Joe P. Rouse, M.D., MIPGM
CMMRF Trustee

Joe P. Rouse, M.D., MIPGM, CMMRF Trustee

The Board of Trustees met October 12, 2018, with Dr. Michael Murphy who holds the Chair of the Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation at Indiana University.  The focus was the outstanding research being conducted with adult stem cells in vascular diseases.  New clinical human trials are underway.  Most interesting is a current human trial to prevent enlargement of AAA\’s (abdominal aortic aneurysms).  The goal is to prevent any enlargement from 3.1 cm ( 1.4 inches) to 4.5 cm  ( 2.05 inches)  Currently only surgery ( to prevent rupture) is available after this point.   A simple Ultrasound can screen for this problem which is most often found in men who have been smokers.   

Other human trials include the CONCERT- HF for heart failure using a special \” C-Kit Stem Cell\” from one\’s own heart and bone marrow injected directly into the injured heart muscle wall in order to rebuild heart tissue.  The SENECA trial is the first of its kind in the US for women who have survived one of the Breast Cancer types but have Congestive Heart Failure from the chemotherapy.  This an ongoing trial and one of the ladies had her cancer 30 years ago. 

New mouse trials are underway for critical limb ischemia (CLI) and in humans, the completed MOBILE trial has demonstrated a significant reduction in limb amputations in non- diabetics with gangrene and diabetes with pain in their legs at rest.  New mouse trials are in progress to determine if adult stems cells can enlarge collaterals in the legs by injections higher in the thighs. 

Remember,  all this because of your donations to CMMRF!