Some Information on Stroke Patients and Stem Cells

[Peter_COO_SCTI]

I would like to comment on some of the discussions on stroke patients in todays society.

 

What I do not want to do is get involved is the ethical issues that people with debilitating and degenerative diseases will have to deal with if they decide to get stem cell transplantation therapy. It is a personal decision that everyone has to make if they hope for a better quality of life for themselves, their families and loved ones. We know that stem cells work. They can regenerate damaged cells, neural tissue and organs.

 

Someone has a stroke in the US every 45 seconds. It is the third largest cause of death in this country. According to the American Heart Association, in 2003, 427,000 males died from strokes and 484,000 females died of strokes. That's over 911,000 people in one year. Today there are 5,500,000 male stroke survivors and 2,400,000 female stroke survivors living in just this country. They have varing degrees of brain damage, paralysis and diminished functionality. I have the greatest respect and admiration for the members of the StrokeNetwork here in the US and other such organizations all over the world who have joined together to share experiences, caregiver advise, medical treatments and their stories in general. The support system you provide and the comaradery do wonders in helping the rehabilitation process.

 

Stem cell transplantation is not a "Miracle Cure" (someone stole that from our documentation by the way) for every stroke patient or any other patient suffering from a degenerative disease or debilitating accident. And not everyone is a candidate for stem cell transplantation. Even stem cells have their limitations as how much they can regenerate a persons neural tissues or heal specific brain damage. However, there are many thousands that can be helped to return to a better quality of life with the proper use of the proper types of stem cells. There are no guarantees, but I have seen the changes and you have all read the independent story written by the Sunday World about our friend Ian McBride.

 

A stem cell is a stem cell no matter where it comes from. There are embryonic stem cells that come from a cell mass after just a few days after fertilization. There are fetal stem cells that come from the liver tissue after a few weeks. there are umbilical cord stem cells that remain the placenta after birth. And there are adult stem cells that are extracted from the spinal column of a grown individual. But they do have their difference in how effective they are in the regeneration of the patients condition.

 

One of the main issues and cost factors is being able to extract the sufficient amount of stem cells (dose) that need to be transplanted into a patient for them to have any long lasting and permanent effect in the body.

 

I am working with a patient right now with MS who went to Holland to get stem cell transplantation therapy. He paid $18,000. for a two day treatment. He returned home and was amazed at the changes he had experienced. Improved mobility and dexterity, improved speech, improved short term memory and increased stamina. Two months later, he was back at the point before he went for the therapy. No lasting improvement. Upon questioning the patient, I discovered that he had received stem cells from cord blood. Which is OK. Upon further questioning I also discovered that he had received 4MM stem cells during the transplantation. That is where the problem was. We at SCTI have developed a formula that varies with each patient, but our minimum with cord blood stem cells is 4MM stem cell per kg of body weight. If you do the math and factor the patients degenerative condition, age and size that comes out to somewhere between 600MM to 1 Billion stem cells over a 5 day period of time. Now you will have a regeneration process that will continue working for up to one year. The addition of nutrients and human growth hormones to the biological solution helps the body's circulatory system to create an optimum environment for the stem cells to do their work. Non-toxic and more alkaline Ph than acidic.

 

I can go on for hours about the details and working of embryonic, fetal stem cells as well. They are the best stem cells to use. Embryonic stem cells have their own problems. The cam tumorize and sometimes develop into cells that you do not want. Not malignant, not dangerous but unnecessary.

 

FACT: There are 54 countries that allow legal abortions (including the US) about 61% of the worlds population. The fetal material is discarded as medical waste. Fertility clinics create many invitro fertilized eggs and implant only a few into the womb of couples (the woman obviously) who have trouble having children or could otherwise not have any at all. The remaining embryos are either frozen for future use or flushed as medical waste.

 

Why not extract the stem cells before and donate them to help the thousands of people who suffer from Strokes or MS or Diabetes or Alzheimer's or any one of a number of degenerative diseases to have a better quality of life and be able to live longer more productive lives?

 

As I said before, each of you will have to make that decision based on your own beliefs and desire to have a better and productive life. But only you can make that decision. Do not let others make it for you, for they do not been in your shoes or live the life you have been given as a stroke victim.

