by: Mr. Bradley R. Hughes Jr.
With increasing frequency, American citizens and
others from around the globe are experiencing
newfound freedom from disease, affliction, and
infirmity. Individuals' lives are forever
changed with the strengthened faith and renewed
hope that arise from healed bodies and physical
restoration. These seemingly miraculous cures
are the result of adult stem cell treatments.
Yet the debates in the popular media tend to
ignore and obscure the medical breakthroughs
made by adult stem cell research--success that
has conspicuously eluded embryonic stem cell
treatments.[1]
Adult stem cells (or, more accurately, tissue
stem cells) are regenerative cells of the human
body that possess the characteristic of
plasticity--the ability to specialize and
develop into other tissues of the body.
Beginning in an unspecialized and undeveloped
state, they can be coaxed to become heart
tissue, neural matter, skin cells, and a host of
other tissues. They are found in our own organs
and tissues such as fat, bone marrow, umbilical
cord blood, placentas, neuronal sources, and
olfactory tissue, which resides in the upper
nasal cavity.[2] This simple fact has remarkable
implications for medicine--diseased or damaged
tissue can become healthy and robust through the
infusion of such cells. This has consequently
commanded the attention of many researchers as
well as those suffering from disease.
It is necessary to note that the power of adult
stem cells is not nebulously potential, but
tangible and real, as it has produced wonderful
results in multiple cases. These have been
documented in clinical trials, that is,
treatments with human patients. With adult stem
cells, physicians have successfully treated
autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple
sclerosis, Crohn's disease, and rheumatoid
arthritis.[3] Furthermore, adult stem cells have
helped to avert corneal degeneration and to
restore vision in cases of blindness.[4] They
have also restored proper cardiac function to
heart attack sufferers[5] and improved movement
in spinal cord injury patients.[6]
It is also important to note that all of these
successes have come exclusively from adult stem
cell research. Embryonic stem cell research,
which requires the destruction of early human
life to acquire the cells, has not produced
any successes in human patients.[7] The
breakthroughs demonstrated by adult stem cells
are detailed below.
Spinal Cord
Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are one of the most severe
forms of debilitation known to humanity. Many
times they result in different forms of
paralysis, including paraplegia and
quadriplegia; other times they involve the
immediate or imminent death of the patient.
Laura Dominguez is an example of the former.
Living in San Antonio, Texas, she was a
sixteen-year-old girl attending summer school in
2001. On her way back from class, she and her
brother encountered an oil spill on the highway
that caused their car to careen out of control.
The accident left her paralyzed from the neck
down with a C6 vertebrae burst fracture. She
subsequently entered various hospitals to be
emphatically informed that she would never walk
again.[8]
After relocating to San Diego, California,
Dominguez and her mother checked into a
protracted physical therapy program. While
there, they consulted with many spinal cord
injury specialists and concluded that the most
promising option existed in Portugal, where a
cutting-edge procedure was being performed.
This procedure, known as olfactory mucosa
transplantation, involves transplantation of
stem cells found in the nasal region into the
injured area (these cells include renewable
neurons, remyelinating olfactory ensheathing
cells, and progenitor stem cells). Dr. Carlos
Lima, a neuropathologist of Egaz-Moniz Hospital
in Lisbon, leads the procedure. Lima's procedure
has proven successful in 26 patients, states Dr.
Jean D. Peduzzi-Nelson, a co-researcher at the
University of Alabama in Birmingham. [9]
Dominguez was the tenth person in the world and
the second American to undergo the surgery.
Completion of the surgery permitted a return to
the United States, which ushered in the
continuation of the therapeutic process and the
resumption of home life in San Antonio. After an
MRI was conducted, physicians informed her that
her spinal cord had begun healing and that 70
percent of the lesion had recovered into normal
spinal tissue. Within six months she had
acquired sensation down to the abdominal region.
By 2004, she had gained upper body agility and
the ability to stand for extended periods of
time with the aid of a walker. In addition, she
reported improved motor skills, including the
ability to stand on her toes and contract her
quadriceps and hamstring muscles. She also
announced that she had walked more than 1400
feet with the use of braces and outside help.
Laura is inspired by the results and hopes to
walk unassisted by the time she turns 21. [10]
Susan Fajt of Austin, Texas, experienced a
similar spinal cord injury in a car accident in
2001. The wreck left her lower body paralyzed.
After researching available treatments and
opportunities, she discovered the adult stem
cell procedure being conducted by Lima's team.
She thus commenced her journey to Lisbon to
acquire the treatment in June 2003. As with
Laura Dominguez, the stem cells were extracted
from her own body's sinus region and
transplanted into the spinal injury site. By
2004, she was able to walk with the aid of
braces.[11]
A
third spinal cord injury patient, Melissa
Holley, is another individual who experienced
the wonders of non-embryonic medical treatment.
