YET ANOTHER BLIND CHILD GOES TO CHINA FOR STEM CELL TREATMENT, AND YET ANOTHER CHILD COMES BACK TO THE UNITED STATES ABLE TO SEE.   FOR REGULAR READERS OF THIS BLOG, THIS IS A COMMON STORY, BUT A STORY I LOVE TO BLOG ABOUT.  I HOPE TO SEE THE DAY WHEN I WON'T HAVE TO BLOG ABOUT IT, A DAY WHEN ADULT STEM CELL TREATMENT WILL BE AS COMMON AS HAVING AN ANGIOPLASTY OR AS COMMON AS HAVING KNEE SURGERY SO THERE WON'T BE ANY NEED TO HAVE A NEWS ITEM ABOUT IT:

 6 months ago, former Port Orange resident Abby Wolfe said she would do anything for her 18-month-old son, Elioe “Tre Burgos III. Elioe's vision was thought to be no better than 20/1200. He was blind, and diagnosed with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (ONH).

The frustrated parents soon learned there were no medical facilities in the United States that offered the treatment Elioe needed (MY GOAL BEFORE I DIE IS TO CHANGE THIS FACT- DM)

Though Mr. Burgos attention was fixated on his son, he said he was amazed at the seven American families at the clinic for similar reasons. “We were all there for almost the same reasons, he said. “The staff was professional. If you needed something, they got it for everyone there. Mr. Burgos told a story of a former rugby player who had suffered from muscle atrophy. He was almost bedridden when Ms Wolfe and Mr. Burgos arrived with Elioe. “I saw this guy go from bed-ridden to walking, Mr. Burgos marveled. “Everyone on that floor made improvements. It was wonderful to share in other families successes. “When we saw these American families two of which were doctors undergoing this type of treatment, it gave us confidence, he said. Soon, results began to appear, Mr. Burgos explained. “Before we went, I just felt in my heart these treatments were going to do something, he said softly. “We got more confident as the treatments began to show improvement. When Elioe returned to the United States, his drastic improvement dumbfounded his doctors. “One said, this isn't the same kid,Ms. Wolfe recalled. “They didn't know what to say. What they marveled at was Elioe going from 20/1200 to 20/200 in less than three months, Ms. Wolfe said. “It was really amazing. He can watch the television now. He can see toys when his father hides them from him. He'll look for them. “He was a typical blind child before this, Mr. Burgos said. “

AND MORE GOOD STUFF:

For both parents, Elioe's condition and his improvement has taught them life lessons, they said. “I think it really impressed upon me that anything is possible, Mr. Burgos said. “This whole thing was an adventure emotionally, and physically exhausting, but worth it. According to Ms. Wolfe Elioe still has almost seven months more time for improvement. According to doctors, patients continue to see improvement up to nine months after treatment. Elioe is only on his third month. “Every week, he does something new, Mr. Burgos said. For Ms. Wolfe, she learned sometimes you have to try new things in order to find success. “It has amazed me, she said. “By not excepting the conventional wisdom that there was no cure, that nothing could be done for him, we were able to improve the quality of his life in just weeks, and that will be maintained for the rest of his life.

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THIS WONDERFUL STORY FEATURES A MEMBER OF WCASCE'S SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD- DR. ZANNOS GREKOS:

In March, Andre Lampkin, 20, was facing the amputation of his legs and arms.

But an experimental treatment using his own stem cells to stimulate tissue growth is giving the former L.D. Bell High School wide receiver hope after meningitis damaged his extremities.

Two weeks after treatment, the soles of his feet and palms of his hands are softening, his circulation has improved, and his right foot is moving, said Dr. Zannos Grekos, the cardiologist who is treating Lampkin, now at the hospital in Naples, Fla., where Grekos is based."It looks like we have already saved his legs and arms," Grekos said. "Now we're hoping to save most of each foot and his hands."

Lampkin's medical odyssey has taken him from his home in Bedford to a hospital in an island country for a treatment the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved. (ANOTHER NO-BRAINER THE FDA HASN'T APPROVED, I'M SHOCKED! MAYBE THEY SHOULD HAVE WAITED 20 YEARS FOR THE CLINICAL TRIALS TO BE COMPLETED, NEVERMIND THE FACT THAT ANDRE AND THOUSANDS OF OTHERS NEED ADULT STEM CELL TREATMENTS TODAY! - DM)

ANDRE WAS LUCKY HE HAD AN AUNT WHO WAS INTERNET SAVVY:

There (Parkland Hospital in Dallas- DM)they planned to amputate his legs at the knees and his arms at the elbows.

But an aunt searched the Internet for other treatments and found Grekos, who was using adult stem cells to stimulate tissue regrowth, improve circulation and reduce diabetic amputation rates. Grekos, director of cardiology and vascular disease at Regenocyte Therapeutic in Florida, flew to Dallas to escort Lampkin and his mother to the facility.

