Stem Cell Articles

[manouli]

Stem cells could offer a future free from insulin injections
16 January 2012


By Ayesha Jadoon

Appeared in BioNews 640

'Re-training' immune cells in people with type 1 diabetes reduces the amount of insulin they need to inject, according to a results from a small clinical trial.

The team, led by Dr Yong Zhao of the University of Illinois, USA, used stem cells from the cord blood of healthy donors to 're-educate' patients' faulty immune cells.

'They wake them up and correct their function. The stems cells are like a teacher. The [immune] cells are like a bad student', Dr Zhao explained to the Toronto Star. 'The patients couldn't make any insulin before the treatment. But after the treatment they began to make their own insulin'.

READ....

http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_117625.asp

[manouli]

Stem Cell Applications Hasten into the Clinic
Gail Dutton



(Page 1 of 2)

Stem cell therapy is redeeming itself after striking failures. With therapies well into clinical trials, successes are accumulating.

Among the success stories is the first mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy to reverse the side effects of radiation for hematopoiesis, radiological burns, and gut disorders, which was developed at the Institute of Nuclear Safety in France.

“We have demonstrated that MSC treatment is a promising approach for the medical management of gastrointestinal disorders after irradiation, specifically in the context of acute cutaneous and muscle damage,” reports researcher Alain Chapel, Ph.D. That work involved five patients at the Percy Hospital in Clamart, France. Three additional patients were successfully treated for over-exposure for pelvic radiotherapy.

more...

http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articl...e-clinic/3979/

[manouli]

Stem cell technologies market to hit $700M in 2012
January 18, 2012 | Rene Letourneau, Managing Editor


NEW YORK CITY – The market for stem cell technologies will rise to over $700 million this year, and given some positive trends, could reach over $1 billion, according to healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information.

In its new report, “Stem Cells: Worldwide Markets for Transplantation, Cord Blood Banking and Drug Development,” Kalorama cites newly permitted U.S. usage and accompanying research funding in its positive forecasts.

Kalorama included a range for its market forecast because some factors are variable.

“Whether we see a worst case or best case scenario in the stem cell market depends on a number of factors,” said Bruce Carlson, publisher for Kalorama Information, in a statement. “A likely scenario is that developers will continue to expand the utilization of ethically acceptable adult stem cells, and that patents and royalty payments will not seriously inhibit financial incentives. We also anticipate that at least a portion of current technologies under development will prove safe, clear regulations and show substantial benefits over current therapies.”

more...

http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com...-hit-700m-2012

[manouli]

The Holy Grail of Medicine: On the Mystery and Power of Stem Cells
By Leo Furcht & William Hoffman

Jan 19 2012, 12:03 PM ET

You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure, what you do not understand. --Leonardo da Vinci
Exactly how Richard Dalton, royal librarian for "Mad King" George III, made his startling discovery of the anatomical drawings of Leonardo da Vinci isn't known. What is known is that one day, around the time of the American Revolution, while removing the contents of a chest hidden away in Kensington Palace, Dalton uncovered hundreds of exquisite drawings by the Renaissance artist. Many drawings were of the human body -- of muscle and bone, lungs and hearts, legs and arms, sex organs and even fetuses in their maternal pod. Leonardo was known as much as an anatomist as a painter and an engineer, but until these drawings came to light, most of the tangible evidence was missing.

more...

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/ar...-cells/251473/

[manouli]

Clinical Trial Using Stem Cell in Parkinson's Disease - Likely in Near Future
by Poornimal Agarwal on January 19, 2012 at 3:48 PM Health In Focus


Parkinson’s Disease - Medical world has struggled in finding permanent cure for this condition that usually affects men over the age of 50 years, but now this maybe changing with the advent of stem cell based research in regenerative medicine. A significant clinical human trial using these technique now seems feasible in the near future.


continue...

http://www.medindia.net/news/healthi...re-96309-1.htm

[manouli]

Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cell Sources Compared (AAEP 2011)
by: Christy Corp-Minamiji, DVM
January 22 2012, Article # 19470



Stem cell source site has been debated among researchers in recent years as stem cells have been gaining popularity in equine medicine. A research group at Colorado State University recently compared the use of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells from two sites on the horse's body to determine which might be most effective for treating specific soft tissue injuries. Laurie Goodrich, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, presented results at the 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Nov. 18-22 in San Antonio, Texas.

read...

