Free Press Lions beat writer Dave Birkett answers your Twitter questions in a video mailbag June 26, 2017, before summer vacation.

Detroit Lions linebacker Paul Worrilow with daughters Juliet, left, and Rowan, right.(Photo: Paul Worrilow)

Paul Worrilow has a great back story.

The veteran linebacker, who signed with the Lions in March, was undrafted out of Delaware.

He made the Atlanta Falcons, against all odds.

Cracked the starting lineup, against all odds.

Became the teams leading tackler, against all odds.

Stuck around for four seasons, against all odds.

But theres more.

Its a story about being selfless and thinking about others. Its a story that should be repeated, if only to inspire others to follow his lead.

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Detroit Lions CBs coach: Interceptions 'will come' for Darius Slay

And it started with a simple cheek swab.

Its so simple, Worrilow said.

When Worrilow was a sophomore at Delaware, he joined the Be The Match Foundation Registry, hoping to become a bone marrow donor.

Four months later, he was matched with a 23-year-old woman with leukemia.

Worrilow donated peripheral blood stem cells to the woman, although he doesnt know what happened to her. He doesnt know her name. He never has met her.

Its so simple, Worrilow said. They do a cheek swab. You get put in the database. If you match somebody, there are two ways to do it. You can donate actual bone marrow or do it like I did, peripheral blood stem cells.

Lions linebacker Paul Worrilow takes part in OTAs on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at the Allen Park practice facility.(Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press)

About one in 40 registry members will be called for additional testing.

About one in 300 will be selected as the best possible donor for a patient.

And about one in 430 on the registry go on to donate bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells.

Odds are, you never will be asked to donate.

But you just might give somebody hope.

Its so simple, Worrilow said. Its not painful. Its a small part of your time, to have a great impact, a tremendous impact on another person and their family. Its a no-brainer. You can have a great impact at such a small cost to yourself.

Worrilow is on a mission to let people know about it: The cool part about it is being able to share it (with people) who are ignorant to the process and their ability to help other people. Encouraging people. People who just dont know what Be The Match Foundation is. Or how you can help people with blood cancers, or how you can join.

Worrilow signed with the Lions during the off-season.

This team is tremendous, Worrilow said. The family-oriented vibe here. From the head coach, from the ownership on down, you can feel it. Its a family vibe. They look after you, care for you.

In June, during minicamp, Worrilow played weak-side linebacker. But he can also play in the middle.

Its going good, he said. There is a lot of competition. The team is great that way, pushing each other. Any action I can get on the field is exciting. When youre winning games, and everyones in here practicing hard, its just awesome.

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Worrilow has a track record for good tackling, but he has been criticized for his inability to cover.

If (the criticism) is there, its probably there for a reason, he said. Criticism, if it doesnt come from a bad place, it is probably warranted. And thats something I have to improve on. Thats with all parts of my game. I dont feel like I have played my best football yet.

Worrilow said he is adjusting to the Lions defense, making defensive calls.

Compared to the other places Ive played, there is a bigger volume of calls, he said. Thats something I like. Both linebackers do it. One guy has the indicator, but if you are not out there talking, you arent going to be out there.

And now, as he takes time off before training camp, he feels confident about himself and this team.

I dont feel like I could be in a better place, life-wise, work-wise, everything, he said. Its an encouraging place to come in and work every day. The linebacker group is awesome. Its young. Its competitive. Thats what you want.

So, this guy keeps breaking the odds.

Sticking in the NFL. And trying to use that platform to help others.

Trying to raise awareness.

Trying to encourage people to make a difference.

Trying to break the odds.

Help us, Detroit Lions: You are Detroit sports fans' only hope right now

For new Detroit Lions LB Paul Worrilow, dad duties come first

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel/.

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Detroit Lions' Paul Worrilow has beaten odds, inspires others to help - Detroit Free Press

AVERY Beal has seen more suffering in her three short years than many people see in a lifetime.

The plucky toddler was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in August 2014 and has been fighting for her life ever since.

In the last three years, she has lived through chemotherapy, stem cell transplants, and bone marrow transplants.

It's been a rough few years on the rest of the family too.

Avery's mum Jen has spent the last two and a half years living in between the Beal family home on the Sunshine Coast and Lady Cilento's Children Hospital in Brisbane to care for Avery's medical needs.

Dad David has cared for the couple's other five children on the Coast, working to support them while home schooling their autistic twins.

To top it all off, Mr Beal said the family was recently given no choice but to move house after their lease ended.

Despite the tumultuous last few years, the ordeal might finally be over for Avery - although she's still very high risk, doctors have deemed her well enough to come home.

"Avery's been doing really good," Mr Beal said.

"She managed to get transplant stem cells from a baby's (umbilical) cord from another country.

"She managed to get to day 100 after the transplant, which at that stage doctors were happy for Jen and Avery to come home."

Avery had a second bone marrow transplant in March after her first one failed to stimulate Avery's blood cells to create healthy cells instead of cancerous ones.

"We're feeling good but the challenge is that she's still so high risk," Mr Beal said.

"With children, they'll generally speaking only do two bone marrow transplants.

"If it does come back there is literally nothing they can do. They would just make her comfortable.

"At the moment, we have tests done on her bone marrow every month so see that she's still cancer free."

Yesterday Avery had her central line - a long, thin, flexible tube used to give medicines, fluids, nutrients, or blood transfusions -removed for the first time since her diagnosis in 2014.

The bubbly three-year-old will finally be able to go swimming - an experience that Avery has missed out on living on the Sunshine Coast.

Although the spritely tot has an 85% chance of relapsing, the family are confident that this is a good sign.

Despite all life has thrown at her, Avery is a happy child that lights up the lives of those around her.

"She's just incredible," Mr Beal said.

"It just amazes me over and over again how amazing she is on top of the treatments and the drugs; I think she's on eight different meds every morning and evening."

Mr Beal said the biggest hurdle the family currently face is the cost of Avery's multiple medications.

"She had a number on different things to get her body to a place for the transplant she's had in march," he said.

"Since then she's been on lots of different meds to make sure her body doesn't reject the transplant.

"For us finances are the biggest thing.

"Now that Avery is out of hospital we have to pay for medication and Jen's still having to do trips to Brisbane every week or fortnight"

To help the Beals visit http://www.facebook.com/averysupport.

