In what has been an amazing week for Adult Stem Cell research, Kameron Kooshesh has been cured of his Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) after receiving Osiris' Adult Stem Cell product Prochymal in a clinical trial at Duke University.

Kameron, a young 14 year old boy had been suffering from Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) after receiving a bone marrow transplant to cure his Leukemia at the age of 9. GVHD is a disease in which the foreign cells introduced by the bone marrow transplant (taken from a human donor) attack the host's (the patient) organs and tissues because they do not recognize them.

Kameron had a severe gastrointestinal problem due to the GVHD. It was very bad and it limited him so much he couldn't even go up stairs.

He enrolled at a clinical trial run by Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg at Duke University. Dr. Kurtzberg is famous in this blog for the work she has done helping children with cerebral palsy with stem cells taken from their own cord blood.

At Duke, Kameron was given Prochymal, which is a stem cell product from Osiris made up of stem cells taken from the bone marrow of healthy human donors.

Here are the results:

“At one point, he couldn’t climb stairs,” His mother Janet recalled.

Now, Kameron has no problem climbing the stairs. He's also back in school full time. His recovery started quickly after taking part in a clinical trial at Duke.

“Within three weeks - it was just incredible,” said Kooshesh. “Absolutely incredible.”


“We've seen more than half the children we've treated respond with full resolution of the graft vs. host disease which is remarkable,” said Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, Director of the Pediatric Blood & Marrow Transplant Program at Duke Children’s.

A "full resolution" sounds great to me and I'm sure it sounds even better to the young man, Kameron.

Click here to see the full story and a slow loading stem cell video

Click here to see more on Osiris' Prochymal to help GVHD

UPDATE:  Osiris just came out with a press release announcing results of their trial using Prochymal to treat Heart Attack patients.

In yet another triumph for Adult Stem Cell research,  Robert Pleva, 60, from Florida has made tremendous strides after receiving his own stem cells to treat his  cardiomyopathy (heart disease) and congestive heart failure brought on by his Fabry Disease. Enough improvement to avoid a heart transplant!

Complications normally arising from Fabry Disease (a rare disease in which the patient's enzymes fail to metabolize lipids)   include increased risks of heart attacks.  Robert suffered from a heart attack in 1999 and later went into congestive heart failure.  With an ejection fraction of 28% and facing a heart transplant, Robert tried to see what other options he had.

That was when he found Dr. Zannos Grekos, a member of the Repair Stem Cell Institute's  Science Advisory Board, and Regenocyte's director of Cardiology and Vascular Disease.

Robert was treated by Dr. Grekos using his own Adult Stem Cells in June 2008.  In January 2009, 6 months later,  Robert's life has turned 180 degrees.  His ejection fraction has improved from 28% to 44% and he is no longer facing a heart transplant:

From the stem cell press release:

Pleva says the improvement in his health since adult stem cell therapy has been dramatic. “I feel so good and have so much energy,” he explains. “The best part about it is being able to do things I haven’t done in a long time.”

An electrician with the Lee County, Florida School Board for the past 26 years, Pleva describes concern prior to treatment that his debilitating symptoms would soon end his career. He is now back to working full time along with riding motorcycles, remodeling his house and working in his yard. “The treatment has put me back on track,” he says.

Pleva’s wife Roxanne, who he cites as his “rock”, says in addition to his increased energy, one of the biggest changes is in the reduction in the amount of her husband’s medication. “His blood pressure has come way down, so he’s been taken off many of his prescriptions,” she explains. “We’re just taking it one step at a time…and I’m getting my husband back.”

Very nice Roxanne.  I have always found that the patient's spouse or close family can usually see the biggest changes brought on by the stem cells.

Dr. Grekos recently had this article published in Anti-Aging Medical News in which he followed 16 congestive heart failure patients treated with their own stem cells.  Their ejection fraction went up an average of 21 points- from an average of 28% up to 49% after a 6 month follow up:

In yet another triumph for Adult Stem Cell research- two weeks ago, Dr. Richard Burt came out with sensational results of his study at Northwestern University treating Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with the patient's own Adult Stem Cells. This study showed that of the 21 patients with Multiple Sclerosis treated with their own stem cells taken from their bone marrow, 16 have had their MS "disappear" . Excellent!

