Stem Cell Research Can Help 100 Million People
Stem cell research is the most promising path to curing many severe diseases and disabling medical conditions. It may yield cures for a wide variety of medical conditions. Many of the illnesses that are targets of stem cell therapy have few or no treatment options, so millions of Americans are looking to stem cell research as a promising path to new, effective treatments. Stem cells provide HOPE and give those who are stricken with illness reason to NEVER give up.
Take a moment to read the stories of just a few individuals that could become just one of the millions helped by stem cell research.
If you have your own story of hope, email it to ohiostemcells@gmail.com
Max Randall - Canavan Disease
How can stem cell research help Canavan Disease patients like Max Randell?
Max Randell is dying—he will not likely live to see his 10th birthday. Canavan is a progressive disease that is constantly attacking Max’s brain and doing irreparable damage. Stem cells may offer Max a chance at life because of their unique ability to repair damage already done to the brain.
The Singer Twins - Juvenile Diabetes
How can stem cell research help Juvenile Diabetes patients like the Singer twins?
Juvenile diabetes, also called Type 1 diabetes, is a disease that strikes children and adults suddenly, makes them insulin dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications such as blindness, amputations, kidney failure, heart attack, and stroke. Scientists believe the body’s own immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing  cells in the pancreas. Embryonic stem cell research could help cure juvenile diabetes by turning embryonic stem cells into healthy insulin-producing islets that could be transplanted into people with the disease.
David Haus - Kernicterus
How can stem cell research help Kernicterus patients like David Haus?
Kernicterus is an easily prevented type of brain damage caused by severe and untreated neonatal jaundice. Children with kernicterus suffer from choreoathetoid cerebral palsy, gaze abnormalities, hearing impairment, and dental enamel dysplasia. These are bright, intelligent children. Stem cell implantation is their best bet for a treatment that will improve their quality of life.
 Joan Samuelson - Parkinson’s Disease
How can stem cell research help Parkinson’s patients like Joan Samuelson?
Scientific experts named Parkinson’s as one of the first disorders to benefit from embryonic stem cell research and predicted it could be cured in as little as five years with adequate resources. Parkinson’s is a chronic, degenerative and presently incurable illness that makes it difficult to walk, causes uncontrollable tremors, and in its final stages robs individuals of the ability to speak or move. Embryonic stem cell research is the best chance Joan Samuelson and the million Americans who suffer from Parkinson’s have to cure this devastating disease.
Alyssa Thomas - Rett Syndrome
How can stem cell research help Rett Syndrome patients like Alyssa Thomas?
Rett Syndrome (RS) is a debilitating neurological disorder that deprives little girls of communication and motor skills, leaving them completely dependent on others for every basic need. Although the gene that causes RS is known (MECP2), the neurobiology of the disorder is not understood. Stem cell research will help explain how mutations in the gene cause the array of symptoms. Furthermore, stem cells could potentially be used to transport a genetically modified MECP2 gene to replace the mutated one. Stem cell transplants may replace subpopulations of neurons that are not functioning properly. This avenue of research holds great promise for Rett Syndrome, a disorder that currently has no treatments and no cure.
 Emily Hunt - Cord Injury
How can stem cell research help Spinal Cord Injury patients like Emily Hunt? 
Spinal cord injury patients would benefit greatly from even limited restoration of lost functions—gaining partial use of a limb instead of none, or restoring bladder control, or being freed from pain. Such limited restoration of part of a patient’s lost function is, for some less severe types of injury, perhaps a more achievable immediate goal. In many spinal injuries, the spinal cord is not actually cut and at least some of the signal-carrying neuronal axons remain intact. But the surviving axons no longer carry messages because cells called oligodendrocytes, which produce the myelin sheath that insulates the axons, are lost.
Van Ballew - ALS
How can stem cell research help ALS patients like Van Ballew?
Van had ALS, a disease that is usually fatal within two to five years. He was an accomplished university professor and private entrepreneur when diagnosed with ALS and within 3 years could not walk, talk, eat or breathe properly. Sadly, Van Ballew lost his battle with ALS on Saturday, January 15, 2005, at age 55. ALS is genetic, so in Van's case, his 3 children and 5 grandchildren are at risk. If successful, stem cell transplants can help ALS sufferers live longer and eventually could help their bodies grow new connections between their nerves and muscles and help them move again, breathe on their own, feed themselves, hold the people they love and give their families, who are also at risk, some hope. Van was a very special person who will always be remembered, and dearly missed.
Share your story by e-mailing it to ohiostemcells@gmail.com
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