P A T I E N T I N T E R V I E W - A L S NAME: Wang Xiaoping
COUNTRY: China AGE: 56 DIAGNOSIS: ALS REASON FOR COMING FOR TREATMENT: Had little strength in her arms and legs and spoke unclearly for six years. TREATMENT: Umbilical Cord Stem Cell and Nerve Growth Factor Injections with Rehabilitation Therapy
START OF TREATMENT: First Treatment: November 14, 2003 / Second Treatment: October 18, 2004.
BEFORE THE TREATMENT: She could not speak clearly, had amyotrophia in arms, legs, trunk, and tongue. The degree of muscle strength of the arms was 2; the degree of muscle strength of the legs was 3. She had dysuria.
AFTER THE TREATMENT: She can speak more clearly, can swallow easily.
The degree of muscle strength of the arms is more than 2. She can wash her face, and the degree of muscle strength in her legs is 4. She can stand without support and can walk without support for tens of meters. She can turn over on the bed easily. She does not have dysuria anymore.
TRANSLATION OF TEXT FROM VIDEO INTERVIEW (APRIL 28, 2005)
Wang Xiao ping:
My right hand began to atrophy first. My hand couldn’t hold the pen and had no strength at all. Now my muscle shakes less than before. And my muscle shook every 6 or 7 seconds before.
Her Husband: She means the muscle jumps.
Wang Xiao ping: Now my legs don’t shake on the whole. Now my arm muscles only shake once every thousand seconds.
Her husband: Obviously her muscle shakes less than before.
Wang Xiao ping: My legs felt weak when I tried to walk before. Now I can walk for 500 steps.
Her Husband:
At that time, when she walked, I supported her with my arms. When we walked 100 steps, she would lean on me. Now she can walk for 500 steps with ease. This means that her legs have more strength now.
Wang Xiao ping: I had to push the chair with my hands for several times in order to stand up before.
Her Husband: Now she can stand up easily.
The Doctor: I remembered that she walked after the treatment before.
Her Husband:
At that time, she could walk, but after some time, she could not walk anymore. Maybe there was virus or something else killing the stem cells. Later Dr. Yang used another method. That is to use the umbilical cord blood stem cells. She had the injection umbilical cord blood stem cells for 3 times. The effect is…. She has gotten better and better. Yes. Clearly. Especially her legs have more strength. And from here she can walk slowly. This is great progress. In the past her legs were weak. Now however, her legs have strength. She can move, sit down and walk. I can support her to walk now. It is easy to support her now. She would lean on me when I held her to walk in the past. It shows that her legs have strength now. Indeed it is good. Another thing is that she felt itching on her forehead, head and face. She had to wash her hair often. She doesn’t feel itching now. She doesn’t need to wash her hair so frequently. And in the past she often got mouth ulcers. But now she doesn’t get mouth ulcers so often especially after she got the umbilical cord blood stem cells. It has a great effect. Also when she went to the bathroom in the past, she would sit there for at least ten minutes. She would not even finish going to the bathroom. Now after the second injection, she can do it quickly. And she can go to the bathroom quickly. She changes everyday. We feel she is improving better and better everyday. Now she can support her neck by herself. In the past, her neck could only lean on the bed. Right after the injection, her neck’s strength was not strong and could only move slowly. Now her neck can move easily and is stronger than before. In the last one year her disease was developing quickly so we were worried and came here. She just got the injection so she feels a little sore now. So she cannot lift up now.
China Stem Cell News visited with Wang Xiao Ping on September 28th in her home. We found that Wang Xiao Ping was first misdiagnosed in 1998 and then was correctly diagnosed in 2000. From 1998 to 2001, the progression of the disease was slow but then in 2002 until the first treatment in November of 2003, the disease developed quickly. Before the series of treatments in November of 2003, her weight had decreased by 25 pound. She could not eat. Her shoulders hurt. Her muscles were constantly twitching. Her legs were weak and her speaking was not clear. She also could not hold her head up by herself which made washing her hair very difficult.
After the first series of treatments, she was able to eat more, her shoulders did not hurt any longer, the twitching almost completely disappeared, she could hold her head up and her legs were stronger. Before the treatment she could walk 200 steps with help and after, she could walk 300 steps with help.
Between the first series of treatments and the second series of treatments one year later, the disease came back but at a very slow pace. The patient's muscles twitched more and the color in her face became pale. Starting in October of 2004, the patient had several treatments. After the treatments, her gains came back and the color in her face came back. She gained the 25 pounds she had previously lost back. Since she left the hospital until now she has said she has only regressed a little and she is looking forward to the next series of treatments.
Some things to note: the patient's speech was not clear in the beginning of the treatment and did not get much better. During the second series of treatment, she was treated several times and she did not make any significant gains after the first couple injections. However, she has kept quite steady for two years after the initial improvements. In addition, she rarely gets a cold or sick like she used to before the treatments.
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