Korean stem cells regenerate coach Hiddinks worn-out knee cartilage NOVEMBER 06, 2014 03:02 Korean stem cells regenerate coach Hiddinks worn-out knee cartilage . NOVEMBER 06, 2014 03:02. . Guus Hiddink, the legendary soccer coach who led the Korean national team to the semifinals at the 2002 World Cup Korea-Japan, has been reborn as a figure symbolizing excellence of Korean stem cell treatment. Hiddink, who was suffering from severe arthritis, had his knee cartilage almost completely worn out. Rejecting recommendations to take artificial joint surgery by hospitals in the U.S. and Germany, Hiddink chose to take stem cell treatment in Korea. He started treatment in January this year, and was declared as having fully recovered from the illness 10 months later.

The treatment that gave coach Hiddink a second life is Cartistem, which is made from cord blood stem cells. Cartistem, which was developed by Medipost, a bio venture firm, received product licensure as treatment for knee cartilage that has been damaged due to degenerative conditions and repeated injuries from the Korea Food and Drug Ministry in January 2012. It was the first to receive licensure among stem cell treatments in the world. The treatment is undergoing clinical trials in the U.S. to acquire licensure from the Food and Drug Administration. Despite a highly costly price that is not covered by the national health insurance system, the treatment has been used in more than 1,600 patients thus far.

Stem cell treatments developed in Korea include Hearticellgram, a treatment for cardiac infarction, and Cupistem, a treatment for fistulous opening (a disease that causes holes in tissue between rectums and anus), as well as Cartistem. Hearticellgram and Cupistem use stem cells from tissues of the patients own body. Umbilical cord stem cells and autologous stem cells do not derive from human eggs and hence are free from controversy of bioethics. They are results of steadfast research and investment in stem cells by Korean biotech firms.

In tune with the aging society and a growing number of people with chronic diseases, the bio industry is considered a cash cow industry of the future. Notably, the stem cell sector that treats abnormal bodily organs is the most promising field. Not only bio powerhouses such as the U.S., Japan and the European Union but also China have jumped into the industry. As research on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) won the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine recently, countries worldwide are having mounting interest in the field. The Korean government should create an environment to enable Korean biotech firms to take a leap forward in the global market, by providing generous support for investment and putting in place prompt and predictable licensure and approval process.

The treatment that gave coach Hiddink a second life is Cartistem, which is made from cord blood stem cells. Cartistem, which was developed by Medipost, a bio venture firm, received product licensure as treatment for knee cartilage that has been damaged due to degenerative conditions and repeated injuries from the Korea Food and Drug Ministry in January 2012. It was the first to receive licensure among stem cell treatments in the world. The treatment is undergoing clinical trials in the U.S. to acquire licensure from the Food and Drug Administration. Despite a highly costly price that is not covered by the national health insurance system, the treatment has been used in more than 1,600 patients thus far.

Stem cell treatments developed in Korea include Hearticellgram, a treatment for cardiac infarction, and Cupistem, a treatment for fistulous opening (a disease that causes holes in tissue between rectums and anus), as well as Cartistem. Hearticellgram and Cupistem use stem cells from tissues of the patients own body. Umbilical cord stem cells and autologous stem cells do not derive from human eggs and hence are free from controversy of bioethics. They are results of steadfast research and investment in stem cells by Korean biotech firms.

In tune with the aging society and a growing number of people with chronic diseases, the bio industry is considered a cash cow industry of the future. Notably, the stem cell sector that treats abnormal bodily organs is the most promising field. Not only bio powerhouses such as the U.S., Japan and the European Union but also China have jumped into the industry. As research on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) won the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine recently, countries worldwide are having mounting interest in the field. The Korean government should create an environment to enable Korean biotech firms to take a leap forward in the global market, by providing generous support for investment and putting in place prompt and predictable licensure and approval process.

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OpRegen consists of animal product-free retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells with high purity and potency that were derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Cell Cure will conduct the trial in Israel where OpRegen will be transplanted as a single dose into the subretinal space of the eye to test the safety and efficacy of the product. Patient enrollment is expected to begin in 2014 following approval of the trial by the Israel Ministry of Health.

About the OpRegenClinical Trial

Cell Cures Phase I/IIa clinical trial is a dose escalation safety and preliminary efficacy study of hESC-derived Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) cells transplanted subretinally in patients with advanced dry-form AMD called geographic atrophy. The open-label, single center, nonrandomized trial will evaluate three different dose regimens of 50,000 to 500,000 cells. A total of 15 patients will be enrolled. The patients will be 55 years of age and older, with non-neovascular (dry-AMD) who have funduscopic findings of GA in the macula with absence of additional concomitant ocular disorders. The eye most affected by the disease will be treated with the contralateral eye being the control. Following transplantation, the patients will be followed for 12 months at specified intervals, to evaluate the safety and tolerability of OpRegen. A secondary objective of the clinical trial will be to examine the ability of transplanted OpRegen to engraft, survive, and induce changes in visual acuity. In addition to thorough characterization of visual function, a battery of defined ophthalmic imaging modalities will be used to quantify structural changes and rate of GA expansion. The study will be performed at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel.

