Stem Cell Therapy for heart failure in Bangkok

[Bangkoktraveler]

Cousins Ann Bonarelli and Fay Welsh from Long Island, New York are determined to reclaim their active lives back from an existence dominated by illness and endless restrictions. Sick of being sick they both decided to take the necessary steps to take some control over their illness.

 

Ann had a root canal treatment that got infected and before long it had destroyed a heart valve and her heart began to fail. She found herself on the slippery slope to chronic illness, constantly tired and having difficulty breathing. Her cousin Fay just four years ago went into hospital a young woman and emerged an old and sick lady. Cardiomyopathy had changed her life unfairly and drastically just at the time she hoped to be able to take care of herself and enjoy life. No longer could she dance and swim, she now had to deal with the reality of, "A heart that didn't function as well as it could."

 

For both the experience was devastating. "I believe in the Chinese saying that the mind resides in the heart, so not only was I experiencing physical disability but mental disability as well, with no hope of getting better," Fay said. Meanwhile Ann was searching for help and read about leading biotechnology company, Theravitae, and the success they were having treating patients with failing hearts using a patient's own adult stem cells.

 

TheraVitae is a private, multinational company focused on using stem cells from the patient's own blood in order to treat a variety of disorders, especially cardiovascular diseases. The company has developed a proprietary stem cell technology, 'VesCell', that is currently being used by hospitals in Thailand and Singapore to treat patients with heart disease.

 

VesCell - A Natural Treatment for Heart Disease

 

The body has natural ways of healing itself and the cardiovascular system is no exception. Angiogenic Cell Precursors (ACPs) originate in bone marrow and then circulate in the blood vessels. To manufacture VesCell, TheraVitae expands a small number of ACPs harvested from about 250cc of blood into a therapeutic quantity. VesCell is injected either through a coronary artery via catheter, or during surgery, directly into the heart muscle.

 

After receiving all the information Ann was half-way to her decision. What finally decided her was being unable to pick up her grandson at Thanksgiving. "In that one instant, when he asked me to pick him up and I couldn't, my mind was made up," she said.

 

The cousins took differing paths regarding consulting with their doctors. Fay dislikes Western medicine's obsession with drugs. "If you've got a headache or no appetite, or you can't sleep, they just give you more drugs, and my body doesn't like drugs. They just don't understand that, so they considered me uncooperative," she said. Hence she took full responsibility for her treatment herself, fearing her specialist's negativity, and did not consult her doctor about stem cell therapy. Ann's doctor's reply to her question as to what he knew about stem cells was encouraging. "They are doing great things with stem cells, but not here. However, if it doesn't work you will be no worse off than you are now," he said.

 

Ann told Fay about the VesCell adult stem cell therapy and they traveled together to Bangkok. "It has been a wonderful experience. Everyone is grand and people can't do enough for you. There is such a different attitude towards you as a patient. In the West if you are sick you are treated like an imbecile or a child. The hospital here was wonderful and everything was thoroughly explained," Fay said. For Ann the experience was, "Just great! I never had a nurse at home pat my hand and tell me I was going to be all right. I needed somebody to tell me that," she said. "Do whatever you have to do to have this done, because immediately you can breathe again. I can exercise twice a day on a bicycle without pain," she enthused. Fay summed it up with, "In six months time I want to go dancing."

 

These cousins hopefully have now joined the hundreds of sufferers of heart disease who are now enjoying a more energetic, healthier, pain-free and active life. "If people had the facts there wouldn't be any need for anything else. If you have the facts you can make a decision," Fay said. With success rates of over 75 percent, as measured clinically and by patient reports, Theravitae and its adult stem cell product, VesCell, are making a substantial difference in the lives of heart patients previously condemned to a bleak future. These cousins have now made a new and brighter future a family affair.

