The face of health care keeps on getting a makeover with each passing day, the result being the availability of newer solutions to the problems that have nagged mankind for centuries. Stem cell research as regards the condition of pregnancy in women has yielded some special results in the recent past. Stem cells have been pretty aptly named, as these are the holding blocks of human life. These cells build the human body and play an important role in the treatment of ravaging diseases like childhood leukemia and some cancer conditions. Apart from this, stem cells have been the center of attraction as far as contemporary pregnancy related medical research is concerned, with conclusive evidence for scientists to believe that stem cells can also be employed in successfully tackling several diseases in the distant future of a human life.

The relation between stem cells and pregnancy is pretty evident from the fact that in just a matter of nine months, stem cells let the embryo progress into a grown baby! These stem cells are mostly found in appreciable counts in the blood flowing through the umbilical cord. The contribution to disease treatment results from the practice of harvesting stem cells at the time of the birth of the baby, separating them from the blood samples, deep storing them for periods as long as two decades and then using these stored stem cells as and when the concerned person falls prey to a disease through the course of his/her lifetime.

During the pregnancy when a woman is 10 weeks pregnant and especially in the last stages of pregnancy, they have some blood tests conducted on them so that the medical experts can determine whether the babys stem cells would be healthy enough to be stored. Also, the medical examiners and analysts have to determine whether there would be chances of cross contamination of blood samples and decide thereafter. Generally, these tests are conducted around a month before the expected delivery date of the child. If the doctors opine that storage of the stem cells of the baby would be fine, then the stem cell storage company you pick sends in a sterile collection kit. Your midwife uses this kit to collect blood from the umbilical cord. This sample is sent over to the laboratory where the stem cells are separated from the blood, frozen and stored as per the established guidelines.

Pregnant ladies find a lot of comfort in the thought that a little consideration at the time of pregnancy could help them guard their babies against the possibilities of being afflicted by serious diseases in the future. Naturally, stem cell storage banks are required to store the babys stem cells for such a long period. The fact that the few cells taken from the babys cord blood can possibly save the life of the baby, a sibling and even the parents at some point in time in the future means that stem cell banks are flourishing. Among the diseases that stored stem cells can work against are acute leukemias, autoimmune diseases, chronic leukemias, congenital immune system disorders and histiocrytic disorders.

Stem cells hold much promise in bringing about medical breakthroughs in form of treatment for previously incurable diseases and conditions like cancer, Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease or paralysis. These blank cells are capable of self-rejuvenation and also transforming into a functional cell; it is these attributes of a stem cell that make them invaluable to scientists. However, to experiment on the stem cells, they must at first be obtained and the mode of collection is where the controversy originates. There are two main types of stem cells, embryonic and adult stem cells. In order to collect the pluripotent embryonic stem cells, the human embryo must be killed as it can only be extracted from the innermost cellular layers of the blastocyst after just four days of fertilization. It is therefore not hard to understand as why killing a human embryo, which could have otherwise been borne as a human baby, is considered equivalent to murder by a lot of people. Even people who would not go as far as calling it murder, usually admit to the procedure being disturbing in terms of ethics at least.

Adult stem cells come from various sources and contrary to what the name may suggest, it does not only come from fully grown human beings. It is just that they are comparatively grown and different than the embryonic stem cells. The placenta and the umbilical cord blood are both rich sources of adult stem cells, the former being even richer than the latter. Our bone marrow contains multipotent stem cells and it is possible to extract these cells clinically, but the procedure is immensely painful for the donor and may even be considered risky. Unlike the extraction of the embryonic stem cells, extracting adult stem cells is not controversial. Ethicists do not support the killing of an embryo for the sake of medical progress, however bright the future may seem, but bio ethicists do understand the importance of stem cell experimentation and thus do not consider extraction of adult stem cells from various sources to be unethical as long as it is agreed upon voluntarily by the donor or the guardian of the concerned source.

If the question is read as an inquiry to the origin and the natural location of stem cells, then the answer would be that it comes from various tissues of the human body. Stem cells in an adult human being are found in the heart, blood, bone marrow, skeletal muscles, skin and fat as well. After a baby is born, the placenta and the umbilical cord are also found to be rich in stem cells. The placenta however, is much richer in stem cell count than the umbilical cord blood. Embryonic stem cells are among the first cells to develop because it is these that construct all the other tissues and thus the organs, bones, nerves and everything else in our body eventually, by converting into specifically functional cells.

