedures, under local anesthesia.

Soon after having the cells injected my Parkinson’s symptoms began to improve. My trembling grew less and less, until to all appearances it was gone, only slightly reappearing if I became upset. Dr. Levesque had me tested by a Neurologist, who said he wouldn’t have known I had Parkinson’s if he had met me on the street. I was once again able to use my right hand and arm normally, enjoying activities that I given up hope of ever doing.

Since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease my condition had slowly, but continuously worsened. I can’t say with certainty what my condition would have become if Dr. Levesque had not used my own adult stem cells to treat me. But I have no doubt that because of this treatment I’ve enjoyed five years of quality life that I feared had passed me by.

Last year, after four years of being virtually symptom free, my Parkinson’s symptoms began reappearing in my body’s left side. Today I have various degrees of trembling in both hands, although I feel that the left is slightly worse. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to have Dr. Levesque use my adult stem cells to treat me a second time, since in my case they were safe, effective, and involved no risk of rejection.

It looks like Dr. Levesque and NeuroGeneration are going to begin a Phase II study to test the efficacy of his technique using the patient's own stem cells in Parkinson's in Los Angeles.

 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
     Heather Larrabee
     NeuroGeneration
     310.659.3880
     heather@neurogeneration.com
     http://www.neurogeneration.com

Hat tip:  Dr. Wesley Smith

In another event showing that Adult Stem Cell research in India is truly ahead of the curve,  Adult Stem cells implanted into a woman in a coma from a brain stroke have partially revived her. This stem cell therapy partially waking up a woman is believed to be only the second time in history this has been done with stem cells.

Two years ago, this woman suffered a brain stroke while in a hospital in Sakaal, India. She had been in a coma ever since. Her husband approached a stem cell company in India and asked that she be implanted with her own stem cells taken from her bone marrow. The doctors agreed it could be done and did it.

Here is more from Chaitanya Purandare, the managing director of the stem cell company- Stem One, in India:

The therapy was applied by extracting the patient’s bone marrow stem cells. They were then enriched in the company’s laboratory and injected into the Cerebral Spinal Fluid (fluid present in the spinal cord).

“The dose comprises three injections. After giving injections, the lady, who has been lying still in a vegetative state, has now shown improvements like clenching her fists, turning on the bed without any external support. These may appear too little but for the relatives of a comatose person it is a huge relief,” Purandare said.

Purandare said this therapy does not completely cure a person but helps in improving living condition of the patient. The level of cure also depends on the person’s age and how early the disease is detected.

“This field of treatment is called regenerative medicine. Injecting stem cells into the affected organ revives sick tissues. Like, a patient with spinal cord injury is able to control functioning of bladder. The three doses of injection cost around Rs 80,000. It may sound costly but comparative high expenditure involved in allopathic treatment, this is reasonable. This could become affordable if insurance companies include regenerative treatment in their medi-claim policies,” he said.

Where do I start?  This article and Chaitanya Purandare hit everything right on the head.  A patient with nothing to lose is implanted with her own stem cells and she is improved.  Adult Stem Cells aren't a 100% cure all, but they do help in most cases.  Believe me, these patients and their family members and friends understand and appreciate these victories. If a spinal cord injury patient regains control of his/her bladder thanks to stem cells- that is huge to the patient.

And these treatments probably would save money in the long run.  For example, if a heart patient implants his/her  own stem cells, the resulting benefits may save them from having to implant a pacemaker, may spare them from a bypass, and it may even save them from having a heart transplant-- think how much money would be saved by insurance companies in the long run if this were covered by insurance.

Something to think about....



You can read the full stem cell article here