Surgeons in Houston at The Methodist Hospital announced they were the first in the United States to inject Adult Stem Cells directly into the heart of patients "providing an intense, direct hit on damaged tissue."
In an investigational study of new heart failure treatments, this promising new technique may be more effective in regenerating healthy heart tissue than current methods that use a catheter to put standard stem cells through the bloodstream into the heart.
The 58-year-old veteran and businessman is resting comfortably and is expected to be discharged this weekend.
In a novel process, the patient’s strongest and most robust stem and progenitor cells, derived from the patient’s own bone marrow, are amplified up to 1,000 times before they’re injected back into the patient’s heart. In the procedure, Dr. Bruckner made a small incision in the left side of the patient’s chest and administered approximately 25 injections of concentrated stem cells into the patient’s heart.
That sounds great. Now, look at this from the Vescell website where they have been doing this procedure in Bangkok, Thailand for the last 3 1/2 years!
The direct injection procedure is a mini surgery. The surgeon makes a small incision on the left side of the chest to gain access to the heart muscle. Next, he makes approximately 30 injections of stem cells directly into the heart muscle where they grow into new muscle tissue. This procedure is most often used to treat Non-Ischemic cardiomyopathy or severe congestive heart failure with moderate ischemia.
The procedures look the same, don't they? Good to know the United States is now finally catching up a little. There are lots of hearts to be healed out there.
Take Joe Woolfolk for example. Joe came to Thailand in December, 2006 for the procedure described above:
Joe and his wife Judy flew to Bangkok, Thailand in December, 2006 for Joe’s stem cell treatment. Joe had his own adult stem cells injected back into his heart muscle in a minimally invasive surgical procedure at Bangkok Heart Hospital.
Joe's ejection fraction shot up from 20% to 45% after the procedure and he will be happy to tell you about it. Joe can be reached at 214-697-0086
Here is a new published study showing that taking fish oil can reduce the risk of death in patients with heart failure. An Italian study showing the benefits of fish oil was just published in the Lancet (a prestigious medical journal). This study also showed that heart patients who take fish oil are less likely to be hospitalized.
For all of you heart patients taking health supplements, it looks like you should add fish oil to your list of supplements (if you haven't already).
This 4 year study was a double blind one in which some patients received fish oil capsules while the other patients received "dummy" capsules.
The results show that those given the fish oil were 9% less likely to die during that 4 year period. The difference went from 9% to 14% when researchers examined the 5,000 patients who took the capsules once a day as directed (I think this means some patients didn't take their medicine as directed). The number of those admitted to hospital for arrhythmiasfell by 28% during the same period.
Luigi Tavazzi of the National Association of Hospital Cardiologists (Italy) said ''Our study shows that the long-term administration of one gram per day of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid was effective in reducing both all-cause mortality and admissions to hospital for cardiovascular reasons.
''This is the first study of omega-3 in patients with heart failure, an area which is not rich in new drugs. This is a modest effect but it is on top of recommended therapies. It's safe, simple and cheap''. A variety of health benefits have been claimed for omega 3, which occurs naturally in cod liver oil and fish such as salmon and mackerel.
Safe, simple and cheap? That sounds good to me.
Many heart failure patients who come to Bangkok to receive VesCell adult stem cell treatment already take health supplements such as fish oil as it has long been believed to provide health benefits. This new study just confirms that belief.
This blog has been on an extended holiday, but the good news is it will now be back in action- at least 2 times per week (I promise :). Check back frequently for the most updated news on VesCell- Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Disease and Peripheral Artery Disease. I'll also be touching on other news in the world of adult stem cells.
Today, we have just created a new website- please check it out and see what you think about our adult stem cell treatment. If you have any suggestions or criticisms about the new website, please leave them in the comments section or you can email me at jerry@vescell.com.
You are also welcome to email me if you have any questions or inquiries regarding VesCell adult stem cell therapy or adult stem cell therapy in general. Again, the email address is jerry@vescell.com - please feel free to write me for any reason and I will try my best to assist you.
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.
Some of you stem cell fans out there may remember the Rumble in the Jungle. On October 30, 1974 (on this day, exactly 33 years ago), Muhammad Ali used his "rope a dope" technique to defeat George Foreman for the World Heavyweight Boxing title. You may also remember George who made millions of dollars selling his little grill where the fat drips away. What an amazing invention and giant leap of technology for mankind that was!!
