Death Sentence For Surfers Man Commuted by Stem Cells

Stem Cell Guy was perusing his mailbag and look what he found! As I received this article during the holiday season, this must have come from Santa Claus. I couldn't ask for a better present from Santa-- yet another Theravitae patient treated for heart disease with his own adult stem cells has made a fantastic turn-around.




DEATH SENTENCE FOR SURFERS MAN COMMUTED BY STEM CELLS


Jon Whyte

BANGKOK, Thailand December 28, 2006 - Peter Irwin from Surfers Paradise looks the picture of health. He and his Thai partner are in Bangkok for a check-up and a holiday – a time to relax and for his pregnant partner to visit family. He sounds both positive and optimistic as he recounts his dramatic story.

“After a twenty year history of admissions to ICU wards I was finally advised that at 55 years of age I had Dilated Cardiomyopathy with some Ischaemic Heart Disease. I was given a fifty to sixty percent chance of lasting ten years, he recounts. “Then my condition became far worse. Two years ago, after an Angiogram that had to be stopped due to severe chest pain, I was told there was nothing more that could be done for me. The odds lowered to a fifty percent chance of living two years. The cardiologist, almost as an aside, mentioned that my only hope lay in stem cell therapy but he knew little about it. I contacted St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney who were doing a clinical experimental group, but I fell outside their entry criteria as they were only treating arterial diseases.”

Rather than accept his future Peter took action and did an Internet search for any help he could find. He discovered a Thai -Israeli company called Theravitae who were treating end-stage cardiac patients in Bangkok with startling levels of success and contacted them. “I emailed and also spoke with their staff, who were endlessly patient of my many questions. I also spoke with several local Australian cardiologists who were mainly negative but who knew little about stem cell therapy for the failing heart, but what did I have to lose? So I went ahead and on October 4, 2005 I had some 250cc of my blood withdrawn which was flown to the laboratory. Five days later I had the blood, now mightily enriched with millions more stem cells, injected by catheter into my damaged and struggling heart. This simple and safe procedure took place at the Bangkok Heart Hospital.”

“I was very impressed with the hospital staff and facilities and the very high level of professionalism they all displayed. For three months nothing much seemed to be happening, but an MRI at four months showed my Ejection Fraction (a measure of the heart’s pumping efficiency) had risen from 22 % to 33 %. By six months I was feeling much better and I have continued to improve. My whole life has changed and despite having to cope with many personal problems my attitude and outlook are very positive. I now have a purpose for living which I had lost due to my health problems, so I am very thankful,” he said.

Not content with simply having stem cell therapy Peter also made changes to his diet, lifestyle and attitude to gain the maximum benefits from his medical treatment. He’s now a vegetarian, 20kg lighter and looking forward to becoming a parent again. He believes that all these factors, combining with his VesCell stem cell therapy’s work in repairing his heart, have given him a new lease on life.

“I’m deeply in love and have been given a second chance at life. Who could ask for more?” he said. “I’ve just had a complete medical check-up and all my vital statistics have improved markedly. But for me the greatest improvement has been that I can enjoy a far better quality of life and I have high expectations of a very positive future,” he added. “If you are beyond hope of treatment because of heart disease all is not lost. Almost every day research is being published that shows just how many seriously ill heart patients can be returned to a life they thought they had lost.”

(Jon Whyte is a freelance journalist living and working in Bangkok. He writes mainly about travel and health and is also a copywriter and editor. He can be contacted at jaibangkok@gmail.com.

Holiday Season - Theravitae still working for the heart disease patients!

Again, Stem Cell Guy must apologize for the lack of news coming out of Bangkok regarding Theravitae's stem cell therapy for heart disease. The company has been very busy during the holiday season. In fact, we are so busy here, that we will be working on Christmas Day! You don't believe me? Go ahead and break us off a phone call to our office here in Bangkok- (66) 2 - 664- 4290, a live company rep will answer the phone.

I promise you this - the holiday season will not stop Theravitae from delivering its high standards in research, technology, and most importantly, taking care of you heart disease patients out there. We are still working very hard!

