JACKSON, Tenn. (PRWEB) October 30, 2014

Dr. Roy Schmidt and the staff of the Pain Specialist Center will host a free seminar and question-and-answer session about regenerative medicine on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. Held at the clinic at 15 Stonebridge Blvd. in Jackson, the hour-long event will allow attendees to ask questions about stem cell therapy and platelet rich plasma therapy in a relaxed atmosphere. Guests also will have the chance to talk to individuals who have received regenerative medicine treatments, which focus on helping patients relieve pain by supporting the healing process.

Stem cell therapy focuses on delivering the patients own stem cells to parts of the body that are in need. After adipose tissue (comprised of fat cells) is taken from the patients body, it is made into a stem cell concentrate. That concentrate is injected at the focal point of pain or area that needs healing. Schmidt, who is certified to administer stem cell therapy, was trained by Bioheart Chief Scientific Officer Kristin Comella. Comella has been recognized as a national leader in stem cell therapy.

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) or platelet concentrates have been studied extensively since the 1990s. While similar products previously used in medicine (fibrin glue) were very expensive, PRP provides a cost-effective alternative. Plasma concentrates seek to help the body continue the healing process and strengthen the weakened tissue. It is often used for tendon problems, in addition to issues with ligaments, muscles, meniscus, cartilage, bone, wound and intervertebral discs. The supplemental role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy will be discussed at the event, also.

A board certified anesthesiologist, Schmidt has practiced pain management in the Jackson area for two decades. The Pain Specialist Center provides consultation and pain management services to patients suffering from chronic pain syndromes and terminal cancer pain. Individuals can learn more by going online to http://beyondpills.com, http://nopainmd.com and http://hyperbaricoxygentherapies.com, calling 731-660-2056 or e-mailing info(at)beyondpills(dot)com. Event information is on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PainSpecialistCenter.

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Seminar on Regenerative Medicine Open to Public

For his contribution to the understanding of gene regulation and its potential ability to change agriculture and the treatment of disease and mental health, Professor Ryan Lister has been awarded the 2014 Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year.

Genes are not enough to explain the difference between a skin cell and a stem cell, a leaf cell and a root cell, or the complexity of the human brain. Genes dont explain the subtle ways in which your parents environment before you were conceived might affect your offspring.

Another layer of complexitythe epigenomeis at work determining when and where genes are turned on and off.

Ryan Lister is unravelling this complexity. Hes created ways of mapping the millions of molecular markers of where genes have been switched on or off, has made the first maps of these markers in plants and humans, and revealed key differences between the markers in cells with different fates.

Hes created maps of the epigenome in plants, which could enable plant breeders to modify crops to increase yields without changing the underlying DNA.

Hes explained a challenge for stem cell medicineshowing how, when we persuade, for example, skin cells to turn into stem cells, these cells retain a memory of their past. Their epigenome is different to that of natural embryonic stem cells. He believes this molecular memory could be reversed.

He has also recently explored the most complex system we knowthe human braindiscovering that its epigenome is extensively reconfigured in childhood during critical stages when the neural circuits are forming and maturing. These epigenome patterns may even underpin learning and memory. All of this in just 15 years since the beginning of his PhD.

For his contribution to the understanding of gene regulation and its potential ability to change agriculture and the treatment of disease and mental health, Professor Ryan Lister of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at the University of Western Australia has been awarded the 2014 Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year.

The human body is composed of hundreds of different types of cells. Yet all are formed from the same set of instructions, the human genome. How does this happen?

On top of the genetic code sits another code, the epigenome. It can direct which genes are switched on and which are switched off, Ryan Lister says. The genome contains a huge volume of information, a parts list to build an entire organism. But controlling when and where the different components are used is crucial. The epigenetic code regulates the release of the genomes potential. Cells end up with different forms and functions through using different parts of the genome.

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Regulating genes to treat illness, grow food, and understand the brain

CTVNews.ca Staff Published Saturday, October 25, 2014 10:30PM EDT Last Updated Saturday, October 25, 2014 11:46PM EDT

An estimated 16,000 Canadians live with scleroderma, an incurable autoimmune disorder which causes the body to produce too much collagen, resulting in a hardening of the skin and tissue. There is no cure for the scleroderma, but some patients in Canada are now seeking a costly and experimental stem cell therapy in the U.S.

