Technocracy
Member
This month's installment is 10 member submitted questions answered by Dr. Jeff Peimer. These are the same questions from the last Ask the Doctor forum that Dr. Feinerman hosted. We hope to have yet another doctor's answers to these questions next month.
1) Some of us have felt "symptoms" (real or imagined) immediately after treatment, some even during the stem cell infusion. These seem to usually disappear. Why do they occur and then go away?
It has been suggested that these responses are due to inflammatory chemicals released by infused stem cells or by the host immune system. Umbilical cord stem cells have very little propensity to cause allergic reactions. Some companies use drugs that are supposed to enhance the therapeutic effect, which might be the cause of these symptoms. I have never heard of any major, long-standing adverse event.
2) I got 5 million autologous stem cells on Nov. 13. I felt "fluey" for the first week, then nothing much happened until about the 9th of Dec. After that, all my original symptoms, eg. fatigue, pain got steadily worse. Is this a "common" reaction? At times, I've felt so weak I wondered if I were dying. Slight improvement today, but it would be helpful to know why the deterioration happened. My doctor has no explanation and expected me to have some progress by now.
It sounds like you received a small dose of cells for an autologous infusion. It probably had no effect on your illness, which I am told is Lyme disease . (Moderator note:This member's daughter also suffers from it) Generally one needs about 10 times the amount of autologous cells as compared to umbilical cord cells for the same effect. A single dose is not the preferred protocol for most illnesses that respond to stem cells. If you received autologous cells for the ongoing, long-term effects of Lyme disease, which is caused by an auto-immune response, you will have no relief. Immune system modulation is best obtained by umbilical cord mesenchymal cells in divided doses. I am concerned to hear that your daughter has the same diagnosis, which is unusual, and that you are returning to the same physician who could not answer your questions and would treat a bacterial infection with stem cells.
3) Are follow up or booster treatments more likely to be needed when a patient is treated with cord blood-based cells or with human (autologous) cells? Please answer this question only as it applies to COPD or other illnesses in which both cord blood cells and human cells (marrow or peripheral) have both been used with some success in treatment.
Booster doses are dependent more on the progressive nature of the disease than cell type, but autologous will require earlier and more frequent boosters. In fast progressive diseases the requirement for a booster will be noted earlier. Remember stem cells do not cure disease, they repair and regenerate.
4) Many of us have already had one or more stem cell treatments and have had vastly different expectations about the time frame for results. We have been told (from time of treatment): up to a year or longer; 6 months; 3-6 months; several weeks or less. Doctors and/or clinics have given us all of these time frames. What would be realistic? Would the type of stem cells have anything to do with it?
We set up follow-up dates based on time frames (3-6 monthly) rather than disease profiles, because each patient and disease responds at a different rate. One should not accept predictions, but tendencies are noted in various disease types. If you have had no change by 6 months you have probably not responded.
5) Could a patient with Bronchiectasis and no Emphysema or other lung condition who has classic deterioration caused by Bronchiectasis be helped by stem cells? Also, are stem cells injured or destroyed if patient allows O2 level to drop below 90? Would how often and how low the O2 is allowed to get be significant in the patient's final benefit from stem cell infusion?
The stem cells would not change the status of the bronchiectasis, but Emphysema and Chronic Bronchitis have shown responses. If the O2 level, measured by pulse oximeter drops below 85, cell death can occur, but this is dependent on other factors like vascular and perfusion ability and the general health status of the patient.
6) Why would a patient receive stem cells from 2 or 3 labs in one infusion "cocktail"?
Some stem cell practitioners purchase cells from different producers in order to infuse different types of cells to optimise responses. To date it has not been found that pre-differentiated stem cells will follow their pre-determined paths. In other words a neural cell can still populate a diseased liver.
7) What current research do you consider the most promising and/or what researcher's work do you most closely follow? Do you know what Phase II or Phase III trials look like they may truly lead to approved treatments the soonest?
Autism and cerebral palsy research is the most interesting to me. Medistem have had good results in Autism and we treat in the same way. Mesenchymal cells are getting good attention in phase 3 trials.
