Treatment for Deadly Disease Finds Hope Overseas

Release date: 9/15/2008

(NewsUSA) - Teresa Walker Mason provided enough fuel to make any parent proud. Yet, her feats were dwarfed when compared to her greatest effort - her fight to overcome OPCA.

Teresa Walker Mason found treatment for OPCA in the form of stem cells obtained from a newborn's umbilical cord, not embryos - a therapy not yet available in the U.S.

A perpetual overachiever, Mason earned a bachelor's degree at North Carolina Central University, won the crown of Miss NCCU, graduated magna cum laude and earned her law degree from NCCU School of Law, where she was president of the student bar association. But she didn't stop there. She has been an active member of the North Carolina State Bar since 1995, is a registered mediator for the state Supreme Court of Georgia and is Ethics Program office director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga.

However, her focus would soon change from advancing her career to saving her life when, in 2007, at the age of 39, Mason was diagnosed with Olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA), commonly referred to as Ataxia. OPCA is characterized by progressive neurological degeneration, or the shrinking of the cerebellum. The condition totally devastates the body, leading to complete immobility and possibly death.

There is no specific treatment for OPCA. Mason's quest for her life led her to a hospital in Qingdao City, China, where stem cells are obtained from umbilical cord blood, not embryos. This type of treatment is a victim of outdated FDA regulations in the U.S., forcing many like Mason to seek treatment in other countries.

"Americans need to know that they can receive immediate, life-changing treatments for congestive heart failure, sickle-cell anemia, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and many other diseases - as long as they search outside of the U.S.," said Don Margolis, founder and chairman of the Repair Stem Cell Institute, an organization that works to inform Americans about stem cell treatments. "The research has been done - Americans simply need to access the same technologies that already save lives across the globe."

Mason plans to have her husband, Donnie, document and post the results of her treatments on YouTube. "I want to be a part of the resolution for myself, my family and future generations to come," said Mason.

To find out more about how repair stem cells are aiding in the treatment of suffering people, visit Treatment Centers page for a complete list of the 100-plus diseases now being treated by the world's leading stem cell doctors and scientists.

About the Repair Stem Cell Institute

The Repair Stem Cell Institute LLC (RSCI) is a global public service firm dedicated to educating the public about repair stem cell/adult stem cell research and treatments worldwide. RSCI was founded in April 2008 and is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand with offices in Dallas, Texas and Washington, D.C.