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Stem Cell Treatment Can Heal The Heart!
Posted 15 August, 2008 in DON MARGOLIS | No comments
That title isn’t news to regular readers of this blog. However, I am posting on this article today because it includes an informative interview with Dr. Joshua Hare, the head of the University of Miami’s new Stem Cell Institute. In layman’s terms, he describes very well what repair (adult) stem cells are and how they work. Read on:
While researchers until recently believed adult stem cells were limited because they could develop only into cells similar to them — bone marrow cells only into blood cells, for example — evidence is growing that they, too, may become the tissue for hearts, brains, kidneys and other organs.
Hare expounds on these developments:
Q. You’ve said that the basic idea behind your work is that a healthy human body is creating stem cells all the time to keep its organs healthy, and you’re trying to tap into this ability to expand its powers?
A: That’s the theory. It does sound fantastic. Actually, it happens in the body all the time, in tiny amounts. In our blood, to survive, we have red blood cells that carry oxygen, white cells that regulate the immune system and platelets, which are tiny cells that seal off cuts. They come from stem cells in the bone marrow. The marrow is the source for all red blood cells, platelets and some white blood cells.
The cells circulate in the blood all the time. Unless there’s a signal that says, “Come here and do this,” they will just keep circulating. If you get a cut, the cells will be recruited to that area to do what they do.
Q: Could such cells heal a heart attack all by themselves?
A: Experts believe the ability of the body to heal itself without help is limited. The system can slowly replace missing cells here and there, over a lifetime. But it’s not designed to repair a massive injury like a heart attack. That’s where we as doctors can intervene.
Q: In fact, you are intervening. You’ve led two studies at Johns Hopkins University and University of Miami in which you have harvested immature, or “mesenchymal” adult stem cells from the bone marrow, multiplied them many times in the lab, then injected them into the damaged heart. Is the idea that the bone marrow stem cells become heart cells?
A: This is where the biology gets somewhat murky. We don’t understand all the elements. We do have evidence that the cells differentiate, develop into healthy heart tissue.
Q: And this could be true with a damaged liver, kidney or brain?
A: In theory.
Q: You’ve said other kinds of adult stem cells are at work too?
A: Many cells are involved in the body’s attempts to heal itself. Some are from blood cells from bone marrow. But also, within the organs themselves, there are resident precursor cells that are stem cells. They’re sitting there like front-line soldiers in an injury. We think those cells form collections that talk to each other and can go out and do healing. So we are engaging in a new study that will look at cardiac stem cells.
We can take pieces of heart tissue during surgery, multiply the stem cells in the lab and have a large amount to give back to the patient.
Look Ma! I’m In The News Again!
Posted 13 August, 2008 in DON MARGOLIS | No comments
Followers of this blog may know that I am the founder of the Repair Stem Cell Institute . I formed this organization to get the word out that repair stem cells aka adult stem cells are the greatest medicine in the world today. Millions of people with so called incurable diseases could be helped if they knew about the power of repair stem cells and if repair stem cells were available to them.
Today, my organization just came out with a press release. The Repair Stem Cell Institute and our Scientific Advisory Board compiled the first ever set of standards for stem cell treatment companies-
Here is more on this from myself:
“It’s the responsibility of the RSCI and members of our SAB to establish
the industry’s first standards of excellence at the highest level for RSC
treatment centers worldwide to meet and abide by,” Mr. Margolis said. “We
must assure people seeking life-changing stem cell therapies that they can
expect to receive the best quality therapeutics from the facilities they
diligently research.”
Along with licensing and certification, the RSCI stipulates stem cell
treatment centers must have a successful record of treating patients with Repair Stem Cells for a minimum of six months. The Repair Stem Cells must be either autologous (from the body of the patient) or from umbilical cords. Any other source must be clearly labeled “experimental” until there is a completed successful clinical trial using the experimental source of cells for the disease(s) being treated by the
treatment center. Also, the laboratory supplying the stem cells to the
treatment center must meet at least minimum recognized current Good
Manufacturing Procedure (cGMP) standards. That same laboratory must have over 100 successful RSC human implants to its credit. (”Successful” means having clearly improved the patient’s quality of life.) For a complete listing of RSCI’s standards of excellence, please visit http://www.repairstemcells.org . Please go visit my site, especially if you or someone you know has some disease or condition that has diminished their quality of life- you may find the help you need.
