Stem Cell Heart Surgery: An emerging heart damage treatment

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

July 13, 2008

By KIM SMITH DEDAM The Press Republican Sun Jul 13, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT

The defibrillator in Brock Marvin's chest will reset an irregular heartbeat, but the Marvins are looking for long-term solutions, which involve stem-cell regeneration surgery to build new heart tissue.

"This heart condition doesn't get better with age," Smitty said. "It can improve with medicine. In the next six to 12 months, the less work Brock's heart has to do, the better he can feel."

But a recent checkup showed Brock's heart isn't responding as well as they hoped to the medications he takes.

Breakthrough surgery transplanting stem cells from elsewhere in Brock's own body offers new hope.

Stem cells are a kind of repair cell for the body that can replenish damaged tissues, according to emerging procedures at the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital.

Several other programs around the country have begun to treat heart disease with stem cells, including federally approved test programs at 20 research hospitals.

The Marvins are looking to schedule surgery in the next few weeks, but the procedure costs $60,000 and is not covered by health insurance.

To raise funds, the Lussi family at Crowne Plaza Resort and the Lake Placid Club has opened their golf courses for the Brock Marvin Benefit Tournament to be held Aug. 22.

An 8 a.m. start is planned for a four-man scramble at $75 per golfer on the historic 18-hole course.

To register for the benefit game, contact Philip Arsenault at 873-6727, or by e-mail at: philiparsenault@yahoo.com. The Web site is www.brockssave.9K.com.

Sponsorship for greens or tees at $100 or $200 or more can be purchased, and donations sent to Brock Marvin Benefit Fund, P.O. Box 397, Elizabethtown, NY 12932.

For more information or for other ideas how to help, contact Margo Roemischer at 572-4963.