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Newswise New York, NYApril 30, 2014Researchers at Columbia Engineering announced today that they have successfully grown fully functional human cartilage in vitro from human stem cells derived from bone marrow tissue. Their study, which demonstrates new ways to better mimic the enormous complexity of tissue development, regeneration, and disease, is published in the April 28 Early Online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Weve been ablefor the first timeto generate fully functional human cartilage from mesenchymal stem cells by mimicking in vitro the developmental process of mesenchymal condensation, says Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, who led the study and is the Mikati Foundation Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia Engineering and professor of medical sciences. This could have clinical impact, as this cartilage can be used to repair a cartilage defect, or in combination with bone in a composite graft grown in lab for more complex tissue reconstruction.

For more than 20 years, researchers have unofficially called cartilage the official tissue of tissue engineering, Vunjak-Novakovic observes. Many groups studied cartilage as an apparently simple tissue: one single cell type, no blood vessels or nerves, a tissue built for bearing loads while protecting bone ends in the joints. While there has been great success in engineering pieces of cartilage using young animal cells, no one has, until now, been able to reproduce these results using adult human stem cells from bone marrow or fat, the most practical stem cell source. Vunjak-Novakovics team succeeded in growing cartilage with physiologic architecture and strength by radically changing the tissue-engineering approach.

The general approach to cartilage tissue engineering has been to place cells into a hydrogel and culture them in the presence of nutrients and growth factors and sometimes also mechanical loading. But using this technique with adult human stem cells has invariably produced mechanically weak cartilage. So Vunjak-Novakovic and her team, who have had a longstanding interest in skeletal tissue engineering, wondered if a method resembling the normal development of the skeleton could lead to a higher quality of cartilage.

Sarindr Bhumiratana, postdoctoral fellow in Vunjak-Novakovics Laboratory for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, came up with a new approach: inducing the mesenchymal stem cells to undergo a condensation stage as they do in the body before starting to make cartilage. He discovered that this simple but major departure from how things were usually? being done resulted in a quality of human cartilage not seen before.

Gerard Ateshian, Andrew Walz Professor of Mechanical Engineering, professor of biomedical engineering, and chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and his PhD student, Sevan Oungoulian, helped perform measurements showing that the lubricative property and compressive strengththe two important functional propertiesof the tissue-engineered cartilage approached those of native cartilage. The researchers then used their method to regenerate large pieces of anatomically shaped and mechanically strong cartilage over the bone, and to repair defects in cartilage.

Our whole approach to tissue engineering is biomimetic in nature, which means that our engineering designs are defined by biological principles, Vunjak-Novakovic notes. This approach has been effective in improving the quality of many engineered tissuesfrom bone to heart. Still, we were really surprised to see that our cartilage, grown by mimicking some aspects of biological development, was as strong as normal human cartilage.

The team plans next to test whether the engineered cartilage tissue maintains its structure and long-term function when implanted into a defect.

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Columbia Engineers Grow Functional Human Cartilage in Lab

Written by Lidia Dinkova on April 30, 2014

After 15 years of University of Miami research on a unique adult bone marrow-derived stem cell and on a process that leaves the cell in a relatively pure form, the university and its tissue bank have partnered with a Marietta, GA, biomedical company to make the stem cell called the MIAMI cell commercially available in July.

Vivex Biomedical Inc. invested in the research and development of the cell and licensed the technology from UM for orthopedic use, said company President and CEO Tracy S. Anderson. Vivex has contracted with the universitys tissue bank to develop the cell for commercial use. The company will pay an undisclosed royalty to UM from sales.

Dr. H. Thomas Temple, professor of orthopedics, vice chair of orthopedic surgery and director of the University of Miami Tissue Bank, said South Florida is a viable market for the MIAMI cell.

Just in bone [regeneration] alone theres an enormous market, and then if you take into consideration all the joint dysfunction that occurs with aging we have a significantly aged population, he said. If you think about the number of trauma cases we have down here where patients have open fractures, I think this has enormous potential.

Not a lot of companies, Dr. Temple said, are keen on investing in stem cells.

A lot of big companies dont want to take the risk on stem cells because they dont understand it, and theyre making a lot of money on other things, he said. The university doesnt have the financial resources to do the development work. They [UM] do a great job of investigating and researching these things, but the development side takes a lot of capital. In order to have a successful product, not only does it have to be really good, you have to have a successful market, so they [Vivex] bring in the distribution.

