Wade Watcher

A Perryville family is organizing a bone-marrow registration drive in hopes of finding a match for their 6-year-old son, who needs a bone-marrow transplant.

Wade Watcher's mother Jenni said for the most part, he's a regular 6-year-old.

"Active and funny and adorable," she said. "He's smart and loves to draw. He likes playing basketball. He's a pretty awesome kid."

But for him to continue leading a normal childhood, Watcher likely would need a bone-marrow transplant.

"We knew that he had a rare disease when he was a baby, and so yearly we have to get a bone marrow biopsy to see if his bone marrow is failing," Watcher said. "It had been fairly normal until December. ... It showed his bone marrow was in the stages of failing and that it was kind of like a waiting game to see if he needs to be sent for a bone marrow transplant or not."

Wade, who suffers from Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, a rare congenital disorder, is stable, but his mother said they don't know for how long.

So they're organizing a registration drive for members of the community to sign up to have their cheek swabbed and see whether they may be a match. The drive will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Amvets Post 94 in Perryville.

Watcher said she's not sure how many people are scheduled to participate, but she to register as many people ranging in age from 18 to 55 years old people as possible.

"Anybody that can would be amazing," she said. "It would provide a lot of help for our family as well as other families."

Registration involves filling a form and having a cheek swabbed for about 30 seconds. Donor recruitment coordinator Olivia Haddox said people typically shy away from such drives because they are unsure of what it may mean if they are "matched" with a person in need.

"People are surprised to find how easy it is just to register, but then the next question is always, 'What's going to happen if I get that call?'" she said. "We definitely get that a lot."

There are two ways for the donation to happen if a match is found, she said. About 80 percent of the time, donations are done via peripheral blood stem-cell donation, a four- to eight-hour session in which blood is taken from one arm and filtered through an aphoresis machine to separate the blood from the stem cells. After taking the stem cells, the blood is returned to the donor's body.

"That can kind of be compared to a lengthier platelet or plasma donation," Haddox said. "You don't actually even lose any blood that day; you just lose some stem cells, and you regenerate those in about a week, so what you give you do get back," she said.

People usually watch Netflix while donating, she said, and minor side effects more often come from the series of injections donors receive before the procedure to boost the stem cells. Those injections can cause some fatigue or other side effects.

"Nothing so severe that it might keep anyone out of work," Haddox said. "It's just kind of your body preparing for the donation."

The other, less-common method is an outpatient procedure whereby liquid marrow from the lower back pelvic area is removed.

"And you're actually put under for this procedure, so you're not awake when it happens and you don't feel anything when it happens," Haddox said. "Afterwards, what most people tell me they feel is just a tenderness and a bruising around the site where they removed the marrow. A lot of people equate this to saying, 'I felt like I fell on some ice, and I had a bruise on my hip for a few days.'"

If people can't attend the drive, swab kits can be ordered at dkms.org.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

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Perryville family organizing bone-marrow drive Friday for ailing 6-year-old boy - Southeast Missourian

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Perryville family organizing bone-marrow drive Friday for ailing 6-year-old boy – Southeast Missourian | April 25th, 2017

The biggest national project to treat patients with cerebral palsy (CP) through injection of stems cells from umbilical cord blood (UCB) into the brain began its trial run in March. The project is jointly undertaken by Royan Institute, Childrens Medical Center (affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences), and the Iran Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO). In the first phase, it will provide treatment to 130 children with CP between the ages 5-13. The treatment was tested in September 2016 on children with CP in some hospitals, and the results were highly satisfactory. Approximately four in every 1,000 children in Iran have CP while in the developed countries the rate is 2 to 2.5 per 1000 live births. Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term for the effects of damage to a developing brain by various causes. It is connected with a range of symptoms, including muscle weakness and movement problems. The damage to the brain usually occurs early on in its development, either in the baby during pregnancy or during the period soon after birth. Symptoms may include difficulties in walking, balance and motor control, eating, swallowing, speech or coordination of eye movements. Some people affected by CP also have some level of intellectual disability. No two people with cerebral palsy are affected in exactly the same way. The IBTO plans to expand the storage of stems cells from umbilical cord blood to 100,000 samples from the current 80,000, said Ali Akbar Pourfathollah, head of the organization, ILNA reported. Around 75,000 samples have been stored in private banks and 5,000 in public banks, but the number will surpass 100,000 soon, he added.

Valuable Source for Treatment Umbilical blood is a valuable source of hematopoietic stem cells which can be used for treatment of many malignant diseases such as leukemia. Hundreds of transplants have been performed using stem cells from such blood, which is easy and risk free. The use of stem cells reduces the risk of viral diseases transmission and incidence of Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD). The ability to perform organ transplants is among the benefits of umbilical cord blood transfusion. Using stems cells is also one of the best ways to treat blood diseases since the method has a success rate of 70% worldwide. Storage of stem cells is a valuable investment. So far, 27 cord blood banks have been launched across the country. There are two types: public and private banks for stem cell storage. The former does not charge a fee for storage. But in the latter, the cost of collection and genetic testing is about $645 and the annual charge for storage is $33, according to ISNA. Pourfathollah said the IBTO is looking to store stem cells in medical cases when a patient needs to receive treatment from matched unrelated donors. In the past Iranian year (ended March 20), out of the 8,000 stem cell transplantations in the country, only 100 were from matched unrelated donors and the rest came from sibling (or related) donors. IBTO is also looking to set up coagulation/transfusion and HLA/immunogenetics laboratories in the country on par with international standards. The Immunogenetics and HLA Laboratory provides human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing, HLA antibody identification and post-transplant engraftment monitoring services. These tests are required for patients undergoing evaluation for organ transplantation, recipients of bone marrow/stem cell transplants, patients requiring platelet transfusions from HLA-matched donors, and patients undergoing evaluation of particular health conditions.

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Treating Cerebral Palsy With UCB Stem Cells - Financial Tribune

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Treating Cerebral Palsy With UCB Stem Cells – Financial Tribune | April 24th, 2017

By Marilynn Marchione The Associated Press

Tummy tucks really hurt. Doctors carve from hip to hip, slicing off skin, tightening muscles, tugging at innards.

Patients often need strong painkillers for days or even weeks, after the procedure but Mary Hernandez went home on just over-the-counter ibuprofen.

The reason could be the yellowish goo smeared on her 18-inch wound as she lay on the operating table. The Houston woman was helping test a novel medicine aimed at avoiding opioids, potent pain relievers fueling an epidemic of overuse and addiction.

Vicodin, OxyContin and similar drugs are widely used for bad backs, severe arthritis, damaged nerves and other ailments. They work powerfully in brain areas that control pleasure and pain, but the body adapts to them quickly, so people need higher and higher doses to get relief.

This growing dependence on opioids has mushroomed into a national health crisis, ripping apart communities and straining police and health departments.

Every day, an overdose of prescription opioids or heroin kills 91 people, and legions more are brought back from the brink of death. With some 2 million Americans hooked on these pills, evidence is growing that theyre not as good a choice for treating chronic pain as once thought.

Drug companies are working on alternatives, but have had little success.

Twenty or so years ago, they invested heavily and failed miserably, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Pain is a pain to research. Some people bear more than others, and success cant be measured as objectively as it can be with medicines that shrink a tumor or clear an infection. Some new pain drugs that worked well were doomed by side effects Vioxx, for example, helped arthritis but hurt hearts.

Some fresh approaches are giving hope:

Bespoke drugs, as Volkow calls them. These target specific pathways and types of pain rather than acting broadly in the brain. One is Enbrel, which treats a key feature of rheumatoid arthritis and, in the process, eases pain.

Drugs to prevent the need for opioids. One that Hernandez was helping test numbs a wound for a few days and curbs inflammation. If people dont have big pain after surgery, their nerves dont go on high alert and theres less chance of developing chronic pain that might require opioids.

Funky new sources for medicines. In testing: Drugs from silk, hot chili peppers and the venom of snakes, snails and other critters.

