Richard Schlueter, a man who could barely walk 35 feet to get the mail, a man with an ejection fraction of 35%. To steal a quote from the Six Million Dollar Man-- "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology."
Richard found us - Theravitae, which is offering its stem cell therapy for heart patients.
Richard came to Thailand in September, 2006 to treat his heart disease with his own adult stem cells.
Yo Richard, what did you think about it? “We had a great time in Bangkok. The doctors were great. The nurses were great. My wife said it was the best vacation she ever had.” Richard said.
Thanks for the compliments Richard and the big question- how did it work? “Six months after my stem cell treatment, my ejection fraction had jumped from 35% to 42%. After 1 year, it was 48%. Now, in January 2008, it is 59% which is normal for an 80 year old man like myself!” Richard exclaimed.
Stem Cell Guy is back. This time Robert Sneary is my subject. Sneary, 62, is originally from Glendale, California, but is now a Maui man. He is a very pleasant guy with a boundless supply of energy and a positive personality and he isn't sneering at the benefits of stem cell therapy. Now surfing waves like Kelly Slater, Robert is very happy about his stem cell treatment. He came to Bangkok (and Theravitae)in January 2006, and he "knew it was going to work." Stem Cell Guy wishes he had Robert's positive outlook on life too, but Stem Cell Guy is happy enough if his air conditioning works (living in Bangkok with broken air conditioning is like the Cleveland Cavaliers trying to play basketball without LeBron James).
Yes, loyal readers, I know what you are thinking after reading the title. "Then why doesn't Stem Cell Guy go for stem cell therapy too, so he can get a sense of humor?" Unfortunately, it is a genetic trait, stems from Stem Cell Guy's father, it seems I was born to tell bad jokes and be unfunny.
This week Stem Cell Guy presents Mick Fleming. Mick, 73, from Queensland, Australia was suffering from congestive heart failure. Mick came to Bangkok when??? Stem Cell Guy doesn't know when he came because it isn't in the story. Who writes those terrible Theravitae/Vescell stories anyway?? What happened to Jammin'Jon?
Ok, I found it. Mick Fleming came to Bangkok in July, 2007 to receive stem cell treatment for his heart. Stem Cell Guy thinks Mick's wife Phyllis says it best- Phyllis continued, “His sense of humor is back. He is laughing again. It was worth every penny. Going to Thailand for the stem cell treatment was the best thing we ever did. It gave Mick the will to live again, a new life.”
Also, Mick and Phyllis and their son have volunteered to give their time to talk to you- my loyal readers. If you would like to email/call the Flemings to verify Stem Cell Guy's version of their story, please email stemcellguy@theravitae.com and Stem Cell Guy will happily provide their contact info.
Stem Cell Guy would like to extend a sincere "thank you" to all of America's veterans on this day. Many of Theravitae's stem cell therapy patients have been veterans and while it isn't always a pleasure dealing with a VA Hospital and trying to get medical records, it is always a pleasure and an honor to work with the veterans themselves.
Once again- "Thank you".
Update: As all of you well know..Stem Cell Guy isn't a word smith. Stem Cell Guy just has one subject on his mind-- stem cell therapy. Maybe that is why Stem Cell Guy can't find a Stem Cell Gal. Nevermind that..to follow up on the Veteran's Day post, Stem Cell Guy found this poem that I think is appropriate for this day...written by the Beto Ochoa- I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
The Veteran
For every hero on the stage On parade or in the grave With medals pinned and glory flags unfurled
The humble serviceman by scores Packs the caissons, Guards the doors Sails sea and sky across the troubled world
Comrades in arms they share the call Who stepped across that line for all Knowing well that fate might call their name
They crossed that sword mark in the dust For freedoms sake and God they trust And did it not for fortunes gold or fame
So on Remembrance Day give thanks To veterans past and current ranks And Praise Eternal God that they were there
Oh quiet heroes, every one Without your hand, naught would be won Pray our acclaim, the purest badge you wear
Stem Cell Guy would like to present Malcolm Anderson- a New York heart patient. Malcolm also happens to be a Mensa and since he made the decision to come to Bangkok for stem cell treatment, Stem Cell Guy won't dispute that.
Malcolm is also going to be one of our patient volunteers, so if you would like to speak with him, please let me know at stemcellguy@theravitae.com and I will give you Malcolm's phone number and email address. Better to hear about our stem cell therapy from a Mensa like Malcolm than a moron like me.
Stem Cell Guy is happy to report that Malcolm is doing very well. Please read about it here-
Malcolm Anderson, of Hudson, New York, reports that his ejection fraction (a measure of the heart’s pumping function) has increased from 41% to 55%, thanks to a novel adult stem cell treatment that he received in Bangkok, Thailand.
