Why Don't We Have a Cure for Spinal Cord Injury? 2016

[StemCells&AtomBombs]

I am glad you have cleared that up. At least everyone now knows you admit to know little about the science and care even less about the role of capital markets to not only cure spinal cord injury but to move the dial on future medicines.

Every single researcher is going to say money is the #1 blocker to Cure. Of course they are. They are not going to admit that they can't figure it out are they?

If you can find me one bit of evidence to suggest a scientist anywhere in the world knows how to regenerate the adult human CNS/spinal cord I will gladly concede that science is not the problem! There is no solution to throw money at.

Yes there discoveries that have been made that will lead to incremental repair - sprouting, re-organisation, neuromodulation, increased plasticity etc. Some of these may make it to market if the right commercial people are involved and some will fall by the wayside due to various factors that are nothing to do with public monies.

Increased public monies will mean more money for the existing academic institutions involved in SCI research today. That could be a good thing if it was spent on merit and ability but the likelihood is that it will be a case of funding the same old crusty researchers in the field that have failed so far. Who will sweep away the crust?

We are in a global recession, one that sees the richest countries in the world struggle to deliver basic health needs. Without market making, lean business models and streamlined production methods spinal cord injury will never see a cure move from the bench to the bedside. Venture capital needs products to invest in. We have a dearth of good products that deserve that investment.

If anything Government money will likely follow the markets for health in the future. Incubators and commercial accelerators will grease the wheels in product development and commercialisation. But we're not there yet! Nowhere Konear.

The likes of Google, Facebook, Paypal and Amazon get a lot of criticism (quite rightly in some cases) but they know that the health market needs capitalism more than ever now. Billionnaires hate the thought of getting old and dying and despair at the thought of their future health being in the hands of the existing health and research systems. That is why they are now spending more money than any government could ever imagine on longevity, age-related disease and life extension health technologies free of the constraints of governments and academia.

No I am not here to educate people. I am not a teacher nor am I an expert. I post here to correct some of inaccuracies that are posted now and again.

Your definition of a community is basically a consumer. I agree we have a consumer base and demand. And one is desperate need of a product to buy. But there is no product yet and nor is there a manufacturing pipeline for that product.

I didn't say that I know little about science, I said "I'm not highly competent". There are a few kilometres apart from one another, but nice try at a spin. Please remember: if you got to spin it, it probably ain’t the truth. Like most people on this board, I strive to learn about the science. Sometimes I'm successful and sometimes I'm not. I always try to learn things from those who are more competent than me and go to others to get explanations for when I don't think I get it. I find no shame in admitting that. We can't ALL know everything. Did you get born with this in your head? I didn't and am happy to admit that others have taught me and are still teaching me a lot.

You say, “We are in a global recession, one that sees the richest countries in the world struggle to deliver basic health needs. “, but your NHS, and public medicine in both Canada and Japan do a better job of providing good healthcare to the whole of the population than private markets do in America, and do so spending less money. This is not a very good example of the lean market model. In fact, it’s one of the hardest thing for the free marketeers to explain when pushing “market miracles in medicine”.

You're 100% correct that there is no scientist who has figured out regeneration. I've never once said that science wasn't PART of the problem. Unlike you, I believe the problem to multi faceted, with science being but one part.

Public funds need to be used much more wisely for research and there needs to be a lot more emphasis on outcomes when it comes to clinical and preclinical work. I think the only way for this to happen is for those who will most benefit need to be at that table. The cure is also political. You're right, leave it up to scientists alone to ask for money and you'll not get a good division or best use of the money. There is some information about research being more “consumer” driven in one of the links below. I think one thing we need to do is to figure out how that can best be accomplished.

