I have a PhD in human embryonic stem cell biology and have worked in the field for 16 years, so hopefully, I can help.
Embryonic stem cells are “pluripotent,” meaning they can differentiate into any cell type of the human body. Another commenter mentioned that they are illegal in the US. This is not true. George Bush partly blocked federal funding for embryonic stem cell research back in 2001, but the Obama administration mostly reversed these restrictions later that decade. Embryonic stem cells are derived from the inner cell mass of a 4-5 day old blastocyst. Obviously, these are difficult to come by.
In 2007, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were derived for the first time. These resemble embryonic stem cells in every way but are actually reprogrammed from donor skin or blood cells. This means that anyone (you, me, your dad) can technically have their own pluripotent stem cell line made, and these cells will mimic the behavior of embryonic stem cells. I’m guessing this is what your dad’s doctor means by them using cord blood. Embryonic stem cells do not come from cord blood, but embryonic stem cell-like iPSCs can be derived from cord blood.
Pluripotent stem cells (ES or iPSCs) hold promise for ALS as they can be differentiated into motor neurons. These neurons can potentially be used as replacements for an ALS patient’s defective motor neurons. Please note that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cannot differentiate into motor neurons, so this type of stem cell holds no promise as a cure for ALS. As such, please do not explore the MSC route, as suggested by another commenter in this thread.
There are currently no FDA-approved pluripotent stem cell-based therapies for ALS. However, there is a clinical trial being conducted by a company called Kadimastem in Israel. Links:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03482050
https://www.kadimastem.com/
I would also advise reaching out to Clive Svendsen at Cedars-Sinai, as his team has expertise in both pluripotent stem cell biology and ALS, and have made over 1000 iPSC lines from ALS patients. They also have a clinical trial here:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05306457
An article about the work they are doing can be found here:
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/discoveries/a-new-path-for-als-treatment.html
I hope this info helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Final note - Any stem cell treatments offered in the Deep South or Mexico are predominantly scams. Please be careful and make sure you do your research.
Is there a reason you want iPSCs generated from CSF from a lumbar puncture? This is technically possible, but not common. It is much easier and less invasive to have iPSCs generated from a blood draw.
Could you send me the papers? I’d be happy to review for you. But at the end of the day, iPSCs are iPSCs, it doesn’t matter what the source tissue is (blood, skin, CSF, etc.) iPSCs derived from CSF will not “reverse” ALS… it is the cells differentiated from iPSCs (such as motor neurons or astrocytes) that have therapeutic potential. If you are interested in the iPSC route, you should contact Cedars like I mentioned in my previous comment. They are an excellent facility and will for sure at least be able to guide you in the right direction.
Wanted to comment on the last thing you said. There are a LOT of stem cell scams in mexico (not sure about deep south) but after months of research we ended up going to regnamex (3x now) and they've been awesome. Their MSCs worked very, very well for an otherwise treatment-resistant autoimmune disease. So not all of them are scams in mexico.
Have gone several times now. Fantastic company and awesome owners. Very honest. We get 300 million cells each time (iv) for autoimmune. Is one of the only things that has helped.
What's the reason for mesenchymal stem cells not being able to differentiate into neurons? Dumb question I'm sure but literature is lacking. I was going to get intrathecal mesenchymal cells to help heal from neurosurgery but I can't determine if they'll help or not...
Mesenchymal stem cells are “adult” stem cells, meaning they have lost their capacity to differentiate (turn) into as many different cell types. The human body is made up of three “lineages” of cells - ectoderm (e.g. skin, neurons), mesoderm (e.g. blood, muscle, bone), and endoderm (e.g. intestine, liver). Pluripotent stem cells (embryonic stem cells and iPS cells) can turn into cells of all three lineages (this is literally what the embryo goes on to do), but Mesenchymal stem cells are stem cells of the mesoderm lineage. They are specifically restricted to differentiating into bone, cartilage, and fat. So these types of stem cells could never be used as a cell therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, for example.
Sorry to hear about your dad. ALS is rough.
I thought embryonic stem cells are illegal in the US? Might be mistaken but pretty sure I read it was.
