Pastor explains why child porn was found on his computer

James Rankin

A Texas pastor is claiming that child pornography images allegedly found on his computer were “to remind himself of what other people like to look at,” according to an affidavit for a search warrant.

Local police disagree.

“That explanation did not really pan out for us,” police Sgt. Lonnie Brazzel told The Huffington Post.

Authorities on Friday seized computers, digital storage devices and cameras belonging to 78-year-old James Rankin, of Hurst, Texas.

Rankin was arrested after employees at a Best Buy alerted police to suspected child pornography allegedly found Thursday on an Apple iMac that Hurst brought in for repair. When investigators examined the computer, they allegedly found about 50 images of nude children, some of which they described as having a “‘home-made’ quality.”

Rankin told police he’d discovered the images seven or eight years ago “and saved these images because he had researched a possible lesson involving Cupid, love, and human trafficking,” according to the search affidavit.

However, authorities say some of the images have dates as recent as February associated with them.

“This is now a matter of whether this a downloaded collection or photos he’s taken,” Brazzel said.

A forensic analysis of the images is pending.

At the time of his arrest, Rankin told police he was an associate pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Hurst. A now-defunct page on the church’s website states that Rankin is a married father of two who served in churches in Tennessee, Fort Worth and Amarillo. He also served as a chaplain in the U.S. Army.

The church did not respond to a request for comment.

Rankin also allegedly said the photos served as a reminder of “how bad human trafficking is.” However, it appears his concern didn’t motivate him to take any further action. Court documents do not indicate that Rankin ever notified authorities or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of the existence of the alleged child porn images, or the website from which he allegedly downloaded them.

Rankin, who faces a charge of possession of child pornography, is jailed in lieu of $5,000 bond. The forensic analysis of the alleged evidence is expected to take five to six weeks, Brazzel said.

Culled from Huff post

Imo govt. denies ownership of blog 5yrs after running site

Governor Rochas Okorocha

Imo state government has denied ownership of an online platform,  www.imostategovernment.blogspot.com after running the site for over five years. The said blog which was launched in 2012 by the ICT unit of the Imo state Government House was used to publish all the state government’s activities until mid-October 2016.

              Reacting to questions from the Eastern News correspondent via telephone, the Special Adviser to Governor Okorocha on ICT, Mr. IK Ogbonna denied knowledge of the said platform, adding that he is not aware that the State government owns a blog. Said he; “I am not aware that there is an official blog for the Imo State Government. The blog you mentioned may be one of those blogs run by friends of the government”

           When contacted, ICT Editor for the Imo State Government House, Mr. Anthony Ebere Inyama, insisted that the platform belongs to the State Government.   Said he; “I created the blog (www.imostategovernment.blogspot.com) with approval by my unit Head, Mr Matthew Obono, in 2012 and since then, it has been used to publish news of all government’s activities and programmes until October last year”.

Mr Inyama said he stopped publishing on the site because he is being owed six months arrears of salary by the state government. Efforts to get further information from him proved abortive as he refused to disclose the reasons why he is being owed.

 Earlier, our correspondent obtained a copy of an official letter signed by the Deputy Chief of  Staff to Governor Okorocha, Mrs. Ogechi Ololo, and addressed to the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly. In that letter dated 16^th April 2016, Mrs. Ololo referred to Mr. Anthony Inyama as the ICT Editor for the Imo State Government House and asked the Speaker to assist him (Mr. Inyama) to collect certain information from the House of Assembly for publication on the State Government Website (www.imostate.gov.ng).

 Commenting on the issue via Facebook message, an Imo-born Pharmacist based in the United States of America and daughter of the late Eze Alexius Anumaku Njamanze, Princess Stella Njamanze-Neboh  had this to say “ I frequently visit the Imo State Government Blog and I appreciate the operator for keeping us informed of what is going on in our state, Imo. I love his services. I was a strong supporter of Governor Okorocha but have become a critic with his priorities in Imo State. I think the Governor is surrounded by bad advisers and they are killing his reputation both at home and abroad. He reminds me of President Trump. They are patriots but are misled by advisers. The Governor needs to pay and take care of our citizens especially our retired elders. If he took care of the needs of his people, no one will criticize him even when he makes an honest mistake.