 

If anyone has any questions about the information covered this posting or any questions at all on SCTI and stem cell transplantation therapy, I would be happy to provide any additional information. We hope that education will stimulate patients to do their research and make their voices heard to move this regenerative medical proceedure forward.

 

Thank you all,

 

peter@scticorp.com

 

"Pain is temporary, quitting is forever." Lance Armstrong

[bstockman]

Thanks for the Information Peter. I worked in OB/GYN for over 6 years.

there are many miscarriages (spontaneous abortions) and under a specified number of weeks, the products of conception are "medical waste" and disposed of. If we could think of this as another type of "organ donation" to help the quality of life for many illnesses.

 

"Just my opinion" Bonnie

[Peter_COO_SCTI]

Thanks Bonnie,

 

In many countries where abortions are legal, it is under government control, the patient is given the option to sign a consent form for the use of the products of conception for other medical purposes. This way there is no outside influence or any reason for anyone to offer money for abortions. You are right, it is like an organ donation program. In the future we hope to be able to use stem cells to regenerate your organs when they begin to fail instead of performing organ transplantation as it is done now. The differences and risk factors between the two procedures are obvious.

 

Regards,

 

peter@scticorp.com

[4mom]

Peter,

It is nice to hear all the information that you offer. I have spoken to you a few times on the phone and via email regarding treatment for my mother. I have found it very hard to get my questions answered. I mentioned this to Steve and he said that he has found that you reply very quickly to him.

Me and my family were very interested in doing this for my mom. We even had financing for it. I asked very specific questions of you and I did recieve answers to some, but not all. To some of the questions I to be honest felt your answers were evasive. You even offered to supply me with Ian's email address so I could ask him questions directly and I never got another email with that info either. My first email to you with my questions I waited almost 2 weeks for answers (which you said I would have within the next couple days) and inbetween I sent additional emails asking if there were someone else I could contact to get the answers. I am not a impatient person it was a decision we felt ready to make with all the answers we needed.

I realize you are a busy man and seem to be busy actively promoting this now. It would be nice to hear of more success stories on stroke patients than just Ian. It is wonderful to hear that he is having success but what is the ratio of those who have success to those with no change? How many stroke patients have been treated? I have also read some articles about large tumors developing in the brain that grew teeth and bones. The fact that I had such a hard time getting the answers scared me off.

 

Ruth

[Peter_COO_SCTI]

Peter@scticorp.com, June 8th 2006, 3:25am

 

Hello Ruth,

 

I am sorry that you feel that you have not been getting timely responses from me on all the questions you have been asking. For now, I am personally handling all patient inquiries and responses for quality control and establishing accurate procedures. I get hundreds of people from around the world with many different degenerative diseases asking about our stem cell therapy and I do my best to respond to them all as quickly as I can while running the companies international operations which includes the treatment of patients, affiliate clinic operations, our treating physicians. overseeing the Medical and Scientific board members and negotiating with different countries to open additional clinics so that we can treat our patients in better suited locations for them. I expect no violins or sympathy. This is the path I have chosen and will do whatever it takes to make a difference in peoples lives, however small.

 

Steve has graciously invited SCTI and me to post our information on the StrokeNetwork site since everyone has basically the same questions. This way many people can read the SCTI Stem Cell Patient Information Book and the other relevant posted information here as they learn about how stem cells work and apply specifically to stroke patients.

 

I am in no way being "evasive" in my answers to anybody that has questions about our stem cell treatment or our procedures. I and the company have nothing to hide and have nothing to gain from withholding any relevant information on how we operate. We fully disclose where and what we do. All the patients that have been accepted by our medical review process have shown significant improvement. Yet we have to turn down many patients that we feel are not good candidates for stem cell transplantation because of their unique current medical condition. We will not accept any patient that we do not truly believe that we can help. Some patients conditions are beyond even regenerative medicine.

 

The postings of the articles and medical abstracts are meant to help educate a lot of people at once if they take the time to read the information provided.

