X-Message-Number: 23886 Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 01:33:15 -0700 From: James Swayze <> Subject: Documentry Innovation Ep 6 on PBS Stem cell therapy trials This below is part of what was forwarded to me by spinal injured friends. The show aired last night and I taped it. It will air again in my area this Saturday and Sunday and I checked AZ for my dad and it airs there again Wednesday and Saturday. The link below may indicate approximately when and then one may check local listings. It showed both soinal injury and cardiac positive results. The best results were cardiac as the spine may take longer. Both cariac patents, one heart attack the other heart attacks stemming from a nail through the heart, seemed fully recovered. For NW US folks here is the VCR+ info: Innovation Miracle Cell 60 mins. Regenerative medicine is discussed. The hour explores stem-cell treatments and focuses on the case of a paralysis patient who has stem cells extracted from her nose injected into her spine. Similar procedures are performed on heart patients. Release Year: 2004 Additional Airings Date Time Channel VCR Plus+ Sat, 17 2:00 AM 26 KCTS 702307 For AZ US folks here is the VCR+ info: Innovation Miracle Cell 60 mins. Additional Airings Date Time Channel VCR Plus+ Wed, 14 12:00 AM 8 KAET 88288 Sun, 18 3:00 AM 8 KAET 627186 Forwarded material: ** It is exciting to know that Spinal Cord Society is moving to human trials this year in an attempt to IMPROVE these recent attempts on humans. Cure chronic spinal cord injuries is no longer a matter of if but when! http://www.pbs.org/wnet/innovation/about_episode6.html Episode 6: Miracle Cell For people with heart conditions, spinal cord injuries, and a host of incapacitating diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, stem cells offer promising prospects for effective treatments and possible cures. These unique cells are with us throughout our lives and they manufacture and repair the 200 different types of cells that make up the human body. Their use and manipulation as a new medical innovation may be on the verge of revolutionizing medicine. Known as regenerative medicine, the technique seeks to harness this natural ability of the body to renew and heal itself. Outside the United States, patients are already benefiting from remarkable experimental trials that utilize patients' own stem cells for treatment. Outside the United States, patients are already benefiting from remarkable experimental trials currently underway that utilize patients' own stem cells for treatment. Early results are already shattering the normal recovery expectations from severe heart attacks and spinal cord injuries. And similar stem cell trials seem poised to get the FDA go-ahead in this country in the not-too-distant future. "Miracle Cell" goes to the front line of these new procedures. With unprecedented and exclusive access, the program explores the current successes and future potential for stem cell therapy. We meet Dr. Carlos Lima and some of the six American spinal cord injury patients who have traveled to Portugal to undergo his experimental stem cell operation. A neurologist who heads a special spinal cord injury treatment team at the Egas Moniz Hospital in Lisbon, Dr. Lima oversees a group of surgeons in the harvesting of patients' stem cells from their noses. The cells are then transplanted into the sites of the spinal cord breaks. Discussing their work and the promise that these mysterious, multi-purpose cells offer are leading clinicians and scientists, including Prof. Andreas Zeiher, University of Frankfurt, Germany; Dr. John Martin, Professor of Cardiovascular Science, British Heart Foundation; and Prof. Geoffrey Raisman, National Institute of Medical Research, U.K. We also hear from Dr. Steven Hinderer, Director of the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan at the Detroit Medical Center, who sent the first handful of American patients to Dr. Lima and is working to bring the spinal treatment to the United States. "Miracle Cell" travels to Portugal to document on film, for the first time ever, the harvest and transplant operation. The film also tracks the progress of several of Dr. Lima's patients in the ensuing months. For some, improvement has been dramatic. As Dr. Hinderer assesses 19-year-old quadriplegic Laura Dominguez six months after her surgery, he concludes: "I've never seen recovery like this in 25 years of practice ... I can tell my patients they may walk again, rather than saying life from a wheel chair can be good." Two months later, Laura is able stand up on her toes and move her foot on command. Another of Dr. Lima's patients, paraplegic Joy Veron, is seen on the road to recovery after undergoing the treatment last August. Joy's injury is the result of a tragic accident in which she was run over by her SUV in an attempt to stop it from rolling off a cliff with her children inside. She began to experience some sensation in her leg almost immediately after surgery, and through intensive rehabilitation and fierce determination, Joy continues to make dramatic gains. In Germany, "Miracle Cell" spotlights the remarkable strides being made by heart attack victims following the implanting of their own bone marrow stem cells into their damaged hearts. We follow a patient through the procedure and see how others have made a rapid recovery as the heart seems to regenerate healthy tissue instead of scar tissue. The program also tells the extraordinary story of Michigan teen Dimitri Bonnville, whose heart was punctured during a horrific nail gun accident. Despite a desperate prognosis, he has made a full recovery following stem cell treatment similar to that performed in Germany. His physician, Dr. William O'Neill, Director of Cardiovascular Disease, Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan, tells about the decision to go for the stem cell treatment instead of a heart transplant, and how that gamble paid off. Producer/Director: Frank Simmonds Producer: Michael Chrisman ** James -- Member: Cryonics Institute of Michigan http://www.cryonics.org The Immortalist Society http://www.cryonics.org/info.html The Society for Venturism http://www.venturist.org Immortality Institute http://www.imminst.org Methuselah Foundation http://www.methuselahfoundation.org Methuselah Mouse Prize http://www.methuselahmouse.org [Give $$$ for life!] World Transhumanist Association http://www.transhumanism.org/ Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org American Civil Liberties Union http://www.aclu.org Nat. Resources Defense Council http://www.nrdc.org Act For Change http://www.actforchange.org People for American Way http://www.pfaw.org MY WEBSITE: http://www.davidpascal.com/swayze/ Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=23886