Eric Blum Stem Cell Treatment Amniotic Stem Cell treatment for knee. By: Eric Blum … Continue reading →

Dr. Ahvie Herskowitz Chapter 1 Dr. Ahvie Herskowitz, founder of Anatara Medicine and the San Francisco Stem Cell Treatment Center, giving a presentation to The Silicon Valley Health Institute on June 19, 2014. By: Mary Kurrasch … Continue reading →

Dr. Ahvie Herskowitz Chapter 4 Dr. Ahvie Herskowitz, founder of Anatara Medicine and the San Francisco Stem Cell Treatment Center, giving a presentation to The Silicon Valley Health Institute on June 19, 2014. By: Mary Kurrasch … Continue reading →

A woman who received stem cell treatment for paralysis needed a growth of nasal tissue removed from her spine eight years later. qwelk We're still learning about stem cells and what they can and can't do, so it's unsurprising that there will be a few strange accidents. One such accident happened to a woman who underwent stem cell treatment for paralysis. Eight years ago, the anonymous woman, a US citizen, was treated at Hospital de Egas Moniz in Lisbon, Portugal, according to New Scientist. Doctors took stem cells from her nose and implanted them into her spine, hoping that the olfactory cells would develop into neural cells to help repair spinal nerve damage. The operation was part of an early stage clinical trial exploring the potential of nasal cells in treating paralysis. Other researchers usually remove and isolate the cells, cultivating them in the lab before transplanting them, but the Lisbon team skipped this step and transplanted the cells directly. The cells did grow -- but they remained olfactory cells, and the woman's pain worsened. Last year, surgeons removed a three-centimetre growth of nasal tissue, bone and nerve branches from the site; but it wasn't causing the pain by itself. … Continue reading →

OTTAWA -- She knows he's tall, slender and generous, but she does not know the name of the man who anonymously donated $128,000 so she can receive "life-saving" stem cell treatment in Chicago. "We just can't believe it. The future is incredible right now," said Stephanie Headley, 47, who uses an oxygen tank due to damaged lungs. The single mother of four was diagnosed in 2002 with an aggressive form of systemic scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that hardens the skin and organs. Doctors didn't expect her to survive this long, but she credits a positive outlook and the support from her parents after her marriage fell apart. Nonetheless, the disease is progressing and Headley was expecting to die sooner than later from heart failure. Her family launched a fundraising campaign on youcaring.com, titled Please Save Our Mom, two months ago for a stem cell transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Headley was stunned when a man delivered a $128,000 bank draft on July 3. "He's given me my life," said Headley. "He's saved my kids enormous pain." She said the man phoned and wanted to stop by with a donation. See original here: News Canada … Continue reading →

Don Asoka Wijewardena The Island Publication Date : 16-07-2014 Consultant neurologist Prof Ranjanee Gamage revealed that there were 300,000 epilepsy patients nine per every 1000 personsin Sri Lanka. "According to medical research conducted on the nature of the disease, epilepsy was not an obstacle in achieving success in life," she said at a media conference held at the health education bureau. Consultant paediatric neurologist Dr Pyara Ratnayake said that epilepsy commonly manifested itself during school years and adolescence. The cause of that condition was brief, abnormal and electrical hyperactivity of the brain. Dr Ratnayake added that some Sri Lankans were under the impression that epilepsy was a mental illness and that children suffering from epilepsy were mentally retarded. Others assumed that epilepsy to be contagious. There were also beliefs that epilepsy was caused by unseen forces such as evil spirits. Originally posted here: 300,000 epilepsy patients in Sri Lanka … Continue reading →

By Laura Leslie Raleigh, N.C. Dozens of children with autism and their families converged on the legislature Tuesday, urging Senate leaders to vote on whether to require insurers to offer better coverage for the disorder. In May 2013, the House approved a proposal that would require insurers to cover applied behavior analysis, or ABA, a widely accepted therapy that advocates say is one of the best early intervention techniques for autism, saving the state millions or billions of dollars in later treatment costs. The legislation, House Bill 498, has been sitting in the Senate Insurance Committee ever since.Senate leaders say they're wary of adding any additional mandates to health insurance. House lawmakers tried again this year by adding the language to a regulatory reform omnibus, Senate Bill 493. But Senate leaders sent that proposal to their Ways and Means Committee, which almost never meets. Autism is more prevalent in North Carolina than nationally. According to the group Autism Speaks, the organizer of Tuesday's event, one in 58 children in the state had some type of autism spectrum disorder in 2010, compared with one in 68 nationally. Thirty-seven other states have enacted laws requiring coverage of ABA since 2001, as mounting … Continue reading →

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Twenty-five families from across the state gathered inside the Legislative Building auditorium for a news conference put on by autism advocacy group Autism Speaks. The Kinney family from Winston-Salem sat on stage with their 9-year-old autistic son, Jackson. His mom, Tammy, says her son's condition has improved by leaps and bounds because of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). "He's done a complete 180, remarkable from where we started to where we are now," Kinney excitedly explained. Jackson started the treatment when he was three years old. Autism advocates say ABA is the most effective and efficacious treatment for the brain disorder, but it's very expensive. The Kinneys say they pay as much $34,000 a year to cover Jackson's treatments -- that includes 40 hours a week of intense one-on-one therapy. North Carolina health insurers are not required to cover ABA like other medical expenses, so the Kinneys struggle to pay out of pocket. They say they've taken a second mortgage on their home and liquidated their retirement savings accounts to cover the costs. Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state's largest health insurance provider, offers what it calls "broad and deep" coverage for autism treatment. But the company does … Continue reading →

Knoxville, TN (PRWEB) July 16, 2014 Individuals on the Autism spectrum face unique challenges in areas like language, socialization, sensory integration and some levels of cognition. No two individuals on the Autism spectrum will face the same combination of challenges. Therefore, it is important for the treatment of these challenges be individualized to fit the specific needs and goals of the person in need. The scientific community has noted that one of the most effective treatments for individuals on the Autism spectrum is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Applied Behavior Analysis is a discipline that seeks to understand and improve the behavior of individuals by developing custom treatment programs that fit the skill deficits of the person in need. "ABA works by systematically changing behavior based on principles of learning derived from behavioral psychology, that encourage positive behaviors and discourage negative behaviors" - Autism Science Foundation. It is through this practice that new skills are acquired and maladaptive behaviors are reduced, both working together to foster the success and independence of the individual. Behavioral Foundations, LLC (behavioralfoundations.com) is a new private service provider for East Tennessee offering ABA services to individuals of all ages and abilities. Driven by data oriented programs … Continue reading →

hide captionFilm CT scans show these people have suffered strokes. Film CT scans show these people have suffered strokes. Stroke is the fourth highest cause of death among adults in the U.S. But among people older than 65, stroke rates may be going down, a study published Tuesday suggests. And compared with 10 or 20 years ago, more of those hit with a stroke are surviving. In 1987, researchers from several universities recruited a group of 14,300 healthy adults who were above the age of 45, then kept track of their medical progress for 24 years. To see whether stroke rates were increasing or decreasing, the scientists compared people within the same age groups. For example, they compared adults who were between the ages of 65 and 69 in 1993 to men and women in that age range in 2003. By 2011, the incidence of stroke among people over 65 had decreased by about 50 percent. In younger age groups, that rate stayed stable but stroke-related deaths in this group went down. "The decreases varied across age groups," the scientists report, "but were similar across sex and race." The results were published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical … Continue reading →