Posted on 06/30/2004 4:59:55 AM PDT by playball0
Unorthodox 'immune modulation therapy' holds promise for patients with heart failure
It sounds like the brainchild of a mad scientist: Draw blood from the arm, heat it up, pump it with oxygen and bombard it with ultraviolet light and then re-inject it into the patient's butt.
But as strangely unorthodox as it may seem, the process -- called immune modulation therapy -- may well be a legitimate and effective means of treating heart failure.
Even cardiologists, a traditionally conservative group, are excited.
"I remember thinking, when I first heard about this: 'This is very weird,' " said Debra Isaac, an associate clinical professor of cardiology at the University of Calgary.
"But, ultimately, I was impressed by the science behind the idea."
The key scientific notion here is that inflammation plays a pivotal role in the development and progression of heart failure.
The new blood-zapping procedure "targets inflammation by kick-starting the immune system's anti-inflammatory response," Dr. Isaac said.
Immune modulation therapy, a patented therapy developed by Toronto-based Vasogen Inc., involves taking about 10 cubic centimetres of blood (two teaspoons), then putting it into a machine that "stresses" the blood by subjecting it to heat, oxidation, and UV light.
Those stresses are designed to induce apoptosis (cell death) in white blood cells, those that influence the body's immune response.
When this zapped blood is re-injected into the patient, the dying cells trigger a powerful immune response.
"What it seems to do is change the ratio," Dr. Isaac said. "It increases the anti-inflammatory response and decreases the inflammatory response."
Practically, what that means is the inflammatory process, which can be toxic to the heart, is slowed. Inflammation can damage the arteries and lead to a narrowing of the blood vessels, a principal cause of heart disease.
In preliminary research, immune modulation therapy resulted in a sharp reduction in symptoms among heart failure patients. This leads researchers to believe the approach could slow the progression of heart failure, or even reverse some of the damage.
But a large-scale study is only beginning, so results will not be available for a few years.
Joan Oulette, a retired waitress who lives in Airdrie, Alta., has signed up, hoping to do her part to find new treatments for heart failure.
A lifelong smoker, she was diagnosed with heart failure in 1999. She underwent her first immune modulation therapy treatment earlier this week and, while she is a bit skeptical, she hopes the treatment will improve her health.
"This sounds like some Dracula science fiction thing, taking out your blood and then putting it back in you," she said.
"But they explained pretty good, saying they want to kick-start my immune system and make my heart stronger.
"I'm willing to give it a try," Ms. Oulette said.
The 62-year-old retiree said her health is relatively good, which she credits to "keeping loyal to my meds." Ms. Oulette takes 18 pills a day already -- for blood pressure, cholesterol and diuretics -- and said having blood taken and re-injected once a month will hardly be a bother.
Dr. Isaac stressed that the new therapy is not designed to replace existing treatments, but to supplement them.
Heart failure occurs when the heart loses its ability to pump enough blood. Usually, this loss is a symptom of an underlying heart problem, such as clogged arteries. While the term heart failure suggests a sudden and complete stop of the heart, the condition actually develops slowly, often over years.
More than 350,000 Canadians suffer from heart failure. It is a deadly, costly condition, with few effective long-term treatments. Nearly 40 per cent of patients die within one year of diagnosis. Heart failure is one of the leading causes of hospitalization; treatment costs are an estimated $2.3-billion annually.
PING!
I'm not a medical person so I'm not sure but it seems to me if this works it would help other illnesses as well?
Actually, it does. I am glad to see that it is gaining MD recognition, because it has been seen as unorthodox. It kills strep, I think staph (like, the kind not responsive to anti-biotics), candida, all kinds of bacteria.
Might help with other illnesses, but then in certain people it might also 'overstimulate' the immune system and start up some auto-immune type diseases (Lupus, AIHA, ITP).
(Just speculating).
I'm not a medical person either, but I can't help but think that such afflictions as asthma and arthritis might be helped.
Sounds as though it might help certain types of arthritis patients........
Yes, I thought about that too. My husband suffers from a disease that they think is caused by a over-active auto-immune response.
Seems it would help inflammatory process, but if the heart has deteriorated or been damaged too much, you would still need surgery. Would help with post surgical infections...........
What is wrong with this picture?
Sounds like the typical Medicare moocher in the US as well.
Change your unhealthy lifestyle and you will not be a leach and a looter from the rest of Canadian citizens.
