JS man needs stem cell transplant

JERSEY SHORE-Donnie Laubscher of Jersey Shore, seemed a healthy, 47-year-old husband and father when blood work from a routine colonoscopy suggested something was wrong.

After a marrow biopsy and appointments at the local cancer center, he received his diagnosis: myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal stem cell disorder.

"I looked at my wife of 15 years and our 13-year-old son and was devastated at the thought of our family walking this walk," Donnie said.

He is now undergoing chemotherapy, and his doctors believe his best shot at survival is to receive a stem cell transplant, but he must first find a matching donor. To increase his odds of finding that match, his community is rallying to hold a donor drive where anyone can do a cheek swab to register as a donor.

"Somebody out there could be our hero; we just need to find them," his wife, Angie, said. "The more people who swab, the better the chances are."

Anyone can register as a donor from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 12 at Elks Lodge No. 1057, 203 N. Main St., Jersey Shore.

Angie's coworker at the Jersey Shore Hospital, April Hennigan, is coordinating the event.

Though she's only known Angie six months, she decided to put on the donor event after she saw Donnie's cancer posted on Facebook.

"My heart just broke," April said. She put her emotion into action. "I believe what you give you'll get back twofold."

There will also be a Chinese auction and the money will go to Donnie.

Read more:
JS man needs stem cell transplant

Pitcher hopes stem cell procedure will get him one last season

When pitching in the Dominican Republic, C.J. Nitkowski said he felt he was back to his normal self on the mound

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

For the full story on C.J. Nitkowski's risky medical procedure and baseball comeback, watch CNN Presents, Sunday night at 8ET.

Alpharetta, Georgia (CNN) -- At 39 years old, Christopher John Nitkowski really has no business trying to pitch in the major leagues. In the harsh reality of professional sports, he's a has-been.

Just don't tell him that.

The former first-round draft pick last pitched for the Washington Nationals in 2005 after a 10-season career spent mostly as a left-handed reliever.

"You go as long as you can," he told CNN. "I had a good friend tell me, 'Man, just make them tear the uniform off of you. You can do whatever you're gonna do for the rest of your life. You can't play baseball forever.'"

A doctor injects C.J. Nitkowski's stem cells into his injured shoulder

In the middle of the 2011 baseball season Nitkowski announced in a first-person article for Sports Illustrated that he would try a comeback. After his brief major league appearance in 2005, he pitched subsequent years for one team in Japan and three in South Korea.

This time, he wrote, he would agree to a risky medical experiment that would involve injecting his own stem cells into his injured pitching shoulder, which he hurt in an initial comeback attempt last spring.

Originally posted here:
Pitcher hopes stem cell procedure will get him one last season

Eastday-Rejected by donor, leukemia patient saved by mother

A leukemia patient who was twice turned down by a Shanghai stem cell donor recovered from the disease after receiving her mother's half-match stem cells and a unit of umbilical cord blood from Shanghai.

Jiang Jing, a 23-year-old Jiangsu Province native, left the transplant cabin at No. 1 Hospital affiliated with Suzhou University yesterday, fully recovered.

Jiang's saga was dramatic. She was diagnosed with acute leukemia on April 1 last year and was informed by the hospital that a full match donor was found in September. The transplant was scheduled for March 6 this year.

Jiang started to undergo therapy for stem cell transplant on February 24 to suppress her immune system, paving the way for the healthy stem cells from the donor, a Shanghai university student.

However the donor backed out on March 1. She agreed a second time to give a donation on March 5 but again backed away, this time leaving the hospital secretly at midnight after receiving an injection as preparation for the donation. There were reports that the would-be donor, who was not named, faced pressure from her family to forego the procedure.

Since medication had stopped Jiang's blood-forming function on March 6, she could survive for only seven days if not undergoing transplant. Doctors decided to transplant her mother's half-match stem cells and a unit of umbilical cord blood from the Shanghai Cord Blood Bank.

The umbilical cord blood, which had an 80 percent match to Jiang, was used to reduce rejection and streamline the transplant.