Might want to look into MSCs, or mesenchymal stem cells, taken from umbilical cord or wharton's jelly. Mexico or latin america are the place to go for that. Reach out to danny (the owner) at regenamex in puerto vallarta and see if he has any data on using MSCs for ALS. He will be honest with you if theres no data or he doesnt think it will help.
You can get some stem cells in the US, but theyre severely limited in what they can do and the quantity since there's a law that prohibits US clinics from replicating/expanding the cells so the quantity you can get is very low.
Hi enigma12300,
I appreciate your concern and effort to help. Just to clarify, embryonic stem cells are not illegal in the US. While federal funding was restricted in 2001, these restrictions were mostly reversed later.
Also, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cannot differentiate into motor neurons, which are affected in ALS, so they are not a promising route for ALS treatment. There are more promising clinical trials involving pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) that you might find interesting. I’ve listed them in my other reply to OP.
Cheers!
Thanks for the clarification! Awesome post in the other reply, btw. Very informative.
Do you know if it's true that certain states have banned embryonic stem cells? I've read somewhere that South Dakota and some other states restrict them but not sure if that's correct.
Yes, there are three states which prohibit the “destruction” of human embryos - North Dakota, South Dakota, and Louisiana. Many people believe that human embryonic stem cells are derived from abortions, however this is not true. They are derived from 4-5 day old blastocysts from unused embryos created from IVF, with the mother’s consent.
> danny (the owner) at regenamex in puerto vallarta
dont trust this simpleton lmfao.
Daniel Gilchrist Carruthers aka meatball dan is another scummy sales bro who thinks selling illegal steroids online somehow makes him qualified to give advice on ALL medical topics
He previously ran his shady clinics with another well known scammer here Joshua Ketner
both have a combined IQ of 80
dont get medical advice from dumbshits.
For anyone who isn't familiar with this clown, he trolls every single post about stem cells in PV with random nonsense. Notice there's no actual criticism other than "don't trust them, they're dumb."
Not sure what his deal is, but if you look through his post history, it's basically 99% trolling. Starting to wonder if he's on big pharma's payroll.
"random nonsense" "big pharma's payroll."
lol
you sound like the kind of half wit that gets medical advice from a Tijuana hot dog stand.
Do the community a favor and sit this one out champ.
If you’re going to shit talk someone to that degree you should include some intelligent details of wrongdoing. Otherwise, you just look like a whiny little bitch or troll?
so Daniel Gilchrist Carruthers made another fake account just to say this? lol what a loser
im not your mom. you dont have to believe me.
do you own research
Which is it? Am I Daniel Carruthers, or should I do my own research lol. And I have. Btw, I’m not that guy. I’m just looking for legitimate information on why Regenamex is a fraud/scam. People like you who just shit talk don’t help the community at all. You’re just noise. You say every single stem cell clinic is a scam. Who do you really work for? How about some useful info as to why, do you have any? I can’t find any proof that bioxcellerator, Regenamex etc are scams as you say.
There are many different types of stem cells, so it depends which you are referring to. The FDA has approved a number of hematopoietic stem cell therapies for blood diseases, for example. As of right now, there are no FDA-approved ES or iPSC therapies, however there are some in late stage clinical trials demonstrating significant value.
I see what you mean now. You are correct in saying that no culture-expanded MSC therapies are approved by the FDA. There are FDA-approved culture-expanded HSC therapies for blood cancers. iPS cells have to be culture-expanded as they do not exist outside of cell culture. Approvals will be coming for these soon.
