Experimental Russian stem cell treatments for spinal injury credited
for woman's progress
by Beth Loechler | The Grand Rapids Press
Monday April 07, 2008, 5:14 AM
When Kadi DeHaan took her first steps in December, two years after a
car accident forced her into a wheelchair, she did it in typical Kadi
style: low-key, nonchalant and with a confident grin.
Apparently, she knew all along she would walk away from her pink and
black wheelchair and her customized leg braces, despite a spinal cord
injury at chest level and a grim prognosis that she would never walk
again.
Press Photo/Katy Batdorff
Therapists help guide Kadi DeHaan's legs and feet as she walks
through the hallway at MVP gym in Rockford. The movements must
be "ingrained neurologically" before they will become automatic, said
therapist Sandy Burns."Whenever it happens, it happens," she would
tell her mom.
It happened after two years of intensive therapy and six trips to
Russia, where her stem cells were harvested and then injected into
her spinal cord to restore nerves.
She chucked the bulky leg braces and, with only the aid of a walker
and therapists to guide her feet, she began putting one foot in front
of the other three months ago.
Kadi's progress is "very much a unique and wonderful thing," said
physical therapist Sandy Burns, director of the Center for Spinal
Cord Injury Recovery in Rockford, a clinic affiliated with the
Detroit Medical Center.
No one can say for sure if nearly two years of experimental
treatments or hours upon hours of physical therapy -- a trio of three-
hour sessions every week -- led Kadi to where she is today.
Probably both, said Burns, whose clients sometimes head to Russia or
Portugal or China for treatments that aren't approved in the U.S. and
generally aren't covered by insurance.
The physical therapy is a very important component, "but it's
definitely Russia," that put Kadi back on her own two feet, Kadi's
mom, Bonnie, insisted. "There are just too many coincidences. Kadi
knows that what she's got she got from Russia."
Kadi's timeline
October 2004: Car accident renders Kadi, 16, paralyzed from the chest
down.
February 2005: Kadi returns to school in a wheelchair.
June 2005: Intensive physical therapy begins.
May 2006:
Customized leg braces, a walker and help from a friend allow Kadi to
walk across a stage to receive her high school diploma. She heads to
NeuroVita Clinic in Russia a few days after graduation for her first
stem cell treatment.
September 2006: Kadi begins classes at Davenport University, where
she received a full-ride scholarship. Stem cell treatments and
physical therapy continue.
December 2007: Kadi takes her first steps without leg braces.
February 2008: On her sixth trip to NeuroVita, the clinic's founder
assures Kadi she will walk independently again, without the aid of
therapists, braces or a walker.
After fundraising dollars ran out more than a year ago, Kadi's
parents took out a loan to pay for the trips to Russia. The three-
year protocol recommended by Moscow doctors will cost in excess of
$150,000.
"We told Kadi that she'll have to get a really good job and she can
support us," joked her mom, who is a freelance photographer and part-
time house-cleaner. Kadi's dad, Randy, is a truck driver. The family,
which also includes 18-year-old Allie, lives in Gaines Township.
In October 2004, Kadi lost control of her car on rain-slicked 84th
Street in front of Byron Center High School. Her Pontiac struck an
oncoming van and Kadi, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected.
Within a minute, the car burst into flames.
She returned to school four months later and graduated with her Byron
Center classmates in 2006. Days later she headed to Russia for her
first stem cell treatment.
At the time, Kadi had just a bit of feeling in her feet and could
walk only with lots of help from custom-built leg braces and a walker.
Since then, she's given up the braces and is "tons stronger" and "a
lot more independent,
Davenport University who quaffs Mountain Dew and confesses to sending
text messages during class.
"Kadi's very social. Sometimes that can work against somebody if they
want to be totally committed to this. I'm sure there are days when
she's burned out," said Burns. "But I can see she's in it for the
long haul. I attribute that to her family as well."
Kadi's mom, dad or sister accompany her to every therapy session.
Her mom remembers the early days when she had to style Kadi's hair
because Kadi couldn't lift her arms high enough to do herself. Now,
Kadi has the strength and dexterity to do that and so much more, such
as move herself from her wheelchair to her bed.
"I've seen a lot of changes. I've seen motor return, sensory return,
everything," Kadi said.
She's so convinced of the gains made at the NeuroVita Clinic that
she's planning her seventh trip there in August. Quite a change of
attitude after she declared the first trip "the worst three weeks of
my life."
------------
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Kadi discusses her stem cell treatments
------------
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The Neurovita Clinic
Where: Moscow, Russia
What: Treats spinal cord injuries, degenerative disorders and some
cancers with patient's own stem cells, which are harvested, grown and
re-injected. Clinic moved away from use of embryonic stem cells
because of compatibility issues.
Insurance: Because treatment is experimental and not performed here,
U.S. insurance policies don't cover it.
Online: neurovita.ru/
The NeuroVita clinic was founded by neurologist Andrey S.
Bryukhovetskiy in 2002. It's located on the campus of the Russian
State Medical University and can accommodate 35 patients.
The clinic dabbled in embryonic stem cell treatments but now uses
only autologous material -- that which is obtained from the patient --
because there are no problems with compatibility, not to mention
politics and religion, according to the Web site.
Kadi and her mom met with Bryukhovetskiy, who speaks only Russian,
during their last visit in February. An employee who doubles as
translator told them Bryukhovetskiy predicted that not only will Kadi
walk unassisted some day, she'll run.
"It was exciting to hear him say it," Kadi recalled.
"You had the biggest smile on your face. And the doctor had the
biggest smile on his face," Bonnie DeHaan reminded her daughter.
About 11 of every 100 patients with spinal cord injuries walk again
after the stem cell treatments, Bryukhovetskiy told them.
Burns, who is quick to say her clinic does not endorse any of the
alternative treatments, acknowledged that the stem cell injections do
seem to make a difference, at least for Kadi.
"Folks that have gone there have, I think, consistently reported that
they are noticing changes. They are feeling more," Burns said.
She tempers her optimism with the reality of what she sees every day:
some of her clients will never accomplish half as much as Kadi has.
Progress often depends upon the severity of the spinal injury, not
just the region of the spine that was damaged.
That's why Burns doesn't make predictions about what her clients will
eventually accomplish. But of course, she hopes Kadi continues to
make great strides.
"You have to have hope. If you don't have hope you truly don't have
anything," Burns said.
http://www.mlive.
cell.html
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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