The FDAs acceptance of our IND for the Phase I/IIa trial of OpRegen is a significant milestone for our company, and in the broader development of therapies based on human embryonic stem cells for the treatment of major diseases, said Benjamin Reubinoff, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Cell Cure and Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Hadassah Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center at Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. We look forward to initiating this first-of-its-kind study, and to continuing the clinical development of OpRegen.

Cell Cures Phase I/IIa study of OpRegen has been designed to provide preliminary, objective functional and structural data on the ability of hESC-RPE cell transplantation to slow the progression of geographic atrophy, in addition to safety data, added Prof. Eyal Banin, Head of the Center for Retinal and Macular Degenerations at the Department of Ophthalmology of Hadassah University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel who together with Prof. Reubinoff helped develop this novel treatment over the last decade. We are truly excited that this unique, hESC-based therapy will finally be tested in patients with dry-AMD which severely impacts the quality of life of the elderly, and for which no approved therapy yet exists, Dr. Banin stated.

Information about the trial will be made available at ClinicalTrials.gov website of the National Institutes of Health http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/home. Additional information will be made available on Cell Cures website at http://www.cellcureneurosciences.com/.

About Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the major diseases of aging and is the leading eye disease responsible for visual impairment of older persons in the US, Europe and Australia. AMD affects the macula, which is the part of the retina responsible for sharp, central vision that is important for facial recognition, reading and driving. There are two forms of AMD. The dry form (dry-AMD) advances slowly and painlessly but may progress to geographic atrophy (GA) in which RPE cells and photoreceptors degenerate and are lost. Once the atrophy involves the fovea (the center of the macula), patients lose their central vision and may develop legal blindness. There are about 1.6 million new cases of dry-AMD in the US annually, and as yet there is no effective treatment for this condition. The yearly economic loss to the gross domestic product in the United States from dry-AMD has been estimated to be $24.4 billion. The market opportunity for a treatment for GA has been estimated at over $5 billion globally. About 10% of patients with dry-AMD develop wet (or neovascular) AMD, the second main form of this disease, which usually manifests acutely and can lead to severe visual loss in a matter of weeks. Wet-AMD can be treated with currently marketed VEGF inhibitors. However, such products typically require frequent repeated injections in the eye, and patients often continue to suffer from continued progression of the underlying dry-AMD disease process. Current annual sales of VEGF inhibitors for the treatment of the wet form of AMD are estimated to be about $7 billion worldwide.

The root cause of the larger problem of dry-AMD is believed to be the dysfunction of RPE cells. Therefore, one of the most exciting new therapeutic strategies for dry-AMD is the transplantation of healthy young RPE cells to support and replace those lost with age. Pluripotent stem cells, such as hESCs, can potentially provide a means of manufacturing such healthy RPE cells on an industrial scale.

About OpRegen

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BioTimes Subsidiary Cell Cure Neurosciences Receives FDA Authorization to Initiate Phase I/IIa Trial of Embryonic ...

The central nervous system in vertebrates develops from the neural tube, which is the basis for the differentiation in spinal cord and brain. Professor Elly Tanaka and her research group at the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden -- Cluster of Excellence at the TU Dresden (CRTD) demonstrated for the first time the in vitro growth of a piece of spinal cord in three dimensions from mouse embryonic stem cells. Correct spatial organization of motor neurons, interneurons and dorsal interneurons along the dorsal/ventral axis was observed. This study has been published online by the American journal Stem Cell Reports.

For many years Elly Tanaka and her research group have been studying the regenerative potential of axolotls at the molecular level. The Mexican salamanders have the potential to regenerate their spinal cord and other organs to restore full functionality after injury. Mammals such as humans are not able to regenerate most organs. The restoration of the spinal cord in axolotl occurs in a three dimensional structure similar to an embryonic spinal cord. Due to their positions in the tissue, cells in the regenerated spinal cord know which function to perform in the restored tissue. "In this study we applied the knowledge gained about the regenerative potential in axolotls to a mammal, the mouse" explains Professor Elly Tanaka.

Single mouse embryonic stem cells embedded in a three-dimensional matrix and were grown in neural differentiation medium led to the clonal development of neuroepithelial cysts. These cysts settled in the midbrain and hindbrain along the neural axis. "Our goal, however, was to generate spinal cord in vitro," says Dr. Andrea Meinhardt, a postdoc at the CRTD. "For this reason we added retinoic acid to the culture medium on the second day of the 3D cell culture." The result not only caused the neural tissue to switch to spinal cord but also induced the formation of a local signaling center for forming all the different cell types of the spinal cord. "For the first time we could hereby reconstruct the structure of a typical embryonic neural tube in vitro," said Andrea Meinhardt.

