There is some hospital in Ecuador advertising this Stem Cell medical procedure. It sounds like a scam to me. Is this really how Stem Cells heal? Is this possible, exaggerated, or just total BS? Their website is www.ascaac.com.
They explain their treatment for curing Autism and Seizures thusly: This is a very safe, almost completely non invasive procedure. Very simply, they remove two to three vials of blood from the body, and separate the blood into three sections. Dormant stem cells, growth factor, and the remaining components of plasma and blood. The dormant stem cells and plasma are then spun together to “awaken” the stem cells. We all have millions of dormant stem cells in our body. They are then put back into the body, and have the ability to replace or repair damaged cells. This is a very simplified explanation. The procedure takes only 20-30 minutes in total, and we would need to stay three days. The first day is diagnostic and information gathering, the second day is the treatment, and the third day is follow up.
Also, a Dr from the hospital is going to be speaking in Florida soon. He has been cooresponding with a person I know and this was in one of his emails.
*Dr. Al Mitrani from the American Stem Cell Center sent an e-mail this morning (2-10-10) it read:
Morning, I like to continually send e mail updates on results. Yesterday we did a stem cell procedure on a 8 year autistic child that was non verbal, last night the mom called crying as her daughter Ellen woke up from a nap and said Hi Mom!!! That was 10 hours after the treatment. Pretty amazing. Regards, Dr Al *
Seriously? Reads like a scam to me. Someone I know is trying to raise thousands of dollars to take her child to this facility. Is my suspicion warranted?
They appear to be a foreign offshoot of a company known as Envita Natural Medical Center in Scottsdale Arizona, started by this lovely man. Going by “kept challenging his teachers until he was forced to leave” and Naturopathy, that is not encouraging.
Something like that might conceivably work for some things, but there’s no way on Earth that you’re going to get results on autism ten hours after a single-day treatment. Even if it did fix that girl’s brain, she’d still need to learn to use it, which would be a process for months at best. And the fact that the “doctor” is claiming preposterous results like that means that I wouldn’t trust any other claim he makes, either.
I watched that, too - “garbage” sounds generous. Bald-faced lying and fraud sounds about right. That story actually made me kind of mad - to see him sitting there and asking for $125,000 (or whatever it was) from someone who is dying of a terrible disease for a treatment that you know is the equivalent of injecting saline into them in terms of usefulness was shocking.
Even if these sorts of treatments feature actual stem cells (highly doubtful), what these “entrepreneurs” are doing is not backed by clinical research, costs a ton of money and poses health risks depending on just how the “stem cell” injections are performed.
And another on a futile attempt to treat autism with stem cells.
A big proponent of unproven stem cell treatments is Suzanne Somers, supporter of various quack therapies.
Undoubtedly there are people who will, based on placebo effects, claim that these “stem cell” clinics have helped them or their children and who’ll denounce medical authorities in the U.S. for making it necessary for them to travel abroad for the “therapy”.
Agreed. For a lot of diseases and disorders , stem cells are still in the " It might help/cure but we just have no clue right now" stage. That added to the fact that it’s being done in a country with very little medical oversight just raises a ton of red flags.
The only point in favor of stem cells treating autism is that in some cases it can be the manifesation of autoimmune disease. Autoimmune conditions tend to respond extremely well to things like bone marrow transplants (which are basicly adult stem cells) There are actually quite a few disorders and diseases which are being treated by BMT. And yet, we need to also realize that for example they said that multiple sceloris was going to be cured by stem cells… looks around…It’s still around!
However, if the autism due to something like the shape of the brain or something like that, stem cells won’t help in those cases.
I am deaf, and there’s been a WHOLE lot of excitement in the news about stem cells curing hearing loss. …this thread reminds me of this deaf guy who was ALL excited about stem cells to treat his hearing. He was all hyped up about PR releases.
I just find this SO sad…and there’s been ENOURMOUS hype in so many areas…
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Actually, there’s no good evidence of an autoimmune cause for autism.
A couple of recent studies have suggested higher autism rates in children with family history of autoimmune disorders, but no specific pattern has emerged, and the presence of immune abnormalities in some autistic children could be a secondary occurrence and not a primary cause of their disorders.
Hi this is Dr. Mitrani from www.ascaac.com. I saw this thread and just wanted to reply.
In regards to what Sage Rat wrote, we are in no way shape or form related to or have any
ties with Envita Natural Medical Center in Scottsdale, AZ. The company owner is a friend of a friend, but we have no business alliance.