"If there was any hope of helping this young man we wanted to offer it," he said.

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REMEMBER THE REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS COMMERCIALS? THE MAN EATING THE CHOCOLATE BAR RUNS INTO THE GUY WHO IS EATING PEANUT BUTTER AND SAYS "HEY, YOU GOT YOUR CHOCOLATE IN MY PEANUT BUTTER!" AND THE OTHER GUY GOES "YOU GOT YOUR PEANUT BUTTER ON MY CHOCOLATE" AND THUS ONE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS WAS CREATED. WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY HAVE FOUND A POSSIBLE TREATMENT/CURE FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) IN A SIMILAR FASHION:

AN experiment that went wrong may provide a new way to treat multiple sclerosis, a Canadian researcher has claimed.

Patients who got bone marrow stem-cell transplants - similar to those given to leukemia patients -- have enjoyed a mysterious remission of their disease.

And Dr Mark Freedman of the University of Ottawa is not sure why.

"Not a single patient, and it's almost seven years, has ever had a relapse,'' Dr Freedman said.

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A few days ago, I announced the formation of my Worldwide Center for Adult Stem Cell Education (WCASCE). Well, almost on the same day, across the pond in Europe, Professor Colin McGuckin announced the formation of a similar venture. Now, don't confuse Colin McGuckin with Chester McGlockton, the underachieving defensive tackle who never lived up to his potential and reportedly was a cancer on the teams he played for.

Professor McGuckin, one of the top stem cell researchers in the world at Newcastle University became my hero when he announced 2 months ago that:

"For me, the unnecessary row over stem cells has obscured the very real issue that patients are waiting to be treated. Some of those can be, here and now with cord blood. Cord blood has no ethical controversies whatsoever - it's accepted by every major religion on the planet. THE BEST ESTIMATES OF THE EMBRYONIC SCIENTISTS IN OUR OWN UNIVERSITY IN NEWCASTLE IS THAT EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HELP PEOPLE THIS SIDE OF 50 YEARS. THAT'S MY LIFETIME. AND THAT'S WORRYING. WE CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG."

Now, when I say something like that, people scoff as I am just a layman with a passion to help people using adult stem cells. But when a top stem cell research like Professor McGuckin says it, people take notice. And I hope they notice this new group he has formed because it sounds very promising:

Professor Colin McGuckin, Chair in regenerative medicine at Newcastle University and the Fondation Jérôme Lejeune in Paris have announced the formation of a new venture 'Novussanguis ' to promote responsible research on cord blood and adult stem cells. Some 200 international participants were invited to the launch of the consortium at the Medical School of University Paris Descartes, in France.

Novussanguis will try to help those patients who could benefit from treatment with adult and cord blood stem cells. Adult stem cells can be harvested from several human tissues such as brain, bone marrow, peripheral blood, liver, cornea, retina, pancreatic cells and umbilical cord blood.

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REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE BACK IN GRADE SCHOOL AND ONCE A YEAR- THE TEACHER WOULD CALL A TIME OUT AND AN UNFAMILIAR DOCTOR/NURSE WOULD DO A CURSORY CHECK OF EACH STUDENT'S BACK? WELL, I AND MOST OF MY FELLOW CLASSMATES DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY WERE CHECKING FOR SCOLIOSIS- AN ABNORMAL CURVATURE OF THE SPINE:

"If the curve progresses, it can have profound affects on heart and lung function," said Mark A. Flood, D.O., an orthopaedic spine surgeon at Banner Desert Hospital in Mesa, Ariz.Surgery to correct scoliosis used to mean cutting a large piece of bone from the iliac crest in the pelvis, then using it to create a spinal fusion so the curve didn't get worse."The problem with taking bone from the iliac crest is it's a significant source of pain sometimes even permanent pain," Dr. Flood said. "It requires another incision, potential risk of infection, and that bone is gone forever."But Matthew was able to take advantage of a brand new therapy -- recently cleared by the FDA (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?-DM) -- to repair his spine using stem cells harvested from his own bone marrow (ADULT STEM CELLS!- DM) .Used with bone from the Bone Bank, Matthew's stem cells would act as a sort of catalyst to support the growth of new bone along the spine and work with permanent screws and rods to fuse it into the correct position. The surgery reduced Matthew's curvature from nearly 50 degrees to just 15 degrees.

Just three months after surgery, Matthew's already playing one-on-one with twin brother Jordan, getting stronger every day."I'm able to shoot, dribble, run and jump," Matthew told Ivanhoe. "If this is any indication of what's going to happen I think it will just get better."

CHALK ONE UP FOR YET ANOTHER CONDITION/DISEASE HELPED WITH ADULT STEM CELLS. I AM AMAZED (BUT THRILLED) THAT THIS WAS APPROVED BY THE FDA. PERHAPS THIS WILL SOMEHOW OPEN THE DOOR FOR OTHER ADULT STEM CELL TREATMENTS TO BE AVAILABLE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.

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