Though the incident had a happy ending, it has stirred wide discussion online as some web users accused the student of putting the patient's life in danger through her actions.

But health insiders said people must have the right to change their minds.

See the original post:
Eastday-Rejected by donor, leukemia patient saved by mother

Stem cell therapy for 13-year-old dog helps with its arthritis

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A few weeks ago, we told you the story of Maggie, the 13-year-old Boykin Spaniel who was suffering from arthritis.

Maggie is enjoying life once again thanks to a new type of surgery. The dog received stem cell therapy surgery six weeks ago.

Doctors were able to use adult stem cells from Maggie's blood and fat samples to collect repair cells. They then took the cells and repaired the dog's arthritic spine.

Maggie's owner, Beth Phibbs, says she could tell the dog had been in pain.

"You could tell she didn't feel well, but yet now she is like she's 5 and she's 13. She just runs out and she plays. I think she knows. She can feel the difference," Phibbs said.

The surgery costs about $2,000, but Medi-vet America says this costs about half as much as the older treatments.

Previous Story:

Copyright 2012 WIS. All rights reserved.

Excerpt from:
Stem cell therapy for 13-year-old dog helps with its arthritis

Tai Chi Shown to Vastly Improve Parkinson’s Symptoms

With recent remarks made by Republican Presidential nominee Rick Santorum on his stance on Stem Cell Research, people suffering from Parkinsons disease and other afflictions which can benefit from Stem Cell research have opened up Pandoras Box in their search for non-traditional methods to reduce symptoms. Recent medical studies as well as an in-depth report posted at BeWellBuzz.com have confirmed that the ancient martial art of Tai chi can significantly reduce some of the worst physical problems of Parkinson's disease.

Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWEB) March 20, 2012

Parkinson's disease is a nervous system disorder which commonly develops in humans of age 50 and above, however, many people, such as Hollywood actor Michael J. Fox have been diagnosed with this affliction much earlier in life. Parkinsons carries certain specific symptoms such as constant blinking, lack of facial expressions, shaking, loss of balance and coordination, and other irregular bodily reactions, and is caused primarily by the destruction of the nerve cells in the brain which makes dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for the transfer of pleasure and reward feelings in the center of the brain.

Medications may help control some things, like tremors, but many drugs are not as good at helping the so-called axial symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which include problems with balance and walking. It is for this reason that a recent study was completed at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore which showed significant improvements to these symptoms which have plagued Parkinsons patients for decades.

According to the study, doctors assigned 195 people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease to one of three groups: Tai Chi classes, Exercise with Weights and a third group which completed a program of seated stretching exercises. After six months, people who had been taking tai chi were able to lean farther forward or backward without stumbling or falling compared to those who had been doing resistance training or stretching. They were also better able to smoothly direct their movements. And they were able to take longer strides than people in the other two groups.

"The results from this study are quite impressive," says Ray Dorsey, MD, MBA, a neurologist and associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. "It's always difficult to compare results across studies, but the magnitude of the impact that they had is larger, in some cases, than what is seen with medications in Parkinson's."

"This is a very encouraging study," says Chenchen Wang, MD, associate professor at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston who has studied the benefits of Tai Chi on Osteoarthritis and Fibromyalgia in the past. "Most of our previous studies have measured pain, depression, and anxiety, which are subjective measures. These results are very impressive because they used objective measurements,"

To learn more about the recent discovery and other ways that Tai Chi can improve other conditions, please visit the article posted at BeWellBuzz.com posted below.

Tai Chi and Parkinson's Disease

About BeWellBuzz.com

See original here:
Tai Chi Shown to Vastly Improve Parkinson’s Symptoms

West Fargo boy with cerebral palsy can now walk without crutches; parents credit stem cell therapy

Ethan walks with his mother

Ethan Radtke walks down the sidewalk with his mother, Lisa, after getting off the school bus in front of his home in West Fargo. David Samson / The Forum

Ethan Radtke makes his way down the hallway of his West Fargo home without the use of crutches. David Samson / The Forum

Ethan Radtke plays with his family, brother Connor, 9, and twin sister, Ashlee, 7, along with his mother, Lisa, after returning home from school. David Samson / The Forum

Online

Watch Ethan Radtke walk at http://ethanwalks.blogspot.com/.

