Braille Institute VP: Cameron may be a door opener for the future
The news of an 18-month-old boy slowly regaining his eyesight has
rippled across Southwest Florida.
"That makes four children that we know of that have received this
treatment who can see now," stated Chuck Johnson, vice president of
The Braille Institute of Florida. The institute works in Southwest
Florida to increase Braille literacy and encourage children with
blindness and other learning disabilities to express their
talents. "If Cameron is coming through that same exchange, he may be
a door opener for the future."
The legally blind Port Charlotte toddler was diagnosed with optic
nerve hypoplasia, or a lack of development of the optic nerve, and
traveled to China for stem-cell treatment the beginning of August.
"Hypoplasia comes from damage to the optic nerve," Johnson
said. "It's not strong enough to carry the light. The only thing that
can help your sight is to undergo this type of treatment. His optic
nerve was asleep; now it's getting a new shock. This new shock is the
stem cells that are from the umbilical cord."
According to Eric Stockley, of the Charlotte County Health
Department, Cameron received a series of five injections of umbilical
cord stem cells directly through his spine into the fluid that
surrounds the brain. These are cells harvested from umbilical cord
blood and not the embryonic cells that are at the center of
controversy right now.
Each injection delivers more than 10 million stem cells in
combination with additional neuron growth factor cells. These cells
guide the stem cells to the damaged nerve cells, which in Cameron's
case is the optic nerve. Once the stem cells have located the damaged
nerve they begin to rejuvenate and replace and repair the damage.
After he returns to the United States, Cameron will continue to take
treatments for another year or more. Also, he will have to undergo
three months of intensive therapy to stimulate his sight. Also, for
12 months, Cameron must spend some time every day, five days a week,
in a hyperbaric oxygen decompression unit. This is similar to what
divers with the bends must undergo, but for Cameron, this therapy
will encourage armature stem-cell growth.
What will this small success mean for future research?
"He (Cameron) is coming from scratch," Johnson said. "If he's getting
stronger, it's because of these treatments. It's exciting news for
us. We have a winning key on our hands, and the government is going
to hear about it."
By DAWN KREBS
http://www.sun-
pubdate=082807&
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
____________________________________________
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