8) Doctors and clinics are striving to perfect cell delivery methods and, in some cases, various formulations to accompany the cell infusion before, during or after the infusion as well as different cell processing. Could we not be dealing with virtually an unlimited number of different possibilities that could take many, many years to sort through?
Yes, it will take years to arrive at universally acceptable methods of treating diseases with stem cells, but that occurs in every field of medicine, and will always be an ongoing dynamic process involving research and the development of new ideas. Since the treatment that stem cell practitioners offer is safe, it is a viable alternative in the face of so little being available in mainstream medicine for the disease spectrum we treat.
9) If a patient pays the current rate for a cell treatment and then the clinic comes up with a better delivery method, formulation or method of cell processing, would it be fair to charge the patient full price again for the newer method if the patient needed it? Could there be some kind of "warranty" work done in cases like this?
No doctor would ever guarantee treatment success in any field of medicine or give a warranty for repeat treatments. Advances occur all the time and treatment methods will always change and adapt. It is up to the doctor to keep up and apply those new innovations.
10) What single disease, if you could only choose one, would you say shows the most promise to be cured with stem cell treatment or is cure not the correct word to use?
One cannot tell, but research is ongoing in many fields. It will depend on who reaches their goal first. Cure is not the correct word to use at present; it would be better to use a word like "treat".
Dr. Jeff Peimer
MBChB (UCT)
Medical Consultant
Regenecell is a global leader in the therapeutic use of cord blood stem cells. Treatment is delivered by registered allopathic medical practitioners guided by strict protocols. The procedure is safe, and is often the preferred choice versus autologous treatment (using your own cells) or those provided by a family member who has recently given birth.
With Regenecell Stem Cell Treatment, no immune system ablation (destruction) occurs, and no use is made of chemotherapy, steroids or antibiotics. It is also a relatively undemanding process where the patient receives the stem cells for about two hours a day over four days by transfusion. In certain cases, patients can also receive stem cells intrathecally (lumbar puncture).
Treatment is evaluated on a per-case basis, and patients considered for treatment include: Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson?s Disease, Heart Disease and Stroke.
Regenecell currently treats in two locations:
For additional information, visit their website www.regenecell.com
1) Some of us have felt "symptoms" (real or imagined) immediately after treatment, some even during the stem cell infusion. These seem to usually disappear. Why do they occur and then go away?
It has been suggested that these responses are due to inflammatory chemicals released by infused stem cells or by the host immune system. Umbilical cord stem cells have very little propensity to cause allergic reactions. Some companies use drugs that are supposed to enhance the therapeutic effect, which might be the cause of these symptoms. I have never heard of any major, long-standing adverse event.
2) I got 5 million autologous stem cells on Nov. 13. I felt "fluey" for the first week, then nothing much happened until about the 9th of Dec. After that, all my original symptoms, eg. fatigue, pain got steadily worse. Is this a "common" reaction? At times, I've felt so weak I wondered if I were dying. Slight improvement today, but it would be helpful to know why the deterioration happened. My doctor has no explanation and expected me to have some progress by now.
It sounds like you received a small dose of cells for an autologous infusion. It probably had no effect on your illness, which I am told is Lyme disease . (Moderator note:This member's daughter also suffers from it) Generally one needs about 10 times the amount of autologous cells as compared to umbilical cord cells for the same effect. A single dose is not the preferred protocol for most illnesses that respond to stem cells. If you received autologous cells for the ongoing, long-term effects of Lyme disease, which is caused by an auto-immune response, you will have no relief. Immune system modulation is best obtained by umbilical cord mesenchymal cells in divided doses. I am concerned to hear that your daughter has the same diagnosis, which is unusual, and that you are returning to the same physician who could not answer your questions and would treat a bacterial infection with stem cells.
3) Are follow up or booster treatments more likely to be needed when a patient is treated with cord blood-based cells or with human (autologous) cells? Please answer this question only as it applies to COPD or other illnesses in which both cord blood cells and human cells (marrow or peripheral) have both been used with some success in treatment.
Booster doses are dependent more on the progressive nature of the disease than cell type, but autologous will require earlier and more frequent boosters. In fast progressive diseases the requirement for a booster will be noted earlier. Remember stem cells do not cure disease, they repair and regenerate.