The key factor about stem cells is that they are capable of constant rejuvenation through mitotic cell division and since they are not functional cells, they can transform into any specific type of functional cell, depending on the requirement of the body. Studies related to the possible uses of stem cells in various medical procedures is achieving greater importance with every passing year as scientists keep publishing journals on how the progress is going to improve treatment facilities dramatically. From the ability to repair almost any damaged organ to eliminating previously incurable diseases like cancer or Parkinsons disease, it all seems to be in our reach in the near future. In order for the experiments to be successful, scientists must collect necessary amounts of stem cells from various sources. Embryonic stem cells are collected directly from the inside of the blastocyst, roughly a week or so after the egg cell is fertilized, and it is for that reason it is called unethical and have given rise to controversies regarding the extraction of embryonic stem cells. The germline tissues of the abandoned fetus are also a source of stem cell collection. Umbilical cord blood and placenta are the two other sources for collecting adult stem cells. Although not as pluripotent as the stem cells inside an embryo, the adult stem cells are also extracted by scientists from tissues and bone marrow of individuals for different purposes.

Magnetic stem cells are one of the latest breakthroughs in the field of medical science as they are believed to hold the potential for next generation cell-level treatment procedures. Stem cells would soon be injected into the patients blood stream to treat and cure heart diseases and vascular problems and the theory is to deliver the special stem cells to the area of the injury or disease by guiding them from outside. The magnetism of the cells is what will allow the experts to control the movement of the reparative cells with the help of magnets, once they are injected into the patients body. Scientists have already been successful at directing the magnetized stem cells to the exact area of damage in animals, but the technology is yet to be tried on human beings.

The first part of the procedure involves applying sufficient magnetic nanoparticles on the stem cells to magnetize them, and thus make them controllable. Secondly, these special stem cells are now inserted into the blood stream of the subject with the help of an injection. The final and the most important part of the medical procedure begins next as experts now try to control the direction of the injected magnetic stem cells with the help of a magnet in order to lead them towards the accurate area of the heart damage or anywhere else inside the vascular system for recovery. MRI scans in the USA make use of the same nanomagnets to attain better results already. It is to be noted that the use of magnetic stem cells has a very broad spectrum as far as medical prowess is concerned. From cell therapy to targeting cancerous growths, the scope of using the nanomagnets on stem cells is plenty for repairing the diseased and the injured tissues from inside the body.

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Stem cells, bone marrow: News and research | Chxa.com

(Tokyo-AFP) - Japanese scientists say they are on their way to being able to create custom-made skin, bone and joints using a 3D printer.

Several groups of researchers around the world have developed small masses of tissue for implants, but now they are looking to take the next step and make them functional.

Tsuyoshi Takato, a professor at the University of Tokyo Hospital, said his team had been working to create "a next-generation bio 3D printer", which would build up thin layers of biomaterials to form custom-made parts.

His team combines stem cells -- the proto-cells that are able to develop into any body part -- and proteins that trigger growth, as well as synthetic substance similar to human collagen.

Using a 3D printer, they are working on "mimicking the structure of organs" -- such as the hard surface and spongy inside for bones, Takato said.

In just a few hours, the printer crafts an implant using data from a Computer Tomography (CT) scan.

These implants can fit neatly into place in the body, and can quickly become assimilated by real tissue and other organs in the patient, the plastic surgeon said.

"We usually take cartilage or bone from the patient's own body (for regular implants), but these custom-made implants will mean not having to remove source material," Takato said.

The technology could also offer hope for children born with bone or cartilage problems, for whom regular synthetic implants are no good because of the rate of their body's growth.

The main hurdle was the heat generated by conventional 3D printers, which damages living cells and protein.

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Japan researchers target 3D-printed body parts

Stem Cell Therapy | Recent Strides Quell Stem Cell Debate
Ethical concerns for stem cells for arthritis could be mute...maybe. Reports show that adult stem cells (Autologous) have been shown in recent studies to hav...