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Two sentenced in silicone death In July 2003, two people involved in illegal injected silicone "pumping" parties were sentenced in the 2001 death of Vera Lawrence. According to testimony, Ms. Lawrence's lungs filled with silicone while being injected to enlarge her hips. The industrial-grade silicone had been illegally purchased through a furniture manufacturer. These procedures are especially common among young and poor transgendered women involved in sex work and beauty pageants seeking a quick and cheap way to enlarge breasts, hips, cheekbones and lips. The outlawed procedure is performed by unlicensed practitioners, and silicone maims and kills many young transgendered women a year. ed. note: Observe the difference in how each defendant is decribed in "mainstream" versus gay accounts. 'Pumping Party' Defendant Sentenced Man Gets Maximum Prison Time POSTED: 4:36 p.m. EDT July 30, 2003 UPDATED: 10:41 a.m. EDT July 31, 2003 BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. -- A man accused of illegally injecting a woman with silicone before her death was sentenced Wednesday. Donnie Hendrix (pictured left) was given the maximum sentence of five years for operating without a license. He was given "time served" for a culpable negligence conviction. Before his sentencing, Hendrix, who prefers to go by a woman's name and dress as a woman, apologized to his victim's daughter. "I'd like to begin by expressing my sorrow. For a child to lose her mother, is unmistakably a great tragedy," said Hendrix. Hendrix's co-defendant Mark Hawkins has a hearing for a new trial next week. The men were accused of causing the death of Vera Lawrence by injecting her buttocks with a large amount of industrial silicone at a "pumping party." Hawkins' attorney is requesting a new trial because he said it was learned that a nurse on the jury panel was giving medical information to the panel. As a side note, a Fort Lauderdale detective was in court Wednesday to inform the judge that Hendrix is a cooperating witness in a case against Kevin Hoffman. The detective asked the judge to take that into account when sentencing Hendrix. Hoffman was re-arrested this week and charged with murder. Hoffman had been released after DNA evidence against him was accidentally destroyed at a BSO crime lab. Hendrix claims Hoffman talked about the murder when both men were in the Broward County Jail. Previous Stories: * June 10, 2003: 'Pumping Party' Jurors Testify As Attorney Seeks New Trial * June 3, 2003: 'Pumping Party' Trial Jurors Headed Back To Court * May 23, 2003: 'Pumping Party' Trial Goes To Jury * May 22, 2003: 'Pumping Party': Defense Says Prosecution Witnesses Just Wanted To Show Off * May 15, 2003: 'Pumping Party' Witness Describes Horrific Death * May 14, 2003: 'Pumping Party' Trial: 'Bizarre, Flamboyant, Unusual" * July 26, 2002: Men Tells Judge Silicone Injections Were Nearly Deadly * November 1, 2001: Man Expected To Enter Plea In Silicone Death Trial * June 25, 2001: Man Pleads Not Guilty In Silicone Death * June 7, 2001: Third Arrest Made Following Silicone Injection Death * June 1, 2001: Two Charged With Murder In Silicone Death * May 30, 2001: Two Men Accused In Silicone Death Face Judge Miami Herald 2 convicted in silicone death BY NOAH BIERMAN nbierman@herald.com Two juries convicted two men Friday for their roles in a 2001 silicone-injection ''pumping party'' that killed a Carol City woman. The case drew national attention because it shed light on the trendy phenomenon of enhancing body parts with silicone shots. The pumping parties, most common in the transgender community, involve injections of silicone into body parts to enlarge them. The sentences of Mark Hawkins, 38, and Donnie ''Viva'' Hendrix, 34, will probably be very different. Hawkins faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for his role. Hendrix, who had a lesser role, may face no more than six years, a prosecutor said. The men were convicted following a trial in which two juries deliberated each man's charges separately. Hendrix's jury deliberated about 12 hours. Hawkins' jury deliberated for eight hours. Hawkins was convicted of third-degree murder and practicing medicine without a license causing serious injury or death. He was not convicted of manslaughter, but he was convicted of the lesser charge of culpable negligence. Hendrix was acquitted of manslaughter and third-degree murder. He was convicted of culpable negligence and practicing medicine without a license, two lesser offenses. Hawkins and Hendrix stood silently as the verdicts were read, staring blankly ahead. As the clerk read the verdicts one after another, the victim's daughter, Tangela Sears, bowed her head and cried. Her mother, Vera Lawrence, 53, died in the silicone pumping incident. ''It was not her time to die,'' Sears said afterward. ``Mark Hawkins killed my mother.'' Lawrence got the injections because she wanted larger buttocks. She met the defendants through a friend, Corey Williams, who hosted the pumping party in his Miramar apartment on March 20, 2001. Williams, who testified at this month's trial, received probation in exchange for cooperating with authorities. VERDICT EXPLAINED Jason Cottrell, who sat on the Hendrix jury, said he and fellow jurors believe Hendrix participated in the pumping. But, he said, there was nothing to prove that specific incident caused Lawrence's death. Prosecutor Howard Scheinberg praised the verdicts: He said Hawkins' role was clearer than that of Hendrix, who was at