The decision to donate her baby's cord blood was "a no-brainer," said Michael's mother, Megan Kuttler of West Conshohocken. "If it could help somebody else, of course I wanted to."

Most expectant parents in the Philadelphia region do not have that opportunity.

"Women want to donate, but we can't afford to collect it," said Dennis Todd, CEO at Community Blood Services in Montvale, N.J. The agency - one of only 21 public cord-blood banks in the nation that provide units for transplants - receives an average of five calls or e-mails a week from expectant parents asking how they can contribute their baby's cord blood for the greater good.

The answer is almost always, "Sorry, but you can't."

"It's tough to do a good deed," said Frances Verter, director of the nonprofit Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation.

Unless a woman delivers at one of the relatively few hospitals affiliated with a public cord-blood bank, her options are limited.

The Carolinas Cord Blood Bank, part of Duke University, is one of the few public banks that will send collection kits to qualified donors.

Only the most motivated women donate this way.

To do it, the mother has to fill out forms, request a kit, and ask the person who delivers her baby to take an online certification course and collect six vials of maternal blood as well as the baby's cord blood. Then the mother has to ship the package within 48 hours to the lab.

What is surprising is that so many are willing to do it. Duke can't fill all the requests it receives.

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Umbilical-cord stem cells valuable, but usually wasted

A major hurdle in gene therapy is the efficient integration of a corrected gene into a patient's genome without mutating off-target sites. In a paper published today in Genome Research, scientists have used CRISPR/Cas genome editing technology to seamlessly and efficiently correct disease-causing mutations in cells from patients with -thalassemia.

-thalassemia results from inherited DNA mutations in the hemoglobin beta (HBB) gene, resulting in reduced HBB expression in red blood cells and, in the most severe forms, anemia. The only established curative treatment is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; however, this treatment requires a matched donor. Gene therapy, which delivers a corrected copy of a gene into patient cells, could bypass the need for a donor. Previous attempts using a virus to randomly insert a normal gene into the genome has been successful in one -thalassemia patient, but the long-term effect of viral insertion is not yet known.

To correct HBB mutations directly in a patient's genome, researchers first generated induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, from skin cells of patients. The real breakthrough came when they applied CRISPR/Cas9 to precisely engineer a double strand DNA break at the HBB locus in these cells, allowing a donor plasmid with the corrected sites to be efficiently integrated, thus replacing the mutated sites. The donor plasmid also contained selectable markers to identify cells with corrected copies of the gene. These selectable markers were subsequently removed with transposase and a second round of selection, generating a seamless, corrected version of HBB in the patient's genome.

Importantly, the researchers could differentiate the corrected iPSCs into mature blood cells, and these blood cells showed restored expression of hemoglobin. However, much work is needed before these cells could be transplanted back into a patient for treating -thalassemia. "Although we and others are able to differentiate iPSCs into blood cell progenitors as well as mature blood cells, the transplantation of the progenitors into mouse models to test them has so far proven very difficult," said senior author Yuet Wai Kan from the University of California, San Francisco. "I believe it will take quite a few more years before we can apply it in a clinical setting."

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The above story is based on materials provided by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Seamless gene correction of beta-thalassemia mutations in patient-specific cells

Dr Felix new protocol on Stem Cell therapy
Dr. FELIX molecular biologist , medical doctor developed world first protocol using peptides with Stem Cell therapy to improve patients outcome.

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Health and Medicine for Seniors

Aging Immune System May Get Kick-Start from Discovery of Molecular Defect

Old stem cells are not just sitting there with damaged DNA ready to develop cancer, as it has long been postulated

"The decline of stem-cell function is a big part of age-related problems. Achieving longer lives relies in part on achieving a better understanding of why stem cells are not able to maintain optimal functioning."

Emmanuelle Passegu, PhD

July 31, 2014 - There's a good reason seniors over 60 are not donor candidates for bone marrow transplantation. The immune system ages and weakens with time, making the elderly prone to life-threatening infection and other maladies, and a UC San Francisco research team now has discovered a reason why.

"We have found the cellular mechanism responsible for the inability of blood-forming cells to maintain blood production over time in an old organism, and have identified molecular defects that could be restored for rejuvenation therapies," said Emmanuelle Passegu, PhD, a professor of medicine and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF.

Passegu, an expert on the stem cells that give rise to the blood and immune system, led a team that published the new findings online July 30, 2014 in the journal Nature.

Blood and immune cells are short-lived, and unlike most tissues, must be constantly replenished. The cells that must keep producing them throughout a lifetime are called "hematopoietic stem cells."

Through cycles of cell division these stem cells preserve their own numbers and generate the daughter cells that give rise to replacement blood and immune cells. But the hematopoietic stem cells falter with age, because they lose the ability to replicate their DNA accurately and efficiently during cell division, Passegu's lab team determined.

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Aging Immune System May Get Kick-Start from Discovery of Molecular Defect

Next time you come across an advertisement offering cosmetic stem cell procedures not only to give your skin a glowing look but also to stop it from growing old, beware.