Stem Cell Guy thinks Theravitae's Vescell adult stem cell therapy is also an amazing invention (How's that for a brilliant segue?) This week we have a Brumble in the Jungle. Buck Brumble, a very fine gentleman in Arizona made the trek to Bangkok in March 2007 for his stem cell treatment for his congestive heart failure.
Here is the teaser-
One of his doctors said disdainfully, “stem cell therapy is a crapshoot,” but Buck Brumble, a 68 year old Arizona man felt differently. “I lit into him, I knew it was going to help and he wasn’t offering a better alternative.” declared Buck.
Buck was suffering from congestive heart failure, a condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to the body’s tissues. Congestive heart failure afflicts nearly five million Americans. The American Heart Association estimates that more than 266,000 people in the United States die each year due to congestive heart failure.
This one is for all of you OC fans out there. You know..that reality TV show when the lawyer takes in one of his "clients" and invites him to become a house guest and then becomes his father. We all know that happens everyday. Too bad the show was canceled. How will Stem Cell Guy live without one of those shows that "really made you think."
Yeah, it made Stem Cell Guy think "Who watches this garbage?"
Anyway, let's get to Donald Cecil. Don, an Orange County resident, came to Thailand in October, 2006 for his stem cell therapy. Don suffered from congestive heart failure. His ejection fraction was down to 10%. Don had to stop surfing which was his true love.
Fast forward to October,2007. Don's ejection fraction is at 50%. Don is surfing again thanks to being treated with his own stem cells. How did this happen??
Read on- Donald Cecil reports that his heart function has quintupled after receiving adult stem cell therapy in Thailand. Donald says his ejection fraction (a measure of the heart’s pumping ability) has increased from 10% to 50% almost one year after his stem cell procedure.
Don has also stated that he would welcome any phone calls from anyone curious about his stem cell treatment. If you would like to contact Don, send Stem Cell Guy an email at stemcellguy@theravitae.com and he will give you Don's phone number.
It's Friday. You know what that means. You walk into your office and say "Hey John, how are you?" and John goes "It's Friday."
Yes, I know what day it is John, I'm not a moron (although some of you readers may disagree), but I asked you "How are you?" You are supposed to say "I'm good" or "I'm tired, had a rough day yesterday," or something similar. For some reason, this annoys me. I'm sure all of you have someone in your office like "John"
Stem Cell Guy lives in Thailand and the staff in the office is mostly Thai so I don't have to deal with that too often. Before, we did have a guy who always said that, but he is gone now and Stem Cell Guy's blood pressure is very thankful for it.
Anyway, let's get to Richard Rzaca. Stem Cell Guy will give you a 10 point bonus if you can pronounce his last name correctly. And although his last name is difficult, his personality is not. Richard is a great guy and Stem Cell Guy is happy to say he is doing very well after coming to Bangkok to treat his coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure using his own adult stem cells. Richard came to Bangkok in May, 2007 and just 5 months later, his ejection fraction has more than doubled from 25% to 52%. This is wonderful. Richard says he is willing to talk to anyone about Theravitae's adult stem cell therapy...so if you wish to speak to Richard, please drop me an email at stemcellguy@theravitae.com and I will be happy to provide his phone number for you.
No more talk..here is the teaser-
Richard Rzaca reports that his heart function has more than doubled from 25% to 52% just 5 months after receiving Vescell adult stem cell therapy in Bangkok, Thailand.
Before he contacted Theravitae, the makers of Vescell last year, Richard Rzaca was a dying man. Richard had suffered a near fatal heart attack in 2003 and his condition had been going downhill since then. Richard described himself as “a dying horse.” “My color was gray, I couldn’t walk anywhere, and I was completely worn out,” he said. Richard’s ejection fraction (a measure of the heart’s pumping ability) was at 25%. OH STEM CELL GUY, THAT WAS WONDERFUL, LET ME READ THE WHOLE THING
For more information about our stem cell therapy, please go to www.vescell.com and www.theravitae.com
As much as I want to keep that stem cell therapy video (see below) at the top of the screen here, Stem Cell Guy can't keep this blog stagnant. Stem Cell Guy will always have the most current news about adult stem cell therapy for congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy.
