Autologous PBSC bone marrow transplantation for MS

Fantastic NEWS for MS patients. New hope in the horizon with OWN Peripheral Blood Stem Cells the way StemLife companies around SE Asia have been collecting and storing for the past 9 years. This novel phase US II/III study (click on the title to see the study) confirms what European scientists have been investigating in the past few years with dr Fassas in Northern Greece as one of them. So this study provides one more proof that in Patients with MS, their OWN Stem Cells can be their chance to live a normal life again!

If you wish a comprehensive list on MS, a presentation in pdf form is available after emailing to info@thaistemlife.co.th

Cord Blood Stem cells for Multiple Sclerosis? Another report of successful treatment

I had an enquiry about using cord blood stem cells for multiple sclerosis (MS) this week and it appears that cases of multiple sclerosis in Malaysia are not insignificant in number. I referred the enquirer to my previous 2 blog entries ([1],[2]) for information on who performed the therapy and its reported outcome and whilst browsing found another article which also describes the procedure and its outcome.

My belief is that the clinic which conducted the treatment may be the very same one in Rotterdam mentioned previously and the price for the therapy quoted is largely similar (GBP 13,500). A lady suffering from MS, Julia Sandeman (33 years old) was previously confined to a wheelchair and apparently had no sensation in her limbs. After the stem cell infusion, she was able to balance upright in a pool and regained some sensation in her limbs. The article mentions that before her condition started, she was a dancer and had a daughter 5 years ago. Her hope is that she would be able to walk alongside her daughter on a beach. Her condition deteriorated fairly rapidly and her vision was affected, as was sensation in her limbs.

Apparently, the cord blood stem cells were injected into the acupuncture points in her body in February this year. Her father vouches for her improvement and has observed her move her foot and steadying her hand enough to send a text message. Additionally, her father is willing to liquidate some of his assets in order to fund further treatment for her in the hope that she will improve much more.

I am not sure why stem cells injected specifically into acupuncture points would help to re-myelinate nerve tissue or perhaps play a role in immuno-modulation to stop the immune attack, but these observations are interesting and in science and medicine, many of the body's functions remain nature's secret and have not been able to be explained by current analysis (even acupuncture is not well explained in western medicine despite its clearly effective use for thousands of years!).

Clearly though, its taken 5 months to see this change and it will be interesting to see whether she'll improve after another 5. The Dutch clinic seems to attract quite a number of people in the UK. I'm wondering how many MS patients they have treated already and whether the results are consistent. Given that this area has received a lot of media attention and hailed successes, I'm sure it won't be long before its revealed to us- let's pray that this isn't a fraud and is indeed an experimental therapy worth trying.

Second Case of Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells for Multiple Sclerosis

Does good news come in two's or three's? Another report was published in the BBC today about cord blood stem cells in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. This company in the Netherlands has already reported some work earlier on but there are a few more details on how the stem cells are administered in this article.

MS largely affects women more than men (ratios from 2.8 Female to 1 Male). In this case, Patricia Frost is a 66 year old who has had the disease for 14 years, lost the ability to walk for 10 years experienced a slow down her speech and in the last year, the disease has debilitated her arms and neck. Doctors will typically inform a patient that there is no cure for MS and certainly very few steps that can be taken to ease her pain or improve her health (check out this link for how MS affects the body). Like the previous blog entry, this patient raised 12,000 GBP (USD 22,293) to go to Rotterdam for some pre-treatments and her stem cell injections.

The Dutch clinic offering the experimental therapy has doctors which say that they have an 80% success rate in achieving improvements in patients' various conditions without experiencing any harmful side effects. The cord blood stem cells are supplied by a Swiss company by the name of Advanced Cell Therapeutics (not to be confused with Advanced Cell Technology, USA) based in Zurich, which apparently supplies a dozen other clinics around the world. Admittedly, their site is thin on information and does look rather dodgy...

What's the procedure that this patient went through? Firstly, a mannitol solution which the article reports as preparing the nervous system for taking up the stem cells (but it is known that mannitol has a special temporary property of opening the channels of the blood-brain barrier). Then, 1 million cord blood stem cells are infused through a drip and a series of injections into her neck, back and navel. This procedure is somewhat similar to the previous case- direct administration of the stem cells to site. The doctor Anneke Matthijssen administers the stem cells over a course of 4 hours and the patient is able to return home in 3 days. The interesting thing is the remarkably quick effects that are seen after the stem cells were injected in both cases. Immediately, the patients were both able to perform movements that they were unable to before.

There is doubt on the validity of the procedures and also on the quality and process in preparing the cells. The BBC attempted to reach ACT in Zurich but received no reply on their procedures. Can't imagine why they would want to reveal this as it would only allow others to replicate its methods. However, there does need to be some form of validation or the Dutch clinic might be forced to move to another country to offer its services. But in a country that was the first in Europe to legalize euthanasia and doctor assisted suicide for terminally ill patients in 2001, I think that this service offering may at least reduce requests for euthanasia for MS patients who now have an experimental alternative.

Who's following up on the patient in 3 months? I'm wondering if Patricia's GP or family members will be able to provide some insight in the near future.

Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells for Multiple Sclerosis

Not much news over the holiday weekend but there was an interesting report yesterday from the Evening Times in the UK about a lady, Karen Penders who is 34 years old suffering from Multiple Sclerosis for 18 years and could not walk independently for the last 14 years. She had a baby girl* when she was 29 but due to the illness, has been to exhausted to play with her daughter.

As her condition was worsening, she sought treatment at a clinic in Ireland where she had umbilical cord blood stem cells were injected around her eyes, her head and at the base of her spine in the middle of March. The family raised 10,500 GPB (USD 19,407) to pay for the treatment.

The patient reports amazing improvement with fantastic energy and her eyesight immediately improved. It was reported that the stem cells will work for about a year and then she may need a top up of stem cells.

I am wondering how many stem cells they injected and whether they did any processing or culture or HLA matching. It is nice that something positive has come out of the injections, but I wonder if these results can be published in a medical journal and enter for use mainstream medicine.

In Malaysia, the estimates are that approximately 33,000 patients have Multiple Sclerosis and approximately 92,000 in Thailand, 6000 or so in Singapore. If we could use umbilical cord blood stem cells for therapy, this will be a big application for cord blood stem cells banks; and MS patients will have some relief, albeit temporary, from this neurodegenerative disease.

*According to a presentation on www.direct-ms.org, here are some interesting ratios of MS:

MS in the general population in the US is 1:1000
Children developing MS from parents with MS is 1:30 (35X)
Siblings developing MS of patients with MS is 1:25 (40X)
Daughters of mothers with the DR2 gene error is 1:10 (100X)
Identical Twin 1:3 (300X)

Given these statistics, I wonder if Karen Penders had considered banking her baby's stem cells when she was born, and if this technique proves successful, could be used for her own treatment in the future.