November 2009

Volume 1 Issue 11

In This Issue

� Diabetes Awareness Month!

� Thinking About Stem Cell Treatment?

� Should I Get Treated?

� Stem Cells for Spinal Cord Injury

� I Want to Learn More!

� CATCH UP! � Stem Cells for Lung Disease

� California Funding Turns Away From ESC!

Don Margolis
Founder and Chairman
don@repairstemcells.com

www.repairstemcells.com
Bangkok, Thailand

DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH!

What better way is there to celebrate DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH than to become more aware of the amazing advances and benefits of stem cell treatments for Diabetes?

FIRST USE OF CORD BLOOD TO ALTER COURSE OF TYPE 1 DIABETES

June 25, 2007 � �transfusion of stored, autologous (i.e. the person�s own), umbilical cord blood into a group of children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes appears to have reduced their disease severity, possibly re-setting the immune system and slowing the destruction of their insulin-producing cells, according to a report presented today at the American Diabetes Association�s 67th Annual Scientific Sessions. (Proof the American Diabetes Association knew in 2007 that stem cells can treat Diabetes type 1 in children!) http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/media/m_pdf/ADA_T1D_PR-06-25-07.pdf

DIABETES TYPE 1 STEM CELL CLINICAL TRIAL

Enrollment 11/2003-4/2008, follow-up until December 2008 � C-Peptide Levels and Insulin Independence Following Autologous Nonmyeloablative Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, JAMA. 2009;301(15):1573-1579.

Context In 2007, the effects of the autologous nonmyeloablativehematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in 15 patientswith type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) were reported. Most patientsbecame insulin free with normal levels of glycated hemoglobinA_1c (HbA_1c) during a mean 18.8-month follow-up. To investigateif this effect was due to preservation of beta-cell mass, continuedmonitoring was performed of C-peptide levels after stem celltransplantation in the 15 original and 8 additional patients. -� http://www.quipnation.com/StemCellBlog/Home/Blog/August-2009/Can-stem-cells-cure-Diabetes---type-1-.aspx

CAN STEM CELLS CURE DIABETES TYPE 2?�

See the results of this one year study of adult stem cell treatment of Diabetes type � 2. C-peptide levels, insulin levels, insulin dosage requirements and HA1c levels.� - http://www.quipnation.com/StemCellBlog/Home/Blog/August-2009/Can-stem-cells-cure-Diabetes---type-2-.aspx

CAN STEM CELLS CURE DIABETES TYPE 1?

See the results of this one year study of adult stem cell treatment of Diabetes type � 1. C-peptide levels, insulin levels, insulin dosage requirements and HA1c levels. - http://www.quipnation.com/StemCellBlog/Home/Blog/August-2009/Can-stem-cells-cure-Diabetes---type-1-.aspx

STEM CELLS TREAT DIABETES TYPE 1 SUCCESSFULLY FOR YEARS

People with type 1 diabetes who got stem cell transplants were able to go as long as four years without needing insulin treatments�the process involves injecting people with stem cells made from their bone marrow cells�appears to have a lasting effect.

The study involved patients with Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes, which occurs when the immune system goes haywire and starts attacking itself, destroying insulin-producing cells in the pancreas needed to control blood sugar.� These patients typically need daily insulin therapy to control their diabetes.

Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern University�s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and colleagues first reported on the short-term success of the procedure, known as autologous non-myeloablative hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, in 2007 but have since looked at how long it persisted.

Writing in this week�s Journal of the American Medical Association they said 20 of 23 patients �became insulin free � 12 continuously and eight transiently � for periods as long as four years.� The transient group of eight had to restart insulin at reduced levels. �- http://www.sawfnews.com/health/57663.aspx

STEM CELLS REVERSE DIABETES TYPE 1

In the new study, a follow-up of their previous work, Voltarelli and his colleagues detailed the same success with an additional eight patients, and also confirmed that in the majority of them, the stem cell transplant led to an appreciable repopulation of functioning insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. � http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1891122,00.html

MICE WERE CURED IN THE EARLY 1990�S�WHERE ARE THE HUMAN CLINICAL TRIAL FOR STEM CELLS vs. DIABETES?