Look Ma! I’m in the News Again
Posted 30 July, 2008 in DON MARGOLIS | No comments
For those of you new to this blog- I not only blog about adult (repair) stem cells, but I also have recently formed the Repair Stem Cell Institute, to promote the benefits of repair stem cells and help people with seemingly hopeless conditions/diseases find new hope with stem cell treatment. Today, I have released a list of stem cell treatment centers that already have helped thousands of patients get a better quality of life thanks to repair stem cells. Spinal cord injuries, emphysema, type 2 diabetes, multiple sclerosis are just a few conditions now treatable with repair stem cells and are included on the list. There are more than 100 other conditions also included on the list. The list includes direct contact information with the doctors/treatment centers:
Click here to see my list and descriptions (including condtions/diseases treated) of stem cell treatment centers.
Click here to see my press release about my stem cell organization
Repair Stem Cell Scientific Advisory Board Member in the News!
Posted 24 July, 2008 in DON MARGOLIS | No comments
Repair Stem Cell SAB Member Zannos Grekos is in the news again! — Dr. Grekos was a featured speaker at the 16th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine & Regenerative Biomedical Technologies at the Gaylord National Resort in Washington, DC, on Friday, July 18. And what did he have to say? Let’s take a look:
“I’ve seen patients go from an ejection fraction of 28 percent to 49 percent in six months with the stem cell therapy,” he told the captive audience. (An ejection fraction of 50 is normal.) “Injecting a patient’s own stem cells into damaged tissue is replacing damaged cells with normal functioning cells.
The group was particularly fascinated with the center’s research proving that adult stem cells have the ability to engraft themselves into areas damaged by myocardial infarction (heart attacks) and turn into new heart cells and new blood vessels.
Dr. Grekos responded to the forum by stating, “Three months after treatment, cardiac nuclear scans of the areas treated reveal reversal of damage. In some cases, it’s virtually impossible to identify the problems that existed before therapy. We have shown such improvement in some patients that they were taken off the heart transplant list.”
This is good news. More proof that adult (repair) stem cells do work! For more on Dr. Grekos and his stem cell treatments- click here
For the full article- click here
Repair Stem Cells Are NOT Drugs!
Posted 9 July, 2008 in DON MARGOLIS | No comments
I found this quote–while I agree with Dr. Vasella on his opinion of the FDA, look at my quote at the end-
“There are no drugs that are 100% safe. Look at Tylenol. It’s over-the-counter, but if you take doses of it that are too high, you’re dead.”
–Dr. Dan Vasella, Novartis AG’s CEO, commenting on the inconsistent approval process for new-drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (The Wall Street Journal, June 30, 2008).
“Nobody, I repeat nobody has ever died from too many Repair Stem Cells!”- Don Margolis
Look Ma! I’m In the News Again!
Posted 8 July, 2008 in DON MARGOLIS | No comments
Look Everyone! I’M in the news again! Advance USA was kind enough to interview ME about MY new Repair Stem Cell Institute. (I’m not really a megalomaniac. I just play one on this blog :):
Have you ever been frustrated by the way the news media often fails to make the distinction between adult and embryonic stem cells when talking about research funding or medical results? The Repair Stem Cell Institute is trying to do something about it, and I had the opportunity to interview the Chairman and Founder of this organization, Don Margolis.
DH: Don, what are the differences between adult and embryonic stem cells?
DM: The difference is easily described when you don’t use the common names but instead use their reason for existing, which is easier to understand. Adult stem cells are more aptly REPAIR stem cells (RSC); they know how to do just one function: REPAIR a sick part of the body. Embryonic stems cells are PROLIFERATING stem cells (PSC). They know how to proliferate through some stages and become a zygote, then proliferate through more stages and become a fetus, then proliferate again until it is a baby. REPAIR stem cells repair. They repair so much and so well that 100-plus diseases are being effectively treated with RSC around the world. Meantime, PSC constantly frustrate embryonic researchers by refusing to behave as repair cells because, well, they are NOT. Even when well-trained to repair a disease, PSC may do it but then off they go, wherever they wish, fighting the attempt to stop them from proliferating and sometimes they can completely rebel and become tumors. Now you can see why the treated disease score, after 10 years, is RSC, over 100; PSC, zero.
Look Ma! I’m in the news again!
Posted 29 May, 2008 in DON MARGOLIS | No comments
One day, I hope my International Adult Stem Cell Research and Therapeutic Treatments Award (see below) will be as valuable as an Oscar, but these doctors have done far more than any Oscar winners to help their fellow human beings:
Professor Shimon Slavin of the International Center for Cell Therapy & Cancer (ICTC) at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, and Professor Dimitrios Karussis, senior neurologist at Jerusalem’s Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Kerem, are the recipients of the “International Adult Stem Cell Research and Therapeutic Treatments Award 2008″ by the Worldwide Center for Adult Stem Cell Education (WCASCE; http://www.Adultstemcelleducation.com). The first-of-its-kind award recognizes Professors Slavin and Karussis’ achievements in adult stem cell clinical work and therapeutic treatments. WCASCE is based in Dallas, Texas with offices in Washington, D.C. and Bangkok, Thailand. Its mission is to educate the American public on the potential of adult stem cells for diagnosing, treating, curing and preventing disease.