 

As I mentioned before, we do not use embryonic stem cells in our biological solution because they have been known to tumorize. That is, turn into cells that are unnecessary in the regeneration process of the degenerative condition. We are talking on a cellular level here, no teeth or additional bones will grow. But some cells many turn into teeth and bone cells. But not dangerous or harmful and we do not treat any patients that have existing tumors. However the point is moot since this only applies to embryonic stem cells which again we do not use.

 

With regard to Ian McBride, I get hundreds of phone calls and emails each week from patients asking about how stem cell transplantation therapy can help them. It is my job to try and answer all the questions asked. Ian, out of gratitude for what our stem cell treatment has done for him has agreed to communicate with some patients to discuss his experience. It is now past 3:00am and I am still at it. It is my responsibility to help people to decide if SCT is what they want to do. Ian is getting his life back together and has many projects of his own that he is working on. I do not want people calling him at all hours or loading up his inbox with questions that I have provided the answers to here already. Let's change places with him for a moment. He has a new lease on life. A few moments to answer questions, yes. But to be inundated by even dozens of calls or emails can be overwelming. He values his privacy and spending time with his family.

 

I am not being evasive again or side stepping the issue but if I cannot convince you that stem cell therapy works and reading the independent articles and newsletters in Ian's own words about the changes in his health and the improved quality of life he has now, then I do not know what else I can do for you at this moment in time.

 

Perhaps in a year or two when we have more patients that we have treated you may decide that stem cell therapy does work and you can reconsider it as an alternative treatment to the current medical situation that you find yourself in.

 

I would be happy to work with you one on one to help resolve any issues that you still may have.

 

Thank you,

 

Best Regards,

 

peter@scticorp.com

[4mom]

Peter,

Thanks for the fast response. I understand that you are a very busy man. That is why I had asked if someone else could help. When I first heard about this treatment and saw Ian's improvement I wanted my mother to have it "Now". We have watched my mom suffer for almost 2 years unable to do anything for herself, so you can imagine my hastiness for answers. We thought if it could help her regain even 1 thing it would be worth it.

I started reading some of the other links mentioned on this website and saw some things that scared me. Yes you know the difference between the types of stem cells but it is all new to me. I would never want to risk making my mom worse after we have worked so hard to get her where she is.

As far as Ian goes you offered me his email address I did not ask. I asked for more stories about success with this treatment on stroke patients. It sounds as though not many stroke patients have been treated. You just do not read anything that talks about alot of real success with it yet. I hope that it can help everyone suffering with these debilitating diseases. It would be a miracle. Hopefully when this is a treatment more people have done the cost will be able to go down or insurance will eventually pay for it. If someone needs 2 treatments like Ian is going to have his second it is $60k. Not many can afford that.

I recieved the handbook back in April and call me stupid but as I told you alot of it was medical terminology that I did not understand. I did take the time to read it. I was actively pursuing this for my mom.

Thanks again for you quick response

Ruth

[Terry956]

Ok Peter, I see you're a part of SCTI, tell me/us what is the track record of the treatment and, not that I don't trust you but, how & where can we get unbiased information?

[jriva]

 

I was at a website this morning---not SCTI's---that also does stem cell treatments and they gave the statistic that they had treated 350 patients with MS and 40% to 50% of them reported "significant clinical benefit."

 

Peter, it would be helpful if you could you give us a similar statistic on exactly how many stroke patients you have treated at SCTI and what percentage of them report having a significant benefit.

 

Jean

[Guest lwisman]

After reading a number of posts on the board about Stem Cells, I went on the web to see what I could find about stem cells and about SCTI. There is a lot of information about what Stem Cells are, procedure, etc. Not much on particular companies. I did find one article from Forbes which does list a number of companies, but not SCTI. See the article at http://www.forbes.com/2001/08/03/0803sf.html.

 

SCTI is listed on the NASDAQ (symbol: SCII). But, there is not a lot of information on it. I could not find any company which has a rating on it. Could not even find a description of the company or list of competitors. It may just be that SCTI is too small to receive much wordage.

 

It may be that because Stem Cell therapy is just now becoming more widely available, the market has not matured. Therefore info on most companies is not easily available. The Forbes article does say that there is question of which companies will actually make it and which will disappear. The article also states that "180 firms call themselves stem-cell companies."

 

Seems that in 2006 one has to go with gut feeling rather than much data. Hmm.