Novel uses for existing drugs. Some seizure and depression medicines, for example, can help some types of pain.

The biggest need, however, is for completely new medicines that can be used by lots of people for lots of problems. These also pose the most risk for companies and patients alike.

Bumpy road

In the early 2000s, a small biotech company had a big idea: blocking nerve growth factor, a protein made in response to pain.

The companys drug, now called tanezumab, works on outlying nerves, helping to keep pain signals from muscles, skin and organs from reaching the spinal cord and brain good for treating arthritis and bad backs.

Pfizer Inc. bought the firm in 2006 and expanded testing. But in 2010, some people on tanezumab and similar drugs being tested by rivals needed joint replacements.

Besides dulling pain, nerve growth factor might affect joint repair and regeneration, so a possible safety issue needed full investigation in a medicine that would be the first of its type ever sold, said one independent expert, Dr. Jianguo Cheng, a Cleveland Clinic pain specialist and science chief for the American Academy of Pain Medicine.

Regulators put some of the studies on hold. Suddenly, some people who had been doing well on tanezumab lost access to it. Phyllis Leis in Waterfall, a small town in south-central Pennsylvania, was one.

I was so angry, she said. That was like a miracle drug. It really was. Unless you have arthritis in your knees and have trouble walking, youll never understand how much relief and what a godsend it was.

Her doctor, Alan Kivitz of the Altoona Center for Clinical Research, has helped run hundreds of pain studies and consults for Pfizer and many other companies.

You rarely get people to feel that good as many of them did on the nerve growth factor drugs, he said.

A drug with that much early promise is unusual, said Ken Verburg, who has led Pfizers pain research for several decades. When you do see one, you fight hard to try to bring one to the market, he said.

An independent review ultimately tied just a few serious joint problems to tanezumab and the suspension on testing was lifted in August 2012. But a new issue nervous system effects in some animal studies prompted a second hold later that year, and that wasnt lifted until 2015.

Now, Eli Lilly & Co. has joined Pfizer in testing tanezumab in late-stage studies with 7,000 patients. Results are expected late next year about 17 years after the drugs conception.

Avoiding pain

What if a drug could keep people from needing long-term pain relief in the first place? Heron Therapeutics Inc. is testing a novel, long-acting version of two drugs the anesthetic bupivacaine and the anti-inflammatory meloxicam for notoriously painful operations such as tummy tucks, bunion removal and hernia repair.

Company studies suggest it can numb wounds for about three days and cut patients need for opioids by 30 to 50 percent.

Theres a good chance of preventing brain responses that lead to chronic pain if patients can get through that initially very rough period, said Dr. Harold Minkowitz, a Houston anesthesiologist who consults for Heron and treated Hernandez in the tummy tuck study.

Hernandez was part of an experiment testing the drug vs. a placebo and doesnt know whether she got the drug or a dummy medicine. But she hurt less than she expected to and never filled a prescription for pain pills.

The goal would be to have half or more of patients not requiring an opiate after they go home, said Herons chief executive, Barry Quart. You have far fewer opiates going out into society, far fewer opiates sitting in medicine cabinets that make their way to a high school.

Studies so far are mid-stage too small to prove safety and effectiveness but Heron plans more aimed at winning approval.

On the horizon

Many companies have their eyes on sodium channel blockers, which affect how nerves talk to one another and thus might help various types of pain. Others are testing cell therapies for nerve pain. Stem cells can modulate immune responses and inflammation, and might overcome a raft of problems, said Cheng of the pain medicine academy.

Some companies, including Samumed, Centrexion Therapeutics and Flexion Therapeutics, are testing long-acting medicines to inject in knees to relieve arthritis pain. Samumeds aims to regenerate cartilage.

And then theres marijuana. A cannabis extract is sold as a mouth spray in Britain for nerve pain and other problems from multiple sclerosis. But cannabinoid research in the United States has been hampered by marijuanas legal status. A special license is needed and most researchers dont even try to obtain one, said Susan Ingram, a neurosurgery scientist at Oregon Health & Science University.

She is studying cannabinoid receptors in the brain, looking at how pain affects one type but not another. Such work might someday lead to drugs that relieve pain but dont produce a high or addiction.

Selective activity has precedent: The drug buprenorphine partially binds to opioid receptors in the brain and has become an extraordinarily successful medication for treating addiction, said Volkow, of the national drug institute.

It has shown pharmaceutical companies that if you come up with a good intervention, there is an opportunity to recover their costs, she said.

Tummy tucks really hurt. Doctors carve from hip to hip, slicing off skin, tightening muscles, tugging at innards. Patients often need strong painkillers for days or even weeks, after the procedure but Mary Hernandez went home on just over-the-counter ibuprofen. The reason could be the yellowish goo smeared on her 18-inch wound as she lay on the operating table. The Houston woman was helping test a novel medicine aimed at avoiding opioids, potent pain relievers fueling an epidemic of overuse and addiction. Vicodin, OxyContin and similar drugs are widely used for bad backs, severe arthritis, damaged nerves and other ailments. They work powerfully in brain areas that control pleasure and pain, but the body adapts to them quickly, so people need higher and higher doses to get relief. This growing dependence on opioids has mushroomed into a national health crisis, ripping apart communities and straining police and health departments. Every day, an overdose of prescription opioids or heroin kills 91 people, and legions more are brought back from the brink of death. With some 2 million Americans hooked on these pills, evidence is growing that theyre not as good a choice for treating chronic pain as once thought. Drug companies are working on alternatives, but have had little success. Twenty or so years ago, they invested heavily and failed miserably, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Pain is a pain to research. Some people bear more than others, and success cant be measured as objectively as it can be with medicines that shrink a tumor or clear an infection. Some new pain drugs that worked well were doomed by side effects Vioxx, for example, helped arthritis but hurt hearts. Some fresh approaches are giving hope: n Bespoke drugs, as Volkow calls them. These target specific pathways and types of pain rather than acting broadly in the brain. One is Enbrel, which treats a key feature of rheumatoid arthritis and, in the process, eases pain. n Drugs to prevent the need for opioids. One that Hernandez was helping test numbs a wound for a few days and curbs inflammation. If people dont have big pain after surgery, their nerves dont go on high alert and theres less chance of developing chronic pain that might require opioids. n Funky new sources for medicines. In testing: Drugs from silk, hot chili peppers and the venom of snakes, snails and other critters. n Novel uses for existing drugs. Some seizure and depression medicines, for example, can help some types of pain. The biggest need, however, is for completely new medicines that can be used by lots of people for lots of problems. These also pose the most risk for companies and patients alike.Subhead: Bumpy road In the early 2000s, a small biotech company had a big idea: blocking nerve growth factor, a protein made in response to pain. The companys drug, now called tanezumab, works on outlying nerves, helping to keep pain signals from muscles, skin and organs from reaching the spinal cord and brain good for treating arthritis and bad backs. Pfizer Inc. bought the firm in 2006 and expanded testing. But in 2010, some people on tanezumab and similar drugs being tested by rivals needed joint replacements. Besides dulling pain, nerve growth factor might affect joint repair and regeneration, so a possible safety issue needed full investigation in a medicine that would be the first of its type ever sold, said one independent expert, Dr. Jianguo Cheng, a Cleveland Clinic pain specialist and science chief for the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Regulators put some of the studies on hold. Suddenly, some people who had been doing well on tanezumab lost access to it. Phyllis Leis in Waterfall, a small town in south-central Pennsylvania, was one. I was so angry, she said. That was like a miracle drug. It really was. Unless you have arthritis in your knees and have trouble walking, youll never understand how much relief and what a godsend it was. Her doctor, Alan Kivitz of the Altoona Center for Clinical Research, has helped run hundreds of pain studies and consults for Pfizer and many other companies. You rarely get people to feel that good as many of them did on the nerve growth factor drugs, he said. A drug with that much early promise is unusual, said Ken Verburg, who has led Pfizers pain research for several decades. When you do see one, you fight hard to try to bring one to the market, he said. An independent review ultimately tied just a few serious joint problems to tanezumab and the suspension on testing was lifted in August 2012. But a new issue nervous system effects in some animal studies prompted a second hold later that year, and that wasnt lifted until 2015. Now, Eli Lilly & Co. has joined Pfizer in testing tanezumab in late-stage studies with 7,000 patients. Results are expected late next year about 17 years after the drugs conception.Subhead: Avoiding pain What if a drug could keep people from needing long-term pain relief in the first place? Heron Therapeutics Inc. is testing a novel, long-acting version of two drugs the anesthetic bupivacaine and the anti-inflammatory meloxicam for notoriously painful operations such as tummy tucks, bunion removal and hernia repair. Company studies suggest it can numb wounds for about three days and cut patients need for opioids by 30 to 50 percent. Theres a good chance of preventing brain responses that lead to chronic pain if patients can get through that initially very rough period, said Dr. Harold Minkowitz, a Houston anesthesiologist who consults for Heron and treated Hernandez in the tummy tuck study. Hernandez was part of an experiment testing the drug vs. a placebo and doesnt know whether she got the drug or a dummy medicine. But she hurt less than she expected to and never filled a prescription for pain pills. The goal would be to have half or more of patients not requiring an opiate after they go home, said Herons chief executive, Barry Quart. You have far fewer opiates going out into society, far fewer opiates sitting in medicine cabinets that make their way to a high school. Studies so far are mid-stage too small to prove safety and effectiveness but Heron plans more aimed at winning approval.Subhead: On the horizon Many companies have their eyes on sodium channel blockers, which affect how nerves talk to one another and thus might help various types of pain. Others are testing cell therapies for nerve pain. Stem cells can modulate immune responses and inflammation, and might overcome a raft of problems, said Cheng of the pain medicine academy. Some companies, including Samumed, Centrexion Therapeutics and Flexion Therapeutics, are testing long-acting medicines to inject in knees to relieve arthritis pain. Samumeds aims to regenerate cartilage. And then theres marijuana. A cannabis extract is sold as a mouth spray in Britain for nerve pain and other problems from multiple sclerosis. But cannabinoid research in the United States has been hampered by marijuanas legal status. A special license is needed and most researchers dont even try to obtain one, said Susan Ingram, a neurosurgery scientist at Oregon Health & Science University. She is studying cannabinoid receptors in the brain, looking at how pain affects one type but not another. Such work might someday lead to drugs that relieve pain but dont produce a high or addiction. Selective activity has precedent: The drug buprenorphine partially binds to opioid receptors in the brain and has become an extraordinarily successful medication for treating addiction, said Volkow, of the national drug institute. It has shown pharmaceutical companies that if you come up with a good intervention, there is an opportunity to recover their costs, she said.