He needs to get rid of his selfish, greedy and corrupt aides. If people don’t get paid, then they don’t work for free. The governor can do better and I wish him well”

              A cross section of students who responded to questions from our correspondent expressed surprise that the State Government has abandoned the only platform that contains information on all Governor Okorocha’s official engagements between 2011 and 2016. A student of History and International studies at the Imo State University, Owerri, Mr. Kelechi Ogwo .had this to say; “ I do not believe that the State Governor will support the idea to abandon the site because that blog is like a mirror through which the governor sees himself. It will be counter-productive if the blog is abandoned because it already has thousands of followers on Facebook. Secondly, news and photos of all the state government’s activities from Governor Okorocha’s 1^st year in office in 2011 till October last year are contained in the blog but are missing in the state government website.

               Another student, Miss Promise Chiemenam, said that it will be unfair to Governor Okorocha if his achievements in office are swept under the carpet by his aides. Said she; “The website of any state government is supposed to be a point of contact between the government and the people wherein the government displays all its achievements in office. But the present status of the Imo State Government website makes one to wonder if the state government has a functioning ICT unit. The website contains very little or no information on Governor Okorocha’s activities throughout the six years he has governed Imo State. I don’t understand their reason for abandoning the blog because all the vital information that are lacking in the website are contained in the blog”.

Prof. Obika offers N5 million to anyone who can inflict gangrene on him

Prof. Obika

A social crusader and renowned Founder of Modern Branch of Physical Medicine in the world, Physiatry Laureate, Professor Obika Michael Chisimchere who also happens to be the Chairman, Registered Board of Trustees of Physiatricians Association of Nigeria (PAN) and National Chairman Association of Rheumatologists and Geriatricians of Nigeria (ARGN), has challenged anyone that is able to inflict him with Gangrene, also known as Achaere in Igbo a whooping sum of N5,000,000.00 as compensation from now till three months beginning from the date of this publication.

       Both Bodies (PAN and ARGN) are the Federal Republic of Nigeria's established Associations under the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990 for the regulation of practitioners in the above Medical specialties. Prof. Obika was interviewed by one of our correspondents in his Specialist Hospital for Rheumatology and Geriatrics located at 123 Okigwe Road, Owerri Imo State. In this interview, Prof. Obika highlighted the natural cause of (pathological and trauma) gangrene and revealed his monumental research for the cure of this deadly disease as well as ways to effectively manage other forms of Rheumatoid diseases by Rheumatologists and Geriatricians. 
Excerpts are as follows: http://satelitereporters.blogspot.com.ng/p/blog-page_2656.html

Culled from Easternnewsonline

Suspect steals policewoman's money during interrogation

Deji Ayoola

A 28-year-old man, Deji Ayoola, who was arrested by the police in Lagos State, Nigeria for theft, has allegedly stolen money from the policewoman interrogating him.

 Ayoola was being interrogated at the Rapid Response Squad office in Alausa, Ikeja, on Saturday, when he allegedly stole N1,200, which fell from the policewoman’s pocket.

The suspect had earlier been arrested by the men of the RRS in the Ojodu Berger area for allegedly stealing from a commuter.  Ayoola allegedly stole a wallet, containing N14,500 from the commuter, identified as Ayodele Akerele, before he was arrested. It was gathered that after the police took Ayoola to the RRS office for questioning, a sum of N1,200 fell from the policewoman, who had removed her mobile phone from the pocket. When the money dropped on the floor, Ayoola allegedly picked it, but was exposed some minutes later by another suspect.

Ayoola, said, “It was the devil who pushed me into the act.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the suspect had been transferred to the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, for prosecution.

Culled from Punch

Man, 34, busted while raping toddler inside garage

Charles Sadler

An Ohio man has been arrested on sexual assault charges after a woman allegedly caught him raping a 3-year-old girl inside an abandoned garage.

Charles Sadler, 34, of Columbus, was taken into custody penultimate Friday in connection to the alleged assault.

According to police, a woman was driving in west Columbus when she heard a scream and saw a man, later identified as Sadler, raping a little girl in the 300 block of South Richardson Avenue.

The Good Samaritan, who has children of her own, called 911 and followed Sadler for several blocks until officers responded to the scene and arrested him.

Sadler's family told WSYX they thought the 34-year-old was 'passed out drunk somewhere' at the time of the incident.

He is currently being held in the Franklin County Jail on $200,000 bond.

