Braille Institute VP: Cameron May be a Door Opener for the Future

Sun-herald.comBy Dawn KrebsThe news of an 18-month-old boy slowly regaining his eyesight has rippled across Southwest Florida."That makes four children that we know of that have received this treatment who can see now," stated Chuck Johnson, vice president of The Braille Institute of Florida. The institute works in Southwest Florida to increase Braille literacy and encourage children with blindness and other learning disabilities to express their talents. "If Cameron is coming through that same exchange, he may be a door opener for the future."The legally blind Port Charlotte toddler was diagnosed with optic nerve hypoplasia, or a lack of development of the optic nerve, and traveled to China for stem-cell treatment the beginning of August."Hypoplasia comes from damage to the optic nerve," Johnson said. "It's not strong enough to carry the light. The only thing that can help your sight is to undergo this type of treatment. His optic nerve was asleep; now it's getting a new shock. This new shock is the stem cells that are from the umbilical cord."According to Eric Stockley, of the Charlotte County Health Department, Cameron received a series of five injections of umbilical cord stem cells directly through his spine into the fluid that surrounds the brain. These are cells harvested from umbilical cord blood and not the embryonic cells that are at the center of controversy right now.Each injection delivers more than 10 million stem cells in combination with additional neuron growth factor cells. These cells guide the stem cells to the damaged nerve cells, which in Cameron's case is the optic nerve. Once the stem cells have located the damaged nerve they begin to rejuvenate and replace and repair the damage.After he returns to the United States, Cameron will continue to take treatments for another year or more. Also, he will have to undergo three months of intensive therapy to stimulate his sight. Also, for 12 months, Cameron must spend some time every day, five days a week, in a hyperbaric oxygen decompression unit. This is similar to what divers with the bends must undergo, but for Cameron, this therapy will encourage armature stem-cell growth.What will this small success mean for future research?"He (Cameron) is coming from scratch," Johnson said. "If he's getting stronger, it's because of these treatments. It's exciting news for us. We have a winning key on our hands, and the government is going to hear about it."