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Researchers look for new ways to reduce suffering, end addiction ... - The Columbus Dispatch

Spinal Cord Stem Cells Comments Off on Researchers look for new ways to reduce suffering, end addiction … – The Columbus Dispatch | April 23rd, 2017

Scientists at the University of California San Francisco have discovered a new function of lungs: They make blood which leads to a new wellspring of stem cells as well.

The astonishing breakthrough comes courtesy of refinement to microscopic video imaging that allows researchers to probe individual cells within blood vessels of a living host's lungs in this case, mice lungs.

The findings have far-reaching implications for human study: Researchers were surprised to find that not only did the lungs produce more blood cells, they did so in volumes that indicated more than half of all platelets in circulation critical for clotting are produced by the lungs.

The significance for the blood stem cells also was compelling. The newly discovered pool of stem cells is capable of restoring blood production when bone marrow stem cells are depleted. This could lead to novel approaches to treating leukemia, a cancer of white blood cells that crowds out red blood cells, and bone cancer, which destroys the body's ability to manufacture red blood cells.

This finding definitely suggests a more sophisticated view of the lungs that theyre not just for respiration but also a key partner in formation of crucial aspects of the blood, said pulmonologist Mark R. Looney, a professor of medicine and of laboratory medicine at the University of California, and the research's senior author. What weve observed here in mice strongly suggests the lung may play a key role in blood formation in humans as well. The report was published online at Nature.com.

The new imaging approach allowed scientists to examine interactions between the immune system and platelets in the lungs. While following the interactions, they discovered a surprisingly large population of cells that produce platelets called megakaryocytes. Though these cells were observed in the lungs previously it was generally though that they exist primarily in bone marrow.

Researchers were baffled and more detailed imaging followed. Once they zeroed in on these cells, they soon realized that they not only took up residence in the lungs, they also were producing 10 million platelets per hour there evidence that more than half of platelet production actually occurs in the lungs (in the mice models).

To be able to track blood stem cells and blood production, researchers transplanted donor lungs to mice with fluorescent-dye-tinted megakaryocytes. They followed the fluorescent cells as they traveled to the new lungs.

In another experiment, scientists wanted to determine if lungs that already had these platelet producers imbedded would spur platelet production in mice with low platelet counts, so they transplanted lungs with fluorescent-tinted megakaryocytes into mice predetermined to have low platelet counts. The transplanted lungs quickly sprung into action and restored normal platelet levels.

In yet another experiment, researchers transplanted healthy lungs with all cells fluorescently tinted into mice without bone marrow blood stem cells. The fluorescent marker cells quickly traveled to the damaged bone marrow and began production of myriad cells including T cells, which are key immune cells.

The exact mechanism behind the bone marrow-lung blood production is not yet known. Its possible that the lung is an ideal bioreactor for platelet production because of the mechanical force of the blood, or perhaps because of some molecular signaling we dont yet know about, said Guadalupe Ortiz-Muoz, a postdoctoral researcher and the researchs co-author. But more research is sure to follow.

Now medical scientists and researchers can zero in on proving in human models that blood components stem cells key among them travel more freely than previously though, which could lead ultimately to advances in treatment options for various blood disorders.

2017 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.

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Surprise - Lungs Make Blood, Too - Newsmax

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Surprise – Lungs Make Blood, Too – Newsmax | April 20th, 2017

Biomedical engineering Associate Professor Brenda Ogle (right) and Ph.Dstudent Molly Kupfer, with a mouse heart (Credit: Patrick OLeary, University of Minnesota)

One of the problems with heart attacks (as if there weren't enough already) is that when the heart heals afterwards, it grows scar tissue over the part of the heart that was damaged. That scar tissue never does become beating heart tissue, so it leaves the heart compromised for the rest of the patient's life. There may be hope, however, as scientists from the University of Minnesota have created a new patch that allows the heart to heal more completely.

First of all, yes, this has been done before. We have already seen experimental "heart patches" from places like the University of Tel Aviv, Brown University and MIT, which allow the heart to heal with a minimum of scar tissue growth.

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One of the things that makes this latest patch unique is the fact that it's 3D-bioprinted out of structural proteins native to the heart. It takes the form of a scaffolding-like matrix, which is subsequently seeded with cardiac cells derived from stem cells. The result is a patch of material, similar in structure and material to heart tissue, containing actual functioning heart cells as opposed to inert scar tissue.

In lab tests, one of the patches was placed on the heart of a mouse that had suffered a simulated heart attack. Within just four weeks, the scientists noted a "significant increase in functional capacity." The patch was ultimately absorbed by the body, so no additional surgeries were required to remove it after its job was done.

"We were quite surprised by how well it worked given the complexity of the heart," says associate professor Brenda Ogle, who is leading the research. "We were encouraged to see that the cells had aligned in the scaffold and showed a continuous wave of electrical signal that moved across the patch."

A larger patch is now in the works, which will be tested on a pig heart.

Other institutions involved in the study include the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Alabama-Birmingham. A paper on the research was recently published in the journal Circulation Research.