"With this study we have moved a tiny step closer to turn the idea of constructing a three-dimensional piece of spinal cord for transplantation in humans into reality" says Elly Tanaka.

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The above story is based on materials provided by Technische Universitaet Dresden. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Reconstruction of patterned piece of spinal cord in 3D culture

Using stem cells to repair damaged heart muscle in patients with chronic heart failure is safe and beneficial, whether the cells come from patients own bone marrow or from a healthy volunteer, according to a preliminary study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. In a study of 31 patients, the therapy reduced heart muscle scar tissue and improved their quality of life. For many patients in the study, the therapy also enhanced their hearts pumping ability.

An article describing the study, "Comparison of Allogeneic vs. Autologous Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Delivered by Transendocardial Injection in Patients with Ischemic Cardiomyopathy," is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Nov. 6. Results are scheduled to be presented that same day at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Los Angeles.

The researchers say this is the first study to compare autologous stem cells, which are derived from the patients' own bone marrow, to allogeneic stem cells, taken from the marrow of healthy volunteers, in patients with heart disease. The advantage of using allogeneic cells is the potential for developing an off-the-shelf therapy that could be delivered in a more timely way, rather than requiring a bone marrow biopsy from heart failure patients and waiting for the cells to be processed. Also, stem cells from the patients themselves may not be as robust.

All of the study patients had longstanding ischemic cardiomyopathy - chronic heart failure caused by a prior heart attack that blocked blood flow to the heart and damaged heart muscle. The condition affects about 70 percent of the six million people in the United States who suffer from heart failure.

"The primary focus of our study was to determine the safety of the therapy, specifically within 30 days of the treatment," says Gary Gerstenblith, M.D., professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and co-author of the study. "We found that the treatment was safe and also that many of the patients experienced significant improvement, whether they had received the allogeneic or the autologous stem cells," he says.

Patients in the study were randomly selected to have either their own stem cells or donated cells injected directly into their heart muscle. They were monitored for treatment-associated complications, such as death, heart attack, stroke, hospitalization for worsening heart failure and dangerous heart arrhythmias. All of the patients were still alive 12 months after the treatment.

The researchers were especially interested in learning whether the patients immune system would recognize the allogeneic (donated) stem cells as foreign and mount an immune response to reject the cells. Only 3.7 percent of the patients receiving the donated cells had such a response. The cells were injected into the heart muscle just once during a cardiac catheterization procedure.

The particular cells used for the therapy, mesenchymal stem cells, are less likely to stimulate an immune response and rejection than most other stem cells. They have the ability to repair muscular tissues and to reduce inflammation.

Patients in the allogeneic and autologous groups were further divided according to the doses of the stem cells they received. Three different doses were tested: 20 million cells, 100 million cells and 200 million cells.

"We generally think the more the better, but in fact, the lowest dose of 20 million cells appeared to be the most effective at improving the hearts pumping ability as well as reducing the extent of scar tissue," says Peter Johnston, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins and co-author of the study.

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Stem Cell Therapy Safely Repairs Damaged Heart Muscle in ...

Stem Cell Therapy | stem cells fraud
http://www.arthritistreatmentcenter.com Too good to be true. And I was fooled also Japanese stem cell breakthrough, a fraud Reported by Rob Stein in Shots, a prestigious scientific journal...

By: Nathan Wei

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Stem Cell Therapy | stem cells fraud - Video

As we age, the reduced turnover of our cells means we can lose control over how our skin ages. Epidermal stem cells needed to create healthy new skin are significantly reduced and function less efficiently. A discovery based on promising plant stem cell research may allow you to regain control.

Scientists have found that a novel extract derived from the stem cells of a rare apple tree cultivated for its extraordinary longevity shows tremendous ability to rejuvenate aging skin. By stimulating aging skin stem cells, this plant extract has been shown to lessen the appearance of unsightly wrinkles. Clinical trials show that this unique formulation increases the longevity of skin cells, resulting in skin that has a more youthful and radiant appearance.

Cells in our bodies are programmed for specific functions. A skin cell, a brain cell, and a liver cell all contain the same DNA, or set of genes. However, each cells fate is determined by a set of epigenetic (able to change gene expression patterns) signals that come from inside it and from the surrounding cells as well. These signals are like command tags attached to the DNA that switch certain genes on or off.

This selective coding creates all of the different kinds of cells in our bodies, which are collectively known as differentiated (specialized) cells.

Although differentiated cells vary widely in purpose and appearance, they all have one thing in common: they all come with a built-in operational limit. After so many divisions, they lose their ability to divide and must be replaced. This is where stem cells come in.