Most of such ads claim benefits from procedures that have not undergone rigorous scientific evaluation - including potential risks related to stem cell and tissue processing and the effects of ageing on stem cells, a new research warns.

"Stem cells offer tremendous potential but the marketplace is saturated with unsubstantiated and sometimes fraudulent claims that may place patients at risk," warned Michael T. Longaker from Stanford University's Medical Center.

The procedures marketed as "stem cell facelifts" are often just "lipofilling" procedures, "an established fat injection technique with no prolonged anti-ageing effect", Longaker added.

To gain insight into these claims, researchers performed a Google search for cosmetic stem cell treatments, the most common of which was "stem cell facelift".

Most procedures used "stem cells" isolated from fat.

However, the websites provided little information on the quality of the stem cells used.

Without advanced cell-sorting procedures, the products used in these procedures likely contain many other types of cells besides fat-derived stem cells.

To date, just one stem cell procedure for cosmetic purpose has received the approval from the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

That product, designed to treat fine facial wrinkles, is undergoing extensive post-approval surveillance.

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'Most stem cell-based cosmetic surgeries fake'

David #39;s Stories from Detroit
David in Detroit for Netroots Nation 2014 --On the Bonus Show: A Russian man beats the bank at it #39;s own game, stem-cell therapy gone awry, Rhode Island #39;s accidental legal prostitution experiment...

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Scientists have discovered a new way to make human platelets, which could help patients worldwide who need blood transfusions.

Platelets are the cells we use to form blood clots. They're traditionally created in our bone marrow. But scientists are now using a machine called a platelet bioreactoralong with human stem cells to create platelets outside the human body.(ViaYouTube / ThrombosisAdviser,American Society of Hematology)

Essentially, this"next-generation"device asBoston Magazinecalls it features the same characteristics asbone marrow. The crucial difference: It's able to carry out a reaction on an industrial scale.

An author of the study said in a press release published byHealthDay,"The ability to generate an alternative source of functional human platelets with virtually no disease transmission represents a paradigm shift in how we collect platelets that may allow us to meet the growing need for blood transfusions."

Brigham and Women's Hospital reports more than 2 million donor platelet units are transfused each year in the U.S. to help patients in need.

That includestrauma patients and those undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplants and surgery. (Getty Images)

But platelet shortages are common due to increased demand, a short shelflife and the possibility of contamination, rejection and infection. (Getty Images)

The problem lab-created platelets have runinto in the past istime: Growing new platelets took too long.

A doctor not associated with this researchsaid,"This study addresses that gap, while contributing to our understanding of platelet biology at the same time."(ViaHealthDay /Brigham and Women's Hospital)

Butthe rules are tough on blood products, so the platelets will undergo safety tests over the next three years. Clinical human trials likely won't start until 2017. (Getty Images)

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Scientists find new way to make human platelets

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

18-Jul-2014

Contact: Meng Zhao eic@nrren.org 86-138-049-98773 Neural Regeneration Research

Adipose-derived stem cells-transdifferentiated motoneurons after transplantation can integrate in the host cord. However, cell survival has been restricted by a lack of ideal environment for nerve cell growth. Taki Tiraihi, Shefa Neuroscience Research Center at Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital, Iran developed rat models of spinal cord injury (SCI) and injected adipose-derived stem cells-transdifferentiated motoneurons into the epicenter, rostral and caudal regions of the impact site and simultaneously transplanted glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF)-gelfoam complex into the myelin sheath. Motoneurons-like cell transplantation combined with GDNF delivery reduced cavity formations and increased cell density in the transplantation site. The combined therapy exhibited superior promoting effects on recovery of motor function to transplantation of GDNF, adipose-derived stem cells or motoneurons alone. These findings suggest that motoneuron-like cell transplantation combined with GDNF delivery holds a great promise for repair of spinal cord injury. Related results were published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 10, 2014).

###

Article: "Intraspinal transplantation of motoneuron-like cell combined with delivery of polymer-based glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor for repair of spinal cord contusion injury" by Alireza Abdanipour, Taki Tiraihi, Taher Taheri (Shefa Neuroscience Research Center at Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital, Tehran, Iran) Abdanipour A, Tiraihi T, Taheri T. Intraspinal transplantation of motoneuron-like cell combined with delivery of polymer-based glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor for repair of spinal cord contusion injury. Neural Regen Res. 2014;9(10):1003-1013.

Contact: Meng Zhao eic@nrren.org 86-138-049-98773 Neural Regeneration Research http://www.nrronline.org/

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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Published 18 July 2014

ViaCyte a privately held regenerative medicine company developing a cell replacement therapy for the treatment of diabetes, announced that it has filed an Investigational New Drug application (IND) with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with type 1 diabetes.

The trial would evaluate the safety and efficacy of ViaCyte's VC-01 product candidate, a stem cell-derived, encapsulated cell replacement therapy. In a related development, ViaCyte submitted a Medical Device Master File (called MAF) to the FDA in support of the Encaptra drug delivery system, the device component of the VC-01 product candidate.

