Adult Stem Cells Help Scleroderma Patient Feel "Reborn"

New Jersey resident, Michael George feels “reborn” after having his own adult stem cells implanted in him to treat his scleroderma in a new stem cell treatment. Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease which is mostly known as a skin disorder, but in it’s worst form, also attacks the internal organs of the patient.

Quality of Life Improved After Adult Stem Cell Therapy- No restrictions

The stem cell therapy took place a little over 1 year ago on March 13th, 2008. Since then, Michael has improved so much that doctors have removed all restrictions on Michael’s life so he can do anything he wants.

Stem Cell Therapy at Northwestern

The adult stem cells were implanted at Northwestern University in Chicago where presumably our American hero, Dr. Richard Burt was behind the scenes.

From the stem cell article :

The night he returned to Perth Amboy, George remembers being able to bend down to pick up the luggage from the trunk of the cab. These days his knees are giving him some trouble when he bends due to arthritis.

George said the procedure didn’t cure him, but it stopped the disease and reverses it to a certain extent.

“In April the doctor said “are you sure I didn’t give you a lung transplant, instead of a stem cell transplant,” he said, noting both his lungs and heart are now in good condition.

Michael followed in the footsteps of Bari Martz who also went to Northwestern for stem cell treatment for her scleroderma. Martz also had great success with the adult stem cells- For now, “I’m great,” she says. Her lung function jumped and is still improving, she can flex her hands again, and can even climb stairs, if slowly. “I’m continuing to get better.”

Stem Cell Treatment Isn’t Cheap in United States

A lot of overseas stem cell companies take a lot of flack for charging patients usually in the range of $20,000-30,000 dollar for the adult stem cell therapy that can improve patients’ lives. However, we find out that stem cell treatment in the US isn’t cheap either at over $200,000 for an “experimental” treatment :

George said he really appreciates life and everyone at his church, the school district and city who wrote or e-mailed him and contributed toward his medical expenses, which were more than $200,000.

I don’t want money to be the main issue, as the important thing is Michael did improve his quality of life and you can’t put a price tag on that. However, those overseas stem cell therapy companies don’t look so bad after all when you compare them to the $200,000 + for adult stem cells in the United States for similar “unproven” treatments.