Stem Cell Transplant Helps Stroke Victim

Stem Cell Transplant Helps Stroke Victim

This is not exactly research news, since it is a one-case treatment situation, but biotech company Stem Cell Therapy International Inc. has announced that a stroke victim was treated with an embryonic stem cell transplant and has recovered some of his mobility. The patient, Ian McBride of Belfast, was still paralyzed on his left side eighteen months after the stroke. After the transplant, Mr. McBride was able to life and bend his left leg, grip with his left hand, move his left arm, and sit up on his own.

The procedure was done in Kiev, Ukraine, in September. The press release quotes the CEO of SCTI as saying, “We are very excited about the improvement in Ian McBride's condition as a result of the stem cell therapy he received at the clinic. The procedure is based on the technology of the biological solution used, which is part of the exclusive license agreement SCTI has for the use of the 26 patents related to stem cells from the Institute of Cell Therapy (ICT). This is the first case we have conducted since arranging our exclusive licensing agreement to distribute and use stem cell solutions to treat human patients and the results exceeded our expectations.”

The company has asked a scientist and physician on its medical advisory board to prepare an abstract of the article and submit it for publication to an appropriate refereed journal. Other details of the procedure (where were the stem cells injected? What exactly was the “technology of the biological solution”? What was the source and lineage of the embryonic stem cells?) are not answered by the press release (available on MarketWire).