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Britain will have more than a million dementia patients within a decade, warn experts. This will be so if dementia – including Alzheimer’s disease – sufferers continue to grow at the current rate.

This would mean that nearly 1 in 60 would be affected.

The cost of treating a dementia patient is very high placing an increasing burden on the NHS. Treatment for a dementia patient is estimated at over £25,000 ($40,000) a year, five times that of treating a cancer patient.

Some early developments in treating dementia with stem cells have been reported recently. These developments could certainly be sped up if the money could be found to do so.

But the cash-strapped government will be hard to persuade to increase spending more on this important research – especially when their timescale revolves so much around the date of the next election – that is, a 5-year time span.

UK Dementia Predicted To Affect 1m By 2021 is a post from: Alternative HealthZine

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Scientists have reported making a good step progress towards treating Alzheimer’s Disease by using stem cells. The key has been the ability to use stem cells – derived from skin to create of  the “basal forebrain cholinergic” cells which are some of the main ones lost Alzheimer’s.

The discovery of how to create this type of cells means that scientists can work now to find out how to stop these cells being killed by Alzheimer’s Disease – which is an early symptom of the disease.

Though this does not necessarily mean a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease is just around the corner, without a supply of these cells to work on, any thought of a future cure was impossible.

Alzheimer’s will be curable one day: and this is a good step in that direction.

Full story:

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=139355

Related articles About Alzheimer’s Disease

• Neurons Lost in Alzheimer’s Created Anew from Stem Cells (livescience.com)
• Memory cells killed by Alzheimer’s grown in laboratory (telegraph.co.uk)

Alzheimers Progress Using Stem Cells is a post from: Alternative HealthZine

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Debbie Richter’s dog, Basco, is to receive stem cell therapies for an arthritic condition.

Basco is a former military dog who carried out two tours of duty in Iraq, sniffing out bombs. Debbie adopted him when he was discharged. Basco has developed arthritis of the hip which can quickly make the joint deteriorate especially in older dogs.

Medivet is an Australian company specializing in the use of stem cell therapy for animals. They also target treatments which are drug-free and natural. Medivet is present in various countries worldwide. Here is Medivet America.

As for Animals – So For Humans. (We’d Hope)

Drug-free…? Natural treatments…? Open to the use of stem cells…? Hmmmmh. Don’t these sound like worthy aims for human health?

It’s coming to something when the animals get better treatment than humans do.

Let’s hope our medical systems – including the medical associations such as the American AMA, and the British BMA – catch up soon. Because their medical care can be so far behind the times, people are deteriorating – and even dying – in droves.

Related articles

• Basco get arthritic hip treated – by stem cells – local news at Katu
• Dog Gets Stem Cell Treatment (huffingtonpost.com)

“Bomb Sniffer” Dog Gets Stem Cell Treatment is a post from: Alternative HealthZine

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In some ways, stem cell research is much more advanced in China than in the West. This is because the regulation is much less.

Sean Hu, of Beike Biotechnology in China was interviewed recently and gave some fascinating insights into stem cell research in China. This interview is reported by the excellent fight aging blog.

Dr Hu decided to form a company using stem cells for treatment in 2005. To date he has treated over 5000 patients and has seen sometimes staggering results. These results have included treatment for conditions generally regarded in the West as incurable, such as:

• ataxia
• autism
• ALS
• brain trauma
• cerebral infarction
• cerebral haemorrhage
• cerebral palsy
• diabetics, and
• spinal cord injury

One case Dr Hu gives as one example is of a 16-year old who was nearly blind in both eyes. After treatment, she was able to pass her driving test.

There have been many successful stories of stem cell therapy (SCT). One example is the recovery of a nearly blind sixteen-year-old girl, Macie Morse, who recently got her learner’s permit and started driving. She came to one of our hospitals for treatment in July 2006, with 20/4,000 vision in one eye and only light perception in the other due to optic nerve hypoplasia. After treatment, Macie now has 20/80 vision in one eye and 20/400-plus in the other!

Regulation vs. Resources

What has slowed research down in China is the lack of resources given to advanced research and treatment eg by government. There is no doubt, however, that the results have been fantastic, and will increase as time goes on.