A little over a year ago, Mike Berry of Kingston, Ont., started having trouble breathing. It was the first sign of scleroderma.

Berry, 42, suffers from the systemic version of scleroderma, which attacks his internal organs. His lungs have been scarred by the disorder, with his lung capacity dropping to 41 per cent in just nine months. His disease may ultimately be fatal.

He described to CTV News how scleroderma has impacted his day-to-day life.

"I'm unable to work any longer; it affects me and everything now," he said. "It's hard to walk fast; I can't walk and talk."

Drugs to treat his scleroderma haven't worked, so now Berry is trying to fundraise more than $150,000 for an experimental U.S. stem cell treatment called Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT), in the hopes that it will save his life.

"It would give me as second chance, I guess I just have a lot to fight for," he said.

Pioneered by Dr. Richard Burt at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, patients receiving HSCT are administered stem cells intravenously.

During the treatment, the patient's stem cells are harvested, and then the patient's over-active immune system is destroyed with powerful chemotherapy drugs. Doctors then re-program the patient's immune system with the harvested stem cells, in the hopes that the cells will "reset" the patient's immune system and stop scleroderma.

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Newswise In a study that will provide the foundation for scientists to better replicate natural stem cell development in an artificial environment, UCLA researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research led by Dr. Guoping Fan, professor of human genetics, have established a benchmarking standard to assess how culture conditions used to procure stem cells in the lab compare to those found in the human embryo.

The study was published online ahead of print in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) are cells that can transform into almost any cell in the human body. Scientists have long cultured PSCs in the laboratory (in vitro) using many different methods and under a variety of conditions. Though it has been known that culture techniques can affect what kind of cells PSCs eventually become, no "gold standard" has yet been established to help scientists determine how the artificial environment can better replicate that found in a natural state (in vivo).

Dr. Kevin Huang, postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Fan and a lead author of the study, analyzed data from multiple existing research studies conducted over the past year. These previously published studies used different culture methods newly developed in vitro in the hopes of coaxing human stem cells into a type of pluripotency that is in a primitive or ground-zero state.

Utilizing recently-published gene expression profiles of human preimplantation embryos as the benchmark to analyze the data, Dr. Huang and colleagues found that culture conditions do affect how genes are expressed in PSCs, and that the newer generation culture methods appear to better resemble those found in the natural environment of developing embryos. This work lays the foundation on the adoption of standardized protocol amongst the scientific community.

"By making an objective assessment of these different laboratory techniques, we found that some may have more of an edge over others in better replicating a natural state," said Dr. Huang. "When you have culture conditions that more consistently match a non-artificial environment, you have the potential for a much better reflection of what is going on in actual human development."

With these findings, Dr. Fan's lab hopes to encourage further investigation into other cell characteristics and molecular markers that determine the effectiveness of culture conditions on the proliferation and self-renewal of PSCs.

"We hope this work will help the research community to reach a consensus to quality-control human pluripotent stem cells," said Dr. Fan.

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UCLA Scientists Propose Benchmark to Better Replicate Natural Stem Cell Development in the Laboratory Environment

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Oct-2014

Contact: Scott LaFee slafee@ucsd.edu 619-543-6163 University of California - San Diego @UCSanDiego

In a push to further speed clinical development of emerging stem cell therapies, Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UC San Diego Health System was named today one of three new "alpha clinics" by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state's stem cell agency.

The announcement, made at a public meeting in Los Angeles of the CIRM Governing Board, includes an award of $8 million for each of three sites. The other alpha grant recipients are the City of Hope hospital near Los Angeles and University of California, Los Angeles.

"A UC San Diego alpha clinic will provide vital infrastructure for establishing a comprehensive regenerative medicine clinical hub that can support the unusual complexity of first-in-human stem cell-related clinical trials," said Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, deputy director of the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center, director of the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center stem cell program and the alpha clinic grant's principal investigator.

"The designation is essential in much the same manner that comprehensive cancer center status is an assurance of scientific rigor and clinical quality. It will attract patients, funding agencies and study sponsors to participate in, support and accelerate novel stem cell clinical trials and ancillary studies for a range of arduous diseases."