Source: University of Minnesota

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Heart-healing patch has got the beat - New Atlas

Cardiac Stem Cells Comments Off on Heart-healing patch has got the beat – New Atlas | April 18th, 2017

Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL A team of biomedical engineering researchers, led by the University of Minnesota, has created a revolutionary 3D-bioprinted patch that can help heal scarred heart tissue after a heart attack. The discovery is a major step forward in treating patients with tissue damage after a heart attack.

The research study was published Apr. 14 inCirculation Research, a journal published by the American Heart Association. Researchers have filed a patent on the discovery.

According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. killing more than 360,000 people a year. During a heart attack, a person loses blood flow to the heart muscle and that causes cells to die. Our bodies cant replace those heart muscle cells so the body forms scar tissue in that area of the heart, which puts the person at risk for compromised heart function and future heart failure.

In this study, researchers from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Alabama-Birmingham used laser-based 3D-bioprinting techniques to incorporate stem cells derived from adult human heart cells on a matrix that began to grow and beat synchronously in a dish in the lab.

Watch a video of the cells beating on the patch.

Video credit:College of Science and Engineering, UMN

When the cell patch was placed on a mouse following a simulated heart attack, the researchers saw significant increase in functional capacity after just four weeks. Since the patch was made from cells and structural proteins native to the heart, it became part of the heart and absorbed into the body, requiring no further surgeries.

Related Article:3D-Printed Guide Helps Regrow Complex Nerves After Injury

This is a significant step forward in treating the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S., said Brenda Ogle, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Minnesota. We feel that we could scale this up to repair hearts of larger animals and possibly even humans within the next several years.

A team of biomedical engineering researchers has created a revolutionary 3D-bioprinted patch that can help heal scarred heart tissue after a heart attack. Two of the researchers involved are biomedical engineering associate professor Brenda Ogle (right) and PhD student Molly Kupfer (left).Photo credit: Patrick OLeary, University of MinnesotaOgle said that this research is different from previous research in that the patch is modeled after a digital, three-dimensional scan of the structural proteins of native heart tissue. The digital model is made into a physical structure by 3D printing with proteins native to the heart and further integrating cardiac cell types derived from stem cells. Only with 3D printing of this type can we achieve one micron resolution needed to mimic structures of native heart tissue.

We were quite surprised by how well it worked given the complexity of the heart, Ogle said. We were encouraged to see that the cells had aligned in the scaffold and showed a continuous wave of electrical signal that moved across the patch.

Ogle said they are already beginning the next step to develop a larger patch that they would test on a pig heart, which is similar in size to a human heart.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, University of Minnesota Lillehei Heart Institute, and University of Minnesota Institute for Engineering in Medicine.

In addition to Ogle, other biomedical engineering researchers who were part of the team include Molly E. Kupfer, Jangwook P. Jung, Libang Yang, Patrick Zhang, and Brian T. Freeman from the University of Minnesota; Paul J. Campagnola, Yong Da Sie, Quyen Tran, and Visar Ajeti from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Jianyi Zhang, Ling Gao, and Vladimir G. Fast from the University of Alabama,

To read the full research paper entitled Myocardial Tissue Engineering With Cells Derived from Human Induced-Pluripotent Stem Cells and a Native-Like, High-Resolution, 3-Dimensionally Printed Scaffold, visit theCirculation Researchwebsite.

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3D-Printed Patch Can Help Mend a 'Broken' Heart - Lab Manager | News (press release) (blog)

Cardiac Stem Cells Comments Off on 3D-Printed Patch Can Help Mend a ‘Broken’ Heart – Lab Manager | News (press release) (blog) | April 17th, 2017

On March 13th, Sarina Vito, an 18-year-old from Elwood, was preparing to spend a weekend away with her mother ather very first orientation as an incoming fall freshman at High Point University in North Carolina.

Instead, the John Glenn High School seniors entire world was flipped upside down bya devastating phone call: Sarina was diagnosed with acute myeloid (AML) leukemiaa cancer characterized by the production of a large number of abnormal white blood cells inthe bone marrow.

Sarina was immediately admitted into the Cohen Childrens Medical Center, where shewill require a lifesaving bone marrow/stem cell transplant after her third round of chemotherapy. She will also have to undergo fertility treatments in order to be able to have children of her own.

To help Sarina find her donor match as well as raise awareness and much-needed funds for not just her and her familys battle with this disease, but also for childhood cancer foundations, her family, friends and the Elwood community are holding a bone marrow drive and fundraiser at John Glenn High School on Tuesday, April 25, from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Scroll down for official flier.)

This Bone Marrow Registry Drive & Sarinas Strands of Strength Ponytail Drive will include bone-marrow test swabbing provided by Be The Match Foundation, a bake sale, a raffle with prizes, vendor tables, music by Tony Bruno, and hair extensions by Cactus Salons. Among its proud supporters: Be The Match Foundation, Mondays at Racine, Hair We Share and Cactus Salon.

The Sarina Strong Fund also has a GoFundMe Page collecting donations.

Although Sarina will be missing many things that she worked very hard for, this event will help her and her family in many other ways. As the organizers of this benefit understand, no family should have to suffer the devastating emotional, mental and financial strains a disease such as AML leukemia causes them, especially not alone.

Consider this post an open invitation for local businesses and members of the Long Island community to contribute and lend support by donating baskets, gift certificates, services, raffle prizes, food and/or refreshments, become a sponsor with monetary donations, or simply help spread the wordthats why a special hashtag #SarinaStrong has been created to help raise awareness across social media; spread it far and wide!

Sarina and her family thank you in advance: Together, we can do this!

Featured Photo: The Elwood Community is hosting the #SarinaStrong Bone Marrow Registry Drive & Fundraiser for Sarina Vito, 18, who is battling AML leukemia, at John Glenn High School in Elwood, on April 25, 2017. (Photo: #SarinaStrong GoFundMe page)

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Bone Marrow Drive & Fundraiser To Support Sarina Vito, 18, Battling Leukemia - Long Island Press

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Bone Marrow Drive & Fundraiser To Support Sarina Vito, 18, Battling Leukemia – Long Island Press | April 17th, 2017

A research team at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health has treated its first patient in an innovative clinical trial using stem cells for the treatment of heart failure that develops after a heart attack.

The trial is taking place at University Hospital, one of three sites nationwide currently enrolling participants. The investigational CardiAMP therapy is designed to deliver a high dose of a patients own bone-marrow cells directly to the point of cardiac injury to potentially stimulate the bodys natural healing response.

The patient experience with the trial begins with a cell-potency screening test. Patients who qualify for therapy are scheduled for a bone-marrow aspiration. The bone marrow is then processed on-site and subsequently delivered directly to the damaged regions in a patients heart in a minimally invasive procedure.

Patients living with heart failure experience a variety of negative symptoms that can greatly impact their day-to-day life, said UW Health cardiologist Dr. Amish Raval, associate professor of medicine and one of the principal investigators for the trial. By being at the forefront of research for this debilitating condition, we look forward to studying the potential of this cell therapy to impact a patients exercise capacity and quality of life.

The primary outcome to be measured is the change in distance during a six-minute walk 12 months after the initial baseline measurement.

Heart failure commonly occurs after a heart attack, when the heart muscle is weakened and cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs for blood and oxygen. About 790,000 people in the U.S. have heart attacks each year. The number of adults living with heart failure increased from about 5.7 million (2009-2012) to about 6.5 million (2011-2014), and the number of adults diagnosed with heart failure is expected to dramatically rise by 46 percent by the year 2030, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).

The CardiAMP Heart Failure Trial is a phase III study of up to 260 patients at up to 40 centers nationwide. Phase III trials are conducted to measure effectiveness of the intervention, monitor side effects and gather information for future use of the procedure. Study subjects must be diagnosed with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II or III heart failure as a result of a previous heart attack.

Information about eligibility or enrollment in the trial is available at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, or through a cardiologist.

The trial is funded by Biocardia, Inc., which developed the potential therapy.