[Terry956]

Ladies, Gentlemen , my heartfelt apologies to any of you considering SCTI, I know my dreams were snuffed.

None of their techniques has any validity to them, as a matter of fact, they're asking you/us to pay to participate

in their clinical trials.

 

Here is what I found...

 

MALIBU - Anne Dumphy was dying and believed Malibu physician William C. Rader was her last hope

for a cure. But she didn't find a cure - just an improved immune system.

 

Her niece said Rader's Dominican Republic clinic charged Dumphy $30,000 for stem cell treatments

that helped fight off colds but not the fatal disease that ended her life.

 

"Dr. Rader has a responsibility to tell people that is all they'll get," said Dumphy's niece, Regina Rear.

"He is taking advantage of the most desperate of people."

 

[ MLS ]

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/39386133363530373434386130323230?_RM_EMPTY_> Rader declined to comment, but his overseas

operation is one of several outside the United States marketing and selling stem cell therapies using

aborted fetuses, umbilical cord blood or a patient's own stem cells.

 

From the Ukraine to Tijuana - where another California doctor refers patients - these foreign clinics

advertise varying claims of success, ranging from making the blind see to erasing the signs of aging.

 

Scientists say these stem cell entrepreneurs, which use the Internet and word of mouth to market

their therapies, are selling desperately ill patients treatments that are costly, unproven and potentially risky.

 

"They have no scientific credibility. They don't even aspire to acquire scientific credibility," said

Evan Snyder, a leading stem cell researcher.

 

Some patients said the treatments produced remarkable improvements in their health. Without

independent verification, scientists say they don't know if the patients' health improved or the

patients enjoyed a "placebo effect" that made them feel better.

 

U.S. regulators monitor the effectiveness of treatments in this country but said they can't vouch for

the foreign therapies because they have no control over them.

 

Snyder and other supporters of California's newly created stem cell research program believe

the program could help eliminate such "fringe science" by establishing clear-cut guidelines for

state-funded scientific studies.

 

They expect implementation of Proposition 71, the stem cell initiative Californians approved

Nov. 2, to make desperately ill patients and their families more aware of what constitutes a

legitimate human trial.

 

"The field will advance, and it will become very clear who are the legitimate scientists

and who are not," Snyder said.

 

In the meantime, Rader and Mission Viejo osteopath David Steenblock appear to be

the only California physicians marketing foreign stem cell treatments.

 

Steenblock, who's been sanctioned for past medical practices, lists stem cell therapy

as one of several on his Web site.

 

He said he sees patients before and after another doctor provides injections

and transfusions of umbilical cord blood stem cells in Tijuana.

 

Steenblock said he's documenting the results and found that about a third of the cerebral

palsy symptoms disappeared in 10 patients he has examined.

 

Rader, a psychiatrist who previously ran eating-disorder clinics, advertises widely on the

Internet, promising "remarkable physical and psychological improvements" through stem

cell treatments at his Medra Inc. clinic.

 

Snyder said he has offered to verify Rader's claims by testing and evaluating Rader's

stem cells, but that Rader has refused.

 

Dr. Alexander Smikodub, director of Ukraine's EmCell stem cell treatment center, said

he also tried to work with Rader. He said Rader trained at EmCell but never followed

through with promises to invest in the clinic.

 

Rader advertises embryonic stem cell injections and transfusions using cells from aborted

fetuses - the same process EmCell says it uses.

 

But their definition of embryonic stem cells differs from the one used in California's and the

National Institutes of Health's stem cell funding programs.

 

Those programs define embryonic stem cells as cells that come from days-old embryos created at fertility

clinics. These so-called master cells can transform themselves into any cell in the human body, leading to

claims that embryonic stem cell research could produce treatments and cures for about 70 diseases.

 

Smikodub said the fetal stem cells he uses have the same transformational abilities. Based on studies

of its patients, EmCell said the fetal cell transfusions have lowered diabetic patients' blood sugar

readings and improved vision in those losing their eyesight.

 

It claims to have improved immune systems in AIDS and HIV patients and to have given a

greater range of motion to the limbs of patients with arthritis, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic

lateral sclerosis.

 

"Patients ... continue living because they are treated with stem cells, and they want and decide to

come again and again," Smikodub said.