The alpha clinics are intended to create the long-term, networked infrastructure needed to launch and conduct numerous, extensive clinical trials of stem cell-based drugs and therapies in humans, including some developed by independent California-based investigators and companies. These trials are requisite before any new drug or treatment can be approved for clinical use.

The clinics will also emphasize public education to raise awareness and understanding of stem cell science in part to combat "stem cell tourism" and the marketing of unproven, unregulated and potentially dangerous therapies and help establish sustainable business models for future, approved stem cell treatments.

"Everything we do has one simple goal, to accelerate the development of successful treatments for people in need," said C. Randal Mills, PhD, CIRM president and CEO. "Stem cell therapies are a new way of treating disease; instead of managing symptoms, cellular medicine has the power to replace or regenerate damaged tissues and organs. And so we need to explore new and innovative ways of accelerating clinical research with stem cells. That is what we hope these alpha stem cell clinics will accomplish."

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UC San Diego named stem cell 'alpha clinic'

UCSD oncologist/researcher Catriona Jamieson is principal investigator for the university's $8 million stem cell grant.

To speed up the quest to bring stem cell therapies to patients, a state agency on Thursday granted $8 million each to three academic medical centers pursuing "translational" work -- UC San Diego, UC Los Angeles and City of Hope in Duarte.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine voted 10-1 to fund the "alpha" stem cell clinics, which are intended to bring stem cell treatments to the public.

UC San Diego's proposal supports two stem cell-based clinical trials, both already underway. Catriona Jamieson, an oncologist at the university, is the principal investigator for the grant.

One, a treatment for Type 1 diabetes, was developed by San Diego's ViaCyte. The other, for spinal cord injuries, was developed by Geron of Menlo Park. Geron dropped the trial, but it was picked up by Neuralstem of Germantown, Md. In October, UCSD treated the first patient in the revived trial at the university's Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center.

The stem cell agency, commonly called CIRM, has focused heavily on basic research since its founding by California voters in 2004. But in recent years, the public has become more anxious to see the fruits of $3 billion in bond money given to the agency reach patients. The "alpha" clinics funded Thursday are part of that effort.

Early optimism that treatments would be quickly available was disappointed, mainly because issues of safety had to be resolved first. Therapies that actually place cells in the body posed new risks, because as living things, cells grow and can migrate. Embryonic stem cells can form tumors. Viacyte and Neuralstem grow replacement tissues from embryonic stem cells, so they needed to show that no unconverted cells would accidentally be introduced into the patient.

Skepticism has also grown over the ethics of CIRM officials, mainly regarding conflicts of interests. Many CIRM board members are chosen from institutions that get funded -- a feature written into the agency by Prop. 71. CIRM has adopted reforms to limit board members from voting in matters where they have conflicts. But CIRM's previous president, Alan Trounson, caused more controversy when he joined the board of CIRM-funded Stemcells Inc, just one week after departing the agency.

CIRM President Randy Mills, who replaced Trounson earlier this year, has tried to quell the controversy with new standards to prevent officials like Trounson from appearing to cash in on their agency role. And he has worked with the governing board to rethink how the agency's remaining funds can be best spent.

CIRM has invested heavily in San Diego stem cell programs, most notably contributing $43 million to a $127 million "collaboratory" building across from the Salk Institute in La Jolla. The Sanford Consortium, as it's called, brings together researchers from five institutions: UCSD, the Salk Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology.

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UCSD, other stem cell clinics get millions

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Oct-2014

Contact: David McKeon dmckeon@nyscf.org 212-365-7440 New York Stem Cell Foundation @nyscf

NEW YORK, NY (October 22, 2014) The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute, through the launch of its repository in 2015, will provide for the first time the largest-ever number of stem cell lines available to the scientific research community. Initially, over 600 induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines and 1,000 cultured fibroblasts from over 1,000 unique human subjects will be made available, with an increasing number available in the first year. To collect these samples, NYSCF set up a rigorous human subjects system that protects patients and allows for the safe and anonymous collection of samples from people interested in participating in research.

