The Don Margolis Blog

Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML) is a deadly disease that affects only 3 children in 1 million. There is no cure. There is a cure and since you are reading this blog, you probably deduced that the cure involves Adult Stem Cells (or as we call them- REPAIR Stem Cells since that is what stem cells do- repair).

When Adolfo Gonzalez, who at the time was a 1 year old baby, was diagnosed with JMML, the doctor who diagnosed Adolfo told his father that his son was going to die "with or without treatment."

However, Adolfo's father didn't accept that! He thought there must be a way to help his young son. He found a doctor- Dr. Gary Kleiner who enrolled little Adolfo in a trial in which Adult Stem Cells taken from cord blood were implanted into little Adolfo:

"The stem cells from the cord blood started to grow in his own bone marrow and his white count started to increase back to normal, "said Dr. Kleiner.

The new blood created by the stem cells replaced all of Adolfo's blood and eliminated the leukemia cells in his body.

The battle wasn't over. The Leukemia was now gone, but the new stem cells weren't a perfect match and thus began attacking little Adolfo- Graft Vs Host Disease. What can they do about that? Get Adolfo enrolled in yet another trial and give him more Adult Stem Cells! The article doesn't say, but since it was a trial for Graft Vs Host Disease, I'm fairly certain it was Osiris and their Prochymal "Adult Stem Cells for Anything" product.

It worked!-

Today there is no evidence of cancer in his body.

Adolfo may not remember the tough first years of his live, but that's okay by his dad.

"He's going to be a great little boy. He's going to be just a normal little kid," said Gonzalez

Click here to see the article and video

Ask and thou shalt receive.  I asked Dr. Carlos Lima, the pioneer of Adult Stem Cell research and treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI) and a member of the Repair Stem Cell Institute's Science Advisory Board, how exactly does he treat (and help!) his patients- (see his patients here and here.) I thought I could learn something more about his Adult Stem Cell treatment and it would also be informative for the readers of this blog who may have a spinal cord injury or may know someone who has had one.   Well, I did receive- I received a detailed email from Dr. Lima giving details of his stem cell procedure for spinal cord injuries:

Surgical Procedure

Another great story today.  It seems we have had a good streak going lately.  There is nothing I like to hear more than seeing a person's life changed for the better using Repair Stem Cells (Adult Stem Cells).

Brandon Meinke, a 4 year old boy, from Janesville, Wisconsin was suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a genetic disorder that affects the neuron cells in the spinal cord which eventually leads to paralysis.

2 months ago, a television reporter visited Brandon BEFORE he went to China to receive stem cell treatment using Adult Stem Cells.  Natalie Kaplan visited with Brandon who could only CRAWL due to his Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Now, 2 months later, after Brandon returned from China having received Adult Stem Cell therapy, Natalie visited again with Brandon- who was now walking!!

From the story:

When Natalie first visited him a couple months ago he could crawl, standing up on his own was out of the question. After a month trip to China and four stem cell injections, his situation is very different.

Brandon's grandmother says, “We noticed after his second treatment, we were in the room one day and the beds are kind of lower to the ground over there but he got himself up and walked himself around the bed like a little child would do when they are first trying to walk and he hasn't done that in over a year, probably."

Another stem cell victory thanks to Adult Stem Cell research and Adult Stem Cell Treatment derived from that research.

You can see the video here- http://tinyurl.com/66kwc3 and the story in print here- http://www.wifr.com/news/headlines/35568564.html

As I always try to remain optimistic, I will try to concentrate on the good aspects of this miraculous story of yet another child helped with her own Adult Stem Cells (or Repair Stem Cells as I like to call them).  The most important thing is Maia Friedlander, a 4 year old girl from New Zealand, has improved dramatically from a "birth related brain injury" (Cerebral Palsy) after receiving her own Repair Stem Cells saved from her umbilical cord at birth.

The negative part of this story is she had to travel all the way from New Zealand to Duke University in the United States for a procedure that has almost zero downside and plenty of potential to help her- receiving her own stem cells.  And then we have other children and patients in the United States with other conditions who have to go China, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic among other countries to receive similar treatments for different conditions.  Think of how many millions of lives could be changed if using your own stem cells were easily available to the masses.

No more preaching- let us get to the miracle story at hand.  Maia Friedlander was born with a brain injury and

her father Daniel Friedlander said "that before the treatment Maia had difficulty running, chewing and communicating despite having up to 6 hours of therapy a day for the past three years. The oxygen deprivation left her developmentally delayed which meant her progress was inconsistent and slow and Maia was as frustrated as we were. We were facing a lifetime of therapy with no prospect of improvement.

