Florida Man's Treatment Could Help Change Medicine
Friday, May 19, 2006 - Stem Cell Guru
Having featured stories from Barbados, Wales, Thailand and Australia this week it's time to complete our virtual circumnavigation with a story from the US.
The article below concerns a patient of ours, David Foege of Naples, Florida, and his recovery after receiving VesCell therapy. His cardiologist is quoted as saying that he thinks this type of treatment for heart disease will "be the most exciting face of medicine that we'll be going into."
Florida Man's Treatment Could Help Change Medicine
David Foege of Naples doesn't take no for an answer. Today, he's up and walking after being told he had no hope. "You can bet I was gonna die," he recalls.
But Foege knows something about determination. Three years ago, after doctors gave him little chance of recovering from heart failure, Foege started seeking out experimental stem cell treatments. After two failed procedures, he traveled to Bangkok, Thailand in March.
Doctors harvested his own stem cells, then injected them back into his heart to improve it's function. He's one of a handful of people in the world to undergo the treatment.
"It re-grows your heart," Foege says of the stem cells therapy. "Your own cells go back and are injected to the parts (that are) not functioning and the cells have your initials on it, your DNA on them." In short, the heart helps repair itself.
Foege was so close to death, he suffered a heart attack moments before he had the stem cell treatment. Twenty five days after undergoing the treatment, Foege says his heart function has improved by 50%. He hopes in the coming months, he will be fully recovered.
Not bad for someone who was told to find a hospice three years ago. "I was in the 30 day range for morbidity," he says. Foege's cardiologist, Dr. Carlo Santos admits stem cell therapy is promising. But he has concerns about the experimental treatment.
"I would want to know what the long term effects are and what the risks are before I can prescribe to patients," Dr. Santos says, noting the treatment is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. "Once that's figured out, I think that'll be the most exciting face of medicine that we'll be going into."
David Foege is excited too. "There are hundreds of diseases that can be cured with this therapy," Foege says. Stem cell therapy is believed to be beneficial for patients with cancer, Parkinson's disease, or who have suffered from stroke.
Foege hopes his treatment plays a small role in improving medicine for millions of people.
This article originally appeared on WINK TV news' website.
The article below concerns a patient of ours, David Foege of Naples, Florida, and his recovery after receiving VesCell therapy. His cardiologist is quoted as saying that he thinks this type of treatment for heart disease will "be the most exciting face of medicine that we'll be going into."
Florida Man's Treatment Could Help Change Medicine
David Foege of Naples doesn't take no for an answer. Today, he's up and walking after being told he had no hope. "You can bet I was gonna die," he recalls.
But Foege knows something about determination. Three years ago, after doctors gave him little chance of recovering from heart failure, Foege started seeking out experimental stem cell treatments. After two failed procedures, he traveled to Bangkok, Thailand in March.
Doctors harvested his own stem cells, then injected them back into his heart to improve it's function. He's one of a handful of people in the world to undergo the treatment.
"It re-grows your heart," Foege says of the stem cells therapy. "Your own cells go back and are injected to the parts (that are) not functioning and the cells have your initials on it, your DNA on them." In short, the heart helps repair itself.
Foege was so close to death, he suffered a heart attack moments before he had the stem cell treatment. Twenty five days after undergoing the treatment, Foege says his heart function has improved by 50%. He hopes in the coming months, he will be fully recovered.
Not bad for someone who was told to find a hospice three years ago. "I was in the 30 day range for morbidity," he says. Foege's cardiologist, Dr. Carlo Santos admits stem cell therapy is promising. But he has concerns about the experimental treatment.
"I would want to know what the long term effects are and what the risks are before I can prescribe to patients," Dr. Santos says, noting the treatment is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. "Once that's figured out, I think that'll be the most exciting face of medicine that we'll be going into."
David Foege is excited too. "There are hundreds of diseases that can be cured with this therapy," Foege says. Stem cell therapy is believed to be beneficial for patients with cancer, Parkinson's disease, or who have suffered from stroke.
Foege hopes his treatment plays a small role in improving medicine for millions of people.
This article originally appeared on WINK TV news' website.
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