I know what you are thinking - Who are these guys?:
According to Donald Margolis (that’s me folks), WCASCE Chairman and Founder, “Professor Slavin is an expert bone marrow transplantation scientist and clinician. The former Director of Israel’s National Stem Cell Transplantation Center at Hadassah before establishing the ICTC, Prof. Slavin will soon be among the few experts who also treat bone repair and reconstruction of cartilage in addition to innovative clinical application of stem cells and cell-mediated immunotherapy for the treatment of hematological malignancies, solid tumors and a broad spectrum of non-malignant disorders treatable by stem cell transplantation. Professors Slavin and Karussis’ team are the first in the world to try and help multiple sclerosis and amyotropic lateral sclerosis patients by injecting their spinal fluid with large numbers of adult stem cells (mesenchymal stromal stem cells) taken from their bone marrow and multiplied in culture. Some of the patients’ conditions have improved or stabilized in Phase I and II clinical trials.”
Look Ma! I’m in the news!
Posted 28 May, 2008 in DON MARGOLIS | No comments
I don’t like to toot my own horn- Ok, you know me- I love to toot my own horn. Seems as though the folks at the Imperial Valley News in Yuma, Arizona have taken a liking to me:
In America, the term “stem cells” is automatically associated with “embryonic stem cells,” the cells that scientists can only extract by destroying a human embryo. But while American politicians, scientists and religious leaders debate moral issues, the rest of the world uses adult stem cells to treat, and heal patients.
Adult stem cells exist in every human being’s tissues, where they help regrow skin, muscle and nerve cells. Scientists can extract adult stem cells from patients, then multiply the cells in labs. When the cells are injected back into a patient, they help grow healthy tissues.
In countries including the U.K., Thailand, China, Israel and Argentina, adult stem cells have successfully treated patients with everything from Hodgkin’s lymphoma to broken bones.
Don Margolis (That’s me!- DM) created the Worldwide Center for Adult Stem Cell Education LLC (WCASCE) to help Americans locate and use adult stem cell treatment centers. Through Margolis’s Web site, http://donmargolis.com/treatment.php, people can search a list of treatment centers for over 100 different diseases.
New Consortium Formed to Promote Adult Stem Cell and Cord Blood Therapy!
Posted 15 May, 2008 in DON MARGOLIS | 1 comment
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.
Will Non-Embryonic-Stem-Cell (ie. Adult Stem Cell)Research Get a Fair Shake?
Posted 13 May, 2008 in ADULT STEM CELL VICTORIES!, DON MARGOLIS | 2 comments
THIS NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE ARTICLE HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD. THE AUTHOR GIVES MORE EVIDENCE OF THE BIAS AGAINST ADULT STEM CELL RESEARCH THAT IS ROBBING AMERICANS OF THEIR TAX DOLLARS. MEMO TO CALIFORNIANS- READ THIS ARTICLE AND SEE WHERE YOUR TAX DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT:
UPDATE: Sometimes I get so angry about the bias shown towards adult stem cell therapy that I forget why I started this blog in the first place. I thank the adult stem cell awareness blog for reminding me - this injustice against adult stem cell research and Dr. Lubin has a bright side in that it brought more attention to Dr. Lubin’s success with sickle cell anemia: if you or someone you know has sickle cell anemia, you should try to reach Dr. Lubin for a safe and probably effective therapy. I suggest going to the website of the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute for more information.
When Dr. Bertram Lubin, head of the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, applied for a $5 million facilities grant last fall from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to support his research on sickle-cell anemia, his colleagues thought the application was a slam dunk.
The CIRM — the agency that distributes grants and loans under California’s voter-approved $3 billion stem-cell initiative — thought otherwise.
So, why was Lubin’s application shot down?
Lubin’s clinical data, in the opinion of his colleagues and independent observers, was solid. His request — in response to an RFA for facilities grants — was modest in comparison to the eight-figure grants the CIRM eventually approved. He just wanted to build new labs for the Children’s Hospital. And Lubin is no second-string researcher: His work is supported by the NIH, and he has served on many NIH peer-review committees. Lubin’s research, which focuses on adult stem cells derived from the placenta, could arguably translate almost immediately into therapeutic applications to the benefit of millions of black children who suffer atrociously from the effects of sickle cell anemia. About 1,000 babies a year are born with the genetic disease in the United States.
As it turns out, Lubin’s work was faulted among other things, according to a summary on the CIRM website, for showing “no evidence of current use or planned expansion into the use of human embryonic stem cells.”