BONITA SPRINGS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Erida Kazmaj, 14, has never known a year where she had not been hospitalized at least four times. Born with cystic fibrosis, she’s battled chronic symptoms including constant coughing, congestion and the disease has left her susceptible to serious viruses.
At 40, Carrie Salback has already defied the “standards” of a life with cystic fibrosis. She has suffered from similar symptoms her entire life and was finally diagnosed with cystic fibrosis after seeing an allergist at 13. In addition to the daily challenges of living with this debilitating disease, she battled a severe blood disorder that nearly took her life.
Salback read a story about adult stem cells in Popular Science magazine that featured Dr. Zannos Grekos, a Florida-based pioneer in the field of adult stem cell therapy which utilizes the patient’s own stem cells to treat heart and lung disease, among other disorders. In an attempt to help her mother, Salback’s daughter Ashley reached out to Regenocyte to determine if adult stem cells were an option for treating cystic fibrosis.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.1
Dr. Grekos treated Kazmaj in January 2011 and Salback in February 2011 with significant results. Although cystic fibrosis doesn’t have the same qualitative diagnostic measurements as heart or other lung diseases, the patients’ anecdotal results are dramatic.
“I’ve been getting up early, going walking and skating. I’m working up to jogging!” exclaimed Salback. “I went shopping with a friend a few weeks ago, had plenty of energy, and at the end of the day, she asked, 'Do you realize you haven’t coughed at all today?' That’s pretty amazing.”
Kasmaj’s results are equally positive 18 months after her first treatment. Her hospitalizations are down nearly 90 percent, she’s going to school regularly, and playing sports.
“We’ve been so busy, we haven’t had to think about Erida’s health, which is wonderful,” said her mother, Ervida Kazmaj. “Girls her age are supposed to be active. We couldn’t be more thankful.”
Regenocyte is considered a pioneer in adult stem cell therapy, successfully treating patients with heart, vascular, pulmonary and other serious diseases. Regenocyte does not use embryonic stem cells.
In this ground-breaking treatment, Dr. Grekos extracted bone marrow from the patients and a matched family member. After preparing the adult stem cells from the bone marrow, it was delivered back to the patient. This is an outpatient procedure, so the patients were discharged the same day.
“A patient’s own stem cells can do amazing things,” said Dr. Grekos. “We have realized remarkable results using adult stem cells to treat serious heart, vascular, pulmonary and other diseases. I’m so pleased that we can add cystic fibrosis to that list.”
Dr. Grekos periodically conducts seminars to educate the public about adult stem cell therapy. For more information, call 1-866-216-5710 or visit www.regenocyte.com.
ABOUT REGENOCYTE THERAPEUTIC
Working in collaboration with major international treatment and research centers, Dr. Zannos Grekos has developed many of the protocols used for adult stem cell therapy throughout the world. He has been appointed to the Science Advisory Board of the United States’ Repair Stem Cell Institute and is a member of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) and the International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS). Regenocyte Therapeutic treats congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, peripheral artery disease, coronary artery disease, ischemic heart disease and pulmonary disease. For more information, visitwww.regenocyte.com .
1 – Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. www.cff.org