Malcolm Anderson, 81, was very concerned when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He knew he was going downhill. Malcolm asked his doctor, “What can I do about congestive heart failure?” His doctor replied, “you can take lasix.”
To Malcolm, that wasn’t a great option. “Is that all I can do? I thought there must be something better than taking lasix the rest of my life” said Malcolm.
“I had an ejection fraction of 41%, not debilitating, but, long term, not good. I knew it would gradually get worse and worse.”
Malcolm decided to search the internet and look for an alternative method of treating his congestive heart failure. He found that option in Theravitae, a biotechnology company in Thailand, that developed a procedure to treat congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease using a patient’s own stem cells.
Theravitae’s Vescell adult stem cell technology employs adult stem cells harvested from a small amount of the patient’s own blood and does not require bone marrow extraction.
“I thought if it doesn’t do any good, at least it doesn’t do any harm,” said Malcolm.
Malcolm was a little apprehensive before his arrival in Bangkok in March, 2007. “Once I got there, it was a piece of cake. They took great care of me from the moment I arrived at the airport.”
Malcolm’s own stem cells were implanted into his coronary arteries via catheter in a simple procedure very similar to an angioplasty.
Eight months later, the stem cell therapy has improved Malcolm’s quality of life. “I recently visited my doctor - my diagnosis now is that I don’t have heart failure anymore! My ejection fraction is 55%. That is a 30% increase! I’m feeling top shelf. I’m working again. I’m happy.”
About TheraVitae: TheraVitae is a private, multinational company focused on using stem cells from the patient's own blood in order to treat a variety of disorders, especially cardiovascular diseases. The company has developed a proprietary stem cell technology, 'VesCell', that is currently being used by hospitals in Thailand and Singapore to treat patients with heart disease and peripheral artery disease.
VesCell -- A Natural Treatment for Heart Disease and Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) The body has natural ways of healing itself and the cardiovascular system is no exception. Angiogenic Cell Precursors (ACPs) originate in bone marrow and then circulate in the blood vessels. To manufacture VesCell, TheraVitae expands a small number of ACPs harvested from about 250cc of blood into a therapeutic quantity. VesCell is injected either through a coronary artery via catheter, or during surgery, directly into the heart muscle.
A key aspect of VesCell therapy is the advanced cell isolation and expansion technique that allows for the ACPs to be harvested from blood collected in a procedure similar to a common blood donation. VesCell uses a patient's own adult stem cells to treat Heart Disease and PAD and is a viable therapeutic possibility for heart or PAD patients without any other treatment option.
Stem Cell Guy would like to present a new stem cell treatment video this week. This video explains how Theravitae's Vescell stem cell therapy for congestive heart failure and coronary heart disease was started and also explains how the stem cells work.
This video about our stem cell treatment was filmed, directed, and produced by Al Caudullo who can do it all. If you would like to contact Al (based in Asia) for any outside work, he is available. Contact stemcellguy@theravitae.com and Stem Cell Guy will happily provide Al's contact information. Al has done TV series, movies, documentaries, bar mitzvahs, and weddings...anything having to do with video- he is your man.
Yes! You heard it here first from the Stem Cell Guy. We won an award from the Frost and Sullivan "Growth Consulting Company" Theravitae was called the "Drug Discovery Emerging Company of the Year" and if Stem Cell Guy read that wrong in the press release, then I apologize in advance. Doesn't that award have a nice ring to it? It is definitely music to Stem Cell Guy's ears. Stem Cell Guy will put this award up on his mantle next to his picture with Miss Thailand kissing him as well as his World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer trophy.
Where do they come up with these award names? Drug Discovery Emerging Company of the Year? World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer award? Stem Cell Guy thinks they must spend a fortune on the engravings for these awards if the engravers charge per letter. But that is just Stem Cell Guy's two cents. Stem Cell Guy is more concerned with his adult stem cell therapy for heart disease stuff.
I'll try to put up some better stuff later this week. Thanks for stopping by.
UPDATE: Sorry, we have been partying hard over here after winning this award, so Stem Cell Guy hasn't posted for a couple of days. Stem Cell Guy made a mistake. Yes, Stem Cell Guy knows what you are thinking before you do...you are thinking "Stem Cell Guy is perfect, how can he make a mistake?" Well, my answer to you folks is Stem Cell Guy puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like you folks. Theravitae actually won the award for Biotechnology Company of the Year (Thailand). Please go check out this press release. It is much easier to read than the above one. So, we won Biotech Company of the Year rather than Drug Discovery Emerging Company of the year...you say tomato, I say tomaato, but we still will continue our party. Take care, a wonderful weekend to you.
