October Teleconference Report
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This is from Mike at the Twin Cities Chapter. He is an extremely devoted advocate for SCS.
We all need to be 'more like Mike'.
TO ALL SCS MEMBERS,
Here is an update on the teleconference for those of you who couldn’t make it.
As we have seen recently, our current project at the lab has been confirming the results of
our cure treatment and Dr. Holmberg emphasized that even more strongly at the meeting.
Plus, when asked about why it has been taking so long to get all of our papers published,
he said that the delay has actually allowed us to incorporate a lot of this new confirming
data into our last paper. This has strengthened our case considerably and he is sure it
won’t be much longer before our 5th paper is published.
On the subject of why it has taken so long to publish all our papers, Dr. Holmberg also
shared some interesting background. It seems that the researchers who make up these
review panels, and probably just researchers generally, are reluctant to accept multi-
layered approaches such as ours because it makes it very difficult to assess exactly what
each individual component is contributing to the treatment. Researchers tend to want to
study things down to the very last detail before they move on to bigger and better things.
While this may sound reasonable on the surface, it doesn’t allow for the fact that quite
often the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. In our treatment, the scar ablator
(remover) works beautifully but on it’s own it produces no beneficial result. Our TANES
procedure induces the walking motion but only while it’s on, there is no lasting effect. Our
combination cell transplant, when combined with the scar ablator, does a wonderful job of
filling the injury cavity and integrating with the spared spinal cord tissue but, again, by itself
it produces no refunction. Now, you put them all together and, bingo, we smash through
the so far impenetrable barrier of the chronic spinal cord injury.
As far as we’re concerned, all that matters is that it works, so let’s get on with it! The
scientists can putter around figuring out why it works on their own time.
On another note, several of us stressed the idea that, when our 5th paper gets published,
we as an organization need to make sure that we publicize it to the greatest extent that we
can. This should be a rare opportunity to really make a name for ourselves nationally
which will hopefully lead to increased membership and increased funding for our
research center. Dick assured us that that is their intention too. At our chapter level we
intend to notify as much of the local media as we can, possibly even holding a press
conference. Any help any of you can provide in that area will be welcome.
There were a couple of cautionary notes though. One, when it comes to getting our
treatment accepted for human trial, Dr. Holmberg felt that our TANES procedure would be
readily accepted and our scar ablator wouldn’t be too far behind. When it comes to the cell
transplant though, now the FDA becomes involved and as he said, even though our
transplant is completely autologus (meaning the cells would all come from our own
bodies), any time the FDA is involved you can expect problems. Also, so far they haven’t
had much luck engaging any hospitals in partnering with us for human trials. That may
very well change once our 5th paper gets published, and especially after our current
electrophysiology project is completed, but that’s where things start getting out of our
control. We can develop the greatest treatment in the world at our lab but getting it into
humans will depend a lot on other people. As the old saying goes… you can lead a horse
to water but you can’t make it drink. At this point we’ve almost got that horse to the creek.
Let’s hope he gets real thirsty when he gets there.
Mike
Here's another update you may find interesting---
I had a conversation with Dick up at Fergus Falls and there were a couple of things I
wanted to pass on.
One, we talked about getting our research out to the media once our 5th paper is
published and he said that’s something they’ve been talking about a lot. Now we’ve all
seen many, many reports over the years from here, there and everywhere where they’ve
claimed some kind of cure or great advance, only to have it turn out to be nothing, or
worse, a scam. Instead of advancing the cause of cure, all those things have done is to
jade the public, and especially the SCI community.
That’s the last thing we want to do. When our announcement comes out we want to make
sure it’s real and with irrefutable evidence to back it up. So we may have to wait until our
current lab project is finished before we go public. Everything we’re seeing so far in this
project is more than backing up our claims but once we get the full report we’ll have the
convincing ammunition we need to make it stand up to public scrutiny. This project
originally figured to finish up sometime next summer but Dick says that now it should
finish sometime in March. And that’s the subject of my second point.
Dick reiterated how lucky we are to have Dr. Zhang in our research center. Not only is he
an excellent neurosurgeon, but he is a tireless worker in our cause. Dick says he’s
practically living at the lab and he hasn’t taken a vacation this year, nor does he plan to, at
least until this project is done. I think we should see that not only as his devotion to the
cause, but as a sign of his belief in the importance and the enormity of what we have
accomplished here.
That kind of dedication needs to be supported and rewarded. It’s certainly little enough to
ask that each one of us spend at least a few hours, if not a few days or more, out of each
year doing something to raise whatever money we can in our own cause.
There is still month left to go this year. Don’t let it pass by before you’ve done your part.
I’d like to leave you with a message I wish I could deliver to every person with a spinal
cord injury. The theme of my message is…..Today.
TODAY, dozens of people in this country are going to become spinal cord injured. Their
average age will be 19 and their doctors, these stupid doctors, will come into their rooms
and tell them they will never walk again.
Also TODAY, a bunch of people will die, too young and before their time, because of the
effects of spinal cord injury.
Those of us in the Spinal Cord Society are working to put an end to spinal cord injury, but
we need your help, and we need it….TODAY.