The marrow-isolated adult multi-lineage inducible cell, or MIAMI cell, is unique on two fronts. Its highly inducible and potent partially because it shares genes with embryonic stem cells, and the process used to isolate it allows for the infusion of a purer MIAMI cell concentration.

Generally in other processes, when stem cells are infused, they come with other cells that may be synergistic but more likely antagonistic, Dr. Temple said.

Its a small percentage of that actual layer that are actually stem cells. It may be effective, but this is different, he said. When we provide the cells, we can tell you that 95% of them are really MIAMI cells. Once theyre thawed, 97% to 98% of them are viable. Its really the process that makes them different.

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UM research lands stem cell deal

Released: 4/28/2014 3:00 PM EDT Source Newsroom: City of Hope Contact Information

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Newswise DUARTE, Calif. Bone marrow transplants offer a second chance for people with life-threatening blood cancers and other hematologic malignancies. But many recipients, though overwhelmed with curiosity and the need to express their gratitude, can only dream of meeting the strangers who saved their lives. City of Hope is about to make that dream come true for two patients.

At City of Hopes annual Bone Marrow Transplantation Reunion on May 9, two grateful patients will meet the strangers, each hailing from different countries, who gave them back their futures.

Shes a world away, and weve never met, but were in a way genetic twins, said George Winston, the impressionistic, genre-defying musician with more than 20 instrumental albums under his belt. Winston received a lifesaving transplant from a young German woman two years ago, and cant wait to get to know her. Its amazing how they can locate a donor. I cant wait to meet her and just thank her from the bottom of my heart.

The meetings are the public focal point of City of Hopes annual Celebration of Life. Other meetings, and reunions, will take place throughout the event, attended by more than 6,500 bone marrow, stem cell and cord blood transplant recipients, their families and donors. All will celebrate second chances, scientific breakthroughs and transplant anniversaries.

Each survivor wears a button proudly proclaiming the years since his or her transplant. For some, its only a year. For others, a few decades. They celebrate their own recoveries, and the medical advances that have allowed this fellowship of survivors to grow from just a single patient 38 years ago at the first reunion, to thousands.

City of Hope helped pioneer bone marrow transplantation nearly four decades ago and is now a leader in bone marrow, stem cell and cord blood transplant, preparing to formally launch its Hematologic Cancers Institute. City of Hope has the only transplant program in the nation to achieve nine consecutive reporting years of over performance in one-year overall patient survival, according to the most recent data from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, which tracks all such transplants performed in the U.S.

The reunion is a motivation that leaves us in awe of the many patients weve been able to help, but also humbled and focused on the patients currently in our care and those who will count on us in the future, said Stephen J. Forman, M.D., Francis & Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. We dont have any results so good that they cannot be improved. Were always focused on how we can do this better. Were never satisfied.

Two patients will be highlighted as part of the reunion, and will meet their donors for the first time ever.

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Bone Marrow Recipients Get Rare Chance to Meet Their "Genetic Twins" at City of Hope

Research team at York University aims to improve bone disease treatment

12:45pm Friday 25th April 2014 in News By Barry Nelson, Health Editor

RESEARCHERS are aiming to develop new therapies for osteoarthritis by rejuvenating old stem cells to repair cartilage damage.

A research team at York University have been awarded 190,158 from the medical research charity Arthritis Research UK to carry out a three-year study to investigate how rejuvenated cells from older people with osteoarthritis can be used to repair worn or damaged cartilage, reducing chronic pain.

There is currently no treatment to prevent the progression of osteoarthritis, and people with severe disease often need total joint replacement surgery.

A patients own bone marrow stem cells are a valuable source of potential treatment as they can generate joint tissue that wont be rejected when re-implanted. However, as people grow older the number of stem cells decreases and those that remain are less able to grow and repair tissue.

Dr Paul Genever, lead researcher, who heads up the Arthritis Research UK Tissue Engineering Centre at the University of York said: A way to reset stem cells to an earlier time point, termed rejuvenation, has recently been discovered, allowing more effective tissue repair.

This project will firstly compare rejuvenated and non-rejuvenated stem cells to see if the process improves cartilage repair, and secondly, investigate whether it is possible to develop new drugs which are able to rejuvenate stem cells.

In the UK, more than 8m people, have sought treatment from their GP for the condition, which causes pain and stiffness in the joints due to cartilage at the ends of bones wearing away.

Professor Alan Silman, medical director at charity Arthritis Research UK, said: This is pioneering research, which has the potential to help reduce pain and disability and improving quality of life of those living with osteoarthritis.

