Returning Hope — Stem Cell Treatment in Asia

I'm new and don't know if this has been discussed before.

I'm looking into this medical center in Asia that does stem cell therapies.

The cost is immense $18.000, but for me at least I would pay twice that to regain my hearing and get rid of tinnitus. For that amount you get accommodation for you and one companion, the treatment takes two weeks.

Apparently they take bone marrow, blood, fat, or skin and create cells from that. I haven't researched stem cell therapy that extensively so I'm looking to create a discussion on this.

They do not guarantee results and like I mentioned the cost is pretty steep. Am I insane for even considering this?

http://www.returninghope.com/

 

I would be highly skeptical. Below is a link to a chapter from a book. The book excerpt was published in Scientific American. It discusses the progress on restoration of hearing through stem cells. The author of the excerpt estimates it will be 20 to 50 years before cochlear hair cells can be regenerated. The otoneurologist treating me told me last year the most optimistic estimates are that human testing could begin in ten years.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/a...home-in-on-biological-ways-to-restore-hearing

 

Thanks, yeah it seems highly unlikely that this would work. Sigh...

 

While this is 3rd hand info from a doctor, I've been told that there are large numbers of people who have been harmed by stem cell treatments in Asia (mostly China). If the treatment does not place the stem cells in a specific place (i.e., if they just inject them into your bloodstream hoping they will get to the right place) then stay away. The practice of just injecting them into the blood stream is common in China and that approach is what causes problems because you can get the wrong kind of cells growing in the the wrong place.

 

The good folks at the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss are working on a cure for hearing loss are making progress every year. They recently reported progress being made on a process to image cochlear hair cells. For the stem cell process to work, there must be sufficient imaging techniques available.

Another reason to be optimistic is the re-election of President Obama. I did not vote for him, but I fully support President Obama's efforts to encourage and support stem cell research, including embryonic stem cell research. We should be thankful for his support for stem cell research.

Also, Stanford is getting some of the stem cell grant money from the state of California.

http://hearinglosscure.stanford.edu/

 

Its impossible to estimate when we get to human trials, but one thing you can say for sure is that the work is accelerating greatly. The project may be aiming high but that shouldn't be considered negatively, because one thing is for sure there are going to be all kinds of discoveries possibly including therapies discovered on the way to the ultimate cure, that can only be good. Stanford and others are looking ar stem cells, gene therapy, pharmacology etc.

 

In this dog-eat-dog world how can miserable T sufferers can shell out $ 18 k for an unguaranteed treatment !?
Even if it were guaranteed %100, I would have to sell off my life to go after such a treatment.

 

My ninety year old Dad, who suffers from T and is about 70% deaf, and I have been discussing the medical advances taking place in the world around him. We have been reading about the printing of human body parts with the use of 3D printers. They recently printed the cartilage for the outside of a human ear. You can read about it at the following link if you have not already seen it.

http://weill.cornell.edu/news/releases/wcmc/wcmc_2013/02_20_13-2.shtml

He is hopeful that in his lifetime they will be able to print him a working hearing system again. With all of the medical advances he has seen in his lifetime, there has been such little progress with T and hearing loss. Maybe they will continue further into the ear now that they have the outside down pat. I know the stem cell regrowth is on the forefront, but is still a few years away. Interesting information at the following link:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0046355

I would say conservatism is the best option at the moment. I would not want further damage from experimental treatment that may not be reversible later on when it is tried and trued. Hang tight and wait for confirmation and proven results.

 

I hope your Dad lives to 110 years old.

Your advice is sound. I am interested in seeing more results from the HIFU surgery for tinnitus in Europe. However, I would be cautious in undergoing it, knowing that other options may be available in the coming years. Same goes for the vagal nerve stimulation being developed by MicroTransponder.

 

Thank you! My Dad is quite the remarkable person. He still has all of his mental faculties, no arthritis, and about 90% of his own teeth. He still read two newspapers a day,, send a text better than I do, and beat most of his kids at reflex games on an IPad. I hope I do as well as him if I reach 90!

I am sure his T started in WWII, from which he received a Purple Heart while on the USS Kidd (fully restored and stationed in Baton rouge, LA). He also worked in the carpet industry for 50 years with no hearing protection. He said to me recently that there are some days when he does not hear it at all. So, I guess that gives me hope that maybe one day mine will be unnoticeable.

He has been contemplating a cochlear ear implant. The post about the advances in the programming are worth sharing with him. Unfortunately, it may be his best option at this point.

 

Glad you read the article I posted about advances in programming for cochlear implants. I live about 80 miles from Vanderbilt.

 

maybe the answer is nano-stem cells which can go right points and regenerate.

