
Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment - paulpauper
http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-stem-cells-for-eyes-20160201-story.html
======
Zarel
The comments on the corresponding Reddit thread suggest this shouldn't be
trusted.

Relevant comments include:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueReddit/comments/4kctsl/blind_wo...](https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueReddit/comments/4kctsl/blind_woman_sees_again_after_stem_cells_treatment/d3egavx)

> This is an advertisement puff piece about a "treatment" that nobody believes
> to work. There's not even a plausible mechanism as to how a retro bulbar
> injection of mesenchymal stem cells could regenerate axons. It is the
> ophthalmology equivalent to "one weird trick to lose belly fat".

[https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueReddit/comments/4kctsl/blind_wo...](https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueReddit/comments/4kctsl/blind_woman_sees_again_after_stem_cells_treatment/d3e8l3g)

> Weiss is not following the usual steps of clinical studies. Among other
> things, he didn't test his treatment theories first on lab animals or using
> computer models, or randomize his trials by using either stem cells or
> placebos in study participants. He didn't test the procedure for safety on a
> small group before moving to a larger trial.

~~~
narrator
There's a epistemology problem in modern science.

There was a reddit AMA a while back about some guy who was paralyzed and got
stem cell treatments in China and can walk now[1]. In the thread nobody
believed him, especially all the people chiming in with lots of credentials.
The thread is really sad. The rule seems to be, if the U.S gatekeepers didn't
approve it, it doesn't exist, no matter the empirical evidence.

Liz Parrish's gene therapy to increase her telomeres is another example of
this. No matter how many labs measured her telomeres before and after, in some
people's minds it's not science because it didn't go through the relevant
gatekeepers.

[1][https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/k1hts/i_am_a_28yr_old...](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/k1hts/i_am_a_28yr_old_american_who_went_to_china_to/)

~~~
zer00eyz
This list includes a few nobel prize winners:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-
experimentation_in_medici...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-
experimentation_in_medicine)

The fact that these folks driven to test on them selves is a fair indication
of how bounded the box can be.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Forssmann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Forssmann)

and

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Marshall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Marshall)

Are two great examples of folks going way out of the box to prove a point, and
seeing reward for it.

------
iokevins
A separate thought: Patients searching for and trying traditional and non-
traditional solutions. From the article: "...a doctor pointed her to
[https://clinicaltrials.gov/](https://clinicaltrials.gov/) , the National
Institute of Health's clearinghouse of studies. There she found Dr. Jeffrey N.
Weiss in Margate, Fla., who was enrolling blind patients in an unorthodox stem
cell study."

This seems to have occurred after the patient pursued "...Chinese herbs and
acupuncture...."

With so many anecdotes of patients seeking non-traditional approaches (note:
for example, Steve Jobs), I'm heartened to see this patient connected to a
traditional treatment which ultimately helped her (note: also, too, see Scott
Adams). Caveat: I'm wording this inelegantly, and I think non-traditional
methods can help, in some cases, for palliative care.

~~~
ekianjo
Shouldn't the treatments you refer to be called "traditional" instead of "non-
traditional"? Most of what we do in Western medicine is modern and not
ancient.

~~~
iokevins
Point taken : o )

I wrote with Western medicine in mind as "traditional", in the sense that it
is standard practice, here in the United States. I can see how that's
ambiguous.

------
iokevins
The stem cells, in this case, were retrieved from the patients bone marrow.

Dr. Weiss claims, "...60 percent of his 278 patients with macular
degeneration, glaucoma and other diseases have regained some sight."

"Dr. Alexis G. Malkin, who examined Belton before and after the procedure,
still would hesitate to recommend it to other patients. While Belton's
improvement has been dramatic, she said, she's still legally blind and sees
only "islands" amid blind spots.... What was the mechanism? ... Had she done
nothing, would she randomly have gotten better on her own? That seems
exceptionally coincidental."

~~~
a3n
> The stem cells, in this case, were retrieved from the patients bone marrow.

One of two methods, other than cord blood.

What's It Like To Donate Stem Cells
[http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/tre...](http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/treatmenttypes/bonemarrowandperipheralbloodstemcelltransplant/stem-
cell-transplant-donors)

What's It Like to Get a Stem Cell Transplant
[http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/tre...](http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/treatmenttypes/bonemarrowandperipheralbloodstemcelltransplant/stem-
cell-transplant-process)

~~~
zaroth
The write-up on donation is a bit off. First, I don't think anyone is still
harvesting marrow with needles. "Barbaric" and "dark ages" is how I've heard
that described.

The section on peripheral stem cell harvest is how it's done. Stem cells are
mobilized using Neupogen injections, although a better (more expensive) drug
called Mozobil gets much better results. To collect the cells it's a daylong
process like dialysis. The link says through a large vein through the arm but
they like a big fat vein for their central line, so more likely a small
surgical procedure to put one in the chest.

------
jessekiddd
My dad has glaucoma and did the same surgery. Not much improvement after 1
year has passed. Another eye doctor says it might take another 4 years to see
some difference...

~~~
xufi
Similar experience here. A friend of mine had glaucoma but also did some
surgery to remove a calcium extract from the eye. It helped a little but the
vision is still the same

------
paxcoder
non-embryonic