Your body also produces other cells that contain no specific programming. These stem cells are blank, so your body can essentially format them any way it pleases. Two universal aspects shared by this type of cell are: (1) the ability to replenish itself through a process of self-renewal and (2) the capacity to produce a differentiated cell.

In animals and humans, two basic kinds of stem cells exist: embryonic and adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells have the power to change into any differentiated cell type found anywhere in your body. Adult stem cells, on the other hand, are generally more limited. They can only evolve into the specific type of cell found in the tissue where they are located. The primary function of these adult stem cells is maintenance and repair.

But certain adult stem cells found in nature retain the unlimited developmental potential that embryonic stem cells possess. These cells have become the main focus for an exciting new wave of regenerative medicine (repairing damaged or diseased tissues and organs using advanced techniques like stem cell therapy and tissue engineering).

The basal (innermost) layer of the skins epidermis comprises two basic types of cells: (1) the slowly dividing epidermal stem cells (that represent about 2-7% of the basal cell population) and (2) their rapidly dividing offspring that supply new cells to replace those that are lost or dying.1-3

The slow self-renewal process of epidermal stem cells, however, creates a problem. Because each epidermal stem cell only lasts for a certain number of divisions, and because each division runs the risk of lethal DNA mutation, the epidermal stem cell population can become depleted. When this happens, lost or dying skin cells begin to outnumber their replacements and the skins health and appearance start to decline.

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Apple Stem Cells Offer Hope for Aging and Damaged Skin ...

UC San Diego has been named an "alpha clinic" for the clinical study of stem cells, and the distinction comes with $8 million in research grants.

Stem cell therapies represent a new way of treating disease by regenerating damaged tissues and organs. Spokesmen for the UCSD school of medicine say the alpha clinic will focus on clinical trials in humans, not just basic research based on animals.

The decision to make UCSD an alpha clinic was announced Friday by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which was created by California voters after they approved $3 billion for stem cell funding in 2004.

Everything we do has one simple goal, to accelerate the development of successful treatments for people in need, said C. Randal Mills, CIRM president and CEO.

Catriona Jamieson, professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, is the alpha clinic grants principal investigator. She said the clinic will provide needed infrastructure for first-in-human stem cell-related clinical trials.

"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, Jamieson said.

The university has already announced human stem cell trials, aimed at treating spinal chord injuries, leukemia and type-1 diabetes.

UCSD spokesmen said researchers are conducting those trials using fetal and embryonic stems cells, as well as stem cells made from reprogramming skin cells.

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UCSD Gets $8 Million For Stem Cell Research

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Newswise In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the University of California, Los Angeles, Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and University of California, Irvine Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center received a five year $8M grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the states stem cell agency, to establish a CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic center of excellence to conduct clinical trials for investigational stem cell therapies and provide critical resources and expertise in clinical research.

The $8M grant was one of three awarded today by CIRM as part of the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinics (CASC) Network Initiative. The joint UCLA/UCI award under the direction of Dr. John Adams, a member of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center and professor in the department of orthopaedic surgery, will accelerate the implementation of clinical trials and delivery of stem cell therapies by providing world-class, state-of-the-art infrastructure to support clinical research.

CIRM grant reviewers lauded the UCLA/UCI Consortiums impressive and multidimensional team of experienced personnel that will expand access to patients, attracting national and international clinical trials and accelerating future trials in the pipeline.

The initial stem cell trials supported by the UCLA/UCI Alpha Stem Cell Clinic will be two UCLA projects using blood forming stem cells. The first trial will test a stem cell-based gene therapy for patients with bubble baby disease, also called severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), in which babies are born without an immune system. Under the direction of Dr. Donald Kohn, the clinical trial will use the babys own stem cells with an inserted gene modification to correct the defect and promote the creation of an immune system. The second clinical trial, under the direction of Dr. Antoni Ribas, will use patients own genetically modified blood-forming stem cells to engineer and promote an immune response to melanoma and sarcomas.

This CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic grant is an important acknowledgement of our cutting-edge research and will help us to advance the design, testing and delivery of effective and safe stem cell-based therapies, said Dr. Owen Witte, professor and director of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center. The implementation of a standard of excellence in clinical research will improve healthcare and the lives of patients far beyond the longevity of individual trials.

Operating as part of the larger state-wide CIRM supported network, Alpha Stem Cell Clinics provide critical operational support to conduct clinical trials, with focused resources and expertise in stem cell-based clinical research including clinical operations support and patient care coordination personnel.

UCI has established a strong preclinical stem cell research program, and its vital to move ahead to the clinical testing phase, said Sidney Golub, director of UCIs Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. To advance treatments in this field, we all have to work together, and thats what the UCLA-UCI Alpha Stem Cell Clinic program represents.