 

I talked about this a lot with At the Edge of Science.I did a 2 hour Skype call with the head dr 2 weeks ago..They are proposing adipose stem cells by doing surgery to remove them from my stomach...Plus laser light therapy--and a bunch of other stuff...15K for 1st time one week incl hotel..

I am concerned about cost and the surgery part plus any other side effects

 

So how did it go with @attheedgeofscience?

 

I would too would pay twice as much if it was 100% cure. Good Luck if you decide to try.....

 

There is adipose stem cell therapy- with selective injection, up the nasal passage behind the blood brain barrier
7,100.00. In Phoenix. Some people have had diminished Tinnitus. It also works very well on the immune system-Auto-Immune illnesses. I mention this because people with T usually have other problems related to Auto-Immune. If one can improve overall health its a great thing.

I'm going in this coming November. I have Hashimotos, neuropathy, IBS, ED. and of course T. My immune system could use a real boost. It's like any thing else, it might work a little or a lot or not at all. God bless.

 

@ruben ruiz Could you please give me the name of the clinic that does it in Phoenix? I might want to look at what they are doing there.

Also, i see that you already planning to do this in November. Could you please post some reports on how everything went with the procedure and afterwards. I would really like to hear how you fared and if it improved your tinnitus at all.

 

Remember that you also have to look at the risk side of it: the worse that can happen isn't that it doesn't work at all and you lost $$, it's that it can harm you (possibly permanently).
I hope it doesn't happen of course, but you should keep it in mind when making your decision.

Good luck.

 

I assume you are all aware of the Stanford initiative to cure hearing loss in 10 years. If not, here's a link https://hearinglosscure.stanford.edu/ I don't understand why they are talking about cures being so far off but the Novartis virus gene therapy is here now. I'm confused.

And on a side note, I watched all of Robert Jackler's presentations and he is so inaccurate with his claims. In the 2012 video he says 10 years. In the 2013 video he says 10 years. In that same video he says, if you ask me again in 5 years, I might say the same thing. What the heck? Why even say 10 years to begin with if your gonna keep changing your mind. lol

 

Please don't go, it's just quacks, according for example by @HomeoHebbian who is "Neuroscience Professor obsessed with understanding and eradicating tinnitus" and here on TT.
Wish you sincerly all the best

 

@ruben ruiz

Best of luck! We are all pulling for you!

Elsewhere in one of the stem cell threads on TTalk someone said a clinic in a New York which focuses primarily on dermatology type stem cell treatment reported a number of patients getting an unexpected side effect - lessened tinnitus. So that seems hopeful. I wish the clinics in the United States collected more data about patients undergoing stem cell treatment for other conditions winding up with improved tinnitus. But other than the report on TTalk about the place in New York, I have not come across anyone collecting this data.

In the current issue of Tinnitus Today, the American Tinnitus Association magazine, there is an article on a woman in Maryland who is getting stem cell treatment but no details are given.

 

Good luck, and make sure to report back.

7 100 isn's all that expensive. You'll have to pay four times the amount at Asian clinics. Would be a good thing if there is a cheaper option, with accounts of at least some reflief.

 

I've received adipose derived svf stem cells at Macquarie stem cell clinic in Australia in May 2017 for joint pain and severe cervicogenic headaches (IV and facet joint injections x1) and lupus?

Pain gone day 5 post stem cells. Yay!

Tinnitus persists... But improved...

 

Ok @DebInAustralia, you can't just say that and then leave us hanging. What do you mean when you say it's improved? How? Do you attribute this improvement directly to the therapy, or other factors?

 

I'm not leaving you hanging!!!

It's improved... Not gone!!!!

And I'm not going to make bold statements about whether I think this is directly linked to the stems or other!

Except to say my tinnitus is now mostly background noise and my hyperacusis is improved.

 

I see. So just a subtle link perhaps?

 

I didn't suggest a link at all.

I said my tinnitus has improved.

 

Let me start out by saying that I'm thrilled your tinnitus has improved because of this. I've got a few questions.

1) how bad would you say it was before and now? Like, in terms of specific sound description.

2) how much was it, and if it's not open to the public, if/when it will be.

3) do you think the results were relatively uniform amongst those who got similar treatments?

Thanks in advance.

 

@DebInAustralia wow that's great! ATEOS reported his T improved over time after stem cell therapy so don't rule out further improvement just yet!

How would you rate your T annoyance out of 10 before the therapy and now? Out of curiosity what was the cost of treatment?

 

Thanks for all the encouragement. Here is the address for the adipose therapy in Phoenix.
Feel free to email me. I don't think, from what I've read about adipose that a danger or bed effect is at hand. It's my own stem cells.
Stem Cell Rejuvenation Center, LLC.
Peace Wellness Center, PLLC.
7600 N. 15th Street Ste. 102
Phoenix, AZ 85020
(602) 439-0000 office
(602) 439-0021 fax