Weissman, a professor of pathology and developmental biology at Stanford University, states: �Stem cells are rare, self-renewing, and can regenerate body tissues.� He repeatedly expressed frustration that while many of his discoveries seemed to hold remarkable potential for life-saving treatments, commercial or regulatory hurdles have prevented his scientific research from benefiting human beings. One example is, his mid-�90s research on type I diabetes, in which he demonstrated the ability to fully cure type I diabetes in mice using stem cells. Even though the experiments avoided political controversy by using adult/repair stem cells, which do not come from embryos, Weissman ran into a road block when pharmaceutical companies refused to sponsor clinical trials. The therapy went nowhere. �The pharmaceutical companies had put profit over principle, preferring to keep diabetes sufferers dependent on costly insulin than to cure them once and for all.� � http://strategerie.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/are-drug-companies-suppressing-cures-for-disease/

85% OF DIABETES TYPE 1 PATIENTS IMPROVED

A study demonstrated that stem cells implanted into type 2 diabetes patients, in direct form into the pancreas, improve the production of Endogenous Insulin, increase the levels of �C Peptide�, decrease blood glucose levels and glycated hemoglobin levels faster than other treatments. 84% of the patients that had received the autologuous bone marrow cells could also abandon the drugs that stimulate insulin production or the insulin that they had been receiving previously.� There were no complications at all, demonstrating the safety of the technique, since the extraction, the cellular implants and evolution of the patients� - CATCH UP�with a twist! (Part 2) � Stem Cell Breakthrough Helps 85% Of Type 2 Diabetes Patients

THINKING ABOUT STEM CELL TREATMENT?

A friend sent me the following comment and it got me thinking a lot about how someone makes the decision to get treated with stem cells.� Here is his comment:

�I know two [people with multiple sclerosis] personally who did the autogolous stem cell treatment procedure (stem cells are pulled from your own body and then implanted after being multiplied etc.- dg). One felt it helped a lot. The other said it helped minimally if at all.�

Here�s my reply:

You always have to weigh your options when considering getting any kind of medical treatment. Getting educated on the issues and variables is the direct responsibility of the patient (although there are patient advocates who will help in this process). Why can�t you just rely on your doctor to guide you?� Good question. Consider these factors:

2FAST!� - The stem cell industry is growing and changing at a phenomenal rate (see Moore�s Law below).� There is no way that doctors (especially from the US) can keep up with the advances occurring around the world today.� Too much information, too fast, and not enough of it gets through the anti-adult stem cell bias prevalent throughout western medicine.

DON�T SUE ME! - The pressures imposed by medical malpractice litigation create a �middle of the road practice� effect where doctors are unwilling to try something that hasn�t been �used in the marketplace for years.�� We are not talking about �untested� treatments.� Stem cell therapies have been around for almost 10 years and you can see their proof in over 2,000 clinical trials.� Many of the clinical trials were covered in last month�s newsletter� - RSCI - October Newsletter

SAY YES TO DRUGS, SAY NO TO TREATMENT! �-� Pharmaceutical companies want to sell drugs, not procedures.� That is their business.� Stem cell therapy is the proverbial fly in the ointment of the business model that pharmaceutical companies have used in the USA for over a century.� The pharmaceutical companies also completely control what goes into USA medical journals, and adult or repair stem cell successes have been virtually banned since 1/1/04.

EMBRYOS, PRO OR CON, SAY IT LOUD, SAY IT PROUD! �-� The embryonic controversy has been successfully pulling the eyes of the nation away from Repair Stem Cells; the stem cells that are making all of the advancements.� US scientific research has been focused almost entirely on embryonic for so long, they are hopelessly behind the rest of the world. See �CATCH UP!� below.

It is no wonder the patient is �on his/her own� to find stem cell treatment information.

So in consideration of your question regarding your two friends; should they get treated?

SHOULD I GET TREATED?

�

The success rate for �significant therapeutic benefits� seems to be around 60-75% at this time depending upon your disease, treatment center and procedural techniques.� These numbers are pretty amazing. �In addition, there are no negative side effects beyond a day or two of headaches or nausea for 5% of the patients.� Soreness at the injection site, treated with ibuprofen, is typically the most extreme side effect if you can believe it!

The worst that can happen is you get minimal response to the treatment, you take an Advil, wind up in the unlucky 25%-40% and lose your money (which is a considerable issue considering so many people are doing fund raisers, etc on a limited budget in a bad economy). Perhaps facilities should offer a return treatment at no or minimal cost for those who do not benefit from the first treatment. I work with one �future planned� treatment center that is offering exactly that when they open their doors. We�ll have to wait and see on that issue.