Sounds like a job for Repair Stem Cells.  The Friedlanders heard about a program at Duke University where Dr Joanne Kurtzberg in her Adult Stem Cell research program has reinfused cord blood stem cells into about 50 children with brain injury or cerebral palsy.  You may remember my posts on Chloe Levine, a young Colorado girl who suffered from Cerebral Palsy until she was also helped by Dr. Kurtzberg at Duke.

Did the stem cell treatment work?  I'll let Daniel, the girl's father have the floor:

Daniel says the reinfusion, which took 2 hours, completely unlocked the door on Maia's personality and her physical development.

“Just a few days later after the procedure her eyes started to look more alert, and she lost the unfocused, dreamy kind of look she had always had. Her arms and legs began to straighten out, and her physical co-ordination improved.

Since Maia's return home she's continued to make progress and is now attending pre-school 5 days a week.

“We just can't believe the change in her. Maia is now talking, hugging us, playing and getting up to mischief with her sister and we couldn't be more thrilled.

She's had a second chance at life and we can now have the family life we'd always dreamed of.

“While science can't tell us exactly how it works some think that the stem cells in cord blood have a road map to damaged tissue and when they get there they rebuild it. All we know is that it worked for Maia.

“We couldn't be more grateful for the dramatic change it has made to our lives and want to make sure other families are aware that they can save their baby's cord blood at birth.

“You never know what can happen at your child's birth but when you have their cord blood stored you have options like the option we had for Maia. We would also like to see the reinfusion procedure available to families in NZ, he said.

See the last sentence- I would also like to see this procedure available to families in New Zealand and the rest of the world as well-  my reason for forming the Repair Stem Cell Association.

Read the whole article here

In this blog, we have well documented the effects that Adult Stem Cells (or Repair Stem Cells as I call them) have on dogs.  We have seen plenty of stories of stem cell therapy helping dogs.  Now we have yet another dog helped by using his own Repair Stem Cells.

KC, a golden retriever was getting up in age- 11 years old.  He was beginning to slow down.  In his owner, Krista Moyes words, "He was having a hard time getting up in the morning and really wasn't walking at all on his back leg.

Krista took KC to the vet who said surgery wasn't an option, it was typical for a dog KC's age to start slowing down with arthritis and decreased range of motion in the legs- for KC it was the right leg.

The Vet, Dr. Lillian Rizzo suggested a new stem cell procedure.  This stem cell therapy was developed by Vet-Stem, a stem cell company for horses, dogs, and cats that uses the animal's own stem cells.

Dr. Rizzo then removed some fat tissue from KC, and sent it off to Vet-Stem where they isolate stem cells from the fat tissue and then send it back already packed in syringes and ready to go.

Then Dr. Rizzo simply injected the stem cells into the site of the injury and let the Repair Stem Cells do what they do best-- REPAIR

I'll let Dr. Rizzo have her say:

She explains, “I concentrate the stem cells at the site of injury and then the stem cells have mediated inflammation and repair. The injury to the joint cartilage and that's really the only thing that can do that. The medications can help with pain and support to the joint cartilage but the stem cells actually rebuild the damaged joint cartilage.

Dr. Rizzo says they are several benefits to this therapy. It is minimally invasive and pain medications may not be needed long term and you have a happier animal.

And the results???

I'll let KC's owner, Krista handle this one:

“Two weeks after the surgery I looked at him one day and he was standing on his foot instead of just his toe, Moyes says. “I really noticed an attitude change as far as his energy level he felt better so he was wrestling, carrying on and playing.

Moyes says she is just glad she got her old friend back. “If it was going to help him just a little bit I was willing to do it.

This is wonderful news and I'm very happy for Krista and KC.  However, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could make the same thing available for humans-  Repair Stem Cells- simple procedure, very little downside and it can help improve the quality of millions of lives.  If we had the will, this could be done now.

Here is the full article on Krista and KC

Of course most of the headlines of this well publicized story leave out the fact that it was Adult Stem Cells that were responsible for this great success.  However, let's not dwell on that.  Instead, let's look at another great discovery due to Adult Stem Cell research and another wonderful use of Repair (Adult) Stem Cells:

This product is for patients who suffer a haemorrhagic stroke, where a blood vessel in the brain bursts and that is exactly what happened to Walter Bast, a 49 year old gentleman from Germany.  Normally, the only option for a haemorrhagic stroke is an operation which doesn't always work.  In fact, about 50% of the patients die within one month of this operation and the rest usually have major damage.

