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Editors Note - January 9, 2012 - Sixty Minutes did an expose last night on Stem Cell charlatans that are currently promising cures for incurable conditions through their offshore clinics located in Mexico, Ecuador and elsewhere. The Sixty Minutes story was superb, revealing just how vulnerable patients facing a serious diagnosis can feel. Specifically, they covered a physician who had lost his license in the USA for, apparently, pedophilia. He relocated to Ecuador where he started marketing stem cells treatments and "cures" for many conditions including cerebral palsy and Lou Gehrig's disease. It was patently obvious that the guy is a crook profiting off of desperate patients and apparently breaking US law by exporting stem cells into the USA through a website.
This story did NOT refer to any US based stem cell research center nor did it implicate any US based stem cell researchers, such as Dr. Eliot Lander at the California Stem Cell Treatment Center. Dr. Lander is, in fact, attempting to study the effect of stem cells on IC and several other conditions. We all CLEARLY UNDERSTAND that no health claims have been made regarding the effectiveness of stem cell treatments and IC. However, as the researchers at Duke University said in the story, research is in progress and we hope and pray that they will show effectiveness. - Jill
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Editors Note (09/26/11) - One of the key missions of the IC Network is to present the latest information about potential therapies so that you, our readers, know what's coming down the research pipeline. In the past year, stem cell therapy has been a hot topic in support groups and the web. Patients are asking a lot of questions for which we have few answers. There are NO published research studies proving that stem cell treatment can be effective for the treatment of IC, nor are stem cells approved by the FDA for the treatment of any medical condition. Board certified urologist Dr. Eliot Lander of the California Stem Cell Treatment Center hopes to answer some of those questions by conducting a pilot study on the use stem cells in the treatment of IC. One significant barrier, however, is the cost as there is no large pharmaceutical company underwriting the study. This is a new line of research that is potentially exciting but it should be approached carefully and cautiously. We encourage you to visit their website to read more about it, explore the potential pros and cons (i.e. potential safety, cost, etc.) and talk with your physician about it. - Jill
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The California Stem Cell Treatment Center is currently looking for 20 to 30 patients with IC for their first pilot study to derive useful information about side effects and possible effectiveness.
How does stem cell therapy work?*
We are using stem cells to regenerate damaged human tissues. After giving our patients an IRB compliant consent, we harvest their own stem cells in a 20 minute liposuction under local anesthesia. We then isolate extremely high numbers of viable stem cells and then deploy them through various methods including, intravenous, intra-arterial, and intravesical (into the bladder). These cells can repair or replace damaged cells and also can effect repair in damaged cells by secreting chemical messengers that send signals for tissue regeneration. We do not use stem cells derived from human embryos.
What specifically do you believe this therapy is doing for an IC bladder wall??
Stem cell regeneration is uniquely suited for a disease like interstitial cystitis. Although the exact cause of IC remains elusive, we know that there can be urothelial and smooth muscle damage. We know that stem cells will incorporate into bladder smooth muscle and we know that stem cells have systemic immune-modulatory and anti- inflammatory effects that are important to consider in a disease like IC that has profound systemic effects. I have been a urologist for 24 years and have diagnosed and treated numerous patients with IC. I have a special understanding of the needs of the IC patients and the feelings of desperation this disease can cause. There is some solid basic science (see our website www.stemcellrevolution.com) to back up what we are doing and of course a lot of hope riding on this project.
What's the status of your research to date?
We have been seeing excellent early results on our orthopedics program treating hips, knees, shoulders, and chronic back pain. We are currently targeting a number of other degenerative conditions, and in urology this includes erectile dysfunction, Peyronies disease and of course, interstitial cystitis. We are just starting to accumulate data and we hope to have some preliminary answers within the next 12 to 24 months. If we see no adverse reactions and some hopefully some efficacy, we plan to submit our data to the FDA and then conduct double blind trials to confirm our findings. In the meantime, we continue to see patients and accumulate information and hone our deployment methods. We are using many innovative and advanced interventional radiographic deployment methods in addition to traditional cell delivery methods.
What is patient funded research?
We are financially, politically, and intellectually completely independent of government or industry sources of funding. This is a luxury but also a privilege. We are charging our patients for stem cell deployments but we have kept costs at least one tenth those seen in stem cell treatment centers in Europe and around the world in an effort to lower the threshold for enrollment. For most diseases we charge under $9,000 but for IC we are charging a consult fee and $4500 (as a courtesy to the ICN for our initial patients).