Today, Stem Cell Guy has the scoop on Dee Coates. For those of you who don't remember Dee, she was one of the first Americans to come to Bangkok to receive stem cell treatment for her coronary heart disease. It has been 2 years since her own adult stem cells were implanted into her coronary arteries to help revascularize that region.
Here is the teaser--
In May 2005, Dee Coates was gobbling nitro tablets and had been told there was nothing more that could be done for her. She had endured 8 stents in her right coronary artery and a triple bypass. ‘I watched life pass me by. I didn’t participate as I couldn’t even walk half a block,’ she said.
Today she is at the gym doing 30 minutes on a treadmill, followed by weighlifting and a cool-down on the treadmill again. She has the energy to train for a new career as a medical transcriber, after a lifetime of office work; is 25 pounds lighter, with lower cholesterol and sugars, and, ‘Loving every minute of my life because life is so good.’ OH STEM CELL GUY! PLEASE LET ME FINISH THE ARTICLE!!
Stem Cell Guy had a wonderful weekend and hopes all of you folks had a good weekend as well. The weekend was even wonderfuller (yes, Stem Cell Guy created that word) because there was a local TV news special about our stem cell therapy for Terry Areford in West Virginia.
In other words- a local TV station in West Virginia featured stem cell recipient Terry Areford in one of their stories. Terry received his stem cell therapy to treat his coronary heart disease as well as his congestive heart failure and now Terry is shooting hoops again.
Stem Cell Guy is proud to present Terry Areford- But Areford said in the end, every penny was worth it.
"I've played ball with my grandkids, played some basketball out on our court. if I were to die tomorrow I've had at least the last couple of months of quality," he said.
Areford would like nothing more than to get the word out about this procedure and help anyone he can. You may reach him at:
TERRY AREFORD: 304.594.9377 304.685.8512
What a guy! He even leaves his phone number so you can contact him (instead of Stem Cell Guy) and ask him about his stem cell treatment. STEM CELL GUY GIVE US MORE!! Here is the link -- Don't forget to click on the video on the right after you click on the link.
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.
I hope you enjoyed last week's stem cell treatment story with Joe Woolfolk who was suffering with congestive heart failure before coming to Bangkok. This week, we present Tim Maura. Tim has already had his adult stem cell treatment to help his coronary heart disease. See here for the story
Now, Tim has a new story. He is trying to raise money to come to Bangkok again for even more improvement. Here is the teaser-
Three months later Tim was back working part-time, almost free of chest pain and mowing his lawns. His cardiologist was absolutely certain that his decrease in angina and improved energy and quality of life was because of the stem cell therapy. He had two more stents inserted last August to further improve blood flow to his heart but now his cardiologist wants him to return for a second stem cell treatment so that he can derive even more benefit.
Aloha Stem Cell fans. Welcome to Stem Cell Guy's little blog island. Stem Cell Guy is going surfin' bra. Dude, look at those killer waves.
Sorry, Stem Cell Guy will stop acting like an idiot and give you some good stuff:
This week Stem Cell Guy would like to present Dr. George Smith from Hawaii. Dr. Smith was suffering from coronary artery disease as well as congestive heart failure. Some doctors may call it ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Note to prospective patients...although Dr. Smith may have wanted/needed two different stem cell treatments, most of our patients are very satisfied with one or only need one. Two is not the norm.
Anyway, here is the teaser: Doctor George Smith, MD, from Hawaii, derived such benefit from his first adult stem cell treatment in Bangkok eighteen months ago that he returned recently for another procedure. The first trip gave Dr. Smith, age 80, a stronger heart muscle. The second he believes will help increase blood flow throughout his body. Dr. Smith is believed to be one of the first patients in the world to receive two different treatments of adult stem cells. "I don't think there are too many people going to the other side of the world to get stem cell treatment once, much less twice." he said with a grin. OH PLEASE STEM CELL GUY!! GIVE US MORE!
Stem Cell Guy has a new patient story for you today. Terence Areford is our featured patient. Terence from Morgantown, Virginia made the long journey for his adult stem cell treatment. Terence was suffering from heart failure when he came all the way to Bangkok for his stem cells.