Dr Hu says;

Regenerative medicine is the future. Asia will be at its centre. More and more western scholars and doctors are coming to China to collaborate.  … (our company) will set the standard and criteria for R&D in developing adult stem cells and iPS. We will have one of the biggest iPS centers of the world.

Having treated over 5000 patients, Dr Hu and his team have tremendous experience – which is just lacking in the West. He says he considers adult stem cell-based therapy, having seen overwhelmingly safe results from it.  He says:

…the value to everyone in the company – helping so many patients improve their quality of life – has been priceless.

Practical Consideration of Treatment

Unfortunately the treatment in China is not cheap; and it may well have to be repeated – though the good news is that if it worked the first time, it will probably work the next time.

Patients have to pony up $15,000 for a first treatment – hard enough for us in the West to find, let alone in China. But the results can be fantastic, and costs will, presumably, fall in time.

The point is – resources must be put into this research for the benefit of all.

Incredible Results of Treatment – West Wake Up!

As the technology develops, and the Chinese government gets more involved there is no doubt that we will see huge developments in China using stem cell therapy.

One would hope that the Western world would see these amazing results and look to their Hippocratic Oath, and fulsomely embrace stem cells as a way forward to relieve suffering for millions. Sadly, this is not the way medicine works in the West, as we have seen time and again. Progress can be painfully slow.

Advanced Stem Cells Research in China is a post from: Alternative HealthZine

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UK universities are making great advances in using stem cells to repair damaged bone and cartilage. The UK National Stem Cell Research Conference heard about some of these.

One programme, lead by Richard Oreffo at Southampton University, uses a patient’s own stem cells to repair damaged bone. The stem cells, derived from their bone marrow, is used to make a mixture which, when reintroduced, will fill gaps created by accidents or tumour removal.

Four patients have received this therapy so far, with positive results from early assessments.

Guiding Stem Cells with Magnetic Nanoparticles

Professor Alicia El Haj of Keele University is leading more futuristic research to develop a method to attach magnetized nanoparticles to stem cells. The magnetization then enables the stem cells to be moved around the body to precise locations – without an operation.

This makes some types of therapy much more effective than just injecting the stem cells. This therapy will have a huge range of applications – wherever tissue repair is needed in specific parts of the body.

This method has been proven on rodents and human trials will be started in due course.

Stem Cell Research Conference is a post from: Alternative HealthZine

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Researchers at the University of Sheffield have discovered how to turn stem cells into the key cells governing hearing – the sensory hair cells and the auditory neurons.

Until now, once these cells were damaged, diminishing hearing, there was no cure.

This fantastic research has been showcased at the UK National Stem Cell Network conference, which took place in Oxford, UK, on Monday April 6th.

Lead researcher Dr Marcelo Rivolta said:

“The potential of stem cells is very exciting… This should facilitate the development of a stem cell treatment for deafness.”

Although being able to cure deafness is some years away; but this is another area in which we can see that stem cells will – for some sufferers within a few years -  reverse a condition which, up to now, has seemed hopeless.

Hearing Loss Breakthrough is a post from: Alternative HealthZine

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Britain is using stem cell research to become the leader in producing unlimited, safe blood for transfusions. This will be achieved because of our world lead in stem cell research.

The research will be paid for by a coalition of the NHS, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and the Wellcome Trust - the world’s largest medical research charity.

Manufacture from Stem Cells

Unneeded embryos from IVF treatment will be allow to develop for just 8 days or so. At this time into cells called blastocycsts, which contain embryonic stem cells. These cells are extracted and grown on a nutrient rich medium designed to feed them and influence them to turn into red blood cells.

These cells will be produced in their trillions to meet all our requirements for blood transfusions.

Universal Blood for Transfusions

Unlimited O-rhesus negative blood will allow the NHS to avoid a logistical nightmare – maintaining stores of the eight different types of human blood. O-rhesus negative is good for everyone.

It also means that the chance of giving the wrong type of blood to patient – which could be fatal – will be zero.

A Miracle of Science

The world of medicine will be massively improved by having an unlimited, safe source of transfusable blood.

Thanks to embryonic stem cell research this miracle is expected to start to become a reality in 3-4 years.

BBC Coverage

Stem Cells Make Blood Transfusions Safer is a post from: Alternative HealthZine

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