How should patients contact you?*
They can visit our website http://www.stemcellrevolution.com or call 800-231-0407.
We have an excellent FAQS section on the site where patients and physicians can learn about this new technology.
This story did NOT refer to any US based stem cell research center nor did it implicate any US based stem cell researchers, such as Dr. Eliot Lander at the California Stem Cell Treatment Center. Dr. Lander is, in fact, attempting to study the effect of stem cells on IC and several other conditions. We all CLEARLY UNDERSTAND that no health claims have been made regarding the effectiveness of stem cell treatments and IC. However, as the researchers at Duke University said in the story, research is in progress and we hope and pray that they will show effectiveness. - Jill
- - - - - - - -
Editors Note (09/26/11) - One of the key missions of the IC Network is to present the latest information about potential therapies so that you, our readers, know what's coming down the research pipeline. In the past year, stem cell therapy has been a hot topic in support groups and the web. Patients are asking a lot of questions for which we have few answers. There are NO published research studies proving that stem cell treatment can be effective for the treatment of IC, nor are stem cells approved by the FDA for the treatment of any medical condition. Board certified urologist Dr. Eliot Lander of the California Stem Cell Treatment Center hopes to answer some of those questions by conducting a pilot study on the use stem cells in the treatment of IC. One significant barrier, however, is the cost as there is no large pharmaceutical company underwriting the study. This is a new line of research that is potentially exciting but it should be approached carefully and cautiously. We encourage you to visit their website to read more about it, explore the potential pros and cons (i.e. potential safety, cost, etc.) and talk with your physician about it. - Jill
- - - - - - - -
The California Stem Cell Treatment Center is currently looking for 20 to 30 patients with IC for their first pilot study to derive useful information about side effects and possible effectiveness.
How does stem cell therapy work?*
We are using stem cells to regenerate damaged human tissues. After giving our patients an IRB compliant consent, we harvest their own stem cells in a 20 minute liposuction under local anesthesia. We then isolate extremely high numbers of viable stem cells and then deploy them through various methods including, intravenous, intra-arterial, and intravesical (into the bladder). These cells can repair or replace damaged cells and also can effect repair in damaged cells by secreting chemical messengers that send signals for tissue regeneration. We do not use stem cells derived from human embryos.
What specifically do you believe this therapy is doing for an IC bladder wall??
Stem cell regeneration is uniquely suited for a disease like interstitial cystitis. Although the exact cause of IC remains elusive, we know that there can be urothelial and smooth muscle damage. We know that stem cells will incorporate into bladder smooth muscle and we know that stem cells have systemic immune-modulatory and anti- inflammatory effects that are important to consider in a disease like IC that has profound systemic effects. I have been a urologist for 24 years and have diagnosed and treated numerous patients with IC. I have a special understanding of the needs of the IC patients and the feelings of desperation this disease can cause. There is some solid basic science (see our website www.stemcellrevolution.com) to back up what we are doing and of course a lot of hope riding on this project.
What's the status of your research to date?
We have been seeing excellent early results on our orthopedics program treating hips, knees, shoulders, and chronic back pain. We are currently targeting a number of other degenerative conditions, and in urology this includes erectile dysfunction, Peyronies disease and of course, interstitial cystitis. We are just starting to accumulate data and we hope to have some preliminary answers within the next 12 to 24 months. If we see no adverse reactions and some hopefully some efficacy, we plan to submit our data to the FDA and then conduct double blind trials to confirm our findings. In the meantime, we continue to see patients and accumulate information and hone our deployment methods. We are using many innovative and advanced interventional radiographic deployment methods in addition to traditional cell delivery methods.
What is patient funded research?
We are financially, politically, and intellectually completely independent of government or industry sources of funding. This is a luxury but also a privilege. We are charging our patients for stem cell deployments but we have kept costs at least one tenth those seen in stem cell treatment centers in Europe and around the world in an effort to lower the threshold for enrollment. For most diseases we charge under $9,000 but for IC we are charging a consult fee and $4500 (as a courtesy to the ICN for our initial patients).
How should patients contact you?*
They can visit our website http://www.stemcellrevolution.com or call 800-231-0407.
We have an excellent FAQS section on the site where patients and physicians can learn about this new technology.
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