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Stem Cell Treatment More Than Controversy

Judy Bastien
jbastien@theadvertiser.com

Stem cell treatment shows promise for treating a wide array of previously incurable diseases and conditions. Surrounded by controversy and shrouded by misunderstanding, the words themselves are a hot button for many people who associate them only with embryonic stem cell research.

But, there are three types of stem cells, said David Payne, a researcher at the Steenblock Research Institute in San Clemente, Calif., which has provided help to 9-year-old Lafayette cerebral palsy patients Trent and Tyler Frye.

Besides the controversial embryonic stem cells, there are umbilical cord blood stem cells and stem cells harvested from the bone marrow of adults.

"Umbilical cord blood is donated by healthy mothers who gave birth to healthy babies," said Payne, a Lubbock, Texas, native who grew up in Alexandria. "The stem cells come from a mother's cord, which is usually thrown away after birth."

Like the Frye twins, anyone seeking umbilical cord blood stem cell treatment for most neurological disorders have to go to clinics in the Bahamas or Mexico to receive the injections, although the stem cells provided through the Steenblock Research Institute are donated by American mothers and processed in the United States, then shipped abroad.

While the treatments are approved for numerous types of cancer and other problems, the FDA has not yet given the nod to use them for neurological applications.

"I don't think safety is the issue," Payne said. "It has been used for about 40 years - they have been using it for cancer for the last 17 years."

The FDA is simply trying to ascertain whether it is effective, Payne said.

The mechanism by which stem cells work on previously untreatable conditions is still not entirely understood, Payne said. "We think what happens is these cells cause the body and brain to make growth factors that encourage the brain to heal itself."

Payne has been gathering data on more than 100 patients for the past two years and has found that the younger the patient the better the response.

"I've been tracking 13 children with cerebral palsy since March 2003. Eighty-five percent of them have had clinically significant improvement in motor function and cognition," Payne said. "But, I've also seen a few stroke patients in their 40s show good response and a few cases involved elderly people who had improvement."

Payne said he and Dr. David Steenblock, the physician for whom the institute was named, are working on a book about their experiences with umbilical cord blood stem cell treatments, which will include a chapter on the Frye twins. The working title, Payne said, is "Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells: The Gift of Healing from Healthy Newborn Babies." The book will be released by Basic Health Publications in early 2006.

The future of umbilical cord blood stem cell therapy looks promising, Payne said.

"We don't know how far this therapy will take us," Payne said, using a phrase he said he borrowed from a "Star Trek" movie. "We're in the undiscovered country."