The 'Microsoft' of Medical Advancements

Some random day, early 1970’s: A young boy, by the name of Bill Gates is sitting at a table with his friend, Steve, and few others. They are discussing this ‘thingy’ they want to create…

Bill: Its like a typewriter but bigger, faster.

Always-negative friend: Why would you want something bigger than a typewriter?

Bill: It can hold lots of info, maybe even more than an entire volume of an encyclopedia. You could use it to write a book, to write a letter, to save any written document you could ever dream of wanting to save…all in this one ‘thingy.’ It will even be able to do math if you want it to.

One of much doubt: If it’s like all other machines, it will break down and the math wont be accurate.

Bill: It will be able to double check itself. It will even be able to tell you if you spelled something rong.

Skeptical voice: Operating it will be incredibly complicated. Nobody would be able to handle it.

Steve: Anyone will be able to use it. All ages. Students will need it. Retirees will want to play with it. And everyone else, everyone will have one.

Naysayer friend: Well then, even if that is true, which it’s not, you certainly wouldn’t be able to produce enough to keep up with the demand.

Steve: That wont be an issue. Production will take care of itself…because we will be using ‘it’ to run everything. Businesses will be able to organize all of their operations with it…they will eventually not be able to survive without one.

Naysayer friend: Don’t be ridiculous. That’s thinking a bit too big, don’t you think?

Bill: Nope. It’s going to be huge…. change the world. And anything you naysayers have to say, go ahead. Just watch me…

One of much doubt: rolls his eyes… “ Lunch, anyone?”

Fast forward to April 8th, 2008. I, Dr. Jody Stanislaw, am sitting at an elegant table in an executive boardroom in one of Bangkok’s many 5 star hotels. I am accompanied by four other men. Brian Dardzinski is the man I just serendipitously met last week in Hua Hin (the town I now call home), when I happened to mention I have diabetes. He then tells me he is involved in stem cell research and invites me to join him in Bangkok next week to meet some of the doctors he works with. Brian introduces me to the other three men. Dr. Bill Paspaliaris is a pharmacist. James is the the guy with the money, aka the investor. John is the marketing guy. The three have an office in Hong Kong and in the Philippines. Being that Thailand is fast becoming the hot spot in the world for medical tourism, they have come to Bangkok for a few days in hopes of bringing their work here.

When I was invited, I had no idea really what to expect. Brian’s sister died of type 1 Diabetes so I knew he had a soft spot for helping other diabetics. I figured I’d just be having coffee or lunch with the doctors…just 30 minutes or so to pick their brains to find out what’s going on with stem cell research and its potential for curing diabetes. And hey, it’s a good excuse to take the three hour drive up to Bangkok to check out what “One Night in Bangkok, and the World’s Your Oyster…” that I’ve heard about for decades, is all about.

So, I arrive in this elegant boardroom…not exactly the coffee shop or lunch spot I was expecting. All the men are in proper business attire….I’m in a t-shirt and baseball hat. “Okay, just be yourself Jody. No big deal.” I was a bit embarrassed, to say the least. Oh well. After the introductions, they pull down the movie screen and for the next TWO hours, we have a discussion about this new process called, “Autologous Adipose Tissue Stem Cell Transplantation.”

I will do my best to give you the bottom line of our discussion but before I do, let me explain to you a bit of human biology. You are a body of cells. In every moment throughout your lifetime, cells are dying and new ones are born. This phenomenon only ceases once ultimate death arrives. Even our ‘solid’ bone tissue continually undergoes this process. So, it makes sense that stem cells exist all throughout our bodies. How does a broken bone heal? Stem cells become activated and new bone is made. Have you ever thought about how your skin heals after you get a cut? Stem cells housed in the skin are activated. Anytime there is damage in the body, the damaged cells send out chemical messengers to activate stem cells to arrive on the scene and create new cells.

Embryonic stem cells have been a topic of great debate because these cells are almost totally ‘undifferentiated,’ which means they have the potential to turn into almost any cell in the body. Once cells mature, their potential becomes narrower and narrower as to the range of cell type that they can turn into. Yet new sources of stem cells are being discovered in the body….so hopefully the never ending debate…is it ethical to use stem cells from embryos or not…will hopefully soon be a thing of the past.

Everyone has heard of bone marrow being a rich source of stem cells. Well scientists from around the world have been dabbling in experiments using another healthy source: adipose tissue, or more commonly referred to as, FAT. And that is exactly what I learned all about, while I was sitting in my t-shirt and baseball hat in an elegant boardroom in Bangkok last weekend…

To explain the procedure is a very simple task…because the procedure itself is simple. Fat is removed via liposuction, which is a simple in-patient procedure using local anesthetic. The fat is dissolved and the stem cells are purified (takes about an hour). Protein peptides are then added to them to turn them from dormant cells into ‘activated’ cells (takes about another hour). The activated cells are then put back into the body using a simple IV into the arm. The activated stem cells are then drawn to wherever there is damage in the body (because, as I explained earlier, damaged cells secrete chemical messengers that say to the body, “come help and fix me please”).