By: Nathan Wei

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Stem Cell Therapy | Recent Strides Quell Stem Cell Debate - Video

Illustration: John Spooner

One of the joys for those who work in the health services area is bringing relief to patients from chronic conditions.

And as the level of desperation rises, some patients will pay over the odds for treatment, pursing unproven options in the hope of some improvement in their condition. And where there is unmet demand, supply soon steps in to fill the gap.

Last year, there was intense global media attention on stem cell treatments following a paralysed patient in Poland who walked after a cell transplant, a project involving Polish and UK researchers.

Stem cells may well offer significant potential promise for patients in a range of treatments. But to date, much of that optimism has run well ahead of the reality.

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Clinical trials to ensure the efficacy and safety of medical treatments is slow and laborious, taking several years, at the very least, to verify the merits of a treatment before then seeking approvals to offer the treatment to patients.

But for those searching for a stem cell treatment in Australia, there is a loophole: a referral from your doctor is often all it takes to get access, even though there is scant proof that the patient benefits.

Clearly, some patients so badly want to believe the treatment is good for them that this will override the necessary caution.

Much of this activity is taking place in private clinics, although sharemarket investors, too, have stem cell groups they can invest in.

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Optimism on stem cells, ahead of reality

People who donate their stem cells are like gold-dust, according to a father-of-two desperate to find a bone marrow match.

Jaso Manokaranfell ill last October, experiencing severe pain in his bones and a fever-like temperature.

After being rushed to A&E again and again, doctors ordered a bone biopsy which revealed the 29-year-old had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

He said: I thought it was a viral infection, I didnt expect it to be cancer at all. When my consultant said I had leukaemia, I was crying like a river. I couldnt really hear what he was saying, I was so worried.

While undergoing chemotherapy, Jaso was told that he needed a bone marrow transplant but he has no siblings who could be a match and is a Sri Lankan Tamil, which means he has onlya 20.5 per cent chance of finding a match on the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register.

He added: It felt like a double dose of bad news. I had no idea what a transplant was, I had so many questions: How will I get it? Where will I get it? How will I find a match? I was so worried.

Now its not in my hands, I cant run around and get it myself - I need a stranger to save my life. Anyone who signs up to the register is priceless, not only to me but to everyone waiting for a transplant. These people are so selfless and special, theyre like gold-dust.

Mr Manokaran's wife Jasmini started the Help Save Jaso campaignto recruit more people to the register - especially people from Tamil and Sri Lankan communities in the hope of finding a match for her husband.

She said: Its been a scary time for all of us but I was so inspired to get going for Jaso. I have found that many people from my community dont know how to sign up to the register and many myths around donating have come up.

Some people think its a big operation or involves lengthy surgery because of the word bone but this is not true - now the process is usually just like giving blood.

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Young Dad searching for gold-dust' bone marrow match

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) Japanese scientists say they are on their way to being able to create custom-made skin, bone and joints using a 3D printer.

Several groups of researchers around the world have developed small masses of tissue for implants, but now they are looking to take the next step and make them functional.

Tsuyoshi Takato, a professor at the University of Tokyo Hospital, said his team had been working to create "a next-generation bio 3D printer", which would build up thin layers of biomaterials to form custom-made parts.

His team combines stem cells - the proto-cells that are able to develop into any body part - and proteins that trigger growth, as well as synthetic substance similar to human collagen.

Using a 3D printer, they are working on "mimicking the structure of organs" - such as the hard surface and spongy inside for bones, Takato said.

In just a few hours, the printer crafts an implant using data from a Computer Tomography (CT) scan. These implants can fit neatly into place in the body, and can quickly become assimilated by real tissue and other organs in the patient, the plastic surgeon said.

"We usually take cartilage or bone from the patient's own body (for regular implants), but these custom-made implants will mean not having to remove source material," Takato said.

The technology could also offer hope for children born with bone or cartilage problems, for whom regular synthetic implants are no good because of the rate of their body's growth. The main hurdle was the heat generated by conventional 3D printers, which damages living cells and protein.

"We haven't fully worked out how to avoid heat denaturation but we already have some models and are exploring which offers the most efficient method," he said.