the party but not seen touching Lawrence. ''Mark Hawkins is going to be out of business for a long time,'' Scheinberg said. He said the men, who were living as husband and wife in South Carolina, ran a traveling business, buying 85 orders of silicone, intended to be used in furniture production, from a North Carolina company. They preyed on the gender confusion of a mostly transgender population by engaging in a dangerous procedure that would not be performed in a certified medical office. Scheinberg showed jurors calendars, handwritten receipts and other business records found in the home of Hendrix and Hawkins. Five witnesses testified that Hawkins and Hendrix had pumped them numerous times in the past, charging a few hundred dollars for procedures and offering discounts to those who recruited new customers. DEFENSE ARGUMENT But defense attorneys Eric Schwartzreich and George Reres countered that Lawrence's autopsy revealed months' -- if not years' -- worth of silicone had accumulated in her body. They relied on testimony from a former medical examiner, who claimed the previous injections led to her death. They appealed to jurors to hold Lawrence responsible for her dangerous lifestyle. Schwartzreich said Lawrence's death was the result of a poor self-image. They held up autopsy photos to demonstrate her fixation with having larger hips and buttocks. Man Convicted in Silicone Death Paula McMahon, Orlando Sentinel 5/27/2003 [FORT LAUDERDALE] - A South Carolina man could face up to 20 years in prison after being found guilty in the death of a woman who attended a silicone-pumping party in Miramar. Mark Hawkins, 38, was found guilty Friday of third-degree murder and illegally practicing medicine by jurors in Broward Circuit Court. His former partner, Donnie Hendrix, 34, was acquitted of the most serious charges against her in the same death. She faces up to six years in prison for the lesser charges of culpable negligence and unlicensed practice of medicine. The two were charged with manslaughter, third-degree murder and the unlicensed practice of medicine causing serious bodily injury for the March 20, 2001, death of Vera Lawrence, 53. Two juries listened to the evidence together but deliberated and reached their verdicts separately. "The juries had very intelligent verdicts because Hawkins was the only one witnesses saw with his hands on Vera Lawrence, but Hendrix was standing by in the bedroom while it was done," prosecutor Howard Scheinberg said. The case provided a window on the bizarre underworld of people who undergo invasive cosmetic procedures at the hands of amateurs in hotel rooms and private homes. A third person, Cory Williams of Miramar, who invited guests to the illegal party in her condo, pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier in the case and was sentenced to probation in exchange for her testimony against Hawkins and Hendrix. "The important thing is that these guys are put out of business," Scheinberg said. "The public and the culture involved in this pumping process needs to wake up. They are literally at risk with every injection." Lawrence's daughter, Tangela Sears, let out a muffled "Yes" in the courtroom in Fort Lauderdale when she heard the verdict against Hawkins. She said the trial allowed her to get some answers as to how and why her mother died. "It was not her time to die. Mark Hawkins killed my mother," Sears said. Prosecutors said Hawkins and Hendrix operated a business injecting industrial-grade silicone into people who wanted to change their bodies. Some were women who did not like their bodies; others were men who wanted to become women. Hendrix, who also was known as "Viva," previously worked doing makeup and styling for transgender and transvestite people who took part in beauty pageants. At the couple's South Carolina home, detectives found ledgers detailing prices of procedures: $300 for buttocks, $300 for breasts. They also found receipts for the silicone, intended for use as a cleaning product, that Hawkins bought for $8 a gallon. Lawrence, a grandmother who worked as a secretary in Miami-Dade County government, met Hawkins and Hendrix through Williams, a family friend. She had been getting the illegal injections to enlarge her hips and buttocks for months, maybe years, but she kept it a secret. According to witnesses, Lawrence got dozens of injections at Williams' condo on the night she died. While she was being injected, she became breathless and was unable to speak. She was declared dead shortly after arriving in the emergency room at Memorial West Regional Hospital in Pembroke Pines. An autopsy revealed that Lawrence died after silicone invaded her lungs. Defense attorneys Eric Schwartzreich and George Reres argued that Lawrence's death was caused by the cumulative effect of years of injections. WIS News (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) July 30, 2003 - A South Carolina man will serve the maximum sentence for the death of a woman whom he helped give silicone injections. Donnie Hendrix, who dresses as a woman, will serve five years in prison for practicing medicine without a license. Hendrix and his partner, Mark Hawkins, are accused of giving silicone injections to Vera Lawrence, 53, two-years-ago at a so-called "pumping party" where those injections were given. Authorities say she died from complications caused by the injections. Hendrix has already served two years, while awaiting trial. The attorney for Mark Hawkins, who was convicted of third-degree murder by the jury, is trying to get a new