WEST FARGO - As birthday presents go, this one was hard to beat.

Ethan Radtke, who lives with stiff and twisted legs stemming from cerebral palsy, surprised his mother on her birthday last Oct. 23 by walking.

It wasnt pretty, and it wasnt very far, but it was walking.

He went from the couch to the chair, and even then it was still more falling into the chair, Lisa Radtke said. But there was that independent motion.

Continue reading here:
West Fargo boy with cerebral palsy can now walk without crutches; parents credit stem cell therapy

FDA receives complaint about Houston company that stored Gov. Perry's stem cells

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received a complaint alleging the Houston company involved in Gov. Rick Perry's unregulated adult stem-cell operation is a potential danger to patients and not in compliance with federal law.

In an eight-page letter sent last month, University of Minnesota bioethicist Leigh Turner called on the FDA to investigate Celltex Therapeutics Corp., which banks people's stem cells for future reinjection in the event of disease or injury. Perry was the company's first customer last year.

"It appears their business plan involves injecting or infusing on a for-profit, commercial basis non-FDA-approved adult stem cells into paying customers," Turner wrote in the Feb. 21 letter. "This plan conflicts with FDA regulations governing human stem cells."

An FDA spokeswoman declined comment, but Turner said an agency official told him the matter has been assigned to an investigator and is being taken seriously.

Celltex co-founder David Eller said Tuesday night he is confident the company will "meet all FDA specifications." He emphasized that Celltex doesn't administer stem cells, but stores and processes them at the behest of doctors who later reinject them into patients.

Dr. Stanley Jones, a Houston orthopedic surgeon, injected Perry's stem cells during his back surgery in July.

The plan by Celltex and Perry to make Texas a leader in the therapy have been controversial since details about the governor's procedure became known last summer. The therapy, drawing on the ability of adult stem cells to replenish dying cells, is promising but thought by most medical researchers to need much more clinical study before it is commercialized.

Stem cells are a kind of medicine known as biologics, therapy involving living cells rather than chemicals. Most medical experts say that adult stem-cell therapy involves more than the "minimal manipulation" the agency allows without its oversight because the cells are isolated, cultured in a laboratory and stored for some period of time before being reinjected.

The FDA has recently stepped up enforcement of unregulated adult stem cell activity, though legal experts interviewed last fall by the Chronicle said it was unclear whether the agency would look into Perry's procedure because he seemed fully informed and unharmed by it.

The Texas Medical Board is currently considering a policy that would require providers of stem cells and other experimental drugs to use them only with the permission of independent review committees that assess trials for patient safety. The policy comes up for final approval in April.

Read more:
FDA receives complaint about Houston company that stored Gov. Perry's stem cells

Gut Cells Could Be Used To Produce Insulin For Diabetes Patients

March 13, 2012

Columbia researchers have conducted a study that suggests cells inside intestines could be employed to make insulin for patients with type I diabetes. Previously, researchers considered stem cell transplants to be the only way to replace lost cells inpatients with type I diabetes. Such a discovery could also mean that these patients would be free from daily insulin injections as well.

Researchers have been conducting their work on mice and published their results in the journal Nature Genetics.

Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys pancreas cells used for producing insulin. Once these cells go missing in the pancreas, patients with the disease have to inject themselves with insulin to keep their blood glucose levels in balance.

Scientists have long sought to combat the effects of type I diabetes by creating a cell that will do the work of the pancreas cells by releasing insulin into the blood stream when necessary. Researchers have been able to recreate these types of cells in the lab using stem cells. However, these cells are not yet appropriate for use in diabetes patients because they do not release insulin at the appropriate time. If glucose levels go unchecked and unbalanced, a patient could fall victim to hypoglycemia.