A pilot of over 200 of NYSCF's iPS cell lines is already searchable on an online database. The pilot includes panels of iPS cell lines generated from donors affected by specific diseases such as type 1 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis, as well as a diversity panel of presumed healthy donors from a wide range of genetic backgrounds representing the United States Census. These panels, curated to provide ideal initial cohorts for studying each area, include subjects ranging in age of disease onset, and are gender matched. Other panels that will be available in 2015 include Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Juvenile Batten disease, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

"NYSCF's mission is to develop new treatments for patients. Building the necessary infrastructure and making resources available to scientists around the world to further everyone's research are critical steps in accomplishing this goal," said Susan L. Solomon, CEO of The New York Stem Cell Foundation.

NYSCF has developed the technology needed to create a large collection of stem cell lines representing the world's population. This platform, known as the NYSCF Global Stem Cell ArrayTM, is an automated robotic system for stem cell production and is capable of generating 200 iPS cell lines a month from patients with various diseases and conditions and from all genetic backgrounds. The NYSCF Global Stem Cell ArrayTM is also used for stem cell differentiation and drug screening.

Currently available in the online database that was developed in collaboration with eagle-i Network, of the Harvard Catalyst, is a pilot set of approximately 200 iPS cell lines and related information about the patients. This open source, open access resource discovery platform makes the cell lines and related information available to the public on a user-friendly, web-based, searchable system. This is one example of NYSCF's efforts to reduce duplicative research and enable even broader collaborative research efforts via data sharing and analysis. NYSCF continues to play a key role in connecting the dots between patients, scientists, funders, and outside researchers that all need access to biological samples.

"The NYSCF repository will be a critical complement to other existing efforts which are limited in their ability to distribute on a global scale. I believe that this NYSCF effort wholly supported by philanthropy will help accelerate the use of iPS cell based technology," said Dr. Mahendra Rao, NYSCF Vice President of Regenerative Medicine.

To develop these resources, NYSCF has partnered with over 50 disease foundations, academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and government entities, including the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), PersonalGenomes.org, the Beyond Batten Disease Foundation, among several others. NYSCF also participates in and drives a number of large-scale multi stakeholder initiatives including government and international efforts. One such example is the Cure Alzheimer's Fund Stem Cell Consortium, a group consisting of six institutions, including NYSCF, directly investigating, for the first time, brain cells in petri dishes from individual patients who have the common sporadic form of Alzheimer's disease.

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The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute announces largest-ever stem cell repository

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Newswise Kansas City, Mo. - While megakaryocytes are best known for producing platelets that heal wounds, these mega cells found in bone marrow also play a critical role in regulating stem cells according to new research from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. In fact, hematopoietic stem cells differentiate to generate megakaryocytes in bone marrow. The Stowers study is the first to show that hematopoietic stem cells (the parent cells) can be directly controlled by their own progeny (megakaryocytes).

The findings from the lab of Stowers Investigator Linheng Li, Ph.D., described in the Oct. 19 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, could cause researchers to rethink what they know about the workings of megakaryocytes and potentially lead to new treatments for patients recovering from chemotherapy or organ transplantation.

Our results suggest that megakaryocytes might be used clinically to facilitate adult stem cell regeneration and to expand cultured cells for adult stem cell transplants, says Meng Zhao, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at Stowers and lead author on the study. Stowers researchers discovered that megakaryocytes directly regulate the function of murine hematopoietic stem cellsadult stem cells that form blood and immune cells and that constantly renew the bodys blood supply. These cells can also develop into all types of blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.

Because of their remarkable ability to renew themselves and differentiate into other cells, hematopoietic stems cells are the focus of intense research and have been used to treat many diseases and conditions. The transplantation of isolated human hematopoietic stem cells is used in the treatment of anemia, immune deficiencies and other diseases, including cancer.

Basic research has centered on identifying and characterizing hematopoietic stem cells, however, it is still not clear how hematopoietic stem cells actually work, and how they are regulated because of the complexity of the bone marrow microenvironment. Zhao and his colleagues discovered that as a terminally differentiated progeny, megakaryocytes regulate hematopoietic stem cells by performing two previously unknown functions.

Megakaryocytes can directly regulate the amount of hematopoietic stem cells by telling the cells when they need to keep in the quiescent stage, and when they need to start proliferating to meet increased demand. Maintaining that delicate balance is important, he adds. You dont want to have too many or too few hematopoietic stem cells.

