Mike,

You sure are not afraid to come on STRONG.

The reports you have read supporting embryonic stem cell (ESC) research are so distorted because those groups are lobbying hard for federal and state research dollars. It is about money, not valid technology. Private entities have always had the option of doing research with embryonic stem cells as long as their study was not funded with public tax dollars.

The fight has actually been over whether we protect ESC's which if made law, scares the pro-abortion crowd and those who want to create designer babies and sell custom body parts. .

Despite the unrestricted ability to to ESC research at a private funding level, it has been the non-embryonic stem cell technologies that have progressed. The risk of DNA damage done when they try to make ESC's less prone to cause rejection has been shown to cause other risks. Autologous stem cells leave the researchers with undamaged stem cells that can then be used without risk of rejection nor any risk of mutation caused by the rejection reducing stem cell procedure.

btw, The report I read about the teeth growing in brains was from a recently published journal. I receive many medical newsletters. Googling to find old articles is not worth the effort unless I have a narrow subject to research. Googling ESC's results in 3 million hits.


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Regarding neuro-feedback.

I was offered therapy by two different masters degree level therapists. Both based their clinics on the Lexicor database and technology.

My neurologist, F LaMarr Heyrend, M.D. has a databse from his own clinic of over 6000 subjects. His research goes back over 30 years with Donald Barrs, Ph.D. and C. Dene Simpson, Ph.D. Dr. Heyrend and his tech do not need computer analysis like many clinics. Their head knowledge of the minute differences in the Qeeg data is amazing.

Dr. Heyrend could actually tell me my symptoms without referring to my medical history. Based on my QEEG including a repeat QEEG a few months later to verify the data, my history and my success at prior self rehabilitation, he did not find any areas where neuro-feedback would be suggested.

Most of my problems result from a dysfunctional gating of information between lobes. If the brain is not able to direct the information properly, then any efforts to train the brain into using a different area of the lobe would be fruitless. For example, visual, tactile, and auditory sensory information flows through my brain without any gating. This overloads the receiving area of the brain.

My frontal lobe is so powerful at handling information that he diagnosed me as having an IQ in the top one percent. Other testing shows he was right. My frontal lobe functions at ten times the normal rate. The organic damage is mostly in the occipital lobe. It functions at 25% of normal. This imbalance between front and back can be as high as 40 to 1. Side to side imbalance is mostly 4 to 1. The memory functions of my brain are extremely week at the memory imprinting stage. Many have memory problems due to inattention to the information. I am very aware of the information. It just does not get imprinted into memory. For others, this inattention problem is very treatable with neuro-feedback.

Dr Heyrend goes beyond the relative power in the various ranges. He understands what is happening in the minute different parts of the wave form. For example, for me, the relative power may be within normal limits but is out of phase or drops out of phase before the process is completed. It is like there is no follow through in the wave form. There is a defective wave form, not necessarily an under or over powered wave form

As he said, I still have most of my high intelligence intact. I have my biggest problem receiving and processing new information. I also struggle with lack of short term memory. I have become dyslexic for the first time in my life. My motor skills are very dyslexic. I easily mix up the letters to a word when I type. I can get motor control of right and left hands mixed up without any noticeable triggers.

My abilities at the computer are far better than anywhere else. I use the computer screen as my short term memory. I can start a thought but lose the last part of it before I finish communicating it. If I am talking, the idea is lost. If I am typing, I can read what I have already typed and continue on.

My communicational organization skills are weak. Verbally, I often leave people confused by my poor flow of ideas. With the computer, I can go back and cut and paste my ideas into a understandable format.

My Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist and other therapists are trying to teach me more accommodations and work-arounds. The therapy exercises they try to use are worthless. I can do them almost if not perfectly in a clinical setting.

My biggest problem is avoiding the occasional overload and crash. For someone who understands computer architecture, I have buffer over-runs, general protection faults, clock failures, and failure to write to memory errors.

Over the last 40 years, I have usually been able to rehab my brain with self rehabilitation exercises. This last time in 2001, everything went haywire fast and without any recover ability.

For those of you who can afford neuro-feedback, it is worth the effort

hi all
this is one of my threads from another forum regarding repairing the dura matter but the principle I would imagine is the same for neurons

my, musing on this subject

http://www.uic.edu/depts/dort/tissuelab.html


Autologous Stem-Cell within the cerium spinal sytem are composed of the following cell and stem cell types osteoblasts, adipocytes, chondrocytes, neurons, myocytes, and tenocytes stem cells are the maintenance crews, they can self replicate I will try to describe there function

osteoblasts....

