Going abroad to get therapy
hazards.” He restricted federal funding for such research until 2009, when his successor, President Obama, ended those limitations, saying, “the potential it offers is great.”
Some states still have laws forbidding experimentation on fetuses, fetal tissue, fetal “remains” or the “product of human conception” from induced abortions.
In Wisconsin, Assemblyman Andre Jacque has pushed similar legislation, saying science should be held to a higher standard. He told USA TODAY Sports in March that he wasn’t aware Howe received fetal-derived stem cells and couldn’t find any media reports that said he did.
“We have very ethical standards in place for gaining the consent of the individual who is donating tissue,” Jacque said. “Obviously an aborted child cannot consent in that case.”
Those on the other side of the argument point to the cases of Howe, Brodie and others whose lives dramatically improved after treatment. Given that single abortion was going to happen anyway, they argue, why not have some good come from it?
“It’s great that this tissue can be used for something that can help mankind,” said Murray Howe, who is a doctor. “It’s up to our whole society to decide what ends up in the tissue bank. To me, this is only positive.”
‘HIS DOCTORS DIDN’T WANT HIM TO DO IT’
Brodie has lived a life defined by the grace and skill of his movement and speech. He was a college football Hall of Fame quarterback at Stanford and played 17 years for the San Francisco 49ers, who retired his No. 12. After football, he worked as an NBC broadcaster and played Senior PGA Tour golf.
Brodie suffered a stroke in 2000 that left him largely unable to speak or walk. He was described as depressed and mostly wheelchair-bound when, at the suggestion of a friend, he decided to try stem cell treatments.
“His doctors didn’t want him to do it,” said his wife, Sue Brodie. “It was his own motivation to do it, and the family supported that, because, frankly, what have you got to lose?”
One problem: Brodie has had to travel abroad to get the treatment he has wanted. In the USA, this kind of experimental two-cell treatment is not available — mesenchymal and neural stem cells.
Stemedica said this year that it would apply to have the two-cell treatment tested in U.S. clinical trials for similar stroke victims. But the company also says it is far more cost-effective to have its products tested instead in foreign clinics to determine if they are safe and effective for use on a global scale.
Most U.S. patients who have received the company’s stem cells have gotten them in clinical trials in Mexico and Kazakhstan — two licensed clinics that buy the stem cells from Stemedica.
Brodie’s first treatment came in 2006 in Moscow, where some physicians are licensed to administer stem cells like this, unlike in the U.S., McGuigan said. Brodie then had treatments in clinical trials in Kazakhstan, which has been testing the two-cell treatment for several years.
After that, Brodie went to Novastem, a sleek stem cell therapy center in the old part of Tijuana, just steps away from dental clinics and a taco restaurant.
He now has improved speech, increased mobility and independence from caretakers.
“Stem cells, wow!” John Brodie told USA TODAY Sports after a recent workout at a gym in Solana Beach, Calif.
He has been working out regularly with a trainer, Brian Mahon.
“His energy levels are up pretty high,” Mahon said. “When he’s walking up and down the stairs … in the beginning, he got pretty tired. Now he gets up and down pretty quick. … The biggest improvement I’ve noticed is his mobility and walking around.”
GORDIE HOWE’S LAST-DITCH EFFORT
Gordie Howe’s family thought he was near death after he suffered a stroke in October. “But we wanted to give him the opportunity, if he still wanted to be with us,” said his son Murray. “And if he wanted to check out, then we were going to let him check out.”
In a last-ditch effort, they traveled to the same Tijuana clinic in December after Stemedica helped arrange for his experimental treatment through McGuigan, who had worked for Howe’s former team, the Detroit Red Wings. Howe received the treatment free of charge, though it typically would cost about $30,000, said Rafael Carrillo, Novastem’s president.
Within hours of his treatment, he was walking again, Murray Howe said. And now, “He can pretty much do all the things he likes to do: be helpful around the house, sweep, grocery shopping, go out for a hike, toss the ball around,” Murray Howe told USA TODAY Sports in late February. “He’s completely mobile.”
Murray Howe said Saturday “you can’t even tell he had a stroke” but that his dad has had ups and downs and still struggles with short-term memory.
Skeptics point out that natural stroke recovery also could be responsible for the hockey great’s improved health. They also point out the risk of desperate patients being tempted to cross international borders to get unproven medicine in countries with less oversight for safety.
Both families said they understand that but also believe in the treatment’s safety and efficacy. They reject stereotypes that medical care in Mexico is subpar, pointing to the modern Novastem clinic they visited. Gordie Howe also plans to return here for another treatment in June.
Sue Brodie says U.S. medical culture goes “too far the other way,” meaning it’s not very tolerant of new or alternative possible treatments. She also would like to see football players with chronic brain damage have access to it.
“Stem cells aren’t a cure for anything yet,” McGuigan said. “But if we can return quality of life to people like John or Gordie and we can learn and discover more because of those experiences, that’s a victory.”
“We don’t use the word fetal too much. ... They’re really considered legally adult stem cells even if they’re fetal-derived.”
Maynard Howe, CEO of Stemedica Cell Technologies