These findings are supported by similar research from the laboratory of Paul S. Frenette, Ph.D., at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, also reported in the Oct. 19 issue of Nature Medicine.

Employing the advanced technology of the Institutes Cytometry, Imaging and Histology centers, the researchers examined the relationship between megakaryocytes and hematopoietic stem cells in mouse bone marrow. In the course of their research, they found that the protein transforming growth factor B1 (TGF-B1), contained in megakaryocytes, signaled quiescence of hematopoietic stem cells. They also found that when under stress from chemotherapy, megakaryocytes signaled fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1), to stimulate the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells.

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New Insight That "Mega" Cells Control the Growth of Blood-Producing Cells

If you skin your knee, your body makes new skin. If you donate a portion of your liver, whats left will grow back to near-normal size. But if you lose a billion heart cells during a heart attack, only a small fraction of those will be replaced. In the words of Ke Cheng, an associate professor of regenerative medicine at N.C. State, The hearts self-repair potency is very limited.

Cheng has designed a nanomedicine he hopes will give the heart some help. It consists of an engineered nanoparticle that gathers the bodys own self-repair cells and brings them to the injured heart tissue.

In this case, the self-repair cells are adult stem cells. A stem cell is a very rich biological factory, Cheng said. Stem cells can become heart muscle, or they can produce growth factors that are beneficial to the regrowth of heart muscle.

After a heart attack, dying and dead heart cells release chemical signals that alert stem cells circulating in the blood to move to the injured site. But there just arent very many stem cells in the bloodstream, and sometimes they are not sufficiently attracted to the injured tissue.

Matchmakers with hooks

The nanomedicine Cheng designed consists of an iron-based nanoparticle festooned with two different kinds of hooks one kind of hook grabs adult stem cells, and the other kind of hook grabs injured heart tissue. Cheng calls the nanomedicine a matchmaker, because it brings together cells that can make repairs with cells that need repairs.

The hooks are antibodies that seek and grab certain types of cells. Because the antibodies are situated on an iron nanoparticle, they and the stem cells theyve grabbed can be physically directed to the heart using an external magnet. Cheng calls the nanomedicine MagBICE, for magnetic bifunctional cell engager.

The magnet is a first pass to get the iron-based particles and antibodies near the heart. Once there, the antibodies are able to identify and stick to the injured heart tissue, bringing the stem cells right where they need to go. Using two methods of targeting the magnet and the antibodies improves the chances of being able to bring a large number of stem cells at the site of injury.

In addition to providing a way to physically move the stem cells to the heart, the iron nanoparticles are visible on MRI machines, which allows MagBICE to be visualized after its infused into the bloodstream.

Cheng doesnt foresee much toxicity from the nanomedicine unless someone is allergic or particularly sensitive to iron. In fact, the iron-based nanoparticle that forms the platform for the antibodies is an FDA-approved IV treatment for anemia.

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Can a bodys own stem cells help heal a heart?

Knee arthritis 7 months after bone marrow stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D.
Carolyn describes her outcome seven months after bone marrow stem cell therapy for her arthritic knee pain http://www.docereclinics.com.

By: Harry Adelson, N.D.

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Knee arthritis 7 months after bone marrow stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D. - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

16-Oct-2014

Contact: Anita Srikameswaran SrikamAV@upmc.edu 412-578-9193 University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences @UPMCnews

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 16, 2014 Despite previous indications to the contrary, the esophagus does have its own pool of stem cells, said researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in an animal study published online today in Cell Reports. The findings could lead to new insights into the development and treatment of esophageal cancer and the precancerous condition known as Barrett's esophagus.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 18,000 people will be diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the U.S. in 2014 and almost 15,500 people will die from it. In Barrett's esophagus, the lining of the esophagus changes for unknown reasons to resemble that of the intestine, though gastro-esophageal reflux disease or GERD is a risk factor for its development.

"The esophageal lining must renew regularly as cells slough off into the gastrointestinal tract," said senior investigator Eric Lagasse, Pharm.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pathology, Pitt School of Medicine, and director of the Cancer Stem Cell Center at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. "To do that, cells in the deeper layers of the esophagus divide about twice a week to produce daughter cells that become the specialized cells of the lining. Until now, we haven't been able to determine whether all the cells in the deeper layers are the same or if there is a subpopulation of stem cells there."

