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With the consent of his wife, Maureen, Charles Berniqué participated in a clinical trial at The Ottawa Hospital and survived a severe infection.

Stem cells are usually thought of as the building blocks of the body – able to give rise to all our cells and organs. But a clinical trial at The Ottawa Hospital is testing the idea that certain stem cells may also be able to help control the body’s immune system to reduce injury, promote healing, and fight infection.

Charles Berniqué, 73, of Hawkesbury, Ontario, recently participated in this trial and survived a deadly infection.

“It is tremendous what The Ottawa Hospital did for me,” said Berniqué. “I was so close to death, but I received the best care in the world and got to participate in this study, which could help many people.”

Berniqué developed an infection in June 2015 after his esophagus burst, possibly due to a severe case of food poisoning. This led to severe septic shock, a deadly condition that occurs when an uncontrolled infection results in hyper-activation of the immune system, causing the cardiovascular system and other organs to fail.

Berniqué was in a coma in The Ottawa Hospital’s intensive care unit when his wife, Maureen, consented to his participation in the clinical trial.

“I just wanted to do whatever I could to help him,” she said.

Dr. Lauralyn McIntyre (right) is leading the clinical trial, which is based upon years of research conducted with Dr. Duncan Stewart (left), Executive Vice-President of Research at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa.

Within 24 hours, Berniqué received an intravenous infusion of 30 million stem cells derived from the bone marrow of a healthy Ottawa volunteer.

Berniqué battled back and, despite a number of complications from the massive infection, he slowly recovered. After nearly three months in the hospital, he returned home to Hawkesbury, where he is spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren and working part-time.

“We don’t know whether the cell therapy played any role in Mr. Berniqué’s remarkable recovery, but the cells were very well tolerated and we are excited to continue to study this promising therapy in more patients,” said Dr. Lauralyn McIntyre, an intensive care physician at The Ottawa Hospital and associate professor at the University of Ottawa.

Details are available in this media release and on CTV Ottawa.

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