The artificial protein Takato and his team use was developed by Fujifilm, which has been studying collagen used in photographic films. Since it is modelled on human collagen and does not derive from animals, it can be easily assimilated in human bodies, reducing the risk of infections such as mad-cow disease.

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Japan scientists target 3D-printed body parts

Characterization of mdx-iPS with DYS-HAC. (a) Morphology of mdx-MEF, mdx-iPS, and mdx-iPS (DYS-HAC) cells. Phase-contrast (left panel) and GFP-fluorescence (right panel) micrographs are shown. (b) Genomic PCR analyses for detecting DYS-HAC in mdx-iPS cells. (c) FISH analyses for mdx-iPS (DYS-HAC) cells. An arrow indicates the DYS-HAC and the inset shows an enlarged image of the DYS-HAC. (d) RT-PCR analyses of ES cellmarker genes, four exogenous transcription factors, and human dystrophin. EGFP and Nat1 were used as internal controls. Primers for DYS 6L/6R, 7L/7R, and 8L/8R detected the isoform of dystrophin expressed in ES and iPS cells. (e) Immunohistochemical analyses of dystrophin in muscle-like tissues of each teratoma. Immunodetection of mouse and human dystrophin (left panel), immunodetection of human-specific dystrophin (middle panel), and GFP micrography (right panel) are shown. The insets show enlarged images of immunohistochemistry. Nanog-iPS- and mdx-iPS-derived teratomas were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. CHO, Chinese hamster ovary; EGFP, enhanced green fluorescent protein; GFP, green fluorescent protein; HAC, human artificial chromosome; iPS, induced pluripotent stem cells; MEF, mouse embryonic fibroblast.

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Shin splints/muscle atrophy three months after stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D.
Angela is a life-long triathlete. Ten years ago she developed severe shin splints in her left leg that resulted in atrophy of her lower leg muscles. Here, sh...

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Shin splints/muscle atrophy three months after stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D. - Video

Overview of Stem Cell Therapy at New Jersey Pain Management Clinics
http://nj-pain.com/treatments/stem-cell-procedure/ Stem Cell Therapy falls under regenerative medicine, and it is now a reality in musculoskeletal medicine. This includes stem cells being...

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Overview of Stem Cell Therapy at New Jersey Pain Management Clinics - Video

A Winnipeg-based company that has touted its ability to improve the lives of Multiple Sclerosis patients through stem cell therapy is now under the microscope after allegations of fraud from a client.

The CEO of Regenetek Research Inc. has been collecting thousands of dollars from Canadian patients looking for help. Some of the patients are now questioning the research and credentials of the man they know as Dr. Doug.

One of them is Lee Chuckry, 47. He has been living with MS for nearly two decades.

MS just keeps progressing, thats what it does. Hopefully I could stop it. That was my ultimate goal, Chuckry said in an interview with CTV News.

His efforts led him to Regenetek, and its CEO: Doug Broeska.

In testimonials, MS patients attributed miraculous medical improvement to experimental stem cell therapy. For $35,000, Regenetek patients were flown to India for the procedure.

Chuckry was one of the participants. But when he returned home, he says his symptoms worsened.

When he started digging deeper, he said, he found the doctor hed put his faith in wasnt what he claimed to be.

Im going to call Doug a con artist, Chuckry said. You are preying on people who are desperate. They are looking for hope of any sort.

Chuckry and at least one other patient have gone to the RCMP. They allege Broeska, who claims to hold a PhD and a Bachelor of Science, is a fraud who is operating as a medical researcher without proper credentials.

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Winnipeg company offering stem cell therapy is fraudulent, MS sufferer alleges

Osteoarthritis is a common condition seen in older people in which the tissue between joints becomes worn down, causing severe pain. In what could be an important development for people who suffer from it, U.S. researchers have isolated stem cells in adult mice that regenerate both worn tissue, or cartilage, and bone.

For the past decade, researchers have been trying to locate and isolate stem cells in the spongy tissue or marrow of bones of experimental animals.

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The so-called osteochondroreticular, or OCR, cells are capable of renewing and generating important bone and cartilage cells.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York identified these master cells in the marrow. When grown in the lab and transplanted back into a fracture site in mice, they helped repair the broken bones.