About the UCLA Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research

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UCLA and UCI Awarded $8M Grant to Launch Collaborative Stem Cell Clinic "Center of Excellence"

Tuffy stem cell therapy patient
Tuffy 2 months after he received Stem Cell Therapy here. He is running around now like nothing happened. I can not believe he was hit by a car and broke his back in 2 places just 2 months ago.

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Tuffy stem cell therapy patient - Video

A 26-year-old woman paralyzed after a motor vehicle accident a year ago has successfully undergone a first-in-human experimental procedure to test whether neural stem cells injected at the site of a spinal cord injury is safe and could be an effective treatment.

The procedure, conducted on Sept. 30 under the auspices of the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UC San Diego Health System and in collaboration with Neuralstem, Inc., a Maryland-based biotechnology firm, is the first of four in the Phase I clinical trial. Post safety testing, it's hoped that the transplanted neural stem cells will develop into new neurons that bridge the gap created by the injury, replace severed or lost nerve connections and restore at least some motor and sensory function.

The patient, whose identity remains confidential for privacy reasons, has been discharged and is recovering without complication or adverse effects at home, said Joseph Ciacci, MD, principal investigator and neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health System.

The spinal cord injury trial is one of three recent ground-breaking stem cell efforts at UC San Diego, supported by the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center, to make the significant leap from laboratory to first-in-human clinical trials.

Last month, researchers at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center launched a novel Phase I trial to assess the safety of a monoclonal antibody treatment that targets cancer stem cells in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the most common form of blood cancer.

And later this month, the first patient is scheduled to receive an unprecedented stem cell-based therapy designed to treat type 1diabetes in another Phase I clinical trial at UC San Diego.

"What we are seeing after years of work is the rubber hitting the road," said Lawrence Goldstein, PhD, director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell program and Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UC San Diego Health System. "These are three very ambitious and innovative trials. Each followed a different development path; each addresses a very different disease or condition. It speaks to the maturation of stem cell science that we've gotten to the point of testing these very real medical applications in people."

To be sure, Goldstein said, the number of patients involved in these first trials is small. The initial focus is upon treatment with low doses to assess safety, but also with hope of patient benefit. As these trials progress -- and additional trials are launched -- Goldstein predicts greater numbers of patients will be enrolled at UC San Diego and the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center and elsewhere.

"Clinical trials are the safest way to pursue potential therapies. You want to prove that a new therapy will work for more than just a single, random patient."

While stem cell-based trials are beginning to emerge around the country, Goldstein noted that San Diego continues to assert itself as a stem cell research hub and a leading force for translating basic discoveries into medical applications, now and in the future.

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With three first-in-human trials, therapeutic stem cell science takes a bold step

FranchiseStemcell Fat Stem Cell Therapy Anti Aging
Fat Stem Cell Therapy Anti Aging .

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FranchiseStemcell Fat Stem Cell Therapy Anti Aging - Video

A HEALTHCARE worker at Royal Bournemouth Hospital has donated stem cells in a bid to save the life of an unknown man.

Claire Waugh, pictured, who has always been a regular blood donor, decided to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register after her father was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years ago.

The healthcare assistant co-ordinator was later identified as a possible match for a man needing life-saving treatment.

Following rigorous testing Claire was visited by nurses from the blood cancer charity, who gave her three injections every day for three days to stimulate her bone marrow to produce stem cells.

On the fourth day she travelled to Kings College Hospital in London to receive a final set of injections and undergo a stem cell collection in a simple five-hour outpatient procedure, which is similar to giving blood.

Claire said: I couldnt move or bend my arm due to the fairly heavy duty needle, but I was looked after really well so in the end the time went very quickly.

After donating, Claires stem cells were rushed to the recipient within the required 72 hours. A volunteer from Anthony Nolan told me that if he doesnt survive, there is nothing else on this earth that would have cured him, so this was this persons last chance, added Claire.

When my dad was poorly it made me think that if he needed this kind of help, I would be praying every night that someone would help him.

By doing this, it meant that I could give that chance to someone else and their family.

Royal Bournemouth Hospital granted special leave to Claire for the donation with the charity covering all of her and her husbands travel expenses.

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My stem cells could help save the life of man Ive never met

22 hours ago by Vicky Just Naive-like stem cells could potentially be used to treat dementia or reduce organ transplants

Scientists from our university and Berlin have identified a type of human stem cell that appears to be "nave-like" able to develop into any type of cell. The discovery of this cell type could potentially have a large impact on our understanding of how humans develop and on the field of regenerative medicine.

The human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that scientists currently study in the lab are able to develop into several different types of cell but are already pre-determined to some extent.

Published in the top scientific journal Nature, researchers from the Max Delbrck Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany and our university have for the first time discovered human ESCs that appear to behave like "nave" cells able to develop into any type of cell.

