Mexican Modern Medicine

I have a family member with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Emphysema type) due to her years of smoking. I talked to her and she told me about a friend or person that went through pulmonary rehab with her, just this year. He apparently had it worse than her and required oxygen all the time and could hardly walk any distance at all. They heard about a Dr. Jose L_ D_ B_ in Los Algndnmos Mexico. He treats COPD with sheep stem cells. It cost $1000 for the first 7 shots and then boosters are needed every 4-6 months for $50-100/shot. On further enquiry with her, her friends took his medical records with them to Mexico. The "Doctor" didn't even want to see them. Just took a check and gave the shots. Now along with the shot they cannot eat meat, and they have to take mega vitamins and a few asundry other supplements. My family member is interested as the medicines she takes for COPD are expensive. She said he can now get along without oxygen. He has lost some weight, but apparently looks good. I told her to wait until I do some research. First I called our local pulmonalogists and they said there is no such thing available for COPD that they know of in the literature. I then went to Science Based Medicine, Quackwatch and James Randi's site. Nothing in any of them. I checked the NIH site and the CDC site, nothing. I then googled this doctor. What I get is ancedotal and testamonial stuff. I get something from "The Land" an online site. It describes the treatment as using sheep stem cells because they will less likely get rejected and are more quickly absorbed into the blood system. It also states that the AMA is overly protective about accepting stem cell treatments until research conclusively proves that there are no possible side effects. A patient goes into this "doctors" office and gets no blood pressure, pulse check etc. He gets the shots in his abdomen and then in a matter of minutes he can supposedly breath easier. Then they place a metal clip on his finger and from an instrument that is said to measure lung capacity which reads 95, 96 and 97. This sounds like an oximeter device as there is no machine that can read lung capacity by this route. That takes a Pulmonary Function Machine. He then goes to local pharmacy and gets Vit A, E, and B complex prescriptions filled plus a "special stem cell enancement tablets" which are to be taken for the next four months. Several problems, if this is real why 1. do you need shots in the abdomen, shouldn't the stem cells be placed in the lungs directly as other stem cell research is doing, 2. Stem cells don't cause a new lung to grow within seconds so how can the person start breathing easier within minutes of the injections. 3. If this is real we can test it by doing real pulmonary lung function tests and arterial blood gas determinations. 4. I don't know of any doctor who wouldn't want to know the patients past medical history, 5. What does vitamins and "stem cell enhancement medicine got to do with and what is it? and if it is real then there should be some literature some where that a doctor and especially a specialist in the area would know about. Further looking I also see this doctor is involved with stem cell treatments for autism after vaccine injections. He is treating kids! There is also information that this person trained in Cuba and used stem cells imported from Germany or some other European country.

I told my family member to tell her friend to get a Pulmonary Lung Function (PFT) test and arterial blood gas (ABG) determination after being on room air for one hour. If it is real there should be a significant improvement from his recorded previous PFT and ABG. I told her about placebo effect. The history of Laeitril and other alternative medicine. I also told her if it was a real effect we would use it to give relief to our patients and decrease the cost so health care. It it sounds too good to be true, it usual is. I Said this sounds like Quack Medicine and be careful. I told her I would not support her going for such treatment. I am in the process of further research on this subject. Keep tuned for further updates.

Our next meeting is December 5 at 7PM and the theme will be Alternative Medicine

Peace
Skeptical DoDo