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Glimmer of hope in Avery's heartbreaking cancer battle - The Sunshine Coast Daily

Honghao Zhang,1,2 Satoshi Komasa,1 Chiho Mashimo,3 Tohru Sekino,4 Joji Okazaki1

1Department of Removable Prosthodontics and Occlusion, Osaka Dental University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan; 2Department of Stomatology, Nanfang Hospital and College of Stomatology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; 3Department of Bacteriology, Osaka Dental University, Hirakata, 4The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan

Purpose: Alkali-treated titanium with nanonetwork structures (TNS) possesses good osteogenic activity; however, the resistance of this material to bacterial contamination remains inadequate. As such, TNS implants are prone to postoperative infection. In this work, we attempted to alter the biological properties of TNS by treatment with short-duration high-intensity ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Methods: TNS discs were treated with UV light (wavelength =254 nm, strength =100 mW/cm2) for 15 minutes using a UV-irradiation machine. We carried out a surface characterization and evaluated the discs for bacterial film formation, protein adsorption, and osteogenic features. Results: The superhydrophilicity and surface hydrocarbon elimination exhibited by the treated material (UV-treated titanium with a nanonetwork structure [UV-TNS]) revealed that this treatment effectively changed the surface characteristics of TNS. Notably, UV-TNS also showed reduced colonization by Actinomyces oris during an initial attachment period and inhibition of biofilm formation for up to 6 hours. Moreover, compared to conventional TNS, UV-TNS showed superior osteogenic activity as indicated by increased levels of adhesion, proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, osteogenic factor production, and osteogenesis-related gene expression by rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMMSCs). This inverse relationship between bacterial attachment and cell adhesion could be due to the presence of electronhole pairs induced by high-intensity UV treatment. Conclusion: We suggest that simple UV treatment has great clinical potential for TNS implants, as it promotes the osseointegration of the TNS while reducing bacterial contamination, and can be conducted chair-side immediately prior to implantation.

Keywords: implant, nanonetwork, postoperative infection, UV treatment, superhydrophilicity, osteointegration

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Effect of ultraviolet treatment on bacterial attachment and osteogenic activity to alkali-treated titanium with ... - Dove Medical Press

Fiona Geekie, a nurse from Croydon who is apractitioner for TheCentral London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, donated bone marrow to a person she had never met earlier this year.

According to Fiona (49), about 2,000 people in the UK require a bone marrow or stem cell transplant every year.

For most of them its their last chance of surviving blood cancer, she added.

The nurse, who is a member of the Merton enhanced rapid intervention team,described why she went on the register to donate through the Anthony Nolan Trust 15 years ago.

Three quarters cant find a matching donor in their family so rely upon the generosity of a complete stranger already on the bone marrow register. So I joined up, it was simple.

Last Christmas Fiona was called for blood tests as she was a possible match for someone.

I was surprised to be called in the first place and I must confess I was a little apprehensive, Fiona admitted.

However, she continued: But then I thought what if someone in my family needed a bone marrow transplant. Its the most fantastic gift you can give to total stranger.

After donating, Fiona said she felt quite emotional and wanted the recipient to get well again.

She concluded: Overall, it was a wonderful experience and I have no hesitation in recommending all young people aged 16-30 to consider joining the bone marrow donor register.

See the article here:
Nurse goes the extra mile and donates bone marrow to a complete stranger through the Anthony Nolan Trust - Sutton Guardian

The research studies carried out by John B. Gurdon (Anglo-Saxon) and Shinya Yamanaka (Japanese) were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. These two scientists are considered of being the fathers of cellular reprogramming. They have achieved to create cells that behave identically to embryonic cells, however, without having to destroy human embryos. The Swiss Academy declared that both Gurdon and Yamanaka have revolutionized the current knowledge of how cells and organisms are developed, which has led to the perfection of the absurd methods of diagnosis and therapy.

Jhon Bertrand Gurdon, professor of the Zoology Department of the University of Cambridge, admitted of feeling extremely honored for such a spectacular privilege.

Moreover, Shinya Yamanaka discovered the so called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which have the same proprieties of the embryonic ones and are able to turn into whatever other type of body cell. He asserted that he will continue to conduct research in order to contribute to society and medicine. For him that is a duty.

Yamanaka created four types of genes that supply cells with their pluripotentiality, in other words, the same capacity that embryonic stem cells have. If implanted in differentiated cells, for example of skin, they become pluripotent stem cells. The iPS supply a vast amount of plasticity just as embryonic stem cells do, however, without requiring the extermination or cloning of human embryos, since the initial cells can be obtained from the same patient. In this aspect, these cells have the same status as adult stem cells do, with the advantage of their versatility.

The dilema that has been stirred by the iPS is being resolved due to recent studies carried out by Leisuke Kaji (Universidad de Edimburgo) and Andreas Nagy (Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital of Toronto).

The created iPS perennially retain their pluripotentiality. There is still the need of research to be conducted concerning the control of the difference between these cells in order for them to create the tissue that is necessary for each case. As Kaji affirms in The Guardian, it is a step towards the practical use of reprogrammed cells in the field of medicine, which could eventually lead to eliminating the need of counting on human embryos as the main source of stem cells.

The Episcopal Subcommittee for the Family and Defense of Life of the Episcopal Conference, beliefs that no Catholic could support practices such as abortion, euthanasia or the production, freezing and/or manipulation of human embryos.

Clement Ferrer

Independent Forum of Opinion

http://indeforum.wordpress.com/

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The Gilmer Mirror - Hurray for Gurdon and Yamanaka Nobel Prize ... - Gilmer Mirror

We treated a 9-month old child affected by caudal regression syndrome (CRS) as we treat patients with spinal cord injuries. His spinal cord had been interrupted during fetal development at the L2-L3 level, therefore no innervation (sensitive or motor) existed beyond this level: flaccid paraplegia of inferior limbs and clubfoot, and neurogenic bladder and bowel. Moreover, there was sacral agenesis and right renal agenesis.

Treatment consisted in Growth Hormone (GH) administration plus two daily sessions of specific physiotherapy. GH treatment was given 5 days/week during 3-months followed by 15-days without GH administration; this protocol was repeated during 5 years, being GH doses periodically adjusted to the weight of the patient.

Changes observed in the child were assessed by carrying out the GMFM-88 test and evaluating sensitive and motor ASIA scores. GMFM-88 score at admission was 12.31%, while sensitive ASIA score was 168, and motor ASIA score was 50. Sensitive innervation began to appear quite earlier than motor innervation and reached the maximum ASIA score (224) two years after the treatment commenced. At this time a pelvic floor therapy was added (1 session/week) to rehabilitation. One year later the patient began to walk with crutches; then melatonin was given, at a daily dose of 50 mg (before going to bed) for counteracting the increased production of oxygen free radicals due to the physical effort induced by walking without the support of sacrum and the existence of hip luxation.

Five years after the treatment commenced the GMFM-88 test reached a score of 78.38% (maximum value: 100), while ASIA motor score was 84 (maximum value: 100). Full control of sphincters has been achieved.