An 18-year-old from Ridgway, Colorado, Holley's
spinal cord was severed in a car crash on June
25, 2000. Her physicians offered her no gleam of
hope for the future and stated that, in all
probability, she would not walk again. Her
family looked into various treatments and found
one offered in Tel Aviv, Israel, by a company
called Proneuron Biotechnologies Ltd. The
operation was headed by Dr. Valentine Fulga and
Dr. Nachshon Knoller. The procedure involves
macrophages, adult immune cells that possess
remarkable healing properties. After being
injected with her own cells, she regained
bladder control and arm and leg movement.[12]
Heart Tissue
Regeneration
Recent years have seen the emergence of
successful adult stem cell treatment for those
who have suffered from heart attacks and heart
failure. Dr. Andreas M. Zeiher, the chairman of
the department of internal medicine at the
University of Frankfurt, and Dr. Stefanie
Dimmeler, head of the division of molecular
cardiology at the same institution, conducted a
study of 28 heart attack patients in 2003.[13]
The subjects received a transplantation of their
own blood and hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem
cells into their heart arteries an average of
4.7 days after their respective heart attacks.
Two of the patients experienced difficulties
arising from personal arterial conditions. The
remaining 26 demonstrated higher levels of
heart-pumping capability.
The researchers reported that the heart's
ability to pump blood increased from 44.1
percent to 48.9 percent. The report also
indicated the average amount of dead tissue for
the subjects decreased by 20 percent within four
months of the stem cell implantation.
In a French study, doctors found that skeletal
muscle stem cells taken from a patient suffering
from heart disease and implanted back into his
heart successfully treated the condition. This
was the first adult stem cell treatment that
successfully treated cardiac degeneration.[14]
Another study investigating 14 patients in
Brazil showed that there was notable improvement
in their heart capacities after implantation of
their own stem cells. Scientists stated that
oxygen capacity increased from 17 percent to 24
percent.[15]
The capability of adult stem cells to regenerate
a damaged and malfunctioning heart was clearly
seen in the case of Dmitri Bonnville. A
16-year-old from Almont, Michigan, he was
accidentally shot in the chest by a nail gun
while conducting house work on February 1, 2003.
The injury was exacerbated by cardiac arrest a
few days later.
His family examined the available effective
treatment options. Physicians informed the
parents of the possibility of a heart transplant
or the use of extended medication while noting
the risks and failures of such procedures. The
doctors also notified the parents of a procedure
that involved stem cell extraction from
Bonnville's own body and subsequent
transplantation into his heart. Predicting
success, they determined to go forward with the
surgery under the direction of Dr. Cindy Grines,
Dr. William O'Neill and Dr. Steven Timmis at
Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. The
treatment had never been conducted on a human
patient in the United States prior to this
occasion. Within a week of the February 21
surgery, Bonnville's heart pumping capacity had
increased from its previous 25 percent to 35
percent. [16]
Similar procedures have been conducted in Europe
and Hong Kong. Scientists pursuing stem cell
therapy at Heinrich-Heine University in
Dusseldorf, Germany, showed that ten human
subjects experienced improved heart regeneration
shortly after hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation. The cells were extracted from
the subjects' bodies and their own cells given
back to each patient, precluding transplant
rejection.[17]
Corneal
Reconstruction
Another area in which adult stem cell therapy is
demonstrating rapid advancement is the field of
ophthalmology. A surgical procedure known as
limbal stem cell transplantation offers hope to
those suffering from corneal degeneration,
blindness, and other ocular diseases. The
procedure involves the extraction of stem cells
from the limbus, the region of the eye between
the epithelial layer of the cornea and the
sclera, the eye's outer layer. The cells are
typically extracted from a healthy eye of the
patient himself, from a family member, or from
cadaveric material. Once extracted,
the limbal stem cells are implanted into the
patient's defective eye. The stem cells then
differentiate into corneal epithelial cells
which improve the health of the outermost layer
of the eye. [18]
Michael May, a business owner in Davis,
California, was exposed to a chemical explosion
as a child, losing his left eye and becoming
blind in his right. Forty-three years later, he
regained his sight in the right eye after a
limbal stem cell transplant complemented by a
corneal transplant. Five months following the
operation, May had reacquired limited vision and
within two years had recovered his sight.[19]
Jon Newton is another example of successful
limbal stem cell transplantation. After being
diagnosed with a rare ocular disorder known as
Stevens-Johnson syndrome, he lost his sight as a
teenager and was blind for thirty years. On
January 22, 2001, at the age of 46, he underwent
the stem cell operation in New Jersey in hopes
of reacquiring any level of vision. Less than 18
months later he had 20/30 vision.[20]
In 1991, a jewelry designer by the name of Shawn
Smith was working with emerald carats in an
acid-filled beaker. In an accident, the beaker
exploded into his eyes, immediately blinding
him. After ten years of blindness he sought
consultation from Dr. Edward J. Holland, the
director of corneal services at the Cincinnati
Eye Institute. After their meeting,
Smith decided to go forward with a limbal stem
cell transplantation. His half-brother donated
the cells, which were implanted into his eyes.