Moore's Law

To make the question more difficult to answer, you must factor this in�the field of stem cell treatments IS in its infancy and changes are occurring on par or faster than Moore�s law (computing hardware � the # of transistors/integrated circuit doubles every two years). I personally know of 2 separate innovations that will advance the field significantly in 2010.

Point is, things are changing and improving every day. The problem is, many diseases, especially those involving the neurological system, get increasingly harder to treat the longer the patient waits. So where�s the magic window? It�s different for each person. Combine severity of symptoms, impact of your disease on what your lifestyle was prior to the disease, quality of life reduction/missed opportunities due to the disease and of course, your wallet.

There are no absolute answers�but there are people who are willing to help you sort through the variables and put together a game plan. Surprisingly in this economy, these services are free. The one place that is dedicated to helping the interested patient find stem cell treatment is the Repair Stem Cell Institute �RSCI factors in all of your needs, limitations, medical status, location and economic issues and then directs you to the best treatment facility for you.

STEM CELLS FOR SPINAL CORD INJURY

(Case Study)

Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal Cord Injury

I came across the following comment regarding stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI):

�I really think we need to be patient. I believe it is smart to wait even few more years to get the treatment so we can benefit to the fullest extent possible.�

Here is my answer:

Too true, there is definitely a real quandary to deal with.� Should I get stem cell therapy now or later, here or over there�I like to call it �The Clash Quandary,� based on the famous song: �Should I stay or should I go?��

Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So you gotta let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

This song applies incredibly well to the SCI patient and their question of whether or not they should pursue stem cell treatment.

The issues are:

1. �The clinical trial process requires 10-12 years of testing, creating a significant disadvantage for stem cell researchers in the US.� The stem cell industry around the world changes daily with new advancements.� US patients continue to beg for treatments for diseases already treated elsewhere and US scientists struggle, their progress hampered by outdated regulations, years behind the rest of the world.� US stem cell science will continue to lose ground in the foreseeable future and even the most advanced facilities in the US are at the back of the pack on the world stage. (see next article for an elaborated explanation of this)

2. The science behind stem cells is changing so rapidly.� My posts are regularly current when I put them up on my blog and then a few HOURS after my post, a new study showed results that far exceeded those in the prior study.� In this instance, my post was supplanted by a study wherein autologous bone marrow stem cells were used to treat 115 spinal cord injury patients.� There was even follow up data available. Overall, nearly 6o% improved following treatment.

Improvements include:

60%+ experience the return of feeling to the hands, feet, arms, legs or trunk
50%+ have muscle strength and endurance improvements
40%+ report decrease in muscle spasticity by up to 85% - some patients get rid of their Baclofen medication pumps
30%+ regain bowel and/or bladder function following treatment
30% experienced improvements in fine motor skills

3. The most experienced stem cell spinal cord injury doctors around the world all seem to agree that time is of the essence when treating SCI or any neurological disorder.� ��Waiting for treatment allows nerves to continue to die, muscles to atrophy, mind-body awareness to diminish, etc, etc.� All of which make recovery that much more difficult. The mantra is: sooner is ALWAYS better than later for any neuro disease.� One of the top 2 premier SCI stem cell docs in the world will only treat an SCI patient within 1-5 years of injury.� I am waiting for an answer to this question from the other one.

4. Western medicine will produce drugs to treat you from your own stem cells.� That is how our system works.� That is why the FDA has declared that YOUR OWN stem cells are a drug and must be federally regulated.� Your own stem cells are not a drug.�

5. Pharmaceutical companies spend almost two BILLION dollars to bring a PATENTABLE drug to market.� The patent is the only way they can retain exclusive rights to sales of that drug.� They will essentially take stem cells out of your own body, stem cells that can treat you now, then process and refine them into a prescription drug to sell to you over the rest of your life.�

I guess it comes down to the question of whether you would rather eat an apple fresh picked off a tree in your own backyard or buy an apple from a market that was grown elsewhere with pesticides, picked a week ago, sprayed with more pesticide for shipping, sat in boxes for hours or days, wrapped in plastic, etc.

I WANT TO LEARN MORE!

Whatever your decision, do the research first. Here are a few good places to start:

Repair Stem Cell Institute

RSCI is a worldwide public service organization negotiating access to high-quality stem cell treatment care through education, empowerment and advocacy. RSCI offers professional case management services to individuals needing access to expert and reliable stem cell treatments for chronic and disabling disease at no cost to the patient. Treatment information, stem cells 101, diseases treated and more.

