NAME: Qu Zhiming

COUNTRY: China

AGE: 39

DIAGNOSIS: ALS

REASON FOR COMING FOR TREATMENT: Amyotrophia for 2.5 years, spoke unclearly for 1 year.

TREATMENT: Umbilical Cord Stem Cell and Nerve Growth Factor Injections with Rehabilitation Therapy

START OF TREATMENT: May 2005

BEFORE THE TREATMENT: He could not speak clearly and his facial Amyotrophia was obvious. He had muscle shaking and he came to the hospital in a wheelchair. The degree of muscle strength of the arms was 2, the degree of muscle strength of the legs was 3.

AFTER THE TREATMENT: After two months, he could speak more clearly. He could swallow easily.

The degree of muscle strength of the arms was more than 2. He can wash his face and the degree of muscle strength of the legs was 4. He can stand without support and he can walk with support from others.

TRANSLATION OF TEXT FROM VIDEO INTERVIEW (June 2005)

Wife:

He went to hospital on 25^th. Before he went to hospital, he couldn’t be self-dependent. He needed the family to look after him. He couldn’t walk on his own and couldn’t stand on his own. He needed others to help him relieve nature. And he couldn’t speak clearly. He couldn’t swallow like normal people. Sometime he would choke. When he was eating, he would choke two out of ten times. Then he came to the hospital and has been here for 40 days, almost 50 days. He had an injection of umbilical blood stem cells. The day after that, he could speak better. He spoke more clearly. But several days later, he could not speak as clearly as that day. Not as clearly as the day immediately after he got the operation. He is better than before. He has had the injection 3 times. Today he will get the forth operation. And he gets a transfusion. His walking has improved. He improved in the aspect of action. I must support him. I supported him to stand up and walk for five meters - about 5 meters. He, himself, feels he can move better. His condition is steady, not worse again. But he still can’t do things himself. He needs us to look after him; basically he needs us to help with his life. As to his speaking expression, he can make himself clear for 60% or 70%. Yes. About his speaking, it has improved and when he can not make clear what he said, we will ask him again. Now his breathing is better. He doesn’t breathe as hard as before. Also he doesn’t swallow so hard.

The doctor:

Our team researches ALS. When the patient came to the hospital, his speech was week, he swallowed and breathed weakly. His arms and legs were weak. His muscles shook. These aspects were worse before. Especially, his arms and legs were weaker. He couldn’t lift anything, couldn’t walk at all. The muscles in his neck were weak. He had difficult in raising his head. He also had difficult in swallowing. He often drooled. After a period of treatment, this patient improved in the following aspects. The first aspect is in breathing. He breathing improved. He breathed hard when he first came to the hospital. Now the patient can breathe better not only when he is not talking but also when he speaks. Though he cannot speak very clearly, he can breathe easily when talking. The second is that he can stand on the floor with the support of others. He can even walk slowly with the support of others. He could not do this when he first came into the hospital. The third thing is about the muscles in his neck. The muscle in his neck was weak when he came into hospital. He had difficulty raising his head. He has improved in this aspect. He can raise his head for a longer time and feels better.