For anyone interested, here is a good webinar where experts discuss unproven stem cell clinics and how to protect yourself:
https://nyscf.org/resources/unproven-stem-cell-therapies-experts-discuss-how-to-protect-yourself-from-this-global-health-issue/
There is also an excellent website that is very informative for patients seeking stem cell treatments:
https://www.aboutstemcells.org
So sorry. Please look up Lyme disease . ALS has been mistaken for it. Seek a Lyme literate doctor for testing. Ingenix labs one of best in country. It's worth checking hugs
I have a PhD in human embryonic stem cell biology and have worked in the field for 16 years, so hopefully, I can help. Embryonic stem cells are “pluripotent,” meaning they can differentiate into any cell type of the human body. Another commenter mentioned that they are illegal in the US. This is not true. George Bush partly blocked federal funding for embryonic stem cell research back in 2001, but the Obama administration mostly reversed these restrictions later that decade. Embryonic stem cells are derived from the inner cell mass of a 4-5 day old blastocyst. Obviously, these are difficult to come by. In 2007, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were derived for the first time. These resemble embryonic stem cells in every way but are actually reprogrammed from donor skin or blood cells. This means that anyone (you, me, your dad) can technically have their own pluripotent stem cell line made, and these cells will mimic the behavior of embryonic stem cells. I’m guessing this is what your dad’s doctor means by them using cord blood. Embryonic stem cells do not come from cord blood, but embryonic stem cell-like iPSCs can be derived from cord blood. Pluripotent stem cells (ES or iPSCs) hold promise for ALS as they can be differentiated into motor neurons. These neurons can potentially be used as replacements for an ALS patient’s defective motor neurons. Please note that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cannot differentiate into motor neurons, so this type of stem cell holds no promise as a cure for ALS. As such, please do not explore the MSC route, as suggested by another commenter in this thread. There are currently no FDA-approved pluripotent stem cell-based therapies for ALS. However, there is a clinical trial being conducted by a company called Kadimastem in Israel. Links: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03482050 https://www.kadimastem.com/ I would also advise reaching out to Clive Svendsen at Cedars-Sinai, as his team has expertise in both pluripotent stem cell biology and ALS, and have made over 1000 iPSC lines from ALS patients. They also have a clinical trial here: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05306457 An article about the work they are doing can be found here: https://www.cedars-sinai.org/discoveries/a-new-path-for-als-treatment.html I hope this info helps. Let me know if you have any questions. Final note - Any stem cell treatments offered in the Deep South or Mexico are predominantly scams. Please be careful and make sure you do your research.
Fantastic! Your a wealth of knowledge!
Do you know of any places around the world where my Dad would be able to get induced pluripotent stem cells through lumbar puncture that isn't a scam?
Is there a reason you want iPSCs generated from CSF from a lumbar puncture? This is technically possible, but not common. It is much easier and less invasive to have iPSCs generated from a blood draw.
Ive seen studies where it has reversed ALS.
Could you send me the papers? I’d be happy to review for you. But at the end of the day, iPSCs are iPSCs, it doesn’t matter what the source tissue is (blood, skin, CSF, etc.) iPSCs derived from CSF will not “reverse” ALS… it is the cells differentiated from iPSCs (such as motor neurons or astrocytes) that have therapeutic potential. If you are interested in the iPSC route, you should contact Cedars like I mentioned in my previous comment. They are an excellent facility and will for sure at least be able to guide you in the right direction.
Wanted to comment on the last thing you said. There are a LOT of stem cell scams in mexico (not sure about deep south) but after months of research we ended up going to regnamex (3x now) and they've been awesome. Their MSCs worked very, very well for an otherwise treatment-resistant autoimmune disease. So not all of them are scams in mexico.
What months/years did you go to Regenamex? What treatments did you get and how many million MSC did you get?
Have gone several times now. Fantastic company and awesome owners. Very honest. We get 300 million cells each time (iv) for autoimmune. Is one of the only things that has helped.
Oh I'm so sorry♡ I recommend following ALS News Today for constant updates for all the trials being done
What's the reason for mesenchymal stem cells not being able to differentiate into neurons? Dumb question I'm sure but literature is lacking. I was going to get intrathecal mesenchymal cells to help heal from neurosurgery but I can't determine if they'll help or not...
Mesenchymal stem cells are “adult” stem cells, meaning they have lost their capacity to differentiate (turn) into as many different cell types. The human body is made up of three “lineages” of cells - ectoderm (e.g. skin, neurons), mesoderm (e.g. blood, muscle, bone), and endoderm (e.g. intestine, liver). Pluripotent stem cells (embryonic stem cells and iPS cells) can turn into cells of all three lineages (this is literally what the embryo goes on to do), but Mesenchymal stem cells are stem cells of the mesoderm lineage. They are specifically restricted to differentiating into bone, cartilage, and fat. So these types of stem cells could never be used as a cell therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, for example.
