Re: good recovery from ATM.

Bryan Kessler (bkessler(AT)hookup.net)
Sun, 16 Mar 1997 12:46:32 -0500

>>robert e parker (by way of James Lubin ) wrote:
>>>
>>> HI ALL, I went to physiotherapy on friday and met a young man named
>>> JOHN, who i had lost touch with, he was in hospital with me in the next
>>> bed, he also has ATM. His attack happened while wind surfing,his back
>>> and arms began to hurt so came back to the beach and lead on the sand to
>>> rest. Thirty minutes later he was paralyzed and numb from the chest
>>> down. He spent six months in hospital in the next bed to me, both of us
>>> with ATM which is very rare. anyway the last time i saw him he was in a
>>> wheelchair with no feelings or movement below the chest. Well the good
>>> news is that he is able to walk and has 80% of feelings back, he told me
>>> that it start to return after eighteen months of phisio treatment and
>>> hard work. IT was so good to see him and to see his good recovery, it
>>> really gave me a boost as i remember the doctors telling him there was
>>> no chance of much of a recovery,they also told me the same and i have
>>> had some return though not as good as JOHN. Anyway i thought i would
>>> pass this story along and hope it gives all of the other people with ATM
>>> some hope for the future. IT proves it can happen!!. regards ROBERT.
>>> --
>>> robert e parker
>>
>>I've read Robert Parker's posting with great personal interest. Has
>>anyone been a paraplegic for 3-4 years, then subsequently experienced
>>improvements? If you have, to what degree? appreciate any feedback...
>>-george

What a great opportunity to add a little bit of controvery (and on a
SUNDAY).

Seems that myelin regeneration in the central nervous system is VERY
limited. BUT, according to the myelin project, if undifferentiated neural
cells are injected --they seem to have this "knowledge" that they need to
"remyelinate" and have actually done so in some experiments. Of course
--taking rat glial cells and injecting them in a human spinal cord does
present certain problems. BUT taking genetically identical "precursor" cells
and injecting them into a human spinal cord would probably cause
remyelinization with almost NO chance of rejection --nice idea, eh? But
where do we get these genetically identical cells from --well there is a
sheep in Scotland that has the answer --but seems that every two bit
politician and a lot of scientists who have never spent time in a wheel
chair and catheterizing six times a day see some inherent "evil" in human
cloning. I for one would not feel too bad about a few of my genetically
identical cells being injected into me!!!!! Ah yes --but Hitler and Hussein
are ready to be cloned too and we must stop this madness --WHAT BS!!! Even
if Uncle Sadam (Sam?) were to produce a twin ( and what are these ridiculous
arguements about having a genetically identical duplicate running around
--twins, triplets and so on have had this for CENTURIES) it would be highly
unlikely that it would be able to duplicate his "nurture" factors. He might
grow up and want to join Mother Teresa?

My point? Cloning has incredible possibilites for people with diseases
like MS and TM which had been at a stand still for years --yet we are to be
left sitting in our chairs, unable to walk, to love, because some
government(s) fear the unknown. I don't buy it for a minute!

bryan