wwltv.com Posted on June 15, 2012 at 5:53 PM Updated yesterday at 7:35 PM Meg Farris / Eyewitness News Email: mfarris@wwltv.com | Twitter: @megfarriswwl NEWORLEANS- She was only in kindergarten when doctors gave her family the bad news. Now she's one of the first in Louisiana to try a new treatment for people who get gravely ill after a bone marrow transplant. The last three years of Sami Smith's life have been physically and emotionally painful. "I literally, they try to scare me and they can't, because I've been through the scariest thing that you can," said Smith, 9, of Ponchatoula. Her mother noticed she was napping more and bruising. Doctors diagnosed AML, a type of leukemia or blood cancer. Had she not gotten to the doctor then, she would not have made it much longer. A Child's Wish sent her to Disney World. The good news, one of her teen sisters Mary Hannah, 13, was a good bone marrow match. The transplant worked and Sami was cancer free. Then devastating news. Sami got a condition called GvHD (Graft-versus-host disease) where the new marrow launches a painful attack on the recipient's body. It's the leading cause of transplant-related death. Read … Continue reading →

WARREN TWP. -- The Warren Lions Club invited the new Comprehensive Autism Medical Assessment and Treatment Center of King George Road to have their client families be the guests of honor on Thursday, June 14, at the annual Warren Lions Expo. From 4 to 6 p.m., admission, rides and games at the Expo were open to all families with special needs. Sheri Marino Haiken, executive director of the Autism Medical Center, which is sometimes called the Autism Think Tank, said she sent an e-mail to their client base not knowing how many families of special needs children might come. Maybe 20 might come, she said she thought, maybe 40. Well, what happened is that Haikens e-mail recipients then forwarded the invitation to their e-mail lists and so on and so forth. By Thursday afternoon, as many as 350 people, all families with special needs children, arrived to take advantage of the offer by the Lions Expo and the Autism Medical Center. Haiken said that families jumped at the chance for their children to be in such a welcoming, non-threatening environment for special needs children. She said parents came up to her afterwards with tears in their eyes. One was a … Continue reading →

Anne Eliason, left, watches her son Isaac, 5, play at a neighborhood park in Highlands Ranch, Colo., on Monday, June 4, 2012. Isaac has been diagnosed with autism and his family moved from Utah to Colorado because of the insurance options and the superior therapeutic and support services for Isaac. Isaac has appointments nearly everyday to work on speech, occupational and behavioral therapy. Photo by Chris Schneider When the Eliasons realized their youngest child had autism, their lives changed forever. The diagnosis wasnt the only reason. What states require insurance companies to cover autism? Several dozen states have an insurance mandate although the rules vary. Check with each state individually for the most up-to-date information. bit.ly/ItajXh What would a Utah mandate cost? Advocates and some studies say that adding an autism mandate would have a nominal impact on premiums. See a past look at that issue in Utah at http://bit.ly/youNzl. "It was hard enough to discover that he had autism, but then it was just an added burden to know we didnt have a way to financially take care of him unless we left the state," said Brian Eliason, Isaacs dad. As a data specialist at Intermountain Healthcare, he was … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire -06/15/12)- Bio-Matrix Scientific Group (BMSN) (BMSN) announced today the appointment of David Audley to the advisory board of Its Regen BioPharma subsidiary. Mr. Audley will advise Regen BioPharma on strategic leveraging of national and international clinical research resources. Mr. Audley is viewed by the Company as a key component in the commercialization of stem cell intellectual property. Additionally, it is anticipated that he will assist in raising international awareness for the regenerative therapies being developed by the Company. In his function as executive director and CEO of the International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS), Mr. Audley has spearheaded development and implementation of global guidelines for accreditation of stem cell clinics. Under his leadership, the ICMS has grown from a loose association of a handful of physicians to a major international standards organization with over 3500 members from 36 countries. He is a strong advocate for stem cell therapy development and implementation, and is the chief architect of the ICMS accreditation program that is currently evaluating the practices of nearly 20 facilities in a dozen countries. Mr. Audley also has strong professional relationships with Ministries of Health and governmental agencies in South America, Asia and the Middle East. "My … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO, June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --ViaCyte, Inc. today announced the appointment of seasoned entrepreneur, Paul Laikind, Ph.D., as President & Chief Executive Officer. Allan Robins, Ph.D., who was serving as Acting CEO, will continue in his role as Vice President & Chief Technology Officer. ViaCyte is a leading pre-clinical company developing a novel cell therapy product for the treatment of insulin dependent diabetes. Dr. Laikind brings over 25 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology and life sciences industry to ViaCyte. He is a serial entrepreneur, who co-founded three San Diego companies, Gensia Pharmaceuticals Inc., Viagene Inc., and Metabasis Therapeutics Inc., serving in various executive positions including President and CEO. All three companies went public and were eventually acquired. Most recently, he served as Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. "Paul brings to ViaCyte a wealth of experience in managing new businesses based on highly innovative life sciences technologies," said Fred Middleton, Chairman of ViaCyte. "We are pleased to have him join to lead ViaCyte through our next phase of development in bringing our transformative stem cell therapy to patients with diabetes. We believe Paul's leadership and business development … Continue reading →