Siddhartha Mukherjee, the study's senior author, said similar stem cells exist in the human skeletal system.

The real provocative experiment or the provocative idea is being able to do this in humans being able to extract out these stem cells from humans and being able to put them back in to repair complex fracture defects or osteoarthritis defects, said Mukherjee.

He noted that children have more bone stem cells than adults, which may explain why the bones of young people repair more easily than fractures in adults.

Mukherjee said the next step is to try to identify the OCR cells in humans and attempt to use them to repair complex bone and cartilage injuries.

Once cartilage is injured or destroyed in older people, as in osteoarthritis, Mukherjee said it does not repair itself.

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Bone Stem Cells Regenerate Bone, Cartilage in Mice

Dr Sherif Stem cell therapy on OA
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VIDEO:A stem cell capable of regenerating both bone and cartilage has been identified in bone marrow of mice. The discovery by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) is reported... view more

NEW YORK, NY (January 15, 2015) - A stem cell capable of regenerating both bone and cartilage has been identified in bone marrow of mice. The discovery by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) is reported today in the online issue of the journal Cell.

The cells, called osteochondroreticular (OCR) stem cells, were discovered by tracking a protein expressed by the cells. Using this marker, the researchers found that OCR cells self-renew and generate key bone and cartilage cells, including osteoblasts and chondrocytes. Researchers also showed that OCR stem cells, when transplanted to a fracture site, contribute to bone repair.

"We are now trying to figure out whether we can persuade these cells to specifically regenerate after injury. If you make a fracture in the mouse, these cells will come alive again, generate both bone and cartilage in the mouse--and repair the fracture. The question is, could this happen in humans," says Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at CUMC and a senior author of the study.

The researchers believe that OCR stem cells will be found in human bone tissue, as mice and humans have similar bone biology. Further study could provide greater understanding of how to prevent and treat osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, or bone fractures.

"Our findings raise the possibility that drugs or other therapies can be developed to stimulate the production of OCR stem cells and improve the body's ability to repair bone injury--a process that declines significantly in old age," says Timothy C. Wang, MD, the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at CUMC, who initiated this research. Previously, Dr. Wang found an analogous stem cell in the intestinal tract and observed that it was also abundant in the bone.

"These cells are particularly active during development, but they also increase in number in adulthood after bone injury," says Gerard Karsenty, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Marks Professor of Genetics and Development, chair of the Department of Genetics & Development, and a member of the research team.

The study also showed that the adult OCRs are distinct from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which play a role in bone generation during development and adulthood. Researchers presumed that MSCs were the origin of all bone, cartilage, and fat, but recent studies have shown that these cells do not generate young bone and cartilage. The CUMC study suggests that OCR stem cells actually fill this function and that both OCR stems cells and MSCs contribute to bone maintenance and repair in adults.

The researchers also suspect that OCR cells may play a role in soft tissue cancers.

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Bone stem cells shown to regenerate bone and cartilage in adult mice

A stem cell capable of regenerating both bone and cartilage has been identified in bone marrow of mice. The discovery by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) is reported today in the online issue of the journal Cell.

The cells, called osteochondroreticular (OCR) stem cells, were discovered by tracking a protein expressed by the cells. Using this marker, the researchers found that OCR cells self-renew and generate key bone and cartilage cells, including osteoblasts and chondrocytes. Researchers also showed that OCR stem cells, when transplanted to a fracture site, contribute to bone repair.

"We are now trying to figure out whether we can persuade these cells to specifically regenerate after injury. If you make a fracture in the mouse, these cells will come alive again, generate both bone and cartilage in the mouse--and repair the fracture. The question is, could this happen in humans," says Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at CUMC and a senior author of the study.

The researchers believe that OCR stem cells will be found in human bone tissue, as mice and humans have similar bone biology. Further study could provide greater understanding of how to prevent and treat osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, or bone fractures.

"Our findings raise the possibility that drugs or other therapies can be developed to stimulate the production of OCR stem cells and improve the body's ability to repair bone injury--a process that declines significantly in old age," says Timothy C. Wang, MD, the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at CUMC, who initiated this research. Previously, Dr. Wang found an analogous stem cell in the intestinal tract and observed that it was also abundant in the bone.

"These cells are particularly active during development, but they also increase in number in adulthood after bone injury," says Gerard Karsenty, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Marks Professor of Genetics and Development, chair of the Department of Genetics & Development, and a member of the research team.

The study also showed that the adult OCRs are distinct from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which play a role in bone generation during development and adulthood. Researchers presumed that MSCs were the origin of all bone, cartilage, and fat, but recent studies have shown that these cells do not generate young bone and cartilage. The CUMC study suggests that OCR stem cells actually fill this function and that both OCR stems cells and MSCs contribute to bone maintenance and repair in adults.

The researchers also suspect that OCR cells may play a role in soft tissue cancers.

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

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Bone stem cells shown to regenerate bones, cartilage in adult mice

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) - UC Davis surgeons have launched a "proof-of-concept" clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of a device that can rapidly concentrate and extract young cells from the irrigation fluid used during orthopaedic surgery.

"The new approach holds promise for improving the delivery of stem cell therapies in cases of non-healing fractures."

"People come to me after suffering for six months or more with a non-healing bone fracture, often after multiple surgeries, infections and hospitalizations," said Mark Lee, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, who is principal investigator on the clinical trial. "Stem cell therapy for these patients can be miraculous, and it is exciting to explore an important new way to improve on its delivery." About 6 million people suffer fractures each year in North America, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Five to 10 percent of those cases involve patients who either have delayed healing or fractures that do not heal. The problem is especially troubling for the elderly because a non-healing fracture significantly reduces a person's function, mobility and quality of life. Stem cells - early cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types - have been used for several years to successfully treat bone fractures that otherwise have proven resistant to healing. Applied directly to a wound site, stem cells help with new bone growth, filling gaps and allowing healing and restoration of function. However, obtaining stem cells ready to be delivered to a patient can be problematic. The cells ideally come from a patient's own bone marrow, eliminating the need to use embryonic stem cells or find a matched donor. But the traditional way of obtaining these autologous stem cells - that is, stem cells from the same person who will receive them - requires retrieving the cells from a patient's bone marrow, a painful surgical procedure involving general anesthesia, a large needle into the hip and about a week of recovery. In addition, the cells destined to become healing blood vessels must be specially isolated from the bone marrow before they are ready to be transplanted back into the patient, a process that takes so long it requires a second surgery. The device Lee and his UC Davis colleagues are now testing processes the "wastewater" fluid obtained during an orthopaedic procedure, which makes use of a reamer-irrigator-aspirator (RIA) system to enlarge a patient's femur or tibia by high-speed drilling, while continuously cooling the area with water. In the process, bone marrow cells and tiny bone fragments are aspirated and collected in a filter to transplant back into the patient. Normally, the wastewater is discarded. Although the RIA system filter captures the patient's own bone and bone marrow for use in a bone graft or fusion, researchers found that the discarded effluent contained abundant mesenchymal stem cells as well as hematopoietic and endothelial progenitor cells, which have the potential to make new blood vessels, and potent growth factors important for signaling cells for wound healing and regeneration. The problem, however, was that the RIA system wastewater was too diluted to be useful. Now, working with a device developed by SynGen Inc., a Sacramento-based biotech company specializing in regenerative medicine applications, the UC Davis orthopaedic team can take the wastewater and spin it down to isolate the valuable stem cell components. About the size of a household coffee maker, the device will be used in the operating room to rapidly produce a concentration of stem cells that can be delivered to a patient's non-union fracture during a single surgery. "The device's small size and rapid capabilities allow autologous stem cell transplantation to take place during a single operation in the operating room rather than requiring two procedures separated over a period of weeks," said Lee. "This is a dramatic difference that promises to make a real impact on wound healing and patient recovery." For more information, visit http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/stemcellresearch.

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Treating Non-Healing Bone Fractures with Stem Cells?

"This research raises the possibility that we can create new skeletal stem cells from patients' own tissues and use them to grow new cartilage."

The scientists are hopeful that the breakthrough would allow missing bone parts and cartilage to be grown in a lab and then transplanted, lowering the chance of rejection.

"Right now, if you have lost a significant portion of your leg or jaw bones, you have to borrow from Peter to pay Paul in that you have to cut another bone like the fibula into the shape you need, move it and attach it to the blood supply," said Dr Longaker.

"But if your existing bone is not available or not sufficient, using this research you might be able to put some of your own fat into a biomimetic scaffold, let it grow into the bone you want in a muscle or fat pocket, and then move that new bone to where it's needed."

Scientists are even hopeful that they could coax fat cells into becoming skeleton stem cells which could then be injected into a damaged area during a simple operation. It could be particularly useful in knee and hip operations for the elderly and prevent arthritis.

"The number of skeletal stem cells decreases dramatically with age, so bone fractures or dental implants don't heal very well in the elderly because new bone doesn't grow easily, said lead author Dr Charles Chan.

"But perhaps you will be able to take fat from the patient's body during surgery, combine it with these reprogramming factors right there in the operating room and immediately transplant new skeletal stem cells back into the patient."

Although researchers have so far only mapped the skeletal stem cell system in mice, they are confident that they will be able to do the same in humans.

"In this research we now have a Rosetta Stone that should help find the human skeletal stem cells and decode the chemical language they use to steer their development," added Dr Chan.

"The pathways in humans should be very similar and share many of the major genes used in the mouse skeletal system."

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Broken bones and torn cartilage could be regrown in simple operation

IMAGE:This image captures a blood stem cell en route to taking root in a zebrafish. view more

Credit: Boston Children's Hospital

BOSTON (January 15, 2015) -- A see-through zebrafish and enhanced imaging provide the first direct glimpse of how blood stem cells take root in the body to generate blood. Reporting online in the journal Cell today, researchers in Boston Children's Hospital's Stem Cell Research Program describe a surprisingly dynamic system that offers several clues for improving bone marrow transplants in patients with cancer, severe immune deficiencies and blood disorders, and for helping those transplants "take."

The steps are detailed in an animation narrated by senior investigator Leonard Zon, MD, director of the Stem Cell Research Program. The Cell version offers a more technical explanation

"The same process occurs during a bone marrow transplant as occurs in the body naturally," says Zon. "Our direct visualization gives us a series of steps to target, and in theory we can look for drugs that affect every step of that process."

"Stem cell and bone marrow transplants are still very much a black box--cells are introduced into a patient and later on we can measure recovery of their blood system, but what happens in between can't be seen," says Owen Tamplin, PhD, the paper's co-first author. "Now we have a system where we can actually watch that middle step. "

The blood system's origins

It had already been known that blood stem cells bud off from cells in the aorta, then circulate in the body until they find a "niche" where they're prepped for their future job creating blood for the body. For the first time, the researchers reveal how this niche forms, using time-lapse imaging of naturally transparent zebrafish embryos and a genetic trick that tagged the stem cells green.

On arrival in its niche (in the zebrafish, this is in the tail), the newborn blood stem cell attaches itself to the blood vessel wall. There, chemical signals prompt it to squeeze itself through the wall and into a space just outside the blood vessel.

"In that space, a lot of cells begin to interact with it," says Zon. Nearby endothelial (blood-vessel) cells wrap themselves around it: "We think that is the beginning of making a stem cell happy in its niche, like a mother cuddling a baby."

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Live imaging captures how blood stem cells take root in the body

Jan 15, 2015 Hematopoietic precursor cells: promyelocyte in the center, two metamyelocytes next to it and band cells from a bone marrow aspirate. Credit: Bobjgalindo/Wikipedia

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered the stem cell in mice that gives rise to bone, cartilage and a key part of bone marrow called the stroma.

In addition, the researchers have charted the chemical signals that can create skeletal stem cells and steer their development into each of these specific tissues. The discovery sets the stage for a wide range of potential therapies for skeletal disorders such as bone fractures, brittle bones, osteosarcoma or damaged cartilage.

A paper describing the findings will be published Jan. 15 in Cell.

