The ‘impossible’ dream: City firm’s MS claims not medically possible, says top researcher
Posted: January 18, 2015 at 3:40 am
The numbness entered Kathleen Jaynes' body 19 years ago, and during the intervening years the multiple sclerosis symptom has spread from her toes to her chest. Nothing really changes the numbness, or helps. Which is why, despite her sister's misgivings and her own lingering questions, Jaynes paid $20,000 to receive an experimental stem cell procedure in India through Regenetek, a company led by a now-discredited Winnipeg researcher who fudged his credentials and misled patients.
It's not like there are many other sources of hope out there for patients such as Jaynes, 59, who lives in southeast Arizona.
"You're a no-option patient," Jaynes said. "You have no other options. I justified it in every way that I could, despite my family saying this guy is not for real. Unless you're in my numb body, you can't know how desperate you feel to not feel that way."
In exchange for that money, Jaynes and roughly 70 other patients received what one of Canada's top MS researchers calls an "impossible" promise.
In December, Dr. Mark Freedman looked over Regenetek's study protocols, after a reporter drew his attention to the company's claims. Freedman, who is the director of Ottawa Hospital's MS research unit, has plenty of experience with stem cell treatments for the disease: In 2000, he and bone marrow transplant physician Dr. Harold Atkins launched a study to examine whether transplanting stem cells from a patient's own bone marrow could halt the disease.
The study was closely watched, the results tremendously encouraging. The 24 patients in the study -- all of whom had a rapidly advancing form of MS -- showed improvement. Freedman and Atkins also treated about a dozen more patients outside of the study, who have shown the same positive results. The researchers have submitted the study's results for publication in a scientific journal, and are preparing to announce new research sites later this month.
But the procedure Regenetek owner Doug Broeska was touting wasn't anything like the technique that showed such promise in Freedman and Atkins' study.
For instance, Jaynes and other Regenetek patients the Free Press spoke to described having stem cells extracted, expanded and implanted within days of their arrival in Pune, India.
But the premise that patients could receive benefits from stem cells taken from bone marrow extracted just four days earlier -- and which had to make a 300-kilometre round-trip journey between Pune and a lab in Mumbai at that time -- is "impossible," Freedman said.
Culturing and expanding enough of those kind of stem cells is a process that takes "weeks," Freedman said, adding bluntly: "They're not getting anything."
Read more from the original source:
The 'impossible' dream: City firm's MS claims not medically possible, says top researcher
- Most Common Multiple Sclerosis Treatments - March 21st, 2018
- Multiple Sclerosis Market in the US 2015-2019 - Research ... - August 1st, 2015
- Multiple Sclerosis: Treatment and Global Market - Research ... - July 1st, 2015
- Multiple Sclerosis Research: natalizumab has a ... - June 14th, 2015
- New Multiple Sclerosis Circulation Theory Links Posture ... - June 10th, 2015
- Stem cell research benefits Houston woman with multiple sclerosis - April 6th, 2015
- Stem cell research benefits area woman with multiple sclerosis - April 6th, 2015
- Is a loophole in stem cell law helping new therapy to thrive, or allowing dubious science? - April 4th, 2015
- Multiple sclerosis can be scary, but a new treatment holds promise - April 1st, 2015
- Hoping for a cure - February 11th, 2015
- Jan. 30: Sacrificing health, multiple sclerosis research, sunscreen in winter - February 2nd, 2015
- This Could Be Game-Changing News in the Battle Against Multiple Sclerosis - February 2nd, 2015
- Latest Sports SEE MORE - January 30th, 2015
- Ottawa Hospital leads Canadian clinial trial on stem cell therapy in MS patients - January 29th, 2015
- Early Study Says Stem Cells May Reverse Multiple Sclerosis Disability - January 22nd, 2015
- Jan. 21: Bisphenol A research, multiple sclerosis treatment - January 22nd, 2015
- Airdrian says costly treatment a scam - January 21st, 2015
- Saskatoon woman snared in alleged fraudulent MS trial held in India - January 20th, 2015
- Sask. MS patient recounts good experience with research firm now under question - January 16th, 2015
- City man who ran stem-cell trial for MS patients fabricated credentials, overstated results - January 15th, 2015
- Fallout from fake credentials - January 15th, 2015
- U of W cancels proposal for joint research study - January 15th, 2015
- City man who ran stem-cell trial for MS patients fabricated credentials, overstated treatment results - January 14th, 2015
- News & Events - December 30th, 2014
- One MS patient's 'starting line' for stem cell therapy - October 14th, 2014
