Unfettered by regulation, India pulls ahead on stem cell treatments

[joeycola]

I have a close friend who is seriously considering going to India. She is looking into it at this time. She has MS and nothing has really helped--is at the height of her career and US medicine-at the best clinics is not helping. She is collecting all sorts of data and information at India and its treatments.




http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/india/091009/unfettered-regulation-india-pulls-ahead-stem-cell-treatments

Unfettered by regulation, India pulls ahead on stem cell treatments


A controversial New Delhi clinic deploys advanced therapies that are unavailable in the U.S. to cure Americans suffering from MS, diabetes, paralysis, Alzheimer's, Lyme disease and cerebral palsy.
By Mridu Khullar


Published: October 9, 2009 15:35 ET

-A +ANEW DELHI, India — In December 2007, Californian Amy Scher got on a plane to India, wheeled herself into the Nu Tech Mediworld hospital in New Delhi, and started the first phase of an experimental embryonic stem-cell treatment.

Her American doctor had warned her against this untested procedure. But 27-year-old Scher was making no progress with conventional medicine, and she was fed up with the constant visits to hospital emergency rooms.

Scher suffered from chronic Lyme disease, which had gone undiagnosed initially, causing serious damage her nervous system. After researching her options for months, talking to several people who had benefitted from these treatments in India, and reading up about therapies available stateside, Scher decided the American medical system couldn't help her. She chose to travel to India.

For eight weeks, she was injected with stem cells and underwent extensive physical therapy. The treatments cost an average of $20,000 to $30,000 for a first round of injections. They were not covered by insurance.

Today, Scher's U.S. physician, Dr. Steven Harris considers her "asymptomatic." He is uncertain whether the disease has been eradicated, or if it’s just dormant, but he says the treatments appear to have helped.

From India, Scher brought back a SPECT scan, which measures blood flow in the brain. Before India, Harris says, the blood flow in her brain was impaired. "At the end of her stay, a repeat scan showed normalization of her blood flow — in effect, an improvement in brain function." Scher no longer takes nerve stabilizers or cardiac medication. The chronic pain, a constant companion since 2001, is gone.
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[ixion]

1. Science moves on, as America struggles against going backward

we're still debating evolution, don'cha know. :eyes:

[joeycola]

2. yes, I know. but back to the story--sometimes regulations and

precautions go overboard here in the US. I do know some history of drug/medical treatment and reasoning for regulations but sometimes they just get in the way.

[ixion]

3. nah, much less about safety and more about money and connections

in my opinion.

[joeycola]

5. true, Safety is used as the excuse/rational.

[Warpy]

4. 8 years of talibornagain rule have put us decades behind

the rest of the world that wasn't ruled by religious lunacy. That means we not only lost 8 years of well funded NIH research, it means we're going to have to waste years playing catchup, building infrastructure and reinventing the wheel that the rest of the world is already rolling around on.

We'll be lucky if we ever catch up.

[Vehl]

6. You hit the Nail on the Head!

The Main reason the US is lagging in these areas is the 8 years of religious Nut rule it had. One does not see people promoting "creationism" in most of the developing countries(at least countries that have a strong democratic government)

Ive had some of my foreign friends ask me "Is it true that some states in America teach creationism and not Darwinian Evolution?"
and when i say "yes"(with a sad shake of my head) they stare and me and say "they must be crazy!"

I really hope that we can get rid of this religious idiocy that plagues this country soon...if not we will not have a future..

[bemildred]

7. Unfettered by regulation, Two million slum children die every year as India booms

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=486238&mesg_id=486238