These nave-like cells, only previously found in mice, are easy to grow in the lab and could have huge potential for regenerating damaged tissues in the body, potentially leading to treatments for diseases such as dementia or reducing the need for organ transplantation.

Professor Laurence Hurst from our Department of Biology & Biochemistry and a co-author of the study explained: "Most stem cells are primed to some extent to become a certain type of cell. If you use the analogy of a train network, these cells are like one of the main London stations. Trains from Paddington can go to Cardiff or Exeter, but not to Norwich. In the same way, these cells can develop into a fixed number of different cell types.

"However the nave-like cells we've identified are like a central terminus; they are present earlier in the embryo's development and so we think their fates can go in any direction and become any type of cell."

Co-investigator Dr Zsuzsanna Izsvk, (MDC, corresponding author) said: "We were very excited by this discovery it was one of those Eureka moments that rarely happens in science."

The Bath and Berlin team found the nave-like cells by looking at which genes were expressed in very early human embryos. They pinpointed a virus called human endogenous retrovirus H (HERVH) that has become integrated into human DNA and was very highly expressed at just the right time and place in human embryos, where they would expect to see nave-like cells if they existed.

They identified a protein called LBP9, which is essential for the activity of HERVH in early embryos. Using a reporter system that made cells expressing HERVH via LBP9 glow green, the Berlin and our team found that they had purified cells that showed all of the hallmarks of a mouse nave cell.

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Scientists identify "nave-like" human stem cell

Published October 15, 2014

For the first time, researchers have created functioning human lung cells from stem cells.

The longest-running trial of stem cells derived from a human embryo found that the cells caused patients none of the problems scientists feared, such as forming tumors, and reversed partial blindness in about half the eyes receiving transplants, researchers reported on Tuesday.

The results, published in The Lancet, could help re-invigorate the controversial quest to harness stem cells, which have the ability to turn into any of the 200 kinds of human cells, to treat diseases.

In an accompanying commentary, Dr. Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine called the work "a major accomplishment."

After intense excitement among scientists and the public about the promise of stem cells and ethical debates about destroying human embryos to obtain them, the field stumbled when a high-profile trial for spinal cord injury was halted by Geron Corp in 2011 and the interest of other companies waned.

The small study's main goal was assessing the safety of the transplanted cells. Called retinal pigment epithelial cells, they were created by taking stem cells from a days-old embryo created in a fertility clinic and inducing them to differentiate into the specialized cells.

The study "provides the first evidence, in humans with any disease, of the long-term safety and possible biologic activity" of cells derived from embryos, said co-author Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of Advanced Cell Technology, which produced the cells and funded the study.

Nine patients with Stargardt's disease (which causes macular degeneration in childhood) and nine with dry age-related macular degeneration (a leading cause of adult blindness) received implants of the retinal cells in one eye. The other eye served as a control.

Four eyes developed cataracts and two became inflamed, probably due to the patients' age (median: 77) or the use of immune-supressing transplant drugs.

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Stem cells from human embryos prove safe, improve vision, study says

TIME Health medicine Stem Cells Allow Nearly Blind Patients to See Stem cells could lead to new treatments for eye disorders Photography by Peter A. KemmerGetty Images/Flickr RF Embryonic stem cells can be turned into a therapy to help the sight of the nearly blind

In a report published in the journal Lancet, scientists led by Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology, provide the first evidence that stem cells from human embryos can be a safe and effective source of therapies for two types of eye diseasesage-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of vision loss in people over age 60, and Stargardts macular dystrophy, a rarer, inherited condition that can leave patients legally blind and only able to sense hand motions.

In the study, 18 patients with either disorder received transplants of retinal epithelial cells (RPE) made from stem cells that came from human embryos. The embryos were from IVF procedures and donated for research. Lanza and his team devised a process of treating the stem cells so they could turn into the RPE cells. In patients with macular degeneration, these are the cells responsible for their vision loss; normally they help to keep the nerve cells that sense light in the retina healthy and functioning properly, but in those with macular degeneration or Stargardts, they start to deteriorate. Without RPE cells, the nerves then start to die, leading to gradual vision loss.

MORE: Stem Cell Miracle? New Therapies May Cure Chronic Conditions Like Alzheimers

The transplants of RPE cells were injected directly into the space in front of the retina of each patients most damaged eye. The new RPE cells cant force the formation of new nerve cells, but they can help the ones that are still there to keep functioning and doing their job to process light and help the patient to see. Only one RPE can maintain the health of a thousand photoreceptors, says Lanza.

The trial is the only one approved by the Food and Drug Administration involving human embryonic stem cells as a treatment. (Another, the first to gain the agencys approval, involved using human embryonic stem cells to treat spinal cord injury, but was stopped by the company.) Because the stem cells come from unrelated donors, and because they can grow into any of the bodys many cells types, experts have been concerned about their risks, including the possibility of tumors and immune rejection.