To our knowledge this is the first case in which highly significant improvements have been obtained in this syndrome, until now considered to be irreversible. Most likely the early treatment with GH and rehabilitation was the factor responsable for the improvements observed. Since GH has been the only variable we introduced with regard to usual rehabilitation therapies, we think that the hormone induced the proliferation and differentiation of SC ependymal stem cells that led to the formation of a net of new specific nervous connections (perhaps arising from the last existing spinal nerve), although only a tractography may explain what was the origin of the new innervation, since the last MRI study performed when the child was 5-years old did not reveal any change in the vertebral columna and SC with regard to the first MRI study (7-days old). No adverse effects were observed during the treatent with GH and melatonin. Figure 1.3D reconstruction of a CT-SCAN. Age 4-years. It can be seen where the SC interrupted its development (hypoplastic L3), the existence of sacral agenesis, the articulation of iliac bones and the rotation of the left hip. Figure 2. 3-months after the treatment began. Note the abnormal position of the legs and feet. The child only could move his arms and trunk. Figure 3.1 year of treatment. Note the position of his feet. Sensitivity existed but he only could move by crawling with his arms and trunk.

Figure 4.After 2-years of treatment full sensitivity existed. In the image the child is signaling where he had been touched (his eyes were covered with a pillow.

Figure 5.4-years of treatment. The child is able to make plantar flexion (against resistence) and dorsiflexion (not showed) with both feet.

Figure 6.5-years of treatment. The child is able to get up from the floor and keep standing with arms outstretched.

Written By:Jess Devesa, MD, PhD,Scientific Direction, Medical Center Foltra, 15886 Teo, Spain

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Growth Hormone and Rehabilitation Promoted Distal Innervation in a Child Affected by Caudal Regression Syndrome ... - UroToday

Expedition 52 explored the aging process in space today and measured the lighting conditions on the International Space Station. The crew is also getting spacesuits ready for an upcoming Russian spacewalk.

Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson swapped out stem cell samples today inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Cardiac Stem Cells study. The experiment is researching spaceflights effect on accelerated aging and may provide a treatment for heart disease on Earth. Scientists are observing the stem cells in space to determine their role in cardiac biology and effectiveness in tissue regeneration.

Whitson also set up light meters to measure the intensity and color of new LED (light-emitting diode) light bulbs installed in the station. The data is being collected for the Lighting Effects study to determine how the new lights affect crew sleep, circadian rhythms and cognitive performance.

NASA astronaut Jack Fischer checked out Russian Orlan spacesuits with Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin this morning. The spacesuit maintenance work is doing being done ahead of a Russian spacewalk planned for later this year.

Read more from the original source:
Aging and Heart Research Lead Station Science Today - Space Fellowship

Today the Charlotte Lozier Institute announced the release of its latest testimonial video at StemCellResearchFacts.org, a project of the Washington, D.C.-based research and policy group. The video revisits Jackie Stollfus, a lupus survivor whose story was first told in a video released in 2014.

Diagnosed at the age of 21 with systemic lupus, an autoimmune disease with no known cure, Stollfus endured years of debilitating symptoms that did not respond to medication before undergoing a transplant of her own bone marrow stem cells. Seven years later, she is healthy, active, and has been able to start a family. Adult stem cells saved my life, gave me a chance to have a life, gave me that chance to be a mom, she says.

Dr. David Prentice, Vice President and Research Director of the Charlotte Lozier Institute and an international expert on stem cells, hailed the new video, saying:

Follow LifeNews.com on Instagram for pro-life pictures.

Autoimmune diseases are notoriously challenging to treat, which makes Jackie Stollfuss recovery that much more striking. As this video shows, adult stem cells are the gold standard for stem cells when it comes to patient-centered science. Jackies story is only the latest example of innovation using adult stem cells. These non-controversial cells have led to validated healing in FDA-approved studies and peer-reviewed publications for patients with various diseases and conditions. Derived from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, and other ethical sources, they have already been used to help over one million suffering patients around the globe.

Charlotte Lozier Institute President Chuck Donovan praised Congressional efforts to prioritize NIH funding for the most promising research:

The initial successes for these innovative therapies must be followed up with expanded resources to bring more treatments to the clinic and the bedside. The bipartisan, aptly-named Patients First Act (H.R. 2918) introduced by Rep. Jim Banks and Rep. Dan Lipinski is a good example of how policymakers can advance cutting-edge medicine. It directs resources for stem cells where they will do the most good for patients.

StemCellResearchFacts.org, a project of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, was established in 2009 to facilitate and form a worldwide community dedicated to helping individuals, patients and families discover, learn and share the latest advances in adult stem cell research. To that end, the website has published 16 video testimonials backed by peer-reviewed published science. These testimonials feature patients who have undergone successful therapies for a variety of conditions including autoimmune diseases, cancer, spinal cord injury, heart disease, and more using adult stem cells. They also convey the testimony of doctors and researchers on the merits of these treatments.

Continued here:
Adult Stem Cells Save Woman Ravaged by Lupus, Now She Can be a Mom - LifeNews.com

Regulatory News:

Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS; Nasdaq: CLLS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing immunotherapies based on gene-edited CAR T-cells (UCART), announced today the first administration in the Phase I clinical study in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) for its investigational product UCART123, one of the Companys wholly-controlled TALEN gene-edited product candidates. This marks the first allogeneic, "off-the-shelf gene-edited CAR T-cell product candidate targeting CD123 to be investigated in clinical trials.

This clinical research in AML is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Gail J. Roboz, Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and Director of the Clinical and Translational Leukemia Programs at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

The clinical trial will investigate the safety and efficacy of UCART123 in patients with AML. AML is a devastating clonal hematopoietic stem cell neoplasm which is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation and accumulation of leukemic blasts in bone marrow, peripheral blood and, occasionally, in other tissues. These cells disrupt normal hematopoiesis and rapidly cause bone marrow failure. In the U.S., there are an estimated 19,950 new AML cases per year, with 10,430 estimated deaths per year. While complete response rates can be as high as 80 percent in younger patients who undergo initial induction cytotoxic chemotherapy, the majority of AML patients relapse and die from the disease. AML patients with high-risk genetic features have an especially urgent unmet medical need, as their outcomes are dismal with all existing treatment modalities, including allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

"After being granted rapid approval from Regulatory Authorities and Institutional Review Boards to initiate UCART123 studies, the enrollment and treatment of the first patient represents a major milestone for Cellectis, and we are eager to hit the ground running with the recruitment of our first patient for our second UCART123 Phase I study in BPDCN soon, said Dr. Loan Hoang-Sayag, Cellectis Chief Medical Officer. "This first program targeting CD123 will be a paradigm shift for our Company, as it will provide a wealth of valuable additional knowledge and data to drive our gene-edited allogeneic CAR T-cell platform.

"We are excited to be enrolling our first patient with UCART123 and are hopeful that this novel immunotherapy modality will prove to be a significant and effective weapon against AML, said Dr. Roboz.

The clinical trial is part of a strategic translational research alliance that was formed between Cellectis and Weill Cornell Medicine in 2015. Dr. Monica Guzman, an associate professor of pharmacology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, is co-principal investigator whose work focuses on preclinical and early-stage testing to optimize the development of stem cell-targeted cancer drugs.

About Cellectis

Cellectis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a new generation of cancer immunotherapies based on gene-edited T-cells (UCART). By capitalizing on its 17 years of expertise in gene editing built on its flagship TALEN technology and pioneering electroporation system PulseAgile Cellectis uses the power of the immune system to target and eradicate cancer cells.

Using its life-science-focused, pioneering genome engineering technologies, Cellectis goal is to create innovative products in multiple fields and with various target markets.

Cellectis is listed on the Nasdaq market (ticker: CLLS) and on the NYSE Alternext market (ticker: ALCLS). To find out more about us, visit our website: http://www.cellectis.com

Talking about gene editing? We do it. TALEN is a registered trademark owned by the Cellectis Group.

Disclaimer

This press release contains "forward-looking statements that are based on our managements current expectations and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that the preliminary results from our product candidates will not continue or be repeated, the risk of not maintaining regulatory approval to pursue UCART123 clinical trials, the risk of not obtaining regulatory approvals to commence clinical studies on UCART123 in other countries or on other UCART product candidates, the risk that any one or more of our product candidates will not be successfully developed and commercialized. Further information on the risks factors that may affect company business and financial performance, is included in filings Cellectis makes with the Security Exchange Commission from time to time and its financial reports. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170627006309/en/

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First in Human Administration of UCART123 in Cellectis' AML Phase I Clinical Trial at Weill Cornell Medicine ... - Markets Insider

A Winnipeg toddlerwith acute myeloid leukemia has died after hundreds came forward to register as donors in an effort to help him.

After being diagnosed with the disease on Oct. 25, 20-month-old Tegveer Minhaswent through two rounds of chemotherapy, losing his hair and a lot of weight.

During that time, his family put out calls to the public to come forward and register bone marrow and stem cell information, in hopes that someone would be a match.

Hundreds of people in Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta were swabbed, and Tegveer got a stem cell donation, but his dad said it didn't work.

"After eight months of struggle, he passed away on June 18, early in the morning at 6 a.m.," said his dad,Sukhbir Minhas.

Minhas saidhis family is trying to stay strong, but they are having a hard time.

"He was a happy soul. He loved to go out. We took him to Clear Lake on June 4, and I wish I knew that he would love it so much. We were planning to go back again," Minhas said.

The hundreds of strangers who registered as donors, prayed for and even phoned the family to offer supportmeant the world to Minhas and his wife, he said.

"There was a time in the hospital, it was in January I think, we were so sure that my son's going to be all right, because it's just not me and my wife, it's thousands of other people who are praying for him," he said.

He urged people, especially young people aged 18 to 35, to register as donors to help other families.

"I respect every person from the bottom of my heart who went and got themselves swabbed, and even those who just had a thought of going and get themselves swabbed. That means they care for my son as I and my wife," he said.

"It feels a little better than if there was nobody for us."

Original post:
'He was a fighter,' says father after toddler dies of leukemia - CBC.ca

Jonathan Pitre is a teenager who loves to write science fiction as an escape from the painful disease that causes his body to be coated with wounds.

But the breakthrough bone-marrow transplant he just received at the University of Minnesota is anything but fantasy.

A decade after performing the worlds first bone marrow transplants to treat epidermolysis bullosa a rare and potentially fatal skin disease university researchers believe they have discovered a powerhouse new formula that advances their research, helps the body grow new skin and will allow patients such as Pitre, 17, to live longer, less painful lives.

Its really not miraculous. It certainly isnt science fiction, said Dr. Jakub Tolar, director of the Us stem cell institute and the world leader in transplant therapies for EB. Its based on the hard work of our predecessors. You accomplish something and then you use that knowledge to enhance the next step and the next step.

When they conducted the first transplants using donor bone marrow and umbilical cord blood in 2007, Tolar and colleagues were trying to produce a collagen that binds skin together and is lacking in EB patients. But they had little certainty about the types of cells that would work best.

Since then, research discoveries have allowed them to home in on mesenchymal stem cells, which they believe are uniquely good at bullying their way into the body and producing the missing collagen.

This is the first time ever, that I know of, when you are infusing them with the goal that these cells will stay, Tolar said. They will graft into the skin, set up shop there. Its as if these mesenchymal stem cells are coming home.

The doctors have also focused on transplants involving bone marrow from relatives, which is more familiar to the body and less likely to be rejected by the recipients.

A transplant like Jonathans occurs in a one-two punch. After receiving radiation and chemotherapy treatments to suppress the immune system, the patient receives an infusion of hematopoietic blood stem cells from a donor. Their job in this procedure is to give the patient a new immune system that wont reject the donors mesenchymal cells when they are transplanted later.

Since the U received federal approval last fall to offer the treatment experimentally, seven patients have undergone the procedure.

Tolar said all seven are progressing though Jonathan needed a second transplant this spring because the first one failed to knock out his old immune system.

Jonathan suffered an infection after his most recent transplant, which forced him to return to the hospital this month with high fevers and blisters on his face and mouth. Even so, Jonathans mother, Tina Boileau, said she has been taking pictures since the latest transplant to document the progress for her son, whose back is covered with wounds but for a healthy spot on his right shoulder blade.

Theyre actually in scabs, a sign of healing, said Boileau, who was the bone marrow donor for her sons transplant. Which Ive never seen before.

10 patients died

EB afflicts about one in every 30,000 to 50,000 people, though some forms are more severe than others. While it is known largely for the grotesque skin wounds it causes, the disease is often fatal because it leads to severe infections or skin cancers. It can also create internal wounds to the patients digestive tract, which impairs eating.

The desperation of children with the disorder and their families compelled the first transplants at the university in 2007. Even using the old approach, about two-thirds of patients saw improvements, but 10 of the first 30 recipients died from their diseases or complications of treatment.

The Us latest success with mesenchymal stem cells might end up being an incremental step. Earlier this year, Tolar and his colleagues published research showing success in an even more advanced therapy: laboratory testing using gene editing that can reprogram the patients cells to produce healthy skin cells and tissue.

Further successes could lead to clinical trials in which a patients own dysfunctional cells would be reprogrammed, preventing the need for chemotherapy and the replacement of their immune systems.

Before they came to the U, Boileau said, her son had run out of options. Managing his pain, once possible with over-the-counter Advil, had come to require opioid painkillers such as methadone. That made him groggy and complicated his already awkward life at school back home in Ottawa. Jonathan wasnt even able to eat lunch in the school cafeteria for fear of being accidentally bumped and suffering fresh wounds.

Then the Canadian government approved funding to make him his countrys first recipient of an experimental bone marrow transplant for EB. And his home community rallied to support the family. Among other things, he has visited with pro hockey players from the Ottawa Senators, which also issued a contract adding him to their scout staff.

After seeing the pain her son has endured, Boileau said shell never complain about a blister from new shoes. She marvels at his optimism and his use of science fiction reading and writing to escape.

Inspired by the success of Christopher Paolini, who wrote the acclaimed Eragon science fiction novel as a teen, Jonathan has resolved to write his own science fiction book about a teen who develops the ability to overcome EB. The project resulted in long visits and e-mail exchanges between Tolar and his patient about medicine and physics, because Jonathan wants his story grounded in reality.

Theyre almost soul mates, Boileau said.

Tolar said he enjoys the intellectual relationship and that his patient is providing an example of hope and teaching others about the disease: He may be the only person [who] can bring this kind of view to others, Tolar said.

Original post:
U team discovers 'powerhouse' new treatment in fight against deadly skin disease - Southernminn.com

In the future, when a couple wants to reproduce, they will not make a baby in a bed or in the backseat or a car, or under a Keep Off the Grass sign, says Henry Greely, the director of the Center for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford Law School.

Instead, they will go to a clinic. Using stem cells from the couples skin or other non-reproductive organs, scientists will be able to make eggs and sperm, which will be combined into embryos. Each of those embryos will have its own gene sequence, Greely says. The parents will be asked: What do you want to know about these embryos? And theyll be told.

Twenty or 30 years from now, parents will be able to screen their potential kids for genetic abnormalities, pre-disposal to disease, sex, and even cosmetic features like hair, eye, and skin color, Greely claims. The new way of baby-making will save women the pain of going through fertility treatments, he says, and it will prevent disease, save health-care costs, and give non-traditional families more chances to have children. If this reproductive future comes to pass, it will also come with a tangle of moral, legal, and medical questionsones that wont be easy to resolve, despite what Greely may think.

When Greely tells people about his theorywhich is the subject of his 2016 book, The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproductionthey tend to say, This is Gattica, or this is Brave New World, he said during an interview with the New York Times reporter Carl Zimmer on Monday at the Aspen Ideas Festival, which is co-hosted by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic. Greely is skeptical of this argument. This is not designer babies. This is not super babies. This is selecting embryos, he said.

Greely gets some of his confidence from the limits of science. Geneticists likely wont be able to predict kids behavioral traits, he said, like their aptitude for math or agility on a sports field. But they may be able to anticipate some traits, like intelligence, in broad strokes. Being able to tell parents that this embryo has a 60 percent chance of being in the top half [of their school class], this embryo has a 13 percent chance of being in the top 10 percentI think thats really possible, he said.

Scientists have been screening embryos using a process called preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, for two and half decades, Greely said. This allows for the detection of some genetic diseases, as well as determining the sex of the embryo. Up until now, it has been expensive and arduous, but with new technologyincluding the expanded use of stem cellsit will become easy, he said. The people most likely to lead the way on easy PGD are those with fertility trouble, he argues, or those who cant have their own biological kids, including same-sex couples. For these people, the process seems to be a clear potential win: Once hopeless, they may soon be able to have biological children of their own.

But if the process does indeed advance in the way Greely predicts, it will come with big ethical challenges. Safety is a big issue, he said. Coercion is a big issue: Will you be forced to do this? No matter how easy PGD becomes, it will always be expensive, meaning that babies from rich families would gain even more advantages over other people before they leave the womb. The procedure also challenges the disability-rights movement, Greely pointed out: It implicitly suggests that some traits, and thus some people, are preferable to others.

Theres very little about our modern lives that a God from 3000 years ago would have expected.

Some critics may also claim this process is against Gods will, Greely added. I dont have a lot of confidence in the intellectual strength of that argument, but I think it has a lot of visceral support.

Despite Greelys skepticism, this seems to be the greatest potential objection to a world of skin-cell babies and intensive genetic screening: It assumes that the creation of life is a matter of pipettes and petri dishes, not something greater. While the widespread use of contraceptives has largely divorced sex from procreation, this process would represent the final severing. As Greely pointed out, the very meaning of sex would change. Most people have sex and it doesnt result in a baby, he said. They do it because they like it. They do it as a token of love. They do it because theyre forced to. They do it to make money. Pleasure, ultimately, will be a main driver of sex, he added.

For the many peoplereligious or notwho believe that life is not ultimately a matter of science, the world of easy PGD may seem disorienting, even morally disturbing. But Greely didnt think religious or moral arguments could persuade someone like him, or society more broadly, that easy PGD isnt a good idea.

If you, coming from a Catholic background, try to convince me, coming from a non-Catholic background ... that wouldnt work for me, he said. I need a more intellectual argument than one based on my faith or the tablets brought down from the mountain for me say this. Theres very little about our modern lives thats natural or what a God from 3000 years ago would have expected or wanted, including all of modern medicine.

As head-spinning as these theoretical ethical challenges are, perhaps easy PGD wont be as common as Greely thinks. After all, he joked, were never going to get rid of teenagers in the back seat of a car.

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Making Babies, No Sex Necessary - The Atlantic

Important pieces of the puzzle to understand what drives diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are still missing today. One crucial obstacle for researchers is that it is impossible to examine a living brain cell in someone who is affected by the disease. With the help of a new method for cell conversion, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have found a way to produce diseased, aging brain cells on a large scale in a cell culture dish.

After performing a biopsy on the patient, the skin cells are transformed into brain cells that effectively imitate the disease and the age of the patient. The fact that the cells can now be produced in large quantities enables researchers to carry out a series of experiments that were previously not possible.

A few years ago, Malin Parmar's research team was one of the first in the world to convert human skin cells directly into brain cells without passing the stem cell state. The discovery shocked the researchers and was perceived as almost impossible. The team is now approaching a point where the discovery is about to bear fruit on a wide scale. By following a new method that involves slightly changing the genetic code that triggers cell conversion, the researchers were able to multiply the production of disease-specific brain cells.

"Primarily, we inhibited a protein, REST, involved in establishing identity in cells that are not nerve cells. After limiting this protein's impact in the cells during the conversion process, we've seen completely different results. Since then, we've been playing around with changing the dosage of the other components in the previous method, which also proved effective. Overall, the efficiency is remarkable. We can now generate almost unlimited amounts of neurons from one skin biopsy", says Malin Parmar, professor of developmental and regenerative neurobiology at Lund University.

The increase in production will have far-reaching effects. The new volumes enable research projects that were simply not viable before. Among other things, it opens up research areas linked to new drug testing, the establishment of more accurate disease models and the development of diagnostics to detect the diseases at an earlier stage.

The new cells are not only able to imitate the disease but also the patient's age. By studying the cell in the culture dish, the researchers can now monitor the mechanisms of the disease in an "old" brain cell over time. Neurodegenerative diseases are commonly referred to as "aging brain diseases" and in order to understand them, we must better appreciate how the age specifically affects the course of the disease. The Lund researchers' discovery can hopefully contribute a crucial piece to the puzzle with regard to the connection between the onset of disease and cell aging, something which previous research based on animal experiments and stem cells has failed to provide.

"This takes us one step closer to reality, as we can now look inside the human neurons and see what goes on inside the cell in these diseases. If all goes well, this could fundamentally change the field of research, as it helps us better understand the real mechanisms of the disease. We believe that many laboratories around the world would like to start testing on these cells to get closer to the diseases", says Johan Jakobsson, leader of the molecular neurogenetics research group at Lund University.

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Large-scale Production of Living Brain Cells Enables Entirely New Research - Laboratory Equipment

The times, they are a-changing.

Since Gregor Mendel unwittingly became the father of genetics by writing down his botanical observations, we have been progressing along swimmingly in our understanding and application of biology.

In the past few years, we ourselves have made some measured leaps forward in the field of biotechnology, some small someless so. Yet with the monumental achievements we have made thus-far from the advent of vaccines to our understanding of how our bodies age and degenerate, we have yet to make that quantum leap forward. That quantum leap may itself not be that far off and if anything is a good indicator of that its observable in the nature of the biotech we are currently developing.

With any huge leap forward, however, come new challenges and a slew of new questions that desperately need to be answered.

This next step in our journey isnt quite like when we eradicated major diseases or began transplanting organs because it isnt about extending human life a mere few additional years. We are taking about a doubling in the years a human may live. Thats right, double.

Now, before you write this off as sci-fi or wishful thinking, let me walk you through exactly what breakthroughs are currently occurring. It all has to do with CRISPR gene-line editing and 3-dimensional printing.

We are at the point where we can take normal somatic cells like the ones from your skin, coax them back into stem cells then re-engineer them into just about any type of cells we want. This means shortly we will be able to take skin cells and make them into heart tissue, or liver, or pancreatic or any number of different ones.

Next, the advances in 3-dimensional printing may shortly be able to take your newly minted cells and print them onto a blank scaffolding in the shape of just about any organ you may need.

Think of that: if you need a new heart it could be as simple as scratching some skin from your arm, reprogramming the cells and then printing you a whole new organ. Not a transplant from a donor, your own cells. This means no rejection and no waitlists. When an organ fails we replace it, again and again and again.

What is to become of a human race that is capable of living seemingly without end? This brings up some serious questions that would have to be answered quickly.

For starters, we see that the current population growth of our species is unsupportable as we resist green energies and advanced farming methods. If humans were to begin to live twice as long or longer we must figure out what we are going to do.

Now the radicals would suggest we simply control the populations but I dont believe that is necessary or even morally right. All we must do is increase our carrying capacity. I must admit that was not my own musing but one my father suggested to me.

If we are able to increase how much food and energy we produce without damaging the planet there is virtually no limit to how many humans can live at once. But the question is, will we resist it as we are now? Will the prospect of living healthily well over a century spur us to begin to accept scientific consensus? Or will we continue down our current path of selfishness and greed? Only time will tell.

Excerpt from:
Is doubling our life span desirable? - Price Sun Advocate

One of the coolest things about working in the beauty industry is being in the know and having the ability to tell readers, friends and family about a new product or brand that really works the way it claims. When Beauty Pie, the self-professed Buyers Club for Beauty Addicts came onto the scene and the cosmetic line was just as good as it promised, it was an exciting discovery. Most luxury beauty products retail for about 10x what they actually cost to make, is one of Beauty Pies mantras, and now the "Netflix of Beauty" is out to revolutionize the skin carebuying process the same way it did with makeup when it launched six months ago.

You May Also Like: I Tried the Netflix of Beauty and the $2$4 Products Are Totally Legit

The digital-only, UK-based brand was started by Marcia Kilgore, founder of other notable brands like Bliss Spa and Soap & Glory, so its no wonder that the membership club has now ventured into skin care, too. Now, a monthly membership of just $10 allows you to not only buy high-quality $7 foundations, $3 mascaras and $5 lipsticks, but you can also get all of your skin care needs meet for less than $13.

For the launch of its new skin care line, Beauty Pie has tapped the best Swiss suppliers and leading cosmetic chemists to create a line with ingredients and formulations that rival high-end luxury brands. The 11 newly released products range from the hydrating Swiss-Korean Jeju Daily Antioxidant Superinfusion Essence Serum ($8 for members/ $80 for nonmembers) and the creamy Double-Phase Daily Deep Rinse-Off Cleanser ($5 for members/ $32 for nonmembers) to a Fruitzyme Five Minute Facial ($6 for members/ $60 for nonmembers).

With ingredients like kiwiberry stem cells, meadowfoam seed oils, pomegranate enzymes and oil-absorbing kaolin clay, were excited to try the serums, masks, moisturizer, cleanser and eye cream and judge for ourselves whether the products stand up to their makeup counterparts. Beauty Pie's concept of luxury products at factory prices is a concept that will never get old and one worthy of throuougly exploring.

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$5 High-Quality Skin Care ExistsHere's the Proof - NewBeauty Magazine (blog)

If youve ever been concerned about hair loss in the past, this could be your lucky day. A new experiment carried out by Michael Rosenblum, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of California has proved just how useful regulatory T cells (tregs) are when it comes to hair loss. Previously scientists were led to believe that these cells single task was to inform other cells when to attack. However, what Rosenblum discovered when he shaved the mouse he was experimenting on, he noticed that the hair never grew back.

From the study, Rosenblum and team discovered that tregs in the skin had high levels of Jagged 1 (Jag1) which has the duty of calling in the stem cells through a process called Notch signaling. Removing the tregs reduced the notch signaling and when Jag1 was added the stem cells were called which then activated the process of follicle regeneration.

This study will be of particular interest to one type of hair loss sufferer: those with alopecia areata. This is an autoimmune disease that impedes hair follicle regeneration and affects as many as 1.7 percents of the U.S. population. Until now, very little has been known about what causes hair loss, but this research will give doctors and scientists everywhere new direction and a potential cure.

As well as hair regeneration, this process could be used to correct other skin related problems such as wound repair. What we found here is that stem cells, and immune cells have to work together to make regeneration possible, says Rosenblum. So dont despair if youre losing your hair, help is on the way!

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Say Goodbye to Hair Loss and Hello to Body Regeneration - TrendinTech

Minneapolis, MN, June 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioSig Technologies, Inc.(OTCQB:BSGM), a medical device company developing a proprietary platform designed to address an unmet technology need for the $4+ billion electrophysiology (EP) marketplace, today announced that the American Heart Associations 13thAnnualBasic Cardiovascular Sciences (BCVS) 2017 Scientific Sessions: Pathways to Cardiovascular Therapeuticshas accepted two abstracts for presentation that feature novel preclinical findings with BioSigs PURE EP System. The conference will be held July 10-13 in Portland, Oregon and includes the next best thing in cardiovascular research.

The abstracts, entitled, Use of a Novel Electrogram Filter to Visualize the Conduction Tissue Signals in the Ventricle in Sinus Rhythm and Arrhythmia: Canine Studies and "Assessment of Catheter Position Above or Below the Aortic Valve by Evaluation of Characteristics of the Electrogram: An Acute Canine Study", werewritten in collaboration with electrophysiologists from Mayo Clinic and will be presented during scientific poster sessions from 4:30pm 7pm on July 10 and 12, respectively.

BioSig is extremely pleased to have two abstracts, featuring our PURE EP System, accepted into the Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Conference sponsored by the American Heart Association, stated Mr. Ken Londoner, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of BioSig Technologies. Our collaboration with Mayo Clinic physicians has resulted in seven publications to date featuring BioSigs platform technology. And, we intend to strive towards improving visualization of cardiac signal information during EP procedures to help bring benefits to those patients who suffer with, and doctors who treat, arrhythmia.

About the Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Conference

The 13th Annual BCVS 2017 Scientific Sessions: Pathways to Cardiovascular Therapeutics has become the premier conference for molecular cardiovascular biology and disease. Sponsored by the American Heart Association Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Council, the worlds leading organization of cardiovascular scientists, this conference strives to improve basic cardiovascular regulation through new therapies and insights in cardiovascular disease, as well as research in fields like microRNAs, cardiac gene and cell therapy, cardiac development, as well as tissue engineering and iPS cells.

BCVS 2017 convenes basic and translational cardiovascular scientists from around the world with the common goal to discover pathways to cardiovascular therapeutics and promoting cardiovascular health. This meeting has become the go to meeting for intra- and interdisciplinary cross-fertilization of ideas and incorporation of new approaches from the general scientific community and plays a pivotal role in the training of junior scientists and trainees. The program includes a diversity of speakers representing the best cardiovascular scientists from around the world.

About BioSig Technologies

BioSig Technologies is a medical device company developing a proprietary technology platform designed to improve the $4+ billion electrophysiology (EP) marketplace ( http://www.biosigtech.com). Led by a proven management team and a veteran, independent Board of Directors, Minneapolis-based BioSig Technologies is preparing to commercialize its PURE EP(TM) System. The technology has been developed to address an unmet need in a large and growing market.

The PURE EP System is a novel cardiac signal acquisition and display system which is engineered to assist electrophysiologists in clinical decision making during procedures to diagnose and treat patients with abnormal heart rates and rhythms. BioSigs main goal is to deliver technology to improve upon catheter ablation treatments for prevalent and deadly arrhythmias. BioSig has partnered with Minnetronix on technology development and is working toward FDA 510(k) clearance and CE Mark for the PURE EP System.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements may be preceded by the words intends, may, will, plans, expects, anticipates, projects, predicts, estimates, aims, believes, hopes, potential or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys control, and cannot be predicted or quantified

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Novel Findings Obtained with the PURE EP System to be Presented at American Heart Association's BCVS Scientific ... - Cardiovascular Business

Ottawa Sun

Jonathan Pitre still ailing as doctors search for answers Ottawa Sun Pitre checked back into hospital earlier this month just three days after being released following a stem cell transplant that had successfully taken root in his bone marrow. Bone marrow stem cells produce most of the body's blood cells, and are ... and more »

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Jonathan Pitre still ailing as doctors search for answers - Ottawa Sun

Hot air: Triona McCarthy on how to smeel good

Independent.ie

Want to smell good, look good, and feel fantastic? The scentsational Triona McCarthy shows us her weekly round-up of lotions and potions to keep you looking hawt!

http://www.independent.ie/life/hot-air-triona-mccarthy-on-how-to-smeel-good-35845624.html

http://www.independent.ie/incoming/article35592585.ece/c3491/AUTOCROP/h342/mg%20Trionna.jpg

Want to smell good, look good, and feel fantastic? The scentsational Triona McCarthy shows us her weekly round-up of lotions and potions to keep you looking hawt!

Created by an Irish female natural beauty entrepreneur, YourBeautyTonic has everything your skin needs to boost beauty. Its key ingredients, collagen and hyaluronic acid, are the building blocks of youthful skin, and it also contains vitamins and minerals.

YourBeautyTonic, above, costs 59.95 for 30 days' supply, and is available from independent health stores, selected pharmacies and online at yourtonic.com

WAX ON, WAX OFF...

I'm off to Inchydoney, in west Cork this weekend, so I'm waxed.

The gals at Brazilia are so profesh, and they make the waxing experience so easy, painless, and, actually, almost pleasurable.

I don't know if I'm quite ready to rock a teeny-weny little bikini like Emily Ratajkowski, above, but you never know!

Brazilia, 50 South William St, D2, tel: (01) 675-0000; 4 Sandyford Office Park, D18, tel: (01) 293-4858, or see brazilia.ie

LET US SPRAY

Image PREVENTION + Pure Mineral Sunscreen Spray 30+ SPF, below, 47.50, is so quick and effective. Before walking Maxi and Mini to Montessori in the morning, I cleanse and moisturise my face, and spray on this ultra-lightweight, anti-pollution, anti-aging, pure mineral sunscreen spray with superior UVA/UVB and infrared protection.

Infused with antioxidants and plant stem cells, it nourishes and hydrates my skin with organic ingredients, including jojoba and sweet almond oil - and, best of all, it's free of parabens and chemicals.

TRIONA'S TRICK

We have my kiddies, Maxi and Mini, to thank for this week's beauty trick. If, like me, you don't like your Beauty Blender sponge getting all grubby in the bottom of your make-up bag, simply pop it into an empty Kinder Egg container to protect it!

CULT PRODUCT

Inspired by Poppy Delevingne's wedding make-up, this Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look In A Palette, above, 69, in Beauty Glow, is perfect for popping in your purse for on the go - goof-proof glam, as it has everything a gal needs to get gorgeous.

This is the fourth versh released, and definitely my fave, as the rose-gold and bronze tones are darker and more dramatic. I found the previous versions a bit too wishy-washy colour-wise, whereas this slays.

TRIONA'S TOP TIP

'Summer lovin' had me a blast,

Summer lovin' happened so fast'

I love a bit of Grease, but not on my head!

However, if like me, you have long hair and it's leaving you hot and bothered this summer, why not try a chic model-off-duty topknot.

Kate Moss pulls this look off so well, making it look stylish and hot, yet so nice and cool, as the hair's up and off your neck.

Best of all, a high bun has a cheekbone-lifting effect, so it's a win-win.

Slick your hair back with Shockwaves Ultra Strong Power Hold Gel, above, 2.50, which also helps fight frizzy fine hairs around your forehead, making you look hot in a good way!

