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Parents See Success in Stem Cell Treatment |
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Monday, 05 June 2006 |
By Robin Lord
STAFF WRITER
WEST BARNSTABLE
The parents of a severely brain-damaged teen say the results from their son's recent stem cell transplant in China have been subtle so far, but they are encouraged.
''He's definitely more attentive, and his eyes are open more,'' said Robert Raylove of his 15-year-old son, Jonathan. ''Is that the stem cells? What else could it be?''
Raylove's wife and Jonathan's mother, Edith ''Deede'' Tonelli, said her son is staying awake longer and his lung and digestive system functions have improved.
Mother and son returned in the beginning of May from a seven-week trip to China, during which the teen received treatment at one of the few hospitals in the world doing stem cell therapy on brain-injured patients.
Doctors at Nanshan Hospital in Shenzhen, China, gave Jonathan five injections of 10 million umbilical cord stem cells each into his spinal column to try to trigger a healing process in his damaged brain cells. He has a condition known as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, or HE, from a near-drowning in the family pool 11 years ago. As a result, he is unable to walk, talk or see anything beyond shadows.
Raylove, a West Barnstable acupuncturist, and Tonelli, a family therapist, heard about Nanshan Hospital's stem cell program through an Internet network of parents of children with brain damage. The center was founded by the Beike Biotechnology Co. and is located across the border from Hong Kong.
According to the Beike Web site, Nanshan doctors have focused on stem cell research since 1999 and have treated more than 500 patients, including those suffering from ALS, brain trauma and cerebral palsy.
Stem cells have the ability to renew themselves through cell division. When they receive certain chemical signals, they can transform into specialized cells with specific functions. The Rayloves' hope is that by injecting stem cells directly into their son's spinal cord, his damaged brain cells will send out the chemical message needed to prompt the newly transplanted cells to replicate as brain cells.
Not allowed in U.S.
The stem cells used in the treatment at Nanshan Hospital are from infant umbilical cords discarded after birth. They do not use embryonic stem cells, a subject that has been so controversial in the United States.
Most stem cell injections into humans have been banned in this country by the federal Food and Drug Administration because no clinical trials have proven they work......
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