MORE: Early Success in a Human Embryonic Stem Cell Trial to Treat Blindness

But Lanza says the retinal space in the eye is the ideal place to test such cells, since the bodys immune cells dont enter this space. Even so, just to be safe, the patients were all given drugs to suppress their immune system for one week before the transplant and for 12 weeks following the surgery.

While the trial was only supposed to evaluate the safety of the therapy, it also provided valuable information about the technologys potential effectiveness. The patients have been followed for more than three years, and half of the 18 were able to read three more lines on the eye chart. That translated to critical improvements in their daily lives as wellsome were able to read their watch and use computers again.

Our goal was to prevent further progression of the disease, not reverse it and see visual improvement, says Lanza. But seeing the improvement in vision was frosting on the cake.

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Stem Cells Allow Nearly Blind Patients to See

Oct 13, 2014 Stem cells show auxeticity; the nucleus expands, rather than thins, when it's stretched. Credit: Effigos AG

Looking at stem cells through physicists' eyes is challenging some of our basic assumptions about the body's master cells.

One of the many mysteries surrounding stem cells is how the constantly regenerating cells in adults, such as those in skin, are able to achieve the delicate balance between self-renewal and differentiation in other words, both maintaining their numbers and producing cells that are more specialised to replace those that are used up or damaged.

"What all of us want to understand is how stem cells decide to make and maintain a body plan," said Dr Kevin Chalut, a Cambridge physicist who moved his lab to the University's Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute two years ago. "How do they decide whether they're going to differentiate or stay a stem cell in order to replenish tissue? We have discovered a lot about stem cells, but at this point nobody can tell you exactly how they maintain that balance."

To unravel this mystery, both Chalut and another physicist, Professor Ben Simons, are bringing a fresh perspective to the biologists' work. Looking at problems through the lens of a physicist helps them untangle many of the complex datasets associated with stem cell research. It also, they say, makes them unafraid to ask questions that some biologists might consider 'heretical', such as whether a few simple rules describe stem cells. "As physicists, we're very used to the idea that complex systems have emergent behaviour that may be described by simple rules," explained Simons.

What they have discovered is challenging some of the basic assumptions we have about stem cells.

One of those assumptions is that once a stem cell has been 'fated' for differentiation, there's no going back. "In fact, it appears that stem cells are much more adaptable than previously thought," said Simons.

By using fluorescent markers and live imaging to track a stem cell's progression, Simons' group has found that they can move backwards and forwards between states biased towards renewal and differentiation, depending on their physical position in the their host environment, known as the stem cell niche.

For example, some have argued that mammals, from elephants to mice, require just a few hundred blood stem cells to maintain sufficient levels of blood in the body. "Which sounds crazy," said Simons. "But if the self-renewal potential of cells may vary reversibly, the number of cells that retain stem cell potential may be much higher. Just because a certain cell may have a low chance of self-renewal today doesn't mean that it will still be low tomorrow or next week!"

Chalut's group is also looking at the way in which stem cells interact with their environment, specifically at the role that their physical and mechanical properties might play in how they make their fate decisions. It's a little-studied area, but one that could play a key role in understanding how stem cells work.

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Stem cell physical

By Richard M. Cohen

image courtesy Richard Cohen

I am one of twenty struggling every day with multiple sclerosis to be included in an innovative, phase one stem cell clinical trial at the Tisch MS Research Center of New York. Now theres a mouthful. Please let me explain. Many of us read tidbits about cell therapy and think it simply is space-age medicine that will be launched in the future.

In fact, we are at the starting line now, and the race has begun. A phase one trial tests safety. The group is small, and all are treated with the real thing. No placebos, sugar pills. The trial tests autologous cells, which mean our own. That eliminates rejection and alters risk. No new medical procedure comes risk-free, but the dangers are minimal. The stem cells are pulled from bone marrow harvested from our breast bones. Sounds hideous. It is not.

In this trial, the stem cells are infused directly into the spinal column. Nope. Not painful at all. Then we watch and wait. Results, if there are to be any, can take many months to show themselves. This particular procedure has never been used before. I was the first in the group to be treated, making me the first in the world to have this done. For more than forty years, I have lived with an illness that left no room for hope. Suddenly, that has changed, though change does not necessarily come easily.

The expectation game is dangerous. No one really knows what to expect from this experiment. My doctor makes that point over and over. Yet it is hard to control the fantasies that inevitably pop into my head. The possibility of restoring at least some vision when I have been legally blind for years is enticing, to say the least. I used to run and race or simply hike up country hills. Now I hobble on a cane. I am lucky if I can stay on my feet walking two city blocks. The possibility of restored mobility takes my breath away.

