Response: Ardnt Roehlig interview 2. 14

I was so pleased to have the opportunity to interview Arndt Roehlig again. It's been nearly a year since he received his stem cell therapy in Istanbul, and he's already looking forward to a new generation of treatment from Dr. Slavin. As a part of the interview, Roehlig gave me Dr. Slavin's e-mail address. I'm looking forward to hopefully having the chance to interview him as well.

I think it's very interesting that Dr. Slavin has already developed a new generation of stem cell therapy and it's already going through regulations and such in Istanbul as well as Athens.

I highly appreciate the insight Arndt Roehlig's given me from his first hand knowledge of stem cell therapy. I wasn't sure what to expect when I asked his opinion on hESCs. Everyone has their own opinion, and the two opinion's I've found are two different extremes.

Arndt Roehlig said that he thinks if hESCs are going to help someone who's sick, that they should use them. Although Roehlig himself has not received hESCs therapy, I'm sure he's very aware of the clashing ethical opinions. On one side you have 'help the already living" and on the other you have "don't destroy what could have been a person." I'm still slightly conflicted, but I'm leaning more toward the use of hESCs now that I have more research.

Notes: Ardnt Roehlig interview 2. 14

1. What kind of stem cell therapy did you receive? Bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC)

2. Who is Dr.Slavin? Which of his quotes helped you reach your decision to receive your treatment? "The secret is to do the treatment of choice in the early stages of the disease before irreversible changes occur,"

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081116/ms_treatment_081116/20081116/

Shimon Slavin, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Scientific & Medical Director
The International Center for Cell Therapy & Cancer Immunotherapy (CTCI)
Top Ichilov at the Weizman Center,
Tel Aviv Medical Complex
14 Weizman Street
Tel Aviv 64239, ISRAEL
slavin@CTCIcenter.com

3. Are you opposed to human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research? What is your opinion of hESCs? If it helps the patient, absolutely not. If you are sick and it will help you, then you should be able to receive treatment. This is a political question, as soon as the person who is against this needs this kind of help, all of the sudden they are for it and try to find a way to jump the line to be first.

4. Have you noticed a difference in your condition since the last interview? My condition is up and down, but from 100% of the speed of progression prior to infusion, I believe I’m now somewhere at 10-20% of that speed of progression.

5. How long ago did you receive your stem cell therapy in Istanbul? March 6, 2009.

6. You mentioned trying the next generation of Dr.Slavin's treatment, what will this entail? Will you have to go back to Istanbul? What are the differences between the new generation treatment and the treatment you received? When will you be able to receive this treatment? This treatment will target even more cell growth, but is in testing and approval stage with the Israeli government at this time, so not yet available. Istanbul or Athens. It is not known yet, as Dr. Slavin has told me to wait a full year to asses the progression of my disease.

7. Why did you agree to have your story posted on scienceblog.com? If I’m going to be a guinea pig, I might as well share my experience.

8. How has this treatment effected your daily life? I am grateful for it as I still have some ability as compared to where I would have been with out treatment.

9. Is there anything else you would like to add about your personal opinions/experiences regarding stem cell treatments? I think we are on the cusp of finding something successful.