Date Published: 04/17/2017

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UW Treats First Participant in Trial of Stem-Cell Therapy for Heart Failure - University of Wisconsin-Madison

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on UW Treats First Participant in Trial of Stem-Cell Therapy for Heart Failure – University of Wisconsin-Madison | April 17th, 2017

GERMANTOWN, Md., April 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neuralstem, Inc. (CUR), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of nervous system therapies based on its neural stem cell technology, announced that a new cohort of four patients will be added to its ongoing Phase 1 human clinical trial evaluating the safety and feasibility of using NSI-566 spinal cord-derived neural stem cells to repair chronic spinal cord injury (cSCI). The amended protocol was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Institutional Review Board at the study site, University of California San Diego (UCSD). NSI-566 is Neuralstems lead stem cell therapy candidate.

Under the amended protocol, updated on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01772810), four qualifying patients with AIS-A complete, quadriplegic, cervical injuries involving C5-C7 cord will be added to the study. The injury must have occurred 1-2 years prior to the time of stem cell treatment, which is a one-time surgery involving six injections of NSI-566 into the affected area of the cord. The study has begun active recruitment of patients.

About 250,000 Americans are living with cSCI, and approximately 11,000 new injuries are reported each year1. Roughly 52% of these individuals will be considered paraplegic and 47% will be considered quadriplegic1. cSCI is a permanent and disabling condition with few to no treatments. Its devastating effect can be measured from social, healthcare, and economic perspectives.

This expansion of the study to cervical injuries builds on the results demonstrating that the implantation of NSI-566 stem cells in the first four patients with AIS-A complete thoracic cSCI was safe and feasible with no serious adverse events, said Karl Johe, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Neuralstem. There is a tremendous unmet need in the treatment of cSCI and we are privileged to have the experts at UCSD School of Medicine and the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UC San Diego Health conducting the research. We look forward to further evaluating NSI-566 neural stem cells in chronic complete cervical injuries."

Long-term safety data from the first cohort of chronic complete thoracic injuries is currently being analyzed by the study team at UCSD School of Medicine.

About Neuralstem Neuralstems patented technology enables the commercial-scale production of multiple types of central nervous system stem cells, which are being developed as potential therapies for multiple central nervous system diseases and conditions.

Neuralstems technology also enables the discovery of small molecule compounds by systematic screening chemical compounds against its proprietary human hippocampal stem cell line. The screening process has led to the discovery and patenting of molecules that Neuralstem believes may stimulate the brains capacity to generate new neurons, potentially reversing pathophysiologies associated with certain central nervous system (CNS) conditions.

The company has completed Phase 1a and 1b trials evaluating NSI-189, a novel neurogenic small molecule product candidate, for the treatment of major depressive disorder or MDD, and is currently conducting a Phase 2 efficacy study for MDD.

Neuralstems stem cell therapy product candidate, NSI-566, is a spinal cord-derived neural stem cell line. Neuralstem is currently evaluating NSI-566 in three indications: stroke, chronic spinal cord injury (cSCI), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Neuralstem is conducting a Phase 1 safety study for the treatment of paralysis from chronic motor stroke at the BaYi Brain Hospital in Beijing, China. In addition, NSI-566 was evaluated in a Phase 1 safety study to treat paralysis due to chronic spinal cord injury as well as a Phase 1 and Phase 2a risk escalation, safety trials for ALS. Subjects from all three indications are currently in long-term observational follow-up periods to continue to monitor safety and possible therapeutic benefits.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to future, not past, events and may often be identified by words such as expect, anticipate, intend, plan, believe, seek or will. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Specific risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, uncertainty of clinical trial results or regulatory approvals or clearances, need for future capital, dependence upon collaborators and maintenance of our intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in Neuralstems periodic reports, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and Form 10-Q for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and in other reports filed with the SEC. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

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Neuralstem Expands Phase 1 Safety Trial of NSI-566 Neural Stem Cells in Spinal Injury - Yahoo Finance

Spinal Cord Stem Cells Comments Off on Neuralstem Expands Phase 1 Safety Trial of NSI-566 Neural Stem Cells in Spinal Injury – Yahoo Finance | April 14th, 2017

Alan Mackay-Sim, the 2017 Australian of the Year, told Tuesday's GE:Decoding Industry conference that too much university medical research languished for want of a different financing model.

Alan Mackay-Sim, the biomedical scientist who is 2017 Australian of the Year, has called for a new model of public-private partnership to fill the void left by major pharmaceutical companies withdrawing from neuroscience research.

Mr Mackay-Sim, a Griffith University researcher who led a team famed for proving the safety of using nasal cells to repair spinal cord damage, told a GE conference on Tuesday that all of the major pharmaceutical companies had closed or scaled back their neuroscience research units this decade because of the expense and risk in proving that drugs worked in the general population.

"Both Pfizer and Eli Lilly had treatments for Alzenheimer's Disease that failed at that finalstage of the [US Food & Drug Administration] approval process, and it had cost them each $US600million to getthere," he said.

With private enterprise less willing to solve complex neurological problems, Mr Mackay-Sim said it fell to "chumps like me" in the publicly-funded research sector.However, a fundamental mismatch between thebusiness model of universities and corporations had to be solved first.

"The problem is that for a university researcher today, the currency is to get your research published, that's how you get the next grant," he told the conference.

"But once it's published, it's no longer novel, it's not patentable and therefore private enterprise has no interest.Uni researchers are in it for the public good but unfortunately none of that good gets to the public without the commercial imperative."

Mr Mackay-Sim said universities could only afford to patent a fraction of the research they produced, and even then it too often languished for a lack of investors able to fund clinical trials. This happened to Mr Mackay-Sim's own 2001 patent for making stem cells from olfactory sheathing cells.

A new model was required which recognised the "value of future costs saved" in medical research and broadened the pool of potential financial backers, he told The Australian Financial Review on the sidelines of the GE conference.

"Our trial to prove that transplanting olfactory sheathing cells into the spinal cord was safe cost us $1 million, a second trial proving it works might costs us $20 million and the third trial to prove it works broadly might be $100 million or more - but we spend $2 billion a year in Australia caring for those with a spinal cord injury, so surely that's a good investment," Mr Mackay-Simsaid.

Insurance companies were a relatively untapped source of funding for medical research, he added, given their commercial interest in reducing the cost of medical care.

Patentable drugs had a hard enough time being commercialised, but it was even more difficult to fund trials for improved procedures.

"A friend of mine [University of WA Professor Sarah Dunlop] is trying to get up a clinical trial where people with spinal cord injuries are cooled as soon as the first responders get there, like what happens with heart attack patients," Mr Mackay-Sim said.

The slowing of the metabolism through cooling is thought to provide an opportunity for interventions that could increase the mobility of someone with a spinal cord injury.

"But it's a process, not a drug, it's not really patentable so it's proving a struggle to get funding despite this maybe meaning the difference between quadraplegiaand just having an arm immobilised."

The potential value of university-generated medical research couldbe recognised and supported by business earlier if a new kind of public-private partnership was supported and incentivised by government, spreading the risks and rewards, according to Mr Mackay-Sim.

"But it will take unis, government, investors, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and perhaps CSIRO coming together, to rethink this system where the patent and guarding all your IP is the model," he said.

Mr Mackay-Sim stressed he was "not a business guy", but said a benefit of being Australian of the Year was the access he was getting to people who could collaborate on a new funding model for medical research.

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Australian of the Year Alan Mackay-Sim calls for medical research funding change - The Australian Financial Review

Spinal Cord Stem Cells Comments Off on Australian of the Year Alan Mackay-Sim calls for medical research funding change – The Australian Financial Review | April 11th, 2017

April 10, 2017 06:00 ET | Source: Mesoblast Limited

NEW YORK and MELBOURNE, Australia, April 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mesoblast Limited (Nasdaq:MESO) (ASX:MSB) today announced that thePhase 3 trial ofits allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cell (MPC) product candidate MPC-150-IM in patients with moderate to advanced chronic heart failure (CHF)was successful in thepre-specified interim futility analysisof the efficacy endpoint in the trial's first 270 patients. It is expected that the trial will enroll in total approximately 600 patients. After notifying the Company of the interim analysis results, thetrials Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) additionally stated that they had no safety concerns relating to MPC-150-IM and formally recommended that the trial should continue as planned.

