Malcolm in the Middle of Thailand for New Stem Cell Treatment November 6, 2007
Posted by TheraVitae in : Press Releases , trackbackNew York Man No Longer Has Congestive Heart Failure, Thanks to Adult Stem Cell Therapy
New York 11/06/2007 03:31 AM GMT (TransWorldNews)
Malcolm Anderson, of Hudson, New York, reports that his ejection fraction (a measure of the heart’s pumping function) has increased from 41% to 55%, thanks to a novel adult stem cell treatment that he received in Bangkok, Thailand.
Malcolm Anderson, 81, was very concerned when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He knew he was going downhill. Malcolm asked his doctor, “What can I do about congestive heart failure?” His doctor replied, “you can take lasix.”
To Malcolm, that wasn’t a great option. “Is that all I can do? I thought there must be something better than taking lasix the rest of my life” said Malcolm.
“I had an ejection fraction of 41%, not debilitating, but, long term, not good. I knew it would gradually get worse and worse.”
Malcolm decided to search the internet and look for an alternative method of treating his congestive heart failure. He found that option in Theravitae, a biotechnology company in Thailand, that developed a procedure to treat congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease using a patient’s own stem cells.
Theravitae’s Vescell adult stem cell technology employs adult stem cells harvested from a small amount of the patient’s own blood and does not require bone marrow extraction.
“I thought if it doesn’t do any good, at least it doesn’t do any harm,” said Malcolm.
Malcolm was a little apprehensive before his arrival in Bangkok in March, 2007. “Once I got there, it was a piece of cake. They took great care of me from the moment I arrived at the airport.”
Malcolm’s own stem cells were implanted into his coronary arteries via catheter in a simple procedure very similar to an angioplasty.
Eight months later, the stem cell therapy has improved Malcolm’s quality of life. “I recently visited my doctor - my diagnosis now is that I don’t have heart failure anymore! My ejection fraction is 55%. That is a 30% increase! I’m feeling top shelf. I’m working again. I’m happy.”
About TheraVitae:
TheraVitae is a private, multinational company focused on using stem cells from the patient’s own blood in order to treat a variety of disorders, especially cardiovascular diseases. The company has developed a proprietary stem cell technology, ‘VesCell’, that is currently being used by hospitals in Thailand and Singapore to treat patients with heart disease and peripheral artery disease.
VesCell — A Natural Treatment for Heart Disease and Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
The body has natural ways of healing itself and the cardiovascular system is no exception. Angiogenic Cell Precursors (ACPs) originate in bone marrow and then circulate in the blood vessels. To manufacture VesCell, TheraVitae expands a small number of ACPs harvested from about 250cc of blood into a therapeutic quantity. VesCell is injected either through a coronary artery via catheter, or during surgery, directly into the heart muscle.
A key aspect of VesCell therapy is the advanced cell isolation and expansion technique that allows for the ACPs to be harvested from blood collected in a procedure similar to a common blood donation. VesCell uses a patient’s own adult stem cells to treat Heart Disease and PAD and is a viable therapeutic possibility for heart or PAD patients without any other treatment option.
