Stem cell treatments for multiple sclerosis: CBS News 4 report on Jennifer Blankenship
News of the stem cell bill signing was received with joy by a Lakewood woman who says the research has already improved her life. CBS force Terry Jessup goes in depth this evening with how the research in other countries is helping people in Colorado. Coloradans are hopeful for the future.
“…I see normally, and can move both legs straight out, and I can still do this (raises her hand). I couldn’t move this hand before, so, that’s remarkable.”
Jennifer Blankenship has suffered from Multiple Sclerosis since 1984, after years of no relief from pills and alternative medicines.
Blankenship: “I have done every drug on the market for MS.”
She traveled to Costa Rica to receive stem cell spinal injections.
Blankenship: “When I got back, I could move parts of my body, talk normally, I see normally, and can move both legs straight out, and I can still do this (raises her hand). I couldn’t move this hand before, so, that’s remarkable.”
And when she heard the news the President has now reversed limits on using money for embryonic stem cell research…
Blankenship: “So this will absolutely be a miracle for so many people….And it only works for a couple of years. But a couple of years for me is a lifetime.”
White: “It offers really new hope and exciting opportunities.”
Terry White is President of Bridge Health international, a local company that arranged Jennifer’s trip.
White: “We have seen patients within a short time after treatment, who had paralysis from a stroke, being able to grab something with that paralyzed hand and actually throw a ball so their dog can chase it.”
White concedes the stem cell treatments are expensive, normally running in other countries from twenty thousand up to sixty thousand dollars. Today’s Bill signing, he says, could change that, as more money becomes available for research. The question for people like Jennifer Blankenship is how soon the treatment she receives right now by the Institute for Cellular Medicine could become available her in the United States. That’s a question that’s tough to answer.
Blankenship: “It will probably be, hopefully in my lifetime.”
In Lakewood, Terry Jessup, CBS 4 News.
Stem cell treatments for multiple sclerosis: NEWS 8 report by Janet St. James
For Thousands of people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, a plane trip may be more effective than a trip to their doctor’s office. There is a new treatment oversees that is getting some amazing results, but it is not yet allowed in the United States. Here is a look at what the patients are up against. MS is a disease of the CNS. It damages the protective insulation around the nerves and also damages the nerves themselves. That leads to a kind of short circuit causing a loss of bodily function. Channel 8 Janet St. James shows us why some MS patients are taking their treatment abroad.
James: Thirty three year old Angie Adcox went to Costa Rica in September not for the lush scenery, but for the life altering shots of stem cells. A risky and controversial treatment she says she had to take when American medicines failed her.
What she does know is she can wear high heels and stand up without help for the first time in years. Janet St. James, Channel 8 News.
Angie Adcox: “I want to go try this, if not who is to say where I am going to be in another six months. I might be in a home somewhere.”
James: Adcox had joined a growing number of North Texans spreading the word about stem cell injections for Multiple Sclerosis.
Leader of support group: “How many of you have been to Costa Rica at this point?”: Majority of audience raise their hands
James: Most in this support group have seen improvements in pain, balance, vision, clear thinking, and other unseen signs of MS. Five months ago, Joey Quinn was in a wheelchair.
Joey Quinn: “After the third shot that I had with the stem cells, I took my cane away. I got rid of that. I didn’t need it no more.”
James: We asked several specialists to talk to us about this stem cell treatment. They all refused, saying its unproven, potentially dangerous and could give patients false hope. The MS society warns against it, but a small study recently published in the journal Lancet shows stem cells helped 17 out of 21 patients. Julie Balley does not know precise details of the treatment she got four months ago. What she does know is she can wear high heels and stand up without help for the first time in years. Janet St. James, Channel 8 News.
Stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis: Xenia C.
Xenia C. tells how she can ride her horses again after receiving stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama. “I have a life now…”
Stem cell treatments for MS: a patient’s perspective
We are very happy with the Institute and what they’ve been able to do for us.
Stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis: Betsy Scheidler
“For the first time in 17 years of going downhill, I finally got that little boost, …I bought myself a year of going the other way.”
Stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis: Eric Johnson
“I started walking again. I was walking back and forth. I didn’t want to go to be that night.”