Mike
We all need to be 'more like Mike'.
TO ALL SCS MEMBERS,
Here is an update on the teleconference for those of you who couldn’t make it.
As we have seen recently, our current project at the lab has been confirming the results of
our cure treatment and Dr. Holmberg emphasized that even more strongly at the meeting.
Plus, when asked about why it has been taking so long to get all of our papers published,
he said that the delay has actually allowed us to incorporate a lot of this new confirming
data into our last paper. This has strengthened our case considerably and he is sure it
won’t be much longer before our 5th paper is published.
On the subject of why it has taken so long to publish all our papers, Dr. Holmberg also
shared some interesting background. It seems that the researchers who make up these
review panels, and probably just researchers generally, are reluctant to accept multi-
layered approaches such as ours because it makes it very difficult to assess exactly what
each individual component is contributing to the treatment. Researchers tend to want to
study things down to the very last detail before they move on to bigger and better things.
While this may sound reasonable on the surface, it doesn’t allow for the fact that quite
often the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. In our treatment, the scar ablator
(remover) works beautifully but on it’s own it produces no beneficial result. Our TANES
procedure induces the walking motion but only while it’s on, there is no lasting effect. Our
combination cell transplant, when combined with the scar ablator, does a wonderful job of
filling the injury cavity and integrating with the spared spinal cord tissue but, again, by itself
it produces no refunction. Now, you put them all together and, bingo, we smash through
the so far impenetrable barrier of the chronic spinal cord injury.
As far as we’re concerned, all that matters is that it works, so let’s get on with it! The
scientists can putter around figuring out why it works on their own time.
On another note, several of us stressed the idea that, when our 5th paper gets published,
we as an organization need to make sure that we publicize it to the greatest extent that we
can. This should be a rare opportunity to really make a name for ourselves nationally
which will hopefully lead to increased membership and increased funding for our
research center. Dick assured us that that is their intention too. At our chapter level we
intend to notify as much of the local media as we can, possibly even holding a press
conference. Any help any of you can provide in that area will be welcome.
There were a couple of cautionary notes though. One, when it comes to getting our
treatment accepted for human trial, Dr. Holmberg felt that our TANES procedure would be
readily accepted and our scar ablator wouldn’t be too far behind. When it comes to the cell
transplant though, now the FDA becomes involved and as he said, even though our
transplant is completely autologus (meaning the cells would all come from our own
bodies), any time the FDA is involved you can expect problems. Also, so far they haven’t
had much luck engaging any hospitals in partnering with us for human trials. That may
very well change once our 5th paper gets published, and especially after our current
electrophysiology project is completed, but that’s where things start getting out of our
control. We can develop the greatest treatment in the world at our lab but getting it into
humans will depend a lot on other people. As the old saying goes… you can lead a horse
to water but you can’t make it drink. At this point we’ve almost got that horse to the creek.
Let’s hope he gets real thirsty when he gets there.
Mike
Here's another update you may find interesting---
I had a conversation with Dick up at Fergus Falls and there were a couple of things I
wanted to pass on.
One, we talked about getting our research out to the media once our 5th paper is
published and he said that’s something they’ve been talking about a lot. Now we’ve all
seen many, many reports over the years from here, there and everywhere where they’ve
claimed some kind of cure or great advance, only to have it turn out to be nothing, or
worse, a scam. Instead of advancing the cause of cure, all those things have done is to
jade the public, and especially the SCI community.
That’s the last thing we want to do. When our announcement comes out we want to make
sure it’s real and with irrefutable evidence to back it up. So we may have to wait until our
current lab project is finished before we go public. Everything we’re seeing so far in this
project is more than backing up our claims but once we get the full report we’ll have the
convincing ammunition we need to make it stand up to public scrutiny. This project
originally figured to finish up sometime next summer but Dick says that now it should
finish sometime in March. And that’s the subject of my second point.
Dick reiterated how lucky we are to have Dr. Zhang in our research center. Not only is he
an excellent neurosurgeon, but he is a tireless worker in our cause. Dick says he’s
practically living at the lab and he hasn’t taken a vacation this year, nor does he plan to, at
least until this project is done. I think we should see that not only as his devotion to the
cause, but as a sign of his belief in the importance and the enormity of what we have
accomplished here.
That kind of dedication needs to be supported and rewarded. It’s certainly little enough to
ask that each one of us spend at least a few hours, if not a few days or more, out of each
year doing something to raise whatever money we can in our own cause.
There is still month left to go this year. Don’t let it pass by before you’ve done your part.
I’d like to leave you with a message I wish I could deliver to every person with a spinal
cord injury. The theme of my message is…..Today.
TODAY, dozens of people in this country are going to become spinal cord injured. Their
average age will be 19 and their doctors, these stupid doctors, will come into their rooms
and tell them they will never walk again.
Also TODAY, a bunch of people will die, too young and before their time, because of the
effects of spinal cord injury.
Those of us in the Spinal Cord Society are working to put an end to spinal cord injury, but
we need your help, and we need it….TODAY.
Mike