The research team grew pieces or "organoids" of esophageal tissue from mouse samples, and then conducted experiments to identify and track the different cells in the basal layer of the tissue. They found a small population of cells that divide more slowly, are more primitive, can generate specialized or differentiated cells, and have the ability to self-renew, which is a defining trait of stem cells.

"It was thought that there were no stem cells in the esophagus because all the cells were dividing rather than resting or quiescent, which is more typical of stem cells," Dr. Lagasse noted. "Our findings reveal that there indeed are esophageal stem cells, and rather than being quiescent, they divide slowly compared to the rest of the deeper layer cells."

In future work, the researchers will examine human esophageal tissues for evidence of stem cell dysfunction in Barrett's esophagus disease.

"Some scientists have speculated that abnormalities of esophageal stem cells could be the origin of the tissue changes that occur in Barrett's disease," Dr. Lagasse said. "Our current and future studies could make it possible to test this long-standing hypothesis."

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Pitt/McGowan Institute team discovers stem cells in the esophagus

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Newswise INDIANAPOLIS -- Researchers have developed a technique to jump-start the body's systems for creating blood vessels, opening the door for potential new treatments for diseases whose impacts include amputation and blindness.

The international team, led by scientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine, is targeting new therapies for illnesses such as peripheral artery disease, a painful leg condition caused by poor blood circulation. The disease can lead to skin problems, gangrene and sometimes amputation.

While the body has cells that specialize in repairing blood vessels and creating new ones, called endothelial colony-forming cells, these cells can lose their ability to proliferate into new blood vessels as patients age or develop diseases like peripheral arterial disease, said Mervin C. Yoder Jr., M.D., Richard and Pauline Klingler Professor of Pediatrics at IU and leader of the research team.

Peripheral artery disease patients can be given medication to improve blood flow, but if the blood vessels to carry that improved flow are reduced in number or function, the benefits are minimal. If "younger," more "enthusiastic" endothelial colony forming cells could be injected into the affected tissues, they might jump-start the process of creating new blood vessels. Gathering those cells would not be easy however -- they are relatively difficult to find in adults, especially in those with peripheral arterial disease. However, they are present in large numbers in umbilical cord blood.

Reporting their work in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the researchers said they had developed a potential therapy through the use of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells, which are normal adult cells that have been "coaxed" via laboratory techniques into reverting into the more primitive stem cells that can produce most types of bodily tissue. So, in one of the significant discoveries reported in the Nature Biotechnology paper, the research team developed a novel methodology to mature the induced pluripotent stem cells into cells with the characteristics of the endothelial colony-forming cells that are found in umbilical cord blood. Those laboratory-created endothelial colony-forming cells were injected into mice, where they were able to proliferate into human blood vessels and restore blood flow to damaged tissues in mouse retinas and limbs.

Overcoming another hurdle that has been faced by scientists in the field, the research team found that the cord-blood-like endothelial colony-forming cells grown in laboratory tissue culture expanded dramatically, creating 100 million new cells for each original cell in a little less than three months.

"This is one of the first studies using induced pluripotent stem cells that has been able to produce new cells in clinically relevant numbers -- enough to enable a clinical trial," Dr. Yoder said. The next steps, he said, include reaching an agreement with a facility approved to produce cells for use in human testing. In addition to peripheral artery disease, the researchers are evaluating the potential uses of the derived cells to treat diseases of the eye and lungs that involve blood flow problems.

A short video explaining the research is available here: http://youtu.be/nyPk_5bLdzs

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Researchers Develop New Cells Meant to Form Blood Vessels, Treat Peripheral Artery Disease

Ageless Derma Apple Stem Cell Skincare
This active ingredient won the Best Active Ingredient prize in European Innovation in 2008. Stem Cells derived from a rare Swiss Apple are part of the rev...

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StemCells Inc. ( STEM ) announced that it has commenced a phase II proof-of-concept study, Pathway, which will use the company's proprietary human neural system stem cells (HuCNS-SC) platform for treating patients suffering from cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). The company's phase II trial is titled "Study of Human Central Nervous System (CNS) Stem Cell Transplantation in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury."