Dr. Emerson C. Perin,Director, Research in Cardiovascular Medicine and Medical Director, Stem Cell Center at the Texas Heart Institute, and a lead investigator on the ongoing Phase 3 trial said: "It is very pleasingto see that thislarge and rigorously conducted Phase 3 trialof Mesoblast's cell therapy was successful in the pre-specified interim futility analysis for the trial's efficacy endpoint in the first 270 patients. Advancedheart failure is a very serious and life-threatening disease, and there is an urgent need to develop a safe and effective new therapy for these patients that may halt or reverse disease progression and prevent the high associated mortality.

Mesoblast Chief Executive Silviu Itescucommented: Passing this interim futility analysis for MPC-150-IM is an important milestone for Mesoblast and our cardiovascular disease program. This validates our strategy and our prioritization of this valuable program.

This ongoing double-blinded randomized (1:1) trial is currently being conducted across multiple study sites in the United States and Canada.It is evaluating MPC-150-IM in adult patients with moderate to advanced New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II/III chronic heart failure with left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The trials primary efficacy endpoint is a comparison of recurrent non-fatal heart failure-related major adverse cardiac events (HF-MACE) in moderate to advanced CHF patients receiving either MPC-150-IM by catheter injection into the damaged left ventricular heart muscle or sham control. A Joint Frailty Model is the statistical method that evaluates multiplenon-fatal heart failure-relatedevents per patient (such as repeated hospitalizations for decompensated heart failure) while accounting for increased likelihood of a terminal cardiac event (such as death, implantation of a mechanical heart assist device or a heart transplant) for patients with multiple non-fatal heart failure events. In line with best practice for blinded Phase 3 clinical trials, the interim analysis data are only reviewed by the IDMC. Mesoblast, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and trial investigators are blinded to grouped safety and efficacy data for the ongoing trial as well as the numerical results of this interim analysis.

About Mesoblasts MPC-150-IM Cardiovascular Program MPC-150-IM is Mesoblast's lead allogeneic, cell-based product candidate for the treatment of moderate to advanced chronic heart failure (CHF) due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

In Phase 2 results, a single injection of MPC-150-IM into the myocardium of patients with moderate to advanced chronic heart failure prevented any HF related hospitalizations or cardiac deaths over three years of follow-up.1 Nonclinical studies showed that intramyocardial administration of MPCs in animal models of heart failure improved cardiac function and attenuated pathological ventricular remodelling. These effects were attributable, at least in part, to MPC secretion of biomolecules that stimulate reparative processes in the failing heart including new blood vessel formation, cardiac muscle cell survival, and reduction in tissue fibrosis.

MPC-150-IM is also being studied in a Phase 2b trial in 159 patients with NYHA Class IV end-stage heart failure patients in conjunction with implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD).A major objective of this trial, which is being sponsored by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), is to assess the ability of MPC-150-IM to help wean patients from a LVAD dependent existence for survival (so-called bridge to recovery).

Additionally, the FDA recently cleared the commencement of a 24-patient trial which is being sponsored by Bostons Childrens Hospital. This study combines Mesoblast's proprietary allogeneic MPC-150-IM product with corrective heart surgery in children under the age of 5 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

About Chronic Heart Failure In 2016, more than 15 million patients in the seven major global pharmaceutical markets are estimated to have been diagnosed with CHF.2 Prevalence is expected to grow 46% by 2030 in the United States alone, affecting more than 8 million Americans.3 CHF is a progressive disease and is classified in relation to the severity of the symptoms experienced by the patient. The most commonly used classification system was established by the NYHA and ranges from Class I (mild) to Class IV or end stage (severe). Approximately half of people who develop heart failure die within 5 years of diagnosis.4 Patients with late NYHA Class II or Class III CHF continue to represent a significant unmet medical need despite recent advances in new therapies. CHF causes severe economic, social, and personal costs. In the United States, it is estimated that CHF results in direct costs of $60.2 billion annually when identified as a primary diagnosis and $115 billion as part of a disease milieu.5

1.Perin EC, Borow KM, Silva GV, et al. A phase II dose-escalation study of allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cells in patients with ischemic or nonischemic heart failure. Circ Res. 2015; 117:576-84

2.GlobalData-PharmaPoint (2016): Heart Failure-Global Drug Forecast and Market Analysis to 2025

3.AHA Statistical Update Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-(2017). Circulation. 2017;131:00-00. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000485

4.Mozzafarian D, Benjamin EJ, Go AS, et al. on behalf of the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics2016 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2016;133:e38-e360

5.A Re-Evaluation of the Costs of Heart Failure and its Implications for Allocation of Health Resources in the United States. Voigt J. Clinl.Cardiol. 37, 5, 312-321 (2014)

About Mesoblast Mesoblast Limited (Nasdaq:MESO) (ASX:MSB)is a global leader in developing innovative cell-based medicines. The Company has leveraged its proprietary technology platform, which is based on specialized cells known as mesenchymal lineage adult stem cells, to establish a broad portfolio of late-stage product candidates. Mesoblasts allogeneic, off-the-shelf cell product candidates target advanced stages of diseases with high, unmet medical needs including cardiovascular conditions, orthopedic disorders, immunologic and inflammatory disorders and oncologic/hematologic conditions.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements that relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We make such forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and actual results may differ from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material and adverse. You should read this press release together with our risk factors, in our most recently filed reports with the SEC or on our website. Uncertainties and risks that may cause Mesoblast's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those which may be expressed or implied by such statements, and accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligations to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

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Successful Interim Analysis of Efficacy Endpoint in Mesoblast's Phase 3 Trial for Chronic Heart Failure - GlobeNewswire (press release)

Cardiac Stem Cells Comments Off on Successful Interim Analysis of Efficacy Endpoint in Mesoblast’s Phase 3 Trial for Chronic Heart Failure – GlobeNewswire (press release) | April 10th, 2017

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - UP Health System Marquette will host a bone marrow registry drive on April 12th, 2017 on the 3rd floor of the North Entrance to the hospital.

Every four minutes, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer in the US. For thousands of patients with leukemia or other blood diseases like sickle cell anemia, a marrow transplant is their only hope.

Joining the bone marrow registry takes roughly 10 minutes of paperwork and a cheek swab. Only 1 in 430 registry members go on to donate. If you match with a patient in need, you will receive a phone call asking to donate. Donation is always voluntary. Surgery is not always required for bone marrow donation; almost 80% of donors donate their blood stem cells in a non-surgical procedure that is very similar to donating plasma.

Please note that UP Health System - Marquette is not affiliated with the National Marrow Donor Program or the Be The Match organization. Our presence here will be to help facilitate and educate those interested in joining the Be The Match registry.

Be The Match is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) which manages the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world, working to save lives through transplant.

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Bone Marrow Registration Drive to be held at UP Health System Marquette - UpperMichigansSource.com

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Bone Marrow Registration Drive to be held at UP Health System Marquette – UpperMichigansSource.com | April 9th, 2017

Jonathan Pitre rests in bed, his pillow with his Boston terrier, Gibson, on it close by. Tina Boileau / -

As he continues high-dose chemotherapy in advance of his second stem-cell transplant, Jonathan Pitre is keeping his dog, Gibson, close to his heart.

Pitre, 16, is wearing a glass pendant with a picture of his Boston terrier throughout his days in the University of Minnesota Masonic Childrens Hospital.

He says that having it around his neck except for sleeping gives him strength even in the darkest moments, said his mother, Tina Boileau, who had the pendant made for him one day after he entered the hospital.