Edwin McClure was one of those treated and cured of his MS by the stem cell treatment . He is interviewed by CBS on their "Early Show" here.  This is a great video.  Edwin talks about how he was shocked when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in high school and how at first he didn't want the stem cell treatment.  I think it is safe to say he has changed his way of thinking- watch the whole video-  FANTASTIC!



If you liked this - click on the link at the top of this post to see another MS patient treated in the trial with his own stem cells in another fascinating stem cell video.

Stem Cells curing dogs of Leukemia, an often deadly cancer?  Using chemotherapy and stem cells taken from the dog's bone marrow?   Yes, it is true.  While this blog has well documented stem cell therapy  helping dogs with arthritis, torn muscles, hip dysplasia and joint problems among other conditions, this is the first I have heard of this stem cell treatment for Leukemia.

I did not know that dogs could be treated for Leukemia with a bone marrow transplant-- the same way humans are. Maverick the dog, owned by Howie and Marna Altman, was cured of his Leukemia after undergoing a life saving bone marrow transplant with his own Adult Stem Cells.  How does it work?  From the article::

Stem cells were taken from Maverick's blood and then returned to him after full-body radiation to kill the cancer cells in his bone marrow. He spent two weeks in isolation to allow time for the cells to regenerate. Aside from some follow up blood tests, doctors expect him to be back to normal.

"Maverick has done fantastic," said Dr. Steven Suter, a veterinary oncologist at N.C. State's College of Veterinary Medicine. "He was hardly sick at all from the radiation. He looks fantastic, he's doing fantastic, so it's a great day."

It is perhaps fitting that this is happening at North Carolina State (the only place in the US that is treating dogs with bone marrow transplants), which brings back memories of Jimmy Valvano, the basketball coach who led NC State to that miraculous basketball championship in 1983 and unfortunately lost his battle with cancer.

Who can forget Jimmy running around the court looking for somebody to hug after winning that game at the buzzer?  And later on, how can you forget a dying Jimmy V's speech of "Don't give up, Don't EVER Give Up"???  What a wonderful and courageous man- I miss you Jimmy V.  You inspired us all.

I received a comment the other day from a doctor in India who was 'complaining' that Adult Stem Cell research in India wasn't getting enough credit. Well, Don Margolis aims to please- today, I have an Adult Stem Cell Success story coming from India. This one showing that Adult Stem Cells improve circulation in Diabetes patients with Peripheral Artery Disease.

In a study presented at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in New York last month, doctors treated 34 patients with Peripheral Vascular Disease with their own stem cells taken from their bone marrow. Most of them had circulation restored in their legs.

The first patient treated was a 64 year old male with Diabetes:

The patient had already lost his right leg and the big toe from his left leg to the disease. “At that time, we were sure that his left leg too had to be amputated. The arteries were getting increasingly blocked and blood supply was less than 30%,” recalls chief vascular surgeon Dr K Vijayaraghavan.

The doctors then removed 240 ml of blood from the bone marrow. From it, 40 ml with a high concentration of stem cells was collected. After an angiogram, doctors injected this blood, rich in stem cells into 40 spots between his knee and foot.

“These spots were along the blocked arteries. In four weeks, his pain came down. In eight weeks, he could walk. By the 12th week, he could get back to his daily routine with no trouble,” says Dr Vijayaraghavan. The hospital repeated the procedure in 33 other patients, who were all suffering from critical limb ischemia.

According to Dr V Balaji, vascular surgeon, Apollo Hospitals, the treatment till some years ago was amputation. “Now, science is demonstrating that adult stem cells regenerate ischemic arteries by stimulating angiogenesis in the areas of damaged tissue, thereby restoring proper blood circulation to the limbs,” he said.

Once again, this is another Adult Stem Cell procedure in which the patient has nothing to lose by trying and everything to gain if it works.  In these cases, the doctors are out of options and the next step is amputation.  Adult Stem Cells give these patients one more option.  This isn't rocket science.  They are making injections of the patient's own stem cells using a simple syringe into the legs.  It is putting the patient's own stem cells into the area where they are needed and the Repair Stem Cells do what they are  "born to do" - repair damage and restore function. 

To give credit where credit is due- this study was conducted by the department of vascular surgery at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital and Research Institute in Chennai, India.  If anyone has this presentation or results of this study- if you send it to me, I will be happy to present it here.