I am hoping that when God closes a door he opens a window.
After finding out the researcher I had been dealing with had left, I called the institution and sort of felt I got the bum’s rush: don’t call us; we will call you. Research to start in a few months. Oh, yeah?
Thank goodness I am the persistent sort. (Who? Me?) I was not feeling quite right about the situation and called again today. I talked to a lovely young lady who informed me everything with the stem cell research has sort of fallen apart! ‘Reworking’ the stem cell line apparently did not mean just changing a few small things. It meant changing the entire protocol!
Changing the entire protocol is essentially going back to step 1. The staff needs to be trained in the new standard procedure. Then the research goes back to pre-clinical trials. That means they are back to real rats for lab rats! Clinical trials, those that use rats who stand on two legs, won’t start for over a year, maybe two. Yippee skippee.
Since I know we are all highly responsive and adaptable people, I am sure you would have done what I did. Precisely? Bitch about being given the wrong info and start looking for plan B. Going blind here. We need to move a lot faster than this. What else is available?
Turns out they have a study in progress. It does pay to inquire; doesn’t it? The study is also phase 2. Remember phase 2 is one step above safety and tolerability. That is the stage in which they see if you will survive and, if you do, will anything really weird or harmful happen to you. Stage 2 measures if anything actually happens with the treatment. Is there a discernible effect?
This study uses adult stem cells. There is a nice blurb on the phase 1 trials that Lin found for me. It is through the Macular Degeneration Partnership and is titled Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Dry AMD. The 33 people they used in phase 1 had some very nice results.
I asked the research staff to see if Regillo would refer me for this study. I got my answer less than five minutes later. Either he does not remember me at all and is just collecting warm bodies or I made an impression ?.
Be that as it may be, I got the ‘informed consent’ packet so I can read exactly what the protocol for this study is. Find out what I need to know.
I am hoping things move quickly. I have been waiting for some movement for over a year now and the longer I wait, the worse my vision becomes. You folks know how that goes.
So, hoping for a window to open soon. Even if it’s an attic window. I will find a ladder! Time to get moving on this treatment thing.