Don Margolis Blog

Hundreds of repair stem cell success stories.� Search by disease or by category.

The Stem Cell Blog

With over 800 articles, The Stem Cell Blog is a good place to get started on all things stem cells; science, news, celebrities, religion, politics and treatments. Email me at dsgrano@gmail.com for assistance. �I get about two dozen emails per day from people asking where to get treated, what is the current status of treatment for their disease, etc.

CATCH UP!

Stem Cell Therapy May Offer Hope

For �Acute Lung Injury�

�

The USA is so far behind the rest of the world it scares me. Here is one of a many examples.�

The lungs are the greediest of all of the organs in the body for stem cells. Many lung diseases, including ALI and COPD, have been treated around the world with adult stem cells for a long time now. There was even a clinical trial in Dresden on 86 human patients begun in 2001!

�Acute Lung Injury After Allogeneic Transplantation � Diagnosis and Early Treatment�

Enrollment:	86
Study Start Date:	December 2001
Primary Completion Date:	August 2005 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

�and the US is just barely putting a toe in the water with mouse studies? It�s time to CATCH UP!

Plasticized Lungs showing bronchial tubes

Plasticized Lungs

Stem Cell Therapy May Offer Hope For Acute Lung Injury

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2009) � Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can prevent acute lung injury in a mouse model of the disease.

Their results are reported online in the October issue of the journal Stem Cells.

Acute Lung Injury (ALI) is responsible for an estimated 74,500 deaths in the U.S. each year. ALI can be caused by any major inflammation or injury to the lungs and is a major cause of death in patients in hospital ICUs. There is no effective drug treatment�

�there is though, effective stem cell treatments you can find here:� https://www.repairstemcells.com/Stem-Cell-Treatment/Treatment-Request.html?d=Lungs

CALIFORNIA FUNDING TURNS AWAY FROM ESC!

Even embryonic crazed California has finally embraced the truth that repair stem cells are the only stem cells that will provide treatments for disease for a very long time.� 10 of 14 stem cell research projects funded in California will not be use embryonic stem cells!� Now if only the media could wrap their mouths around the words �adult stem cells� or �repair stem cells� without squirming like the Fonz from Happy Days trying to say he�s sorry!�

California Awards Grants for Research Projects in NON-EMBRYONIC Stem Cells

By ANDREW POLLACK, Published: October 28, 2009

LOS ANGELES � In a tacit acknowledgment that the promise of human embryonic stem cells is still far in the future, California�s stem cell research program on Wednesday awarded grants intended to develop therapies using mainly other, less controversial cells.

�mainly other, less controversial cells�

Really? It�s like that, is it? Ok, baby steps it is then�alright�take a deep breath�it�s ok�you can say it�don�t be afraid�say it with me�

A � D � U � L � T stem cells�

good! Now all together�

ADULT STEM CELLS!

There, was that so hard?

Adult Stem Cell

The $230 million in grants awarded Wednesday to California universities and companies represent a big step toward moving stem cells from basic research toward application in treating diseases like cancer and AIDS. Grant recipients are supposed to have a therapy ready for initial human testing in four years.

Grant Money

But only 4 of the 14 projects involve embryonic stem cells. The others will use so-called adult stem cells or conventional drugs intended to kill cancer stem cells, which are thought to give rise to tumors.� The grants thus represent a departure from the program�s original mission�

Cancer Stem Cell (from embryonic stem cells)��

HEAR YE, HEAR YE!� THE FUTURE IS HERE!

Repair Stem Cells for a variety of hearing disorders will be available in the USA in January.� Of all the treatments that RSCI recommends to patients; treatments for hearing disorders will be the least expensive. To find out more, email donmargolis@gmail.com with the word �HEARING� in the subject line.� Please include your name and the country in which you currently reside in the message.� Next issue will cover stem cells and hearing disorders.

SUPER STEMMYS � DORIS AND THE SUPERCELLS

Super Stemmys, Doris and the Supercells is the first ever children�s story on stem cells.

A stem cell named Doris and her stem cell friends must all join forces and work together to repair an ailing heart and defeat Morbidus the Vile.

100% of the proceeds from sales of

Super Stemmys, Doris and the Supercells

go to the Repair Stem Cell Institute (RSCI) to help patients.

RSCI is the only public service institute in the world dedicated to help patients connect with the top 2% of the world�s stem cell treatment centers. Patients looking to shed the debilitating symptoms of once-untreatable diseases no longer have to wait.