Experimental Russian Stem Cell Treatments Credited for Woman’s Progress

Experimental Russian stem cell treatments for spinal injury credited for woman’s progress

Notice: The following excerpts are taken from the Grand Rapids Press.

When Kadi DeHaan took her first steps in December, two years after a car accident forced her into a wheelchair, she did it in typical Kadi style: low-key, nonchalant and with a confident grin.

Apparently, she knew all along she would walk away from her pink and black wheelchair and her customized leg braces, despite a spinal cord injury at chest level and a grim prognosis that she would never walk again.

It happened after two years of intensive therapy and six trips to Russia, where her stem cells were harvested and then injected into her spinal cord to restore nerves.

Kadi’s progress is “very much a unique and wonderful thing,” said physical therapist Sandy Burns, director of the Center for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery in Rockford, a clinic affiliated with the Detroit Medical Center.

No one can say for sure if nearly two years of experimental treatments or hours upon hours of physical therapy — a trio of three-hour sessions every week — led Kadi to where she is today.

Probably both, said Burns, whose clients sometimes head to Russia or Portugal or China for treatments that aren’t approved in the U.S. and generally aren’t covered by insurance.

The physical therapy is a very important component, “but it’s definitely Russia,” that put Kadi back on her own two feet, Kadi’s mom, Bonnie, insisted. “There are just too many coincidences. Kadi knows that what she’s got she got from Russia.”

After fundraising dollars ran out more than a year ago, Kadi’s parents took out a loan to pay for the trips to Russia. The three-year protocol recommended by Moscow doctors will cost in excess of $150,000.

At the time, Kadi had just a bit of feeling in her feet and could walk only with lots of help from custom-built leg braces and a walker.

Since then, she’s given up the braces and is “tons stronger” and “a lot more independent,” she said. She’s a full-time student at Davenport University who quaffs Mountain Dew and confesses to sending text messages during class.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes. I’ve seen motor return, sensory return, everything,” Kadi said.

She’s so convinced of the gains made at the NeuroVita Clinic that she’s planning her seventh trip there in August. Quite a change of attitude after she declared the first trip “the worst three weeks of my life.”

Burns, who is quick to say her clinic does not endorse any of the alternative treatments, acknowledged that the stem cell injections do seem to make a difference, at least for Kadi.

“Folks that have gone there have, I think, consistently reported that they are noticing changes. They are feeling more,” Burns said.

She tempers her optimism with the reality of what she sees every day: some of her clients will never accomplish half as much as Kadi has. Progress often depends upon the severity of the spinal injury, not just the region of the spine that was damaged.

That’s why Burns doesn’t make predictions about what her clients will eventually accomplish. But of course, she hopes Kadi continues to make great strides.

The Neurovita Clinic

Where: Moscow, Russia
What: Treats spinal cord injuries, degenerative disorders and some cancers with patient’s own stem cells, which are harvested, grown and re-injected. Clinic moved away from use of embryonic stem cells because of compatibility issues.
Insurance: Because treatment is experimental and not performed here, U.S. insurance policies don’t cover it.
Website: http://neurovita.ru/en/

The NeuroVita clinic was founded by neurologist Andrey S. Bryukhovetskiy in 2002. It’s located on the campus of the Russian State Medical University and can accommodate 35 patients.

The clinic dabbled in embryonic stem cell treatments but now uses only autologous material — that which is obtained from the patient — because there are no problems with compatibility, not to mention politics and religion, according to the Web site.

About 11 of every 100 patients with spinal cord injuries walk again after the stem cell treatments, Bryukhovetskiy told them.

Posted on April 7th, 2008 in General SCI and Human Interest, Therapies and Procedures. Tagged: