Testing a new therapeutic in human subjects for the first time is a major step in the translation of any novel treatment from the laboratory bench to clinical use.

When the therapeutic represents a paradigm shift, reaching this milestone is even more significant.

After years of planning, preparation and hard work to establish a base camp, starting human clinical trials is the first step towards the summit itself: gaining regulatory approval for product sales.

Exosomes tiny packets of proteins and nucleic acids (e.g. mRNA and miRNA) released by cells, that have powerful regenerative properties ranging from promoting wound healing to stimulating brain injury recovery following stroke represent just such a paradigm-shifting potential advance in human medicine.

The first commercial exosome therapeutics conference was held in Boston in September 2019 and over 15 companies participated.

This conference signals the emergence of exosomes as a new class of regenerative medicine products.

So far, just one or two of the companies working in the novel field of exosome-based therapies have reached the pivotal point and transitioned into human clinical trials. In this article we survey the field, starting with the pace-setters.

During the past few years, a handful of universities and research hospitals have carried out small scale, first-in-human Phase I clinical trials using exosomes. In each case where the study results are available, the exosome treatment was found to be safe and well-tolerated.

But the field has hotted up in the past few months, with the first companies reaching the pivotal point of testing exosome-based products in people.

On 28th January 2020, Melbourne-based Exopharm announced the first dosing under its first human clinical trial, becoming the first company to test exosomes potential for healing wounds in people.

The PLEXOVAL Phase I study will test Exopharms Plexaris product, a cell-free formulation of exosomes from platelets, which in preclinical animal studies have shown a regenerative effect, improving wound closure and reducing scarring.

The main readouts of the PLEXOVAL study the results of which are expected to be available sometime after mid-2020 will be safety, wound closure and scarring.

Joining Exopharm at the front of the pack is Maryland-based United Therapeutics.

Founded in 1996, United Therapeutics specialises in lung diseases and has a portfolio of FDA-approved conventional small molecule and biologic drugs on the market for a range of lung conditions.

On 26th June 2019, United Therapeutics announced approval for a Phase I trial (NCT03857841) of an exosome-based therapy against bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BDP), a condition common in preterm infants that receive assisted ventilation and supplemental oxygen.

Recruitment has commenced but dosing has not been announced. The study is due to conclude by December 2021. BDP is characterised by arrested lung growth and development, with health implications that can persist into adulthood.

Human clinical trials of a stem cell therapy for BDP, by Korean stem cell company Medipost, are already underway. However as with many stem cell therapies recent animal studies have shown that is the exosomes released by stem cells that are responsible for the therapeutic effect.

United Therapeutics therapy, UNEX-42, is a preparation of extracellular vesicles that are secreted from human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. The company has not released any information about how its exosomes are produced or isolated.

A little behind the two leaders, three other companies have announced their aim to initiate their first clinical trials of exosome therapeutics within the next 12 months.

Launched in 2015, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Codiak has long been considered among the leaders in developing exosome-based therapies.

Rather than exploiting the innate regenerative potential of select exosome populations, Codiak is developing engineered exosomes that feature a defined therapeutic payload. The companys initial focus has been to target immune cells, leveraging the immune system to combat cancer.

The company plans to initiate clinical trials of its lead candidate, exoSTING, in the first half of 2020. The therapeutic is designed to trigger a potent antitumor response from the patients own immune system, mediated by T cells. A second immuno-oncology candidate, exoIL-12, is due to enter clinical trials in the second half of 2020, the company says.

In nearby New Jersey, Avalon Globocare is also developing engineered exosomes. Its lead product, AVA-201, consists of exosomes enriched in the RNA miR-185, which are produced using engineered mesenchymal stem cells.

In animal tests, miR-185 suppressed cancer cell proliferation, invasion and migration in oral cancer. In July 2019, the company announced plans to start its first exosome clinical trial before the close of 2019. As of February 2020, however, no further announcement regarding this clinical trial has been made.

Avalon has also made no further announcement on a second planned clinical trial, also intended to start during the fourth quarter of 2019, of a second exosome candidate, AVA-202.

These angiogenic regenerative exosomes, derived from endothelial cells, can promote wound healing and blood vessel formation, the company says. The planned Phase I trial was to test AVA-202 for vascular diseases and wound healing.

Meanwhile, Miami-based Aegle Therapeutics plans to begin a Phase I/IIa clinical trial of its exosome therapy, AGLE-102, during 2020. AGLE-102 is based on native regenerative exosomes isolated from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

After initially focussing on burns patients, in January 2020 to company announced had raised the funds to commence an FDA-cleared clinical trial of AGLE-102 to treat dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, a rare paediatric skin blistering disorder. The company says it plans to commence this clinical trial in the first half of 2020.

A number of companies are in the preclinical phase of exosome therapy research.

Some of these companies have been set up specifically to develop exosome-based products. In the UK, Evox co-founded by University of Oxford researcher Matthew Wood in 2016 is developing engineered exosomes to treat rare diseases.

The company has developed or sourced technology that allows it to attach proteins to exosomes surface, or to load proteins or nucleic acids inside the exosome, to deliver a therapeutic cargo to a target organ.

Its lead candidate targets a lysosomal storage disorder called Niemann-Pick Disease type C, using exosomes that carry a protein therapeutic cargo. Evox says it plans to submit the Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA during 2020, paving the way for the first clinical trial. It currently has five other candidates, for various indications, at the preclinical stage of development.

In Korea, Ilias and ExoCoBio are developing exosome therapeutics. Ilias founded by faculty from the Korean Advance Institute of Science and Technology specialises in loading large protein therapeutics into exosomes.

It is currently carrying out preclinical research toward treating sepsis, preterm labour and Gauchers disease. ExoCoBio is focusing on the native regenerative capacity of exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells, including to treat atopic dermatitis.

New companies continue to enter the exosome space. In August 2019, Carmine Therapeutics was launched, with the aim to develop gene therapies that utilize exosomes from red blood cells to deliver large nucleic acid cargoes. The company is targeting the areas of haematology, oncology and immunology.

Meanwhile, a wave of companies originally set up to develop live stem cell therapies are diversifying into stem cell derived exosome production and research.

It is now generally acknowledged that stem cell exosomes are the main therapeutically active component of stem cells, and that medical products based on exosomes will be safer to apply, and easier and cheaper to make and transport, than live cell therapies.

Originally established to produce neural stem cells for other research organisations, Aruna Bio has developed proprietary neural exosomes that can cross the blood brain barrier.

The company is now developing an exosome therapy for stroke. In October 2019, the Athens, Georgia-based company said had raised funding to support the research and development to enable its first IND application to the FDA in 2021.

In the UK, ReNeuron has also focussed on stroke, and has several clinical trials underway assessing its CTX stem cells to promote post stroke rehabilitation. The company is also working with third parties to investigate the drug- and gene therapy delivery potential of exosomes derived from CTX stem cells.

Switzerland-based Anjarium is also developing an exosome platform to selectively deliver therapeutics.20 The company is focussing on engineering exosomes loaded with therapeutic RNA cargo and displaying targeting moieties on its surface.

California-based Capricor has commenced clinical trials of a cardiosphere-derived stem cell therapy for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

At an earlier phase, its regenerative exosome therapy CAP-2003 is in pre-clinical development for a variety of inflammatory disorders including DMD.

A number of other stem cell companies, including TriArm, Creative Medical, AgeX Therapeutics and BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, are reported to be investigating exosome-based therapies derived from their stem cell lines.

Exopharms position as a frontrunner in bringing exosomes into humans is no lucky accident. The companys operations are based around its unique, proprietary method for manufacturing and isolating exosomes, known as LEAP technology.

As academics and observers of the exosome field have pointed out, reliable and scalable exosome manufacture has threatened to be a major bottleneck that limits the translation of exosome therapeutics into clinical use. The standard laboratory-scale method for collecting the exosomes produced by cultured cells has been to spin the liquid cell culture medium in an ultracentrifuge, or pass it through a fine filter.

The most common technique used so far, the ultracentrifuge, has major scalability limitations. Issues include the high level of skill and manual labour required, the time-intensive nature of the process, and the associated costs of reagents and equipment. It is impossible to imagine collecting enough exosomes for a late stage clinical trial this way.

Another issue is the low purity of the exosomes collected. These techniques sort the contents of cell culture medium by their mass and/or size. Although the exosomes are concentrated, they could be accompanied by other biological components present in the cell culture medium that happen to be a similar size or mass to the exosome.

Importantly, a biotechnology company needs a proprietary step in the process to make a proprietary product over which it has exclusivity. Exopharms LEAP technology is a good example of a proprietary manufacturing step. Ultracentrifuge is not a proprietary process.

So the big players in the emerging exosome field have generally placed a strong emphasis on developing their manufacturing and purification capability.

Exopharm developed a chromatography-based purification method, in which a patent-applied-for inexpensive functionalised polymer a LEAP Ligand is loaded into a chromatography column. The LEAP Ligand sticks to the membrane surface of exosomes passed through the column. Everything else in the cell culture medium mixture is simply washed away. The pure exosome product is then eluted from the column and collected for use. As well as being very scalable, the technique is versatile. LEAP can be used to produce a range of exosome products, by isolating exosomes from different cell sources.

Codiak, similarly, says it has developed scalable, proprietary chromatography-based methods to produced exosomes with comparable identity, purity, and functional properties as exosomes purified using methods such as ultracentrifugation. Chromatography is a flow-based technique for separating mixtures. In an April 2019 SEC filing, the company said it is establishing its own Phase 1/2 clinical manufacturing facility, which it is aiming to have fully-operational by first half 2020.

Avalon GloboCare teamed up with Weill Cornell Medicine to develop a standardised production method for isolating clinical-grade exosomes. Aegle also says it has a proprietary isolation process for producing therapeutic-grade exosomes. And Evox emphasises the GMP compliant, scalable, commercially viable manufacturing platform it has developed.

At Exopharm, the manufacturing technique that has allowed the company to leap ahead of the pack and into human clinical trials is its proprietary LEAP platform. Overcoming the exosome production and isolation bottleneck was exactly the problem the companys scientists set out to solve when Exopharm formed in 2013.

In addition to the Plexaris exosomes, isolated from platelets, currently being tested in human clinical trials, Exopharm is progressing toward human clinical trials of its second product, Cevaris, which are exosomes isolated from stem cells.

Exosomes are now under development by around 20 companies across the world. The leaders in the field are now entering clinical trials with both nave exosome products and engineered exosome products. A number of cell therapy companies are also moving across into the promising exosome product space.

The coming years promise dynamic changes, with partnerships and eventually product commercialization. Exopharm is a clear leader in this emerging field.

(Featured image by Darko Stojanovic from Pixabay)

DISCLAIMER: This article was written by a third party contributor and does not reflect the opinion of Born2Invest, its management, staff or its associates. Please review our disclaimer for more information.

This article may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words believe, project, estimate, become, plan, will, and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks as well as uncertainties, including those discussed in the following cautionary statements and elsewhere in this article and on this site. Although the Company may believe that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof. Additionally, please make sure to read these important disclosures.

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Biotech companies leading the way with exosome human clinical trials - Born2Invest

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Biotech companies leading the way with exosome human clinical trials – Born2Invest | February 9th, 2020

SpringWorks Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SWTX) and Neuralstem (NASDAQ:CUR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for SpringWorks Therapeutics and Neuralstem, as reported by MarketBeat.

SpringWorks Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $35.50, indicating a potential upside of 7.51%. Given SpringWorks Therapeutics higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe SpringWorks Therapeutics is more favorable than Neuralstem.

Profitability

This table compares SpringWorks Therapeutics and Neuralstems net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

72.2% of SpringWorks Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.3% of Neuralstem shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Neuralstem shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SpringWorks Therapeutics and Neuralstems revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

SpringWorks Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Neuralstem.

Summary

SpringWorks Therapeutics beats Neuralstem on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

SpringWorks Therapeutics Company Profile

SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, acquires, develops, and commercializes medicines for underserved patient populations suffering from rare diseases and cancer. Its advanced product candidate is nirogacestat, an oral small molecule gamma secretase inhibitor that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of desmoid tumors. The company is also developing mirdametinib, an oral small molecule MEK inhibitor that is in Phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of neurofibromatosis type 1-associated plexiform neurofibromas; and Nirogacestat + belantamab mafodotin, which is in Phase 1b clinical trials for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. In addition, it is developing Mirdametinib + lifirafenib, a combination therapy that is in Phase 1b clinical trials in patients with advanced or refractory solid tumors; and BGB-3245, an investigational oral selective small molecule inhibitor of specific BRAF driver mutations and genetic fusions, which is in preclinical studies in a range of tumor models with BRAF mutations or fusions. The company has collaborations with BeiGene, Ltd. and GlaxoSmithKline plc to develop combination approaches with nirogacestat and mirdametinib, as well as other standalone medicines. SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

Neuralstem Company Profile

Neuralstem, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the research and development of nervous system therapies based on its proprietary human neuronal stem cells and small molecule compounds. The company's stem cell based technology enables the isolation and expansion of human neural stem cells from various areas of the developing human brain and spinal cord enabling the generation of physiologically relevant human neurons of various types. Its lead product candidate is NSI-189, a chemical entity, which has been completed Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of major depressive disorder, as well as is in preclinical study for the treatment-refractory depression, Angelman Syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, ischemic stroke, diabetic neuropathy, irradiation-induced cognitive deficit, and long-term potentiation enhancement. The company also develops NSI-566, which has completed Phase II clinical trial for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease; Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of chronic ischemic stroke; and Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of chronic spinal cord injury, as well as is in preclinical study for the traumatic brain injury. In addition, it develops NSI-532, which is in preclinical study for treatment of Alzheimer's disease; and NSI-777 that is in preclinical study for treatment of human demyelinating diseases. Neuralstem, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland.

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Contrasting Neuralstem (NASDAQ:CUR) and SpringWorks Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SWTX) - Riverton Roll

Spinal Cord Stem Cells Comments Off on Contrasting Neuralstem (NASDAQ:CUR) and SpringWorks Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SWTX) – Riverton Roll | February 9th, 2020

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) and US Stem Cell (OTCMKTS:USRM) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for National Research and US Stem Cell, as reported by MarketBeat.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares National Research and US Stem Cells revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

National Research has higher revenue and earnings than US Stem Cell.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

39.6% of National Research shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of National Research shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.7% of US Stem Cell shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares National Research and US Stem Cells net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Risk & Volatility

National Research has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, US Stem Cell has a beta of 5.08, indicating that its stock price is 408% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

National Research beats US Stem Cell on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

National Research Company Profile

National Research Corporation (NRC) is a provider of analytics and insights that facilitate revenue growth, patient, employee and customer retention and patient engagement for healthcare providers, payers and other healthcare organizations. The Companys portfolio of subscription-based solutions provides information and analysis to healthcare organizations and payers across a range of mission-critical, constituent-related elements, including patient experience and satisfaction, community population health risks, workforce engagement, community perceptions, and physician engagement. The Companys clients range from acute care hospitals and post-acute providers, such as home health, long term care and hospice, to numerous payer organizations. The Company derives its revenue from its annually renewable services, which include performance measurement and improvement services, healthcare analytics and governance education services.

US Stem Cell Company Profile

U.S. Stem Cell, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of autologous cellular therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage, and vascular and autoimmune diseases in the United States and internationally. Its lead product candidates include MyoCell, a clinical therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with autologous muscle cells or cells from a patient's body for enhancing cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients; and AdipoCell, a patient-derived cell therapy for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction, chronic heart ischemia, and lower limb ischemia. The company's product development pipeline includes MyoCell SDF-1, an autologous muscle-derived cellular therapy for improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. It is also developing MyoCath, a deflecting tip needle injection catheter that is used to inject cells into cardiac tissue in therapeutic procedures to treat chronic heart ischemia and congestive heart failure. In addition, the company provides physician and patient based regenerative medicine/cell therapy training, cell collection, and cell storage services; and cell collection and treatment kits for humans and animals, as well operates a cell therapy clinic. The company was formerly known as Bioheart, Inc. and changed its name to U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. in October 2015. U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Sunrise, Florida.

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Reviewing National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) and US Stem Cell (NASDAQ:USRM) - Slater Sentinel

Cardiac Stem Cells Comments Off on Reviewing National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) and US Stem Cell (NASDAQ:USRM) – Slater Sentinel | February 9th, 2020

How do biochemical messengers mediate the development of new blood cells and how do these processes get out of control in leukaemias? An international research team involving partners from Germany, United Kingdom, Finland and the USA has achieved a fundamental breakthrough in understanding the mechanism of these processes.

The results of the research project were published on February 7th 2020 in the new issue of the renowned journal Science.

In adults, billions of mature blood cells are formed from haematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow every day. This process is tightly regulated by a family of messenger proteins called cytokines that control the development and proliferation of the different blood cell types.

Cytokines interact with specific receptors on the surface of cells, which allows the transmission of signals controlling whether the cell divides or differentiates into a specific blood cell type. Various leukaemias are associated with genetic mutations that activate these signalling pathways in the absence of cytokines in an uncontrolled manner. Until now, the molecular mechanisms of how individual mutations trigger signal activation and lead to these blood cancers have remained unclear.

Using single-molecule microscopy in living cells, the researchers have now been able to clearly show for the first time that the receptors are crosslinked by cytokines to form pairs. Until now, it has been assumed that the receptors are already present as inactive pairs even without cytokines. From their new observations using super-resolution fluorescence microscopes, the researchers concluded that pair formation itself is the basic switch for the activation of signal transduction in the cell.

By directly visualising individual receptors at physiological conditions under the microscope, we were able to resolve a controversy that has preoccupied the field for more than 20 years, explains Professor Jacob Piehler from Osnabrck University.

In combination with biomedical studies at the Universities of York and Dundee, the researchers found that several important disease-relevant mutations led to the pairing of certain receptors without cytokine. These observations led us to a previously unknown mechanism how individual mutations at this receptor trigger cytokine-independent signalling and thus can promote leukaemia, reveals Professor Ian Hitchcock from the University of York.

Cooperation partners at the University of Helsinki used these insights to develop a comprehensive structural model via atomic-scale simulations and molecular modelling, which could explain the different modes of action of different mutations.

Our biomolecular simulations unveiled surprising features concerning the orientation of active receptor pairs at the plasma membrane, explaining how mutations render activation possible without a ligand. These predictions were subsequently confirmed experimentally, explains Professor Ilpo Vattulainen from the University of Helsinki.

These fundamental insights into the mechanism of signal activation enable completely new and much more targeted strategies for combating leukaemias. Further, the researchers suspect that a wide range of inflammatory and allergic diseases can also be traced back to similar mechanisms.

Stephan Wilmes, Maximillian Hafer, Joni Vuorio, Julie A. Tucker, Hauke Winkelmann, Sara Lchte, Tess A. Stanly, Katiuska D. Pulgar Prieto, Chetan Poojari, Vivek Sharma, Christian P. Richter, Rainer Kurre, Stevan R. Hubbard, K. Christopher Garcia, Ignacio Moraga, Ilpo Vattulainen, Ian S. Hitchcock, Jacob Piehler: Mechanism of homodimeric cytokine receptor activation and dysregulation by oncogenic mutations. In: Science; Article DOI:10.1126/science.aaw3242

Professor Ilpo Vattulainen

Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland

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Mechanism of signal transmission in blood cell development deciphered - Mirage News

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Mechanism of signal transmission in blood cell development deciphered – Mirage News | February 8th, 2020

Call us biased, but the skincare industry, in particular, is one of our favorites to watch when it comes to technological advancements. From laser zapping to weird-looking at-home devices, the anti-aging sphere is constantly evolving, with new treatments and procedures being launched on the daily. Just 10 years ago, Blackberries (the phone, not the fruit Gisele Bndchen says she avoids) were still the epitome of cool, and no one except makeup artists ever used the word contouring. Ten years from today, will wrinkles, dark spots, and sagging be a thing of the past? Its a slightly exhilarating (and also completely terrifying) thought.

As beauty editors, its our job to stay on top of all thats new in the quest for younger, tauter skin. Right now, were intrigued by a new ingredient trend thats very unexpected (yes, even compared to salmon sperm): human stem cells. Yeah, well let that sink in for a minute. If applying a strangers stem cells on your face sounds creepy or the start of a very niche horror movie, youll want to keep readingthe information ahead might just change your mind. We asked Dr. Hal Simeroth, founder of Stemology skincare and possessor of a Ph.D. in Bioethics, to tell us if human stem cells (and their extracts) are the key to eternal youthor, at the very least, a more prolonged youth. Ready to get really scientific?

Keep scrolling to school yourself on this anti-aging trend.

Everyone likely has a vague notion of what stem cells are, but its probably best to let an expert explain. The term stem cells refers to a rather broad category of cells that participate in tissue generation, regeneration, and renewal, Hal says. In other words, they are the cells that help you, your dog, and the tomatoes in your vegetable garden heal; humans, animals, and plants all have these types of cells. And this is what makes stem cells special: theyre undifferentiated and have the invaluable properties of self-renewal and differentiation, according to Hal. In laymans terms, this means they have the much-coveted ability to divide to make more stem cells, and more stem cells you get the idea. Human stem cells are divided into three primary categories: embryonic, which are the initial stem cells after birth that control the development into a human baby; adult mesenchymel stem cells, which exist in our bodies and are responsible for the repair and renewal of structural tissues; and tissue-specific stem cells, which only repair and rejuvenate specific tissues such as your skin. Remember these, because well touch on them again later.

Before we dive headfirst into human stem cells, lets first talk about plant stem cells. In the skincare industry, theyre the popular crowd: Theyve largely been accepted and welcomed with open arms, touted for their skin-regenerating abilities. The idea is that if this stem cell helps a flower flourish in the freezing temps in some far-off exotic locale, then it must be able to keep your skin dewy and glowing too. But does that logic really make sense? According to Hal, not really. Its false at a primary level, but true at a secondary level, he says. Um, what? The directing of repair and renewal by plant stem cells within the plant is orchestrated by cellular signals that would not be recognized by human cells, he says. Plant stem cell material cannot mimic the activity of our stem cells in the human body in a primary way. There are genetic boundaries that cannot be crossed. So, just because rose stem cells can help a rose grow and flourish doesnt mean it can do the same for your skin. However, Hal does say that some plant stem cells do provide nutrients and metabolites that have been shown to stimulate human epidermal stem cell productionthus, the secondary way he mentions. Either way, he says to always check to see if a plant stem cell material in your skincare product that promises to plump your skin is backed up by scientific research and clinical testing (a quick Google search should yield results).

Now that weve covered plant stem cells, lets dive right into the nitty-gritty and talk human stem cells. Hal mentions adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) specifically, citing many research studies and scientific papers published over the last two decades about their ability to be the natural healers of all our bodys structuresmuscle, bone, skin, neural tissue and more. Because of their potent ability to rejuvenate and repair, and also because they do not carry the negative ethical stigma of embryonic stem cells harvested from human embryos, they have been embraced by many for use in potential clinical protocols, Hal explains. Right now, these human stem cells have already been in practice in Europe with success and are currently in FDA-approved testing programs in the U.S. Without getting too technical, heres how these MSCs work. Like a master coordinator, MSCs respond to biochemically transmitted needs from any areas of traumafor example, if you get a cut, scrape, or a more severe injury. Sensing the need, the MSCs begin to multiply and release different biochemical signals to bring on other anti-inflammatory and immune cells, like a commander rallying his troops to fight a battle. Thus, it would be logical to assume that this healing, regenerating ability that works with wound-healing can also apply to overall skin renewal. We can conclude from a large body of scientific evidence that MSCs do their work by releasing messengers and helpers such as growth factors, peptides, and matrix proteins that provide rejuvenating instructions and assistance to the targeted body cells, Hal says. As we age, these "messenger" proteins the MSCs attract might just be the key to helping our skin renew (read: stay wrinkle-free).

Stemologys hero product (and the product that inspired this story) is their Cell Revive Serum Complete ($189), which lists human stem cell-derived conditioned media as the number two ingredient after aloe. Notice how it's a human stem cell-derived mediaand not an actual human stem cell. So, what's the difference? Actual human stem cells can actually be grown outside of the body by stimulating human body conditions, and can create a massive number of cells since theyre self-renewing; a single original MSC can generate large numbers of offspring cultures that grow naturally and are encouraged to secrete the helpers and messengers we mentioned earlier. Those growth factors, cytokinal peptides, matrix proteins, and helper molecules are the human stem cell-derived conditioned media. Under controlled conditions, the MSCs are completely removed, so that there are no actual cellular components, and the harvested small secreted proteins are retained in this conditioned medium, Hal says. This conditioned medium contains all the important, renewing and healing components originally drawn to the human stem cell, which can be integrated into a skincare formula and penetrate the skin. Whewyou still with us?

So, the catch is that as of now, there are no actual human stem cells used in products in the U.S. In fact, Hal says actual human stem cells are not suitable for topical skin care applications since they are fragile and easily destroyed, as well as too large to be absorbed. Instead, brands like Stemology will extract one human stem cell to grow hundreds more, which in turn generates the helper ingredients that plump your skin. The result? More youthful skinat least according to science. Hal cites one published study that confirms the application of topical growth factors from MSC stimulate the repair of facial photo-aging resulting in new collagen synthesis, epidermal thickening, and the clinical appearance of smoother skin with less visible wrinkles.

So, no actual human stem cells are being used in topical skincare (yet). But what about all those self-generating powers and benefits we mentioned earlier? Human stem cell extracts sound great, but what about the real dealthe genuine original? Dr. Christopher Calapai, D.O. and stem cell expert says that actual human stem cells can disrupt the skincare industry, but only under three conditions: theyll need to be from a human who is preferably the one seeking the treatment, alive, and delivered directly to the skin (most likely with an injection). Otherwise, the stem cells are simply too large to penetrate the skins surface, and will just sit there instead of absorbing and encouraging other cells to regenerate (which they'll slowly do less and less of with time).

Until the FDA approves those things, well be giving products with human skincare extracts our attention. And, who knowsthe time when injecting your own stem cells back into your skin might be sooner than you think (a fact we cant decide whether thrills or frightens us).

StemologyCell Revive Serum Complex$189

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Human Skin Cells: The Next Anti-Aging Frontier?

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Human Skin Cells: The Next Anti-Aging Frontier? | February 8th, 2020

Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) and Neuralstem (NASDAQ:CUR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Autolus Therapeutics and Neuralstems net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.6% of Autolus Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.3% of Neuralstem shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Neuralstem shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Autolus Therapeutics and Neuralstems gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Neuralstem has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Autolus Therapeutics.

Risk and Volatility

Autolus Therapeutics has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Neuralstem has a beta of 1.81, suggesting that its stock price is 81% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Autolus Therapeutics and Neuralstem, as provided by MarketBeat.

Autolus Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 155.10%. Given Autolus Therapeutics higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Autolus Therapeutics is more favorable than Neuralstem.

Summary

Autolus Therapeutics beats Neuralstem on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Autolus Therapeutics

Autolus Therapeutics plc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. The company is developing AUTO1, a CD19-targeting programmed T cell therapy, which is in Phase I trial to reduce the risk of severe cytokine release syndrome; AUTO2, a dual-targeting programmed T cell therapy that is in Phase I/II clinical trial for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; and AUTO3, a dual-targeting programmed T cell therapy, which is in Phase I/II clinical trials for treating relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. It is also developing AUTO4, a programmed T cell therapy that is in Phase I/II clinical trial for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma; and AUTO6, a programmed T cell therapy for treating neuroblastoma. Autolus Therapeutics plc has a collaboration partnership with AbCellera Biologics Inc. on antibody discovery project. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Neuralstem

Neuralstem, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the research and development of nervous system therapies based on its proprietary human neuronal stem cells and small molecule compounds. The company's stem cell based technology enables the isolation and expansion of human neural stem cells from various areas of the developing human brain and spinal cord enabling the generation of physiologically relevant human neurons of various types. Its lead product candidate is NSI-189, a chemical entity, which has been completed Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of major depressive disorder, as well as is in preclinical study for the treatment-refractory depression, Angelman Syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, ischemic stroke, diabetic neuropathy, irradiation-induced cognitive deficit, and long-term potentiation enhancement. The company also develops NSI-566, which has completed Phase II clinical trial for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease; Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of chronic ischemic stroke; and Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of chronic spinal cord injury, as well as is in preclinical study for the traumatic brain injury. In addition, it develops NSI-532, which is in preclinical study for treatment of Alzheimer's disease; and NSI-777 that is in preclinical study for treatment of human demyelinating diseases. Neuralstem, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland.

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Head to Head Review: Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) and Neuralstem (NASDAQ:CUR) - Riverton Roll

Spinal Cord Stem Cells Comments Off on Head to Head Review: Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) and Neuralstem (NASDAQ:CUR) – Riverton Roll | February 8th, 2020

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) and US Stem Cell (OTCMKTS:USRM) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

National Research has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, US Stem Cell has a beta of 5.08, indicating that its share price is 408% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares National Research and US Stem Cells revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

National Research has higher revenue and earnings than US Stem Cell.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for National Research and US Stem Cell, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

39.6% of National Research shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of National Research shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.7% of US Stem Cell shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares National Research and US Stem Cells net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Summary

National Research beats US Stem Cell on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

National Research Company Profile

National Research Corporation (NRC) is a provider of analytics and insights that facilitate revenue growth, patient, employee and customer retention and patient engagement for healthcare providers, payers and other healthcare organizations. The Companys portfolio of subscription-based solutions provides information and analysis to healthcare organizations and payers across a range of mission-critical, constituent-related elements, including patient experience and satisfaction, community population health risks, workforce engagement, community perceptions, and physician engagement. The Companys clients range from acute care hospitals and post-acute providers, such as home health, long term care and hospice, to numerous payer organizations. The Company derives its revenue from its annually renewable services, which include performance measurement and improvement services, healthcare analytics and governance education services.

US Stem Cell Company Profile

U.S. Stem Cell, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of autologous cellular therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage, and vascular and autoimmune diseases in the United States and internationally. Its lead product candidates include MyoCell, a clinical therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with autologous muscle cells or cells from a patient's body for enhancing cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients; and AdipoCell, a patient-derived cell therapy for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction, chronic heart ischemia, and lower limb ischemia. The company's product development pipeline includes MyoCell SDF-1, an autologous muscle-derived cellular therapy for improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. It is also developing MyoCath, a deflecting tip needle injection catheter that is used to inject cells into cardiac tissue in therapeutic procedures to treat chronic heart ischemia and congestive heart failure. In addition, the company provides physician and patient based regenerative medicine/cell therapy training, cell collection, and cell storage services; and cell collection and treatment kits for humans and animals, as well operates a cell therapy clinic. The company was formerly known as Bioheart, Inc. and changed its name to U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. in October 2015. U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Sunrise, Florida.

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Reviewing US Stem Cell (OTCMKTS:USRM) & National Research (OTCMKTS:NRC) - Riverton Roll

Cardiac Stem Cells Comments Off on Reviewing US Stem Cell (OTCMKTS:USRM) & National Research (OTCMKTS:NRC) – Riverton Roll | February 8th, 2020

Latest Research Report on Stem Cell Treatments Market size | Industry Segment by Applications (Nerve Diseases, Immunological Diseases, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Cardiovascular Diseases, Gastrointestinal Diseases and Other), by Type (Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Cord Blood/Embryonic Stem Cells and Other Cell Sources), Regional Outlook, Market Demand, Latest Trends, Stem Cell Treatments Industry Growth, Share & Revenue by Manufacturers, Company Profiles, Forecasts 2025.Analyzes current market size and upcoming 5 years growth of this industry.

New research report to its expanding repository. The research report, titled Stem Cell Treatments Market, mainly includes a detailed segmentation of this sector, which is expected to generate massive returns by the end of the forecast period, thus showing an appreciable rate of growth over the coming years on an annual basis. The research study also looks specifically at the need for Stem Cell Treatments Market.

Our Report Offerings Include:

Request Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.aeresearch.net/request-sample/72554

Report Scope:

The study includes the profiles of key players in the Stem Cell Treatments market with a significant global and/or regional presence. The Stem Cell Treatments market competition by Top Manufacturers Covers:

By Product:

By Application:

Points Covered in The Report:

Recent Industry Trend:

The report contains the profiles of various prominent players in the Global Stem Cell Treatments Market. Different strategies implemented by these vendors have been analyzed and studied to gain a competitive edge, create unique product portfolios and increase their market share. The study also sheds light on major global industry vendors. Such essential vendors consist of both new and well-known players. Besides, the business report contains important data relating to the launch of new products on the market, specific licenses, domestic scenarios and the strategies of the organization implemented on the market.

MAJOR TOC OF THE REPORT:

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Stem Cell Treatments Market to Exhibit Impressive Growth of CAGR during the per - News by aeresearch

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Stem Cell Treatments Market to Exhibit Impressive Growth of CAGR during the per – News by aeresearch | February 7th, 2020

The recent outbreak of the coronavirus has shown us that our global health system is only as strong as its weakest link.

The key to stemming the spread of such illnesses lies in bolstering connectivity and communication between health bodies and thats precisely the theme here at Arab Health 2020.

Artificial intelligence means medical bodies can link up their data and act quickly in a crisis.

"As emergency physicians and practitioners were often on the frontline. But Ill give you an example of how technology and AI may help outbreaks, not just Coronavirus, but for seasonal influenza," says Dr Jacques Kobersy, emergency medicine institute chair, Cleveland Hospital Abu Dhabi.

"When you have an organisation like WHO who are alerted to the fact that there is some new virus circulating, Artificial intelligence might give us the opportunity to flag that those unusual symptoms are occurring way before human clinicians and departments of health realize it. And help us get ahead of these sort of pandemics maybe a month or so ahead of time before they really fester."

55,000 attendees from 159 countries have touched down in Dubai to showcase and learn about the life-changing and groundbreaking technologies poised to transform healthcare as we know it.

Autonomous ambulances

Soon, AI could make autonomous ambulances that automatically arrive at a patients house as soon as somethings wrong.

"We call it a smart ambulance. The high-risk patient, they will start to wear wearable devices. Let's say something happened to that patient. These devices will start to send all the vital data to the system and the hospital. So the physician, he can monitor all the data and monitor the patient 24 hour," says Dr Rashid al Hashimi - youth council member, UAE ministry of health (mohap).

In the future, the ambulance will be auto-drive. So it will go directly to the patient. While they are moving all these signals will be green for them.

When the patient enters the ambulance, there will be some high-resolution cameras. They will detect the patient's face and will give all the data which is very important for the rescuers to help the patient.

While they are going to the hospital, there will be like a virtual doctor inside the ambulance.

AI implants

AI is already powering implants that can monitor patients vitals around the clock.

"We can put devices under the skin and telemonitor heart patients even at home. We have put this device on 30 patients," says Dr Noor al Muhairi, head of medical services, hospital dept (mohap).

"One of them was in London. And we saw that we have an abnormality in his heart. And we called them directly and told him, go to the nearest hospital and this saved him."

And unprecedented advancements in stem-cell research mean damaged heart cells can now be regrown.

"In treatment, we collaborated with Osaka University, where they have done a study on stem cells that have been generated to cardiac cells. You can bring stem cells to make the heart cells regenerate," says Dr Muhairi.

"So this is one of the latest technology in heart treatment and in collaboration with Japan, we are going to do a clinical study here in the Ministry of Health."

Analysing wounds

Meanwhile, image analysis of wounds using machine learning can now prevent amputations caused by diseases like diabetes.

"This machine is checking the healing process for the diabetic foot. It will give us the results within 30 seconds. We are just scanning for the wound.2

"There is information going back 15 years in this machine. So it will check with other types of wound and it will analyze for us exactly the problem. We can prevent amputations from the complication of diabetes," says Dr Halima el Shehhi, the emergency department unit manager at the ministry of health and prevention, UAE.

Whether it's artificial intelligence, new equipment, new abilities to analyze patients and treat them, things that we could only imagine a few years ago now have come to fruition.

Soon the days of treating illnesses after they occur will give way to an age of truly preventative healthcare.

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AI is transforming healthcare as we know it: Arab Health 2020 - Euronews

Cardiac Stem Cells Comments Off on AI is transforming healthcare as we know it: Arab Health 2020 – Euronews | February 7th, 2020

AESTHETICS medicine encompasses non-invasive treatments that do not involve surgery and aim to improve or correct the appearance of patients. Less intensive than cosmetic surgery, aesthetics medicine procedures are carried out by doctors to give natural and reversible results. Depending on your areas of concern, different techniques may be employed in combination to produce the best results - there is no "cookie-cutter" approach to your skincare needs.

Our skin has three layers:

The epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, provides a waterproof barrier to protect our body from germs and harmful UV rays. Its bottom-most layer makes new skin cells, and these skin cells travel up to the top layer and flake off, about a month after they form. It also gives you your skin colour, due to the presence of special cells called melanocytes, which produce the pigment melanin.

The dermis, the middle layer, contains tough connective tissue, blood vessels, hair follicles, and sweat glands.

The hypodermis, the innermost layer, is made of fat and connective tissue.

Ageing happens in every layer of the skin. Changes within the skin's layers show themselves on the surface as signs of ageing.

In the epidermis, a slower cell turnover and reduction in lipid production on the skin's surface means rough and dry skin as we age. Our skin is less efficient at repairing itself from harmful infections and UV rays. This causes pigmentation problems, like sunspots.

In the dermis, from the age of 25, there is a 1 per cent annual decrease in collagen, one of the "building blocks" of the skin. Elastin also decreases as we age. Hence, the structure of the skin is compromised, and wrinkles and saggy skin start to appear.

In the deeper layers, the hypodermis, the changes to the size and number of fat cells leads to deep wrinkles and hollow cheeks.

Skin ageing manifests by:

Fine lines and wrinkles: The first noticeable sign of ageing from 25 onwards are fine lines and wrinkles, especially around your eyes. Your dermis, the second layer of your skin, contains the collagen and elastic fibres that keep young skin plump, taut and wrinkle-free. The amount of collagen and elastic fibres in your dermis dwindles as the years roll on. As a result, your skin becomes less elastic, sags and you start to see the tell-tale signs of wrinkles.

Open pores and sagging skin: Ageing causes your skin to lose its elasticity, which stretches your pores and make them look larger. The accumulation of excess oil, dead skin cells and dirt trapped inside your pores also enhances their appearance. Hormonal changes such as pregnancy, menstruation and puberty can also enlarge your pores.

Dry and dull skin: Your epidermis forms the outer layer of your skin - a physical barrier from the external environment. On average, your body will produce an entirely new epidermis about every 60 days. Cells on the surface of your skin rub and flake off, continuously being replaced with new ones from below.

As you get older, it takes longer for your epidermis to renew itself, hence, more dead skin cells accumulate on the top layer of our skin. This diffuses light away and produces a dull skin tone. In addition, as we age, oil production slows down and this makes our skin dry - we soon lose that "Korean glass-skin effect".

Hyperpigmentation

Melanocytes located in the epidermis produce pigment called melanin. Hyperpigmentation is caused by an overproduction of melanin in patches of the skin.

This overproduction is triggered by a variety of factors, including sun exposure, genetic factors, age, hormonal influences, and skin injuries or inflammation.

Common types of hyperpigmentation encountered in our population are:

Melasma: Melasma is a common skin problem among Asians. Women are far more likely than men to get melasma, especially during pregnancy. They present as brown to gray-brown patches, usually on the face. Most people get it on their cheeks, nose bridge, forehead, chin, and above their upper lip. It also can appear on other parts of the body that are exposed to sunlight, such as the forearms and neck.

Solar lentigo: Solar lentigo, also known as age spots, are non-cancerous lesions that occur on the sun-exposed areas of the body. These flat lesions usually have well-defined borders, are dark in colour, and have an irregular shape. The backs of hands and face are common areas.

The lesions tend to increase in number with age, making them common among the middle age and older population. Age spots occur in 50 per cent of women and 20 per cent of men over the age of 50, due to stimulation from UV rays.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH): It is temporary pigmentation that follows injury, for example, a cut to the skin, or inflammation of the skin, for example, acne or eczema. PIH can occur in anyone, but is more common in darker-skinned individuals, in whom the colour tends to be more intense and persist for a longer period than in lighter skin.

Freckles: Freckles are common, especially among fairer-skinned individuals. They start early on in life, even in childhood, and are due to your genetic makeup and sun exposure.

Dull skin, enlarged pores, pigmentation - How can they be corrected?

Avoid sun exposure: Sun exposure is the main cause of ageing. Choose a sunscreen with "broad spectrum" protection, meaning that it protects against both UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays also contribute to skin cancer and premature aging, UVB rays are the main cause of sunburn and skin cancers.

Ensure your sunscreen has a SPF30 or higher. Physical sunscreen, those that contain zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, provide better sun protection compared to chemical sunscreens, and are less likely to clog pores and cause pimples.

Protect your eyes with sunglasses and cover up with a wide-brimmed hat or an umbrella. Limit your direct exposure to the sun, especially between 10am and 4pm, when UV rays are strongest. Avoid tanning beds, which can cause serious long-term skin damage and contribute to skin cancer.

Lightening creams: Abnormal accumulation of melanin results in hyperpigmentation. Lightening creams contain ingredients to reduce the production of melanin. Powerful lightening creams are available through a prescription from a doctor, while milder ingredients do not require a prescription.

Hydroquinone is a major ingredient in lightening creams. However, frequent adverse reactions experienced by patients, such as skin irritation and inflammation, have prompted research into other agents. Several alternatives such as tranexamic acid, and 4-n-butyl resorcinol, arbutin and kojic acid have been developed.

Lasers: There are many different lasers in the market, for many different types of indications. The property of the laser, which determines what it is used for, is the specific wavelength it emits. Different structures in the skin will absorb light energy at different wavelengths. Therefore, in pigmentation treatments, we can deliver light energy at the correct wavelength to heat up the pigmentation, while sparing the other nearby structures that absorb different wavelengths.

The pigmentation absorbs the light energy and is broken up into small fragments and eventually is cleared from the skin.

My personal favourite protocol is to use two very effective lasers for pigmentation treatment, via a Rejuvenation Laser protocol.

The Nd:YAG laser emits wavelengths of 1064nm and 532nm. It is a gentle cleansing machine that helps to remove surface dirt and oil, cleanse your skin, dry up pimples, build collagen and is very effective to break up pigmentation into small fragments.

The yellow laser, made in Germany, emits a wavelength of 577nm. It helps with improving radiance, giving you radiant skin, reducing redness and effectively vaporising pigmentation.

The Rejuvenation Laser is non-ablative, gentle and has no downtime.

Combined with a potent post-procedure serum, it synergistically enhances the anti-ageing effect of the laser protocol. The serum employs proteins secreted by umbilical cord-lining stem cells to produce collagen, restore healthy skin function and treat symptoms of ageing.

This series is produced in collaboration with The Aesthetics Medical Clinic

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Aesthetic treatments can help you maintain your youthful glow - The Business Times

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Aesthetic treatments can help you maintain your youthful glow – The Business Times | February 7th, 2020

Looks like some science fiction. Scientists have created what has been described as the first live robots in the laboratory, and they did so by testing different combinations using an "evolutionary algorithm," which can be called electronic evolution.

Before readers begin to imagine androids made of meat, I must point out that these "xenobots" They are less than a millimeter wide and the closest thing they have to the extremities are two stumps that they use to swim through liquids for weeks at a time without requiring additional nutrition. They are composed of embryonic stem cell taken from the African clawed frog, known scientifically as Xenopus laevis, which inspired the name of the tiny bots.

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The scientists used heart cells that act as miniature pistons and skin cells that hold the package together. The level of sophistication involved in this feat of bioengineering suggests that, while the technological glories of the past reside in large monuments and megaprojects, the greatest achievements of the 21st century are found in the microscopic, nano and quantum scales.

Developed by researchers at Tufts University, the University of Vermont and the Harvard Wyss Institute, these impressive miniature biological machines (or should they refer to them as creatures?), Which can repair or heal themselves when they are damaged, They have potentially multiple beneficial uses. .

These include cleaning the microplastics that pollute our oceans and other toxic materials, as well as vectors to administer medications within our bodies, to perform surgical procedures and other medical applications. Unlike conventional robots and machines that can pollute the environment for a long time after their useful lives have expired, xenobots have the additional advantage of being completely biodegradable, which break down harmlessly after "dying."

In addition, such "biological machines,quot; are, in principle, more versatile and robust than their inanimate counterparts. "If living systems could be designed continuously and quickly ab initio and deployed to fulfill novel functions, their innate ability to resist entropy could allow them to far exceed the useful lives of our strongest but static technologies." the researchers postulate.

However, although I do not classify myself as xenobotphobic, I find the possible consequences of biobots and their possible future negative uses quite disturbing, despite the exciting possibilities they present.

Neither the researchers in their scientific paper Outlining the results or news coverage of the xenobots seems to have considered the damaging and destructive potential of this technology. However, this exists and should be carefully considered to avoid the dangerous hazards ahead.

The wrong hands could transform biobots from healing machines to biological weapons. Instead of administering curative medications to the body, they could be used to maim or kill. They could be used to act as the ideal hitmen, committing the perfect murder.

Given the pace of technological progress, the day cannot be very far away when biobots that can send toxins or deadly viruses to the body, attack vulnerabilities in an individual with tailored DNA, simulate a terminal illness or even carry out deadly microsurgery will be developed before a self-destruct mechanism causes them to dissolve in the bloodstream, making these invisible killers impossible to track. They could also be designed and used to attack entire populations, either as acts of biological warfare or bioterrorism.

Even if we manage to control the potential for intentional damage and misuse, there is also the potential for accidental damage. For example, researchers point to the future possibility of equipping biobots with reproductive systems to ensure that they can be (re) produced at scale. However, how can we be sure that they will stick to the script of their programming and produce only the required number of descendants who will live the required useful life?

Do we understand evolution enough to be sure that these novel life forms that we will create will not get rid of the limitations we have designed for them and will mutate in unexpected and potentially risky ways?

Beyond practical applications and erroneous applications, there are long-range ethical dimensions, not to mention the socio-economic and cultural implications for humanity.

By blurring (even more) the lines between the inanimate and the lively, how will we define life in the future? Anything made of organic tissue, no matter how simple and synthetic, continues to be considered life forms, or will we need new categories?

How about the relative value of life / machines? It is a simple xenobot superior to a highly sophisticated synthetic robot, such as Asimo and other expert robots, because one is "alive,quot; and the other probably not.

If intelligence and sensitivity are considered to be some of the characteristics of humanity, will we have to start granting intelligent machines the same rights, since "artificial intelligence,quot; continues to reach and even surpass its human form?

One of the most controversial technological problems of the moment is data privacy rights. But could we reach a point in the future where the data itself needs and has rights? For example, if one day it is considered that robots and computers have become truly intelligent and sensitive, then their data systems will presumably require protection against malicious deletion, which would amount to murder or involuntary modification, which would violate their freedom to choice.

Then there are the existential questions posed by this technological progress. Although technology has rendered the work of countless millions of professions obsolete, in general it has acted as a reinforcement and aid for a humanity in the control of innovation. However, we are rapidly reaching the stage where our technological creations not only eclipse our physical abilities but also our mental abilities and, soon, intellectual abilities.

When we finally build or develop machines that are not only clearly smarter than us, but also have a clear sense of identity and autonomy, we can continue to control them and, if we do, will this be an unjust form of subjugation or even slavery?

To escape the possible inevitability of our own obsolescence and the physical limitations of our bodies, we can decide to merge with our technological creations. We can update or modify our bodies in part or in full, as well as load or update our mental operating systems. Who knows, some may even decide to escape the physical constraints imposed by our mortal and vulnerable bodies, and download their mind and "spirit,quot; into a simulated virtual world (later), transforming into a pure metaphysical code.

Future radical modifications of our physical or mental states, especially if they are divergent among species, will raise the biggest and most fundamental question of all: what does it mean to be human?

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.

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The genesis of robotic life and the future of humanity | Sciences - Up News Info

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on The genesis of robotic life and the future of humanity | Sciences – Up News Info | February 7th, 2020

Its no secret that loading your plate with fruits and vegetables and eschewing processed meat products is good for your insides. But is a vegan diet good for healthy skin, too?

Many celebrities say that it is; Natalie Portman and Billie Eilish have noticed significant improvements in their skin since going vegan and cutting out dairy.

Portman told the Cut a few years ago, Im vegan and I found my skin is much, much better than when I was a vegetarian. I cut out dairy and eggs, and I never had a breakout after. Eilishwho went vegan for ethical reasonssaid in a Tumblr post in 2018, Im lactose intolerant and dairy is horrible for your skin and my skin is VERY aware of that.

But its not just celebrities who think veganism is good for your skin, experts agree that theyre onto something. Blade Tiessena medical aestheticianwho owns the Ontario-based Anti-Aging Clinic and has worked in skincare for 33 yearsbelieves that ditching animal products for a healthy vegan diet can have a dramatic effect.I say this from both personal and professional experience. I suffered from acne since my early teens until months after going vegan at 35, being in the industry I had every treatment and product at my disposal over the years, he told LIVEKINDLY. Some helped to keep breakouts under control but nothing solved the issue permanently until shortly after becoming vegan.

Multiple studies say that ditching dairy could help acne-sufferers. Acne is the most common skin condition in the United States; it affects around 50 million Americans every year.

There are a few different theories on why dairy can cause an acne flare-up; some studies suggest that hormones in cows milk are the culprit. These hormones are intended to stimulate growth in calves. When humans ingest them, they release insulin, which can trigger breakouts.

According to a medically-reviewed article on Healthline, sometimes the hormones in milk can also interact with our own hormones, confusing our bodys endocrine system and signaling breakouts.

Nonprofit PlantPure Communities (PPC) recently launched a social media campaign called Ditch Dairy for Clearer Skin. The campaign aims to educate the public about the link between acne and dairy consumption.

In a supporting article, pediatrician Dr. Jackie Busse, MD, FAAP, says, removing dairy is the first and most important dietary change you should make to prevent and treat acne.

A vegan diet could also help people who suffer from eczemaa condition where patches of skin become inflamed, itchy, and cracked. According to Healthline, a handful have studies have shown that a raw, vegan diet, in particular, can be very beneficial, although there isnt conclusive evidence.

Plant-based foods have also been linked with easing psoriasis, an immune-mediated disease. Similar to eczema, it causes raised red flaky patches to appear on the skin.

Eating a whole food plant-based diet can help psoriasis sufferers because it is naturally low in inflammatory foods, says dietician Deirdre Earls, RD, LD. She was once hospitalized with psoriasis as a child, but switching to a plant-based diet helped her manage the condition effectively.

She told Everyday Health,I drastically changed my diet. I took all of the diet coke, all of the ultra-processed stuff out, and then I replaced it with simple, whole, mostly plant-based foods. Within six months, my skin had cleared.She added,psoriasis is an inflammatory condition, so anything you can do to cut down on inflammation should help.

Reality TV personality and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian-West has suffered from psoriasis for more than a decade and was recently diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. She opened up on sister Kourtney Kardashians website Poosh about her battle with the disease, and how switching to a plant-based diet has helped her.

I love a healthy life and try to eat as plant-based as possible and drink sea moss smoothies,she said, adding that she also tries to keep her stress levels to a minimum.I hope my story can help anyone else with an autoimmune disease feel confident that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Eating vegan foods can help with painful conditions, but they can also just make your skin glow too.

According to Tiessen, patients who follow a vegan diet achieve superior skin results to those who do not. They also have more energy and they sleep better. He says, eating a healthy vegan diet free of inflammatory foods along with drinking lots of water, sleeping well, exercising, reducing levels of stress, taking care of and protecting your skin will help ensure beautiful glowing skin that will last a lifetime.

He also recommends using cruelty-free vegan skincare products. Skincare should be looked at as nutrition and protection for the skin, he added. Supplying the skin with nutrients from organic plants can offer benefits that are unavailable from chemicals and or animal-based ingredients.

If you want to opt for cosmetic intervention, Tiessens clinicsin Orillia Ontario and Port Severn Ontariooffer many cruelty-free and vegan treatments, including microneedling. The chain is also an ambassador for vegan medical skincare brand ElaSpa.

If you prefer to stick to just consuming whole foods, here are seven of the best plant-based foods to eat to keep your skin looking glowing and healthy.

Eating spinach regularly can benefit your skin. Its rich in vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E, which are particularly good for your skin. Its also a great source of iron, as well as folate and magnesium.

Blueberries are packed with skin-beautifying antioxidants. Stephanie Clarkeco-owner of C&J Nutritiontold Self, that deep blue/purple color that makes blueberries so gorgeous translates to helping your skin look young too. This color is a result of compounds called anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants that shield the skin against harmful free radicals that can damage the collagen that keeps your skin firm.

Eating avocados is good for your skin, as theyre rich in vitamins C and E. You can also apply them directly to your face and feel their benefits that way. Registered dietician Maureen Eyerman told Elle, the hydrating properties may reduce fine lines and wrinkles, help keep skin smooth, and boost skins immunity against stress and other environmental factors.

Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin E and vitamin C, which helps to boost collagen. Theyre also rich in anthocyanins, which can help to prevent blemishes and dark spots. Sweet potatoes are also a source of fiber, iron, calcium, and selenium.

Walnuts contain omega-3 fats, which, according to Clarke,strengthen the membranes of your skin cells.They also contain nourishing fats which attract soothing moisture from the air and reduce inflammation, helping to avoid breakouts.

Carrots are associated with good eye health, but theyre good for the skin, too. According to Healthline, vitamin C-rich carrots can help skin recover from conditions like psoriasis and rashes. They can also help you heal faster from cuts and other wounds.

Kiwis have more vitamin C than oranges, and theyre packed with vitamin E. You can also place them over the top of your eyes, which can help to reduce the appearance of dark circles.

Summary

Article Name

The Vegan Diet and Healthy Skin: Everything You Need to Know

Description

Is the vegan diet the best defense against skin conditions? Here's everything you need to know about eating plant-based and healthy skin.

Author

Charlotte Pointing

Publisher Name

LIVEKINDLY

Publisher Logo

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The Vegan Diet and Healthy Skin: Everything You Need to Know - LIVEKINDLY

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Do you ever wonder why celebrities are never seen with dark circles under their eyes? Well, we discovered the secret behind the flawless complexions of the rich and famous and its something you can use at home.

After we were especially impressed by the performance of Cardi Bs enviable complexion on the red carpet ahead of the Grammy Awards a few weeks ago, we investigated her skincare routine. As it turns out, this pop stars go-to treatments are Lancer Method 3-step regimen and Dr. Lancers Eye Lifting Cream for an extra boost under the eyes.

These impressive at-home skincare products are designed to promote a youthful appearance in the skin by supporting collagen regeneration and speeding up cell turnover. The result is skin that looks and feels younger, in a natural way.

Lancer The Method: Normal-Combination Set ($255)

Everything You Need To Know About The Lancer Method

The Lancer Method works in three steps used once a day to give you glowing, rejuvenated skin. Dr. Harold Lancer explained to SheFinds, The Lancer Method was developed to help skin act younger by accelerating cell turnover, supporting natural collagen regeneration, and feeding skin essential nutrients. Polish is a dual-action exfoliator that improves the look of fine lines, texture, discoloration and pores for a smoother, younger-looking complexion.

The hydrating, pH-balanced cleanser comes next and gently removes makeup, dirt and oil for a fresh, healthy-looking complexion. Nourish is an ultra-hydrating moisturizer that reduces the look of fine lines and wrinkles while delivering essential nutrients for a dewy and glowing appearance.

Lancer Eye Contour Lifting Cream ($95)

What The Dr. Lancer Eye Lifting Cream Does

Even with the best daily anti-aging skincare routine, we all need to give a little extra love to the skin under our eyes from time to time. This skin is extra sensitive and therefore, more prone to the effects of stress and environmental damage. Dr. Lancers Eye Lifting Cream specifically targets this area to brighten and smooth the skin to reduce the appearance of aging.

Eye Contour Lifting Cream is a triple-action eye treatment and hydrator that targets multiple eye are concerns for a brighter, more youthful experience, Dr. Lancer said. Its proprietary complexes work to improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, puffiness, dark circles and loss of elasticity. When used together, this powerful combination of products targets all areas of the face and top skincare concerns, leaving you with a clear and youthful complexion.

Dr. Lancer said that the best way to promote a youthful glow in your skin is to use hyaluronic acid, peptides, vitamins A, C and E and bioactive phytocompounds.

Hyaluronic Acid is a component of connective tissues that cushions and hydrates. Hyaluronic Acid is found in the skin naturally, but decreases with age so it is important to replenish it topically in conjunction with other ingredients to treat wrinkled skin, Dr. Lancer explained. Peptides are short snippets of linked amino acids reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines as they stimulate collagen production. Vitamins A, C and E are antioxidants that prevent free radical damage and combat oxidation.

And bioactive phytocompounds have been isolated from natural plant sources- some examples: natural fruit enzymes, moisturizing ingredients such as sea algae and aloe vera, grape polyphenol, lilac stem cells, skin lighteners from licorice root, anti-inflammatory agents from ginger root, natural tea tree oil, chamomile oil and marula oil.

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The Eye Contour Cream Celebrities Swear By To Look FLAWLESS On The Red CarpetIt Works Immediately! - SheFinds

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Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed the most advanced disease model for blood vessels to date and used it to discover a unique role of the endothelium in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome. Called progeria for short, the devastating and extremely rare genetic disease causes symptoms resembling accelerated aging in children.

The model is the first to grow both the smooth muscle and inner lining, or endothelium, layers of blood vessels from stem cells derived from the patients own skin. Combined with an advanced experimental setup that pushes culture media that models blood through the engineered blood vessels, the model reveals that the endothelium responds differently to flow and shear stress with progeria than it does when healthy.

The study shows that a diseased endothelium alone is enough to produce symptoms of progeria, and also demonstrates a new way of studying blood vessels in dynamic 3D models to better understand and test treatments for serious diseases.

The results appear online on February 6 in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

The endothelium expresses the toxic protein that causes the symptoms of progeria, but it does so at much lower levels than the outer layer of blood vessels made of smooth muscle, said Nadia Abutaleb, a biomedical engineering PhD student at Duke and co-first author of the paper. Because of this, the entire field has been focused on smooth muscle, and the few that have looked at the endothelium have mostly looked at it in a static 2D culture. But weve discovered that its necessary to work dynamically in three dimensions to see the full effects of the disease.

Progeria is a non-hereditary genetic disease caused by a random single-point mutation in the genome. It is so rare and so deadly that there are only about 250 people known to be currently living with the disease worldwide.

Progeria is triggered by a defect in a protein called progerin that leads it to accumulate outside of a cell's nucleus rather than becoming part of the nuclear structural support system. This causes the nucleus to take on an abnormal shape and inhibits its ability to divide. The resulting symptoms look much like accelerated aging, and affected patients usually die of heart disease brought on by weakened blood vessels before the age of 15.

"Progeria isn't considered hereditary, because nobody lives long enough to pass it on," said George Truskey, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke. "Because the disease is so rare, its difficult to get enough patients for clinical trials. We're hoping our platform will provide an alternative way to test the numerous compounds under consideration."

Blood vessels are difficult to simulate because their walls have multiple layers of cells, including the endothelium and the media. The endothelium is the innermost lining of all blood vessels that interacts with circulating blood. The media is made mostly of smooth muscle cells that help control the flow and pressure of the blood.

In 2017, the Truskey laboratory engineered the first 3D platform for testing blood vessels grown from skin cells taken from progeria patients. The blood vessels exhibited many of the symptoms seen in people with the disease and responded similarly to pharmaceuticals.

While the smooth muscle cells in our previous study were created using cells from progeria patients, the endothelial cells were not, said Abutaleb. We suspected that the endothelial cells might be responsible for some of the lingering symptoms in the original study, so we began working to grow blood vessels with both smooth muscle and endothelial cells derived from the same patient.

By successfully growing endothelial cells derived from progeria patients, the researchers were able to create a more complete model of the disease. They also tested the endotheliums unique contribution to the diseases symptoms by mixing impaired endothelium with healthy smooth muscle.

They found that a diseased endothelium alone was enough to produce many of the symptoms of progeria, but that these results only appeared when the cells were tested under dynamic conditions.

One of the major findings is that the progeria endothelium responds to flow and shear stresses differently than healthy endothelium, said Abutaleb.

The new models healthy blood vessels responded to pharmaceuticals more strongly than in past papers, and the diseased blood vessels showed a greater drop in functionality. With this advanced model in hand, the team is now beginning to investigate how new and current drugs for progeria affect a patients blood vessels.

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01 HL138252-01, UH3TR000505, UH3TR002142) and the National Science Foundation (GRFP Grants #1106401 and DGE1644868).

CITATION: iPSC-derived Endothelial Cells Affect Vascular Function in a Tissue Engineered Blood Vessel Model of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, Leigh Atchison, Nadia O. Abutaleb, Elizabeth Snyder-Mounts, Yantenew Gete, Alim Ladha, Thomas Ribar, Kan Cao, George A. Truskey. Stem Cell Reports, vol. 14, issue 2 (2020). DOI: 10.1016/stecr.2020.01.005

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Engineered Living-Cell Blood Vessel Provides New Insights to Progeria - Duke Today

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Imagine a world where those living with Type 1 Diabetes, a chronic illness affecting more than 60 million adults globally, no longer had to deal with regular blood glucose monitoring, daily insulin injections or life-threatening nighttime hypoglycemic events, but instead could eat, exercise and sleep worry-free. Thats the kind of future an up-and-coming breakthrough technology is on track to creating.

Beta-O2 Technologies, a privately held biomedical company headquartered in Israel with research and industry affiliates across the U.S., is working to deliver a first-of-its-kind bio-artificial pancreas as a safe, effective and long-term cure for the disease. With preliminary animal trials showing promising results for its second generation breakthrough device, called Bio-artificial Pancreas (Air), the company is planning to begin human clinical trials within the year.

We have strong pre-clinical evidence to prove the safe operation of our device on animals, said Beta-O2 CEO Amir Lichter, noting that the second generation Air is performing well in ongoing animal studies. Its an enormous achievement that is paving the road for human trials.

Measuring approximately 2.5 by 2.5 inches, Air is made of titanium. It has two components: a macrocapsule that contains pancreatic cells and an oxygen tank equipped with an external port, so patients can easily refresh oxygen levels weekly. Once implanted under a patients skin, it becomes a natural source of insulin, sensing blood glucose levels and delivering insulin as required.

While there are a couple of other artificial pancreatic solutions being explored by different industry players, Beta-O2s disruptive technology is the only bio-artificial pancreas to incorporate an active oxygen supply, necessary to keep the pancreas cells in the implanted device functional and viable over the long term. Other solutions are demonstrating limited success because they rely on a patients bloodstream to deliver enough oxygen to keep the transplanted cells viable, which is problematic, Lichter explained.

Pancreas cells (islets) are extremely delicate, he said. We solve the problem by proactively supplying oxygen through an external source, providing a superior solution.

Lichter said the beauty of the Beta-O2 solution which holds 10 global patents for its exclusive immune protection capabilities and oxygen supply mechanisms is that its very generic, meaning it can contain cells from a human donor, cells from the pancreas of a pig, or cells derived in a lab from stem cells. Other advantages are that Beta-O2s bio-artificial pancreas does not require a patient to take intensive immunosuppression therapies after implant due to its protective encapsulation capabilities, and the device can quickly be retrieved from a patient if necessary due to malfunction or other health concerns, he explained.

Beta-O2 is currently collaborating with several U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies and academics, including researchers from Harvard University, MIT, University of Virginia and Cornell University, to further enhance the Air oxygen supply and its ability to measure glucose levels and secrete insulin once implanted. The company is also in negotiations to solidify its collaboration with several stem cell providers as it looks to secure an additional $15 million in investment funds to support its aggressive go-to-market strategy.

The active oxygen supply used by Beta-O2 is currently the best and most advanced technique for maintaining viability and function of large numbers of pancreaticislets (or stem cell-derived islets) in an encapsulation transplantation device, said Clark K. Colton ofthe Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT andBeta-O2 Scientific Advisory Board member.

Calling the Beta-O2 device a next-gen treatment option, Dr. Jos Oberholzer, Professor of Surgery, Biomedical Engineering and Experimental Pathology at the University of Virginia and Beta-O2 Scientific Advisory Board member, explained that after years of insulin injections and closed-loop insulin pumps and glucose sensors, patients will finally have access to a biological device solution to treat the most brittle forms of diabetes. The Beta-O2 device is the only implant that has shown reproducible results in humans with diabetes, with measurable insulin production originating from human islet cells within the device without the need for recipients to take any immunosuppressive drugs.

An earlier safety trial involving four patients in Sweden, supported by New York-based JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), successfully demonstrated that Beta-O2s device is fully safe for use. No side effects were observed in patients who carried the device for up to 10 months, and the cells remained viable and functional.

Now, current animal trials underway at Beta-O2 are focused on extending the life of functional cells even further, with promising early results showing that rats implanted with Air are maintaining normal glucose levels.

With tangible evidence that we can maintain the viability and functionality of our cells for a long duration in rats, which have an immune system very similar to humans, we are looking forward to moving ahead with our second round of human clinical trials, Lichter said, noting that the company aims to be first to show that implanted biological pancreatic cells can successfully achieve normal blood sugar levels in diabetic patients without the need for immunosuppression therapy.

___________________________________________________________

About Beta-O2 Technologies Ltd. (www.beta-o2.com)

Beta-O2 Technologies Ltd. is a biomedical company developing a proprietary implantable bioreactor, the Air, for the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes. Air is designed to address the main problems of the otherwise successful procedures in which islets of Langerhans (i.e. pancreatic endocrine cells) are transplanted in diabetic patients, such as the need for life-long immunosuppressive pharmacological treatment and limited functionality of the transplanted islets over time due to an insufficient oxygen supply. Beta-O2 investors include SCP Vitalife Partners, Sherpa Ventures, Aurum Ventures, Pitango Venture Capital, Saints Capital, Japanese and Chinese private investors.

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"Signs of cancer can appear long before diagnosis," reports The Guardian.

Most cells in the body divide and reproduce constantly, picking up replication errors in their DNA over time as we age. Many of these errors may be harmless, but some can cause or increase the risk of cancer.

Cancers begin when harmful errors, or mutations, cause our cells to divide in an uncontrolled way. It's usually impossible to tell if this is happening, until the cancer starts to cause physical signs or symptoms.

In this new study, an international team of researchers sequenced the genomes (the entire DNA and genetic material) of 2,658 tumour samples.

They used the information to work out the order in which mutations and copying of mutations happened, because usually more than one mutation is needed before cells become cancerous. The researchers then modelled how different types of cancer develop over time.

They found that harmful mutations for some types of cancer, such as ovarian cancer, characteristically happen very early, in some cases decades before people have any physical signs of the disease. The findings raise hopes that some cancers could be detected and treated much earlier.

However, at present it's not clear whether this research could lead to a cancer screening system based on checking for "genetic early warning signs", both in terms of effectiveness and feasibility.

At present, the best way to detect cancer early is to be alert to the possible signs and symptoms, attend cancer screening when invited, and know about your family history of the disease.

Find out more about:

The research was carried out by the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, an enormous collaboration between hundreds of scientists from 4 continents. 46 scientists worked on this particular paper, from 38 universities or research institutes.

The PCAWG group published 6 papers this week, but we're focusing on just 1, which looked at the way cancers evolve over time. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature on an open-access basis, so it is free to read online.

The Guardian, BBC News and Mail Online focused on the discovery that DNA changes to cells may happen many years before cancer can currently be diagnosed, and the reporting was generally accurate.

This was a modelling study, using data from the whole genome sequencing of 2,658 cancers to reconstruct the likely evolution of DNA in these cancers over time. The study helps scientists to better understand how cancers begin and evolve.

However, at this stage, the results cannot be used to test for cancers in people.

A team of scientists worldwide worked with 2,778 samples of cancers, taken from 2,658 people with cancer. Some people gave just 1 sample, while others gave a sample of newly diagnosed primary tumours, and later, a sample of a metastatic cancer (when cancer has spread to another part of the body). 38 cancer types were represented in the samples.

The scientists carried out whole genome sequencing of the samples. This showed where DNA mutations arose, and whether they had been copied and duplicated as more DNA changes accumulated.

Researchers could look for so-called "driver" mutations, which are known to be linked to cancer, and see whether they happened early or late in the cancer's evolution.

They used this information to model a typical "life history" for each of the 38 types of cancer. This showed whether important mutations happened early or late in the cancer's development. They then estimated how that mapped against a person's life. For example, whether cancer-causing mutations happened a short time before cancer was diagnosed, or whether they had been present for years or decades before cancer was detected.

The researchers found that the time between cancer-driving mutations and diagnosis varies a lot between cancers. Some (such as liver and cervical cancer) happen 1 to 5 years before the cancer was diagnosed. By contrast, ovarian cancers showed significant mutations 10 to 40 years before diagnosis. This suggests the original mutations that lead to some adult cancers could happen during childhood or adolescence.

Other results included:

The researchers said: "Our study sheds light on the typical timescale of tumour development, with initial driver events seemingly occurring up to decades before diagnosis." They say the results "highlight opportunities for early cancer detection."

This study represents an enormous achievement by many scientists working together to find out more about how cancers develop over time. This type of work is likely to be important in developing future tests for cancers, and possibly new treatments that can target cancers at a very early stage.

However, the study does not change how cancer is diagnosed or treated at present. It can take years before early-stage research like this leads to changes in clinical practice.

As one of the scientists involved in the study told journalists, the idea of being able to target mutations by doing blood tests during childhood, then eliminate dangerous mutations, is "science fiction".

This research is very complex and, as with all modelling, it relies on some assumptions about the time it takes for mutations to arise, be duplicated and copied. The accuracy of the findings will depend on the accuracy of these assumptions.

All samples in the study came from people who had developed cancer. It would be interesting to compare findings with non-cancerous tissue samples from these people, or samples from people who did not develop cancer.

It's good news that DNA sequencing technology now allows scientists to work on such a large scale, and that theyre able to work together to find out more detail about the way that cancers evolve. This type of work could make a big difference to the way doctors approach cancer in future.

Analysis by BazianEdited by NHS Website

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Could findings of large new study change how cancer is diagnosed and treated - NHS Website

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People who develop Parkinson's disease at a younger age (before age 50) may have malfunctioning brain cells at birth, according to a study that also identified a drug that may help these patients.

At least 500,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Parkinson's each year. Most are 60 or older at diagnosis, but about 10% are between 21 and 50.

Parkinson's is a neurological disease that occurs when brain neurons that make dopamine become impaired or die. Dopamine helps coordinate muscle movement.

Symptoms get worse over time and include slow gait, rigidity, tremors, and loss of balance. There is currently no cure.

"Young-onset Parkinson's is especially heartbreaking because it strikes people at the prime of life," said study co-author Dr. Michele Tagliati, director of the Movement Disorders Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

"This exciting new research provides hope that one day we may be able to detect and take early action to prevent this disease in at-risk individuals," he said in a hospital news release.

For the study, Tagliati and colleagues generated special stem cells from the cells of patients with young-onset Parkinson's disease. These stem cells can produce any cell type of the human body. Researchers used them to produce dopamine neurons from each patient and analyzed those neurons in the lab.

The dopamine neurons showed two key abnormalities: buildup of a protein called alpha-synuclein, which occurs in most forms of Parkinson's disease; and malfunctioning lysosomes, structures that act as "trash cans" for the cell to break down and dispose of proteins. This malfunction could result in a buildup of alpha-synuclein, the researchers said.

"Our technique gave us a window back in time to see how well the dopamine neurons might have functioned from the very start of a patient's life," said senior author Clive Svendsen, director of the Cedars Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute.

"What we are seeing using this new model are the very first signs of young-onset Parkinson's," Svendsen said in the release. "It appears that dopamine neurons in these individuals may continue to mishandle alpha-synuclein over a period of 20 or 30 years, causing Parkinson's symptoms to emerge."

The study was published Jan. 27 in the journalNature Medicine.

The researchers also tested drugs that might reverse the neuron abnormalities. A drug called PEP005 already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating precancers of the skin reduced elevated levels of alpha-synuclein both in mice and in dopamine neurons in the lab.

The investigators plan to determine how PEP005, which is available in gel form, might be delivered to the brain to potentially treat or prevent young-onset Parkinson's.

They also want to find out whether the abnormalities in neurons of young-onset Parkinson's patients also exist in other forms of Parkinson's.

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Parkinson's Traced to Malfunctioning Brain Cells at Birth - Newsmax

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When talented rugby player George Thompson went to see his doctor with a suspected match-related injury, the last thing he expected to hear was the word 'cancer'.

George Thompson had been playing rugby since the age of six, spending most of his young sporting career at Devonport Services RFC, representing Devon U15s, captaining Devon U16s and Plymouth Albion U18s, before joining the Exeter Chiefs Academy.

The 17-year-old, from Saltash, was set to join his local club, Saltash RFC, but in a devastating and unexpected blow has had to give up the sport he loves after being diagnosed with Neuroblastoma.

The rare type of cancer mostly affects babies and young children, but very occasionally is found in adolescents.

George, who is in his second year of a gas engineering apprenticeship with Plymouth Community Homes, began suffering with lower back pain and was originally told that it was believed he had ankylosing spondylitis - a long-term condition which means the spine and other areas of the body become inflamed.

But after numerous scans and tests, he was told he had the rare cancer, which had also spread to his bones and bone marrow.

He has now been transferred to Bristol Royal Hospital for children where he is undergoing chemotherapy.

George now has a 12-month plan which will include surgery, chemotherapy, blood transfusions, radiotherapy and immunotherapy.

More than 13,800 has been raised on a crowdfunding page - which you can donate to here - set up by George's auntie, Catherine Arris.

George's sister, Rosie, said the "response has been overwhelming".

She said the money will help herself, her mother Julie and father, Martin with travel costs and subsidise their lost income whilst frequently making back-and-forth trips from Cornwall to Bristol, to ensure that they are with George throughout "the intense treatment period".

Rosie said: "This will also enable George to have some quality downtime away from the hospital ward when he is well enough in-between treatments.

"It is important to us that we maintain as normal a family life as possible throughout the difficult months that lie ahead and this is now being made possible by the generosity of so many people.

"There are not enough words to thank each and every person who is supporting us."

Rosie explained that any money which remains at the end of George's treatment will be donated to Clic Sargent, The Teenage Cancer Trust and Neuroblastoma UK.

"These charities are already looking after us, providing accommodation and various support," she said.

George has already undergone four blood transfusions and it is likely he will receive further transfusions.

Rosie said: "We are all signing up to donate blood and would encourage as many people as possible to follow suit. We have seen first hand how important blood donations are.

"In such a short space of time we have been amazed by the generosity and heartfelt messages of support.

"Georges fun loving character and caring nature has been recognised by so many people, some who have never met George."

There are a number of plans for fund-raising events to take place during Georges treatment, to raise money for Clic Sargent and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Plymouth Community Homes is set to arrange an event, as well as a team named 'Run For George' which has entered into the Mudstock Run on June 27, 2020, supported by BH Fitness.

There is also a fund-raising rugby match on April 18, 2020, which has been organised by George's uncle, Richard Thompson.

If you are interested in this story, you may be interested in the crowdfunder for the Plymouth man diagnosed with testicular cancer at just 21 years old.

Neuroblastoma is a rare type of cancer that mostly affects babies and young children.

It develops from specialised nerve cells (neuroblasts) left behind from a baby's development in the womb.

Neuroblastoma most commonly occurs in 1 of the adrenal glands situated above the kidneys, or in the nerve tissue that runs alongside the spinal cord in the neck, chest,tummy or pelvis.

It can spread to other organs, such as the bone marrow, bone, lymph nodes, liver and skin.

It affects around 100 children each year in the UK and is most common in children under the age of 5.

The cause is unknown. There are very rare cases where children in the same family are affected, but generally neuroblastoma does not run in families.

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The symptoms of neuroblastoma vary depending on where the cancer is and whether it's spread.

The early symptoms can be vague and hard to spot, and can easily be mistaken for those of more common childhood conditions.

Symptoms can include:

See a GP or contactNHS 111if you're worried your child might be seriously ill.

A number of tests may be carried out if it's thought your child could have neuroblastoma.

These tests may include:

Once these tests have been completed, it'll usually be possible to confirm if the diagnosis is neuroblastoma and determine what stage it is.

As with most cancers, neuroblastoma is given a stage. This indicates if it's spread and, if so, how far.

The staging system used for neuroblastoma is:

Knowing the stage of your child's neuroblastoma will allow doctors to decide which treatment is best.

Some babies and infants less than 18 months old with either stage L1 or Ms neuroblastoma who have no symptoms may not need any treatment, as the cancer can sometimes go away on its own.

The main treatments for neuroblastoma are:

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Like most medical students, I struggled to memorize the Krebs cycle, the complex energy-producing process that takes place in the body's mitochondria. Rote learning of Sir Hans Krebs' eponymous cascade of reactions persists and has been cited as a waste of time in modern medical education. However, it looks like that specialized knowledge about mitochondrial structure and function may finally come in handy in the clinic.

Advances in genetics have contributed to improved diagnostic accuracy of a diverse spectrum of mitochondrial disorders. Respiratory chain, nuclear gene, and mitochondrial proteome mutations can lead to multisystem or organ-specific dysfunction.

A new potential treatment for mitochondrial disorders, elamipretide, has received orphan drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is in clinical trials sponsored by Stealth Biotherapeutics. [Dr Wilner has consulted for Stealth Biotherapeutics.] Recently I had the opportunity to interview Hilary Vernon, MD, PhD, associate professor of genetic medicine at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, and an expert on mitochondrial disorders. Dr Vernon discussed her research on elamipretide as a treatment for Barth syndrome, a rare form of mitochondrial disease.