I know better than to go too far down these roads in my mind, but that visual journey is unavoidable. Maybe that is okay. Hope is a funny thing. We need something to hope for. Any doctor will tell you attitude is an important factor in fighting a disease. I have learned the power of remaining positive. We need fuel to keep the engine running. Those flights of fancy, imagining we can be better than we are, to some extent can become self-fulfilling prophecies.

This is an exciting period in the history of medicine. That probably has been said throughout the ages. Science does not stand still. No one can see around the bend. That may be what makes hope possible, the idea that there is something just out of sight that is revolutionary and good, just waiting for us to get there.

Richard M. Cohen writes Journey Man, an independent blog, also carried by The Huffington Post. Cohen is the author of Blindsided, published in 2004, which chronicled his battles with multiple sclerosis and cancer, and Strong at the Broken Places in 2008, both New York Times Best Sellers. Cohens latest book, I Want to Kill the Dog, was published in 2012. Cohen is married to journalist, Meredith Vieira, with whom he has three grown children.

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One MS patient's 'starting line' for stem cell therapy

MIAMI (PRWEB) October 13, 2014

Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. has launched a new corporate website (http://www.stemcellsgroup.com) designed to better highlight its six stem cell-related operating companies and provide up-to-date information on upcoming conferences, corporate news, stem cell research findings and more.

The website offers detailed information on each stem cell division including:

For more information about any of the Global Stem Cells Group operating companies, visit the Global Stem Cells Group website, email bnovas(at)regenestem(dot)com, or call 305-224-1858.

About Global Stem Cells Group:

Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. is the parent company of six wholly owned operating companies dedicated entirely to stem cell research, training, products and solutions. Founded in 2012, the company combines dedicated researchers, physician and patient educators and solution providers with the shared goal of meeting the growing worldwide need for leading edge stem cell treatments and solutions.

With a singular focus on this exciting new area of medical research, Global Stem Cells Group and its subsidiaries are uniquely positioned to become global leaders in cellular medicine.

Global Stem Cells Groups corporate mission is to make the promise of stem cell medicine a reality for patients around the world. With each of GSCGs six operating companies focused on a separate research-based mission, the result is a global network of state-of-the-art stem cell treatments.

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Global Stem Cells Group Launches New Corporate Website

By Jon Cohen October 6 at 5:00 PM

Researchers are closer to unraveling the mystery of how Timothy Ray Brown, the only human cured of HIV, defeated the virus, according to a new study. Although the work doesnt provide a definitive answer, it rules out one possible explanation.

Brown remains one of the most studied cases in the HIV epidemics history. In 2006, after living with the virus for 11 years and controlling his infection with antiretroviral drugs, he learned that he had developed acute myeloid leukemia. (The leukemia has no known relationship to HIV infection or treatment.) Chemotherapy failed, and the next year Brown received the first of two bone marrow transplants a common treatment for this cancer and ditched his antiretrovirals. (An American then living in Berlin, Brown has been known to researchers for years as the Berlin patient.

When HIV-infected people stop taking these drugs, levels of HIV typically skyrocket within weeks. Yet researchers scouring Browns blood over the past seven years have found only traces of the viral genetic material, none of which can replicate.

Today, researchers point to three factors that might independently or in combination have ridden Browns body of HIV. The first is the process of conditioning, in which doctors destroyed Browns immune system with chemotherapy and whole-body irradiation to prepare him for his bone marrow transplant.

Second, his oncologist, Gero Htter, took an extra step that he thought might not only cure the leukemia but also help rid Browns body of HIV. He found a bone marrow donor who had a rare mutation in a gene that cripples a key receptor on white blood cells that the virus uses to establish an infection.

The third possible explanation is that Browns new immune system attacked remnants of his old one that held HIV-infected cells, a process known as graft vs. host disease.

In the new study, a team led by immunologist Guido Silvestri of Emory University in Atlanta designed an unusual monkey experiment to test these possibilities.

Bone marrow transplants work because of stem cells. Modern techniques avoid actually aspirating bone marrow and instead can sift through blood and pluck out the stem cells needed for a transplant to engraft. So the researchers first drew blood from three rhesus macaque monkeys, removed stem cells and put the cells in storage. They then infected these animals and three control monkeys with a hybrid virus, known as SHIV, that contains parts of the simian and human AIDS viruses. All six animals soon began receiving antiretroviral drugs, and SHIV levels in the blood quickly dropped below the level of detection on standard tests, as expected.

A few months later, the three monkeys with stored stem cells underwent whole-body irradiation to condition their bodies and then had their own stem cells reinfused. After the cells engrafted, a process that took a few more months, the researchers stopped antiretrovirals in the three animals and in the three controls. SHIV quickly came screaming back in the three controls and two of the transplanted animals. (One of the transplanted monkeys did not have the virus rebound, but its kidneys failed and the researchers euthanized it.)

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How did the Berlin patient become cured of HIV?

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