Leaving it up to markets and capital to cure and care for illness sounds nice especially since the myth that there is not enough money to care and cure for people seems to be something that is often pushed. But a massive expenditure in medicine (especially in America) is what the public purse pays for private cures and cares, therefore leaving the public purse even further looted and unable to care and cure citizens.
Another danger of leaving it to markets is that even though pharmaceutical companies do spend a lot of money in pre/clinical research, most basic science is still funded by taxpayers. And maybe that yet undiscovered area that will get us out of our chairs lies undiscovered. That area will not be chased by private money until public money has shown part of the way. A tax on the public property that led to scientific "cures" by pharmaceutical companies would actually make more money available for future basic research (not only sci).
Based on this, I don't think that pushing for commercialization will get us anywhere quickly. I've provided some links here for people to read for themselves why you're trumpeting of the market isn't as good as it sounds and leads to excess waste which often costs the taxpayer. (sorry for the links. I could regurgitate it to show off my knowledge, but it's not my research).

Financial Times https://www.google.co.jp/amp/s/amp.f...7-2359a58ac7a5 (mainly focused on pre/clinical research and the waste of research and science from the private sector (not only). Their fourth areas are most interesting. A lot of the information comes from the Lancet (http://www.thelancet.com/series/research)


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22926/ about the undue influence that money may have on medical research. of course there are ways to try to limit this, not very often done.

An article from 2005, but still relevant in talking about imbalance especially in the area of basic versus applied research. http://discovermagazine.com/2007/oct...rivate-funding
Norman Augustine, the panel’s chairman and a former CEO at Lockheed Martin, noted that market pressures have compelled industry to put nearly all its investment into applied research, not the riskier basic science that drives innovation 10 to 15 years out.

At this time, I don't see any evidence that markets and private capital will get us to a cure for sci. It’s specifically because I am not naive about how financial capital and markets see our cure; they see it in dollar signs. Of course they do; their job is to make money, not get us out of chairs.

We both see the world and the economy different.
But maybe there is room to use our heads together. I'll accept to a certain level that we are ALSO a community of consumers. What do you think we as consumers can do to speed up the process? I'm happy to hear that argument.

I would like to hear from others who think that the community CAN have an important impact on cure and and what can be done

[Fly_Pelican_Fly]

I don't plan to indulge you in much more as its literally like talking to Corbyn or Sanders....but I will leave you with this!

- you know nothing of the state of the UK National Health Service and its SCI services - it's facing oblivion.

- you know nothing of capital markets apart from a skewed opinion influenced by Geron/Acorda/Stem Cells Inc failures. Traditional Pharma and Biotech is not the only model out there in the 2017 markets. There are startups funded by venture philanthropy, social enterprises funded by social impact invetors and there are entrepreneurial folk making things happen out there in smart ways.

- you dont seem to realise that most academic institutions financially survive through the licensing of intellectual property to capital market driven companies. Try taking that away and see how many researchers will be without jobs.

[lynnifer]

Facing oblivion?! How? Canada is always 10yrs behind the UK.

[JamesMcM]

The Fehlings lab would be a very obvious choice for the necessary animal replication work since the New World Laboratory is also located in Canada. I spoke with Dr. Fehlings over lunch at ISNR in California when they first consented to begin the rat studies (Dec 2015).

The killer surgeon, Shamji, murdered his wife and her body was found the following year on Dec 1st, 2016. Horrible thing...

Canada joined as a recruiting site for the StemCells Inc. trial extremely late in the game. They had 2 locations of the 14 sites. In fact, I think they were the last designated sites to join. Fehlings did not shut down the StemCells Inc. trial, rather the company wound itself down. Fehlings was just a PI at the Toronto site.



What witchcraft is this you speak of?

Remember when they presented some video footage of the patients from the trial in Russia at W2W they didn?t want UTFP To spread the footage am I not mistaken? They certainly don?t want to give out how they managed to reprogram cells from our own body into neural stem cells. I?m just saying when I talked with someone that was closely involved with the trial happening in Russia a few years ago, every email had a confidentiality disclaimer on it.

[JamesMcM]

Haha! Putting your thesaurus to good use there chap.

I?m pleased that you have now discovered Fortuna Fix has announced the trial in the West. How did you miss what was happening in your own back yard?