 

But the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Therapy Development Foundation, an organization representing

those with ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, investigated EmCell and found no "verifiable reports

of improvement."

 

Jamie Heywood, the foundation's director, said he knows at least 40 ALS patients who have undergone

stem cell treatments at various clinics, and none has seen a "radical change."

 

Snyder, the San Diego stem cell researcher, said he's also known families who "hocked

everything" to pay for foreign stem cell treatments and were disappointed.

 

He said patients should never have to pay because legitimate experiments usually are financed by

someone else.

 

Lucie Bruijn, the ALS Association's scientific director, also said she can't recommend embryonic

stem cell treatments marketed abroad because none appears to be conducted with the proper

controls and long-term studies needed to determine its effectiveness.

 

Steenblock, who refers patients to Tijuana for stem cell therapy, said he's trying to conduct

that type of study and hopes to gather enough data to get approval of a clinical trial at a

California hospital, possibly with Proposition 71 funds.

 

But Steenblock said he's battling the stigma of sanctions by California's Osteopathic Medical Board.

 

The board placed Steenblock on five years' probation and fined him $10,000 in 1994 for gross

negligence and incompetence in the treatment of a teenager who subsequently died and in the

colonoscopy of another patient.

 

Steenblock signed a stipulation agreeing to the charges but said he believed he was admitting

only poor record-keeping.

 

He said he settled the case to avoid further action by prosecutors he believed were biased

against him.

 

Steenblock also came under the board's scrutiny in 1994 after a door blew off a

decompression chamber he uses to treat stroke patients. Three people were injured.

 

A judge found no wrongdoing on Steenblock's part, but a jury determined three of his

employees were providing physical therapy without a license.

 

"They are going out of their way to make me look bad," Steenblock said.

 

Linda Bergmann, the board's executive director, said the board has treated

Steenblock the same as other doctors it investigates.

 

She said the board is aware of Steenblock's role in the Tijuana stem cell

treatments but wouldn't say whether it is investigating him for that.

 

Despite Steenblock's disputes with the state, at least one of his stem cell

patients calls Steenblock one of the best doctors he's ever had and says

stem cell treatments helped him.

 

Jim Haverlock, a 65-year-old furniture dealer who's had multiple sclerosis

for 21 years, said Steenblock's staff arranged two stem cell treatments for

him in Tijuana in the past two years.

 

The injections and transfusions of umbilical cord blood stem cells made

him feel so much better that he said he's planning to undergo a third

round of treatments later this month.

 

Scientists said measuring improvement in multiple sclerosis patients

is difficult because the symptoms can vary widely from one day to the next.

 

But Haverlock is convinced the stem cells improved his balance, speech

and immune system.

 

He said his only problem was a bad reaction to an experimental

medication Steenblock prescribed in April to help the stem cells work.

 

"I almost died from it," Haverlock said. "I know some people

may have wanted to sue him. But that doesn't change anything.

He was doing it with the best of intentions."

 

Haverlock said he has tried several experimental

treatments and considers himself a "pioneer"

exploring the boundaries of science in the hope

of finding cures.

 

Juanita Reaves, a 48-year-old Benicia resident,

said she also thinks she should play a role in testing

new treatments for ALS, the incurable disease that

is slowly robbing her of her speech and ability to walk.

 

She spent five months in Argentina and $115,000 for

experimental treatments with her own stem cells and T-cell vaccinations last year.

 

After a break for Christmas, she said she decided to halt the experiment because

she'd seen little improvement, and she missed her family.

 

Even so, Reaves said she has "no regrets" and went into the experiment with "my

eyes wide open. It wasn't someone taking advantage of me."

 

Rear, the niece of the ALS patient who received treatments at Rader's clinic, has

her doubts.

 

"Dr. Rader, for Anne, was hope," Rear said. "Even though some of us in the

family felt it was not the thing to do, no one was willing to take away her hope."

 

She said her aunt couldn't afford the treatments. Her relatives were financially

strapped, too, because Dumphy and Dumphy's sister, Eileen Dumphy-Rear,

were diagnosed with ALS within six weeks of one another.