It was the only thing he really wanted, Boileau said.

Pitre is in Minnesota for his second stem-cell transplant, seven months after the first one failed to engraft. Usually, patients undergoing a second transplant so soon after the first do not receive full doses of chemotherapy and radiation because their immune systems are already weakened.

Jonathan Pitre wears his glass pendant that has a picture of his Boston terrier, Gibson, in it. His mom had the pendant made for him after he entered the hospital. Tina Boileau / -

But doctors are taking no chances with Pitre.Hes receiving eight days of high-dose chemotherapy and one day of full-body radiation the same regimen as his first transplant in order to increase the probability of success.

The conditioning regimen is necessary to destroy Pitres bone marrow cells so that the transplanted cells will have room to grow; it also suppresses Pitres immune system so that it doesnt attack the donated stem cells.

Blood tests show Pitre has not developed antibodies to combat another infusion of stem cells from his mother, the original donor. It means Boileau can again serve as the stem cell donor when the transplant takes place on April 13.

As part of the conditioning regimen, doctors are also infusing Pitre withantithymocyte globulin (ATG), a drug designed to further suppress the immune system by acting against specific white blood cells that can attack bone marrow stem cells.

On Thursday, Pitre was three days into the nine-day regimen. Boileau said hes had a low-grade fever, but has otherwise tolerated the treatment well.

He is as strong mentally and physically as he can be, Boileau said. If anything, hes fighting even harder this time; hes really focused on making this transplant work.

Pitrebelieves his incredible willpower might be able to operate on a cellular level, and he has vowed to direct his own cells to co-operate with his mothers stem cells.

Pitre is the first Canadian to take part in the clinical trial operated by the University of Minnesotas Dr. Jakub Tolar, a pediatric transplant specialist who has adapted stem-cell therapy as a treatment for the most severe forms of epidermolysis bullosa (EB).

Pitre suffers from recessive dystrophic EB, a rare, painful and deadly form of the blistering skin disease.

Although the transplant can be accompanied by life-threatening complications, it is the only EB treatment that holds the potential to dramatically improve the condition. Two-thirds of theEB patients who have survived the transplant have experienced reduced blistering and better wound healing.

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Jonathan Pitre 'strong' as he endures first days of chemo - Ottawa Citizen

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Jonathan Pitre ‘strong’ as he endures first days of chemo – Ottawa Citizen | April 7th, 2017

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new study that will test the efficacy of a stem cell technique used on children suffering from congenital heart disease.

The study is being hosted by Boston Childrens Hospital and Mesoblast Limited, a regenerative medicine company based in Australia. Their 24-patient trial will test the efficacy of Mesoblasts proprietary allogenic mesenchymal precursor cells (MPCs) in a corrective heart surgery on children under the age of 5 that suffer from hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), according to an April 3 press release.

The new technique is designed to save more patients with HLHS because current treatment is not always effective. Right now physicians generally perform a single, ventricle palliation, which results in the patient using only the right ventricle to the support the hearts entire circulation. However, the treatment is usually only a temporary fix because the right ventricle will eventually tire out, putting the patient at an increased risk for sudden cardiac arrest.

In the randomized, controlled trial, researchers will inject Mesoblasts MPC-150-IM into the left ventricle during surgical recruitment procedures, which should improve ventricular mass and function and ultimately lead to a higher likelihood of biventricular conversion.

The objective of combining Boston Children Hospitals expertise in pioneering surgical approaches to treating hypoplastic heart syndrome with the regenerative potential of our lead cardiovascular product, MPC-150-IM, is to develop a highly innovative treatment for this complex congenital condition as well as other serious and life-threatening cardiac diseases in children, said Kenneth Brow, the senior clinical development executive and head of cardiovascular diseases at Mesoblast, in a statement.

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Researchers will use stem cell therapy to grow heart muscle in new study - Cardiovascular Business

Cardiac Stem Cells Comments Off on Researchers will use stem cell therapy to grow heart muscle in new study – Cardiovascular Business | April 5th, 2017

Screenshot of Taigas website.

A startup at University of Colorado Anschutz is in the middle of a substantial capital raise.

Taiga Biotechnologies, which is developing new therapies for cancer, HIV and other diseases, has raised $6 million and is looking for an additional $14 million, according to a recent SEC filing.

The date of the first sale was March 16, and so far, the startup has 14 individual investors.

Founded in 2006, Taiga creates therapies for cancer, immune diseases and other serious medical conditions using stem cells, proteins and other molecular compounds.

In 2012, the firmreceived a patent to produce significant amounts of adult blood stem cells using blood from umbilical cords or bone marrow. Blood samples could be stored and expanded to be used after chemotherapy or radiation treatment, instead of having multiple bone marrow transplants.

Last summer, Taiga developed a product to help children with severe immune deficiencies, forcing them to live in protected and sterile environments. The product, which garnered an Orphan Drug Designation from the Food and Drug Administration, was approved for clinical trial in Israel.

Taiga is led by co-founders Brian Turner and Yosef Refaeli.

The company received $12 million in a raise ending in 2015, as well as $246,000 in 2010, according to SEC filings.

Taiga is basedat 12635 E. Montview Blvd. at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Kate Tracy is a BusinessDen reporter who covers nonprofits, startups and the outdoors industry. She is a graduate of Corban University. Email her at kate@BusinessDen.com.

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UC Anschutz startup gets $6M boost to fight disease with stem cells - BusinessDen

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on UC Anschutz startup gets $6M boost to fight disease with stem cells – BusinessDen | March 31st, 2017

By FPJ Bureau|Mar 20, 2017 06:26 pm

Melbourne: Scientists have created a functional beating human heart muscle from stem cells, a significant step forward in cardiac disease research. Researchers at The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia developed models of human heart tissue in the laboratory so they can study cardiac biology and diseases in a dish.

The patented technology enables us to now perform experiments on human heart tissue in the lab, said James Hudson from the UQ School of Biomedical Sciences. This provides scientists with viable, functioning human heart muscle to work on, to model disease, screen new drugs and investigate heart repair, said Hudson.

In the laboratory we used dry ice to kill part of the tissue while leaving the surrounding muscle healthy and viable, Hudson said. We found those tissues fully recovered because they were immature and the cells could regenerate in contrast to what happens normally in the adult heart where you get a dead patch. Our goal is to use this model to potentially find new therapeutic targets to enhance or induce cardiac regeneration in people with heart failure, he said.

Studying regeneration of these damaged, immature cells will enable us to figure out the biochemical events behind this process. Hopefully we can determine how to replicate this process in adult hearts for cardiovascular patients, said Hudson.

Each year, about 54,000 Australians suffer a heart attack, with an average of about 23 deaths every day, researchers said. Heart Foundation Queensland CEO Stephen Vines said the charity was excited to fund such an important research project.

Heart attack survivors who have had permanent damage to their heart tissue are essentially trying to live on half an engine, Vines said. The research will help unlock the key to regenerating damaged heart tissue, which will have a huge impact on the quality of life for heart attack survivors, he added.

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Human heart muscle made from stem cells - Free Press Journal

Cardiac Stem Cells Comments Off on Human heart muscle made from stem cells – Free Press Journal | March 26th, 2017

In what could potentially serve as an importantmoment in the quest to 3D-print body parts, a team of scientists from Swedens Sahlgrenska Academy and Chalmers University of Technology have managed to successfully implant human cartilage cells in six-week-old baby mice.

The researchers created a gel composed of human cartilage cells, printed it through a CELLINK3D bioprinter and implanted the material inside the lab mice. Once implanted, the tissue began to grow and proliferate inside the animal, eventually vascularizing, with blood vessels growing inside the implanted material. After two months, the material began to more closely resemble human cartilage, which was further stimulated with the addition of stem cells.

The team worked with local plastic surgeons to implant the material, which could one day be used to create more natural implants for patients who have lost ears, noses or knees due to accidents or diseases like cancer.