The randomized, controlled, single-blind study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of transplanting HuCNS-SC cells into patients with traumatic injury in the cervical region of the spinal cord. The study will evaluate patients for a period of 12 months post-enrollment.

We remind investors that earlier in the year, the company had reported encouraging interim results from a phase I/II thoracic SCI study. StemCells intends to present final data from the phase I/II study in mid-2015.

According to the press release issued by StemCells, nearly 1.3 million people in the U.S. have reported paralysis due to an SCI and about 56% of spinal cord injuries occur in the cervical region. Upon approval, the new treatment will provide significant benefits to patients suffering from cervical SCI considering the present lack of effective treatments.

Meanwhile, StemCells is currently evaluating HuCNS-SC cells for several other indications including dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Pelizeaus-Merzbacher disease (PMD) and Alzheimer's disease.

We expect investor focus to remain on pipeline updates.

StemCells currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. ( EBS ), Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. ( LGND ) and Medivation, Inc. ( MDVN ). All three carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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StemCells Starts Phase II Cervical Spinal Cord Injury Study - Analyst Blog

A combined LifeSource blood drive and Be The Match bone marrow registry event will honor two local women battling different forms of leukemia from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at The Society of Danube Swabians, 625 E. Seegers Road, Des Plaines.

The event will co-honor Des Plaines resident Amy Charewicz, 24, and Prospect Heights resident Anni Mayer, who is a Society of Danube Swabians board member. Mayer, a St. Alphonsus Ligouri parishioner and national society youth group leader, has Myelodyplastic Syndrome, a blood cancer that prevents her bone marrow from making enough healthy blood cells. Charewicz has aggressive Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia, a disease that causes her bone marrow to produce abnormal white and red blood cells, as well as platelets.

The Northern Illinois University graduate will receive a stem cell transplant Thursday from a 23-year-old man located by Be the Match at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "Amy has been fortunate to have what she needs available because others have donated and registered," says Doris Charewicz, her mother. "She wants to 'pay it forward' by increasing awareness of the need for both blood donors and stem cell donors."

Be The Match registrants are limited to ages 18-44 and don't need to preregister. Blood donor walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are preferred at (877) 543-3768 or http://www.lifesource.org using code 650B.

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Bone marrow registry drive Saturday in Des Plaines

(PRWEB UK) 7 October 2014

Stem cell treatments take place in countries all around the world every day. Thousands of lives have already been saved, and advancements in this area of medicine means that future healthcare treatments look set to further prolong and improve life.

But specialist stem cell bank BioEden warn that there is a risk of thinking of stem cell therapy in terms of the future alone. 'The need to have a stem cell match is vital', says Group CEO Mr Tony Veverka. 'Without access to a stem cell match, the work of stem cell scientists could be at risk. That is the reason why BioEden was set up, to ensure that anyone could bank and have access to their own stem cells. We also wanted to ensure that the brilliant work being carried out by stem cell scientists and medical professionals could continue unhindered'.

BioEden's services are being promoted by Health Care Professionals including specialist insurance intermediaries, and dentists. This week to highlight Stem Cell Awareness week, members of their specialist teams will be on the road visiting dentists, schools and healthcare insurance companies.

'Let's make everyone aware of the opportunities they have to store their own cells during stem cell awareness week. Perhaps we need to re name it Stem Cell Self-Awareness week'.

For more information visit http://www.bioeden.com

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BioEden the specialist tooth stem cell bank plan to shake up public perception as Stem Cell Awareness week takes hold.

Natural Stem Cell Therapy Revealed - with David Wolfe
For more information please visit: http://www.womenswellnessconference.com/2014/womens-wellness-conference-2014-webcast/

By: Longevity Now

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Natural Stem Cell Therapy Revealed - with David Wolfe - Video

Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) were able to safely tolerate treatment with cells cultured from human placental tissue, according to a study published today in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. The study, which is the first of its kind, was conducted by researchers at Mount Sinai, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics subsidiary of Celgene Corporation and collaborators at several other institutions.

While designed to determine safety of the treatment, early signals in the data also suggested that a preparation of cultured cells called PDA-001 may repair damaged nerve tissues in patients with MS. PDA-001 cells resemble "mesenchymal," stromal stem cells found in connective tissue in bone marrow, but unlike their bone-marrow derived counterparts, stromal cells from the placenta are more numerous, with one donor able to supply enough cells for many patients.

