X-Message-Number: 23886
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 01:33:15 -0700
From: James Swayze <>
Subject: Documentry Innovation Ep 6 on PBS Stem cell therapy trials
This below is part of what was forwarded to me by spinal injured
friends. The show aired last night and I taped it. It will air again in
my area this Saturday and Sunday and I checked AZ for my dad and it airs
there again Wednesday and Saturday. The link below may indicate
approximately when and then one may check local listings. It showed both
soinal injury and cardiac positive results. The best results were
cardiac as the spine may take longer. Both cariac patents, one heart
attack the other heart attacks stemming from a nail through the heart,
seemed fully recovered.
For NW US folks here is the VCR+ info:
Innovation Miracle Cell 60 mins.
Regenerative medicine is discussed. The hour explores stem-cell
treatments and focuses on the case of a paralysis patient who has stem
cells extracted from her nose injected into her spine. Similar
procedures are performed on heart patients.
Release Year: 2004
Additional Airings
Date Time Channel VCR Plus+
Sat, 17 2:00 AM 26 KCTS 702307
For AZ US folks here is the VCR+ info:
Innovation Miracle Cell 60 mins.
Additional Airings
Date Time Channel VCR Plus+
Wed, 14 12:00 AM 8 KAET 88288
Sun, 18 3:00 AM 8 KAET 627186
Forwarded material:
**
It is exciting to know that Spinal Cord Society is moving to human trials
this year in an attempt to IMPROVE these recent attempts on humans. Cure
chronic spinal cord injuries is no longer a matter of if but when!
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/innovation/about_episode6.html
Episode 6: Miracle Cell
For people with heart conditions, spinal cord injuries, and a host of
incapacitating diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's,
stem cells offer promising prospects for effective treatments and
possible cures. These unique cells are with us throughout our lives and
they manufacture and repair the 200 different types of cells that make
up the human body. Their use and manipulation as a new medical
innovation may be on the verge of revolutionizing medicine. Known as
regenerative medicine, the technique seeks to harness this natural
ability of the body to renew and heal itself.
Outside the United States, patients are already benefiting from
remarkable experimental trials that utilize patients' own stem cells for
treatment.
Outside the United States, patients are already benefiting from
remarkable experimental trials currently underway that utilize patients'
own stem cells for treatment. Early results are already shattering the
normal recovery expectations from severe heart attacks and spinal cord
injuries. And similar stem cell trials seem poised to get the FDA
go-ahead in this country in the not-too-distant future.
"Miracle Cell" goes to the front line of these new procedures. With
unprecedented and exclusive access, the program explores the current
successes and future potential for stem cell therapy. We meet Dr. Carlos
Lima and some of the six American spinal cord injury patients who have
traveled to Portugal to undergo his experimental stem cell operation. A
neurologist who heads a special spinal cord injury treatment team at the
Egas Moniz Hospital in Lisbon, Dr. Lima oversees a group of surgeons in
the harvesting of patients' stem cells from their noses. The cells are
then transplanted into the sites of the spinal cord breaks.
Discussing their work and the promise that these mysterious,
multi-purpose cells offer are leading clinicians and scientists,
including Prof. Andreas Zeiher, University of Frankfurt, Germany; Dr.
John Martin, Professor of Cardiovascular Science, British Heart
Foundation; and Prof. Geoffrey Raisman, National Institute of Medical
Research, U.K. We also hear from Dr. Steven Hinderer, Director of the
Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan at the Detroit Medical Center, who
sent the first handful of American patients to Dr. Lima and is working
to bring the spinal treatment to the United States.
"Miracle Cell" travels to Portugal to document on film, for the first
time ever, the harvest and transplant operation. The film also tracks
the progress of several of Dr. Lima's patients in the ensuing months.
For some, improvement has been dramatic. As Dr. Hinderer assesses
19-year-old quadriplegic Laura Dominguez six months after her surgery,
he concludes: "I've never seen recovery like this in 25 years of
practice ... I can tell my patients they may walk again, rather than
saying life from a wheel chair can be good." Two months later, Laura is
able stand up on her toes and move her foot on command. Another of Dr.
Lima's patients, paraplegic Joy Veron, is seen on the road to recovery
after undergoing the treatment last August. Joy's injury is the result
of a tragic accident in which she was run over by her SUV in an attempt
to stop it from rolling off a cliff with her children inside. She began
to experience some sensation in her leg almost immediately after
surgery, and through intensive rehabilitation and fierce determination,
Joy continues to make dramatic gains.
In Germany, "Miracle Cell" spotlights the remarkable strides being made
by heart attack victims following the implanting of their own bone
marrow stem cells into their damaged hearts. We follow a patient through
the procedure and see how others have made a rapid recovery as the heart
seems to regenerate healthy tissue instead of scar tissue. The program
also tells the extraordinary story of Michigan teen Dimitri Bonnville,
whose heart was punctured during a horrific nail gun accident. Despite a
desperate prognosis, he has made a full recovery following stem cell
treatment similar to that performed in Germany. His physician, Dr.
William O'Neill, Director of Cardiovascular Disease, Beaumont Hospital,
Royal Oak, Michigan, tells about the decision to go for the stem cell
treatment instead of a heart transplant, and how that gamble paid off.
Producer/Director: Frank Simmonds
Producer: Michael Chrisman
**
James
--
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