Doctors Chutima Talchai, PhD and Domenico Accili, MD and professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center conducted the study on progenitor cells in mice. Their research shows that these cells were able to create insulin-producing cells.

Progenitor cells are like stem cells in that they can be used to recreate other cells. However, they cannot divide and replicate cells indefinitely. Doctors Talchai and Accili used progenitor cells from the gastrointestinal tract, as they have been found to produce cells that can recreate serotonin, gastric inhibitory peptide, and other cells and hormones found in the bloodstream and GI tract.

The doctors found their results by controlling a specific gene that has been found to decide what a cell will be, Foxo1. When this gene was flipped off, the progenitor cells began to produce insulin on their own.

These cells could be dangerous if they did not release the right amount of insulin at the right time, but researchers found that these cells did just that.

The insulin-producing progenitor cells used in the mice effectively regulated glucose levels and produced insulin in sufficient quantity.

See original here:
Gut Cells Could Be Used To Produce Insulin For Diabetes Patients

'Survivor''s Ethan Zohn Gets Stem Cell Transplant

Survivor winner Ethan Zohn underwent a stem-cell transplant on Wednesday from one of his brothers in his continuing battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Ethan's longtime girlfriend Jenna Morasca, who is staying with him in the hospital, tells People.com that they had returned to the same ward where they stayed when Zohn was first diagnosed two years ago. "No one wants to come back here," Jenna said. "Even though the nurses and doctors are wonderful, this is one place where you really don't want to see anybody ever again."

Survivor Winner Ethan Zohn's Cancer Returns

Jenna said this time around, Ethan asked the doctor what was the record time was "for getting out" and that he wanted to beat whatever that is. "His doctor said there was no prize, and Ethan said, 'Yes, there is. You're going to tell the other patients that I made it out in three weeks.'" Doctors will be closely watching Ethan to make sure his body accepts the new stem cells before he is released.

Jenna says for now the two are making the best of their close quarters. "I actually really like it, because he can't escape me," she tells People. "He's forced to be around me all the time and listen to everything I say. I'm like, 'What do you think of this hair?' and 'What about this lipstick color?' And he's over there pressing the pain medication pump button."

Cancer Survivor Ethan Zohn Stands Up to Cancer

Read the original here:
'Survivor''s Ethan Zohn Gets Stem Cell Transplant

Ethan Zohn Undergoes Stem-Cell Transplant

Ethan Zohn

Courtesy Jenna Morasca

"Ethan asked the doctor what was the record time for getting out of here, so he wants to beat that," Zohn's longtime girlfriend Jenna Morasca, who is staying with him at the hospital, tells PEOPLE.

"His doctor said there was no prize, and Ethan said, 'Yes, there is. You're going to tell the other patients that I made it out in three weeks.' "

Returning to the same ward where they stayed two years ago when Zohn was first diagnosed was difficult for the couple.

"No one wants to come back here. Even though the nurses and doctors are wonderful, this is one place where you really don't want to see anybody ever again," Morasca says. "Then starting the chemo and being attached to a pump that you're going to be attached to for the next three to five weeks made it very real."

On a happier note, Morasca says the support they've received from around the world has made all the difference. With help from family and friends, she was able to duck out of the hospital [Monday] to shoot the first episode of her new show, Fitness Guinea Pigs, which will air on YouTube's news channel.

And though Zohn's immune system is weakened, he can routinely have healthy visitors to his room, which he refers to as his "bubble." The two even created the Twitter account @Ethansbubble, which their friends can access to pen comical perspectives on the experience.

"We don't know who is actually writing the Tweets, so it makes it really fun," says Morasca. "It's all about thinking positively."

After the transplant, doctors will watch to make sure Zohn's body accepts the new stem-cells before releasing him from the hospital. Until then, the couple is making the best of their close quarters.

View original post here:
Ethan Zohn Undergoes Stem-Cell Transplant