Magical thinking or miracle cure?

It began with some Googling. Wellington woman Jennifer Jackson had learned that her Facebook friend, Mia Herranen of Helsinki, had been diagnosed with spino-cerebellar ataxia, a debilitating neurodegenerative disease that has no cure, so she began researching alternative treatments on the internet.

She discovered that in places like Mexico, China and the Philippines, clinics are using adult stem cells to treat a vast array of ailments, including arthritis, diabetes, ageing, heart disease, auto immune conditions and degenerative diseases.

What surprised Jackson was that stem cell therapy was happening right here - the New Zealand Stem Cell clinic uses liposuction to remove a patient's fat tissue, extracts the stem cells and implants them back into the body at clinics in Christchurch and Auckland.

Herranen had been considering travelling to Mexico but the New Zealand clinic was more appealing because the method used was safer, and it was a lot cheaper - $9000 compared to as much as $50,000 elsewhere.

Jackson got in touch with the clinic, and established a crowd funding site, which has so far raised more than 3000 ($5000) towards getting Herranen, 41, to New Zealand, possibly by the end of the year.

The clinic's director, cosmetic surgeon Dr Robert Beulink, investigated Herranen's medical history and wrote to her that, although he had not treated anyone with her condition, he had noticed "moderate to significant improvements" in people with other brain and nerve disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and stroke.

Because spino-cerebeller ataxia had a neuro-degenerative basis, he wrote, and regeneration was a function of stem cells, he felt she could "potentially be a fair candidate" for the treatment, although he was careful to add "I can never guarantee any specific level of improvement".

Herranen, who used to make costumes for a ballet company in Helsinki before ataxia left her on a medical pension, is gradually losing her fine motor skills and is expected to be dead by 50.

She says doctors in Finland told her there was nothing they could do, and were skeptical about stem cell treatment.

"They just send you home to die, it is a cold fact in this country," she says.

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Magical thinking or miracle cure?