They have data on almost 200 people over the last two years….two with MS, one with cerebral palsy, parkinsons….37 type 2 diabetes, and (drum roll please) 3 type 1 diabetics. The 37 type 2s have all had significant drops in their blood sugar levels…the same is true for the type 1’s. I am in the process of getting the contact info for these three…because all I know so far is that they have cut back on their insulin. Two big questions arise. The first is, having had diabetes for almost 30 years, is there an adequate amount of chemical messengers still being secreted from my pancreas to direct the activated stem cells to arrive there and make new insulin producing cells? The second is, the whole reason why I have diabetes in the first place is because my immune system thinks its supposed to kill my insulin producing cells….which it was activated to do 27 years ago….so will it do it again? Well the doctor said ‘yes’ to the first question and had an answer for this later question…a procedure in which he explained the immune system can be retrained to accept the new cells and not attack them….but that is a much more complicated story that I’ll save for another time.

However, in the meantime, if this really works, I don’t care if my immune system eventually kills my new cells….being able to live as a non-diabetic and just have two shots of new stem cells a year (or whatever the amount needed to keep some working insulin producing cells in me) sure beats 10 shots a day and all the other headaches, literally and figuratively, involved with this disease!

So you might also be asking, ‘Why did these docs want to spend two hours with me?” That’s exactly what I was asking too! Well you see, if relatively healthy people get this procedure done, they experience all the anti-aging benefit that hmm, perhaps the guests where I work would like….improved energy, decreased blood pressure, improved skin tone, regrowth of hair for men, increased sex drive, loss of weight….So of course, when they heard I worked at one of the best spas in Asia, they were just as eager to meet me as I were to meet them. A great win-win you could say! Well, sure enough, I’ve already set up a meeting for them to meet with my boss, who is already sold on the idea of stem cell therapy for anti-aging. So what I envision is that my resort signs on with this company, thus the docs will need to come out and do some training….and need subjects to work on. Hello!

So for those of you who are like Bill Gates’s skeptical and always-negative friends, I have lots of info for you to check out to show you the legitimacy of this procedure. Click on … www.cytoritx.com to read about a company that is traded on the NASDAQ that uses this same procedure. And google “ Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation” for more.
One last note….a week has passed since starting to write this entry and I’ve already spoken with one of the type 1’s who’s had this procedure. He is the nephew of the main doc who does the procedure in the Philippines. He is 23 and has had diabetes for 7 years. He had the procedure done about 3 months ago and his insulin needs have dropped by over 50%...and continue to do so. He had nothing but positive things to say about his experience. The procedure was simple. He felt safe with every aspect of it. And although the answer of if he will reach the point where no insulin is needed….and for who knows how long…has yet to be answered, he sees nothing but benefit from it thus far.

How do I end entry like this? I have an article dated 1983 (3 years after I was diagnosed) stating that there will be a cure for diabetes in 5 years. I held on to that article for those following 5 years, and the next 5 years, and the next…I still have it in my little silver box with other childhood memorabilia. At first, it made me excited and hopeful. Then somewhere along the way, I became sad and discouraged. Since then, I have built a wall inside myself around any excitement that may arise from word of new advancements promising a cure for this dis-ease that I have lived with everyday of my life for almost 30 years. Yet, this procedure feels more real than anything I’ve read about in the past 27 years. It doesn’t feel like an empty promise with some bs future projection about its potential success. The list of medical conditions that could benefit seems infinite. I think the title, ‘The Microsoft of Medical Advancements,’ is very apropos. Everyone has heard about stem cell therapy. Lost fingers are being regrown. New organs are being made. A man has been cured of his debilitating MS…once in a wheel chair, and now walking like the rest of us. All these stories are growing in number everyday. Just take a look on YouTube. There are a ton of them. Perhaps the next one will be a clip of me giving a lecture….”Hi, my name is Dr. Jody Stanislaw. I used to have Type 1 Diabetes….”

Even as I write this, I am suppressing my excitement. The disappointment of empty promises has been heavy. Instead, I have dealt with my diabetes by thanking it for the life lessons it has taught me…that life isn’t meant to be perfect. That there are gifts in life’s challenges that make us stronger and that make life more meaningful. I thank it for what a fantastic doctor I am. I can relate to other’s illnesses from a core level…not just because I read about it in a text book. But I must say, I have had a deep sense inside myself for about 4 or 5 years now that I WILL know life without diabetes again, just like I did for the first 7 years of my life. Perhaps that time is nearer than I think. “Hi, my name is Dr. Jody Stanislaw. I USED to have Type 1 Diabetes.” Wow, that feels surreal. Does anyone have Oprah’s phone number?