The alleged victim’s mother took to Facebook Monday, claiming in a heart-breaking post that her 3-year-old's innocence was taken by someone she looked to as ‘an uncle.’

The Daily Mail is not naming the mother to protect the identity of her daughter.

The mother-of-two from Columbus wrote that Sadler took 'his obsession' for her 3-year-old to 'another level' on Friday while she was being watched by family friends, whom the furious mom called 'unresponsible [sic] adults.'

According to the woman, her child offered investigators testimony after being examined in the hospital.

She vowed to find justice for her child and urged other parents to hold their babies tight.

'The unthinkable became reality to us!' she wrote.

In a follow-up status update the mother posted after Charles Sadler's initial court appearance, the mother expressed her frustration with the judge's decision to set bond for his release.

Culled from Daily mail

Usain Bolt wins his THIRD consecutive Olympic 100m gold medal in 9.81 at Rio Olympic games

They say lightning never strikes twice, let alone three times,  but Usain Bolt has his eyes set on immortality after again claiming the title of fastest man in the world.

The Jamaican sprint legend emerged victorious in his grudge match against American Justin Gatlin to win his third successive gold medal in the 100m final race on Sunday night, running the track in 9.81 seconds.

Gatlin, who finished in 9.89 seconds, took home the silver medal while Andre De Grasse of Canada nabbed the bronze. 

It was an epic sprint for the line and midway Gatlin appeared to have got the better of Bolt.

But Bolt picked up and ran first over the line, his face immediately breaking into his signature showman smile.

'It was brilliant,' the legend said after his victorious run. 'I didn't go so fast but I'm so happy I won. I told you guys I was going to do it.'

Sunday was the race the planet tuned into see and Bolt ensured he would become the first athlete to ever win the 100m three times - and at three straight Olympics.

Bolt is now just two races away from completing the ‘triple triple’ and winning three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. 

It would be the perfect final Olympics for the legend, who has repeatedly said he will retire after Rio.  

'Somebody said I can become immortal,' Bolt said after the race on Sunday. 'Two more medals to go and I can sign off. Immortal.' 

Bolt, who hopes to break the world record in the 200m - his favorite event - on Thursday added that he would be disappointed if he did not complete the 'triple triple'.

'I came to these Olympics to win three golds and prove I am one of the greats,' he said.  

'If I fail I will feel sad and I will not feel accomplished.' 

But on Sunday Bolt was happy to soak in the roaring cheers and applause as he grabbed his national flag and smiled back at his loving audience.

Gatlin, meanwhile, was widely booed as he entered the track, a sound that shocked Bolt.

'That's the first time I've gone into a stadium and they've started to boo (Gatlin),' he said. 'It surprised me.’

But Bolt didn't stop to shake Gatlin's hand after the race, instead running another 100 yards around the track before later embracing De Grasse.  

Despite the cold welcome from both the crowd and his rival, Gatlin still soaked in his silver medal victory and made his victory lap with the American flag draped around his shoulders. 

'We work 365 days a year to be here for nine seconds,' Gatlin said after winning his third Olympic medal. 'At the age of 34, to race these young guys and still make the podium feels so good.'

'That was for my son. If he's watching…I love you, son.'  

Gatlin said he only had 'love and respect' for the other medal winners, and that he knew he had to live with the jeers.

The race was billed as an epic head-to-head between Bolt and Gatlin, who has one Olympic gold medal and a career racked with drug controversy.

While pockets of empty seats could be seen at the Engenhao stadium on Sunday night, it was standing room only at Jamaica House, which was crammed with athletics fans - both visiting and local.

As Bolt cruised to victory a huge cheer went up - with some of the ecstatic Jamaicans breaking into little dances of delight.

Among them was Erica Scarlet Black, an expat living in Connecticut, who said Bolt's victory was 'very good for our little country'.

Draped in the Jamaican flag and watching with her friend Marlene Lindsay, Black added: 'He is the greatest! This is so good for our little country Jamaica.'

Asked if Bolt's victory had made flying to Rio worth the air fare, she added: 'We came here just to see Usain run and this has made it well worth the money.'

Antoinette Shaw, of Saint Mary, Jamaica, is another Bolt fan who flew to Rio just to see him in action.

Ecstatic following his win, she said she expects the 29-year-old to go on and complete an unprecedented 'triple-triple' of gold medals.

'I'm sure he will,' she said, punching the air in delight. 'I'm confident he'll do it - and so is he.'

She added: 'This is just brilliant - he is the best and I had to come here to support him and all the other Jamaican athletes.'

Bolt's latest triumph was screened to the crowds at Jamaica House, which occupies part of the Jockey Club in the upmarket suburb of Gavea, via a series of big screens.

The crowd, which had begun trickling in as soon as the doors opened at 6pm, had burst into cheers each time the Jamaican champion appeared - with even his semifinal victory greeted with a roar.

Ratcheting up the tension and entertaining the crowds between heats was DJ Narrity, flown in from Kingston to provide a soundtrack to Bolt's final Olympics.

Although Narrity made game attempts to drum up interest in Yohan Blake, women's 100m gold medalist Elaine Thompson and 'former Jamaicans' such as Bahrain's Kemarley Brown, for the fans at Jamaica House, the night belonged to Bolt. 

And the legend proved in the semifinals that he wasn’t going to relinquish his title easily.

He appeared to be cantering along and mocking his opponents as first he looked to his right and then swung his head to his left to look at his rivals behind him, trying to keep pace.

Bolt crossed the line in 9.86 seconds, the fastest time in the three semifinal heats, with a huge grin and a point at the cameras, clearly saving his best for the final. 

As he celebrated, Bolt took off his spikes and climbed up to the spectators to greet his family.

It took him a few minutes, but he delighted the crowd with his trade mark ‘Bolt’ signal 

Bolt had received the loudest cheers inside the Olympic Stadium, while New Yorker Gatlin was booed and jeered when his name was called at the start.  

Gatlin, evidently angry at his reception, crossed the line in 9.94secs and stormed off straight down the tunnel as the other runners stayed on the track shaking hands. 

Both Bolt and Gatlin later complained about the closeness of the semifinals and the final, revealing that the 30 minutes to an hour they had to rest between the races had left them tired. 

The 100m final was not only the most eagerly awaited event of Rio 2016, but a personal grudge match between the Jamaican and American ace sprinters.

Bolt, who will be 30 on Sunday, said Gatlin would 'feel his full wrath' when they finally came head-to-head on the Olympic track.

The sprinter was unimpressed when Gatlin focused on the six-times Olympic gold medalist's slight injury worries earlier this summer, claiming the champion had been given 'a medical pass' to compete after missing the Jamaican trials.

'He's injured, gets a medical pass, that's what his country does. Our country doesn't do that,' Gatlin was quoted as saying in the American press. 

Bolt, who was hailed as the savior of his sport after his 100m and 200m victories ahead of Gatlin at last year's World Championships in Beijing, soon hit back. 

'For me I felt it was a joke - I felt it was a disrespect they think I'd back out of a trials,' he said.  

'I've proven myself year on year that I'm the greatest. I laughed when I heard it. I was disappointed, especially in Justin Gatlin.' 

Team US Olympic officials have pleaded for America to finally forgive Gatlin as he attempted to become the fastest man in the world once again.

Gatlin won gold in the Men's 100m final at the 2004 Athens games, but was later convicted of a doping offense and served a four-year ban, returning to competitive athletics in 2011.

It was the second controversy to descend on the 34-year-old track star after he was banned in 2001 from international competition for two years.

He tested positive for amphetamines, but later successfully appealed that the positive test had been due to medication that he had been taking since his childhood, when he was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.

'At the end of the day, the time has been served. I've served that time,' Gatlin said on Wednesday.

'I've dealt with that punishment. I've moved forward.' 

But the sprinter has not been able to shake off his accusers as he attempted to give Bolt a 'run for his money' after claiming bronze against the Jamaican in London.

And Gatlin's coaches were insistent that beating Bolt to the Olympic title should not be seen as a 'tainted gold.'

Tracy Sundlin, who is in charge of the US track and field men's team, told Daily Mail Online: 'That would be wrong. Justin is a remarkably talented athlete who clearly made a mistake at some point.'

'He has paid dearly for that mistake. He has owned up to that mistake.'

'If people saw what he is doing and the amount of effort… if they saw his heart, I think they would feel as I do.'

'People do forget how truly special a talent he was. He was a world class hurdler as well as a sprinter.'

'He has done things that people don't understand and appreciate.' 

Culled from Daily mail

Shutdown of Kickass Torrents: How Apple betrayed Artem Vaulin

Reports from Global News Alerts say that the owner of the world's largest and most notorious BitTorrent distribution site Kickass Torrents (KAT), Artem Vaulin, who was arrested by the federal authorities a couple of weeks ago was betrayed by Apple.

An IRS agent went undercover to buy and advertise on the notorious site for five days, at the price of $300 per day.

This revealed Vaulin's e-mail account, trim@me.com, hosted by Apple, who provided a copy of his email inbox to authorities after being requested for help.

With the help of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), US officials were easily able to obtain information about the Kickass Torrent's operations from the bank accounts used to collect payments for advertisement slots.

"Records provided by Apple showed that tirm@me.com conducted an iTunes transaction using IP Address 109.86.226.203 on or about July 31, 2015," reads the complaint. "The same IP Address was used on the same day to login into the KAT Facebook."

An analysis of this account later disclosed the presence of Kickass Torrents servers in Chicago.

"Vaulin is charged with running today’s most visited illegal file-sharing website, responsible for unlawfully distributing well over $1 billion of copyrighted materials. In an effort to evade law enforcement, Vaulin allegedly relied on servers located in countries around the world and moved his domains due to repeated seizures and civil lawsuits. His arrest in Poland, however, demonstrates again that cybercriminals can run, but they cannot hide from justice."

In addition to the Kickass Torrents domain names seizure, the Chicago court has also ordered the seizure of bank accounts related to the notorious pirate website, as well as servers located in Chicago, USA, and Canada.

Kickass Torrents has been blocked in many countries in the past including the UK, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, and Malaysia.


After The Pirate Bay had suffered copyright infringement hardship, Kickass Torrents (KAT) became the biggest and most-used pirate site on the Internet, attracting millions of daily unique visitors.

However, the site appears to be offline after its alleged owner Artem Vaulin, a 30-year-old Ukrainian national was apprehended in Poland two weeks ago, and the US government has requested his extradition.
Although some proxy sites seem to be currently up and running, its main site, https://kat.cr, appears to be down worldwide and most of the other Kickass Torrents domains, including kickasstorrents.com, kastatic.com, thekat.tv, kat.cr, kickass.cr, kickass.to, kat.ph, have been seized by the authorities.

Charges Filed Against Kickass Torrents Owner

According to criminal complaint [pdf] filed in US District Court in Chicago, Vaulin faces:

• Two counts of criminal copyright infringement.
• One count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.
• One count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The United States federal authorities say that Kickass Torrent has caused damages of more than $1 Billion to copyright holders.
Here’s what Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell stated in a press release issued by the Department of Justice:

How Kickass Torrents Team Responds to Copyright Infringement Complaints:

According to the court affidavit, Vaulin claimed that his BitTorrent site KAT did not violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), but they did.

When any film studio filed a notice-and-takedown for a potential DMCA violation, Kickass Torrents team responds like this:

After the arrest of Kickass Torrent’s owner and seizure of primary Kickass Torrents 

domain, a mirror of the original Kickass Torrents website with identical design has been made available online in less than 24 hours.

The mirror for Kickass Torrents website has been hosted by another popular torrent site, IsoHunt, atkickasstorrents.website, hosting everything from the last year, to year-and-a-half.

However, the mirror lacks forums, community, and support of Kickass Torrents — the biggest draws to the original Kickass Torrents website.

Culled from The Hacker News

Jamaica wants tourists to buy weed in Airports as govt installs cannabis shops at terminals

In an effort to cash in on the legal cannabis industry, Jamaica officials are working to provide tourists with easy access to marijuana as soon as they step foot onto the island.

It is no secret, by now, not even to the governing powers of the land of wood and water, that the majority of those who visit Jamaica do so in the hopes of getting their hands on some of that high-powered ganja to live out a Bob Marley boot camp fantasy.

It is for this reason that the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) is currently developing plans to install cannabis kiosks inside all airports and seaports that would not only allow travelers to pick up a license to legally use the herb during their visit, but also provide them with a couple of ounces of weed before they head off to the hotel.

"It would primarily be for people who have a prescription and, in effect, you're doing it for medicinal purposes with a permit from the Ministry of Health. If they don't have a prescription, then they can do what we call 'self-declare', and this will allow them to have the two ounces while they are here,” CLA Chairman Hyacinth Lightbourne told to the Jamaica Gleaner.

