Category Archives: MS Treatment

After years in a wheelchair, a Tallowood Baptist Church woman can now walk again after receiving a drug that was already inside her body. In 2001, Debbie Bertrand was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a condition which eventually took the function of her hands and her ability to walk. After hearing about stem-cell therapy from a friend in church one day, she decided to give it a try. Bertrand got her treatment in 2011 through Celltex Therapeutics, a Houston-based company specializing in stem cell collection and banking. The process works by removing two teaspoons of a patients fat and extracting millions of the patients own stem cells. The cells are then processed and multiplied in a lab over 6 weeks and then infused intravenously. For Bertrand, the effects were almost immediate. Within the first few days she could stand and walk again after being confined to a wheelchair for years. I still dont feel confident enough to walk without [the walker], but that gave me so much more freedom, says Bertrand. She has also regained function in her hands, which she had previously been unable to straighten. The treatment has also all but cured her Reynauds disease, a condition that inhibits … Continue reading →

Published January 06, 2015 Lee Frost spent three months in 2013 taking her son Callum for treatment in a high-pressure oxygen chamber, in hopes it would help his severe autism. Ms. Frost, frustrated by the lack of approved treatments for her son, discovered hyperbaric oxygen therapy through online research. Callums ability to communicate had been limited to screaming tantrums, biting and slapping, she recalls. After receiving the therapy, which involves inhaling pure oxygen for 75 minutes at a time, Callum, now 5, is able to speak in sentences and dress himself in the morning before kindergarten, Ms. Frost says. His treatment also included dietary changes. He still has a way to go, but the child he is today is a different child, says Ms. Frost, who lives in White Rock, British Columbia, in Canada. Ms. Frost is one of the growing number of people who have pursued hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, for uses that mainstream doctors, government regulators and patient advocates say are unproven. In a 2013 consumer alert, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned that hyperbaric oxygen therapy has not been clinically proven to cure or be effective in the treatment of cancer, autism, or diabetes despite … Continue reading →

Recent data point to an even wider deficit last year. Were it not for this trade imbalance with Europe, Britain might actually be a surplus economy, such is our balance of payments position with other Anglo-Saxon economies. More than a third of this deficit is accounted for by Germany, which dwarfs the next largest surplus economy, China, and as a consequence is fast becoming Britains biggest creditor. Some of the reasons for this success are obvious enough. Germany makes some of the most desirable cars, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and other consumer goods in the world. It also makes some of the best machine tools, construction materials and so on. Yet there is a less benign reason, too it is also because of mercantilist policy in Germany, which prioritises exports over domestic demand, and because of extraordinarily accommodative demand management in Britain. Neither policy is ultimately sustainable. Britain cannot forever keep supporting European demand through credit-fuelled monetary and fiscal stimulus. Nor can Germany indefinitely keep clocking up charges against its main export markets. Eventually debtors will find a way of defaulting, or otherwise escaping their obligations. In the meantime, Britain grows, providing Germany with abundant export markets, even as Europe … Continue reading →

The charity Save the Children has promised to leave 'no stone unturned' in its probe into how British nurse Pauline Cafferkey contracted Ebola. The nurse, from South Lanarkshire, Scotland, had been working at a treatment centre with the charity in Kerrytown, Sierra Leone. The 39-year-old is fighting for her life in a specialist isolation unit where her condition has deteriorated. Save the Children's Sierra Leone Director Rob MacGillavray told the BBC would carry out a special investigation. He said: "Because of this very serious event we have put in an extraordinary review to ensure that we do everything, leave no stone unturned, to be able to as far as possible identify the source of this infection." Mr MacGillavray said a key element of the investigation would look at how protective equipment at the treatment centre is used. Help: Ms Cafferkey had been working at an Ebola treatment centre Dr Martin Wiselka, a consultant in infectious diseases, said the next few days for Ms Cafferkey are criticial. He explained: What tends to happen with Ebola is you end up with organ failure. That is a risk. Another of the things that happens is your blood clotting becomes difficult. See the original … Continue reading →

Q: My boss got laid off, and now I work for a jerk. My son is struggling with asthma, my husband works long, erratic hours for less than he did five years ago, and our health insurance deductible just tripled. Sometimes I think my head will explode! I can't afford to slow down, but I don't want to lose it. Any suggestions? Sally P., Akron, Ohio A: You actually can "lose it" if you're under chronic stress, and that's not a joke. That's why it's important to act promptly to relieve the pressure you feel. Your response to chronic stress can cause a cascade of bodily reactions that trigger brain inflammation, which can lead to mental health problems. Out-of-control stress responses also fuel heart disease and indirectly can increase your risk for some cancers. That said, you have to take a step back and realize: You are not stuck! Even if you cannot change the particulars of your situation, you can change how you react to stressors and how they affect your physical and mental health. So here's a simple three-step plan. Follow it until it becomes an everyday habit. You will get calmer, have more energy and feel more … Continue reading →