I must apologize for that last post about the approval by the Board of Investment of Thailand While it was big news for us here at Theravitae in our Ivory Tower...Stem Cell Guy realizes it was more exciting to watch the paint rust on your old '78 Trans Am that is still sitting in your front yard with the wheels off and hiked up on some bricks than to read that post. Or, is it only Stem Cell Guy who still has the old Trans AM?
Well, I want to get that post down off the blog so any new readers to this blog won't be bored to tears. Therefore, I will post a nice long letter from Doug Rice. You may remember Doug from before. Stem Cell Guy likes to blog about Douglas Rice because Doug is a cool guy, but don't worry ladies- Stem Cell Guy still prefers the females.
Without further ado, a message from Douglas T Rice-
My name is Doug Rice, I am 61 years old and have Congestive Heart Failure and Coronary Artery Disease and am Diabetic.I could be one of over 500,000 people that die in the United States yearly, BUT I am not dead.Not because I shouldn’t be, but because there is a solution to this problem.I am not a miracle, a phenomenon, but a living person that by the Grace of God was saved from a disease that kills about 1,400 people daily.However, I had to travel to Bangkok, Thailand and go in to debt to do something that should be readily available in the United States.I used my own Stem Cells, and a simple Angioplastyprocedure to have my life given back to me.Your own stem cells have so much more to give than we give them credit for; a lot of other diseases are being treated successfully by just using the Adult Stem cells.
These 500,000 Heart patients don’t make the mainstream press, no newspaper articles of any significance and certainly most politicians in WashingtonD.C. don’t even like to discuss it.Sadly, it is a fact, if a family dies in a car wreck, children are gunned down in a school, a disgruntled person shoots or maims his or her coworkers, and it is BIG NEWS.
BUT, 500,000 people die at a rate of 1400 a day and no one takes the time of day to pray for them.Not all are old, some very young and with families and friends to care about, most people just don’t realize that they die, although almost everyone knows someone that will die from this disease.
Did you know that over $613,000,000 has been spent researching the Embryonic Stem Cell as the miracle drug it is not?Did you know that to my knowledge not one person has been treated and the rats they treated ended up with tumors?
Did you know that over 400,000 people with various cancers have been successfully treated and most are alive to talk about the Adult Stem Cell treatment using their own stem cells or ones from the cord, not one by Embryonic stem cells.
To be honest, discussing Embryonic Stem Cells is like kicking a dead horse, “ They Don’t Work Now, They May Never Work “, maybe in ten or 20 years, but not now and there is something that works “NOW” the Adult Stem Cell!!What does it take to make people realize that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?
I bet if you ask someone what stem cells are, they will say Embryonic, not because they know, but because that is all they hear about.Education, Education, Education and the facts is the only way to get the job ofmoving the Adult Stem Cell to the forefront is education, funding and actual treatment “NOW”.
I get many calls on a daily basis because I have been treated with my Adult Stem Cells, and the most frequent question is “Why did you have to go to Thailand”?Answer:“Because the Embryonic forum controls the press, the money and the education process as well as the medical industry, and you can’t get it done in the United States!Kid yourself not, there is a lot of money involved, and do you think if the Adult Stem Cell had the financial reward potential that the Embryonic Cell research has that we would even be having this discussion?There would be money coming out of the wood work, every medical enterprise would be all over it.However, your own Stem Cells are not for sale, they are free, no one can patent them and make Billions off of them, and does that tell you why the funding and education on the Adult Stem Cells is so far behind??
Listen, I am but one man, a very lucky man to have had my ex-wife Sheba Rice find the solution on the internet while looking for new technology for heart disease. Without her efforts, I would be in a urn on the fireplace.But, she gave a damn and wanted me alive for whatever reasons, we all need to do the same for someone we know or people that need the help.We that care, need to educate everyone you meet, if not because I say it, because of the 500,000 people that will die this year!
I would get down on my knees and beg if I thought that I alone could do it, I can’t, I doubt if I make a difference, but you can, your Senators, Congressmen, Doctors and news media friends can make a difference.I will do what ever I can do to move this forward, but boy do I need your help!Ask me for anything that will help and I will do my best, I am asking everyone that reads this to do their best, one day you may be where I have been, or your mother, father, brother and sisters as well as relatives and friends.This is so serious I can’t imagine everyone not getting involved; by the way, I will admit I am a dreamer.
Feel free to contact me if I can be of help.My email is dtrice@hotmail.com or you can see my new website- www.douglastrice.orgIt is my own personal website and I will have it updated shortly.
Stem Cell Guy had a nice peaceful weekend, better to prepare himself for this surprisingly good news....this is news all of you have been waiting for...like Roger Clemens announcing he was coming back to pitch for the Yankees, like Britney Spears announcing she was going into rehab....again, Stem Cell Guy is pleased to announce that Theravitae has received approval by the Board of Investment of Thailand.
Yes, I know you are as thrilled as we are.
