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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted Yesterday 3:52 PM (GMT 0)
Stem cells...

www.emcell.com/en/case19/index.html
Posted Yesterday 4:03 PM (GMT 0)
I am firm believer that someday, UC and Crohn's will be cured via stem cell transplants. (Yes, I said cured.) My GI believes this is where we are headed, too.

When you are pregnant, one of the things that you can do now is bank blood from your baby's umbilical cord. The collect the blood at birth, immediately after delivery. This blood contains stem cells that are an exact match for the baby and are likely an exact match for the parents and siblings. (I'm simplifying things a bit here. To read more, you can go to the ViaCord website. They are one of the companies that do this.)

The only issue is that it is expensive to bank the cord blood. I've been investigating it to decide whether or not to do it and have exchanged several emails with my GI about it. His advice was that I would be crazy not to do it. He said they have already had success with stem cell transplants in UC and Crohn's patients in the UK (as evidenced by Harpo's link) and that it is very likely these stem cells could benefit me, my child, and any future siblings.

Harpo - Thanks for the link to this article. It reaffirms our decision to spend the money on this. To our future health!
Stem cells from cord blood are not subject to the restrictions the U.S. government has put on them because they do not come from an embryo. So, if you need the transplant and have these banked, they are available to you without any issues.
Posted Yesterday 4:16 PM (GMT 0)
My wife just had a baby 2 weeks ago.. Its a shame I didnt know this then...
Posted Yesterday 4:20 PM (GMT 0)
Don't worry about it, because on the news just last week researchers have discovered they are able to make stem cells from skin...no more whining and fighting over ethics on this topic anymore.

Here, read this link...

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jIUGHePXLAdeS4Rc52rHOk7fHAAg

ANTI-SPAM FILTER IS A PAIN IN THE BUTT! (language Pb tongue )

:)

Post Edited By Moderator (Red_34) : 11/29/2007 7:42:59 PM (GMT-7)

Posted Yesterday 4:23 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, But they need to "git-r-dun".. Cause I cant wait much longer I fear.. Dr's usually take decades to get treatments approved.
Posted Yesterday 7:57 PM (GMT 0)
Wow, thank you for mentioning the ViaCord service... I didn't even know anything like that was possible! I just looked on the website and even though it's $2000 which is a lot, I think it's totally worth it and besides, they offer payment plans as well. I will definitely do this when I have a baby!! You never know what could happen and what you or your baby might need that blood/cells for.
Posted Today 2:59 AM (GMT 0)

My daughter was diagnosed at age 5 with UC, she is now 6.  I'm so thankful that I listened to that little voice and saved her cord blood, as I'm sure this will help her some day.  It is well worth the money, they are just learning all that can be done.

Posted Today 6:08 PM (GMT 0)
well I just heard on the news this morning that scientists have discovered the "aging cell (gene)" so instead of plastic surgery you can have this gene shut off apparently....they need to do this with the inflammatory gene(s), just think of how many different inflammatory diseases would no longer be a problem for people.

:)
Posted 12/1/2007 11:53 AM (GMT 0)

Harpo - Thanks for the link.  It was really interesting.

Is this treatment now available? 

Posted 12/1/2007 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
This is great news! I'm currently 18 weeks pregnant and having an unbelievable flare. I've been struggling to find answers, hope, etc. and this might be just what I was looking for. $2000 though? That's crazy expensive. Does anyone know if it's that much in Canada? But if it works, it would be worth it!
Posted 12/1/2007 11:21 PM (GMT 0)
We can't just turn inflammatory genes off since we need a certain amount of inflammation as a response to infection and injury in the body. The genes are just mutated. They are still needed though. I don't think we'll see any gene therapy for curing autoimmune diseases for a loooong time.

However I do agree (and so do many scientists) that stem cell transplants will be used to cure autoimmune diseases in the very near future. It's already becoming more common and safer actually.

In fact, here's a new article in which scientists eliminate the defective immune system without chemotherapy in mice. This pretty much eliminates most of the risky side-effects.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/89747.php

Post Edited (Reef08) : 12/1/2007 11:08:02 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/2/2007 1:06 AM (GMT 0)

KSU said...
Harpo - Thanks for the link. It was really interesting.

Is this treatment now available?

Yeah, In Italy.. The neo-con's in power have radically dampened stem cell research due to religion..
Posted 12/2/2007 4:23 AM (GMT 0)
We used CBR and it was like 1250 or something to start with and it is 95.00 a year, i have coupons for CBR, but i am not sure if i would be allowed to get them to someone. Anyway, you can also bank your cord blood publicly, like a blood bank, but of course there is no guarantee you will be able to use it.
ViaCord may have changed, but when we banked ours Viacord was having some serious problems.
Posted 12/2/2007 11:00 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Harpo  - But, how do we go about buying the treatment? Can anyone go along and get it?

Posted 12/2/2007 12:38 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think stem cell research has progressed nearly that far yet. As far as I've heard, they're just starting to try a few things with mice. It's a long process to get something completed, tested and approved, and testing on mice is a very early step in the process.

And yes, due to the objections of some (who seem to believe stem cell research promotes abortion), the progress in stem cell research has been very slow. Scientists in this country were banned from using any new strains of human cells if they receive any government grants (most do), and the two existing strains that were deemed acceptable for use both have cellular problems, as I understand it.
Posted 12/3/2007 6:54 PM (GMT 0)

Judilyn said...
I don't think stem cell research has progressed nearly that far yet. As far as I've heard, they're just starting to try a few things with mice. It's a long process to get something completed, tested and approved, and testing on mice is a very early step in the process.

And yes, due to the objections of some (who seem to believe stem cell research promotes abortion), the progress in stem cell research has been very slow. Scientists in this country were banned from using any new strains of human cells if they receive any government grants (most do), and the two existing strains that were deemed acceptable for use both have cellular problems, as I understand it.

So.... did you read the link I posted?
Posted 12/3/2007 6:55 PM (GMT 0)

KSU said...
Thanks Harpo - But, how do we go about buying the treatment? Can anyone go along and get it?

i've got some emails out there, But I dont now anything yet.. :) I let you know if I hear anything.
Posted 12/3/2007 8:19 PM (GMT 0)
The report doesn't say anything at all about stem cells. . . it says the patient was injected with "hematopoietic human fetal liver cells." (Unless hematopoietic means stem cell? I don't know)

And, from what I gather, it doesn't explain why doing this should help with ulcerative colitis.

Can anyone explain?
Posted 12/5/2007 9:48 AM (GMT 0)
Any news Harpo?

Does anyone know if we are close to a cure for internal inflammation?
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