Secondly in regards to what Bear_Nenno wrote. We treat numerous problems all of which are listed on our website and yes Autism is one of them. We have had great results with treating Autism and have performed stem cell treatments on over 8000 patients since 1991.
Does stem cell therapy work for everyone? No it does not. It’s not a miracle “cure all” but it has proven to significantly improve, and yes at times, even cure people from their disease or ailment.
We have seen incredible results on our patients and have many video testimonies on our YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/ASCAAC
We also have a charity foundation where we perform hundreds of stem cell treatments on people from third world countries who could never afford the treatments. We are not a scam outfit and I would love to answer any questions anyone has in regards to stem cell treatments. Simply call me at one of the numbers on our website! Thanks, Dr. Al Mitrani.
The likelihood of a vial of blood containing even one stem cell is slim. Stem cells are normally in the bone marrow. There are drugs that stimulate the bone marrow to over produce them until the spill into the circulation, but that takes time to work too.
So, taking 2 or 3 vials of blood to work this magic is just that, magic, slight of hand, charlatanism.
Smeghead, “Opinions are like arms. Everybody has them, but you look like an idiot when you try to show off how strong yours are.”
It’s easy to call people names and hide behind the Internet. As I stated before, I am happy to answer anyone’s questions about stem cell treatments. I am waiting for your call.
Of course you won’t call because it’s easier to troll the Internet disparaging people you have never met and don’t have a clue about. I encourage everyone to do their own due diligence in regards to stem cell therapy and not get your information from an Internet forum where people post anonymously and have zero medical experience.
I have an autistic son. I would love to find a cure for him, if it exists. I also have an MS in Biochemistry and 10 years of medical research experience. I also have 7 years experience in clinical diagnostic labs as a Medical Technologist. I understand a great deal about medical conditions, their diagnosis and treatment. I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you think your treatment works; however everything I have read (from many sides of the issue) indicates that the molecular and structural findings behind autism preclude the mechanism of how stem cells work to integrate into existing tissue. What evidence do you have, exactly, that demonstrates that the effects you observe are due solely to your treatment with stem cells? What evidence do you have that the effects you see are permanent? What structural changes have you seen that can be attributed directly to treatment with stem cells and to mitigation of autistic symptoms? What peer-reviewed journal have you published your findings in?
If you’ve got evidence that your ‘treatment’ works, you can provide it right here, without the need for anyone to contact you. Just provide links to peer-reviewed papers documenting your results and we’ll be glad to read them.
As opposed to getting your information from an anonymous person over the phone that you reached by calling a number they gave you?
Since 1991 you say. That’s 20 years, you must have a ton of data, any of it peer reviewed?
Smeghead, insults are not permitted in GQ. If you wish to take Dr. Mitrani to task, do so in the Pit.
ascaac likewise, insults are not permitted in this forum. No one should be compelled to call you in order to obtain information about your treatment. This forum is for factual information. If you can back up your claims with peer-reviewed publications, do so. Otherwise don’t make claims you can’t back up with data.
As it happens, I am a PhD student in molecular biology. I base my statement entirely on your claims that injecting stem cells cures autism. This is such utter nonsense that I feel quite comfortable rejecting it out of hand. IF you have any real evidence to present, feel free to do so, and I’ll be happy to look at it.
While you’re at it, I’d also be interested to know where you got your degree, what the degree was in, and when it was awarded.
According to the ascaac.com website, Dr. Mitrani is a:
“…Doctor of Naturopathy from the “Panamerican School of Natural Medicine”, Doctor of Natural Medicine from the World Organization of Natural Medicine Practitioners, Doctor of Philosophy and Integrative Medicine from Oxford University. Dr. Mitrani is a member of the World Organization of Natural Medicine Practitioners”
So, he’s trained in a field that embraces homeopathy and other forms of quackery and lists other qualifications indicating a deep immersion in woo.
In addition to providing us with published research backing his organization’s claims for treating autism and other diseases (don’t hold your breath), it’d be valuable to know how his clinic is inspected and regulated (if at all), and how much money patients are charged for typical “stem cell” therapy.
One of the tragedies of autism is the exploitation of parents desperate to help their children, by practitioners offering ineffective and even dangerous treatments (such as chelation to remove nonexistent heavy metal toxicity). Clinics catering to “stem cell tourists” have also been involved in patient deaths.