Ervin, here is one site I found. There are more if you google "Morales
Stem Cell Treatments in Mexico", Ray
Crossing the border in search of a cure
Web Posted: 05/10/2006 11:56 PM CDT
Sarah Lucero
KENS 5 Eyewitness News
It's no secret Americans cross the border into Mexico every day to take
advantage of cheap medications, dental procedures, and even cosmetic
surgery. However, Americans are going south of the border for another highly
controversial procedure - stem cell transplants.
The transplants are an unproven treatment offered to patients whose doctors
have told them there is no hope for recovery or even survival due to an
illness and are taking their chances in search of a cure.
Stephanie and Joe Flores were heartbroken when their daughter Sabrina was
born and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
"She'll develop at her own pace, but nothing really progressive," Joe said.
The parents were determined to do everything possible for Sabrina, so they
got her a stem cell transplant, a treatment that's not approved by the Food
and Drug Administration, and considered controversial and illegal in the
United States - but not in Mexico.
Video
. See the report
Web links
For more information on stem cell research, visit these Web
sites:
. International Society for Stem Cell Research:
www.isscr.org/science/faq.htm
. Clearly Explained:
clearlyexplained.com/nature/life/cells/stemcells.html
. National Institutes of Health: stemcells.nih.gov/index.asp
Web extra: Audio
. Extended interview: Dr. Frank Morales talks more on stem cell
use
. Extended interview: Dr. Brian Herman talks more on stem cell
use
"We had to make a decision," Stephanie said. "Do we keep waiting? Then when
do you stop waiting?"
In December 2005, Sabrina got the transplant at a small clinic in Progreso,
Mexico. Donated cells from umbilical cord blood were injected into Sabrina
with the hope that these healthy cells would multiply, then repair and
regenerate damaged or diseased tissue.
"We don't want to regret it later and say we should have done that back
then," Joe Flores said. "There's nothing harmful about it. It's worth a
try."
The family documented the trip on home video.
Dr. Frank Morales runs a preventive health care clinic just two blocks
inside of the International Bridge at Progreso. The clinic is one of only
three KENS 5 found in Mexico, and Morales owns two of them.
Morales sees patients from all over the world for the very simple procedure.
At least 10 to 15 patients travel to his Progreso clinic every month to
undergo stem cell transplants.
Randy, a patient from Iowa, came to the clinic for his second dose of stem
cells to treat lung cancer.
"It's about the only thing I had left to try," he said. "My option back in
the U.S. ... there weren't any. That's why I'm down here in Mexico."
People come for treatment for a variety of illnesses, from diabetes and
cancer, to neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy and multiple
sclerosis, to spinal cord injuries.
"These stem cells go in and stimulate certain growth factors. It's a
stimulation of sort of a repair that happens," Morales said.
What else happens and how it happens is still a mystery that some doctors
aren't interested in solving. Randy's doctors are among them.
"They weren't real interested," he said. "They call it a voodoo technology,
if you will."
Dr. Brian Herman, head of research at the University of Texas Health Science
Center, says overall, stem cell research is still in the very early stages
in the United States and all over the world.
"I think it's inappropriate to send someone off to get this treatment based
on not having information that it will benefit," Herman said. "I think it's
going to take 10 to 20 years of serious, intense research before we're in a
position to know whether these stem cells hold the potential we think they
do, and how we can use them reproducibly in a human."
Herman said that the current political climate is not favorable to funding
this type of research, mostly because of the moral and ethical debate over
the use of embryonic stem cells, not necessarily umbilical cells, and that
more public education over the difference is needed.
That is one point on which he and Morales may agree, but for Randy or
Sabrina's parents, time is not a luxury they have. So far, they say, the
treatments are working.
"She's more alert, her sense of humor is increased, her actions are more
deliberate," Stephanie Flores said of Sabrina. "A lot of this could be
purely coincidental or not, but we don't know," Joe Flores said. "We did it,
and we hope that our investment brought back some type of return."
Some research in the United States is being funded at the state level in
some states, including California, but not in Texas so far.
KENS 5 wants to stress that we in no way advocate this treatment.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ervin McCarthy" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 10:59 AM
Subject: Re: PD Research in Israel
> Ray, thank you for all the research you have done.
> have you come across a doctor in Mexico by the name of MORALES who is
> administering stem cells?
> Keep up the good work.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "rayilynlee" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 12:59 PM
> Subject: PD Research in Israel
>
>
>> TAU Research Leads to Next Stage in New Parkinson's Treatment
>>
>> BrainStorm, a company developed on research licensed from Tel Aviv
>> University, announced last week that it has started its animal model
>> study
>> on stem cell treatments against Parkinson's disease. The study is being
>> carried out in collaboration with the Center for Applied Medical Research
>> (CIMA) of the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. The team at the
>> Movement Disorders Unit at the University has over 20 years experience in
>> researching and applying new therapies to treat Parkinson's Disease, and
>> anticipates being among the first to use BrainStorm's technology to treat
>> patients in its own University Hospital.
>> BrainStorm's Chief Medical Advisor is Prof. Melamed - a world-renowned
>> expert in the field of neurodegenerative diseases - particularly on
>> Parkinson's disease. Prof. Melamed has served as head of the Neurology
>> Department at the Rabin Medical Center and Tel Aviv University since
>> 1987.
>> Throughout his career, Prof. Melamed has specialized in neurology,
>> holding
>> senior positions at the National Hospital (London) and at the Laboratory
>> of
>> Neuroendocrine Regulation (Massachusetts). He is a past president of the
>> Israel Neurological Association and former director of the National
>> Parkinson Foundation (USA). Prof. Melamed is a member of the Scientific
>> Committee of the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
>> In addition to moving ahead with the company's Parkinson's Disease
>> program,
>> Prof. Melamed is also helping BrainStorm progress with pre-clinical
>> trials
>> applying the company's stem cell technology to the treatment of ALS and
>> Multiple Sclerosis.
>> BrainStorm holds rights to develop and commercialize the technology
>> through
>> an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Ramot at Tel Aviv
>> University Ltd., the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University.
>> The
>> Company's initial focus is on Parkinson's disease, although its
>> technology
>> has promise for treating several others diseases including MS, ALS,
>> Huntington's disease and strokes.
>>
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>> 4:35 PM
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>>
>
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