StemCellsChina.com
Fill out my online form.
Weitere Neuigkeiten
| Family Seeks Stem Cell Aid in China Trek |
 |
 |
| Research | |||
| Dienstag, 09. Januar 2007 um 08:00 Uhr | |||
|
There are no translations available. Source: The Salt Lake Tribune By Carey Hamilton U.S. research still mired in politics OREM - As American politicians debate the ethics of stem cell therapy, an Orem couple is making plans to take their daughter to China to get treatment unavailable in the U.S. Tori Schmanski, now 16, was left unable to speak or eat after a car accident in 2005. She spent 20 minutes under water after the car she was in ended up in a canal. Her parents, Maria and Tim, hope their daughter can regain more function by getting millions of adult stem cells injected into her spine. They leave for China this week and will stay for 32 days. "She's still here," said Tim Schmanski. "There's got to be a reason." Facing restrictions from the Bush administration, funding for stem cell research is lagging in the U.S., proponents say, and other countries are far ahead with experiments and successes. With their new majority in Congress, House Democrats hope to swiftly pass legislation expanding the types of stem cell research that can be funded by the government. Linda Kelley, director of the University of Utah's Stem Cell Laboratory, believes the Democrats' push will lead to more money for stem cell research. She supports stringent federal policies but also understands people's angst and desire to pursue treatment. "I can entirely understand how a family would be frustrated and want to do something like that for their child," she said. Advertisement Tim Schmanski believes more money for both adult and embryonic stem cell research is needed, and thinks the new Congress will act. But the family doesn't want to wait any longer to try out technology that could vastly improve their lives. A family hero At the time of the accident, Tori was a popular, beautiful, smart 14-year-old who loved to dance, snowboard and create Web sites, her parents said. She planned to attend Stanford University and become a doctor. On June 19, 2005, Tori was a passenger in a car one of her cousins was driving in Delta. The vehicle rolled off the road and into a canal. Tori is a hero, her parents say, who was able to get her younger sister and cousin out of the car before she became trapped. The loss of oxygen for about 20 minutes damaged her brain. Looking for more treatment options, the family researched stem cell therapy on the Internet and discovered Beike Biotechnology in China, which has focused on stem cell and other biomedical research since 1999 and caters to American patients. From 2001 to 2005, its doctors treated more than 1,000 patients with stem cell injections for conditions such as Alzheimer's, brain trauma, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury. Its Web site offers patient testimonials but no independent research about the treatment. The treatment is costly. The couple has raised about $50,000 through a Web site (www.pray4tori.com) and charitable organizations to pay for the $20,000 treatment and travel expenses to Hangzhou. While Tori's parents do not object to controversial embryonic stem cell treatment, they chose to have Tori receive five injections of adult stem cells. "The reason we didn't choose embryonic isn't moral, but because the research hasn't come as far," Tim Schmanski said. Still, there are risks, including tumors. Utah research Tori also will receive acupuncture, massage and physical therapy. Her parents will stay in the same room with her and attend to her other needs. Today, Tori uses a feeding tube and can make limited gestures. She spends time watching favorite shows, and receives physical therapy and special education at home. Her family hopes the treatment will help her communicate better and gain increased mobility. "We're going to have a fresh set of eyes," Tim Schmanski said. "If it's successful, we will be going back, no doubt." Utah is home to the only stem cell clinical trial in the entire Veterans Affairs system. Russell Reiss, a surgeon with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, will test one therapy's safety on 18 veterans beginning in spring. Reiss is the lead researcher in the first phase of a clinical trial to see whether adult stem cells complement surgery and improve the heart function of patients with hearts damaged by coronary artery disease. Half the patients will have surgery; the other half will get surgery and stem cells from their own bone marrow. Reiss will research whether the cells target and heal the damaged portions of their hearts. The study is funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "We kind of know it's going to be safe because it's been done in other countries," he said. "But the FDA requires us to do it this way."
|
|||
| Zuletzt aktualisiert am Donnerstag, 11. Januar 2007 um 17:31 Uhr |