The first patients have been successfully discharged from an Australian-run Ebola treatment facility in Sierra Leone. An 11-year-old girl, Aminata Bangura, was the first person to be released from the clinic with a clean bill of health. She was collected from the clinic by family members last week. Before she left, Aminata placed her hand on a wall at the clinic set up to display the hand prints of Ebola survivors who have been treated there. "Aminata is the first to have her hand print on the wall," Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters in Perth on Tuesday. Advertisement Ms Bishop said Aminata had lost eight members of her family to Ebola. Two other patients have since been discharged from the facility, at Hastings Airfield, near Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. The clinic has admitted 37 patients since it opened in mid-December. Of these, eight have died and 26 are currently receiving treatment. The facility was built by the British government and is being operated on Australia's behalf by healthcare company Aspen Medical. It is being staffed by a mix of Sierra Leonean workers and 32 Australian and New Zealand health professionals. Four other Australians have already returned home … Continue reading →

Delhi: Aruna Shanbaug was working as a nurse in Mumbai when she was brutally raped and assaulted by a co-worker - an attack that left her in a vegetative state for the past four decades. Her case inspired a bestselling book and sparked a heated debate about euthanasia in India. Now, a law has taken effect that may help Indians facing a similar tragedy. But it still may not alter Ms Shanbaug's condition. Last month, India adopted a landmark Supreme Court decision to allow "passive euthanasia" for patients who are in a permanent vegetative state or are declared brain-dead. The procedure involves withdrawing medical treatment and allowing death to occur - as opposed to "active euthanasia", in which a life is ended through a lethal dosage of drugs or other means. A handful of other countries, like Sweden and the Netherlands, have similar legislation. In a culture steeped in traditional notions of karma, destiny and duty, the new law is unlikely to be widely invoked, some say. In Ms Shanbaug's case, hospital staff are vowing they will continue to care for her. Advertisement "Euthanasia does not even enter our minds as a thought. It does not exist in our vocabulary. … Continue reading →

Pauline Cafferkeys treatment involved convalescent plasma taken from the blood of a recovered patient and an experimental anti-viral drug which is not proven to work. Photograph: Handout/PA Wire The condition of British nurse Pauline Cafferkey who was diagnosed with Ebola has deteriorated and is now critical, the Royal Free Hospital in north London said in a statement on Saturday. Ms Cafferkey, a Scottish public health nurse who had been volunteering in West Africa, was diagnosed with the deadly virus after returning to Glasgow from Sierra Leone via Casablanca in Morocco. A brief statement on the hospitals website said: The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is sorry to announce that the condition of Pauline Cafferkey has gradually deteriorated over the past two days and is now critical. Ms Cafferkey had begun specialist treatment via a quarantine tent at the Royal Free Hospital after initially flying home from Heathrow to Glasgow. The treatment involved convalescent plasma taken from the blood of a recovered patient and an experimental anti-viral drug which is not proven to work. Ms Cafferkey, a public health nurse at Blantyre Health Centre in South Lanarkshire from Glasgow, was part of a 30-strong team of medical volunteers deployed to … Continue reading →

A British nurse diagnosed with Ebola after volunteering in Sierra Leone is now in a critical condition in hospital. Pauline Cafferkey was diagnosed with the deadly virus on her return to Glasgow from the West African country. She was transferred to Royal Free Hospital in north London. Today, the specialist hospital said the nurse's condition had deteriorated and she is now fighting for her life. All UK-based passengers and crew from two flights taken by British Ebola victim Pauline Cafferkey as she returned to Scotland from Sierra Leone, have now been contacted by medical authorities. Ms Cafferkey, a nurse who had been volunteering in the West African nation, took flights to Heathrow and Glasgow Airports on her way home. She was initially treated in Glasgow before being moved to the Royal Free Hospital in North London for specialist treatment. Ms Cafferkey was diagnosed with the deadly virus after returning to Glasgow from Heathrow, after flying to the UK from Sierra Leone via Casablanca in Morocco. Public Health England (PHE) said passengers and crew members on the flights to Heathrow and Glasgow on Sunday have now been contacted. Speaking about the British Airways flight from Heathrow to Glasgow, a PHE spokeswoman … Continue reading →

All UK-based passengers and crew from two flights taken by British Ebola victim Pauline Cafferkey as she returned to Scotland from Sierra Leone, have now been contacted by medical authorities. Ms Cafferkey, a nurse who had been volunteering in the West African nation, took flights to Heathrow and Glasgow Airports on her way home. She was initially treated in Glasgow before being moved to the Royal Free Hospital in North London for specialist treatment. Ms Cafferkey was diagnosed with the deadly virus after returning to Glasgow from Heathrow, after flying to the UK from Sierra Leone via Casablanca in Morocco. Public Health England (PHE) said passengers and crew members on the flights to Heathrow and Glasgow on Sunday have now been contacted. Speaking about the British Airways flight from Heathrow to Glasgow, a PHE spokeswoman said: "All 71 passengers and all crew members on this flight have been contacted as of 1st January 2015, given advice and reassurance by officials from Health Protection Scotland." VIEW GALLERY Of the Royal Air Maroc flight from Casablanca to Heathrow, she said: "All 101 UK-based passengers and all crew members on this flight have been contacted, given advice and reassurance by officials from Public … Continue reading →