"Millions of times a year, orthopedic surgeons see torn cartilage in a joint and have to take it out because cartilage doesn't heal well, but that lack of cartilage predisposes the patient to arthritis down the road," said Michael Longaker, MD, a professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford and a senior author of the paper. "This research raises the possibility that we can create new skeletal stem cells from patients' own tissues and use them to grow new cartilage." Longaker is also co-director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

An intensive search

The researchers started by focusing on groups of cells that divide rapidly at the ends of mouse bones, and then showed that these collections of cells could form all parts of bone: the bone itself, cartilage and the stromathe spongy tissue at the center of bones that helps hematopoietic stem cells turn into blood and immune cells. Through extensive effort, they then identified a single type of cell that could, by itself, form all these elements of the skeleton.

The scientists then went much further, mapping the developmental tree of skeletal stem cells to track exactly how they changed into intermediate progenitor cells and eventually each type of skeletal tissue.

"Mapping the tree led to an in-depth understanding of all the genetic switches that have to be flipped in order to give rise to more specific progenitors and eventually highly specialized cells," said postdoctoral scholar Charles Chan, PhD, who shares lead authorship of the paper with postdoctoral scholar David Lo, MD, graduate student James Chen and research assistant Elly Eun Young Seo. With that information, the researchers were able to find factors that, when provided in the right amount and at the right time, would steer the development of skeletal stem cells into bone, cartilage or stromal cells.

"If this is translated into humans, we then have a way to isolate skeletal stem cells and rescue cartilage from wear and tear or aging, repair bones that have nonhealing fractures and renew the bone marrow niche in those who have had it damaged in one way or another," said Irving Weissman, MD, professor of pathology and of developmental biology, who directs the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Weissman, the other senior author of the paper, also holds the Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Professorship in Clinical Investigation in Cancer Research.

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Team isolates stem cell that gives rise to bones, cartilage in mice

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered the stem cell in mice that gives rise to bone, cartilage and a key part of bone marrow called the stroma.

In addition, the researchers have charted the chemical signals that can create skeletal stem cells and steer their development into each of these specific tissues. The discovery sets the stage for a wide range of potential therapies for skeletal disorders such as bone fractures, brittle bones, osteosarcoma or damaged cartilage.

A paper describing the findings will be published Jan. 15 in Cell.

"Millions of times a year, orthopedic surgeons see torn cartilage in a joint and have to take it out because cartilage doesn't heal well, but that lack of cartilage predisposes the patient to arthritis down the road," said Michael Longaker, MD, a professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford and a senior author of the paper. "This research raises the possibility that we can create new skeletal stem cells from patients' own tissues and use them to grow new cartilage." Longaker is also co-director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

An intensive search

The researchers started by focusing on groups of cells that divide rapidly at the ends of mouse bones, and then showed that these collections of cells could form all parts of bone: the bone itself, cartilage and the stroma -- the spongy tissue at the center of bones that helps hematopoietic stem cells turn into blood and immune cells. Through extensive effort, they then identified a single type of cell that could, by itself, form all these elements of the skeleton.

The scientists then went much further, mapping the developmental tree of skeletal stem cells to track exactly how they changed into intermediate progenitor cells and eventually each type of skeletal tissue.

"Mapping the tree led to an in-depth understanding of all the genetic switches that have to be flipped in order to give rise to more specific progenitors and eventually highly specialized cells," said postdoctoral scholar Charles Chan, PhD, who shares lead authorship of the paper with postdoctoral scholar David Lo, MD, graduate student James Chen and research assistant Elly Eun Young Seo. With that information, the researchers were able to find factors that, when provided in the right amount and at the right time, would steer the development of skeletal stem cells into bone, cartilage or stromal cells.

"If this is translated into humans, we then have a way to isolate skeletal stem cells and rescue cartilage from wear and tear or aging, repair bones that have nonhealing fractures and renew the bone marrow niche in those who have had it damaged in one way or another," said Irving Weissman, MD, professor of pathology and of developmental biology, who directs the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Weissman, the other senior author of the paper, also holds the Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Professorship in Clinical Investigation in Cancer Research.

Reprogramming fat cells

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Stanford researchers isolate stem cell that gives rise to bones, cartilage in mice

Live100 Hospitals - Stem Cell Therapy
"We wanted to focus on stem cell after seeing the advantages since the cells were available in the body and they were really doing wonderful research across the world which was really promising...

By: Live100 Hospitals

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