Jamaica decriminalized marijuana possession, earlier last year, in a manner that allows anyone caught with two ounces of weed, or less, to simply pay a small fine (about five dollars) instead of facing criminal penalties. The passing of this legislation, which was done in an effort to establish a medicinal cannabis sector, also allows residents to cultivate up to five plants for personal use without being dragged to a local jail. However, unlike some of the medical marijuana laws in the U.S., Jamaica’s allows tourists to get a permit from the government that gives them to freedom to purchase up to two ounces of weed during their visit.

So rather than force tourists to jump through a series of inconvenient hoops just to enjoy their time on the island in an altered-state of stoned bliss, the CLA simply wants to give people the opportunity to satisfy all of their marijuana-related business as soon as they get off the airplane or cruise ship.

"The thought is that if you are coming out of the airport, there is a kiosk that you can go to,"Lightbourne said. "So basically whoever is coming out of immigration can go to that desk and register and get that clearance." 

It is a move the agency believes would generate a significant revenue stream for the government, one that compares to some of the numbers being reported in other parts of the world where cannabis has been made legal.

"In Colorado last year, even though it is recreational and medicinal, they sold about US$1 billion worth of marijuana and collected $135 million in taxes for the state alone with a population of five million plus,” said CLA member Delano Severight. “The Canadian market for medical, due to their patient system, they earn US$100 million from that alone, and their view is that if they open it up, then they will have a US$5-billion industry and the US overall is about US$5.4 billion last year and US$6.7 billion this year. So you can see the potential it presents.” 

The CLA reportedly plans to move rather quickly on this development in order to avoid having the idea squashed by regulatory loopholes.

Culled from High Times

Doctors REVERSE symptoms of stroke in major scientific breakthrough.:

Doctors have reversed the symptoms of stroke in a major medical breakthrough.

Patients regained the ability to walk, speak and have a normal family life, thanks to a procedure requiring only local anaesthetic and a single night in hospital.

Remarkably, the stem cell treatment was shown to work even three years after someone had suffered a stroke - meaning that millions of people could potentially benefit from the treatment.

Eighteen patients underwent the procedure in an initial trial - with stunning results.

Despite the long gap between stroke and treatment, all 18 patients in the pilot showed increasing improvement for the 12 months they were tracked after the operation.

Nearly half showed ‘clinically meaningful’ results - which meant the procedure had a significant impact on their lifestyle.

One patient who relied on a wheelchair, unable to properly use her legs, has since taken up jogging.

Another woman, who could barely get to her feet before the operation, has since walked down the aisle and is now expecting a baby with her new husband.

And another, completely paralysed apart from the use of her left thumb, has regained the ability to walk.

The treatment, carried out by scientists at Stanford University in California, is thought to be so effective because it triggers the rapid regeneration of brain circuits damaged during a stroke.

There are 1.2million stroke survivors in Britain - many who have never recovered their independence.

More than 150,000 people have a stroke in England every year, with patients suffering paralysis, speech problems and personality changes.

Experts last night stressed that we are several years away from the treatment being rolled out to all stroke patients - because far more testing is needed before the procedure is proven to be completely effective.

The experiment was only set up to establish that the treatment was safe - which it did - but 18 patients are not enough to show that it will work on all people.

But the team has already started on work to replicate their results on a larger scale, and if that is successful the technique has great potential to revolutionise life for stroke patients.

The researchers, whose work was published last night in the Stroke medical journal, tested the treatment on 11 women and seven men, aged 33 to 75.

Each was given stem cells between six months and three years after they suffered a chronic stroke.

Although stem cell treatments have been shown to work for stroke patients in other small trials in the past, most have been given within days of suffering a stroke.

But the new study suggests that the treatment might work for a much longer window - significantly expanding the number of people who might benefit.

Study leader Professor Gary Steinberg said: ‘Patients improved by several standard measures, and their improvement was not only statistically significant, but clinically meaningful.

‘Their ability to move around has recovered visibly. That’s unprecedented. At six months out from a stroke, you don’t expect to see any further recovery.’

The participants remained conscious under local anaesthesia, while a small hole was drilled through their skulls and stem cells injected into the damaged area of their brain.

Sonia Coontz suffered a stroke when she was just 31 years old. It left her confined to a wheelchair, unable to walk and profoundly disabled. Mrs Coontz pictured with her husband Peter

The next day they all went home.

