At 12:46 PM 3/16/97 -0500, you wrote:
>>>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
>
>