KIDNEY
DISEASE
Patients with chronic kidney
disease that are candidates for dialysis or transplants should consider
stem cell biotherapy. This is particularly true with individuals that
have persistent impaired renal function as measured by elevated BUN,
Creatinine, abnormal 24 hour creatinine clearance test and decreased
glomerular filtration rate.
To evaluate your condition it would be
desirable for us to see or get a report on either a renal ultrasound
or renal scan. Patients from the age of five years to eighty years are
suitable for this type of treatment.
The source of the stem cells is umbilical
cord blood. The blood is carefully screened to rule out HIV, Hepatitis
B and C and Cytomegalovirus.The stem cells are placed into media that
contain specific growth factors and nutrients that only promote the
development of renal stem cells. This process in the laboratory takes
about three weeks. The cells are then checked for specific surface markers
to be sure they are renal stem cells.
At the time of treatment the patient is
given intravenous renal stem cells and progenitor CD34 and CD 133 cells
over a period of one hour. In some cases the treatment may be repeated
the next day in the same fashion.
The patient is also given stem cell growth
factor and placed on a specific protocol following treatment to insure
the engraftment, survival and safe proliferation of the cells.
Post procedure the patient is followed
once a month with standard kidney function tests including BUN, Creatinine,
24 hour creatinine clearance test and glomerular filtration rate to
determine progress.