Here is the teaser- Terry Areford from Morgantown, West Virginia is just one patient who was not told by his cardiologist that the option of adult stem cell therapy existed for him. More appalling than not being so advised, he was a patient at the prestigious teaching hospital attached to the University of West Virginia where he could reasonably have expected to receive the best and most advanced treatment options available to medical science. He believed that his imminent death was unavoidable because he did not want a transplant and after several heart attacks, six bypasses and more than half a dozen operations to insert stents he had only one small vessel left pumping blood to the front of his heart. OH STEM CELL GUY! GIVE US MORE!!
Stem Cell Guy reopened his mailbag this morning and found two emails from New Yorker Ann Bonarelli. Ann came to Thailand 4 months ago to get her adult stem cell treatment for her congestive heart failure and she is very happy she did. Stem Cell Guy will stand back and just paste her emails in as Ann's words say it all: Here we are 4 months since I went to Bangkok for the stem cell procedure. I came back feeling so much better but now I can honestly say I feel as good as I did before I ever got sick.
Last week I had my 4 month checkup and my ejection fraction is 45 up from 27, I was able to do 8 minutes on the uphill treadmill and had to stop because my legs gave out- not my heart. I'm doing so well that my Doctors agreed I can have my 3 lead defibulator (which has protruded from my chest and bothered me since I got it) replaced with a much smaller 1 lead defibulator. So next Monday I'm going into the hospitol to have that done and after that its just a matter of getting this body back in shape after sitting around for two years.
Remember all I wanted to be able to do was pick up my grandsons well now I not only can pick him up but I can carry him upstairs.
There are no words to tell you all how much your love and support meant to me and Laura when we were half way around the world "going for it". And to those of you who are half way around the world thank you for making my daughter and I feel "at home".
Luv to you all and I'll be seeing you for a long time to come.
Ann
And here is email #2:
Hope you read my other email telling everyone how well I am. Again many thanks to you and all your wonderful staff and of course the good Doctors at Bangkok Heart Hospitol.
My cardiologist here, Dr. Sandy Kahn cannot believe how well I am, he says I am the future of medicine. He has begun recommending the procedure to other patients and I have taken the liberty of giving him your email so he can contact you with regards to them. I hope you can help him to help others as you did for me.
This post is for all of you movie fans out there. Remember Toni Collette? The star of Little Miss Sunshine as well as many other movies including Sixth Sense (you know, the one where the creepy kid says "I see dead people.") Well anyway, she was in the news recently talking about her pregnancy: In February Collette said she was looking forward to motherhood and had become aware that her body clock was ticking.
"I'm 35 this year, which is almost 40, which is almost 50," she said, adding that her many mumsy film roles had started to make her feel clucky.
Stem Cell Guy has put his foot in his mouth a few times in his career, but I couldn't let this one go. Can you imagine if your cardiologist used the same logic on your heart condition/congestive heart failure? Let's pretend he was testing you for congestive heart failure and he said "your Ejection Fraction is fine, it is 35%, which is almost 40%, which is almost 50%????? Hopefully, you would let that cardiologist go.
Toni Collette, if you see this post, please contact us, since you are a celebrity I think Theravitae can give you a special deal on stem cells for stupid comments.
Once again it is time for Stem Cell Guy to answer emails from all of his adoring fans. Stem Cell Guy will take a break from promoting his adult stem cell therapy for heart disease (including congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy).
This week we have a letter from "Lonely in Idaho." He writes- Dear Stem Cell Guy, I have been reading your blog for many years, but I never thought this would happen to me; Last night, I met these two lovely..... OOPS, wrong letter, I can't put that on my blog!
Ok, let's try again, this one is a little better from one of our patients who just returned back to the States from lovely Bangkok where he received his Vescell Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Disease.
Here it is:
Dear Friends, Family, TheraVitae and The PCC's who took care of me,
Saying thank you to all of you just seems inadequate for the help, love and support you have given me during a most difficult time. Thank You for caring! You are all wonderful people!
My stem cell implant was a success. The cells generated into 15 million. The doctor's took extensive pictures of my heart while injecting the dye. After a brief consult with each other, they placed these cells into 4 areas of my arteries which are still in fair shape. They also placed some into a highly damaged area.
The plane trips were tiring, business class would have been better.
I'll send out more later after meeting with my heart people here.
I spent some time in my gardens picking and eating strawberries. Nothing like the taste of freshly picked food.
Then I went in crashing for awhile since nights and days are still turned around for me!
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