Dr. Holland followed this procedure with corneal
transplantation a few months later. After its
completion, Smith had reacquired his vision.
[21]
Other researchers in the United States and
Taiwan have shown that corneal adult stem cells
can be successfully extracted and transplanted
into diseased eyes. Of the twenty patients
studied, sixteen had experienced increased
levels of vision.[22]
Autoimmune
Disease Treatment: Diabetes, Lupus, Crohn's,
Multiple Sclerosis
Adult cell treatment has also shown significant
results in the treatment of various autoimmune
disorders. Researchers reported that, of 250
diabetics, 200 were able to discard their
insulin needles for over a year after islet cell
transplantation from cadavers.[23] A research
team at Harvard has shown complete reversal of
juvenile diabetes in mice using adult spleen
cells, and is now preparing for the first
patients trials using these adult cells.[24]
Other individuals have experienced remarkable
successes with adult stem cell therapy. A girl
found that she had systemic lupus erythematosus,
a highly detrimental kind of lupus in which
organs of the body lose proper functioning. She
had experienced pneumonia, lung weakness, and
blood deficiency, among other ailments. At
eighteen, she underwent a transplantation of
blood stem cells. Fifteen months after the
operation, she had attained complete and vibrant
health, free of the disease's effects.[25]
In another clinical study, nineteen patients
suffering from various autoimmune disorders such
as refractory polychondritis and systemic lupus
erythematosus were treated with their own stem
cells. After the procedure, ninety percent had
improved or experienced disease remission.[26]
Another example of the success of adult stem
cell utilization is found in the treatment of
Crohn's disease. The disorder is characterized
by an immune system that attacks the sufferer's
digestive system. One patient, a 22-year-old
female who had suffered from it for more than
ten years, was treated with her own blood stem
cells. Within three months of the operation, her
health had dramatically improved, she could eat
comfortably, and her acute abdominal discomfort
was no longer present.[27]
Another clinical study presents the case of two
Crohn's patients who received their own
hematopoietic (i.e., stem cells derived from
bone marrow) adult stem cells. They have been in
remission for a year following the
transplant.[28]
One report on patients shows that adult stem
cell treatment holds promise for combating
multiple sclerosis (MS).[29] David
Hassenpflug, a Long Beach resident who suffers
from MS, has experienced some improvement in
health as a result of receiving adult stem
cells. He reported that the pain in his legs and
hips is gone.[30]
A
four-year-old girl suffering from severe
intestinal Behcet disease is another case in
point. Behcet disease is an inflammatory
disorder that creates oral ulcers, genital
ulcers, and skin lesions. After two
years of various unsuccessful treatments, she
underwent autologous (i.e., from her own body)
hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Two
years after the operation, she is in total
remission.[31]
Parkinson's
Disease
Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the central
nervous system in which the substantia nigra, a
part of the brain, ceases to produce dopamine, a
chemical that allows for effective motion.
Dennis Turner is a man who suffered from the
disorder for fourteen years. His condition was
characterized by strong shaking on the right
side of his body, making arm coordination
virtually impossible. He underwent years of
medication and watched his condition gradually
deteriorate. After consultation with a
neurologist, he discovered the option of adult
stem cell therapy and decided to have the
procedure done. His own stem cells were
extracted from his brain and subsequently
transplanted into the left side of his brain in
a 1999 procedure.[32]
Turner announced in a July 2004 United States
Senate subcommittee hearing that he has since
experienced dramatic improvement in daily
activity. He stated that he went four years
without symptoms of the disease. He also
affirmed that he would pursue another treatment
involving his own stem cells to further improve
his condition. The procedure would involve a
second extraction of stem cells from his brain
and implantation into the right side. Meanwhile,
he explained that his treatment had enabled him
to remain active; he has since gone on safaris,
photographic excursions to Africa, and swimming
sessions in the Atlantic.[33]
In another study, five Parkinson's patients
received an injection of a normal protein known
as glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor.