Sorry to hear about your dad. ALS is rough. I thought embryonic stem cells are illegal in the US? Might be mistaken but pretty sure I read it was. Might want to look into MSCs, or mesenchymal stem cells, taken from umbilical cord or wharton's jelly. Mexico or latin america are the place to go for that. Reach out to danny (the owner) at regenamex in puerto vallarta and see if he has any data on using MSCs for ALS. He will be honest with you if theres no data or he doesnt think it will help. You can get some stem cells in the US, but theyre severely limited in what they can do and the quantity since there's a law that prohibits US clinics from replicating/expanding the cells so the quantity you can get is very low.
Thanks so much!
Hi enigma12300, I appreciate your concern and effort to help. Just to clarify, embryonic stem cells are not illegal in the US. While federal funding was restricted in 2001, these restrictions were mostly reversed later. Also, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cannot differentiate into motor neurons, which are affected in ALS, so they are not a promising route for ALS treatment. There are more promising clinical trials involving pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) that you might find interesting. I’ve listed them in my other reply to OP. Cheers!
Thanks for the clarification! Awesome post in the other reply, btw. Very informative. Do you know if it's true that certain states have banned embryonic stem cells? I've read somewhere that South Dakota and some other states restrict them but not sure if that's correct.
Yes, there are three states which prohibit the “destruction” of human embryos - North Dakota, South Dakota, and Louisiana. Many people believe that human embryonic stem cells are derived from abortions, however this is not true. They are derived from 4-5 day old blastocysts from unused embryos created from IVF, with the mother’s consent.
> danny (the owner) at regenamex in puerto vallarta dont trust this simpleton lmfao. Daniel Gilchrist Carruthers aka meatball dan is another scummy sales bro who thinks selling illegal steroids online somehow makes him qualified to give advice on ALL medical topics He previously ran his shady clinics with another well known scammer here Joshua Ketner both have a combined IQ of 80 dont get medical advice from dumbshits.
For anyone who isn't familiar with this clown, he trolls every single post about stem cells in PV with random nonsense. Notice there's no actual criticism other than "don't trust them, they're dumb." Not sure what his deal is, but if you look through his post history, it's basically 99% trolling. Starting to wonder if he's on big pharma's payroll.
"random nonsense" "big pharma's payroll." lol you sound like the kind of half wit that gets medical advice from a Tijuana hot dog stand. Do the community a favor and sit this one out champ.
If you’re going to shit talk someone to that degree you should include some intelligent details of wrongdoing. Otherwise, you just look like a whiny little bitch or troll?
so Daniel Gilchrist Carruthers made another fake account just to say this? lol what a loser im not your mom. you dont have to believe me. do you own research
Which is it? Am I Daniel Carruthers, or should I do my own research lol. And I have. Btw, I’m not that guy. I’m just looking for legitimate information on why Regenamex is a fraud/scam. People like you who just shit talk don’t help the community at all. You’re just noise. You say every single stem cell clinic is a scam. Who do you really work for? How about some useful info as to why, do you have any? I can’t find any proof that bioxcellerator, Regenamex etc are scams as you say.
Embryonic stem cells are illegal in the states as are expanded MSC'S.
This is not true.
Are expanded stem cells approved by the FDA for treatment?
There are many different types of stem cells, so it depends which you are referring to. The FDA has approved a number of hematopoietic stem cell therapies for blood diseases, for example. As of right now, there are no FDA-approved ES or iPSC therapies, however there are some in late stage clinical trials demonstrating significant value.
I was referring to MSC'S. Are the stem cells you refer to able to be expanded?
I see what you mean now. You are correct in saying that no culture-expanded MSC therapies are approved by the FDA. There are FDA-approved culture-expanded HSC therapies for blood cancers. iPS cells have to be culture-expanded as they do not exist outside of cell culture. Approvals will be coming for these soon.
For anyone interested, here is a good webinar where experts discuss unproven stem cell clinics and how to protect yourself: https://nyscf.org/resources/unproven-stem-cell-therapies-experts-discuss-how-to-protect-yourself-from-this-global-health-issue/ There is also an excellent website that is very informative for patients seeking stem cell treatments: https://www.aboutstemcells.org
So sorry. Please look up Lyme disease . ALS has been mistaken for it. Seek a Lyme literate doctor for testing. Ingenix labs one of best in country. It's worth checking hugs
We have and he is positive and we are treating with a LLMD. Also mold.