Ok, Ok, I know you want to read more patient stories about how John got better after his adult stem cell therapy for heart disease. Or, you want to know about how Sally's stem cell therapy for her angina is going. Well, I'll keep trying to post more patient stories for you later this week.
Well, it has been a long time. It is great to be back. I would like to thank all of you (Mom and Dad) who wrote in and asked about the Stem Cell Guy. Due to circumstances beyond my control, Stem Cell Guy was taken off blogging duties and asked to concentrate elsewhere in the company. However, thanks to all of your letters, the boss had no choice but to let me blog again. I'm going to "Warm it up Kriss, Cause that's (blogging) what I was born to do"
First off, I'd like to introduce my new assistant- Miss Theravitae. Miss Theravitae just graduated from a prestigious Thai University and is currently learning the ropes here at Theravitae- makers of Vescell for Heart Disease
She just started her own blog. Unfortunately, it will be difficult for you to read because it is in the Thai language. However, if you wish to take a quick peek,click here
She will be making guest appearances on this blog from time to time and Stem Cell Guy is very lucky to have her helping here.
No more sappy intros....let's get down to business. We have been working to improve our Vescell website. We wanted to make it more friendly to you- the patients, rather than add any more stuffy scientific stuff like "Our stem cell cultures were tested for their morphology, expression of cellular markers, in vitro physiological activity of cytokine secretion and formation of tube-like structures" YAWN!
We just reposted the 2 articles about Vescell in Time Magazine. Click hereand here to check them out.
Keep checking back here. Stem Cell Guy will have more patient stories very soon.
Theravitae appears in the mainstream media from time to time and Stem Cell Guy is always happy and proud to post the news here in this blog. However, Stem Cell Guy is praying for the day when this VesCell adult stem cell therapy is so ho-hum that it will no longer warrant a story in the local newspaper or Time magazine (shameless plug). How many newspaper articles do you see about Joe 6-Pack getting an angioplasty? Or, how many magazines write about Nancy in Omaha getting a bypass? Theravitae's goal is to make their Vescell adult stem cell therapy so common and prevalent that it will no longer warrant any story at all.
Allow me to step down from my pulpit and stop preaching. Let's get to the good stuff-
Reporters from Agence France-Presse flew all the way to Bangkok, Thailand to see our stem cell procedure in action. Stem Cell Guy did not give them croissants and freedom fries, but we did provide them with Douglas Rice, a 61 year old man from the United States. Another good man featured prominently in this article is our very own Dr. Suphachai...check out what he had to say-
"We don't know yet whether the procedure helps patients to live longer, but it relieves their pain. We can help them to have a better quality of life. As a doctor, I think we should," he said.Most of the patients are people with such serious heart disease that every other available treatment has failed them, according to Israel-based Theravitae, the company that developed the treatment.
"Don't have a life" Stem Cell Guy was perusing his mailbag again this weekend(What is this Super Bowl thing people keep talking about?) and lo and behold...look what he found - a forwarded email from Don (founder of Theravitae and Stem Cell Guy's boss). This letter was from John Homeier, an owner of a small oil company. John evidently struck oil with Theravitae's Vescell adult stem cell therapy for heart disease. Look what he had to say:
Dear Don:
I want to bring you up-to-date on my physical condition since I had my stem cell injection eleven months ago on March 1, 2006, in Bangkok, Thailand, through your company, TheraVitae.
I am amazed how great I feel with my tremendous heart improvement from the results of your stem cell treatment with TheraVitae. It is truly a “MIRACLE”! With proper daily exercise, eating healthy foods, and taking newly prescribed medicines from your doctors at TheraVitae, you have given new life to a 70 year old man who was almost ready to pass on to a different world. I owe my life to three of the best doctors in the world; Dr. Kittipan, Dr. Permyos, and especially Dr. Sukhum.
My body muscles have redeveloped and I no longer get short of breath during daily activities. The only time I am short of oxygen is under extreme exercise. At present, I am walking 20 minutes at three miles per hour at a 1% grade on the treadmill. I feel so great that I am able break into a sprint at 5 miles per hour for up to a minute and a half. My goal is to run a one-half mile sprint at five miles per hour in six minutes by my birth month, September. I still can hardly believe that my worn out heart and depressed lifestyle has been given a new high quality athletic life. It is truly a gift from God that your company, TheraVitae, has given me to achieve this.
As you know, Don, I am 70 years old and I am still able to run a very successful company thanks to you. I am willing to do anything I can to help other people in the world be made aware of the technology your company has to offer
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Very truly yours,
John F. Homeier
Thanks for the letter John. If John continuously improves his sprinting at this same rate, catching Maurice Greene or Carl Lewis won't be out of the question. Keep it up John. We are cheering for you!
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