Ok, ok, you are right, Theravitae is not all work and no play - we will take a short one hour (yes, don't worry, only 1 hour) break for a party next week and Stem Cell Guy will try to produce pictures of the party for all of you fanatical Stem Cell Guy fans out there. Please don't fear, as soon as the party is over, we will be right back to work!

In the meantime, I wish you all a very Happy Holidays from all of us here at Theravitae in Bangkok. Don't eat or drink too much and please be safe.

Stem Cell Therapy Symposium

I apologize for the delay in the update of my previous post regarding the stem cell therapy symposium we hosted from December 1 to December 3rd here in Bangkok. It appears my writing was not up to par (just like my horrendous golf game) so I was busy taking a remedial righting corse in order to improof my gramar and speling. I hope me get better.

Me know. Me know. A little more practice is in order....if only I could write like our PR guy at Theravitae, I would get my raise and later on maybe that Pulitzer I've been coveting. Here is a sample of what I am shooting for courtesy of PR guy at Theravitae--

Stem cell symposium confirms realistic hope for the condemned heart patient

Summary: World experts agree that seriously ill heart patients, once considered beyond treatment, can avail themselves of adult stem cell therapy that offers for the vast majority a return to better health and a more active life.

BANGKOK, Thailand, December 4, 2006 - They came from around the world. Cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, clinicians, researchers and industry leaders gathered last weekend in Bangkok for the first International Symposium on Stem Cell Therapy for the Failing Heart.

What they brought to the symposium was the very latest in research and development. They shared their findings, their difficulties and challenges; they networked and discussed their progress in the rapidly emerging field of regenerative medicine using adult stem cells.

Thailand’s reputation as a medical hub has been enhanced. Participants heard presentations from such as Dr. Kitipan V. Arom, Director of Bangkok Heart Hospital and Dr. Suphachai Chaithiraphan, Director of Cardiac Unit, Chao Phya Hospital, who together with renowned researchers and clinicians from overseas joined local industry leaders and researchers from TheraVitae, the developer of VesCell therapy for seriously ill heart patients.

Dr. Yael Porat, Vice President for Research and Development, TheraVitae Ltd., said: “This symposium was very good. Surrounded by scientists, physicians, investors and business leaders, speakers were free to disclose openly and sincerely. This can only lead to real progress in our field.”

The news is all good. Stem cell therapy is both safe and effective. Moreover, there are no problems with rejection because the patient’s own blood is used. Patients treated in Bangkok and Singapore are demonstrating that they are clinically improved and are able to do things they were previously incapable of doing. When someone formerly waiting to die is out on the golf course, the results speak for themselves.

The consensus amongst participants was that the symposium was both enlightening and clinically useful. The results of trials from many parts of the world all point to the fact that the future is very bright for stem cell therapy for a wide range of medical conditions.

Don Margolis, founder of Theravitae, said to the symposium: "You can wait another ten years for the perfect therapy which I assure you will never come in your lifetime, or you can take what most of us already have, a way to seriously improve and lengthen the lives of 75% of those we choose to treat instead of just letting them die."

Bangkok Stem Cell Symposium a Success!

The Stem Cell Guy rolled into the office a little late today as his head was still spinning after attending the Bangkok International Symposium on Stem Cell Therapy over the weekend. We had presentations, gala dinners, and parties galore. Stem Cell Guy will post a full summary later this week, as soon as my brain gets back to normal.

However, Stem Cell Guy did pick up a few jokes from those wacky stem cell researchers.

Here is how they went--

Stem Cell Cell Guy: "Hi, I'm Stem Cell Guy from Theravitae, the company using Vescell adult stem cell therapy."
Embryonic Stem Cell Guy: "Hello, I'm Embryonic Stem Cell Guy. Nice tumor meet you."

Question- How many stem cell researchers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer- Five, one to screw in the light bulb and the four others to tell the first one that he screwed in the light bulb incorrectly and that their method of screwing in the light bulb is better and more effective.

Yes, I know what you are thinking. Unfortunately, Stem Cell Guy had to sacrifice his comedy career for his life at Theravitae. However, everytime Stem Cell Guy gets the news that another heart patient treated with Vescell has improved his/her life, Stem Cell Guy thanks his lucky stars that he is here at Theravitae.