 

Rear, Dumphy's niece and Dumphy-Rear's daughter, said both patients

required expensive equipment, round-the-clock nursing care and a

$70,000 home addition to accommodate them.

 

Dumphy's friends and relatives raised $38,000 for her two stem cell

treatments and travel. Even after she'd spent that, Rear said the

clinic's staff urged Dumphy to fly to Germany for additional therapy.

 

"By that point, she was just too sick to go, thank God," Rear said.

 

She said her aunt received no follow-up care from Rader or his

associates after her treatments.

 

Dumphy died in June, about two years after her last stem cell transfusion.

 

Although Rear believes Rader did little to help her aunt, she still

worries about dashing the hopes of other ALS patients who "have no hope."

 

When they seek her advice about Rader's treatments, she tells

them to go to his clinic if they're independently wealthy and wish to

spend their money that way. But if they're not wealthy, Rear

said she urges them to "take that $30,000 and enjoy an awesome

vacation while you still can."

 

About the writer:

 

* The Bee's Laura Mecoy can be reached at lmecoy@sacbee.com.

[smallory]

Everybody, you seem to be losing sight of the big picture! Stem cell therapy is not approved here in the

United States. You cannot expect to have everything just right on something that is its infancy. We

all need to step back and open our eyes to the whole situation with stem cell therapy.

 

Of course there are going to be people who don't endorse stem cells. Who are all these people that

are commenting about stem cells? Are most of them against it? It certainly sounds like it and we

know absolutely nothing about their story.

 

Have you ever thought about who does not want stem cell therapy to succeed? The more bad

information about it the better! How much of this is propaganda or disinformation?I know that if

someone tells me that they have a problem with the ethical side of it then I am going to be suspicious

of whatever and why they are trying to discredit stem cell therapy.

 

Listen, what SCTI is telling us is that they are a small, but legitimate, company that wants to

properly perform stem cell therapy. What is wrong with that? They have to start somewhere

and last time I looked this is how everyone starts out with any kind of service. So what's the big deal?

 

I am trying to look at the positive and not the negative. Sure, right now you have to go overseas

to receive this therapy. That is a given. It does not take away from the FACT that a stroke survivor

has improved after receiving stem cell

therapy. That is what I am jazzed about. The potential is there and from everything I hear SCTI is being

responsible about who and how their patients are getting treated. We cannot let this get stopped

before it even starts!

[Terry956]

I firmly believe in stem cell therapy treatments, however I'd really like to know where I can find independent accredited news articles regarding Ian and possibly others that received this treatment as well as the ultimate cost of their treatment.

[4mom]

Steve I am not against stem cell treatment and personally would do anything to make my mom well. I have watched my mother suffer for almost 2 years unable to do anything for herself and would love it if this were the key to making her well. I have no reason to be againgst stem cell. I am someone that doesn't even really have a ethical issue with it. I would love to see this be the answer to all who suffer with debilitating diseases.

The truth is that there is no documented information on success with this treatment. I think that there are alot of people on this website that would love for this to be the answer to thier prayers. Do you really think that noone should question this? There are lives at stake here. If you were going to have this treament done would you not want to know what your real chances of success were or what the risks were? I was really close to taking my mom for the treatment in Tiajuana and I would in a heartbeat if I had more evidence that it works and wouldn't hurt her. I have someone willing to pay for it. I think there are alot of important questions that need to be answered before someone should have this done.

I realize that SCTI is a small company promoting thier service and trying to get the word out. When someone makes a educated decision they have to weigh the negitaves against the positives. I think that is all anyone is trying to do.

 

Thanks

Ruth

 

[smallory]

I have watched hours, literally hours, of C-SPAN Senate Subcommittee Hearings on stem cell therapy. Besides lots of credentialed doctors and whatnot, they had several disabled people who talked about the positive results of stem cell therapy. Their only complaint was that it was not approved in the United States and that they had to resort to having their treatments performed in foreign countries. Every single person had nothing but positive things to say about stem cell therapy. I think seeing that session basically convinced me personally because I saw it with my own eyes. Another thing that convinces me about stem cell therapy working on a stroke survivor is that I watched the video and saw Ian with his improvements.

