What an amazing breakthrough.

What an amazing breakthrough. A group of doctors and scientists say a paralyzed man has been able to walk again after surgery in which olfactory nerve cells from his nasal cavity were transplanted into his spinal cord.

Dr. Pawel Tabakow of the Wroclaw Medical University in Poland says in a statement: "Prior to the transplantation, we estimated that without this treatment, our patient's recovery chances were less than 1%. However, we observed a gradual recovery of both sensory and motor function that began 4 months after the surgery."

Raisman says in a statement: "We believe that this procedure is the breakthrough which -- as it is further developed -- will result in a historic change in the currently hopeless outlook for people disabled by spinal cord injury.

Absolutely brilliant, this man is now able to walk with a frame instead of being stusk in a wheelchair

Details of the research are published in the journal Cell Transplantation.

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Yes, I was also amazed.  Stem cell treatment may cure many afflictions.  As a hearing impaired person (through catching a very bad flu virus some years back), I am always hopeful that one day I may never need hearing aids.

If anyone is interested here is some information from earlier this year on the research currently being undertaken by one group.

 https://hearinglosscure.stanford.edu/2014/03/inner-ear-hair-cell-like-cells-from-human-embryonic-stem-cells/

 Can a common food dye be a cancer buster..

Using the body’s defences to fight cancer is a popular notion, pursued in various guises by locally listed biotechs including Viralytics, Prima BioMed, Virax and Imugene.

There’s strengthening evidence rose bengal — a red food dye that has been around for more than a century — has a similar vaccine effect. Rose bengal sells for about $8 a gram and when diluted to a 10 per cent formulation equates to a few cents a dose. As a water-soluble xanthene dye, it has been used in liver function studies and is still used by ophthalmologists as a stain to detect eye damage.

“It’s something very simple and very cheap, and its shining the light on the immunology mechanism in the cancer patient,’’ says University of Melbourne research fellow Martin Ashdown.

While rose bengal’s cancer-busting properties have been known — or suspected — for decades, clinical research has recently been accelerated.

Last year, a study under the auspices of Florida’s Lee Moffitt Cancer Centre and Research Institute showed a diluted 10 per rose bengal solution (PV-10) had a regressive effect on mice bearing breast cancer or melanoma lesions.

In the biggest and most formal human study to date, St Luke’s University Hospital in Pennsylvania published the results of an 80-patient,
phase-two trial of melanoma patients injected with the PV-10 formulation, marketed by Provectus Biopharmaceuticals of the US. The trial demonstrated significant disease control and found 41 patients met the primary endpoint of a complete or partial response.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wealth/food-dye-threatens-cancer-biotechs-business-model/story-e6frgac6-1227101486976

Thanks for the info and link Pete

Imagine a common food dye showing full and partial disease control.

Australian scientists make breakthrough in treating childhood nervous system cancer neuroblastomaBy medical reporter Sophie Scott

Updated 4 Aug 2014, 10:43amMon 4 Aug 2014, 10:43am

MAP: Australia

Australian scientists treating the most common form of childhood cancer have made an important breakthrough in understanding what drives it to grow.

Neuroblastoma case studyFive-year-old Luciano Mazzucho is now a feisty and lively boy but that wasn't always the case. 

When he was a toddler, he had a bad bout of pneumonia and doctors found a large lump in his chest. 

His mother, Maria, said they were told he had neuroblastoma. 

"We were quite shocked but had great doctors like Professor Marshall," she said.

Luciano had several rounds of chemotherapy then an operation to remove the tumour.

His father Aldo said it was a difficult time but Luciano stayed happy most of the time. 

"He was happy 99 per cent of the time, he had a smile on his face," he said. 

Luciano's parents are now active in helping raise money and awareness about neuroblastoma. 

 

Children with neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system, are often diagnosed once the cancer is already advanced.

While survival rates for most childhood cancers are quite high, neuroblastoma survival rates are around 50 per cent and have not improved for a decade.

Professor Glenn Marshall from the Children's Cancer Institute and his team have discovered a gene linked to the cause of neuroblastoma that could provide new targets for cancer therapy.

The team's work has shown that junk DNA is involved in causing neuroblastoma.

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