Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
baltimoresun.com
Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
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Re: Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
#2The stem cells, in this case, were retrieved from the patients bone marrow.
Dr. Weiss claims, "...60 percent of his 278 patients with macular degeneration, glaucoma and other diseases have regained some sight."
"Dr. Alexis G. Malkin, who examined Belton before and after the procedure, still would hesitate to recommend it to other patients. While Belton's improvement has been dramatic, she said, she's still legally blind and sees only "islands" amid blind spots.... What was the mechanism? ... Had she done nothing, would she randomly have gotten better on her own? That seems exceptionally coincidental."
Re: Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
#3A separate thought: Patients searching for and trying traditional and non-traditional solutions. From the article: "...a doctor pointed her to https://clinicaltrials.gov/ , the National Institute of Health's clearinghouse of studies. There she found Dr. Jeffrey N. Weiss in Margate, Fla., who was enrolling blind patients in an unorthodox stem cell study."
This seems to have occurred after the patient pursued "...Chinese herbs and acupuncture...."
With so many anecdotes of patients seeking non-traditional approaches (note: for example, Steve Jobs), I'm heartened to see this patient connected to a traditional treatment which ultimately helped her (note: also, too, see Scott Adams). Caveat: I'm wording this inelegantly, and I think non-traditional methods can help, in some cases, for palliative care.
Re: Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
#4The stem cells, in this case, were retrieved from the patients bone marrow. Dr. Weiss claims, "...60 percent of his 278 patients with macular degeneration, glaucoma and other diseases have regained some sight." "Dr. Alexis G. Malkin, who examined Belton before and after the procedure, still would hesitate to recommend it to other patients. While Belton's improvement has been dramatic, she said, she's still legally bl…
> The stem cells, in this case, were retrieved from the patients bone marrow.
One of two methods, other than cord blood.
What's It Like To Donate Stem Cells http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/tre...
What's It Like to Get a Stem Cell Transplant http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/tre...
Re: Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
#5The stem cells, in this case, were retrieved from the patients bone marrow. Dr. Weiss claims, "...60 percent of his 278 patients with macular degeneration, glaucoma and other diseases have regained some sight." "Dr. Alexis G. Malkin, who examined Belton before and after the procedure, still would hesitate to recommend it to other patients. While Belton's improvement has been dramatic, she said, she's still legally bl…
> The stem cells, in this case, were retrieved from the patients bone marrow. One of two methods, other than cord blood. What's It Like To Donate Stem Cells http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/tre... What's It Like to Get a Stem Cell Transplant http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/tre...
The write-up on donation is a bit off. First, I don't think anyone is still harvesting marrow with needles. "Barbaric" and "dark ages" is how I've heard that described.
The section on peripheral stem cell harvest is how it's done. Stem cells are mobilized using Neupogen injections, although a better (more expensive) drug called Mozobil gets much better results. To collect the cells it's a daylong process like dialysis. The link says through a large vein through the arm but they like a big fat vein for their central line, so more likely a small surgical procedure to put one in the chest.
Re: Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
#6[deleted]
Re: Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
#7That is just about the worst web site experience i have had in quite some time. I wonder why newspaper orgs are failing.
Re: Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
#8A separate thought: Patients searching for and trying traditional and non-traditional solutions. From the article: "...a doctor pointed her to https://clinicaltrials.gov/ , the National Institute of Health's clearinghouse of studies. There she found Dr. Jeffrey N. Weiss in Margate, Fla., who was enrolling blind patients in an unorthodox stem cell study." This seems to have occurred after the patient pursued "...Chine…
When you refer to Scott Adams, are you referring to his vocal cord/speaking problems?
Re: Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
#9The comments on the corresponding Reddit thread suggest this shouldn't be trusted.
Relevant comments include: https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueReddit/comments/4kctsl/blind_wo...
> This is an advertisement puff piece about a "treatment" that nobody believes to work. There's not even a plausible mechanism as to how a retro bulbar injection of mesenchymal stem cells could regenerate axons. It is the ophthalmology equivalent to "one weird trick to lose belly fat".
https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueReddit/comments/4kctsl/blind_wo...
> Weiss is not following the usual steps of clinical studies. Among other things, he didn't test his treatment theories first on lab animals or using computer models, or randomize his trials by using either stem cells or placebos in study participants. He didn't test the procedure for safety on a small group before moving to a larger trial.
Re: Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment
#10The comments on the corresponding Reddit thread suggest this shouldn't be trusted. Relevant comments include: https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueReddit/comments/4kctsl/blind_wo... > This is an advertisement puff piece about a "treatment" that nobody believes to work. There's not even a plausible mechanism as to how a retro bulbar injection of mesenchymal stem cells could regenerate axons. It is the ophthalmology equivalent…
It seems to have worked for the girl in this case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVYi4sdEKeQ
No one's claiming she's making it up as far as I can tell. I think it's a shame these kind of things aren't tried more.