SPINAL NETWORK NEWS

STEM CELLS IN CHINA ~
TOMORROW’S TREATMENT TODAY
Four months after my spinal cord injury and finally
arriving back home I still couldn’t accept or come to grips
with everyone’s conclusion that this was life and I would
be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my life! Half way
through my life at 35 and all of sudden I couldn’t walk, run,
move around easily, control my bladder or bowels and do a
lot of things we all take for granted.
Somehow you have to accept what the doctors say that at
the moment there is still no cure for spinal cord injuries.
While in the hospital one of the physio’s often talked
about the research on stem cells and their possibilities and
how research had slowed down because the American
government had stopped funding embryonic stem cell
research. So when back at home recovering I decided to start
doing some research on it over the internet.
The first one I contacted was the Xcell centre in Germany. They
offered stem cell injections using your own stem cells, but just
the one treatment within a week and not much else.
More research and the options included a doctor in India
using embryonic cells, or China using stem cells from
babies’ umbilical chords. China looked more attractive as
their stem cells were adult cells from umbilical cords where
they are at their youngest, the amount of injections are only
limited to your budget. Along with the stem cell treatment
the package included intensive physio, acupuncture, and
electric wave therapy. Beike Biotech was the contact for
China. Embryonic cells are still a little unknown in the fact
that they may be uncontrollable given their younger state.
So after a lot of thought and discussion with family and
close friends Tanya and I decided China stem cells was
the best option. On August 30th we flew to China for a
six week treatment of stem cells. Three IV injections and
six lumbar injections. Of course with all this research I
couldn’t find any results of anyone getting up and walking
but there were people who had had some improvements.
My hope was to get some improvement in feeling or
movement to give me something to work on every day
instead of accepting my current state for the rest of my life.
Or bladder and bowel control back, something that would
vastly improve my quality of life.
A very good friend of mine Darren Abrahams gave up
his time to come along for the first two weeks to help with
getting organised and settled.
After a 12 hr flight to Shanghai and another hour and a half
to Qingdao we were picked up at the airport by the staff
of Biotech and delivered to the hospital in the Chengyang
province. The people at the hospital were great and you were
soon settled in. Patients were there from all over the world for
different conditions but all with the same hope of some result
which was not freely available in their own countries. Kids
through to adults from cerebral palsy to spinal cord injuries.
First the doctors poured over my medical notes and scans.
Then they sent us off for an MRI scan. They also checked
the flow up and down my spinal canal. In my case they
were happy that the spinal canal was clear with little
obstruction but were certain the spinal cord was broken
(an answer I was unable to hear or maybe I had deaf ears
to it). Due to this they did not see any point in doing open
surgery as there was no obstruction to clear and of course
at this stage there is no way of joining the spinal cord.
With all that information they then decided to do three IV
injections and six lumbar injections.
Within two days I was getting my first IV injection. The
stem cells are delivered once or twice a week depending
on their program directly from their lab in Beijing and
administered the same day. IV injections are the same as
any IV injection and are no problem.
The lumbar injections are however a bit more involved.
No food or liquids three hours before the injection. You
are then wheeled off in the bed to the operation room and
then given an injection of valium to sedate you while they
perform the lumbar injection. It is all over within thirty
minutes and your back in your room. Then you have to lie
flat on you are back for the next six hours without moving
your head!
I had no side effects from the injection, although maybe a
little headache from the change in pressure in your spinal
canal but nothing of great worry. The only other risk
associated with the procedure that I know of, is infection
in the spinal canal. Something I did get a little of but was
soon cleared up with some antibiotics. Along with the
injections once or twice a week the physio program is set
up for you six days of the week. In my case it consisted
of Acupuncture (good old Chinese medicine) first in the
morning, the idea of that being to stimulate nerve endings
below my break. Then electric wave therapy on my legs
to stimulate muscles and to help keep some muscle tone.
And then intensive physio working on muscles around
your injury trying to help your mobility and functions,
stretching of my legs along with some standing in a
standing frame.
Most of my afternoons were free (if I didn’t have injections)
to go out and wander the streets and see the sights
something we did regularly and thoroughly enjoyed.
China and its people are just so interesting. I could go on
about the sight we saw, China is a really must see place the
people are lovely and it is all so interesting and foreign.
After about the third injection I gained a little more feeling
down my chest about two inches. But nothing more after
that and this initial effect has since worn off as well. My
doctor looking after me was very good and spoke good
English so he was good to ask plenty of questions and did
not hold back on anything I wanted to know.
So of course the big question was what could I expect
given the information they now had. Well given that
my cord was broken he said not to expect motor neuron
function back. But there maybe was the chance of some
better feeling, easing of continual nerve pain, unlikely
regained bladder or bowel function. Anything had to
be a bonus though. I asked if I had a million dollars and
continued with the stem cell injections would that work?
His answer to that was the knowledge I needed to keep
hoping. What he said was needed was for America to
get back on course to continue with their research given
they had the biggest access to money and resources. In
his opinion doctors and scientists know that stem cells are
the answer to regenerating and growing damaged tissue.
What they need to do is understand a bit more about how
they work and identify, and to be able to get them to grow
in a uniform matter in a specified place. In the case of a
spinal cord injury to be able to open you up to the point
of injury, scrape back the dead scar tissue which forms at
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