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Research aims to improve bone disease treatment

Wounded Warrior severe low back pain 3 months after stem cells by Dr Harry Adelson
Seven years ago while serving in Special Forces in Afghanistan, Ben was hit directly in the chest by a Rocket-Propelled-Grenade which slammed him against a wall and crushed his spine. THEN...

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23-Apr-2014

Contact: Nicanor Moldovan Moldovan.6@osu.edu 614-247-7801 Ohio State University

COLUMBUS, Ohio New research suggests that attempts to isolate an elusive adult stem cell from blood to understand and potentially improve cardiovascular health a task considered possible but very difficult might not be necessary.

Instead, scientists have found that multiple types of cells with primitive characteristics circulating in the blood appear to provide the same benefits expected from a stem cell, including the endothelial progenitor cell that is the subject of hot pursuit.

"There are people who still dream that the prototypical progenitors for several components of the cardiovascular tree will be found and isolated. I decided to focus the analysis on the whole nonpurified cell population the blood as it is," said Nicanor Moldovan, senior author of the study and a research associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at The Ohio State University.

"Our method determines the contributions of all blood cells that serve the same function that an endothelial progenitor cell is supposed to. We can detect the presence of those cells and their signatures in a clinical sample without the need to isolate them."

The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Stem cells, including the still poorly understood endothelial progenitor cells, are sought-after because they have the potential to transform into many kinds of cells, suggesting that they could be used to replace damaged or missing cells as a treatment for multiple diseases.

By looking at gene activity patterns in blood, Moldovan and colleagues concluded that many cell types circulating throughout the body may protect and repair blood vessels a key to keeping the heart healthy.

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Stem cells in circulating blood affect cardiovascular health, study finds

Released: 4/21/2014 8:55 AM EDT Embargo expired: 4/23/2014 5:00 PM EDT Source Newsroom: Ohio State University Contact Information

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Newswise COLUMBUS, Ohio New research suggests that attempts to isolate an elusive adult stem cell from blood to understand and potentially improve cardiovascular health a task considered possible but very difficult might not be necessary.

Instead, scientists have found that multiple types of cells with primitive characteristics circulating in the blood appear to provide the same benefits expected from a stem cell, including the endothelial progenitor cell that is the subject of hot pursuit.

There are people who still dream that the prototypical progenitors for several components of the cardiovascular tree will be found and isolated. I decided to focus the analysis on the whole nonpurified cell population the blood as it is, said Nicanor Moldovan, senior author of the study and a research associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at The Ohio State University.

Our method determines the contributions of all blood cells that serve the same function that an endothelial progenitor cell is supposed to. We can detect the presence of those cells and their signatures in a clinical sample without the need to isolate them.

The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Stem cells, including the still poorly understood endothelial progenitor cells, are sought-after because they have the potential to transform into many kinds of cells, suggesting that they could be used to replace damaged or missing cells as a treatment for multiple diseases.

By looking at gene activity patterns in blood, Moldovan and colleagues concluded that many cell types circulating throughout the body may protect and repair blood vessels a key to keeping the heart healthy.

The scientists also found that several types of blood cells retain so-called primitive properties. In this context, primitive is positive because these cells are the first line of defense against an injury and provide a continuous supply of repair tissue either directly or by telling local cells what to do.

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Stem Cells in Circulating Blood Affect Cardiovascular Health

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Bangalore, Apr 22 : City-based Narayana Health City (NHC) with over 300 successful Bone Marrow Transplants to its credit, today show cased the efficacy of this treatment modality with over 80 per cent success rate for curing cancerous and genetic blood diseases.

The two types of diseases which can be cured by bone marrow transplant are Leukemia, Severe Aplastic Anemia, Thassemia and Immune Deficiency Disorders.

Bone marrow transplant is a highly advanced procedure that involves transfusion of bone marrow stem cells from a healthy donor to a patient.

Speaking to reporters here, Dr Sharat Damodar, HoD and Senior Consultant Hematologist, Bone marrow transplant unit at NHC said the nature of blood diseases/disorders is either genetic in nature or acquired due to exposure to several risk factors including hazardous environment and consumption of adulterated food.

"Bone marrow transplants are now producing high success rates as it is curative in nature and offers hope to patients of a life beyond painful and fatal diseases," he said.

Dr Damodar, however, regretted that most of bone transplants are now done using bone marrow stem cells from blood relatives of the patients. "In India it is a challenge to find donors and we should consider it as our social responsibility to volunteer for donating healthy bone marrow and help patients in need," he added.

He said the government had recently opened donor registry DATRI and 50,000 people had enrolled into it.

"Compared to a population of 126 crore, we have just 50,000 donors. This is in comparison to an European country like Germany you can find millions of them," he added.

Dr Damodar and his team of experts also presented and shared the cases of patients who have been in remission for five years and leading a disease free life post bone marrow transplantation.

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NHC showcase bone marrow transplant to cure blood disorders

BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION OVERVIEW

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT), also called hematopoietic stem cell transplant or hematopoietic cell transplant, is a type of treatment for cancer (and a few other conditions as well). A review of the normal function of the bone marrow will help in the understanding of bone marrow transplantation.

Bone marrow functionBone marrow is the soft, spongy area in the center of some of the larger bones of the body. The marrow produces all of the different cells that make up the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells (of many different types), and platelets. All of these cells develop from a type of precursor cell found in the bone marrow, called a hematopoietic stem cell.

The body is able to direct hematopoietic stem cells to develop into the blood components needed at any given moment. This is a very active process, with the bone marrow producing millions of different cells every hour. Most of the stem cells stay in the marrow until they are transformed into the various blood components, which are then released into the blood stream. Small numbers of stem cells, however, can be found in the circulating blood, which allows them to be collected under certain circumstances. Various strategies can be employed to increase the number of hematopoietic stem cells in the blood prior to collection. (See 'Peripheral blood' below.)

Bone marrow transplantationSome of the most effective treatments for cancer, such as chemotherapy and radiation, are toxic to the bone marrow. In general, the higher the dose, the more toxic the effects on the bone marrow.

In bone marrow transplantation, you are given very high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, which is intended to more effectively kill cancer cells and unfortunately also destroy all the normal cells developing in the bone marrow, including the critical stem cells. After the treatment, you must have a healthy supply of stem cells reintroduced, or transplanted. The transplanted cells then reestablish the blood cell production process in the bone marrow. Reduced doses of radiation or chemotherapy that do not completely destroy the bone marrow may be used in some settings. (See 'Non-myeloablative transplant' below.)

The cells that will be transplanted can be taken from the bone marrow (called a bone marrow transplant), from the bloodstream (called a peripheral blood stem cell transplant, which requires that you take medication to boost the number of hematopoietic stem cells in the blood), or occasionally from blood obtained from the umbilical cord at the time of birth of a normal newborn (called an umbilical cord blood transplant).

TYPES OF BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

There are two main types of bone marrow transplantation: autologous and allogeneic.

Autologous transplantIn autologous transplantation, your own hematopoietic stem cells are removed before the high dose chemotherapy or radiation is given, and they are then frozen for storage and later use. After your chemotherapy or radiation is complete, the harvested cells are thawed and returned to you.

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Bone marrow transplantation (stem cell transplantation)

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Jacquelyn Jeanty

Jacquelyn Jeanty has worked as a freelance writer since 2008. Her work appears at various websites. Her specialty areas include health, home and garden, Christianity and personal development. Jeanty holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Purdue University.

Since 1968, bone-marrow transplant procedures have been used to treat diseases such as leukemia, lymphomas and immune-deficiency disorders. By comparison, stem-cell transplants procedures are a fairly new development within the medical-science world. As a result, the potential uses and risks involved with stem-cell procedures are as of yet not fully known.

Transplant procedures are intended to replace defective or damaged tissues and cells with cells that are able to replace damaged tissue and restore normal function within the body. The use of bone-marrow material versus stem cell material is actually referring to two sides of the same coin, as bone marrow is a type of stem cell derived from the cells inside the bone. Stem cells, in general, can be taken from a number of sources, some of which include the umbilical cord, fetal material, the placenta, somatic cells, embryonic materials, as well as bone marrow material. The type of transplant procedure used will depend on the type of treatment needed and the area of the body affected.

Stem-cell research is a developing field in which stem cells are used to cure diseases, engineer gene-types and clone animals and humans. What makes stem cells so promising is their ability to evolve into a variety of different tissue forms. When used to treat diseased tissues, stem cells may provide a permanent cure as healthy new cells reproduce and replace defective cell organisms. This type of transplant may someday provide a way to treat cancer formations inside the body. Bone marrow stem cells are being used to replace unhealthy bone marrow in people who suffer from blood-borne diseases such as leukemia.

As with any type of surgical procedure, certain risks are involved when undergoing a stem-cell transplant. Frequent testing and possible hospitalizations may be necessary after the procedure is done. Individuals who receive donor stem cells may experience what's called the "graft-versus-host disease." This condition occurs when the patient's immune system reacts to the transplanting of donor stem cells. Symptoms of graft-versus-host disease include vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes and abdominal pain. Organ damage, blood vessel damage and secondary cancers are other possible complications that can arise.

Bone-marrow material is made up of the soft tissue contained inside the bones. This material is responsible for producing and storing the body's blood cells. Bone marrow can be extracted from the breast bone, the hips, the spine, the ribs and the skull. Transplant materials can be used to replace unhealthy bone material for individuals who've undergone radiation or chemotherapy treatments. Individuals who suffer from a genetic disease such as Hurler's syndrome or adrenoleukodystrophy can also benefit from receiving a healthy supply of bone-marrow material.

The risks involved with bone marrow transplants vary depending on how healthy a person is, the type of transplant being done and how compatible a donor's material is. Individuals who've undergone chemotherapy or radiation treatments may experience complications because of the weakened state that the body is in. As bone-marrow material can come from the patient or from a donor, compatibility risks are more of a concern when donor materials are used. Possible complications from a transplant include anemia, infection, internal bleeding or internal-organ damage.

There are different types of bone marrow transplants, including an allogeneic and an autologous transplant. In allogeneic bone marrow transplants, stem cells...

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Stem - Cell Transplant Vs. Bone - Marrow Transplant | eHow

Watch the Cancer.Net Video: Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation: An Introduction, with Sonali Smith, MD, adapted from this content.

Key Messages:

Stem cell transplantation is a procedure that is most often recommended as a treatment option for people with leukemia, multiple myeloma, and some types of lymphoma. It may also be used to treat some genetic diseases that involve the blood.

During a stem cell transplant diseased bone marrow (the spongy, fatty tissue found inside larger bones) is destroyed with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy and then replaced with highly specialized stem cells that develop into healthy bone marrow. Although this procedure used to be referred to as a bone marrow transplant, today it is more commonly called a stem cell transplant because it is stem cells in the blood that are typically being transplanted, not the actual bone marrow tissue.

The purpose of bone marrow and hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells

Bone marrow produces more than 20 billion new blood cells every day throughout a person's life. The driving force behind this process is the hematopoietic (pronounced he-mah-tuh-poy-ET-ick) stem cell. Hematopoietic stem cells are immature cells found in both the bloodstream and bone marrow. These specialized cells have the ability to create more blood-forming cells or to mature into one of the three different cell types that make up our blood. These include red blood cells (cells that carry oxygen to all parts of the body), white blood cells (cells that help the body fight infections and diseases), and platelets (cells that help blood clot and control bleeding). Signals passing from the body to the bone marrow tell the stem cells which cell types are needed the most.

For people with bone marrow diseases and certain types of cancer, the essential functions of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are disrupted because the hematopoietic stem cells dont mature properly. To help restore the bone marrows ability to produce healthy blood cells, doctors may recommend stem cell transplantation.

Types of stem cell transplantation

There are two main types of stem cell transplantation:

Autologous transplantation (AUTO). A patient undergoing an AUTO transplant receives his or her own stem cells. During the AUTO transplant process, the patients stem cells are collected and then stored in a special freezer that can preserve them for decades. Usually the patient is treated the following week with powerful doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, after which the frozen stem cells are thawed and infused into the patient's vein. The stem cells typically remain in the bloodstream for about 24 hours until they find their way to the marrow space, where they grow and multiply, beginning the healing process.

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What is Stem Cell/Bone Marrow Transplantation? | Cancer.Net

Phoenix, Arizona (PRWEB) April 21, 2014

The Center for Joint Regeneration is now offering several stem cell procedures for patients with knee arthritis to help avoid the need for joint replacement. The procedures are offered by Board-certified and Fellowship-trained orthopedic doctors, with the stem cells being derived from either bone marrow or amniotic fluid. For more information and scheduling with the top stem cell providers in the greater Phoenix area, call (480) 466-0980.

For the hundreds of thousands of individuals who undergo a knee replacement every year, it should be considered an absolute last resort, after other conservative options have failed. Although the vast majority of knee replacements do well, the implants are not meant to last forever, the surgery does have potential risks and the biomechanics of the knee are significantly changed with the prosthetic implants.

Stem cells for knee arthritis have the potential to repair and regenerate damage from arthritis and relieve pain substantially. Center for Joint Regeneration offers these outpatient procedures with several methods.

The first involves usage of the patient's own bone marrow, with a short harvesting procedure, processing the bone marrow, and injection at the same setting into one or both knees.

Another method is with amniotic derived stem cell rich material, which not only possesses concentrated stem cells but also a significant amount of growth factors and hyaluronic acid. The material is a meteorologically privileged and has been used tens of thousands of times around the world with minimal adverse events.

Platelet rich plasma therapy for knee degeneration is also offered. PRP therapy has been shown in recent studies at Hospital for Special Surgery to work well for pain relief from knee arthritis. It also offers the ability to preserve knee cartilage based on serial MRI's performed in the study.

So far, clinical outcomes with the stem cell regenerative procedures have been excellent. The Board-Certified orthopedic doctors at Center for Joint Regeneration, Doctors Farber and Dewanjee, are exceptionally well trained and highly skilled at these outpatient procedures.

For those individuals looking to avoid or delay the need for knee replacement due to degenerative arthritis, call the Center for Joint Regeneration today at (480) 466-0980. The Center offers stem cell treatments Phoenix and Scottsdale trust!

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Center for Joint Regeneration Now Offering Several Stem Cell Procedures for Patients to Avoid Knee Replacement

Marie McCullough, Inquirer Staff Writer Last updated: Sunday, April 20, 2014, 8:51 AM Posted: Saturday, April 19, 2014, 4:05 PM

Mason Shaffer was seven months old when doctors treated him for a fatal genetic bone disorder by destroying his blood and immune systems and rebuilding them with donated blood stem cells.

That's when his parents, Sarah and Marc Shaffer of Lansdowne, learned about a fairly unsung medical trend: public, nonprofit facilities that collect, store, and distribute blood from donated umbilical cords. The stem cells that saved Mason, now a healthy 5-year-old, were in cord blood.

Nonprofit cord-blood banking is a complicated, costly network, but it has been growing steadily, thanks to federal support, stem-cell research - and families like the Shaffers.

Sarah and Marc discovered that in the Philadelphia area, even if parents realized umbilical cords were more than just waste products of childbirth, there was no easy way to donate the tissue. So they established the Mason Shaffer Foundation to change that.

This month, Temple University Hospital launched a program in collaboration with the foundation and the New Jersey Cord Blood Bank to educate expectant parents and enable them to donate in a convenient way - at no charge to them or Temple. The foundation provides the educational material, and the cord-blood bank covers the collection costs, which are offset by health insurance reimbursement for transplants.

Three years ago, Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood became the foundation's first cord-blood donation center.

Temple, however, is expected to help fill the desperate need for a more racially diverse cord-blood stockpile. That need was recognized by the federal Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005, which included funding that will help underwrite the first year of Temple's program.

Of the 3,200 babies delivered at Temple each year, 65 percent are African American, and 30 percent are Hispanic.

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Umbilical cord blood transplants become standard

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Help TBI Case! See the Amazing Before After Results!
Dr. Steenblock treated John F. for a TBI. John suffered from a TBI or a traumatic brain injury after a bike accident. He had just one bone marrow stem cell t...

By: David Steenblock

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Bone Marrow Stem Cells Help TBI Case! See the Amazing Before & After Results! - Video

Stem cells in bone marrow need to produce hydrogen sulfide in order to properly multiply and form bone tissue, according to a new study from the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology at the Ostrow School of Dentistry.

Professor Songtao Shi, principal investigator on the project, said the presence of hydrogen sulfide produced by the cells governs the flow of calcium ions. The essential ions activate a chain of cellular signals that results in osteogenesis, or the creation of new bone tissue, and keeps the breakdown of old bone tissue at a proper level.

Conversely, having a hydrogen sulfide deficiency disrupted bone homeostasis and resulted in a condition similar to osteoporosis -- weakened, brittle bones -- in experimental mice. In humans, osteoporosis can cause serious problems such as bone fractures, mobility limitations and spinal problems; more than 52 million Americans have or are at risk for the disease.

However, Shi and his team demonstrated that the mice's condition could be rescued by administering small molecules that release hydrogen sulfide inside the body. The results indicate that a similar treatment may have potential to help human patients, Shi said.

"These results demonstrate hydrogen sulfide regulates bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, and restoring hydrogen sulfide levels via non-toxic donors may provide treatments for diseases such as osteoporosis, which can arise from hydrogen sulfide deficiencies," Shi said.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Southern California. The original article was written by Beth Newcomb. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Proper stem cell function requires hydrogen sulfide

Researchers announced today that tissue engineering has been used to construct natural esophagi which in combination with bone marrow stem cells have been safely and effectively transplanted in rats, according to a study published in the prestigious online journal, Nature Communications. The study shows that the transplanted organs remain patent and display regeneration of nerves, muscles, epithelial cells and blood vessels.