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19470

[manouli]

Jewish community seeks match for 9-year-old who needs stem cells
Faith has been anchor for family of child with rare blood disease
By Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune reporter
11:52 p.m. CST, January 20, 2012


For Laura Horwitch, of Northbrook, making time to implore God for relief seems less practical than making sure someone is always at her 9-year-old daughter's bedside at Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago.

A conversation with God seems less constructive than a conversation with her other two daughters, Maya and Jenna, who need to know their parents love them too.

But Horwitch, 40, welcomes prayers from all faiths, including her own Jewish tradition. She also wants people to think practically and join 12 million others on the international bone marrow registry to become potential stem cell and bone marrow donors. Somewhere in the world, she believes, a stranger bears DNA that could save her daughter's life.

"I think if the world was more educated and there was a match for Lacey, we wouldn't be in such a critical situation," said Horwitch, a child psychotherapist who confesses she didn't know how easy it was to join the registry until her daughter got sick last August.

Lacey Horwitch, 9, suffers from a rare blood disease that is similar to cancer and is treated in much the same way with chemotherapy. Her doctors blame a genetic predisposition. But they also blame a second genetic disorder for complicating her case and putting her in dire need of a stem cell transplant.

The chance of finding a match is higher within the same ethnic group, said Dr. John Cunningham, Lacey's pediatric oncologist at Comer. That's why Lacey, as a Jew of Eastern European descent, has the best chance of finding a match among fellow Jews.

more...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,2477536.story

[manouli]

Human stem cell therapy works in blind patients in first trial

Therapy with embryonic stem cells has managed to improve the sight of two people with extremely limited vision, in the first clinical trial of the controversial technique in humans.
18PM GMT 23 Jan 2012


By Stephen Adams

Comments

The two women, both registered as blind, saw their vision improve in a matter of weeks after being given the embryo-derived cells in the US trial.

The results, published this week in The Lancet, provide a major boost for the field of stem cell reseach.

Both the women suffer from forms of macular degeneration - worsening central vision - caused by retina cells dying.

The first, in her 70s, suffers from dry age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the West. She went from being able to read 21 letters on a sight test chart to 28.

read....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/he...rst-trial.html

[manouli]

Stem cells could save snow leopards
Monash University
Tuesday, 24 January 2012



The survival of the endangered snow leopard is looking promising thanks to Monash University scientists who have, for the first time, produced embryonic stem-like cells from the tissue of an adult leopard.

Never before have induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which share many of the useful properties of embryonic stem cells, been generated from a member of the cat family. The breakthrough raises the possibility of cryopreservation of genetic material for future cloning and other assisted reproduction techniques.

The study, published in Theriogenology, is part of the PhD project of Rajneesh Verma, supervised by Dr Paul Verma, both from the Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR). Associate Professor Peter Temple-Smith of Monash University's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Professor Michael Holland of the University of Queensland also collaborated.

more...

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20122301-23037.html

[manouli]

Jan. 23, 2012, 8:00 a.m. EST

ACT Announces Europe's First Human Embryonic Stem Cell Transplant in Patient with Stargardt's Disease
Moorfields Eye Hospital in London Initiates Clinical Trial Using hESC-derived RPE cells

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Jan 23, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. ("ACT"; OTCBB: ACTC), a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced treatment of the first patient in its Phase 1/2 clinical trial for Stargardt's macular dystrophy (SMD) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The surgery was performed on Friday, Jan. 20, at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London by a team of surgeons led by Professor James Bainbridge, consultant surgeon at Moorfields and Chair of Retinal Studies at University College London. The patient successfully underwent the procedure without any complications. ACT and Moorfields Eye Hospital received clearance in September from the U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to begin this trial in Europe.

read...
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/act...ase-2012-01-23