Over the next 12 months they showed significant signs of recovery on several scores - their motor functions improved, speech returned and some regained the ability to walk.

Although three quarters suffered from headaches afterwards, the scientists think this was due to the surgery itself, and all passed within a few days.

Professor Steinberg said: ‘This was just a single trial, and a small one.

‘But some patients couldn’t walk. Others couldn’t move their arm. Patients who were in wheelchairs are walking now.

‘Older people tend not to respond to treatment as well, but here we see 70-year-olds recovering substantially.’

He added: ‘This could revolutionise our concept of what happens after not only stroke, but traumatic brain injury and even neurodegenerative disorders.

‘The notion was that once the brain is injured, it doesn’t recover — you’re stuck with it. But if we can figure out how to jump-start these damaged brain circuits, we can change the whole effect. We thought those brain circuits were dead. And we’ve learned that they’re not.’

The new therapy uses stem cells called SB623 cells, extracted from the bone marrow of donors and then modified to make them suitable for insertion into the brain.

The stem cells - ‘blank’ cells capable of acting as a repair kit for the body by replacing damaged tissue - are thought to encourage the regeneration of blood cells and blood vessels.

Bone marrow donations from two people were sufficient to provide enough stem cells for 18 patients.

Previous trials have also been controversial because they use embryonic stem cells from aborted babies – but this trial avoids those ethical issues because it uses adult stem cells available ‘off the shelf’ from a commercial provider.

The scientists are now recruiting 156 chronic stroke patients for a randomised double blind trial, to prove that it works.

Professor Pippa Tyrrell, a consultant in stroke medicine at Manchester University, said last night: ‘Huge respect should be paid to the patients who took part in this trial and others like it. None of them knew at the start whether it would make them any better.

‘I think it is incredibly exciting, not just for stroke but for spinal cord injuries as well.

‘We have been talking about stem cells for years, and at last we have a signal that it might just lead to an improvement - we now need further trials to show that this is the case.’

Professor Malcolm Macleod, a neurologist at Edinburgh University, stressed that no real conclusions can be drawn until a randomised trial has taken place, comparing patients who had received the treatment to those who had not.

‘It is good and promising but we know that if you wait 12 months there will be a natural improvement that occurs for most patients.

‘This trial shows that this is safe, but it is going to be a few years before we know whether it really works.’

Dr Shamim Quadir of the Stroke Association said that the main treatments currently available have to be administered within four and a half hours of a stroke - and can do little more than minimise the damage.

He said: ‘The trial adds to a growing body of early clinical evidence suggesting stem cell treatment could promote recovery in people months, and even years, after having a stroke, bringing hope to many living with a disability.’ 

WOMAN CONFINED TO A WHEELCHAIR AFTER SUFFERING A STROKE AT 31, WALKS DOWN THE AISLE AND IS EXPECTING A BABY WITH HER HUSBAND

Twelve months ago Sonia Coontz proudly strode down the aisle to marry her fiancé Peter.

Just a few months earlier, such a feat would have been unthinkable.

Because Mrs Coontz had been consigned to a wheelchair, the victim of a vicious stroke that had struck when she was just 31.

She survived the stroke, but was left profoundly disabled.

‘It was very bad,’ Mrs Coontz, now aged 36, said last night, speaking from her home in California.

‘I could not speak well, my left leg did not work very well so I had to use a wheelchair. My right arm was almost dead and my shoulder hurt so badly.’

Two years ago, Mrs Coontz was one of 18 patients to undergo a radical new procedure at Stanford Medical School.

Under local anaesthetic, she received stem cell injections directly into her brain, designed to regenerate the neural circuits left damaged by her stroke.

‘After the surgery instantly all that pain had gone from my shoulder,’ she said. ‘I could move my arm all the way back for the first time.

‘And from that day on I never sat in a wheelchair again.’

Mrs Coontz had been putting off her marriage, too embarrassed at her inability to walk to put herself through the spectacle of a wedding.

‘Last June I was able to walk down the aisle,’ she said. ‘I would not have been able to do that before.

‘And now I’m pregnant - we are expecting a boy in September.

‘Every day I get better. I still have some recovering to do, but I feel terrific.’

Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3622589/Major-breakthrough-doctors-REVERSE-symptoms-stroke-Patients-walk-talk-live-normal-life-stem-cell-treatment-3-YEARS-later.html