However, there is a new way now- A Repair Stem Cell teabag so to speak:

The pioneering treatment, called CellBeads, involves cutting away part of the skull to tie off leaking blood vessels and remove blood from the brain.

Surgeons then insert the 2cm by 2cm 'teabag' filled with capsules stuffed with around a million stem cells.

The stem cells, taken from bone marrow (this means they are REPAIR STEM CELLS- DON), have been genetically engineered to make a drug known as CM1 that protects brain cells from dying. This lets the cells rejuvenate and repair the damage done by the stroke.

After around two weeks, doctors at the International Neuroscience-Institute in Hanover, Germany, removed the 'teabag', resulting in Mr Bast regaining his speech and the use of his right arm.

Speaking a week after the operation, the first of its kind in the world, Mr Bast, a mechanic, said: "I feel a lucky guy."

The so-called CellBeads treatment is the brainchild of scientists at the British medical technology firm Biocompatibles International, based in Farnham, Surrey.

The stem cells are encapsulated in beads to hide them from the immune system and ensure they are not rejected by the body.

Enclosing everything in the 2cm square 'teabag' ensures the surgeon can easily remove it at the end of the treatment period.

This really is great news.  Unfortunately, this was only part of  a clinical trial and it is an estimated 5 years before it will hit the "market" and be available to all.   Just for your information-  the Repair Stem Cell Institute currently lists 4 companies that are treating stroke patients NOW and from what I see have had a good share of success doing it too.

Click here for the full article

Well, you probably didn't know that I am in China right this moment attending the World Congress of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell 2008.  But it is true.  I will actually be giving a talk on what I call the Diabetes Pandemic and how Diabetes can really cripple National Healthcare programs in many countries.  The solution?  If you are reading this blog, then you know-  Adult Stem Cells or as we call them Repair Stem Cells.

Here is how my day went in Foshan, China:

Boy, this country is big and dense with people like I never saw.  So far, EVERYONE I have come in contact with has been overly friendly and super-helpful---EVERYONE.  Even the scary guys in the perfectly-pressed military uniforms went out of their way to help this poor old (I'm 74) man (OK, I acted a little helpless) through customs and immigration.  I was able to draw smiles, even laughs from a few, in my struggle to carry 30 kilos of collected dirty clothes, printed matter, raw foods,  and other junk in my suitcase and carry-on, from what is now 27 days of travel.

But it was worth it.  I'm meeting lots of doctors and stem cell researchers, ALL OF WHOM know about Repair Stem Cells vs. dozens of diseases and 97% of whom know embryonic stem cells can't cure even a hangnail.  What a pleasure!  On Thursday I hope to make a reservation to fly to Bangkok , but as my new-best-friend-chinese-travel-agent says, "Good Luck!"  He thinks I'll be in HK for another week or two.  Who knows, given how friendly the people here are, and that we are a 2.5 hour train ride from HK, and the internet is better in Foshan than in BKK, I could hang out here and miss Thailand just as easily as I do in HK.

Being an Inadvertent Exile isn't all bad.  After all, where else but Foshan could I have met Dr. James James of Chicago--a delightful guy who makes ME look NORMAL!  (As my late wife, Jo, once said, "Don has this morbid fear of being considered normal."  I think she was right.)  Dr. James James got me drunk last nite on one glass of wine. I wound up singing Russian songs with two guys from Moscow, getting into a scientific discussion in German with a doctor from Cologne and discussing the economic benefits of Norway with a Norwegian all without leaving the dinner table.

Read more about my exciting day of Stem Cells in Foshan

Last week, I posted about Dr. Zannos Grekos  treating the first ever Pulmonary Hypertension patient with Adult Stem Cells.  And what happened next is another one of Dr. Grekos' patients contacted me with this letter telling me how Dr. Grekos (a member of the Repair Stem Cell Institute's SAB) has helped with his Dilated Cardiomyopathy as well-  This is a great story because it came straight from the patient so you can see it through his eyes-  Read the whole thing!

My name is Leonard Narracci, and I live in Venice, Florida. Three years ago, I was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy. (This is a type of   untreatable Heart Disease for which until Adult Stem Cells, there was no treatment- Don)   I was always tired, listless, and completely lethargic. I underwent all the traditional cardiac testing, and the bottom line was that I would be on medication to maintain the status quo, but there was little hope of improving my cardiac condition.

