Expert: Erin E. Maio-Harrison, MA,CCC-SLP - 6/19/2004

Question
my father is a stroke survivor.  it has been 2.5 yrs since his stroke and he is still unable to communicate at all.  he has been going to speech therapy one hour a day, five days a week.   he also works on his own for about an hour each day using Bungalow Aphasia Software.   My father is extremely interested in the prospect of stem cell therapy but I havent been able to find much information on the procedure.  Is this a viable option for him?  I would really love to learn more about any clinical studies that have used stem cell therapy to treat aphasia.  He is willing to travel abroad if necessary due to the status quo of stem cell research in the US. Any source of information that you could point me towards would be highly appreciated.  Thank You.

Answer
Hello Jennifer-

I just did an interesting web search for you.  I was suprised to find that some of the latest research in the US is being done right where I live, in San Diego!  I have seen some patients with electrical implants for Parkinsons (a new thing) but none related to stem cell research (they probably treat them for speech therapy in-house for the research.)

I will give you all the links and info I found. That will get you started on following up on some of the studies and researchers listed.  Good Luck-

Contact me again if you have any questions-

Erin E. Harrison, MA,CCC-SLP
Speech/Language Pathologist

BRAIN
P.O. Box 5801
Bethesda, Maryland 20824
(800) 352-9424
http://www.ninds.nih.gov
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/screen/BrowseAny?path=%2Fbrowse%2Fby-condition%...


“Tissue transplantation and electronic prostheses are not yet viable, but may be in coming years. Thus far, transplantation has been accomplished using several different cell types for ischemic injury at several different stages. The most prominent of these trials, using human neurons taken from a cloned embryonal cancer cell line (Trojanowski et al., 1997), has had some success in a rodent model (Borlongan et al., 1998) and has recently been attempted in humans (Spice & Srikameswaran, 1998). Tissue transplantation using neural stem cells might also have a promising role if we can cause new brain structure to develop in the area that is damaged by a stroke. Work in neural prostheses using cortical electrode grids is also in progress around the world.”    Wineburgh, L. F., & Small, S. L. (2004, April 27). Aphasia treatment and the crossroads: A biological perspective. The ASHA Leader, pp. 6-7, 18.
http://www.asha.org/about/publications/leader-online/archives/2004/040427/f04042...

http://crl.ucsd.edu/courses/commdis/pdf/Steve-Small.pdf  -“solutions” section of article references recent studies

http://www.aphasiahope.org/forums/viewThread.jsp?forum=3&thread=477 -a discussion thread about your exact same question
http://www.bulletinboards.com/view.cfm?comcode=8186&cat=3 -another thread with the same question, plus a reference to a relevant article that talks about a woman going abroad for the treatment….I couldn't find the article but the magazine is free (Stroke Connection) and they may send you a back copy.
http://www.stemcellresearchfoundation.org/WhatsNew/Ask_an_Expert.htm#255 READ THIS BELOW
My mother suffered a severe stroke two years ago. It was inoperable, leaving her severely handicapped at 65 years of age. Is there any research being done on stems cells and stroke victims in San Jose, California? Are there any research programs in which she could participate? - RC
California is at the forefront of stem cell research, and there are several major universities there that are engaged in important work. However, so far the promising research on healing strokes has come from stem cell experiments done in rats and mice. Scientists at the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program (recently established at the University of California at San Francisco) have been involved in restoring movement to paralyzed rats through their work with embryonic stem cells. They plan to carry the work over into human treatments and to make their institution a major center for the treatment of many neurological diseases and conditions. However, this work is still in the planning stages.
Another approach to curing stroke-induced damage is being pursued by Dr. James Fallon at the University of California at Irvine. Dr. Fallon and his colleagues, still working with rats, have learned how to stimulate the production and multiplication of neural stem cells in the brain by injecting a human protein called TGF-a (transforming growth factor-alpha). The brain produces some neural stem cells throughout life (which turn into the various brain and nerve cells), and this protein appears to amplify the organ's natural regenerative processes. If the work carries over into humans, it could be of great value to stroke victims. It may be helpful to know about these animal trials because the researchers involved may be among the first ones to try their techniques in humans.
Another source of human clinical trials close to you may be through one of the many biotechnology companies located in central California and Silicon Valley. Geron Corporation, for example, is located in Menlo Park and will be one of the first private companies to conduct human trials using embryonic stem cells. It is worth checking the websites of these organizations periodically to find out if there are any studies your mother can take part in.

Has there been any stem cell research with patients diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia? - SB
Aphasia involves an impairment of language comprehension or the ability to produce the various forms of communication, including speaking, reading, writing, and sign language, while the patient remains otherwise intellectually intact. It is most often caused by a lesion of the brain's dominant cerebral hemisphere, which can be precipitated by a stroke or other trauma to brain tissue. So far conventional therapies have had only limited success in treating this condition. However, researchers at the University of California at San Diego have suggested that the ultimate cure for aphasia will be a transplant of neural stem cells, followed by behavioral therapy to help build the proper connections between brain cells. This science is still in its infancy, but I suggest you check out the website of UCSD's Center for Research in Language, International Aphasia Project. Scientists there are currently seeking participants with aphasia for a large-scale experiment conducted in seven languages. Their web address is: www.crl.ucsd.edu/.



http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2843 -an article
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2817 -article
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2591 -article