- First Spanish-Filipino biotech firm introduced - October 3rd, 2014
- Cambridge scientist Dr Su Metcalfe awarded 150k for ground-breaking MS trials - October 2nd, 2014
- New Mount Sinai Research Indicates Cells From Placentas are Safe for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis - September 29th, 2014
- Vaccine Against MS Being Developed at Baylor Institute for ... - September 25th, 2014
- Stem cells use 'first aid kits' to repair damage - September 18th, 2014
- MS stem-cell breakthrough led by Italians - September 9th, 2014
- Could Reprogrammed Cells Fight 'Untreatable' Diseases? - August 28th, 2014
- Ore. man gets results from stem cell transplant - July 29th, 2014
- Cell therapy for multiple sclerosis patients: Closer than ever? - July 28th, 2014
- Scientists 1 step closer to cell therapy for multiple ... - July 24th, 2014
- Monday, July 21, 2014 12:00 am - July 21st, 2014
- Stem cell researcher to use national prize to treat brain conditions - June 3rd, 2014
- Updates on Stem Cell Research and MS - Video - June 1st, 2014
- Stem cell therapy shows promise for multiple sclerosis - May 16th, 2014
- Mice with multiple sclerosis-like condition walk again after human stem cell treatment - May 16th, 2014
- Stem Cells Reverse MS-Like Illness in Mice - May 16th, 2014
- Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise for MS in Mouse Model - May 16th, 2014
- Mice With MS-Like Condition Walk Again After Human Stem Cell Treatment - May 16th, 2014
- Tisch MS Research Center of New York Exceeds $300K Crowdfunding Target for FDA-Approved Stem Cell Trial - April 15th, 2014
- Whats Going Around: Multiple Sclerosis Research - April 8th, 2014
- Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Therapy Clinical Trial for Multiple Sclerosis Gets Green Light - April 3rd, 2014
- The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America Publishes 2014 MS Research Update - February 20th, 2014
- Deep TCR sequencing reveals extensive renewal of the T cell repertoire following autologous stem cell transplant in MS - February 19th, 2014
- Richard M. Cohen -- Stem cell cultivation - Video - January 28th, 2014
- MS patient to take part in pioneering experiment - January 20th, 2014
- Research in Multiple Sclerosis - January 14th, 2014
- Preferable treatment for MS found in allogenic bone marrow stem cells - December 19th, 2013
- Vitamin D may help fight MS: study - December 12th, 2013
- Multiple sclerosis research - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - November 7th, 2013
- Multiple Sclerosis: Hope Through Research: National Institute of ... - November 1st, 2013
- BrainStorm to Initiate Study for Multiple Sclerosis at Hadassah Medical Center - October 15th, 2013
- Bike 150 miles in two days to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research - August 19th, 2013
- Stem cell spine injections for MS - trial approved - August 17th, 2013
- FDA Approves Stem Cell Clinical Trial For Multiple Sclerosis - August 15th, 2013
- Transatlantic partnership to tackle neurodegenerative disease - July 19th, 2013
- Multiple Sclerosis Drugs Market - New Industry Research Report is Now Available for Pre-Order at Transparency Market ... - July 15th, 2013
- Revolution starts at bioscience campus - July 1st, 2013
- Advanced Sclerosis research at AIIMS soon - May 26th, 2013
- Stanford: treatment delays multiple sclerosis onset in mice - May 14th, 2013
- Turning Stem Cells Into Brain Cells To Cure Multiple Sclerosis And Cerebral Palsy - April 15th, 2013
- Major advance in understanding risky but effective multiple sclerosis treatment - March 27th, 2013
- New skin cell treatment offers new hope to MS patients - February 10th, 2013
- Cells forged from human skin show promise in treating MS, myelin disorders - February 7th, 2013
- Cells forged from human skin show promise in treating multiple sclerosis, myelin disorders - February 7th, 2013
- Birax grants NIS 25m for Israel-UK stem cell projects - January 22nd, 2013
- Multiple sclerosis drug may one day treat colorectal cancer - January 10th, 2013
- Stem Cell Showdown: Celltex vs. the FDA - January 4th, 2013
- ACADIA Pharmaceuticals to Receive Funding from Fast Forward and EMD Serono for Multiple Sclerosis Program - December 21st, 2012
- EMD Serono, Inc. and Fast Forward, LLC Announce Recipients of Funding for Multiple Sclerosis Research - December 21st, 2012
- Ballenger Trust Selects the Myelin Repair Foundation to Advance Myelin Repair Therapeutic Development for Multiple ... - December 18th, 2012
- Christchurch neurologist part of MS trial - December 17th, 2012
- Therafit Gym Multiple Sclerosis Jody MS (stem cell trial).wmv - Video - November 20th, 2012
- jodyMSvideo2012 0001 - Video - November 14th, 2012
- Stem Cell Transplants May Show Promise for Multiple Sclerosis - October 12th, 2012
- StemGenexâ„¢ on Adult Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis - October 10th, 2012