 

I think everybody needs to be satisfied on their own terms but for I am trying to look at the big picture of where I think stem cell therapy is headed. You probably saw my post about a stroke survivor from the Stroke Network going to Kiev to receive stem cell therapy and this person told me that he wants to blog about his experience with stem cell therapy. I spoke to Peter, from SCTI, and he supports this 100%. The fact that Peter enthusiasticly endorsed him doing this verifies his confidence in stem cell therapy as a positive treatment for stroke survivors!

 

One thing I have to reiterate, anything you read on the Internet, unless your source has credentials, is questionable. Especially comments from other people, which can easily taken out of context to make a point for the writer. Example: "the drug nearly killed me" Is that literally killed him or figuratively killed him? I personally have choked on medication and thought that I was figuratively going to die. If someone says something nearly killed them I am thinking that it is a figure of speech but the way I saw this used in the argument about a stem cell therapy patient was that a new type of drug that he was given literally almost killed him.

 

I'm telling you, some people are working overtime to keep stem cell therapy from being viewed as acceptable! :2cents:

[Peter_COO_SCTI]

Peter_COO_SCTI - June 30, 2006

 

I would like an opportunity to reply to some of the comments previously mentioned.

 

SCTI began operations in December of 2004. But prior to that we did our homewor and performed our due dilligence on many stem cell companies, clinics and "Doctors" in the U.S., Russia, the Ukraine, Barbados, DR, Mexico, Argentina, Israel, Thiland, Holland, Germany, Singapore and China. Since we are a public US company we have a responsibility to perform our Business practices in an ethical and responsible manner. We interviewed many doctors, scientists and visited numerous clinics. We chose our affiliations very carefully based on their past performance and proven track record. The ICT clinic in Kiev has 26 patents in the preparation of their stem cell biological solution and their cryo preservation technology. We have signed an exclusive License Agreement with this clinic for 10 years with an option to renew for another 10 years.

 

This License Agreement gives us access to those 26 patents, their IP (Intelectual Property) and all related tecnologies. The clinic and their Doctors have a long history of treating patients. As do our Doctors in Mexico. We interviewed and selected an International Medical and Scientific Advisory Board and treating physicians for their techniques and methods of treating patients with degenerative conditions with stem cells. We are confident that our clinics, Advisors and treating physicians are the best in the business. You can see independant stories about our treatment of patients in the Sunday World (Posted in this section), the BBC and DifferentStrokes the UK Stroke Network.

 

We have met and researched Steenblock, Ramirez, Rader and Dr. Smikodub of EmCell. They are the snake oil salesmen of the stem cell practice. Here is some of the documentation about these individuals that we looked at and is available on the web.

 

Regulatory Action against David Steenblock, D.O. (Osteopathic Physician not MD)

 

Revoking or suspending Osteopathic Number 20A4160, heretofore issued to respondent David Steenblock, D.O.;

 

http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/steenblock1.html

 

 

Many skeptical of stem-cell therapy (Dr. Fernando Ramirez)

 

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/health/conten...mside_0619.html

 

 

Shark Embryo Cell Transplantation for Spinal Cord Injury by Dr Fernando Ramirez.

 

Shark stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries?

 

http://www.healingtherapies.info/shark_emb...nsplantatio.htm

 

 

Dr. William C. Rader (Psychiatrist not MD) from the Medra Institute.

 

http://www.als.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=84

 

 

EmCell

[foz]

Thank you Peter,

I just have a question, do all stem cells have cells that are not needed, or can have negitive affects?

 

C ya,

 

Steve Foster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter_COO_SCTI]

Hey foz,

 

There are no side effects of stem cell transplantation. Only if embryonic stem cells are used are there issues of the cells turning into other cells that may not be necessary. But this is still on the cellular level. No danger in our process since we do not use embryonic stem cells.

 

We have people who have nothing wrong with them, except that they are getting old. They have stem cell transplantation treatments for rejuvenation and anti-aging therapy.

 

I will be sending you an email shortly with a lot of info for you to review.

 

Regards,

 

Peter

 

[slmstrokeangel]

Is it true that bone marrow transplants are a form of stem cells?

