The FDA approved clinical trials for adult stem cells to the tune of 1100 in 2006. But 2007 was even more successful for adult stem cells. Over 1400 FDA approved trials for 73 different conditions in humans where patient health has been improved through adult stem cell therapy were documented in peer-reviewed studies in 2007.
Umbilical cord blood, placentas, and other tissues in the body contain adult stem cells. They are found throughout the entire body. No embryos are destroyed when extracting adult stem cells, which is in contrast with the extraction of embryonic stem cells.
We have decided to publish a yearly update each fall/winter since treatments with adult stem cells are continually increasing and continue to be impressive. (Note: Embryonic stem cells have never produced successful treatment trials in humans.)
Adult stem cells do not create tumors, unlike embryonic stem cells.
The research and treatments involving adult stem cells has been fast paced since our 2006 paper, thus, we have summarized some of the developments in the field below.
The Regeneration of Heart Tissue
Eight years ago, Doug Rice was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Due to his diabetes, he was unable to get a heart transplant.
Rice decided to travel offshore for adult stem cell treatment since he was facing fatal heart failure. Stem cells were extracted from a sample of blood taken from Rice. The cells were differentiated into angiogenic cell precursors, then transplanted into Rice’s heart.
The results were immediate for Rice, who experienced an increase in his hearts efficiency of 30 percent. He originally had an ejection fraction of 11 percent.
According to Rice, “I’ve been around a lot of people with bad hearts. I know if they looked at [adult stem cell therapy], it might save their lives. I firmly believe it saved mine.”
A few other companies have developed adult stem cell technology for heart patients.
Marc Penn, director of the Bakken Heart Brain Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, says of one new therapy, “It’s very exciting, perhaps a sea-changing trial for the field … offering the chance of an off-the-shelf-product.”
Bone marrow stem cells have been used by Bodo-Eckehard Strauer to treat over 300 heart patients. He is the director of the cardiology department at Dusseldorf University Hospital. A patient who was