There is no solution for missing ears, research lead professor Paul Gatenholm tells TechCrunch. You have plastic and silicone implants, which you need to put in with a titanium screw. Thats it. The surgical procedure is that you put in cartilage from a rib from the patient and carve. Its very painful and the outcome is very bad. If we can use cells from the nose and beef it up with stem cells from the patients bone marrow or fat, we will be able to print that full 3D structure.

Gatenholm adds, hopefully, It will have a great impact on healthcare for tissue regeneration and implementation. I think the first breakthrough will be of the skin and then the cartilage and then the bone. Beyond that, the technology could some day also be used for even more complex human parts like organs.

Gatenholm cites a paper from February of last yearin his discussion. In it, a team of researchers, including regenerative medicine professor Anthony Atala, detail how theyve used 3D bioprinting to construct bone and muscle using computer imaging to translat[e] the model into a program that controls the motions of the printer nozzles, which dispense cells to discrete locations.

Similarly, 3D modeling in the form of CAD (computer-aided design) files can be used by the printer to create better anatomical pieces than plastic surgery modeling.

The process is still a ways from becoming a viable reality for future reconstructive surgery, including all of the regulatory approvals that come with implementing of this sort of invasive procedure. But the teams work marks a promising step in the process, which could some day extend beyond cartilage to other key human tissue.

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Swedish scientists successfully implant 3D-printed human cartilage cells in baby mice - TechCrunch

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Swedish scientists successfully implant 3D-printed human cartilage cells in baby mice – TechCrunch | March 25th, 2017

To grow clusters of human stem cells that mimic organs in the lab and might be used someday in tissue implants, Bill Murphy, a UW-Madison professor of biomedical engineering, creates tiny scaffolds made of plastic or rubber.

The three-dimensional scaffolds must support the cells and feed them, help them organize and allow them to communicate.

One spring day in 2014, Murphy looked out his office window near UW Hospital, onto the universitys Lakeshore Nature Preserve, and saw a structure that does those very things naturally: plants specifically, cellulose, the main component of the cell walls of green plants.

Now, Murphy and Gianluca Fontana, a UW-Madison post-doctoral fellow with help from Olbrich Botanical Gardens have grown skin, brain, bone marrow and blood vessel cells on cellulose from plants such as parsley, spinach, vanilla and bamboo.

Plants could be an alternative to artificial scaffolds for growing stem cells, the researchers reported Monday in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.

Rather than having to manufacture these devices using high-tech approaches, we could literally pick them off of a tree, said Murphy, co-director of the UW-Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center.

The strength, porosity and large surface area of plants could prove superior to making scaffolds using current methods, such as 3-D printing and injection molding, Murphy said.

Plants have a huge capacity to grow cell populations, he said. They can deliver fluids very efficiently to their leaves ... At the microscale, theyre very well organized.

In addition, there are many plants to chose from. After Murphys inspirational gaze out the window, he and Fontana tested plants as scaffolds for stem cells using varieties they could easily obtain: parsley, spinach, jewelweed, water horsetail, summer lilac and, from the UW Arboretum, softstem bulrush.

Then Fontana asked John Wirth, Olbrichs conservatory curator, about other species that might work. Wirth invited Fontana to walk through the tropical greenhouse and take samples back to his lab.

I had never had a request like this before; it made me look at plant material in a different way, Wirth said. I think its a fantastic way of using these pieces of living tissue, to grow human tissue.

Olbrich plants that proved useful include vanilla, bamboo, wasabi, elephant ear, zebra plant and various orchids.

To use plants as scaffolds, the scientists strip away all of the cells, leaving husks of cellulose. Since human cells have no affinity for plants, they add peptides as biological fasteners.

Theyre like grappling hooks for the cells to attach to the plant, Murphy said.

To determine if plant scaffolds could really replace those made of plastic or rubber, the researchers hope to test the cellulose models in animal studies this year.

A major goal of tissue engineering is to develop implants that could regenerate tissue in people to repair bone or muscle damage after traumatic injuries, for example.

It is likely the human body wouldnt reject tissue implants formed on plant scaffolds because the plant cells would be removed, Murphy said.

Were crossing kingdoms, he said. But were optimistic that these materials would be well-tolerated.

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Borrowing from nature: UW-Madison scientists use plants to grow stem cells - Madison.com

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Borrowing from nature: UW-Madison scientists use plants to grow stem cells – Madison.com | March 22nd, 2017

iPS cells may help halt failing vision

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By Andy Coghlan

A woman in her 80s has become the first person to be successfully treated with induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. A slither of laboratory-made retinal cells has protected her eyesight, fighting her age-related macular degeneration a common form of progressive blindness.

Such stem cells can be coaxed to form many other types of cell. Unlike other types of stem cell, such as those found in an embryo, can be made from adult non-stem cells a discovery that in 2012.

Now, more than a decade after they were created, these stem cells have helped someone. at the RIKEN Laboratory for Retinal Regeneration in Kobe, Japan, and her team took skin cells from the woman and turned them into iPS cells. They then encouraged these to form retinal pigment epithelial cells, which are important for supporting and nourishing the retina cells that capture light for vision.

The researchers made a slither of cells measuring just 1 by 3 millimetres. Before in 2014, they first removed diseased tissue on her retina that was gradually destroying her sight. They then inserted the small patch of cells they had created, hoping they would become a part of her eye and stop her eyesight from degenerating.

Now the results are in. Published today, they show that the treatment hasnt made the womans vision any sharper, but it does seem to have prevented further deterioration with her vision now stable for more than two years. Since the graft, the woman says her vision is brighter.

Takahashi and her team have done incredible work, and deserve all the praise they get for this project, says , director of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University, who won the Nobel prize for and collaborated on this work. This is a landmark study and opens the door to similar treatments for many diseases, he says.

This first iPSC-derived retinal graft is an important landmark in the field of retinal regeneration, says at University College London, and head of a trial at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London of similar grafts made instead from human embryonic stem cells.

One worry about this approach is that turning the stem cells into new tissues could lead to cancer-causing genetic mutations though the team found no evidence of this in the treated woman. However, a trial of the technique in another person was cancelled in 2015, after tests revealed that the cells intended to be given to the man had developed genetic abnormalities.

But although it has taken many years to bring , many private centres around the world have been advertising unregulated treatments purporting to use stem cells for some time.

A second study published today shows just how badly some unregulated treatments described as stem cell therapies can go wrong. Three case reports of women given such treatments for age-related macular degeneration detail how one woman went blind and the vision of the other two became much worse.

All three ended up seeking emergency treatment in 2015, after each paid $5000 to a private clinic to receive injections of their own fatty tissue into their eyes.

Patients and physicians in the US should be made aware that not all stem cell clinics are safe, and that stem therapy as provided in private clinics in the US is unproven and potentially harmful, says at the University of Miamis Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Florida, who subsequently treated two of the women.

Albini advises people to be suspicious of any procedure involving payment. Most legitimate research in the US does not require patients to pay for the experimental procedures, he says, adding that people should check whether a trial has been registered with the US Food and Drug Administration. Be aware that if it sounds too good to be true, it may indeed not be true.

Journal reference: New England Journal of Medicine, DOI: ;

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IPS Cell Therapy Comments Off on Vision saved by first induced pluripotent stem cell treatment … – Concord Register | March 19th, 2017

Science Daily

From skin to brain: Stem cells without genetic modification: Study ... Science Daily A discovery, several years in the making, demonstrates that adult skin cells can be converted into neural crest cells (a type of stem cell) without any genetic ... From skin to brain: Stem cells without genetic modification - UB Now ...University at Buffalo Reporter all 2 news articles »

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From skin to brain: Stem cells without genetic modification: Study ... - Science Daily

Spinal Cord Stem Cells Comments Off on From skin to brain: Stem cells without genetic modification: Study … – Science Daily | March 18th, 2017