Stem cells to the rescue

Responding to a question in a recent public forum, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile admitted he had availed of a stem cell treatment early this year. The Swiss experts came here and injected him with stem cells from a lamb, JPE explained, and no side effects other than having to abstain from lamb chops for a while.

I suppose the question was asked of the 89-year- old JPE because it seems he has grown younger in looks. And until Sen. Antonio Trillanes pissed him the other day, some say he had been generally meeker in disposition (must be the lamb?). His mind is also as razor sharp as ever. JPE said the procedure made him feel better all around but added that his simple Ilocano diet and regular physical exercise are also to be credited. I think his sturdy Ilocano genes explain it too.

Flying in Swiss experts must have cost more than an arm and a few legs of lamb for the normally tightfisted JPE. But there comes a time when just feeling good is all that matters. Perhaps JPE could have saved some money if he had a little more trust in Filipinos who actually have the more advanced version of stem cell therapy.

I told Dr. Alran Bengzon about JPE’s story and he commented that using lamb stem cells is actually vintage 1930s technology and we have progressed significantly since. Look at it this way, Dr. Bengzon explained: when you undergo blood transfusion we take care that the donor blood is matched with the patient… same is true in organ transplants. Having stem cells from another species transfused into your body could have serious unintended consequences. Our body after all is programmed to reject anything foreign and what could be more foreign than something from another species?

The inherent danger of using outdated stem cell technology is precisely why, Dr. Bengzon explained, he has decided to finally talk about a scientifically based state of the art stem cell treatment that Medical City has pioneered here. There are just too many snake oil salesmen out there, the former health secretary said, who would take advantage of the vulnerabilities of patients desperate for cure of some serious disease… or even in quest of vanity.

In a very interesting three-hour briefing for a number of media folks last Tuesday, Dr. Bengzon and stem cell pioneer Dr. Sam Bernal, gave us a good understanding of the promise and limitations of stem cell treatment. There are so many misconceptions about stem cells, Dr. Bengzon declared. On the demand side, many patients have unrealistic expectations. On the supply side, greed has caused some to offer supposed stem cell treatments that are not founded in science.

The basic thing about stem cell treatment is that it is personalized, recognizing the fact that we are all different from each other. At Medical City, they use stem cells extracted from a patient’s bone marrow, process it in state of the art equipment manned by a multi disciplinary group of clinicians and scientists… doctors, molecular biologists, chemists and IT engineers. It is supposedly the only hospital in the world with a Live Cell Sorter, used to reengineer stem cells to become whatever cells are needed to cure a disease or repair an injury.

 Stem cell treatment is based on the knowledge that our Creator has so designed our body to have an amazing ability to heal itself. Stem cells have a way of sensing damage to an organ and will travel through the blood vessels to repair the sick or injured organ. What the doctors do is to help the body improve its efficiency to do just that by growing more stem cells programmed to do what needs to be done to bring back a patient to health.

Thus, stem cells are used for multi-organ repair as these can be programmed to become tissue or organ specific cells with special functions, like heart, liver, etc. These can also be programmed to attack cancer cells and/or protect healthy cells during the course of an anti cancer chemo or radiation therapy.

What makes stem cell treatment safe is that it uses the patient’s own cells. Medical City stores all stem cells harvested from a patient in liquid nitrogen deep freeze tanks. One harvest is enough for a patient to have stem cells any time he needs them for the rest of his life. The day has come when a patient can in effect, just about order body parts like ordering spare parts for a car.

I don’t have space to deal with the intricacies of stem cell technology but here are some of the things I took away from that briefing:

First of all, it makes sense for parents to opt for having the umbilical cord and placenta of their babies processed for stem cells to be stored for the baby’s future use for life.

Second, cancer patients should consider stem cell treatment or at least have stem cells harvested from their bone marrow before undergoing chemo or radiation treatments, exposure to which could damage stem cells for future use. Stem cell treatment could precede or complement the traditional cancer treatments.

Third, other than cancer, stem cell treatment is also being successfully used to cure patients with Alzheimer, spinal cord injury, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, heart, liver cirrhosis, kidney diseases, bone and cartilage regeneration, osteoporosis, glaucoma, detached retina, etc.

Fourth, stem cell treatment can also be used for aesthetic reasons that should give Vicki Bello cause for worry. Medical City accepts patients who want the treatment for wellness or just to feel and look good or deal with the ravages of time.

Fifth, the treatment isn’t cheap in peso terms and I suppose as in any medical procedure, outcomes cannot be guaranteed all the time. A six-month cancer treatment costs anywhere from P2.2 to P2.6 million and the final cost depends on a patient’s particular case. Aesthetics cost from P1.4 to P1.6 million. That is probably not too bad and could be competitive with top of the line Vicki Bello type treatments. It is also cheaper than the cost of a BMW Series 3.

Sixth, Medical City has treated a number of foreigners, including some American doctors who came here as a last resort after American medicine could do nothing more for them. We were told they had successful treatments and recent check ups reveal they are cancer free.

Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez, who was present in the briefing, said stem cell treatment is more than good for Medical Tourism. It highlights the Filipino as the most accomplished business solution… best doctors, engineers, nurses, managers, BPO agents here and abroad. 

Dr. Bengzon emphasized that Medical City’s stem cell treatment is not an imitation of any technology in the world. Dr. Bernal has studied the best and the latest, and with the help of his Filipino team adapted it to what is effective for our needs. He said he has worked with teams from all over the world and has found Filipinos the best in terms of skills and commitment to patient care.

I later on found out that Dr. Bernal is the same Sam Bernal I first met in 1972 when I was an Urban Journalism Fellow at the University of Chicago. He was then a student enrolled in UC’s MD-PhD program. He has a string of degrees appended to his name including a law degree. Together with a group of Pinoys at UC which also included Pepe Miranda, formerly of both SWS and Pulse Asia, we used to spend many Saturday evenings drinking beer in his studio apartment.

Dr. Bernal said he is Exhibit A in the efficacy of his stem cell treatment. An advanced stage cancer victim, he treated himself and is now cancer free. Additionally, he remarked that the treatment grew back his hair and turned the white ones to black. He does look younger than his 63 years. He only smiled when asked if the treatment could also drive Viagra out of business.

Indeed, Dr. Bengzon is right. We ought to have more faith in the quality and abilities of Filipinos. Our schools give our students professional skills but they end up abroad due to lack of local opportunities here. What we need, Dr. Bengzon said, is to have staging areas for these individuals to shine in their own land. That’s what Medical City is trying to do when it embraced this technology.

Know your DNA

Robin Tong sent this one.

DNA carries the cell’s genetic information and hereditary characteristics via the sequence of its nucleotides.

Thus, people are identified by their unique DNAs, such as: Prostitute: DNAvirgin; Old Maid: DNAgamit;  Water Conservationist: DNAliligo; Gloria Macapagal Arroyo: DNAaamin; Loser: DNAya  

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco