Stem cells have the incredible ability to develop into a variety of different cell types within the body. In addition, stem cells can play a crucial role in internally repairing many types of tissues. During this process, stem cells divide, replenishing other cells without limit.

While stem cells have been used by medical professionals for a wide variety of reasons in order to treat injuries, ailments, and diseases affecting every part of the body, the use of stem cells in the treatment of spinal damage may be the most exciting and potent use yet. Through the application of these spinal treatments, patients have the ability to recover not only more completely, but also in a more natural and therefore more complete manner than ever before. When paired with the insight of a skilled spinal surgeon, the results can be astonishing.

If you or a loved one is suffering from spine damage and are looking to learn more about how stem cell treatments can help you, get in touch with the expert back team at ProMed SPINE today by filling out ouronline contact form. Schedule a consultation with us and begin the path to recovery today!

Stem cells differ from other cell types because they are unspecialized and therefore capable of renewing themselves through cell division. Under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they have the ability to become tissue or even organ-specific cells with special functions. Given these unique regenerative abilities, stem cells offer new potential in the enhancement of every surgery.

Rather then undergoing an invasive surgery that wont actually repair damage from degenerative disc disease, stem cell spinal treatments are short, minimally invasive and capable of healing the damage that has been done to the disc. Stem cell therapy produces new disc cells inside the disc itself, allowing it to rebuild to a like-new condition. When treating degenerative disc disease, bone marrow is extracted from the patients hipbone and stem cells are filtered out using a centrifuge. Then stem cells are injected into the disc with the help of an x-ray. After this step, the patient is free to go home and begin the recovery process. Over the next few months to a year, patients will experience a lessening of back pain as the disc begins to restore itself. It is quite common for patients who have undergone stem cell injections to experience complete relief from back pain and a vast improvement in their overall quality of life.

Stem cells can also be used to enhance the effects of a spinal fusion surgery. A lack of useful new bone growth after this type of surgery can be a significant problem. This new technology helps patients grow new bone and avoid harvesting a bone graft from the patients own hip or using bone from a deceased donor. By avoiding these steps, patients are able to recover faster and prevent painful procedures.

A major component of stem cells is their ability to reinforce stronger, healthier healing in patients. Oftentimes, the body is in a weakened state following a surgical procedure and therefore more susceptible to developing infection. Stem cells unique ability to replenish themselves offers the body fresh, healthy cells that are not nearly as vulnerable to incurring infection so that the body can heal more quickly and effectively.

After undergoing a surgery and the rehabilitation process that follows, many patients are left with unsightly scars. These scars are often painful reminders of a traumatic event and, in some cases, cause self-consciousness or outright embarrassment due to their appearance. Stem cells have become an increasingly useful aid in ridding patients of unattractive scars so that they can fully recover from their injuries. Stem cells are useful in the treatment of scarring in three major ways: they carry anti-inflammatory properties that prevent excessive scarring, are capable of replenishing normal cells in the tissue through differentiation, and finally, stem cells dissolve the excess collagen in scar tissue by emitting large amounts of enzymes whose specific function is to dissolve scar tissue.

Click here to learnmore about stem cell therapy from WebMD.com.

The potential medical benefits of stem cell research are unparalleled in the healing and rejuvenating processes following a spinal procedure. Whether you are facing a major surgery or are considering your options concerning continued pain and physical limitations, knowing what options may be best for you is vital in the search for skilled medical care. Schedule an appointment with a laser spine surgeonto find out how stem cell therapy can be used to help you find a healthier and happier life.

Next, please read about disc replacement surgery.

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Skin is the body's largest organ. Loss of the skin barrierresults in fluid and heat loss and the risk of infection. Thetraditional treatment for deep burns is to cover them with healthyskin harvested from another part of the body. But in cases ofextensive burns, there often isn't enough healthy skin toharvest.

During phase I of AFIRM, WFIRM scientists designed, built andtested a printer designed to print skin cells onto burn wounds. The"ink" is actually different kinds of skin cells. A scanner is usedto determine wound size and depth. Different kinds of skin cellsare found at different depths. This data guides the printer as itapplies layers of the correct type of cells to cover the wound. Youonly need a patch of skin one-tenth the size of the burn to growenough skin cells for skin printing.

During Phase II of AFIRM, the WFIRM team will explore whether atype of stem cell found in amniotic fluid and placenta (afterbirth)is effective at healing wounds. The goal of the project is to bringthe technology to soldiers who need it within the next 5 years.

This video -- with a mock hand and burn -- demonstrates the process.

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COPD

Over 32 million Americans suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (also known as COPD). COPD is a progressive lung disease, however regenerative medicine, such as lung regeneration therapies using stem cells are showing potential for COPD by encouraging tissue repair and reducing inflammation to the diseased lung tissue.

Following up with stem cell therapy and exome therapy immediately in the first 36 to 48 hours after stroke symptoms surface has proven to be crucial to long-term recovery and regaining mobility again. Cell therapy also calms post-stroke inflammation in the body, and reduces risk of serious infections.

Parkinsons is a neurodegenerative brain disorder caused by the gradual loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain. It afflicts more than 1 million people in the U.S., and currently, there is no known cure. Stem cell therapies have been showing incredible progress. Using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, a mature cell can be reprogrammed into an embryonic-like, healthy and highly-functioning state, which has the potential to become a dopamine-producing cell in the brain.

A thick, full head of hair is possible, naturally! Stem cell and exosome therapy promotes healing from within to naturally stimulate hair follicles, which encourages new hair growth. Using your own stem cells, Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and exosomes, you can regrow your own healthy, thick hair naturally and restore your confidence!

Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual intercourse. Regenerative medicine offers a non-surgical option that commonly uses the patients own stem cells, exosomes, and other sources of growth factors to regenerate healthy tissue to improve performance and sensation.

If chronic joint pain is derailing your active lifestyle, then youre not alone. Regenerative medicine offers a non-surgical option that commonly uses the patients own stem cells, exosomes, and other sources of growth factors to reduce inflammation, promote natural healing and regenerate healthy tissue surrounding the joint for relief.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects 400,000 people in the U.S., and occurs when the body has an abnormal immune system response and attacks the central nervous system. Regenerative medicine now offers treatment for MS with stem cell therapy, which is an exciting and rapidly developing field of therapy. Stem cells work to repair damaged cells these new cells can become replacement cells to restore normal functionality.

Spinal cord injuries are as complex as they are devastating. Today, cellular treatments, usually a combination of therapies, such as stem cell, Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and exosome therapy with growth factors are showing promise in contributing to spinal cord repair and reducing inflammation at the site of injury.

If you have chronic nerve injury pain that doesnt fade, your health care provider may recommend surgery to reverse the damage. However, regenerative medicine offers a non-surgical option to repair damaged tissue and reduce inflammation at the site of injury. Stem cell therapy commonly uses the patients own stem cells, exosomes, and other sources of growth factors to regenerate healthy tissue.

Neuropathy also called peripheral neuropathy occurs when nerves are damaged and cant send messages from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, skin and other parts of the body. Simply put, the two areas stop communicating. Stem cell and exosome therapies treat damaged nerves affected by neuropathy, and they have the ability to replicate and create new, healthy cells, while repairing damaged tissue.

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Five million people in the U.S. suffer with heart failure, resulting in ~60,000 deaths/year at a cost of $30 billion/year. Heart failure occurs when the heart is damaged and becomes unable to meet the demands placed on it. Unlike other organs, the heart is unable to fully repair itself after injury. One of the common causes for the development of heart damage is a heart attack. After a myocardial infarction (heart attack), irreversible loss of contracting heart muscle cells occurs, resulting in scar formation and subsequently heart failure. Current therapies designed to treat heart attack patients in the acute setting include medical therapies and catheter-based technologies that aim to open the blocked coronary arteries with the hope of salvaging as much of the jeopardized heart muscle cells as possible. Unfortunately, despite advances over the past 2 decades, it is rarely possible to rescue the at-risk heart muscle cells from some degree of irreversible injury and death.

Attention has turned to new methods of treating heart attack and heart failure patients in both the acute and chronic settings after their event. Heart transplantation remains the ultimate approach to treating end-stage heart failure patients but this therapy is invasive, costly, some patients are not candidates for transplantation given their other co-morbidities, and most importantly, there are not enough organs for transplanting the increasing number of patients who need this therapy. As such, newer therapies are needed to treat the millions of patients with debilitating heart conditions. Recently, it has been discovered that stem cells may hold therapeutic potential for these patients. Experimental studies in animals have revealed encouraging results when pluripotent stem cells are introduced into the heart around areas of myocardial infarction. These therapies appear to result in improvement in the contractile function of the heart.

However, numerous questions remain unanswered concerning the use of pluripotent stem cells as therapy for patients with heart attack and heart failure. Human embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells grow and divide indefinitely while maintaining the potential to develop into many tissues of the body, including heart muscle. They provide an unprecedented opportunity to both study human heart muscle in culture in the laboratory, and advance the possibility of their use in therapy for damaged heart muscle. We have developed methods for identifying and isolating specific types of human ES and iPS cells, stimulating them to become human heart muscle cells, and delivering these into the hearts of rodents that have had a heart attack. This research will refine and advance such approaches in small and large animals, develop clinical grade cells for use, and ultimately initiate clinical trials for patients suffering from heart disease.

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A new therapy could restore healthy and protective skin to patients with a rare genetic disease.

iStock.com/Andrey Prokhorov

By Kelly ServickNov. 8, 2017 , 1:00 PM

A 7-year-old who lost most of his skin to a rare genetic disease has made a dramatic recovery after receiving an experimental gene therapy, researchers announced today. The treatmenta whole-body graft of genetically modified stem cellsis the most ambitious attempt yet to treat a severe form of epidermolysis bullosa (EB), an often-fatal group of conditions that cause skin to blister and tear off at the slightest touch.

The new approach can address only a subset of the genetic mutations that cause EB. But the boys impressive recoveryhes now back inschool and is even playing soccercould yield insights that help researchers use stem cells to treat other genetic skin conditions.

It is very unusual that we would see a publication with a single case study anymore, but this one is a little different, says Jakub Tolar, a bone marrow transplant physician at the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesotain Minneapolis who is developing therapies for EB. This is one of these [studies] that can determine where the future of the field is going to go.

EB results from mutations to any of several genes that encode proteins crucial for anchoring the outer layer of skin, the epidermis, to the tissue below. The missing or defective protein can cause skin to slough off from minor damage, creating chronic injuries prone to infection. Some forms of EB can be lethal in infancy, and some predispose patients to an aggressive and deadly skin cancer. The only treatment involves painfully dressing and redressing wounds daily. Bandage costs can approach $100,000 a year, says Peter Marinkovich, a dermatologist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, who treats EB patients. Theyre like walking burn victims, he says.

In fact, the new approach is similar to an established treatment for severe burns, in which sheets of healthy skin are grown from a patients own cells and grafted over wounds. But stem cell biologist and physician Michele De Luca of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy and his colleagues have been developing a way to counteract an EB-causing mutation by inserting a new gene into the cells used for grafts. His group has already treated two EB patients with this approach. They publishedencouraging resultsfrom their first attemptwith small patches of gene-corrected skin on a patients legsin 2006.

In 2015, De Lucas team got a desperate request from doctors in Germany. Their young patient had a severe form of the disease known as junctional EB, caused by a mutation in a gene encoding part of the protein laminin 332, which makes up a thin membrane just below the epidermis. It was the same gene De Lucas team was targeting in an ongoing clinical trial, but this case was especially dire: Lacking most of his skin, the boy had contracted multiple infections and was in a life-threatening septic state. The emergency treatment would be the first test of their gene therapy approach over such a large and severely damaged area.

De Lucas team used a patch of skin a little bigger than a U.S. postage stamp from an unblistered part of the boys groin to culture epidermal cells, which include stem cells that periodically regenerate the skin. They infected those cells with a retrovirus bearing healthy copies of the needed gene,LAMB3, and grew them into sheets ranging from 50 to 150 square centimeters. In two surgeries, a team at Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, covered the boys arms, legs, back, and some of his chest in the new skin.

After a month,most of the new skin had begun to regenerate, covering 80% of the boys body in strong and elastic epidermis, the researchers report online today inNature. Whats more, hes developed no blisters in the grafted areas in the 2 years since the surgery.

Other researchers have long been concerned that using a retrovirus to insert genes at random points in cells genomes might cause cancer. (In the early 2000s, five children who participated in a retrovirus-based gene therapy trial for severe combined immunodeficiencydeveloped leukemia.) But the current study found no evidence that the insertion affected cancer genes.

De Luca and colleagues were also able to track which grafted cells regenerated the skin over time by using the different locations of the genetic insert as markers for individual cells and their progeny. They found that most cells from the graft disappeared after a few months, but a small population of long-lived cells called holoclones formed colonies that renewed the epidermis.

Epidermal stem cells known as holoclones (shown in pink) were responsible for regenerating the young epidermolysis bullosapatients skin, whileother cell types disappeared over time.

News & Views/Nature; adapted by E. Petersen/Science

Thats an important lesson, Tolar says; it suggests that future attempts to correct genetic skin diseases should focus on culture conditions that nourish these stem cells, and potentially even target them for modification. If you have a gene correction strategy, he says, youd better have these primitive epidermal stem cells in mind.

The current results could benefit several thousand EB patients across the world, Marinkovich says, but it wont work for all of them. More than half have a form of the disease called EB simplex, which is causednot by a missing protein, but by mutations that produce an active but dysfunctional protein. For these errors, correction with a gene-editing tool like CRISPR makes more sense, De Luca says.

The grafts also cant repair damage to internal surfaces such as the esophagus, Tolar notes, which occurs in some EB cases. Fortunately, that wasnt an issue for the boy in this study. The treatment is a good step in the right direction, he says, but its not curative.

Both De Luca and Marinkovichs teams are exploring a similar gene therapy for another major form of the disease, called dystrophic EB, caused by a different genetic error affecting a larger protein. Biotech companies are working with each group to test the approach in larger clinical trials.

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A stem cell or bone marrow transplant replaces damaged blood cells with healthy ones. It can be used to treat conditions affecting the blood cells, such as leukaemia and lymphoma.

Stem cells arespecial cells produced bybone marrow (aspongytissue found in the centre of some bones) that can turn into different types of blood cells.

The three maintypes of blood cellthey can become are:

A stem cell transplant involves destroying any unhealthy blood cells and replacing them with stem cells removed from the blood or bone marrow.

Stem cell transplants are used to treat conditions in which the bone marrow is damaged and is no longer able to produce healthy blood cells.

Transplants can also be carried out to replace blood cells that are damaged or destroyed as a result of intensive cancer treatment.

Conditions that stem cell transplants can be used to treat include:

A stem cell transplant will usually only be carried out if other treatments haven't helped, the potential benefits of a transplant outweigh the risks and you're in relatively good health, despite your underlying condition.

A stem cell transplant can involve taking healthy stem cells from the blood or bone marrow of one person ideally a close family member with the same or similar tissue type (see below) and transferring them to another person. This is called an allogeneic transplant.

It's also possible to remove stem cells from your own body and transplant them later, after any damaged or diseased cells have been removed. This is called an autologous transplant.

Astem celltransplant has five main stages. These are:

Having a stem cell transplant can be an intensive and challenging experience. You'll usually need to stay in hospital fora month or more until the transplant starts to take effect and itcan takea year or two to fully recover.

Read more about what happens during a stem cell transplant.

Stem celltransplants arecomplicated procedures with significant risks. It's important that you're aware of both the risks and possible benefits before treatment begins.

Possible problems that can occur during or after the transplant process include:

Read more about the risks of having a stem cell transplant.

Ifit isn't possible to use your own stem cells for the transplant (see above), stem cells will need to come from a donor.

To improve the chances ofthetransplant being successful, donated stem cells need tocarry a special genetic marker known as a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) that'sidentical or very similar to that of the person receiving the transplant.

The best chance of getting a match is from a brother or sister, or sometimes another close family member. If there are no matches in your close family,a search of theBritish Bone Marrow Registry will be carried out.

Most peoplewill eventually find a donor in the registry,although a small number of people may find it very hard or impossibleto find a suitable match.

The NHS Blood and Transplant website has more information about stem cell and bone marrow donation.

Page last reviewed: 08/10/2015

Next review due: 01/10/2018

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Spinal cord injury is the injury to the spinal cord, a very serious form of trauma with enduring effects on the patients daily life. The spinal cord is approximately 18 inches long and extends from brain base at the neck and ending just above the buttocks. It has numerous nerves known as upper motor neurons (UMNs) and is responsible for transmitting signals back and forth from the brain to different parts on the body.Human beings are in a position to feel pain and move their limbs because messages are sent via the spinal cord, therefore if the spinal cord is damaged some or all of these impulses may not be sent.

Usually, a spinal cord injury happens as a result of an impulsive accident or event, we list here some of the most common causes of spinal cord injury:

An aggressive attack like being stabbed or shot Diving into very shallow water and hitting the bottom Trauma to the face, head, back or the neck region during a motor accident Falling from a very high height Electrical accident Injuries while engaging in sports Severe twist of the torso middle portion

1) Incomplete spinal cord injuries; the spinal cord is partially affected and in this case, the patient retains some functions depending on the degree of the injury. Some of the common types of partial spinal cord include anterior cord syndrome, central cord syndrome and brown-sequard syndrome.

2) Complete spinal cord injuries; this type occurs when the spinal cord is fully damaged and there is no function below the level of injury. However, with proper treatment and physical therapy, it is possible for a patient to regain some functions.

Challenges walking Loss of control of bladder or bowels Difficulties moving arms and legs Headaches Unconsciousness Pain, pressure, and stiffness in the neck/or back region Spreading numbness feelings Unnatural head positioning Signs of shock Loss of libido Loss of fertility Bedsores How are spinal cord injuries diagnosed?

Usually, physicians examine patients for spinal cord injuries based on factors like the location, type and the symptoms of the injury. However, no single test can assess 100% these injuries; instead, doctors depend on a number of protocols such as:

Clinical evaluation; the doctor will keenly observe your symptoms, carry out blood tests, ask detailed questions about your condition and follow your eye movement Imaging tests; the doctor may request a magnetic reasoning imaging or radiological imaging to view the spinal column, spinal cord, and brain

Stem cells are found in all multi-cellular organisms and are well known for their remarkable ability to differentiate into almost any other type of cell. Therefore depending on the disease, stem cells can be transplanted into the patient to assist renewal and regeneration of the previously dying cells.This principle is now being used for a spinal cord injury using stem cells; it assists patients with the recovery process and restores their physiological and sensory ability.Currently, no stem cell therapy has been approved as a complete cure for spinal injuries. Stem cell therapy is used to improve conditions and symptoms whilst allowing the patient to enjoy a better quality of life after injury.

Exogenous and endogenous repair.While in exogenous repair the stem cells are first grown in the lab and then injected into the patient, in endogenous repair stem cells are injected into the injured site and the results depend on the bodys ability to change stem cells into the needed cells.

Adult neural stem cells can differentiate into different cell types. Consequently, researchers are taking advantage of this regenerative ability and are trying to come up with ways to reintroduce the bodys own stem cells into the damaged spinal cord. Research in rats shows that transplanting oligodendrocyte (support cells that make myelin) and astrocyte (boost nerve function) precursors from the neural stem cells can protect axons and reduce motor neuron damage.

Embryonic stem cells are the best type of stem cells and researchers are developing ways to turn embryonic stem cells into oligodendrocyte which have successfully repaired neural functions in animal models. However, using the same approach in a clinical trial is very challenging; it is close to impossible to make oligodendrocyte without also making other unasked for cells.

Induced Pluripotent Stem cells (IPs) are just like embryonic stem cells and can be made from the skin or any other tissue cell. They are easily reachable and offer a great source of cells that match the patients profile, hence theres no chance of rejection.

By combining the Anti CD2 human clonal antibodies and Anti-cytokines monoclonal antibodies, we create injections. This helps to reduce the inflammation, axonal degeneration and to prevent demyelination. Lysis functions of leukocyte cells get enhanced as well.

Spinal laser therapyIV laser therapyIV OxygenShock Wave TherapyPeptides injectionsPhysiotherapyEnzymes & Nutrition

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CHOLLEY PhytocellBooster is ideal for smoothening wrinkles and eliminating the signs of aging or fatigue. It is a perfect product in many situations, such as after waking up in the morning, an exhausting day at work, and prior to attending a business meeting or party.

CHOLLEY Phytocell Booster instantly reduces wrinkles and imparts a lifted and younger-looking appearance to the skin. With Swiss guarantee of quality and excellence, the stem cells serum is clinically tested and found to be suitable for all skin type and complexions.

To exploit the power of IC-RAMP technology and Swiss stem cells technology, use CHOLLEY Phytocell Cream in combination with CHOLLEY Phytocell Booster. They provide your skin with full spectrum, day and night abti-aging care.

For best results, in morning and at night, apply CHOLLEY Phytocell Booster on the face, neck and dcollet. When the product is fully absorbed, complete the treatment with the application of CHOLLEY Phytocell Cream. It is the perfect Anti-aging and Antioxidant program.

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I can see him in his glass-fronted Cambridge office from the foosball table in the light-filled central atrium. Hes standing there talking to a visitor and seems to be finishing up. This entire side of the third floor in MITs new Media Lab building is partitioned with glass, and professor Hugh Herr and his colleagues and whatever madness theyre up to in their offices and the open, gadget-filled, lower-floor lab are on display. Several people, myself included, are peering down, hoping to see a bit of magic.

Months ago, when I e-mailed Herr to propose writing an article about him, I told him about my rare bone cancer and resulting partial paralysis below the waist as a way to explain my interest in his work. Though I didnt tell him this, I also harbored a secret wish that he could help me. People write to Herr, a 52-year-old engineer and biophysicist, daily about his inspiring example. Theyve heard him promise an end to disability. They have conditions that medicine cant fix and futures they cant stand to consider. Theyre wishing for his intervention, wanting of hope. Crossing his threshold, Im the lucky one. Im here.

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Herr welcomes me into his office, a clean, well-ordered space. Theres a round glass table with a laptop on it, a handful of hard office chairs, and a pair of prosthetic legs Herr designed that are arranged like statuary behind us, one in either corner. Above us on a wall looms a large mounted photograph of another pair of prosthetics. These are hand-carved from solid ash, with vines and flowers and six-inch heels. The real-life legs were famously worn by a friend of Herrs, the amputee track-and-field athlete and actress Aimee Mullins.

I have hobbled into Herrs office with a dented $20 stock metal cane on one side and a foot-lifting Blue Rocker brace on the other. (The dent is from my recently firing the cane at the wall.) I had imagined Herr noticing the cane and asking more about my story to see how he could fix me, like he has fixed so many others. The moment I realize that the meeting Id imagined isnt the meeting were going to haveIm here as a reporter, not a friend or patient, after allI start to stammer. Herr deftly resets the conversation by suggesting we look at his computer.

On it are the PowerPoint slides of his next big project, a breathtaking $100 million, five-year proposal focused on paralysis, depression, amputation, epilepsy, and Parkinsons disease. The work will be funneled through Herrs new brainchild, MITs Center for Extreme Bionics, a team of faculty and researchers assembled in 2014 that he codirects. After exploring various interventions for each condition, Herr and his colleagues will apply to the FDA to conduct human trials. One to-be-explored intervention in the brain might, with the right molecular knobs turned, augment empathy. If we increase human empathy by 30 percent, would we still have war? Herr asks. We may not.

As he continues with the presentation hes been giving to technologists, engineers, health researchers, and potential donorslast December alone, he keynoted in Dubai, Istanbul, and Las Vegaseach revolutionary intervention he mentions yields a boyish grin and a look that affirms: Yes, you heard that right. In a talk I hear him give a few weeks later, hell dare to characterize incurable paralysis as low-hanging fruit. In his outspoken willingness to fix everything, even things that some argue should be left alone, he knows how he sounds. If half the audience is frightened and the other half is intrigued, I know Ive done a good job, he says.

Herr on a 5.12 route on Arizonas Mount Lemmon in 1986. (Beth Wald/Aurora)

Herr calmly ticks off one condition after another. He shows me an animation of an innovative surgery that will restore an amputees lost proprioception, giving a person the ability to feel and control a prosthetic as if it were their own limb. In another slide, of a paralyzed man in a bulky walk-assisting exoskeleton suit, he asks me to imagine a futuristic treatment that uses light to control cells in muscle tissue. Then he presents a video clip of a rat with a severed spinal cord dragging around its paralyzed hind legs.

Having dragged my mostly unresponsive left leg around for two years, I think I know something about the rodents life. In the next clip, however, that rat, just 90 days later, is walking on all fours. A team at the MIT center led by Herrs colleague Robert Langer successfully regrew the rats spinal cord by implanting a dissolvable scaffold seeded with neural stem cells. In Herrs world, the limbless can be whole again, the paralyzed can walk. Making the extraordinary seem ordinary is maybe the whole point.

Herr himself is proof positive. Trim, fit, and handsome, he is the showpiece for the Center for Extreme Bionics. Im kind of what theyre selling, he says. The fuss over Herr has been building for decades but reached new levels in 2014, courtesy of his TED Talk, which has now been viewed in excess of 7.3 million times. In it, Herr describes the horrific 1982 winter climbing accident in New Hampshires White Mountains during which he suffered severe frostbite, leading to the amputation of both legs below the knee. Then 17, Herr was told hed never climb again. Instead, he rebuilt himself almost immediately, willfully reshaping his artificial legs and realizing that he wasnt handicapped, the technology was.

By hacking his prosthetic devices for his vertical world, he was able to quickly return to climbing, becoming the first athletedecades before Oscar Pistoriusto blur the line between para and not. His accomplishments landed him on the cover of Outside a year after his accident, something that sticks with him not because of the many accolades other climbers bestowed on him, or even the controversy it reignited around the tragic death of one of his rescuers, but because of the questions the article raised about how far Herr would be able to go. I was a sad case. I was going to end up in this machine shop, disabled, Herr recalls of the piece, pausing to let the perceived insult ripen in his mind. Yeah, its a real sad story.

The triumphant, fully realized man in the TED Talk is a marvel. His outrage at the unnecessary suffering from disability is fiercely personal. What first-time viewers like me invariably fixate on is the way Herr gracefully owns the stage. Hes wearing pants that end above the knee, revealing shimmering high-tech silver and black prosthetics. Herr is focused on what hes saying, not what his artificial legs are doing. The crime of physical impairment is that it often steals from a persons sense of self. If you didnt look below his knees, youd never guess that Herr is missing half of each leg. He walks through the world the way we all would hope to.

He has effectively ended his disability, or at least the perception of it, just as he said he would. Inspired by his accident, he earned a masters degree in mechanical engineering at MIT in 1993, followed by a Ph.D. at Harvard in biophysics. Ever since, Herr has produced a string of breakthrough products, starting with a computer-controlled artificial knee in 2003. In 2004, he created the biomechatronics group at MIT, a now 40-person R&D lab drawing on the fields of biology, mechanics, and electronics to restore function to those whove lost it. Three years later, the team produced a powered ankle-foot prosthesis that allows an amputee to walk with speed and effort comparable to those with biological legs. Called the emPower, the apparatus weighs a few pounds and houses 12 sensors, three computers, tensioning springs, and muscle-tendon actuators. The ankle system is manufactured by a private company Herr started called BionX.

Last year, Herr advanced another of his labs goals, to improve human performance beyond what nature intends by creating a brace-like exoskeleton device that reduces the metabolic cost of walking. The implications for people who want to get places fasteror perhaps a soldier trying to conserve energy on a long marchare vast.

In the near future, Herr and his colleagues at the MIT center are committed to, among other things, reversing paralysis. Herrs goal is to develop a synthetic spinal cord thataids the damaged original. A prosthesis, in other words.

In his office, Herr draws up his pant leg and rolls down a silicone sleeve to show me a newly developed fabric that lines the socket of his prosthetic and cushions the problematic intersection between the biological stump and the man-made limb. The exquisitely comfortable fitdigitally derived, he explains, but highly personalis something he delights over with a savoring gush.

With our first meeting nearing its end, I grow distracted thinking about the wounded few Herr has smiled upon. In 2014, he worked on a bionic prosthetic for the dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost her left leg in the Boston Marathon bombing. Currently, hes working with Hari Budha Magar, a double-amputee former Gurkha soldier who plans to climb Mount Everest in 2018, and also Jim Ewing, an old New Hampshire climbing buddy. Ewing was climbing a wall on vacation in the Cayman Islands in 2014 when he fell with his teen daughter on belay. She couldnt brake the rope, and he plummeted some 60 feet, shattering his pelvis and left foot on impact.

The dancer, the Gurkha, the climber, and Herr himself are examples of what he often describes as the millions of humans who might appear broken but are not. Haslet-Davis, on a bionic limb embedded with dance intelligence, brilliantly performed the rumba again, and Ewing underwent a pioneering amputation procedure developed by Herrs biomechatronics team in partnership with MIT colleague and surgeon Matthew Carty, who performed the operation at Brigham and Womens Faulkner Hospital, to prepare Ewing for an advanced prosthesis. Magar will be outfitted with short prosthetics to reduce leg drag and sophisticated crutches for speed as he attempts Everest history.

The stories Herr tells, the future he sees, the beautifully functioning artificial limb before meits all I can do not to show him my atrophied left leg and ask for his godlike intervention to fix what I know is broken. But I dont, not yet.

When I wrote Herr to tell him about my interest in his work, I summarized my case history. I explained how in the summer of 2014, I found myself with increasingly debilitating nerve and lower-back pain. When I finally got an MRI, I learned that I had an extremely rare bone cancer called chordoma that had spread from my lower lumbar vertebrae into my right hip flexor. Radiation and a difficult multi-stage surgery successfully removed the softball-size tumor, but months later, possibly due to a loss of blood to the spinal cord, Id yet to regain sensation or strength in my hips and legs. The doctors didnt know if it was permanent, but the prognosis didnt look good.

Jim Ewing and his robotic prosthetic. (Boston Globe/Getty)Aimee Mullins. (Lynn Johnson/Getty)Mountaineer Hari Budha Magar. (Himalayan Ski Trek)

Id expected a rapid, maybe even exceptional recovery. I am an athlete and adventurer who has had the good fortune to do a lot of cool stuff over the years. Id become a whitewater guide, climbed Grand Teton, raced the hill climb at Mount Washington on foot and by bike, and mountain-biked half the 3,000-mile-plus Great Divide route. I expected to complete the other half someday.

Id progressed from a walker to a cane, from a recumbent tricycle to a pedal-assist e-bike. Then my nerve regeneration halted. In May 2015, after the surgery, Id contacted Boston neurologist Bill David for muscle and nerve testing. An avid cyclist and kindredspirit, hed hopefully stuck needles into my skin every six months to chart my recovery. Late last year, he confirmed what I had already sensed. Short of a miracle, Id gone about as far as I could. I really wish that we had met on a mountain or river as opposed to a medical clinic, David said.

Id negotiated several stages of recovery, but the one I feared most was right nowat the end, my future fixed. Ive been coming to grips with who I am as an incomplete paraplegic and figuring out how to make the best version of this new person, I wroteto Herr.

Id imagined a stirring epilogue to our encounters, a moment perhaps when a radical trial arose and a crazy volunteer was needed. To be closer to the person I once was, I would try anythinginjected viruses, exoskeletal suits, implants. When I got together with a close friend for lunch, I told her how the story with Herr was progressing, and how the limbs he created were so advanced that Id read about people wanting them even though their leg complications didnt medically require amputation. She listened carefully. Let me ask you something, she said. Would you, um, get your legs cut off?

Exactly when in his childhood Hugh Herr decided to become the worlds best climber is impossible to pinpoint, but the goal was nurtured during family road trips across the West. He and his older brothers climbed, fished, and hiked in the American and Canadian Rockies, whetting the youthful Herrs appetite for adventure. The Shawangunk Mountains in New York were a four-and-a-half-hour drive from the Herrs home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Gunks were an emerging mecca in the seventies, and Herr quickly established himself as a prodigy, climbing this stuff when I was 11 that only adults had done, and at 15 that no one else had done, he says.

When he and Jeff Batzer, a friend from Lancaster, drove to New Hampshires Mount Washington in January 1982 for a weekend ice-climbing outing, it wasnt to do anything audacious. Theyd attempt a classic route in Huntingtons Ravine, and maybe, depending on the weather and avalanche conditions, summit Mount Washington before racing down for the 12-hour drive home. Herr was a 17-year-old junior in high school, his friend Batzer, 20.

The decision to tack on the summit of Washington turned out to be a tragic mistake. They left a sleeping bag and bivy sack behind to reduce weight but encountered howling winds and blizzard conditions near the top, and they ended up losing their way, mistakenly descending into a different valley from where theyd come.

After four days trekking through a storm in deep snow and below-freezing temperatures to find their way out, Herr was no longer able to walk. Early on in the odyssey, he had punched through a frozen streambed into shin-deep water, soaking his boots and pants, and was suffering from severe frostbite. In Second Ascent, a biography by Alison Osius, Herr said that he had reconciled himself to death when a backcountry snowshoer saw some of Batzers tracks and followed them to a makeshift shelter the two were bivouacked in. The climbers were evacuated to a nearby hospital in Littleton, where doctors treated both for hypothermia and frostbite. Herrs legs were in terrible shape. At the hospital, he learned that doctors might not be able to save them and that a member of his search party, a 28-year-old climbing-school instructor named Albert Dow, had been killed in an avalanche. Two months later, doctors amputated Herrs legs four inches below the knee. Batzers fingers on his right hand were amputated, along with his left foot and the toes on his right foot.

I asked my doctor after the amputation what Id be able to do with my new body, Herr recalls. The doctor said, What do you want to do? I said I wanted to drive a car, ride my bike, and climb. The doctor said youll be able to drive a car, but with hand controls. He said I would not be able to ride a bike or return to climbing.

Herr did all of the above within a year. He worked closely with his prosthetist on one pair of artificial legs after another and tinkered on his own in the machine shop of a vocational school hed begun attending in 1981. He soon figured out that he could hack his artificial limbs to suit the requirements of particular climbing routes. He built limbs that extended or shortened his stature; he carved out feet with wedge ends to slice into crevices. He began to knock off routes that he hadnt been able to do previously, including leading an ascent of Vandals at Skytop, the first 5.13 on the East Coast. It ignited a new controversy: that his adaptations were a form of cheating. Herr likes to tell audiences that he invited his affronted rivals to chop off their own legs.

Some people were bitter and angry about the accident, says Jim Ewing, a summer roommate of Herrs in the 1980s, and with Hugh coming back and climbing so well, they started making up excuses, saying things like, He can stand on a dime, his feet dont get sore, he doesnt have calf fatigue. Id just look at these people and think, By God, you havent seen this guy crawl to the toilet in the middle of the night because he doesnt have his legs on. He is handicapped; it is a handicap. People had no idea.

The 1982 rescue. (Jim Cole/AP)Herr in the hospital. (Jim Cole/AP)Herr in 1984. (Peter Lewis)

While there was a lot of media attention about Herrs accident, he kept private the struggles and self-doubt he faced after he lost his legs. When he returned to New Hampshire to climb again 18 months later, the unease from locals over Dows death and Herrs resurgence was palpable.

The harsh early views of Herr didnt soon go away. When I asked him what he thought when the American Alpine Club last year honored him at a celebratory awards evening in Denver, he said he was stunned. They had named him a new inductee of the Hall of Mountaineering Excellence for lasting contributions on and off the mountain. It shocked me, he said. The initial story line of the accident was that these young, irresponsible, incompetent climbers caused the death of an experienced, beloved local climber. That narrative went on for a very long time. So for two decades at least, I wouldnt even expect the American Alpine Club to invite me to be in the audience.

When Herr talks about Albert Dow, who he never met, its with the fondness of a friend. That was Albert! he recounts about Dows insistence that he go looking for Herr and Batzer because hed want someone to do the same for him. Last year, Herr told a Reddit audience that he strives to honor Dow. I hate the idea that his death somehow enabled me to live so I could do good work, he says. What I like is that his kindness and who he wasand his sacrificeinspired me to work really hard.

In 1985, Herr free-climbed New Hampshires exceptionally steep and unprotected Stage Fright, with his friend Jim Surette on belay. It was a significant and life-threatening milestone, and afterward Herr had a dream that set his new path. He describes a nightmare in which Surette, bunking on a neighboring couch, throws off his covers to reveal mangled, bloody, amputated legs. We both go Aaah! in the dream, says Herr, but then I turn to Jimmy and say, Dont worry, Jimmy, its just a dream. Im the one without legs. Prior to that, in all my dreams I would be running and jumping, and I would have my biological legs. It was the first time my brain recognized my new state.

Some mightve interpreted the nightmare with melancholy, an attempt to come to terms with a sorrowful lifelong condition. Herr saw it as a beautiful vision.

The auditorium is full at the Princeton, New Jersey, headquarters of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, all 150 in attendance looking stage left as Herr introduces an image of himself in a New Hampshire hospital room decades earlier. What do you see? he asks.

It is Herr in the moments after his legs have been amputated. The 17-year-old is gazing down at a white sheet and the outline of his stumps. The audience is riveted.

What do you see? he asks again. I see a new beginning, he declares. I see beauty.

Herr, who prefers to use the term unusual instead of handicapped or disabled, often says that he wouldnt want his biological legs back. He loves the legs he started building after the accident and has steadily improved upon for the past several decades.

His meteoric rise in academia is almost as improbable as his comeback to elite climbing. I actually graduated from high school not being able to take 10 percent of 100, he says. I had no idea what a percent was. His older brothers were all in construction. He understood that the family trade was unavailable to him, so he shut himself away and applied the same obsessive focus to science that hed once reserved for climbing. He read everything he could find and enrolled at the local college, Millersville University.

Wed watch all these films of animals locomoting to try to learn about motion, says Don Eidam, his first adviser at Millersville and an unapologetic superfan who writes a newsletter about Herr. Hed put all these ideas on my blackboard, and the chalk would literally be disintegrating. Hed call me at midnight with an idea. Ive never met anyone so committed or intense.

In 1991, Herr became the first student from Millersville to be accepted at MIT. The academic degrees, innovations, and honors have since overflowed. He is the holder or coholder of over 100 patents. The powered prosthesis he developed for ankle-foot amputees was the product of a special mind with a special motivation. By copying the behavior of a biologically intact leg, Herr and his biomechatronics lab were able to create a breakthrough replacement. In 2011, Time crowned him the leader of the bionic age. Last year he won Europes top prize for inventors, the prestigious Princess of Asturias Award.

In Hughs mind, he has not successfully innovated until people are able to benefit from his innovation, says Tyler Clites, a Harvard-MIT student who has worked in Herrs lab for six years. He has said to me, Look, Tyler, Ive invented hundreds of times, but Ive only ever innovated twice. The two items, his prosthetic knee and the ankle-foot, are the only ones commercially available to others.

The idea of an endlessly upgradable human is something Herr feels in his bones. I believe in the near future, in a decade or two, when you walk down the streets of Boston, youll routinely see people wearing bionic systems, Herr told ABC News in a 2016 interview. In 100 years, he thinks the human form will be unrecognizable. The inference is that the abnormal will be normal, beauty rethought and reborn. Unusual people like Herr will have come home.

At a small luncheon after his talk in New Jersey, the organizers ask me to say a few words about my condition. I give a five-minute recap of my struggles with cancer, the spinal-cord complication, and my up-and-down recovery. It is my first time speaking publicly about my situation. As I do, I sneak a glance or two at Herr. I wonder what he thinks hearing me tell my story. He is sitting immediately to my right, raking through a towering salad.

There is no clear signal from him, but I leave feeling that Ive pulled ever so slightly into his orbit. I am also beginning to understand the weight he bears of being a savior. A friend who saw his impassioned SXSW talk in 2015 told me how she raced up to thank him afterward, only to encounter a different guy. He was polite but aloof. She was put off, but I think I understand. The man has to set boundaries. He cant save everybody.

You might say that Herrs the sort of disrupter the research world needs, or you might say hes overpromising. One spinal-cord-injury scientist I spoke with wasnt so sure that a bold tech solution is the answer in a field long focused on the biology of nerve regeneration.

Nicholas Negroponte, the cofounder and former director of the MIT Media Lab, says Herrs sense of humor helps him handle any negative commentary. Its particularlyimportant when you do and say risky things, some of which invite harsh criticism, he says. You smile and keep going, because you know youre right.

A week after his talk in New Jersey, Herr and I meet up at a seafood restaurant near his MIT office. I arrive 30 minutes early, wanting to get situated. Having lived with my disability for some time now, I understand that I cant just sweep in like I used to. Herr, to my surprise, given his packed schedule, arrives ten minutes early.

Bomb survivor Adrianne Haslet-Davis. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

Herr told me earlier that he rarely pushes himself on climbs anymore. He proudly mentioned his two preteen, homeschooled daughters, who are avid hikers and spend almost every weekend with Herrs former wife, Patricia Ellis Herr, in the White Mountains happily exhausting themselves. They long ago summited Mount Washington and have high-pointed in 46 of the 50 states.

Herr and I talk at length about some of the people he has worked with and why. The Haslet-Davis project took a group from his biomechatronics lab 200 days to create the prosthetic, counting down to the 2014 TED Talk. She said she wanted to dance again. I really related, he says. He told himself, Im an MIT professor, I have resources. The timeline was tight enough that there was a TED Talk plan A (with her) and plan B (without). As everyone knows who has watched the video, Herrs team hit its deadline. Haslet-Davis unforgettably danced again, and there wasnt a dry eye because of it.

But as incredible as the moment was, its a source of frustration that the prosthetic cant be permanently handed over to Haslet-Davis. While Herr would love to give it to her, its a prototype that would cost millions to reproduce. As for Herrs climbing buddy Jim Ewing, thats a similarly uncertain situation. Months after Ewing had his foot amputated, he was fitted with a newly designed ankle-foot prosthetic that responds to his brain waves and allows him to feel his appendage. It is also a prototype that Ewing will eventually have to return.

Haslet-Davis and Ewing understood that they were part of a research project and wouldnt be able to keep the prototypes. Meanwhile, Herrs knee and ankle prosthetics, which cost tens of thousands of dollars, arent yet widely covered by insurance and remain too expensive for most who have a need for them. Herr has been in discussions with insurers to try and change that. According to Amputee Coalition of America estimates, there are 185,000 new lowerextremity amputations annually in the U.S. By contrast, there are only 1,700 emPower ankles in circulation right now. About half of them are worn by vets, paid for through reimbursements covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Herrs work is important and coming from a good place, says Alisha Sarang-Sieminski, an associate professor of bioengineering at the Massachusetts-based Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, a school involved in numerous projects related to lower-cost accessibility design. But people have different needs for different contexts. Also, so much of the high tech is really not accessible to very many people financially. Should people keep building them? Definitely. Should we also explore basic solutions? Yes.

Still, Ewings pioneering amputation is a huge success for Herrs group, the Brigham and Womens surgical team, and, most notably, Ewing. When I visited him at a climbing gym near Portland, Maine, he was planning a trip back to the Cayman Islands. For Ewing, the amputation has reduced the acute pain he used to feel in his biological foot and dramatically changed his outlook. He says that after his accident, he contemplated suicide. Being alive isnt enough, he says. Breathing isnt enough. I had to do something. Hugh understood my motivation probably better than I did.

Herr hadnt seen Ewing for years when he got an e-mail from him asking for advice about his foot. He was in a bad place, says Herr. Also, I really felt for his daughter. I know guilt so well, that poor girl.

Ewing says that the way hed set up the ropes is to blame for his daughters inability to brake the fall. Though she has returned to climbing at the gym and bouldering, she wasnt interested in rope climbing in the accidents aftermath, and Ewing worried that hed ruined the sporta passion theyd shared for yearsfor her.

Meanwhile, the gift Herr has given Ewing is exceptional. It might be the first time Herr is not the most technologically advanced lower-limb amputee. Herr often describes himself and others facing disabilities as astronauts testing new life-enabling technologies. As for his own legs, Herr wants to go even further but would need to leave the U.S. to undergo the operation he has in mind. Id love to do it, he says, without revealing any details about the procedure. Im just weighing the risk. I definitely dont want to go backwards.

In the short term, hes using a newly designed set of titanium legs and pushing forward on his work, noting hoped-for funding this year from the military to show we can synthetically take over a paralyzed limb. Herr then asks about my rehabilitation experience. This is finally my chance, I think, to ask if theres anything he can do for me.

I tell him that I identify with amputees and often wonder how some people without legs are more adept than some of us with them. Every time I watch a person with artificial legs walking, I selfishly wonder, Why not me? Why not us? Herr says they have some good ideas but acknowledges that the field has been way more successful in the amputation arena than with spinal-cord injuries. Its hard, he says.

While Herr has complete autonomy selecting projects in his lab, his interventions are rare, and they dont happen unless the time and circumstances are right. Often, people ask for help and I dont have the resources or the solution, he says. Exceptions like Haslet-Davis and Ewing come from feeling deeply about it and being in the position to make it happen.

I realize talking to Herr that its not my story thats weak, its the technology. Id incorrectly understood his comment about an imminent cure. Paralysis is lowhanging fruit in that its a condition they can impact in ten to twenty years instead of fifty. There are no toys to play with in Herrs lab closet. Not yet.

Before Herr and I wrap up our last visit, I ask what hed do if he were at an impasse. Its clear, at least to me, that Im talking about myself. Being a scientist, he focuses on process. He says he throws everything and anything at a problem. He visualizes each idea as a rock and starts turning them over. He mentions an acquaintance who came to see him earlier in the day who was struggling with depression. Herr started in, imagining at hyperspeed all the places the person might go and hadnt yet. Acupuncture? No? Meditation? No? Are you running? No? What medications have you tried? One? One! Theres like 20 antidepressants! Go, go, go! he says he wanted to plead. He chuckles at his overexuberance, but his belief is real. This can be solved!

When I say goodbye to Herr and watch him bound down from the upper level of the restaurant to the rain-drenched sidewalk, Im struck by a malaise. Maybe its the rain. Maybe its the opportunity lost. Maybe its the way he flipped a switch on his emPower ankle and raced effortlessly into the street. But then I think about Herr turning over one rock at a time and the span of possibilities he presented to help with depression. Im not out of options. There are hundreds of researchers working on a paralysis cure, and I immediately think of a world map I saw recently on a website with dozens of bright red circles representing centers of innovation. I can hear the words of my neurologist, who on my last visit leaned in with something else when he said goodbye. Keep moving, he urged. Theres even a clinic in New Hampshire I heard about where theyve produced exceptional walking recoveries using a robotic gait trainer available nowhere else in the U.S.

I begin to wonder, was Herrs story about his depressed acquaintance allegorical? An on-the-spot intervention? Had I just been, ever so lightly, smiled upon, too?

Longtime Outside contributor Todd Balf is the author of The Last River. Guido Vitti is anOutsidecontributing photographer.

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The $100 Million Plan to End Paralysis - Outside Magazine

Spinal Cord Stem Cells Comments Off on The $100 Million Plan to End Paralysis – Outside Magazine | September 7th, 2017

Press Release

Researchers at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center uncovered a novel pathway for hair follicular regeneration. Palm tocotrienol complex (EVNol SupraBio) is shown to induce hair follicle growth via protein expression of epidermal E-cadherin dependent beta-catenin - the key signaling molecule for inducing pluripotent stem cells in the adult skin.

In this study (1), male mice with mutated leptin receptor were applied with either 5mg/cm2 palm tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF) (ie. EVNol SupraBio - bioenhanced palm tocotrienol complex, supplied by ExcelVite) or placebo on shaved dorsal skin thrice per week for 21 days and the evaluation of hair growth was recorded by the color of dorsal skin. The mechanism of palm TRF-induced hair growth, the dependency on the loss of E-cadherin and the activation of beta-catenin for hair follicle formation were examined by quantification of gene expressions, immunoprecipitation and immunoblots.

When compared to placebo, palm TRF treated group showed significantly increased number of anagen (ie. cycle of growth) hair follicles, increased fetal characteristics of hair follicular development in the adult skin, increased epidermal keratinocyte proliferation, significant decreased E-cadherin expression that was associated with high translocation of beta-catenin-Tf3, leading to upregulation of gene expressions of Oct4, Sox9, Klf4, c-Myc and Nanog skin-specific pluripotent factors that support hair follicular regeneration. These factors are also known as the Yamanaka Transcription Factors discovered by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, joint-recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Prof. Yamanaka discovered that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent.

The researchers concluded that palm TRF suppression of epidermal E-cadherin induced beta-catenin and nuclear translocation is the novel pathway that leads to expressions of pluripotent factors and subsequently promotes anagen hair cycling in adult skin.

What we have shown is that Palm TRF can induce hair folliculogenesis, which means that it can enrich the skin stem cell reserves. This novel epidermal pathway of hair follicular regeneration can have widespread impact on skin function including skin aging and repair, says Prof. Chandan Sen, the lead researcher at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Prior to the above discovery, researchers from University Science Malaysia had reported and patented the unique benefits of tocotrienols (EVNol SupraBio) in supporting hair growth in subjects with on-going hair loss (2).

We are thrilled with this new discovery, especially this novel pathway that affirmed our previous clinical findings for EVNol SupraBio in hair growth, (US Patent No: 7,211,274; Trop. Life Sci. Res. 2010). Taken together this latest study and previous published papers explain the mechanism as to how EVNol SupraBio may help in promoting hair growth in subjects experiencing hair loss, says Bryan See, Business Development Manager, ExcelVite.

Source:

About ExcelVite

ExcelVite Sdn. Bhd., incorporated in Malaysia in 2013, is the leading and largest producer of natural full spectrum tocotrienol / tocopherol complex (EVNol, and EVNol SupraBio), natural mixed-carotene complex (EVTene), phytosterol complex (EVRol), and red palm oil concentrate (EVSpectra) in the world via a patented technology.

ExcelVite is the only tocotrienol producer that operates in accordance to GMP (PIC/S) Guide to Good Manufacturing Practice for Medicinal Products. Its laboratory is accredited with ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.

EVNol SupraBio is a patented (US Patent No. 6,596,306) self-emulsifying palm tocotrienol complex that ensures optimal tocotrienols oral absorption.

ExcelVite manufactures and markets its products under the tradenames: EVNol, EVNol SupraBio, EVTene, EVRol, and EVSpectra. These branded ingredients are Non-GMO, Kosher and Halal certified. ExcelVite supports the production of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) through RSPO Credits.

Websites:www.excelvite.com andwww.tocotrienol.org

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Latest Research Unveiled Novel Pathway For T3 In Hair Follicle Regeneration - Natural Products INSIDER

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Latest Research Unveiled Novel Pathway For T3 In Hair Follicle Regeneration – Natural Products INSIDER | September 7th, 2017

by David M. Panchision*

Diseases of the nervous system, including congenital disorders, cancers, and degenerative diseases, affect millions of people of all ages. Congenital disorders occur when the brain or spinal cord does not form correctly during development. Cancers of the nervous system result from the uncontrolled spread of aberrant cells. Degenerative diseases occur when the nervous system loses functioning of nerve cells. Most of the advances in stem cell research have been directed at treating degenerative diseases. While many treatments aim to limit the damage of these diseases, in some cases scientists believe that damage can be reversed by replacing lost cells with new ones derived from cells that can mature into nerve cells, called neural stem cells. Research that uses stem cells to treat nervous system disorders remains an area of great promise and challenge to demonstrate that cell-replacement therapy can restore lost function.

The nervous system is a complex organ made up of nerve cells (also called neurons) and glial cells, which surround and support neurons (see Figure 3.1). Neurons send signals that affect numerous functions including thought processes and movement. One type of glial cell, the oligodendrocyte, acts to speed up the signals of neurons that extend over long distances, such as in the spinal cord. The loss of any of these cell types may have catastrophic results on brain function.

Although reports dating back as early as the 1960s pointed towards the possibility that new nerve cells are formed in adult mammalian brains, this knowledge was not applied in the context of curing devastating brain diseases until the 1990s. While earlier medical research focused on limiting damage once it had occurred, in recent years researchers have been working hard to find out if the cells that can give rise to new neurons can be coaxed to restore brain function. New neurons in the adult brain arise from slowly-dividing cells that appear to be the remnants of stem cells that existed during fetal brain development. Since some of these adult cells still retain the ability to generate both neurons and glia, they are referred to as adult neural stem cells.

These findings are exciting because they suggest that the brain may contain a built-in mechanism to repair itself. Unfortunately, these new neurons are only generated in a few sites in the brain and turn into only a few specialized types of nerve cells. Although there are many different neuronal cell types in the brain, we now know that these new neurons can quot;plug inquot; correctly to assist brain function.1 The discovery of these cells has spurred further research into the characteristics of neural stem cells from the fetus and the adult, mostly using rodents and primates as model species. The hope is that these cells may be able to replenish those that are functionally lost in human degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), as well as from brain and spinal cord injuries that result from stroke or trauma.

Scientists are applying these new stem cell discoveries in two ways in their experiments. First, they are using current knowledge of normal brain development to modulate stem cells that are harvested and grown in culture. Researchers can then transplant these cultured cells into the brain of an animal model and allow the brain's own signals to differentiate the stem cells into neurons or glia. Alternatively, the stem cells can be induced to differentiate into neurons and glia while in the culture dish, before being transplanted into the brain. Much progress has been made the last several years with human embryonic stem (ES) cells that can differentiate into all cell types in the body. While ES cells can be maintained in culture for relatively long periods of time without differentiating, they usually must be coaxed through many more steps of differentiation to produce the desired cell types. Recent studies, however, suggest that ES cells may differentiate into neurons in a more straightforward manner than may other cell types.

Figure 3.1. The NeuronWhen sufficient neurotransmitters cross synapses and bind receptors on the neuronal cell body and dendrites, the neuron sends an electrical signal down its axon to synaptic terminals, which in turn release neurotransmitters into the synapse that affects the following neuron. The brain neurons that die in Parkinson's Disease release the transmitter dopamine. Oligodendrocytes supply the axon with an insulating myelin sheath.

2001 Terese Winslow

Second, scientists are identifying growth (trophic) factors that are normally produced and used by the developing and adult brain. They are using these factors to minimize damage to the brain and to activate the patient's own stem cells to repair damage that has occurred. Each of these strategies is being aggressively pursued to identify the most effective treatments for degenerative diseases. Most of these studies have been carried out initially with animal stem cells and recipients to determine their likelihood of success. Still, much more research is necessary to develop stem cell therapies that will be useful for treating brain and spinal cord disease in the same way that hematopoietic stem cell therapies are routinely used for immune system replacement (see Chapter 2).

The majority of stem cell studies of neurological disease have used rats and mice, since these models are convenient to use and are well-characterized biologically. If preliminary studies with rodent stem cells are successful, scientists will attempt to transplant human stem cells into rodents. Studies may then be carried out in primates (e.g., monkeys) to offer insight into how humans might respond to neurological treatment. Human studies are rarely undertaken until these other experiments have shown promising results. While human transplant studies have been carried out for decades in the case of Parkinson's disease, animal research continues to provide improved strategies to generate an abundant supply of transplantable cells.

The intensive research aiming at curing Parkinson's disease with stem cells is a good example for the various strategies, successful results, and remaining challenges of stem cell-based brain repair. Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of motor control that affects roughly 2% of persons 65 years and older. Triggered by the death of neurons in a brain region called the substantia nigra, Parkinson's disease begins with minor tremors that progress to limb and bodily rigidity and difficulty initiating movement. These neurons connect via long axons to another region called the striatum, composed of subregions called the caudate nucleus and the putamen. These neurons that reach from the substantia nigra to the striatum release the chemical transmitter dopamine onto their target neurons in the striatum. One of dopamine's major roles is to regulate the nerves that control body movement. As these cells die, less dopamine is produced, leading to the movement difficulties characteristic of Parkinson's disease. Currently, the causes of death of these neurons are not well understood.

For many years, doctors have treated Parkinson's disease patients with the drug levodopa (L-dopa), which the brain converts into dopamine. Although the drug works well initially, levodopa eventually loses its effectiveness, and side-effects increase. Ultimately, many doctors and patients find themselves fighting a losing battle. For this reason, a huge effort is underway to develop new treatments, including growth factors that help the remaining dopamine neurons survive and transplantation procedures to replace those that have died.

The strategy to use new cells to replace lost ones is not new. Surgeons first attempted to transplant dopamine-releasing cells from a patient's own adrenal glands in the 1980s.2,3 Although one of these studies reported a dramatic improvement in the patients' conditions, U.S. surgeons were only able to achieve modest and temporary improvement, insufficient to outweigh the risks of such a procedure. As a result, these human studies were not pursued further.

Another strategy was attempted in the 1970s, in which cells derived from fetal tissue from the mouse substantia nigra was transplanted into the adult rat eye and found to develop into mature dopamine neurons.4 In the 1980s, several groups showed that transplantation of this type of tissue could reverse Parkinson's-like symptoms in rats and monkeys when placed in the damaged areas.The success of the animal studies led to several human trials beginning in the mid-1980s.5,6 In some cases, patients showed a lessening of their symptoms. Also, researchers could measure an increase in dopamine neuron function in the striatum of these patients by using a brain-imaging method called positron emission tomography (PET) (see Figure 3.2).7

The NIH has funded two large and well-controlled clinical trials in the past 15 years in which researchers transplanted tissue from aborted fetuses into the striatum of patients with Parkinson's disease.7,8 These studies, performed in Colorado and New York, included controls where patients received quot;shamquot; surgery (no tissue was implanted), and neither the patients nor the scientists who evaluated their progress knew which patients received the implants. The patients' progress was followed for up to eight years. Unfortunately, both studies showed that the transplants offered little benefit to the patients as a group. While some patients showed improvement, others began to suffer from dyskinesias, jerky involuntary movements that are often side effects of long-term L-dopa treatment. This effect occurred in 15% of the patients in the Colorado study.7 and more than half of the patients in the New York study.8 Additionally, the New York study showed evidence that some patients' immune systems were attacking the grafts.

However, promising findings emerged from these studies as well. Younger and milder Parkinson's patients responded relatively well to the grafts, and PET scans of patients showed that some of the transplanted dopamine neurons survived and matured. Additionally, autopsies on three patients who died of unrelated causes, years after the surgeries, indicated the presence of dopamine neurons from the graft. These cells appeared to have matured in the same way as normal dopamine neurons, which suggested that they were acting normally in the brain.

Figure 3.2. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images from a Parkinson's patient before and after fetal tissue transplantation. The image taken before surgery (left) shows uptake of a radioactive form of dopamine (red) only in the caudate nucleus, indicating that dopamine neurons have degenerated. Twelve months after surgery, an image from the same patient (right) reveals increased dopamine function, especially in the putamen. (Reprinted with permission from N Eng J Med 2001;344(10) p. 710.)

Researchers in Sweden followed the severity of dyskinesia in patients for eleven years after neural transplantation and found that the severity was typically mild or moderate. These results suggested that dyskinesias were due to effects that were distinct from the beneficial effects of the grafts.9 Dyskinesias may therefore be related to the ways that transplantation disturbs other cells in the brain and so may be minimized by future improvements in therapy. Another study that involved the grafting of cells both into the striatum (the target of dopamine neurons) and the substantia nigra (where dopamine neurons normally reside) of three patients showed no adverse effects and some modest improvement in patient movement.10 To determine the full extent of therapeutic benefits from such a procedure and confirm the reliability of these results, this study will need to be repeated with a larger patient population that includes the appropriate controls.

The limited success of these studies may reflect variations in the fetal tissue used for transplantation, which is of limited quantity and can not be standardized or well-characterized. The full complement of cells in these fetal tissue samples is not known at present. As a result, the tissue remains the greatest source of uncertainty in patient outcome following transplantation.

The major goal for Parkinson's investigators is to generate a source of cells that can be grown in large supply, maintained indefinitely in the laboratory, and differentiated efficiently into dopamine neurons that work when transplanted into the brain of a Parkinson's patient. Scientists have investigated the behavior of stem cells in culture and the mechanisms that govern dopamine neuron production during development in their attempts to identify optimal culture conditions that allow stem cells to turn into dopamine-producing neurons.

Preliminary studies have been carried out using immature stem cell-like precursors from the rodent ventral midbrain, the region that normally gives rise to these dopamine neurons. In one study these precursors were turned into functional dopamine neurons, which were then grafted into rats previously treated with 6-hydroxy-dopamine (6-OHDA) to kill the dopamine neurons in their substantia nigra and induce Parkinson's-like symptoms. Even though the percentage of surviving dopamine neurons was low following transplantation, it was sufficient to relieve the Parkinson's-like symptoms.11 Unfortunately, these fetal cells cannot be maintained in culture for very long before they lose the ability to differentiate into dopamine neurons.

Cells with features of neural stem cells have been derived from ES-cells, fetal brain tissue, brain tissue from neurosurgery, and brain tissue that was obtained after a person's death. There is controversy about whether other organ stem cell populations, such as hematopoietic stem cells, either contain or give rise to neural stem cells

Many researchers believe that the more primitive ES cells may be an excellent source of dopamine neurons because ES-cells can be grown indefinitely in a laboratory dish and can differentiate into any cell type, even after long periods in culture. Mouse ES cells injected directly into 6-OHDA-treated rat brains led to relief of Parkinson-like symptoms. Further investigation showed that these ES cells had differentiated into both dopamine and serotonin neurons.12 This latter type of neuron is generated in an adjacent region of the brain and may complicate the response to transplantation. Since ES cells can generate all cell types in the body, unwanted cell types such as muscle or bone could theoretically also be introduced into the brain. As a result, a great deal of effort is being currently put into finding the right quot;recipequot; for turning ES cells into dopamine neuronsand only this cell typeto treat Parkinson's disease. Researchers strive to learn more about normal brain development to help emulate the natural progression of ES cells toward dopamine neurons in the culture dish.

The recent availability of human ES cells has led to further studies to examine their potential for differentiation into dopamine neurons. Recently, dopamine neurons from human embryonic stem cells have been generated.13 One research group used a special type of companion cell, along with specific growth factors, to promote the differentiation of the ES cells through several stages into dopamine neurons. These neurons showed many of the characteristic properties of normal dopamine neurons.13 Furthermore, recent evidence of more direct neuronal differentiation methods from mouse ES cells fuels hope that scientists can refine and streamline the production of transplantable human dopamine neurons.

One method with great therapeutic potential is nuclear transfer. This method fuses the genetic material from one individual donor with a recipient egg cell that has had its nucleus removed. The early embryo that develops from this fusion is a genetic match for the donor. This process is sometimes called quot;therapeutic cloningquot; and is regarded by some to be ethically questionable. However, mouse ES cells have been differentiated successfully in this way into dopamine neurons that corrected Parkinsonian symptoms when transplanted into 6-OHDA-treated rats.14 Similar results have been obtained using parthenogenetic primate stem cells, which are cells that are genetic matches from a female donor with no contribution from a male donor.15 These approaches may offer the possibility of treating patients with genetically-matched cells, thereby eliminating the possibility of graft rejection.

Scientists are also studying the possibility that the brain may be able to repair itself with therapeutic support. This avenue of study is in its early stages but may involve administering drugs that stimulate the birth of new neurons from the brain's own stem cells. The concept is based on research showing that new nerve cells are born in the adult brains of humans. The phenomenon occurs in a brain region called the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. While it is not yet clear how these new neurons contribute to normal brain function, their presence suggests that stem cells in the adult brain may have the potential to re-wire dysfunctional neuronal circuitry.

The adult brain's capacity for self-repair has been studied by investigating how the adult rat brain responds to transforming growth factor alpha (TGF), a protein important for early brain development that is expressed in limited quantities in adults.16 Injection of TGF into a healthy rat brain causes stem cells to divide for several days before ceasing division. In 6-OHDAtreated (Parkinsonian) rats, however, the cells proliferated and migrated to the damaged areas. Surprisingly, the TGF-treated rats showed few of the behavioral problems associated with untreated Parkinsonian rats.16 Additionally, in 2002 and 2003, two research groups isolated small numbers of dividing cells in the substantia nigra of adult rodents.17,18

These findings suggest that the brain can repair itself, as long as the repair process is triggered sufficiently. It is not clear, though, whether stem cells are responsible for this repair or if the TGF activates a different repair mechanism.

Many other diseases that affect the nervous system hold the potential for being treated with stem cells. Experimental therapies for chronic diseases of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, or Huntington's disease, and for acute injuries, such as spinal cord and brain trauma or stoke, are being currently developed and tested. These diverse disorders must be investigated within the contexts of their unique disease processes and treated accordingly with highly adapted cell-based approaches.

Although severe spinal cord injury is an area of intense research, the therapeutic targets are not as clear-cut as in Parkinson's disease. Spinal cord trauma destroys numerous cell types, including the neurons that carry messages between the brain and the rest of the body. In many spinal injuries, the cord is not actually severed, and at least some of the signal-carrying neuronal axons remain intact. However, the surviving axons no longer carry messages because oligodendrocytes, which make the axons' insulating myelin sheath, are lost. Researchers have recently made progress to replenish these lost myelin-producing cells. In one study, scientists cultured human ES cells through several steps to make mixed cultures that contained oligodendrocytes. When they injected these cells into the spinal cords of chemically-demyelinated rats, the treated rats regained limited use of their hind limbs compared with un-grafted rats.19 Researchers are not certain, however, whether the limited increase in function observed in rats is actually due to the remyelination or to an unidentified trophic effect of the treatment.

Getting neurons to grow new axons through the injury site to reconnect with their targets is even more challenging. While myelin promotes normal neuronal function, it also inhibits the growth of new axons following spinal injury. In a recent study to attempt post-trauma axonal growth, Harper and colleagues treated ES cells with a combination of factors that are known to promote motor neuron differentiation.20 The researchers then transplanted these cells into adult rats that had received spinal cord injuries. While many of these cells survived and differentiated into neurons, they did not send out axons unless the researchers also added drugs that interfered with the inhibitory effects of myelin. The growth effect was modest, and the researchers have not yet seen evidence of functional neuron connections. However, their results raise the possibility that signals can be turned on and off in the correct order to allow neurons to reconnect and function properly. Spinal injury researchers emphasize that additional basic and preclinical research must be completed before attempting human trials using stem cell therapies to repair the trauma-damaged nervous system.

Since myelin loss is at the heart of many other degenerative diseases, oligodendrocytes made from ES cells may be useful to treat these conditions as well. For example, scientists recently cultured human ES cells with a combination of growth factors to generate a highly enriched population of myelinating oligodendrocyte precursors.21,22 The researchers then tested these cells in a genetically-mutated mouse that does not produce myelin properly. When the growth factor-cultured ES cells were transplanted into affected mice, the cells migrated and differentiated into mature oligodendrocytes that made myelin sheaths around neighboring axons. These researchers subsequently showed that these cells matured and improved movement when grafted in rats with spinal cord injury.23 Improved movement only occurred when grafting was completed soon after injury, suggesting that some post-injury responses may interfere with the grafted cells. However, these results are sufficiently encouraging to plan clinical trials to test whether replacement of myelinating glia can treat spinal cord injury.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is characterized by a progressive destruction of motor neurons in the spinal cord. Patients with ALS develop increasing muscle weakness over time, which ultimately leads to paralysis and death. The cause of ALS is largely unknown, and there are no effective treatments. Researchers recently have used different sources of stem cells to test in rat models of ALS to test for possible nerve cell-restoring properties. In one study, researchers injected cell clusters made from embryonic germ (EG) cells into the spinal cord fluid of the partially-paralyzed rats.24 Three months after the injections, many of the treated rats were able to move their hind limbs and walk with difficulty, while the rats that did not receive cell injections remained paralyzed. Moreover, the transplanted cells had migrated throughout the spinal fluid and developed into cells that displayed molecular characteristics of mature motor neurons. However, too few cells matured in this way to account for the recovery, and there was no evidence that the transplanted cells formed functional connections with muscles. The researchers suggest that the transplanted cells may be promoting recovery in some other way, such as by producing trophic factors.

This possibility was addressed in a second study in which scientists grew human fetal CNS stem cells in culture and genetically modified them to produce a trophic factor that promotes the survival of cells that are lost in ALS. When grafted into the spinal cords of the ALS-like rats, these cells secreted the desired growth factor and promoted the survival of the neurons that are normally lost in the ALS-like rats.25 While promising, these results highlight the need for additional basic research into functional recovery in ALS disease models.

Stroke affects about 750,000 patients per year in the

U.S. and is the most common cause of disability in adults. A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is disrupted. As a consequence, cells in affected brain regions die from insufficient amounts of oxygen. The treatment of stroke with anti-clotting drugs has dramatically improved the odds of patient recovery. However, in many patients the damage cannot be prevented, and the patient may permanently lose the functions of affected areas of the brain. For these patients, researchers are now considering stem cells as a way to repair the damaged brain regions. This problem is made more challenging because the damage in stroke may be widespread and may affect many cell types and connections.