[Peter_COO_SCTI]

Dear Sharon,

 

Sorry for the delay,

 

There are a few ways to get stem cells for a human being. Let's start at the beginning;

 

1.) Embryonic stem cells

2.) Fetal Hematopoietic stem cell

3.) Umbilical Cord blood stem cells

and

4.) Adult stem cells

 

The adult stem cells are extracted from the individuals bone marrow. This type of procedure is commonly used in the treatment of spine cancer patients. First they extract good stem cells (non-cancerous) from the spinal column. Then the patient undergoes chemo and/or radiation therapy which destroys all the cells in the spinal column normal and cancer. They they reinject the clean stem cells to regenerate the bone marrow.

 

I am not a medical professional, but this is the basic process to my knowledge.

 

The problem with obtaining stem cells is to be able to harvest enough cells for the transplantation therapy to be effective. Our protocol calls for at least 4MM stem cells per kg. of body weight, plus some other patient specific factors. If you do the math it comes out to 600MM to 1 Billion stem cells per treatment.

 

Please feel free to ask any additional questions via the message board or my email address.

 

Best Regards,

 

Peter@scticorp.com

[fayeforcure]

Stem cell transplantation is not a "Miracle Cure" ......stem cells have their limitations as how much they can regenerate a persons neural tissues or heal specific brain damage. However, there are many thousands that can be helped to return to a better quality of life with the proper use of the proper types of stem cells.....

 

One of the main issues and cost factors is being able to extract the sufficient amount of stem cells (dose) that need to be transplanted into a patient for them to have any long lasting and permanent effect in the body......

 

Fertility clinics create many invitro fertilized eggs and implant only a few into the womb of couples (the woman obviously) who have trouble having children or could otherwise not have any at all. The remaining embryos are either frozen for future use or flushed as medical waste.

 

Why not extract the stem cells before and donate them to help the thousands of people who suffer from Strokes or MS or Diabetes or Alzheimer's or any one of a number of degenerative diseases to have a better quality of life and be able to live longer more productive lives?

 

As I said before, each of you will have to make that decision based on your own beliefs and desire to have a better and productive life. But only you can make that decision. Do not let others make it for you, for they do not been in your shoes or live the life you have been given as a stroke victim....

 

Thank you Peter for your frank and patient discussion. I have been a stem cell research advocate since 1998, and have mentioned it repeatedly every time a newspaper article was written about my son's trips to Poland for intense activity based therapy and/or when the issue of Georgina Smith came up in Orlando, who chose to be taken off the vent. Of course when President Bush in 2001 announced severe restrictions on the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research I was again interviewed this time by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. My work has even been mentioned in an article of the Wall Street Journal.

 

Anyway I am confounded by the lack of knowledge by some of the members and am glad to see Peter work hard at clarifying the issue of the very next medical revolution we are in the midst of. Of course everyone knows that the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century constituted a major medical revolution, but stem cell research revolution will be even greater than that.

 

Whatever the stem cells being used, they all have in common that what needs to be researched is how to grow enough stem cells and how to deliver them to the body to maximize results. I personally believe repeat treatments will be necessary, since it would be hard to believe it would be a one shot deal.

 

So far I have not seen anything in Peter's communication that I have found to be unclear or inaccurate.

 

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I'll share with you an Op/Ed which I sent to the AJC just yesterday, and which I hope they will publish:

The US Senate recently approved a resolution authored by Senator Chambliss declaring May 6th, Childhood Stroke Awareness Day. I very much applaud Senator Chambliss for his forward thinking on this issue, which has lacked proper attention and has caused immeasurable devastation to thousands of american families.

It was a welcome surprise just before Independence Day to discover the time has finally arrived for the Senate to take action on H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, which has the potential to provide cures for all Childhood Stroke victims, so their lives can be restored.

Though President Bush took an important first step in advancing the field of embryonic stem cell research with his policy announcement in 2001, much has been learned since then that warrants an expansion of the current policy.

More than a year ago the US House passed HR 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, with strong bipartisan support 238 to194.

Opponents would rather let these stem cells go to waste or remain frozen indefinitely rather than be used to help my son Jason.

My son Jason (16) suffered a stroke and became paralyzed after colliding with another soccer player at age 7. He has been locked in a body that no longer works for him for more than 9 years now, losing out on most of his childhood. It