"This is the first time placenta-derived cells have been tested as a possible therapy for multiple sclerosis," said Fred Lublin, MD, Director of the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis, Professor of Neurology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the lead investigator of the study. "The next step will be to study larger numbers of MS patients to assess efficacy of the cells, but we could be looking at a new frontier in treatment for the disease."

MS is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mounts recurring assaults on the myelin--the fatty, protective coating around nerve fibers in the central nervous system. This causes nerves to malfunction and can lead to paralysis and blindness. The disease usually begins as an episodic disorder called relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), and for many sufferers, evolves into a chronic condition with worsening disability called secondary progressive MS (SPMS).

The new safety study was conducted on 16 MS patients (10 with RRMS and six with SPMS) between the ages of 18 and 65. Six patients were given a high dose of PDA-001, another six were given a lower dose, and four patients were given placebo. Any time the immune system is altered, say by an experimental treatment, there is always a risk for MS to worsen, noted Dr. Lublin. All subjects were given monthly brain scans over a six-month period to ensure they did not acquire any new or enlarging brain lesions, which would indicate a worsening of MS activity. No subjects showed any paradoxical worsening on MRI and after one year, the majority had stable or improved levels of disability.

"We're hoping to learn more about how placental stromal cells contribute to myelin repair," said Dr. Lublin. "We suspect they either convert to a myelin making cell, or they enhance the environment of the area where the damage is to allow for natural repair. Our long-term goal is to develop strategies to facilitate repair of the damaged nervous system."

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The above story is based on materials provided by Mount Sinai Medical Center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Cells from placentas safe for patients with multiple sclerosis, study shows

Parkinson Stem Cell Treatment In India
India is one of the top destinations when it comes to stem cell therapy due to the fact medical centers here provide Parkinson stem cell treatment at affordable prices and offer best treatment...

By: placidways

Excerpt from:
Parkinson Stem Cell Treatment In India - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

25-Sep-2014

Contact: Alanna Orpen alanna.orpen@biomedcentral.com 44-0-20-3192-2054 BioMed Central @biomedcentral

A bioactive compound found in turmeric promotes stem cell proliferation and differentiation in the brain, reveals new research published today in the open access journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy. The findings suggest aromatic turmerone could be a future drug candidate for treating neurological disorders, such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease.

The study looked at the effects of aromatic (ar-) turmerone on endogenous neutral stem cells (NSC), which are stem cells found within adult brains. NSC differentiate into neurons, and play an important role in self-repair and recovery of brain function in neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies of ar-turmerone have shown that the compound can block activation of microglia cells. When activated, these cells cause neuroinflammation, which is associated with different neurological disorders. However, ar-turmerone's impact on the brain's capacity to self-repair was unknown.

Researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Jlich, Germany, studied the effects of ar-turmerone on NSC proliferation and differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. Rat fetal NSC were cultured and grown in six different concentrations of ar-turmerone over a 72 hour period. At certain concentrations, ar-turmerone was shown to increase NSC proliferation by up to 80%, without having any impact on cell death. The cell differentiation process also accelerated in ar-turmerone-treated cells compared to untreated control cells.

To test the effects of ar-turmerone on NSC in vivo, the researchers injected adult rats with ar-turmerone. Using PET imaging and a tracer to detect proliferating cells, they found that the subventricular zone (SVZ) was wider, and the hippocampus expanded, in the brains of rats injected with ar-turmerone than in control animals. The SVZ and hippocampus are the two sites in adult mammalian brains where neurogenesis, the growth of neurons, is known to occur.

Lead author of the study, Adele Rueger, said: "While several substances have been described to promote stem cell proliferation in the brain, fewer drugs additionally promote the differentiation of stem cells into neurons, which constitutes a major goal in regenerative medicine. Our findings on aromatic turmerone take us one step closer to achieving this goal."

Ar-turmerone is the lesser-studied of two major bioactive compounds found in turmeric. The other compound is curcumin, which is well known for its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties.

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Turmeric compound boosts regeneration of brain stem cells