Travis Roy who spoke at W2W a few years ago is indeed a fierce advocate and is working very hard over there in Boston to accelerate the translation and commercialisation of discoveries.

I don?t mind what you think of me or how it makes you feel. I mostly only post here to call out misinformation, of which there is so much, so that newbies are not duped. I can stop doing that if you like.

re Dennis - he?s been injured as long as I have and has never taken an interest in the science or the commercial side of delivering technologies. He?s only interested in finding someone or something to agitate in order drive traffic to his blog. I don?t have the desire to enable him.

re Anthony - I have known Anthony and Paolo a long time. Neither will be offended or upset with me. So don?t worry.

You seem like a guy that wants to get involved and one with a thesaurus to boot. Maybe extract it from your ass and stop touting 3 year old partial information garnered from a couple of CEO phonecalls as current fact and get involved in a project local to you.

As for answering my two questions -

1) nobody is accountable for Cure as you cannot attach accountability to something that is undiscovered
2) there is no SCI community and therefore cannot have a value attached to it.

I have been off the game for a long time, I believe the paralysis rot has taken it?s toll on my body and I am looking to contribute to the cause in my own way which makes me focus on pressuring my legal team. I haven?t been as scrupulous with my ?cure? research (I believe The field is in a phase of stagnation anyways [after the exciting 2014], so unless I have large sums of money nothing to offer, fundraisers are futile), but out of curiosity I just reached out to Fortuna. Geez my vocabulary Annoys you, within my Isolation I have been studying all kinds of things including the English language, Today it paid off.

What I learned in those exchanges is still relevant ( it’s only been a little over two years, and other than a new company and a phase of investment clearly they haven’t changed that much, in terms of the research they are working on) and interesting information.

p.s I think nothing of you, you are but words presented in a fourm on the Internet; All I can judge is your writing pertaining to a specific topic. Were we to meet in person and actually acknowledge each other who knows. But that is real life that is how you formulate an opinion of someone.

[JamesMcM]

it doesn?t say just ?spinal tissue? in my post.

You’re right I extrapolated spinal tissue from “spinal cord”.

[JamesMcM]

The situation to be a funny coincidence.

Are you really bragging that the fellow,who murdered his wife and hid the body for a year, found you fascinating?

No not at all, if anything I’m remarking at my shock that such a renowned doctor actually took the time to listen to anything I said! They tend to be very snide when trying to discuss something within their field ( and really they have a PhD, and for most of us we are just simple plebeians) ; almost with a sort of God complex when they are at his level especially (A caveat: this is all speaking in context before he murdered his wife, which resulted in a complete shock wave across the neurological field in Ontario! I cannot get a neurosurgeon for the life of me, I seen a post on Facebook That went viral where a woman posted her wait time to see a neurologist was 4 1/2 years. The wonders of socialist healthcare! Regardless of what he did, just speaking of his skill and credentials he was very Highup). He didn’t give me his personal info for my shamefully limited knowledge, it was to put him in touch with whomever J?rgen deemed best suited. I was in no way being braggadocious. For there is nothing to be boastful about I just find the situation to be a funny coincidence, as he worked directly with Fehlings And he had no knowledge of the work being done in Russia.

[JamesMcM]

I will also try and email him again.In any shape or form.

I'm four hours away from Toronto but have exchanged tweets with Fehlings before. I'd love to tour his lab, but with winter coming it would have to wait until next Summer. Unless someone in Toronto wants to inquire??? The best way is to get someone from here to go 'there' and report back.

James? Something you would be able to do or no? If you don't want to - no biggie.

The victim of that despicable murder was from Tecumseh which is on the outskirts of where I live. Her family is still there

http://windsorstar.com/news/local-ne...r-slain-doctor

We had an anaethesiologist murder a nurse at a local hospital ... drive his Porsche down to the river and took his own life with meds he knew how to use. As a result, security has tripled at all of our medical places

Absolutely! However I cannot even get Fehlings to respond to an inquiring email. In fact my general practitioner cannot get a response from him or his team in regards to my syrinx, nor can my physiatrist!