If you're hitting the beach, make sure to layer this Philip Kingsley Sun Shield, below, 30, marksandspencer.ie, as hair can burn just like the skin when it's left unprotected.

This super-lightweight nourishing mist provides an invisible shield of protection over the hair. I always make sure I have it in my beach bag for myself and Will and the kids.

Best of all, it guards against colour fade from sun exposure, and diminishes damage and dryness caused by UV rays, chlorine and salt water.

'Summer days driftin' away, to uh-oh those summer nights'

Sunday Independent

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Hot air: Triona McCarthy on how to smeel good - Independent.ie

When Shannon DeAndrea saw a knot on her 18-month-old sons head last July, she thought he had just fallen.

But more popped up and wouldnt go away. He also began feeling sick.

I finally decided he needed to see a pediatrician, said DeAndrea, who lives in Blairs.

She was told he had ear infections and her son, Nathan, was put on rounds of antibiotics. The knots were normal, she was told.

Another medical provider said he looked anemic. Blood work revealed his hemoglobin was dangerously low.

We ended up in the ER, DeAndrea said. They couldnt figure out why he was anemic.

Shannon and Nathan were sent to Roanoke, where he was diagnosed with a stage 4 neuroblastoma on Aug. 23. He had a tumor in his abdomen that spread to his bone marrow. He had spots on his skull, ribs and spine.

Neuroblastomas are cancers that begin in early nerve cells of the sympathetic nervous system, according to the American Cancer Society.

Since his diagnosis, her son now 2 has had several rounds of chemotherapy and two stem cell transplants and is doing well.

Now hes just like a normal 2-year-old, DeAndrea said. Hes running around with his sister. Hes eating well.

Dr. William Clark is associate professor of medicine and attending physician at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center Stem Cell Transplantation Program. Clark said the procedure is used for conditions including multiple myeloma, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and leukemia.

Stem cell transplants are used to replace bone marrow that has been destroyed by cancer or destroyed by the chemo and/or radiation used to treat the cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

High doses of chemo (sometimes along with radiation), work better than standard doses to kill cancer cells. However, high doses can also kill the stem cells and cause the bone marrow to stop making blood cells, which are needed for life. The transplanted stem cells replace the bodys stem cells after the bone marrow and its stem cells have been destroyed by treatment, according to the American Cancer Society.

Two types of stem cell transplants include autologous, which uses stem cells from the patients own body, and allogeneic using stem cells from another person, Clark said.

For leukemia patients, most of the time, we give them stem cells from someone else, Clark said. Chemotherapy helps lower the leukemia disease burden, but the new immune system provided by the new stem cells can fight against the cancer cells and get rid of them, he said.

Virginia Commonwealth Universitys cancer center performs an average of about 160-195 stem cell transplants per year, Clark said. Slightly more than half are autologous procedures, and the rest are allogeneic, he said.

Whitt Clement, former delegate who represented the Danville area in the General Assembly, underwent a stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukemia in September 2015.

The most important aspect for patients is being self-aware and their own best advocates, Clement said.

My experience was that the patient has to ask a lot of questions throughout the process, he said.

He suspected something was wrong when he noticed his platelet count declining over seven years. He went to a hematologist and had a bone marrow biopsy that revealed his condition.

If I had not taken the initiative myself and gone to see a hematologist, matters would have progressed to the point where I would have been symptomatic, Clement said.

Finding the perfect match in a donor is also important, Clement said. Fortunately, he had a sibling who met all the criteria and donated stem cells.

A person can get great matches from unrelated donors, but its preferable for a donor to be a sibling, said Clement, partner at Hunton & Williams law firm in Richmond.

Your body has an easier time tolerating the new stem cells, he said.

Clement served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1988-2002, and as Virginias secretary of transportation from 2002-2005 under Gov. Mark Warner.

For someone with multiple myeloma, the transplant does not cure the disease but delays the time it returns by up to seven and a half years, Clark said.

Lymphoma, leukemia and sickle cell anemia can be cured with the procedure, Clark said. Lymphoma can be cured in about 50 to 80 percent of cases, depending on the lymphoma, Clark said.

The first 30 days after the transplant are the most critical, Clement said. During that time, different organs can have varying reactions to the new cells. It can affect the kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and cause other side effects.

The idea is that the closer the match, the less likely youll have those adverse reactions, he said.

The process includes being put on an immunosuppressant to prevent the immune system from attacking the new cells, Clement said.

He credits the quality of his recovery to asking lots of questions and being his own advocate tape recording conversations with medical providers, coming in with written questions.

Ive been able to recover better because of that, he said.

Its a long journey and so a person confronted with the transplant situation has got to prepare himself for a long journey that requires a lot of questions along the way, Clement said.

There are about 20 million potential stem cell/bone marrow donors in the BeTheMatch Registry in the United States, Clark said.

Stem cell transplants began in the late 50s/early 60s with the first successful procedure done in an identical twin, Clark said. However, stem cell transplants were limited until medicines that prevent rejections became available.

The number of procedures increased in the 1980s, Clark said.

Danville resident Susan Mathena, cancer patient navigator at Danville Regional Medical Center, became a donor about 20 years ago because she wanted to help people. Mathena has also been an organ donor since she got her drivers license.

I see patients all the time that need stem cell transplants, Mathena said. We always need a source of bone marrow donation.

Though she will age out of the stem cell donor list soon, she could still be contacted if she is the only match for someone in need, she said.

Clark will speak next month on stem cell/bone marrow transplants at Ballou Recreation Center at an event held by the Cancer Research and Resource Center of Southern Virginia in Danville.

Thousands of patients with blood cancers like leukemia or other diseases like sickle cell anemia need a bone marrow/stem cell transplant to survive, including some of our own community members, said Kate Stokely Powell, coordinator at the center.

Clarks presentation offers an opportunity in Southside for people battling illness, medical students and professionals and the public to learn from an expert in the field of stem cell transplants, Powell said.

Doctors, hospitals and families affected by a blood cancer disease have done a great job of building a massive database of blood types for potential donor matches, Clement said.

For DeAndrea and her son, Nathan, the first transplant included four or five days of chemo. The new stem cells following the chemo that killed off his old stem cells from the transplant were like a rescue, she said.

Its wiping you out and then giving you your cells back to restart your immune system, DeAndrea said.

A second round of heavy chemo was to try to kill what was left of the cancer and replenish cells, she said.

It was rough, it was a nightmare, DeAndrea said. It was by far the worst phase of his treatment, but I believe, in the long run, its worth it.

She said the procedures should increase Nathans chances for survival and prevent a relapse.

Nathan just finished radiation Tuesday and will go in for a biopsy of his bone marrow this week, DeAndrea said.

Well find out next week where we stand as far as the cancer goes, she said.

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After two stem cell transplants and several rounds of chemo, 'now he's just like a normal 2-year-old' - GoDanRiver.com