 

A key aspect of VesCell therapy is the advanced cell isolation and expansion technique that allows for the ACPs to be harvested from blood collected in a procedure similar to a common blood donation. VesCell uses a patient's own adult stem cells to treat Heart Disease and is a viable therapeutic possibility for heart patients without any other treatment option.

 

According to Don Margolis, founder of TheraVitae, the cousins were the perfect pair of patients. "Fay was insightful enough to take charge of her own health before she had no options left. Ann was very fortunate to have a doctor who was totally honest with her. It doesn't get much better than that. We have seen too many patients not that fortunate. Seeing Ann dancing just two weeks after getting her cells made my day, my week, and my month. It's a darned good sign, but we need to wait another six weeks or so to be sure."

 

For additional information on adult stem cell therapy please visit Vescell.com

 

Link

[pe7e]

Would any of the board doc's care to comment, is it a serious step forward in treatment or just expensive pseudo scientific quackary?

[Heim_Hung]

Bangkok Traveler,

 

Well, one and only Mr.Don Ho from my neighborhood had an extensive stem Cell Therapy for heart failure at Bangkok General Hospital and he is still doing well in Waikiki. He is still blowing tiny bubbles and enjoying bikini clad mahus at Waikiki Beach. In my opinion, stem cell therapy is better than dying!

 

Tiny bubbles in the wine make me happy, make me feel fine!

[was_usvirgin]

I'm not a doctor but, as far as I know, it works and, admittedly, they don't know exactly why yet and it hasn't been around long enough to prove the longevity of the results.

 

One of their PR guys was an early member of this board. Not that that means much, but he showed this newbie how to get from a Friday night meeting at Woodstock to Patpong, and I thank science for that.

 

Lotsa info available on the internet.

[buffalo_bill]

Quoting one of the maybe 3 leading guys in German based stemcell research : " It is a door that is softly opening at the moment with promising prospects . "

 

A team of British doctors has recently grown a heart valve from stemcells , according to the China Daily News from last Tuesday .

 

Please note these are ADULT stem cells .

 

BuBi

[New Petchburi Pete]

Thanks for posting this information which is very interesting to me. I'll read the link and follow up with some Googles.

 

With respect to stem cell research, you are probably aware that a British team recently announced that they were able to successfully grow human heart tissue from a patient's stem cells harvested from the bone marrow. They predict that in 3-5 years they'll be able to grow heart valves for replacement, and in about 10 years they'll be able to grow an entire human heart from stem cells. This is a fantastic step forward as with valve replacements and cardiac transplantation from parts grown from one's own stem cells, there is no chance at rejection.

 

Also, those who are low on the transplant list and expire before ever receiving a new heart would be offered a new chance. Of course, one would have to add this to the list of technological developments/improvements which tend to greatly incite inflation in the health care system, which in the States, is in crisis. Recently I read a report which stated that the total cost for health care is expected to at least double in the next 10 years! The million dollar question becomes how to pay for all these advances. Will advanced medicine become a luxury for the wealthy?

[buffalo_bill]

Sir ,

 

as any other commodity , also heathcare will become a terrain where excellent quality will only be available to those who can pay for it . Even in a socialised healthcare system like Germany more and more services are only availbale to privately insured individuals .

 

To come back on topic : in adult stemcell research Germany is surprisingly one of the leading countries and leading locally is the University of Bonn where I happen to pass my regular checkups . The guy who does them is a 100 % stemcell-man and would be able to tell you anything about it . I showed him the Teravitae - thing last year October when I found it as google-ad on Mangosauce . I personally have a distant risk for heart-disease due to family history , which is why I want to know what is available. This man tells me that there is no single study available that could prove the enormous improvement that the Teravitae guys are talking about . Apart from this , nothing justifies the 29.000 USD checkbin . 18 hospitals in Germany have made a study last year taking people who just survided heavy heart attacks and found a 5 % improvement on those who received stemcell treatment and not placebos . It could be said that the stemcell thing is just about to become a major breakthrough , probably 2 years to come .

 

BuBi