although the headline IS misleading. jmr
Boy Cured of Sickle Cell Anemia
ATLANTA (AP) - Dec 13, 1999 - A 13-year-old boy who underwent an
experimental
blood cell transfusion was declared cured of sickle cell anemia
Monday.
Doctors had replaced the bone marrow of Keone Penn with STEM CELLS
from the umbilical cord of an unrelated infant in the hopes
that the new cells would produce healthy marrow, which in turn
produces blood cells.
``I'm talking, my heart is beating and my brain is working,''
Keone said in a statement from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
``I made it.''
The transplant was performed Dec. 11, 1998, and was believed to
be the first time unrelated cord blood has been used to treat
sickle cell anemia _ an inherited, crippling and sometimes lethal
disease prevalent among blacks.
Doctors had said that they would wait a year to see if the stem
cells were creating healthy blood before declaring Keone cured.
``The cord blood cells are now fully operational, making all
healthy blood cells. ... We see no signs of sickle cells,'' said
Dr. Andrew M. Yeager, the Emory University physician who performed
the procedure.
The procedure could mean an alternative to painful bone marrow
transplants as a way of treating sickle cell, which is caused by
defective bone marrow that creates irregularly shaped cells that
are unable to pass through tiny blood vessels.
Before Keone received the stem cells, doctors had given the
procedure a 50-50 chance of working.
~~~~
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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