I am the director of the Mitochondrial Medicine Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital. I work with individuals from infancy through adulthood who have mitochondrial conditions. I became interested in this particular area when I was early in my pediatrics/genetics residency at Johns Hopkins and saw the toll that mitochondrial disorders took on patients' lives and the limited effective therapies. At that point, I decided to focus on patient care and research in this area.

Mitochondrial disorders can be difficult to recognize because of their inherent multisystem nature and variable presentations (even between affected members of the same family). However, there are several considerations that should raise a clinician's suspicion for a mitochondrial condition. Ascertaining a family history of disease inheritance through the maternal line can raise the suspicion for a mitochondrial DNA disorder. Identification of a combination of medical issues in different organ systems that are seemingly unrelated in an individual (ie, optic atrophy and muscle weakness or diabetes and hearing loss) can also raise suspicion for a mitochondrial condition.

Due to the nature of mitochondria as the major energy producers of the cells, high-energy-requiring tissues such as the brain and the muscles are often affected. Perhaps the best known mitochondrial diseases to neurologists are MELAS (mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke) as well as MERFF (myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers). There is a nice body of literature on the effects of arginine and citrulline in modifying stroke-like episodes in MELAS, and this is a therapy that is in current practice.

Mitochondria are complex organelles whose structure and function are encoded in hundreds of genes originating from both the nucleus of the cell and the mitochondria themselves. Mitochondria have many key roles in cellular function, including energy production through the respiratory chain, coordination of apoptosis, nitrogen metabolism, fatty acid oxidation, and much more.

Various cofactors and vitamins can be employed to improve mitochondrial function for different reasons. For example, if a specific enzyme is dysfunctional, supplying the cofactor for that enzyme may improve its function (ie, pyruvate dehydrogenase and thiamine). Antioxidants have also been considered to help reduce the oxidant load that could potentially cause ongoing damage to the mitochondrial membrane resulting from respiratory chain dysfunction (ie, coenzyme Q-10).

It is important to remember that the highest number of individual mitochondrial disorders result from mutations in genes located in the nuclear DNA. For example, the TAZ gene that is abnormal in Barth syndrome is a nuclear gene located on the X chromosome. These genes are amenable to the "regular" approaches to gene therapy.

Targeting mitochondrial DNA for gene therapy requires a different set of approaches because the gene delivery has to overcome the barrier of the mitochondrial membranes. However, research is ongoing to overcome these obstacles.

Barth syndrome is a very rare genetic X-linked disorder that usually only affects males. The genetic defect leads to an abnormal composition of cardiolipin on the inner mitochondrial membrane. Cardiolipin is an important phospholipid involved in many mitochondrial functions, including organization of inner mitochondrial membrane cristae, involvement in apoptosis, and organization of the respiratory chain (which is responsible for producing ATP via the process of oxidative phosphorylation), and many of these functions are abnormal in Barth syndrome. Individuals with Barth syndrome typically have early-onset cardiomyopathy, myopathy, intermittent neutropenia, fatigue, poor early growth, among other health concerns.

Early in my post-residency career, I followed several patients with Barth syndrome and was quickly welcomed into the Barth syndrome community by the families and the Barth Syndrome Foundation. From there, I founded the only interdisciplinary Barth syndrome clinic in the US and began to focus a significant amount of my clinical and laboratory research on this condition.

Most commonly, these individuals come to medical attention because of cardiomyopathy, but a minority of patients do come to attention due to repeated infections and neutropenia. Patients were identified for study participation through the Barth Syndrome Foundation or because they were already patients of my study team.

All participants were known to have Barth syndrome prior to study entry, and all had confirmatory genetic testing showing a pathogenic mutation in the TAZ gene.

By binding to cardiolipin in the inner mitochondrial membrane, elamipretide is believed to stabilize cristae architecture and electron transport chain structure during oxidative stress. I thought it would be great if this could help to stabilize the abnormal cardiolipin components on the inner mitochondrial membrane in Barth syndrome.

We observed improvements in several areas across the study population in the open-label extension part of the study. This includes a significant improvement in exercise performance (as measured by the 6-minute walk test, with an average improvement of 95.9 meters at 36 weeks) and a significant improvement in muscle strength. We also observed a potential improvement in cardiac stroke volume. Most of the adverse events were local injection-site reactions and were mild to moderate in nature.

The TAZPOWER trial has an ongoing open-label extension with the same endpoints as the placebo-controlled portion evaluated on an ongoing basis. In addition, in my laboratory, we are using induced pluripotent stem cells to learn more about how cardiolipin abnormalities affect different cell types in an effort to understand the tissue specificity of disease. This will help us to understand whether different aspects of Barth syndrome would necessitate individual management or clinical monitoring strategies.

Mitochondrial inner membrane dysfunction is increasingly recognized as a major aspect of the pathology of a wide range of mitochondrial conditions. Therefore, based on the role of stabilizing mitochondrial membrane components, elamipretide has a potential role in many disorders of the mitochondria.

Yes, this is what we would call "secondary mitochondrial dysfunction" (meant to differentiate from "primary mitochondrial disease," which is caused by defects in genes that encode for mitochondrial structure and function). Approaches intended to protect the mitochondria from further damage, such as antioxidants or strategies that can bypass the mitochondria for ATP production, could overlap as treatment for primary mitochondrial disease and secondary mitochondrial dysfunction.

This is something that is much discussed as a newer consideration for families who are affected by disorders of the mitochondrial DNA, but not something I have experience with firsthand.

Yes. The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation and the Mitochondrial Medicine Society collaborated to develop the Mito Care Network, with 19 sites identified as Mitochondrial Medicine Centers across the US.

Andrew Wilner is an associate professor of neurology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, a health journalist, and an avid SCUBA diver. His latest book is The Locum Life: A Physician's Guide to Locum Tenens.

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Anemia also known as iron-poor blood is a condition that develops when either the blood doesn't have enough red blood cells or the concentration of hemoglobin in red blood cells is very low. Hemoglobin is the iron-containing protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. When there are fewer red blood cells than normal or low levels of hemoglobin, the body doesn't get enough oxygen-rich blood for healthy functioning, which is what causes the symptoms of anemia.

Anemia is the most common blood disorder in the United States, affecting nearly 3 million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The term anemia is a broad one that represents several hundred different conditions some of them mild and treatable, others that are quite serious, said Dr. Nancy Berliner, chief of hematology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. There are three reasons that people are anemic, Berliner said: Either their body can't make enough red blood cells, something is destroying the red blood cells faster than their body can make news ones or blood loss (from menstrual periods, colon polyps or a stomach ulcer, for example) is greater than blood cell production.

There are more than 400 different types of anemia, according to the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute. Here are a few of the more common and better understood types:

Iron-deficiency anemia: The most common form of anemia is caused by low-iron levels in the body. Humans need iron to make hemoglobin, and most of that iron comes from dietary sources. Iron-deficiency anemia can result from a poor diet or from blood loss through menstruation, surgery or internal bleeding.

Pregnancy also increases the body's need for iron because more blood is needed to supply oxygen to the developing fetus, which may quickly drain the body's available iron stores, leading to a deficit. Problems absorbing iron from food because of Crohn's disease or celiac disease can also result in anemia.

Vitamin deficiency anemia: Besides iron, the body also needs two different B-vitamins folate and B12 to make enough red blood cells. Not consuming enough B12 or folate in the diet or an inability to absorb enough of these vitamins can lead to deficient red blood cell production.

Sickle cell anemia or sickle cell disease (SDC): This inherited disease causes red blood cells to become crescent-shaped rather than round. Abnormally shaped red cells can break apart easily and clog small blood vessels, resulting in a shortage of red blood cells and episodes of pain, according to the Mayo Clinic. People become chronically anemic because the sickle-shaped red cells are not pliable and can't get through blood vessels to deliver oxygen, Berliner said.

SDC occurs most often in people from parts of the world where malaria is or was common, according to the CDC; the sickle cell trait may provide protection against severe forms of malaria. In the U.S., SDC affects an estimated 100,000 Americans.

Thalassemia: Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder that results in lower-than-normal levels of hemoglobin. This type of anemia is caused by genetic mutations in one or more of the genes that control the production of hemoglobin, according to the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Aplastic anemia: Aplastic anemia is a rare, life-threatening condition that develops when bone marrow stops making enough new blood cells, including red cells, white cells and platelets.

Aplastic anemia may be caused by radiation and chemotherapy treatments, which can damage stem cells in bone marrow that produce blood cells. Some medications, exposure to toxic chemicals like pesticides, viral infections and autoimmune disorders can also affect bone marrow and slow blood cell production.

Hemolytic anemias: This disorder causes red blood cells to be destroyed faster than bone marrow can replace them. Hemolytic anemias may be caused by infections, leaky heart valves, autoimmune disorders or inherited abnormalities in red blood cells, according to the American Society of Hematology.

Anemia of inflammation: Also called anemia of chronic disease, anemia of inflammation commonly occurs in people with chronic conditions that cause inflammation. This includes people with infections, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic kidney disease, HIV/AIDS and certain cancers, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

When a person has a disease or infection that causes inflammation, the immune system responds in a way that changes how the body works, resulting in anemia. For example, inflammation suppresses the availability of iron, so the body may not use and store the mineral normally for healthy red blood cell production, Berliner said. Inflammation may also stop the kidneys from producing a hormone that promotes red blood cell production.

The risk for anemia is higher in people with a poor diet, intestinal disorders, chronic diseases and infections. Women who are menstruating or pregnant are also prone to the disorder.

The risk of anemia increases with age, and about 10% to 12% of people over 65 are anemic, Berliner said. But the condition is not a normal part of aging, so the cause should be investigated when it's diagnosed, she said. Older adults may develop anemia from chronic diseases, such as cancer, or iron-deficiency anemia from abnormal bleeding.

According to NHLBI, the following types of people have an increased risk of developing anemia:

Mild forms of anemia may not cause any symptoms. When signs and symptoms of anemia do occur, they may include the following, according to the NHLBI:

The first test used to diagnose anemia is a complete blood count, which measures different parts and features of the blood: It shows the number and average size of red blood cells, as well as the amount of hemoglobin. A lower-than-normal red blood cell count or low levels of hemoglobin indicate anemia is present.

If more testing is needed to determine the type of anemia, a blood sample can be examined under a microscope to check for abnormalities in the size and shape of the red cells, white cells and platelets.

Related: This man's taste buds disappeared because of a blood condition

The treatment of anemia depends on the specific type of anemia, Berliner said, and anemias caused by nutritional deficiencies respond well to changes in diet. People with iron-deficiency anemia may need to take supplemental iron for several months or longer to replenish blood levels of the mineral. Some people, especially pregnant women, may find it hard to take iron because it causes side effects, such as an upset stomach or constipation, Berliner said.

For vitamin-deficiency anemias, treatment with B12 or folate from supplements (or a B12 shot) and foods, can improve levels of these nutrients in the blood, Berliner said.

Serious problems, such as aplastic anemia, which involves bone marrow failure, may be treated with medications and blood transfusions. Severe forms of thalassemia might need frequent blood transfusions.

Treatment for sickle cell anemia may include pain medications, blood transfusions or a bone marrow transplant.

Additional resources:

This article is for informational purposes only, and is not meant to offer medical advice.

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