However, researchers from Sweden recently observed that strokes in rats cause the brain's own stem cells to divide and give rise to new neurons.26 However, these neurons, which survived only a couple of weeks, are few in number compared to the extent of damage caused. A group from the University of Tokyo added a growth factor, bFGF, into the brains of rats after stroke and showed that the hippocampus was able to generate large numbers of new neurons.27 The researchers found evidence that these new neurons were actually making connections with other neurons. These and other results suggest that future stroke treatments may be able to coax the brain's own stem cells to make replacement neurons.

Taking an alternative approach, another group attempted transplantation as a means to treat the loss of brain mass after a severe stroke. By adding stem cells onto a polymer scaffold that they implanted into the stroke-damaged brains of mice, the researchers demonstrated that the seeded stem cells differentiated into neurons and that the polymer scaffold reduced scarring.28 Two groups transplanted human fetal stem cells in independent studies into the brains of stroke-affected rodents; these stem cells not only survived but migrated to the damaged areas of the brain.29,30 These studies increase our knowledge of how stem cells are attracted to diseased areas of the brain.

There is also increasing evidence from numerous animal disease models that stem cells are actively drawn to brain damage. Once they reach these damaged areas, they have been shown to exert beneficial effects such as reducing brain inflammation or supporting nerve cells. It is hoped that, once these mechanisms are better understood, this stem cell recruitment can potentially be exploited to mobilize a patient's own stem cells.

Similar lines of research are being considered with other disorders such as Huntington's Disease and certain congenital defects. While much attention has been called to the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, it is still not clear if stem cells hold the key to its treatment. But despite the fact that much basic work remains and many fundamental questions are yet to be answered, researchers are hopeful that repair for once-incurable nervous system disorders may be amenable to stem cell based therapies.

Considerable progress has been made the last few years in our understanding of stem cell biology and devising sources of cells for transplantation. New methods are also being developed for cell delivery and targeting to affected areas of the body. These advances have fueled optimism that new treatments will come for millions of persons who suffer from neurological disorders. But it is the current task of scientists to bring these methods from the laboratory bench to the clinic in a scientifically sound and ethically acceptable fashion.

Notes:

* Chief, Developmental Neurobiology Program, Molecular, Cellular & Genomic Neuroscience Research Branch, Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Email: panchisiond@mail.nih.gov

Chapter 2|Table of Contents|Chapter 4

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iPSCells Represent a Superior Approach

iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte patch demonstrates spontaneous and synchronized contractions after 4 days in culture.

One of the greatest promises of human stem cells is to transform these early-stage cells into treatments for devastating diseases. Stem cells can potentially be used to repair damaged human tissues and to bioengineer transplantable human organs using various technologies, such as 3D printing. Using stem cells derived from another person (allogeneic transplantation) or from the patient (autologous transplantation), research efforts are underway to develop new therapies for historically difficult to treat conditions. In the past, adult stem and progenitor cells were used, but the differentiation of these cell types has proven to be difficult to control. Initial clinical trials using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells indicate that they are far superior for cellular therapy applications because they are better suited to scientific manipulation.

CDIs iPS cell-derived iCell and MyCell products are integral to the development of a range ofcell therapyapplications. A study using iCell Cardiomyocytesas part of a cardiac patch designed to treat heart failure is now underway. This tissue-engineered implantable patch mayemerge as apotential myocardial regeneration treatment.

Another study done with iPS cell-derived cells and kidney structures has marked an important first step towards regenerating, and eventually transplanting, a functioning human organ. In this work, iCell Endothelial Cellswere used to help to recapitulatethe blood supply of a laboratory-generated kidney scaffold. This type of outcome will be crucial for circulation and nutrient distribution in any rebuilt organ.

iCell Endothelial Cells revascularize kidney tissue. (Data courtesy of Dr. Jason Wertheim, Northwestern University)

CDI and its partners are leveraging iPS cell-derived human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to develop and manufacture autologous treatments for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The mature RPE cells will be derivedfrom the patients own blood cells using CDIs MyCell process. Ifapproved by the FDA, this autologous cellular therapy wouldbe one of the first of its kind in the U.S.

Learn more about the technologybehind the development of these iPScell-derived cellular therapies.

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Cellular Therapy - The World Leader in Stem Cell Technology

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Irish researcher Prof Daniel Kelly has secured 150,000 in funding to develop a novel implant for treating cartilage damage.

As a recipient of one of the European Research Councils Proof of Concept grants, Prof Daniel Kelly will now spend the next 18 months developing his 3D-printed project entitled Anchor.

Using the 150,000, Kelly will look to develop and commercialise his new medicinal product for cartilage regeneration, employing a postdoctoral researcher to help.

Those active in many sports would be familiar with cartilage damage as a result of injury, of which many cases occur in the knee joint. If left untreated, it can lead to difficulties such as osteoarthritis (OA).

OA can be a debilitating condition, with 80pc of those over the age of 60 experiencing limitations in movement and 25pc saying they cannot perform their major daily activities, according to the World Health Organisation.

Kellys product uses 3D-printed, biodegradable polymer components to make a scaffold, which acts as a template to guide the growth of new tissue by recruiting endogenous bone marrow derived from stem cells.

This, Kelly believes, gives it a competitive edge over similar implants, as standard ones are designed with a finite lifespan, making them unsuitable for younger patients with OA.

Kelly, a principal investigator at AMBER the Trinity College Dublin materials science research centre explained why it could be a major breakthrough for other conditions, such as arthritis.

Our 3D-printed polymer posts will anchor the implant into the bone and will be porous to stimulate the migration of stem cells from the bone marrow into the body of the scaffold, he said.

While various scaffolds like this have been available for some time, they have had limited success, partly because scaffolds need to be anchored securely due to the high forces experienced within the joint. Our 3D-printed posts overcome this problem.

Prior to Anchor, Kelly had worked on this technology in previous projects, such as the ERC-funded StemRepair project to develop a range of porous cartilage-derived scaffolds, and JointPrint.

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Irish researcher bags 150000 to make 3D-printed knee implant - Siliconrepublic.com

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Drugs developed to treat heart and blood vessel problems could be used to treat leukaemia

Drugs developed to treat heart and blood vessel problems could be used in combination with chemotherapy to treat an aggressive form of adult leukaemia.

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, Kings College London and Barts Cancer Institute discovered that acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) causes bone marrow to leak blood, preventing chemotherapy from being delivered properly.

Drugs that reversed bone marrow leakiness boosted the effect of chemotherapy in mice and human tissue, providing a possible new combination therapy for AML patients.

To study how AML affects bone marrow, the researchers injected mice with bone marrow from AML patients. Later, they compared their bone marrow with healthy mice using a technique called intravital microscopy that allows you to see biological processes in live animals. They found that pre-loaded fluorescent dyes leaked out of the bone marrow blood vessels in AML mice, but not healthy mice.

Next, the team tried to understand what caused the bone marrow in AML mice to become leaky by studying molecular changes in the cells lining the blood vessels. They found that they were oxygen-starved compared to healthy mice, likely because AML cells use up a lot of oxygen in the surrounding tissue. In response to a reduction in oxygen, there was an increase in nitric oxide (NO) production a molecule that usually alerts the body to areas of low oxygen.

As NO is a muscle relaxant, the team suspected that it might be causing bone marrow leakiness by loosening the tight seams between cells, allowing blood to escape through the gaps. By blocking the production of NO using drugs, the team were able to restore bone marrow blood vessels in AML mice, preventing blood from leaking out. Mice given NO blockers in combination with chemotherapy had much slower leukaemia progression and stayed in remission much longer than mice given chemotherapy alone.

When the vessels are leaky, bone marrow blood flow becomes irregular and leukaemia cells can easily find places to hide and escape chemotherapy drugs, said researcher Dr Diana Passaro. Leaky vessels also prevent oxygen reaching parts of the bone marrow, which contributes to more NO production and leakiness.

By restoring normal blood flow with NO blockers, we ensure that chemotherapy actually reaches the leukaemia cells, so that therapy works properly, she added.

In addition to ensuring that chemotherapy drugs reach their targets, the team also found that NO blockers boosted the number of stem cells in the bone marrow. This may also improve treatment outcomes by helping healthy cells to out-compete cancerous cells.

The team also found that bone marrow biopsies from AML patients had higher NO levels than those from healthy donors, and failure to reduce NO levels was associated with chemotherapy failure.

Our findings suggest that it might be possible to predict how well people with AML will respond to chemotherapy, said Dr Dominique Bonnet, senior author of the paper and Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute.

Weve uncovered a biological marker for this type of leukaemia as well as a possible drug target. The next step will be clinical trials to see if NO blockers can help AML patients as much as our pre-clinical experiments suggest.

We found that the cancer was damaging the walls of blood vessels responsible for delivering oxygen, nutrients, and chemotherapy. When we used drugs to stop the leaks in mice, we were able to kill the cancer using conventional chemotherapy, said Dr Passaro. As the drugs are already in clinical trials for other conditions, it is hoped that they could be given the green light for AML patients in the future.

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Chemo-boosting drug discovered for leukaemia - Drug Target Review - Drug Target Review

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Bishnupriya Nayak at BMT unit after bone marrow transplantation | Express

BHUBANESWAR: The Haematology Department of SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) at Cuttack has notched up a record of sorts and achieved a new milestone in the country by performing 50 bone marrow transplantations in just over three years.

The special Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit started in February 2014 has conducted its 50th procedure on Bishnupriya Nayak (40), a cancer patient from Koelnagar in Rourkela, on Sunday.Head of the department Prof Rabindra Kumar Jena said it is a significant achievement as SCBMCH having all state-of-the-art facilities is the only State-run hospital in the country to complete 50 cases and provide BMT services completely free of cost.

We have a great record of survival rate of patients than other such units elsewhere in the country. Of 50 cases conducted so far, 47 patients are healthy and doing normal activities. Two died due to infection within a month after BMT procedure, another succumbed to brain stroke (not related to BMT or disease) on 178th day, he said.

The BMT unit at SCBMCH has also established a few international and national distinctions. The eldest transplant conducted so far in Asia and Europe region belonged to the unit. Zabar Khan (74), who was suffering from multiple myeloma (a type of blood cancer) is doing fine after the procedure was performed.Similarly, five patients, aged over 65, have been transplanted successfully which is first-of-its-kind in India, Asia and Europe. The first BMT, also known as stem cell transplant, was performed on Sakuntala Sahoo (54) from Kendrapara district on April 23, 2014.

The unit has also mobilised the stem cell adequately in many complicated blood cancer patients who had very low stem cell blood level of 8.7 per micro litre, besides multiple chemotherapy treated cases and successfully performed BMT procedures.

Stating that the priority is being given on adequate stem cell mobilization, collection and engraftment (proper functioning of new bone marrow graft), Prof Jena said the unit is going to start allogenic BMT soon.

We have been doing autologous transplants so far. Our next plan is to start allogenic transplants. We are poised to take complicated cancer patients for BMT. Besides, plans are afoot to expand the unit to a 20-room ward to accommodate huge waiting lists patients, including thalassemia, sickle sell disease and various cancer patients, he added.

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Bone marrow transplant on record run in SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack - The New Indian Express

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Stem cells and genome editing offer exciting opportunities within regenerative medicine.

However, any clinical application of stem cells requires strict regulation to ensure that the cells are not exposed to animal derived products.

Now Amsbio announces the availability of StemFit Basic02 feeder-free stem cell culture media.

StemFit Basic02 is a xeno-free, defined medium for human pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) culture that offers an effective solution for regenerative medicine research.

This medium has been proven to effectively maintain Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) and Embryonic Stem (ES) cells under feeder-free conditions, during the reprogramming, expansion and differentiation phases of stem cell culture.

Specially formulated to enhance single cell expansion in the cloning step of stem cell genome editing, StemFit Basic02 offers superior and stable growth performance, high colony forming efficiency and robust scalable cell expansion.

