cure Question

[skeaman]

Dr.wise Question to and to any other Doctor's who aer in the know ? Hand on hart when do you think we are going to see some thing [ref] break through with stemcell's.IFyou say it is money that is holding you back can you not get 100 people to 200 people that would pay for tham self And see what result's than the Government will have to back you's it would also put a stop to people traveling around the world and wasting ther money.Knowing that it will not work or will it .Looking for a so call cure can you are any one shred any light on this.For i am feed up waiting for some thing t happen.I KNOW i am not alone look forward to hear EXCUSES You get sick of 5 to 10 year's time reading that there will be a break through if it come's in that time.IF any body reply's try to keep it in lay man term's know what main DOC

[Wise Young]

Dr.wise Question to and to any other Doctor's who aer in the know ? Hand on hart when do you think we are going to see some thing [ref] break through with stemcell's.IFyou say it is money that is holding you back can you not get 100 people to 200 people that would pay for tham self And see what result's than the Government will have to back you's it would also put a stop to people traveling around the world and wasting ther money.Knowing that it will not work or will it .Looking for a so call cure can you are any one shred any light on this.For i am feed up waiting for some thing t happen.I KNOW i am not alone look forward to hear EXCUSES You get sick of 5 to 10 year's time reading that there will be a break through if it come's in that time.IF any body reply's try to keep it in lay man term's know what main DOC

skeaman,

I don't think that stem cells alone will do it. You already have stem cells in your spinal cord and coursing through your body from your bone marrow. They don't know where to go, what to do, or how to do it. Stem cells are only part of the solution. Stem cells can make certain cells that will help. In my opinion, combination therapies will be the ones that will restore function.

Clinical trials do not allow patients to pay for experimental therapies. If this were the case, then anybody would be able to pay for any kind of therapy. At least in the United States, clinical trials must be paid for by companies, government, or foundations. Even though there have been many therapies reported to improve function in rats, few of these have been taken to trial.

The government knows that thousands of Americans are going overseas for therapies and they are doing nothing to stop them. By the way, the government reflects the American people. There are thousands of diseases clamoring for more research. Spinal cord injury is just one of many. We have been trying to get the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act passed for four years now.

I don't know what combination therapy will be the best. However, I do know that successful regenerative therapies of human spinal cord injury will require transplantation of cells, a source of growth factors, and drugs to block growth inhibitors. We need to test many cells, different sources of growth factors, and several different drugs that have been shown to block growth inhibitors and stimulate regeneration of the spinal cord.

To do that, we need to have clinical trials going around the world. The trials should be well-designed, credible, and study sufficient numbers of patients to yield credible data. It doesn't help when you do 700 patients in China (as Dr. Hongyun Huang has done) when people don't believe what you say. It also doesn't help if a single patient were to die in the United States as a result of a therapy. It not only kills the patient but it will kill the therapy.

So, at least for the beginning, we want to start with umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells. We have shown that these cells will form a bridge across the injury site, that lithium will stimulate these cells to produce the appropriate growth factors. We also believe that these cells and lithium treatment are safe. That is why we want to start such a trial in China, to show that it can be done.

Cord blood is attractive for three other reasons. First, it is available from GMP (good manufacturing practice) sources that are well-vetted and reliable. Cord blood has been used for over two decades to treat people and has been shown to be remarkably safe. Second, it can be matched for HLA in the same way organs are matched, so the cells are not rejected when they are transplanted. Third, the cells produce growth factors and have been reported in animals to improve function when transplanted into the cord.

If the trial shows that cord blood cells plus lithium improve function, that would be great. If it shows that cord blood cell transplants do not help whether lithium is included or not, this would allow us to rule out that particular type of cells for transplantation. If the treatment does not work, wWe need to continue to try different cells and other combinations. That is the goal of the ChinaSCINet.

About a year ago, i decided that it is not right to have people go from the U.S. to China for clinical trials that we are organizing. So, I have been tring to set up clinical trials in the U.S. that would parallel the ones that we are doing in China. We are currently raising the funds and organizing to do the trials in the New Jersey, Philadelphia, New York, and hospitals in several other cities. We are aiming for next year.

Wise.

[momo3]

How will you recruit for these trials? I know that there is a trial network out there but I haven't found where they are recruiting patients yet. Thanks.

[skeaman]

Thank you for all that information DOC these where little thing's going through my mind as I an sure it is going through other people's mind as well. Can you tell the HIGHRACKY about the patints that is comitteing suicide for thay can not wait to see trial's and not knowing if thay will work You say adout bridgeing across the injury site When do you think you will start with these trial's and when will we see the result's is any one else doing these .Hope you know where we are coming from There is a lot more to say but i do not know where to start

[crppled007]

As long as insurance and drug companies are making profit, there'll never be a cure. Sure there might be some breakthroughs, but there's too much money to be made off of people with disabilities. Think about it, a cure for paralysis(or even cancer) comes out tomorrow, you know how many people would be out of jobs! I know it sucks, been a c4 for 23yrs.

[6 Shooter]

As long as insurance and drug companies are making profit, there'll never be a cure. Sure there might be some breakthroughs, but there's too much money to be made off of people with disabilities.

Certainly agree with your comment. That is why thousands of Americans are going to a foreign country for stem cell transplants. China IS looking for a cure!! When ever they find it, it will be transported to the US. Will ever insurance pay for it? That is anyone's guess and IMHO, 15-20 years away minimum. Just recall how long it took for a heart transplant to become mainstream.

[skeaman]

you say about not not paying money for individual trial's but would insurance companys not put some thing to it for there client