4) Many of us have already had one or more stem cell treatments and have had vastly different expectations about the time frame for results. We have been told (from time of treatment): up to a year or longer; 6 months; 3-6 months; several weeks or less. Doctors and/or clinics have given us all of these time frames. What would be realistic? Would the type of stem cells have anything to do with it?
We set up follow-up dates based on time frames (3-6 monthly) rather than disease profiles, because each patient and disease responds at a different rate. One should not accept predictions, but tendencies are noted in various disease types. If you have had no change by 6 months you have probably not responded.
5) Could a patient with Bronchiectasis and no Emphysema or other lung condition who has classic deterioration caused by Bronchiectasis be helped by stem cells? Also, are stem cells injured or destroyed if patient allows O2 level to drop below 90? Would how often and how low the O2 is allowed to get be significant in the patient's final benefit from stem cell infusion?
The stem cells would not change the status of the bronchiectasis, but Emphysema and Chronic Bronchitis have shown responses. If the O2 level, measured by pulse oximeter drops below 85, cell death can occur, but this is dependent on other factors like vascular and perfusion ability and the general health status of the patient.
6) Why would a patient receive stem cells from 2 or 3 labs in one infusion "cocktail"?
Some stem cell practitioners purchase cells from different producers in order to infuse different types of cells to optimise responses. To date it has not been found that pre-differentiated stem cells will follow their pre-determined paths. In other words a neural cell can still populate a diseased liver.
7) What current research do you consider the most promising and/or what researcher's work do you most closely follow? Do you know what Phase II or Phase III trials look like they may truly lead to approved treatments the soonest?
Autism and cerebral palsy research is the most interesting to me. Medistem have had good results in Autism and we treat in the same way. Mesenchymal cells are getting good attention in phase 3 trials.
8) Doctors and clinics are striving to perfect cell delivery methods and, in some cases, various formulations to accompany the cell infusion before, during or after the infusion as well as different cell processing. Could we not be dealing with virtually an unlimited number of different possibilities that could take many, many years to sort through?
Yes, it will take years to arrive at universally acceptable methods of treating diseases with stem cells, but that occurs in every field of medicine, and will always be an ongoing dynamic process involving research and the development of new ideas. Since the treatment that stem cell practitioners offer is safe, it is a viable alternative in the face of so little being available in mainstream medicine for the disease spectrum we treat.
9) If a patient pays the current rate for a cell treatment and then the clinic comes up with a better delivery method, formulation or method of cell processing, would it be fair to charge the patient full price again for the newer method if the patient needed it? Could there be some kind of "warranty" work done in cases like this?
No doctor would ever guarantee treatment success in any field of medicine or give a warranty for repeat treatments. Advances occur all the time and treatment methods will always change and adapt. It is up to the doctor to keep up and apply those new innovations.
10) What single disease, if you could only choose one, would you say shows the most promise to be cured with stem cell treatment or is cure not the correct word to use?
One cannot tell, but research is ongoing in many fields. It will depend on who reaches their goal first. Cure is not the correct word to use at present; it would be better to use a word like "treat".
Dr. Jeff Peimer
MBChB (UCT)
Medical Consultant
Regenecell is a global leader in the therapeutic use of cord blood stem cells. Treatment is delivered by registered allopathic medical practitioners guided by strict protocols. The procedure is safe, and is often the preferred choice versus autologous treatment (using your own cells) or those provided by a family member who has recently given birth.
With Regenecell Stem Cell Treatment, no immune system ablation (destruction) occurs, and no use is made of chemotherapy, steroids or antibiotics. It is also a relatively undemanding process where the patient receives the stem cells for about two hours a day over four days by transfusion. In certain cases, patients can also receive stem cells intrathecally (lumbar puncture).
Treatment is evaluated on a per-case basis, and patients considered for treatment include: Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson?s Disease, Heart Disease and Stroke.
Regenecell currently treats in two locations:
- Mumbai, India. This centre is suited to those closer to India, and who need only the intravenous treatment.
For additional information, visit their website www.regenecell.com
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