This ensures high karyotype stability over long periods and hence reproducible culture conditions.

StemFit cell culture media has been independently evaluated by CGT Catapult, an independent centre of excellence helping advance the UK cell and gene therapy industry.

In these tests, StemFit not only delivered higher cell proliferation, but also showed characteristics such as homogeneity of gene expression compared with iPS cells cultured with four other media without any chromosomal abnormalities.

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Microneedling has quickly become one of the most popular skin rejuvenation treatments. If youre considering trying it, here is what you need to know.

Microneedling, also called collagen-induction therapy, uses small needles that pierce the outermost layer of skin to create tiny microchannels. These microchannels help stimulate the production of collagen and elastin within the skin. They also promote new capillaries.

This can lead to an improved skin texture, reduction of acne or other scarring and help with discoloration, such as brown spots caused by sun damage. Microneedling may be combined with platelet-rich plasma, stem cells, or pure hyaluronic acid to enhance results further.

Microneedling can also be used on the scalp to help stimulate hair rejuvenation.

Prior to your first microneedling session, you will be asked to avoid sun exposure for at least 24 hours. Some doctors will tell you to avoid blood-thinning medications and herbal supplements like aspirin, ibuprofen, and St. Johns wort to reduce bruising.

Each microneedling session takes about 20 to 30 minutes. First, your face will be cleansed and a numbing cream will be applied. Multiple treatment sessions, spaced a few weeks apart, are recommended. Most doctors recommend three to six treatments but many will notice an improvement in the tone and texture of their skin after just one treatment.

Immediately after your microneedling session, you will likely notice some redness that can last for several days. In my practice, we recommend that patients do not touch their face for at least four hours after treatment and not to apply anything to the face for 24 hours. It is crucial to avoid sun exposure for three days after the procedure.

You should avoid strenuous activity and exercise for the first 12 hours after treatment to prevent redness and bruising. For the first three days after treatment, you should use a gentle non-foaming cleanser, a barrier repair moisturizer, and a physical SPF. If swelling or bruising are a concern, you can take arnica supplements both before and after treatment to help minimize these side effects.

Once any redness or swelling diminishes, you should notice an immediate improvement in the way your skin looks and feels. Over the next several weeks, your skins appearance should continue to improve.

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Another Outbreak of Salmonella Traced to Pet Turtles

Thirty-seven people across 13 states have contracted salmonella infection from contact with pet turtles, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday.

The agency has for years warned Americans that reptiles such as turtles can be a potent source of the potentially dangerous bacterium, which attacks the gastrointestinal system.

In fact, the CDC notes that "since 1975, the FDA has banned selling and distributing turtles with shells less than 4 inches long as pets because they are often linked to salmonella infections, especially in young children."

In the the latest outbreak, illnesses began to appear on March 1 and diagnoses continued until Aug. 3, the agency said. No deaths have yet been reported, but 16 people have required hospitalization. The CDC says the outbreak may not yet be over.

The agency's advice? "Do not buy small turtles as pets or give them as gifts. All turtles, regardless of size, can carry Salmonella bacteria even if they look healthy and clean."

Federal Prisons Must Now Make Free Tampons, Pads Available

New policy from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBP) now requires that all facilities make feminine hygiene products, such as tampons and pads, available for free to prisoners who need them.

In an email memo issued earlier in August, FBP spokesman Justin Long said that "wardens have the responsibility to ensure female hygiene products such as tampons or pads are made available for free in sufficient frequency and number. Prior to the (memo), the type of products provided was not consistent, and varied by institution."

Andrea James is a former lawyer and founder of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. In 2010 and 2011, she served 18 months in a federal prison.

Speaking with CNN, James recalled tough choices made by prisoners involving feminine hygiene products, which the prisoners themselves had to pay for.

"We were paid 12 cents an hour [for in-prison work]," she said, and that wage could be spent on other things, such as phone calls. "That's the choice. Do I buy the tampons or do I call my children?"

According to CNN, the new policy arrives a month after Democratic Senators Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin and Kamala Harris introduced the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act into Congress. Among other issues, the Act requires that women in prisons have access to multiple sizes of free tampons, pads and liners. Long said the new announcement had nothing to do with the proposed law, however.

In a statement, Harris said she applauded the memorandum, adding, "too many women reside in prison and jail facilities that don't support basic hygiene or reproductive health, and that's just not right."

FDA: Serious Problems at Florida Stem Cell Clinic

A Florida stem cell clinic has been cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for what the agency describes as serious problems that could pose health risks to patients.

The agency said Monday that it has cited US Stem Cell Clinic, of Sunrise, for marketing stem cell products without FDA approval and for "significant deviations from current good manufacturing practice requirements," including some that could affect the "sterility of their products, putting patients at risk."

"Stem cell clinics that mislead vulnerable patients into believing they are being given safe, effective treatments that are in full compliance with the law are dangerously exploiting consumers and putting their health at risk," FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a news release.

The FDA said it recently inspected US Stem Cell Clinic and found that it was processing fat tissue into stem cells derived from body fat and administering the product both intravenously or directly into the spinal cord of patients to treat a variety of serious health problems. Those problems included Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart disease, among others.

The FDA said it hasn't approved any biological products made by US Stem Cell Clinic for any use.

During an inspection, FDA investigators also found evidence of "significant deviations from current good manufacturing practices" in the production of at least 256 lots of stem cell products. Those deviations included "failure to establish and follow appropriate written procedures designed to prevent microbiological contamination of products purporting to be sterile, which puts patients at risk for infections."

US Stem Cell Clinic also tried to hamper the FDA's investigation during a recent inspection "by refusing to allow entry except by appointment and by denying FDA investigators access to employees," the agency said.

Interfering with an FDA inspection is a violation of federal law, the agency said.

The FDA said it wants to hear from US Stem Cell Clinic within 15 working days, detailing how the problems cited in the agency warning letter will be fixed. If the problems aren't corrected, the company faces such enforcement actions as seizure, injunction or prosecutions, the agency said.

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Health Highlights: Aug. 29, 2017 - Bloomington Pantagraph

Spinal Cord Stem Cells Comments Off on Health Highlights: Aug. 29, 2017 – Bloomington Pantagraph | August 30th, 2017

PHOENIX, Aug. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Creative Medical Technology Holdings Inc. (OTCQB ticker symbol CELZ) announced today completion of enrollment in the Company's clinical trial assessing safety and efficacy of its CaverstemTM procedure to treat erectile dysfunction in patients who do not respond to currently available treatments.Approximately 30% of the 30,000,000 patients suffering from erectile dysfunction do not respond to drugs like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, in part due to an underlying degeneration of the biological machinery needed to achieve erections.

"The CaverstemTM procedure, which uses the patient's own bone marrow derived stem cells to induce arterial and venous regeneration, is an outpatient procedure able to be conducted by Urologists in their medical facilities. We are using a patient's own cells and we do not manipulate the stem cells through the use of chemicals, growth factors or expansion and have experienced no procedure-related safety issues," said Dr. Thomas Ichim Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Creative Medical Technology Holdings, Inc.

The clinical trial covering patients ages 18 to 80 received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval in December 2016. The trial is sponsored by us based on our patented technology and is conducted by Dr. Jacob Rajfer, Principal Investigator and Los Angeles Biomedical Institute at Harbor UCLA Hospital in Torrance, CA.

"I am pleased with the expedience and efficiency at which enrollment was reached. As someone who regularly sees patients suffering from treatment non-responsive erectile dysfunction, I am excited to see the development of a novel approach to treating this condition using the patient's own natural regenerative processes," said Dr. Alexander Gershman, member of the Company's Scientific Advisory Board and Director of Institute of Advanced Urology at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Tower; Director of Urologic Laparoscopy in the Division of Urology, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center."

"We are very fortunate to work with the expert team at Los Angeles Biomedical Institute - UCLA/Harbor Hospital who have done an outstanding job with subject recruitment, screening, treatment and follow-up.We firmly believe that we are on schedule for commercialization of the Caverstem TM procedure through publication and presentation of trial results, marketing, licensing, training and sales in 2018," said Timothy Warbington, President and CEO of Creative Medical Technology Holdings Inc.

About Creative Medical Technology Holdings

Creative Medical Technology Holdings, Inc. is a clinical stage biotechnology company currently trading on the OTCQB under the ticker symbol CELZ. For further information about the company go to http://www.creativemedicaltechnology.com. For more information on our CaverstemTM procedure please go to http://www.caverstem.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

OTC Markets has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming clinical trials and laboratory results, marketing efforts, funding, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and, therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. See the periodic and other reports filed by Creative Medical Technology Holdings, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/creative-medical-technology-holdings-achieves-100-patient-enrollment-in-caverstemtm-clinical-trial-for-stem-cell-treatment-of-erectile-dysfunction-300509805.html

SOURCE Creative Medical Technology Holdings, Inc.

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Creative Medical Technology Holdings Achieves 100% Patient Enrollment in CaverstemTM Clinical Trial for Stem Cell ... - Markets Insider

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Creative Medical Technology Holdings Achieves 100% Patient Enrollment in CaverstemTM Clinical Trial for Stem Cell … – Markets Insider | August 28th, 2017

Going bald is a worry thatcrosses many people's minds at least once intheir lives.

Unless you are super cool and look like Michael Jordan, Zinedine Zidane or Bruce Willis, losing your hair can be a traumatic experience.

Studies have shown that bald men are more intelligent, but it's still a hard thing to live with if you're attached to your flowing locks.

At least 50 per cent of men will experience some form of baldness in their lifetime.

This can be cause by all sorts of things, ranging from age to genetics, illness and hormones.

For many it will happen before they reach their fifties, but for some it could even start occurring as early as their twenties.

If you feel that you are starting to bald however, new research might have just answered your prayers.

The good folks overat the University of California have been conducting studies on mice and have discovered a new way to make hair grow.

By increasing the production of lactate in hair cells, previously redundant follicles have appeard tostart growing again.

The study has been published by Nature,and showed that hair cells are quitedifferent to the other skin cells in the body.

These cells produce something called pyruvate, which is a glucose that if sent to the 'powerhouse of the cell' (the mitochondria) can actually help hair grow.

Heather Christofk, the co-author of the study is quoted as saying:

Our observations about hair follicle stem cell metabolism prompted us to examine whether genetically diminishing the entry of pyruvate into the mitochondria would force hair follicle stem cells to make more lactate, and if that would activate the cells and grow hair more quickly.

They carried out their theory on two sets of mice, one that had been engineered to not produce lactate and one that had been engineered to produce lactate.

The grop that waslackinglactatestruggled togrow hair, while the group withmore lactate actually saw an increase in hair growth.

William Lowry, another author on the study, adds:

Before this, no one knew that increasing or decreasing the lactate would have an effect on hair follicle stem cells.

Once we saw how altering lactate production in the mice influenced hair growth, it led us to look for potential drugs that could be applied to the skin and have the same effect.

The scientists have now managed to identify two different drugs which could help humans suffering from hair loss.

These are called RCGD423 and UK5099, which both help hair produce lactate - but we should stress that these haven't been tested on humans.

Aimee Flores, a predoctoral trainee who is credited as the first author on the study, says:

The idea of using drugs to stimulate hair growth through hair follicle stem cells is very promising given how many millions of people, both men and women, deal with hair loss.

I think we've only just begun to understand the critical role metabolism plays in hair growth and stem cells in general; I'm looking forward to the potential application of these new findings for hair loss and beyond.

What's even better is that if the research and drugs turn out to be a success, it could be used to help those who suffer fromalopecia, the hair loss condition which effects two in every1,000 people in the UK.

HT Daily Mail Uni Lad NatureNHS

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