trial because he believes a nurse on the panel gave fellow jurors information that was not in evidence when they deliberated. by Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network August 1, 2003 A Florida transgender woman was sentenced on Wednesday to a five-year prison term for her role in the death of a woman who sought illegal silicone injections at a "pumping party." According to the Sun-Sentinel newspaper, Donnie Hendrix helped inject industrial silicone into the buttocks of Vera Lawrence, who died shortly afterward. Hendrix was convicted of practicing medicine without a license. Her accomplice, Mark Hawkins, was convicted of third-degree murder and could receive 15 to 20 years in prison. The fatal incident occurred two years ago, when Hendrix was reportedly known as "Viva," a buxom blonde who served as a stylist for transgender people competing in beauty contests. The case exposed an underground trend in which people gather in apartments or hotel rooms to inject industrial grade silicone into lips, breasts, buttocks and other body parts to make them bigger. At her sentencing on Wednesday, Hendrix received credit for time served. She told the judge, however, that her 28 months in Broward County Jail have been "horrific." She said she had to have her silicone-enhanced breasts removed because they were injured when an inmate tried to rape her. "I've lived in constant fear from the murderers, rapists and violent inmates I've had to coexist with. I don't think I'll ever feel truly safe again," Hendrix said in court, as reported by the Sun-Sentinel. "I've sat by helplessly as I've watched my body slowly revert back to the state I was years ago -- before beginning hormone therapy -- because I was refused comparable medication." Gwen Smith, transgender activist and founder of the Remembering Our Dead project, called Hendrix' prison conditions "cruel and unusual punishment." "While I agree that what Viva Hendrix did is wrong, her sentence does not include prison rape or physical abuse," Smith told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network. "Make no mistake, she will face this in abundance, as have any number of other male-to-female inmates housed with male prisoners. That type of 'punishment' clearly does not fit her crime." The Advocate August 1, 2003 Conviction made in Miami "pumping party" case A transgendered woman who helped perform silicone injections around the country has been sentenced to five years in prison in the "pumping party" death of a Miami woman. Broward County, Fla., circuit judge Peter Weinstein on Wednesday gave Donnie "Viva" Hendrix the maximum sentence for her role in the death of secretary Vera Lawrence. "The dangerous, high-risk behavior outweighs any mitigating factors," Weinstein said. Hendrix, 34, was part of a team that performed the back-alley cosmetic procedures, popular among transgendered people, to enlarge body parts. Lawrence, who wanted to enhance her buttocks, died two years ago in a Miramar, Fla., apartment where Hendrix and partner Mark Hawkins were pumping people with silicone. Hendrix was convicted of practicing medicine without a license. Hawkins, convicted of third-degree murder, faces 15 years in prison when he is sentenced later this year. Hendrix will get credit for having spent the last two years in jail, during which she says she was assaulted to the point that she needed a double mastectomy. Hendrix's attorney, George Reres, said his client would have been placed in a women's prison had she undergone planned surgery to complete the sex change--canceled when she was arrested. Orlando Sentinel July 31, 2003 Silicone death leads to prison FORT LAUDERDALE -- A transgender man who helped perform silicone injections around the country has been sentenced to five years in prison in the "pumping party" death of a Miami woman. Broward Circuit Judge Peter Weinstein gave Donnie "Viva" Hendrix the maximum sentence Wednesday for his role in the death of secretary Vera Lawrence. Hendrix, 34, was part of a team that performed the back-alley cosmetic procedures to enlarge body parts. Lawrence, who wanted to enhance her buttocks, died two years ago in a Miramar apartment where Hendrix and partner Mark Hawkins were pumping people with silicone. Hendrix was convicted of practicing medicine without a license. Hawkins, convicted of third-degree murder, faces 15 years in prison when he is sentenced later this year.
Pingage.
sounds like more work for me! Yeah!
I love some of the unconventional heart treatments - the ingenious desperation that comes up with them. Like the Brazilian doctor whose patients were never going to get heart transplants, so he cut out a section of their enlarged hearts, and sewed them up - and it can work.
Or pulling a shoulder muscle through the ribs and wrapping it around the heart like a sleeve to compress it and boost pumping.
Mrs VS
My mother died of CHF a year and a half ago. It's a really ugly way to die.
My father died of it at 52, when I was still in high school. My brother has it now, it's often hereditary.
So does my son. (Type I diabetes) ANYTHING that could slow down the immune response without destroying the immune system would be a huge breakthrough.
Actually, it seems more like using a work-around designed to trick the body into giving a different response that is not so self-destructive. It it not so much using the body's own healing mechanism (the inflammatory response) as shutting it down.
Sounds weird, but we don't know what we don't know.
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