tcaway practice

[Jane]

I am posting this on two places since it covers not only this person's treatment but cardiac.

Email from a friend.... She is Pulmonary coordinator at a local hospital.
Hi Jane:
What is the name of the company that you've been emailing about regarding stem cells? My uncle just had stem cell therapy in his ischemic leg down in Louisianna (he's from Ohio), and is doing well. This doctor, Gabrielle Lasala, and his scientist, Jose Minguell have the only FDA approved hospital to do this therapy.

Here's the site:
http://www.tcaway.com/tc-drlasala.htm
My uncle's leg is very pink and healthy (he did have to have 2 toes amputated), but the Cleveland Clinic was determined to cut his leg off because there was nothing else they could do!

He did have to pay out of pocket for it, but to him, it was worth it.

From the tcaway.com website:
Stem Cell Research
Dr. Gabriel Lasala MD from Tchefuncte Cardiovascular Associates (TCA) has received approval from the Federal Drug and Food Administration (FDA) to conduct stem cell research on humans in the United States. This places this private medical practice at the vanguard of medical research, even ahead of prestigious universities.

TCA Cellular Therapy, a research and development company initiating new regenerative medicine therapy. Regenerative medicine is the process of creating living, functional tissues to repair or replace tissue or organ function lost due to age, disease, or damage. The invention of a unique combination stem therapy represents a substantial promise as a cellular agent for cardiovascular disease and severe limb ischemia (lack of blood flow to the legs). The protocols have been released by the FDA to begin Phase I research studies in these two fields. This is a tremendous stride in regenerative medicine.

These trials use autologous stem cell therapy which means that a subject uses his/her own stem cells for the therapy and not someone else?s.

Current Phase I clinical trials being conducted are:

?Autologous Bone Marrow ? derived stem cells for repair of infarcted myocardium (damaged heart muscle) in patients during bypass surgery
?Autologous Bone Marrow ? derived stem cells for rescue and repair in acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) in patients after angioplasty (balloon procedure)
?Autologous Bone Marrow ? derived stem cells for treatment of limb ischemia
For more in-depth information regarding stem cell research and preservation by TCA Cellular and LifeSource Cryobank go to www.lifesourcecryobank.com.

 

[Jane]

Stem Cells for Cardiac

The last time I talked to the Texas Heart Institute, you had to be on their door step when you had the heart attack to get into one of their trials. I am on their list if they change but not likely to be accepted.

I added this information because they appear to be doing treatment for lowered heart function which is typical for any heart attack.

 

[hlichten]

I have emailed Dr. Lasala for more information about what they are doing there.

I am assuming that there must be a control group to these clinical trials, so some patients have to be receiving placebo instead of the stem cells.

Do you know if this patient was told that he might receive placebo?

Also, I am surprised that anyone would pay money to be in a clinical trial?

 

[Jane]

I know nothing about this group other than this man, an uncle of a lady that runs the Pulmonary program at the hospital, said in her Email. In trying to read between the lines, I think they are trying to get FDA approval but are doing the treatment ahead. I don't know how that works.

 

[Jane]

Update

He was not in a trial. This particular procedure passed the final phase of FDA approved trials and therefore is approved for anyone who wants to pay. It cost my uncle $15,000.00 for the procedure plus the hotel stay (about 6 weeks). He also had to had to have 2 toes amputated prior to the procedure that the insurance did pay for, along with an arterial "implosion" with laser on both legs. I'm not sure if that was included or not.

He is certainly fighting the insurance company for reimbursement because it would have cost $57,000.00 to amputate the leg, plus the cost of therapy and prosthesis

 

[barbara]

I hope this man wins with the insurance company. This very issue is something that the proposed Health Care bill in the U.S. is not addressing. Stem cell treatments can save billions and billions of dollars. Those that have put this bill together in a whirlwind have failed to take into consideration that stem cell treatments have the potential to regenerate. Since I suffer from a lung disease, a good example would be a lung transplant. A single transplant can cost $300,000 to $400,000. This does not include the anti-rejection drugs a patient will require for life. If regeneration of lung tissue can be obtained with stem cell treatment the savings would be tremendous. It behooves the government to get the ball rolling and fund as many trials as they can to find the cure to costly chronic and terminal diseases. Stem cells can also be used for anti-aging which means improved health for the population as a whole. The government, in my opinion, through this very lack of foresight is proving once again that they should not be in charge of Health Care for the United States. They simply want to forget science and continue with their own power agendas. I've had enough of it.

 

[Jane]

I am on Medicare with and Advantage Plan thru Aetna. I checked with them on their payment of Stem Cell Treatment since it is listed in their book. Their reply was, "if your doctor orders it, we will pay for it". I am just looking for the right place to have this done since many times you have to be on their door step when you have the heart attack. This is at least true for trials. We not only need to push the government but the insurance companies as well. to provide payment for the treatment.

 

[barbara]

Great to hear this Jane. Please continue to keep us informed. I think that it never hurts to ask the insurance company to pick up the tab. The worst that can happen is a NO. We also can deduct the cost of treatment overseas, including all travel expenses, on our federal income tax returns.