Although Formula 1 racing is one of the most popular motorsports anywhere in the world, there are still many people who are generally unfamiliar with the venture. Formula 1 is the highest class of racing there is. They race in single seat cars that are made specifically for maintaining maximum speed even when turning. Taking turns at 230 mph can be incredibly dangerous and the sport has its drawbacks, but it is still very popular, especially in Europe, where a majority of its races take place.
Of the 21 races called Grand Prix that take place in a season of Formula 1, 11 of those take place in Europe with the rest being peppered around the world in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and the United States. Formula 1 has been around since the end of World War II and due to its immense popularity, it is unlikely that it will be going anywhere any time soon.
Stem cell therapy has had a recent impact on the Formula 1 world. One of the most famous Formula 1 drivers has recently undergone stem cell treatment in order to recover from a devastating injury. Many of us may be unfamiliar with Michael Schumacher; let’s dive into who the legendary racer is before discussing his injury and stem cell use.
Who is Michael Schumacher?
Michael Schumacher is a German born Formula 1 driver. He raced with Ferrari and later with Mercedes. Schumacher is regarded by many in his sport as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Formula 1 driver of all time. Schumacher holds numerous records in his sport and is the only driver in history to win seven Formula One World Championships, five of which he won consecutively. He also holds the records for most grand prix wins, most fastest lap times, and most wins in a single season. It is safe to say that Schumacher had a prolific career, but sadly, his career ended in tragedy after a skiing accident he got into in 2013.
Schumacher was skiing in the French Alps with his son when he accidentally went off course which led him onto poor terrain. He fell and hit his head on a rock where he suffered severe trauma. Doctors believe the only reason the blow was not fatal is because Schumacher had a helmet on. Even with his helmet protecting his head from some of the blow, he still was in critical condition and was airlifted to a hospital where he was then put into a medically induced coma.
While his family was quite private at the time and still is today, there is quite a bit of information that has been released over the subsequent years that detail his hard fought road to recovery and where he is now. Schumacher would spend 6 months in a medical coma before he began to regain his consciousness. All the methods that doctors were imploring to try to help his condition did not seem to be creating much improvement, but Schumacher was still healing and slowly getting better nonetheless.
He spent almost an entire year in the hospital before being able to go home to his family. After he went home, there were some conflicting reports of his status. It was reported near the end of 2016 that he still could not walk. Two years later, in late 2018, it was reported that he is not bed ridden, although this does not tell people much about his condition otherwise.
The many treatments that Schumacher has had over the past seven years since his nearly fatal accident have all yielded very few results, but now it seems that Schumacher and his family are turning to a new method of healing in the hopes that he can make more progress on his road to recovery. The Schumacher family are turning to stem cell therapy to see if they can find answers or solutions there.
How Stem Cell Therapy Hopes to Change his Condition:
All of the information about Schumacher and his condition are still not known to the public. He is said to be working with a cardiovascular specialist named Professor Menasche. He researches treatments for stem cell therapy that pertain to the heart, but people are not sure what he will be doing with Schumacher in this case.
Some of the reports that have come out about the matter, such as a report in the Times from French reporter Jean-Michel Décugis, state that “Our sources say that Michael Schumacher is receiving stem cell perfusions that ... produce a systemic anti-inflammatory effect. That is to say they reach the whole body and you could imagine that they reach Michael Schumacher's brain.” Another report claimed that the stem cell treatments were so that he could get his body back into working order because he many years in bed have led to his muscles and bones experiencing atrophy.
With how guarded the Schumcher family tends to be about what is going on behind closed doors, it is almost impossible to actually know for sure what the family is undergoing in order to try to get Michael Schumacher back into good health. What we do know is that seeing that all of the methods of trying to rehabilitate his body and brain have seemed to be mostly ineffectual, this may be Schumacher’s best chance at regaining his health and some semblance of the life he has lost over the past 7 years. In time, the Schumacher family may be willing to release more information to the public about his condition.
His friends hope that he even may make a public appearance at a grand prix in the future, but that is all contingent on the success of the procedure that he is preparing to undergo. Hopefully, the experimental treatment that Schumacher is receiving will be what it takes to get him back on his feet and out into the world, even if it still takes some time. Seeing Schumacher back to some of his daily life would be a win for the stem cell community certainly, but more importantly, it would be a win for all of humanity. Michael Schumacher has spent nearly a decade clinging on to his life after a tragic freak accident that nearly killed him, but with a successful procedure, he may be able to return to a normal life.