A specialized bone cell that produces and deposits the matrix that is needed for the development of new bone and consists primarily of collagen fibers. Osteoblasts are formed from osteoclasts on the outer surfaces of bone and in bone cavities, and bone deposition takes place constantly in living bone. As new bone grows and hardens with the addition of calcium and phosphate, osteoblasts become embedded in the bone matrix and develop into osteocytes

adipocytes

fat cell a soft greasy substance occurring in organic tissue and consisting of a mixture of lipids

Chondrocytes


(from Greek chondros cartilage + kytos cell) are the only cells found in cartilage. They produce and maintain the cartilaginous matrix, which consists mainly of collagen and proteoglycans. Although chondroblast is still commonly used to describe an immature chondrocyte, use of the term is discouraged, for it is technically inaccurate, since the progenitor of chondrocytes (which are mesenchymal stem cells) can also differentiate into osteoblasts

Neurons

(also known as neurones and nerve cells) are electrically excitable cells in the nervous system that process and transmit information. In vertebrate animals, neurons are the core components of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves.

myocyte,


is a single cell of a muscle. Muscle fibers contain many myofibrils, the contractile unit of muscles. Muscle fibres are very long; a single fibre can reach a length of 30cm.

tenocytes

A tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone[1] and is capable of withstanding tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments except that ligaments join one bone to another. Tendons and muscles work together and can only exert a pulling force.

now we have found that CSF is caustic to bone and tissue ?
and will quickly break down blood cells, so what is the dura mater lining consist off ???

mesothelial

cells lining the inner part of the dura mesothelial

or a specialized type of mesothelial( mesenchymal stem cells??? ) I do not see this type off stem cell in the list of Autologous Stem-Cell that have been isolated yet ? now, I would muse that it is only these type of stem cell that would be of use as a dural patch ?

I would like to see that a mixture, of the different types of stem cells would migrate to the matrices, seeded with each type of cell in vitro and inviro ?

in connective tissue problems in the outer dura mater and skeletal muscular area surrounding the leak site I would imagine would benefit from and injection of healthy stem cells of the required type

If the person has genetically faulty
Autologous Stem-Cell this will be a more complex issue within the bone marrow its self ?

I have used the word mussing because this is just my thoughts and may not have a basis in fact but I thought I would share them

It looks like you and I will have to agree to disagree on the Stem Cell discussion. It looks like you and I could go back and forth on the topic for days and probably not get anywhere. , And, I'm not interested in doing that anyway. I try and make it a habit of avoiding talk about politics or religion, and it looks like I'll have to add stem cells to that list .

Have you researched, or tried, oxiracetum or cerebrolysin? They are relatively inexpensive drugs that have been shown in research to be very beneficial in brain injury. They have even done studies that showed these drugs can normalize an EEG (or QEEG). They have virtually no side effects and are considered safe for long term use as long as you cycle them. Just a suggestion...

hi ya

the title of this thread is thoughts on alternative therapy I for one need to know all points of view, the moral issues surrounding them, maybe valid or invalid

but essentially off topic, it is the nature of head injury that we are sometimes apt to become polarized in our opinions, it is healthy to test these opinions in intellectual debate sometimes , as long as it does not put down any individual poster,

the subject of embryonic stem cell , organ cloning ect come,s with with a lot of ethical and political baggage I,m afraid

oxiracetum or cerebrolysin??

Both are controversial. Neither has been scientifically tested for efficacy by US standards. Some studies say they show promise. Cerebrolysin is not available in the US. Oxiracetum is only available on the gray market. They appear to be popular to college students trying to enhance their academics (known as smart drugs)

As for normalizing EEG, that would be quite an achievement. There are so many different EEG abnormalities to address.

I am already taking aspirin and ginko biloba. Both show similar value in preventing dementia. B-6 and B-12 also are shown to be effective. I have been taking both for years. My wife can see a difference when I reduce my B-6 and B-12 intake.

Unfortunately, too many are looking for the magic pill to fix their brains and it just is not out there.

Yes, Vinny, I couldn't agree more with you. The original intention of my post was to just let people know that stem cell therapy is another alternative therapy in development, that is all. And Mark, my apologies if I came across too strong.

Well, almost every alternative therapy out there is controversial., otherwise, it wouldn't be considered "alternative."

Hey Mark,

How many mg of Ginko do you take? I've tried to take it before at the recommended dose, but couldn't b/c it made me too agitated. Thanks.

Mike,

I just checked my vitamin packs. I take a premade pack sold by Costco. I think it is called High Energy. It used to have ginko biloba. Now it just has Asian Ginseng 100mg for mental alertness. .

I also add 10 other pieces to the 7 piece Costco pack.

You might find this web site interesting. It looks at issues from a scientific basis with the only bias being a serious concern for the risk factors of genetic modifications. http://www.i-sis.org.uk/stemcells2.php

Truth is hard to fight when there is a scientific understanding. Knee jerk reactions because of political biases often do not stand up to scientific scrutiny.