I began my research to find a “better way. I found Regenocyte and Dr. Zannos Grekos , right here in my backyard in Bonita Springs, Florida. I researched his Stem Cell Therapy treatment intensely. Then, I attended a seminar of his, which confirmed the action that I had to take to repair my heart. I made an appointment with him and underwent all the necessary testing to determine if I was a viable candidate.
Fortunately, I was! I expressed the desire to have the treatment, and his office set everything in motion. The entire Regenocyte experience was nothing short of perfection, beginning with his very capable and competent assistant, Nancy Trombino. Nancy made all the necessary arrangements and reservations and provided me with an itinerary that explicitly told me where and when I had to be all at times during the treatment.

On October 7, 2008, my wife, my friend, and I left Miami Airport for the Dominican Republic. As soon as we deplaned, we were met by two Regenocyte agents, who were wonderful. They transported us to the Marriott Hotel, which was charming and very comfortable. The staff there made every effort to provide us with all that we needed. The Regenocyte agents catered to our every want and need, even providing me with a cell phone. All I had to do was press a single number and I could make contact with an agent at any time of the day or night.

Click on more to read what happens next!!

Today, I bring you a heart felt letter from the mother of a volunteer fireman named Kevin Daniels who suffered a terrible accident in the line of duty that has left him a quadriplegic with limited mobility.  The doctors advised the parents of Kevin to terminate his life at the time, but his parents said "Not a chance, Kevin is a fighter!"

Kevin made it through that time and then later his parents did some Adult Stem Cell research and found a place in Mexico that would implant Kevin with cord blood stem cells which as we all know are ADULT STEM CELLS (Repair Stem Cells)!    They went for it- and it worked!!!

On September 25, 2006 we went to Mexico and had the umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant. Since the procedure has been done, we have seen 33 improvements, some being significant. His speech is better. His medicine for spasticity in his extremities has been reduced to where he is only getting 20% of what he was getting. That is a 80% reduction. He now has slight movement in all 5 fingers on his left hand, which he didn't have before. We knew if the first trip was successful we would need to return every six months until no more improvements are seen. It is wonderful that after 3 years we can still see improvements because of this treatment.**

Kevin wants more Adult Stem Cells for even more improvement and needs donations which go through the fire department so they are tax deductible. Let's see if the Don Margolis blog and its followers can help with this goal- Here is the rest of the letter:

We are now trying to raise the funds to go back. The South Boston Fire Dept. is accepting donations. I'm reaching out to others outside of this area for help. I've never reached out to others for help since Kevin's accident, but the importance of Kevin continuing to receive the stem cell therapy means too much to him for me not to reach out and ask.**

I want to push the government and the medical field to research this avenue of treatment for others (She means using Adult Stem Cells- Don). I don't want this just to help my son, but for it to help others as well. This means that Kevin needs to continue this process to prove the success of this procedure.**

If you would like to send a donation or know of others that would like to help, please send the donation to:

Kevin Daniels Stem Cell Fund*
South Boston Fire Dept.*
403 Broad Street*
South Boston, VA 24592 *

You can contact Chief Steve Phillips with any questions at 434-575-4292. The fire dept. is receiving and administering the funds and all donations are tax deductible.**

Any donation would be greatly appreciated. Please help us to make this a reality. Thank you so much from my family.**

May God bless you and keep you is my prayer.**

Pat Daniels *
1106 Daniels Trail *
Halifax, VA 24558 *
434-575-1740 *
e-mail: patdaniels52@yahoo.com *

This was from Kurt Kamm's website

Granton Bayless, the "Bubble Boy," so called because he had severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCIDS). This meant his immune system didn't work and he couldn't fight off any illness, virus, etc.  Therefore, he had to live in a "bubble" to protect him.

The only cure for severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome is Adult Stem Cells (what I call Repair Stem Cells) via a bone marrow transplant or cord blood transplant.  Granton was given a cord blood transplant in June and the Repair Stem Cells did their work.

From being on a respirator and given medication that paralyzed him so he wouldn't burn energy or use oxygen to 6 months later- out of the hospital, (my first post on this) out of the sanitized apartment at the Ronald McDonald House, (2nd post)  and now back home with his parents. (click link for article)  I can only imagine what a great feeling that was for them- to get their son back and taking him home for the first time after this long battle with SCIDS.  A victory for them and let's chalk up another victory for Repair Stem Cells.

I wish all of you a belated Happy Thanksgiving.  I thank you all for continuing to visit this blog and I hope for a few of you it has provided hope and direction.  Please keep emailing me - donmargolis@gmail.com and I will reply if you have any questions on how to receive Adult Stem Cell treatment or if you have a question about some disease or condition you or an acquaintance may have.