The new method was developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, within an international collaboration lead by Professor Paolo Macchiarini, and including Doris Taylor, MD, Director of Regenerative Medicine Research at the Texas Heart Institute (THI).

We are very excited and honored to be a part of the team taking such heroic steps, that will ultimately benefit so many patients throughout the world, said Dr. Taylor, who is leading ground-breaking organ-building work at THI that may ultimately lead to the ability to grow new hearts and other organs using a patients own stem cells.

Dr. Taylor has collaborated with Professor Macchiarini for several years, and they have jointly published previous papers on tissue engineering. THI and Dr. Taylor are in the midst of multiple international collaborations in this field, and she also serves on a committee named by Texas Medical Center (TMC) President Robert Robbins, MD, to help guide regenerative medicine research throughout TMC.

The joint goal is to discover, develop, and take first steps toward delivering a more complex tissue, such as a heart, added Dr. Taylor. We see this as another important milestone along that path, which we expect will ultimately help many millions of patients.

James T. Willerson, MD, President, THI added This is a very important step forward toward the goal of regenerating tissues using Dr. Taylors methods. The ability to regenerate a patients esophagus after it has been injured, will help many people. The same is true for an injured heart.

The technique to grow human tissues and organs so called tissue engineering has been employed so far to produce urinary bladder, trachea and blood vessels, which have also been used clinically. However, despite several attempts, it has been proven difficult to grow tissue to replace a damaged esophagus.

In this new study, the researchers created the bioengineered organs by soaking esophagi from rats to remove all the cells. With the cells gone, a scaffold remains in which the structure as well as mechanical and chemical properties of the organ are preserved. The produced scaffolds were then reseeded with cells from the bone marrow of the recipient. The adhering cells have low immunogenicity, which minimizes the risk of immune reaction and graft rejection and also eliminates the need for immunosuppressive drugs. The cells adhered to the biological scaffold and started to show organ-specific characteristics within three weeks.

The cultured tissues were used to replace segments of the esophagus in rats. All rats survived and after two weeks the researchers found indications of the major components in the regenerated graft: epithelium, muscle cells, blood vessels and nerves.

We believe that these very promising findings represent major advances towards the clinical translation of tissue engineered esophagi, said Paolo Macchiarini, Director of Advanced Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine (ACTREM) at Karolinska Institutet.

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International team of researchers engineer construction of esophagus

Researchers announced today that tissue engineering has been used to construct natural esophagi which in combination with bone marrow stem cells have been safely and effectively transplanted in rats, according to a study published in the prestigious online journal, Nature Communications. The study shows that the transplanted organs remain patent and display regeneration of nerves, muscles, epithelial cells and blood vessels.

The new method was developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, within an international collaboration lead by Professor Paolo Macchiarini, and including Doris Taylor, MD, Director of Regenerative Medicine Research at the Texas Heart Institute (THI).

We are very excited and honored to be a part of the team taking such heroic steps, that will ultimately benefit so many patients throughout the world, said Dr. Taylor, who is leading ground-breaking organ-building work at THI that may ultimately lead to the ability to grow new hearts and other organs using a patients own stem cells.

Dr. Taylor has collaborated with Professor Macchiarini for several years, and they have jointly published previous papers on tissue engineering. THI and Dr. Taylor are in the midst of multiple international collaborations in this field, and she also serves on a committee named by Texas Medical Center (TMC) President Robert Robbins, MD, to help guide regenerative medicine research throughout TMC.

The joint goal is to discover, develop, and take first steps toward delivering a more complex tissue, such as a heart, added Dr. Taylor. We see this as another important milestone along that path, which we expect will ultimately help many millions of patients.

James T. Willerson, MD, President, THI added This is a very important step forward toward the goal of regenerating tissues using Dr. Taylors methods. The ability to regenerate a patients esophagus after it has been injured, will help many people. The same is true for an injured heart.

The technique to grow human tissues and organs so called tissue engineering has been employed so far to produce urinary bladder, trachea and blood vessels, which have also been used clinically. However, despite several attempts, it has been proven difficult to grow tissue to replace a damaged esophagus.

In this new study, the researchers created the bioengineered organs by soaking esophagi from rats to remove all the cells. With the cells gone, a scaffold remains in which the structure as well as mechanical and chemical properties of the organ are preserved. The produced scaffolds were then reseeded with cells from the bone marrow of the recipient. The adhering cells have low immunogenicity, which minimizes the risk of immune reaction and graft rejection and also eliminates the need for immunosuppressive drugs. The cells adhered to the biological scaffold and started to show organ-specific characteristics within three weeks.

The cultured tissues were used to replace segments of the esophagus in rats. All rats survived and after two weeks the researchers found indications of the major components in the regenerated graft: epithelium, muscle cells, blood vessels and nerves.

We believe that these very promising findings represent major advances towards the clinical translation of tissue engineered esophagi, said Paolo Macchiarini, Director of Advanced Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine (ACTREM) at Karolinska Institutet.

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Dr. Taylor assists international team of researchers achieve milestone by tissue engineering construction of esophagus

Tissue engineering has been used to construct natural oesophagi, which in combination with bone marrow stem cells have been safely and effectively transplanted in rats. The study, published in Nature Communications, shows that the transplanted organs remain patent and display regeneration of nerves, muscles, epithelial cells and blood vessels.

The new method has been developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, within an international collaboration lead by Professor Paolo Macchiarini. The technique to grow human tissues and organs, so called tissue engineering, has been employed so far to produce urinary bladder, trachea and blood vessels, which have also been used clinically. However, despite several attempts, it has been proven difficult to grow tissue to replace a damaged esophagus.

In this new study, the researchers created the bioengineered organs by using oesophagi from rats and removing all the cells. With the cells gone, a scaffold remains in which the structure as well as mechanical and chemical properties of the organ are preserved. The produced scaffolds were then reseeded with cells from the bone marrow. The adhering cells have low immunogenicity which minimizes the risk of immune reaction and graft rejection and also eliminates the need for immunosuppressive drugs. The cells adhered to the biological scaffold and started to show organ-specific characteristics within three weeks.

The cultured tissues were used to replace segments of the esophagus in rats. All rats survived and after two weeks the researchers found indications of the major components in the regenerated graft: epithelium, muscle cells, blood vessels and nerves.

"We believe that these very promising findings represent major advances towards the clinical translation of tissue engineered esophagi," says Paolo Macchiarini, Director of Advanced center for translational regenerative medicine (ACTREM) at Karolinska Institutet.

Tissue engineered organs could improve survival and quality of life for the hundreds of thousands of patients yearly diagnosed with esophageal disorders such as cancer, congenital anomalies or trauma. Today the patients' own intestine or stomach is used for esophageal replacements, but satisfactory function rarely achieved. Cultured tissue might eliminate this current need and likely improve surgery-related mortality, morbidity and functional outcome.

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

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Regenerated esophagus transplanted in rats

By Estel Grace Masangkay

Bone marrow stem cells may help in stroke recovery, according to a team of researchers from the University of California, Irvines Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center.

Neurologist Dr. Steven Cramer and biomedical engineer Weian Zhao together analyzed 46 studies evaluating the use of a type of multipotent adult stem cells mostly processed from the bone marrow called mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in animal models of stroke. Results showed that MSCs were superior to control therapy in 44 out of the 46 studies.

Dr. Cramer said Stroke remains a major cause of disability, and we are encouraged that the preclinical evidence shows [MSCs] efficacy with ischemic stroke. MSCs are of particular interest because they come from bone marrow, which is readily available, and are relatively easy to culture. In addition, they already have demonstrated value when used to treat other human diseases.

The MSCs effect on functional recovery was shown to be robust regardless of other factors such as dosage, time of administration relative to the stroke onset, or administration method. An earlier report focusing on MSC mechanisms of action explained how the cells were attracted to the injury sites and began releasing a wide range of molecules in response to signals emitted by the damaged areas. The molecules in turn stimulate several activities including blood vessel creation for enhanced circulation, protection of vulnerable cells, brain cell growth, and others. The MSCs also fostered an environment conducive to brain repair.

We conclude that MSCs have consistently improved multiple outcome measures, with very large effect sizes, in a high number of animal studies and, therefore, that these findings should be the foundation of further studies on the use of MSCs in the treatment of ischemic stroke in humans, said Dr. Cramer.

The UCI teams analysis appeared in the April 8 issue of Neurology.

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UCI Team Discovers Bone Marrow Stem Cells' Potential In Stroke Recovery

Lumbar Disc Pain 10 months after stem cell treatment by Dr Harry Adelson
Bill discusses his outcome 10 months after having his L4/5, L5/S1 discs injected with bone marrow stem cells by Dr Harry Adelson http://www.docereclinics.com.

By: Harry Adelson, N.D.

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Lumbar Disc Pain 10 months after stem cell treatment by Dr Harry Adelson - Video