Evidently he is active on Twitter, And you have had exchanges with him… Maybe you can try and contact him through that outlook and I can act as an arbiter and report back here. I refuse to give that website my patronage In any shape or form.

I will also try and email him again. However I remember being in Western and asking if they ever give access to the research wing, I got a pretty forceful no.

[lynnifer]

I’ll try. I found him to be a bit ‘short’ in answering on Twitter. I had asked his opinion on th epidural stim stuff before.

[niallel]

fundraisers are futile

If there was no hope then I would agree. But everyone who comes here hopes for a cure, and raising money is surely the first step.

[GRAMMY]

Also keep in mind many of the researchers/labs do not want exactly what they are doing and working with to be public knowledge.

Remember when they presented some video footage of the patients from the trial in Russia at W2W they didn?t want UTFP To spread the footage am I not mistaken? They certainly don?t want to give out how they managed to reprogram cells from our own body into neural stem cells. I?m just saying when I talked with someone that was closely involved with the trial happening in Russia a few years ago, every email had a confidentiality disclaimer on it.

It has been explained many times that during scientific presentations when unpublished data is being discussed, the video equipment and cell phones are turned off. It's not that researchers wish to hide their work from the general public. It's a very common courtesy given to them so their chances of publishing their data is not ruined. Journals do not publish projects where outcomes have already been widely disseminated in public. We are lucky they share their work and trust us not to ruin their chances at publishing. Researchers that do not publish seldom remain employed for very long. It's part of the job and demands to remain employed in the labs.

[StemCells&AtomBombs]

I don't plan to indulge you in much more as its literally like talking to Corbyn or Sanders....but I will leave you with this!

- you know nothing of the state of the UK National Health Service and its SCI services - it's facing oblivion.

- you know nothing of capital markets apart from a skewed opinion influenced by Geron/Acorda/Stem Cells Inc failures. Traditional Pharma and Biotech is not the only model out there in the 2017 markets. There are startups funded by venture philanthropy, social enterprises funded by social impact invetors and there are entrepreneurial folk making things happen out there in smart ways.

- you dont seem to realise that most academic institutions financially survive through the licensing of intellectual property to capital market driven companies. Try taking that away and see how many researchers will be without jobs.

Actually, now I'll stop indulging you. You're rather tiring. It's impossible to have a conversation with someone who spins the truth and says in every point on this latest message, that I don't know this or don't realise that.
How can you know who knows what about what? At first I thought it was a debating tactic but have realised that it's just sheer arrogance which is used to cover ignorance of what you don't know and to amplify what you do.
Good day, sir.

PS. Corbyn and Sanders are great men who aren't responsible for the neo-liberal agenda which has hurt universities, research, and medical care. I hope they're both elected so they can start fixing these problems.

[nrf]

Actually, now I'll stop indulging you. You're rather tiring. It's impossible to have a conversation with someone who spins the truth and says in every point on this latest message, that I don't know this or don't realise that.
How can you know who knows what about what? At first I thought it was a debating tactic but have realised that it's just sheer arrogance which is used to cover ignorance of what you don't know and to amplify what you do.
Good day, sir.

PS. Corbyn and Sanders are great men who aren't responsible for the neo-liberal agenda which has hurt universities, research, and medical care. I hope they're both elected so they can start fixing these problems.

Cure related? Lack of cure related? Blow hard?

[StemCells&AtomBombs]

Cure related? Lack of cure related? Blow hard?

I'll guess you'll have to decide. I'd say yes if you look at the whole conversation as opposed to one piece. It's up to you if you want to read it or not.

[nrf]

I'll guess you'll have to decide. I'd say yes if you look at the whole conversation as opposed to one piece. It's up to you if you want to read it or not.

I have read it. You should read it then you can come up with an educated decision!

on a side note, how do you define “great men”?