The factor stimulates the adult stem cells of
the brain. Within a year, the patients
demonstrated a 61 percent increase in physical
coordination and lessening of symptoms.[34]
Anemias,
Cancers, and Immune Deficiencies, and Other
Diseases
Adult stem cell transplants are also widely used
to treat such diseases as anemias, leukemias,
lymphomas, and other cancers. Additional
treatable diseases are Fanconi anemia, pure red
cell aplasia, juvenile chronic myelogenous
leukemia, juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia,
immune deficiencies, and some genetic diseases.
[35]
Keone Penn is a young man who had sickle cell
anemia. He was diagnosed when he was six months
old and he suffered from its symptoms until the
time he was eleven years old. He experienced
extreme joint pain and underwent several blood
cell transfusions. After receiving stem cells
from umbilical cord blood under the direction of
Dr. Andrew Yeager, his body stopped producing
the sickle cells. He is now cured of the
disease.
More than two hundred sickle cell patients have
undergone hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation with a 80-85 percent success
rate.[37]
Beta thalassemia is a disease of the hemoglobin
genes that can be treated with adult stem cell
transplantation. In a recent clinical study, 33
patients under 17 years of age underwent the
procedure. The treatments resulted in a 93
percent survival rate. Relapse decreased from 30
percent to 8 percent.[38]
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood-making tissue
in which excessive amounts of abnormal
lymphocytes, i.e., white blood cells, are
produced. This can result in infections,
bleeding and shortness of breath among other
things. Savannah Jantsch was four years old when
she was diagnosed with leukemia along with
another rare blood disorder. She was treated
with stem cells obtained from the umbilical cord
of a newborn baby. The cells, once transplanted
into her body, developed into the bone marrow
necessary to produce healthy blood cells. Five
years later, she is cured of the cancer and
enjoying childhood.[39] Another study regarding
leukemia involved 18 patients who also received
adult stem cell transplantation. In this study,
physicians used cells obtained from umbilical
cord blood. After the procedure, 14 of the 18
patients emerged free of disease.[40]
There are many other examples of successful
treatments involving adult stem cells. Five
patients diagnosed with ovarian carcinoma were
treated with donor-derived hematopoietic stem
cell transplantation. After treatment, four of
the patients had tumor regression of at least
fifty percent.[41]
In another study, seventeen patients with
advanced multiple myeloma were treated with
autologous stem cell transplantation (this is a
procedure in which the cells are taken from the
patient's own body). Within one and a half
years, twelve of them were free of disease
advancement.[42]
Another study presents the medical treatment of
two patients who were suffering from
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma,
respectively. After allogeneic (donor) stem cell
transplantation, both of them are in remission
and in great health 17 months later.[43]
A
59-year-old female suffering from a pancreatic
tumor received peripheral-blood stem cell
transplantation and subsequently experienced a
decrease in tumor size of 80 percent.[44]
Adult stem cells have shown success in treating
immune deficiencies as well. As one example,
three boys with congenitally impaired immune
systems were cured through implantation of adult
stem cells in Los Angeles. These adult stem
cells were acquired from umbilical cord
blood.[45]
An interesting study was conducted on twenty
children diagnosed with Hurler's syndrome. The
disease attacks and destroys the central nervous
system. Stem cells were procured from umbilical
cord blood and implanted into their bodies.
Seventeen of the 20 survived and showed
improvement in nervous system functioning.[46]
Conclusion
The
above examples are a strong testament to the
amazing power of adult stem cells. These
"miracle cells" have provided real treatments
for real people. They have provided hope for
those suffering from spinal cord injuries,
Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis,
diabetes, lupus, Crohn's disease, ocular
degeneration, blindness, heart disease,
leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, aplastic
anemia, and sickle cell anemia. Laura Dominguez,
Susan Fajt, Melissa Holley, Dmitri Bonnville,
Dennis Turner, Michael May, Jon Newton, Shawn
Smith, Keone Penn, and Savannah Jantsch, just to
name a few, are living proof of these successes.
While the potency and success of adult stem cell
treatments are becoming evident, treatments
using embryonic stem cells have not produced any
clinical successes. Rather, embryonic stem cell
treatments tend to create tumors in numerous
animal studies.[47] The public should ponder
these issues and ask why the media do not cover
such results. In a world with limited funds for
research, why are we arguing about unproven and
often dangerous embryonic stem cell treatments
when treatments using adult stem cells are today
producing real results for real patients?
Bradley Hughes is a former fellow at the
Witherspoon Fellowship - Family Research
Council's professional fraternity for civic and
cultural leadership development.
*****
Real-World Successes of Adult Stem Cell
Treatments, by Mr. Bradley R. Hughes Jr.
Accessed July 26, 2007. Published with
permission from the Family Research Council, 801
G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001.
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