"The filing of this IND represents the culmination of many years of research and development by a dedicated team focused on developing a cell replacement therapy for patients with type 1 diabetes and advancing our VC-01 product candidate to human clinical trials," said Paul Laikind, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ViaCyte.

"The ViaCyte team has been assisted and supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) a leading organization focused on advancing the field of stem cell-based technologies, and JDRF, the leading advocacy organization for patients with type 1 diabetes," added Dr. Laikind.

ViaCyte's VC-01 product candidate consists of pancreatic progenitor cells, called PEC-01 cells, which are derived from a proprietary human embryonic stem cell line. These cells are then encapsulated by use of ViaCyte's Encaptra device.

When implanted under the skin, the PEC-01 cells are designed to mature and further differentiate into insulin-producing beta and other endocrine cells that regulate blood glucose in a manner similar or identical to the normal islets that comprise the endocrine pancreas.

Based on a pre-IND meeting with the FDA and subsequent consultations, ViaCyte is proposing to initiate clinical evaluation of the VC-01 product candidate directly in patients with type 1 diabetes who have minimal to no insulin-producing beta cell function.

In addition to evaluating the safety of the product candidate in these patients, the study is designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the VC-01 product candidate in replacing lost endocrine function that is central to the disease.

In the proposed clinical trial, insulin production from the VC-01 implant would be assessed by measuring C-peptide, a biomarker for insulin produced by beta cells that is expected to provide a sensitive measure of efficacy in these patients.

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ViaCyte files investigational new drug application and device master file with FDA for novel cell replacement therapy ...

Stem Cell Therapy in Cardiac Disease - Charles Murry, MD, Ph.D.
How can we harness the power of stem cells to repair the heart or other damaged organs? Dr. Chuck Murry, Dept. of Pathology; Director, Center for Cardiovascular Biology at the University of...

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Okyanos Heart Institute Live on 850 WFTL: Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Disease
Okyanos #39; Chief Medical Officer Dr. Howard (Bo) Walpole and Chief Science Officer sat down with Karen Curtis at 850 WFTL in Ft. Lauderdale to discuss the promise of adult stem cell therapy as...

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I-DNA Phyto Stem Cell Therapy Miracle - Lily Khoo Testimonial
3 3 weeks, improving eye sight, skin tightening, solving triangular eyes...

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Paul Laikind, CEO of ViaCyte, which is making a treatment for diabetes from human embryonic stem cells.

In an historic announcement for the stem cell field, San Diego's ViaCyte said Thursday it has applied to start human clinical trials of its treatment for Type 1 diabetes.

ViaCyte grows replacement insulin-producing cells from human embryonic stem cells. The cells are packaged while maturing in a semi-permeable device and implanted. In animal trials, the cells produce insulin, relieving diabetes.

Now the company proposes to take what could be a cure for diabetes into people. ViaCyte has asked to begin a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, which would assess both safety and efficacy of its product. ViaCyte is targeting Type 1 diabetes, in which the insulin-producing cells are destroyed. Patients require multiple injections of insulin daily to survive.

The announcement is good news for California's stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The agency has awarded nearly $39 million to ViaCyte to ready its device for human use.

Paul Laikind, ViaCytes chief executive, said if all goes smoothly, the first patients will be treated in August or September. Based on animal studies, it will take a few months to see results, and just a few patients will be treated at first.

CIRM itself, funded with $3 billion in state bond funds, has come under pressure to show results from its work. The money is projected to run out in 2017. Some supporters of the agency have proposed launching a new initiative to continue funding.

"This is a great example of how the investment that the voters made in creating CIRM is beginning to move from labs to patients," said Joe Panetta, a member of CIRM's governing board and chief executive of Biocom, the San Diego-based life science trade group. ""There are at least a dozen other clinical trials in progress. This is good for CIRM and San Diego."

Jonathan Thomas, chairman of CIRM's governing board, called the filing "a big step in developing therapies for Type 1 diabetes."

"The project is one that has been front and center for us for six years," Thomas said. "As a principal funder of Viacyte since 2008, we are delighted that they have taken this major step towards getting a Type 1 Diabetes therapy to patients."

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Diabetes stem cell therapy readied

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Newswise Buffalo, NY BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York today has redesignated Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) as a Blue Distinction Center for delivering quality transplant care as part of the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program. Approximately 100 Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants have been designated in the United States, with only four located in New York State.

Blue Distinction Centers are medical facilities shown to deliver quality specialty care based on objective, transparent measures for patient safety and health outcomes that were developed with input from the medical community. To receive a Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants designation, medical facilities must demonstrate success in meeting patient safety criteria as well as transplant-specific quality measures (including survival metrics). RPCI received the same Blue Distinction Center designation in 2011.

Blood and marrow hematopoietic stem-cell transplants, also known as bone-marrow transplants, are a common approach for treating many types of hematologic cancers, including forms of leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. They involve the transplant of blood or bone marrow stem cells from a donor or from the patients themselves as a way of sparing the patient the toxic effects of intensive chemotherapy and/or radiation.

Because blood and marrow transplant is such a highly complex procedure, a patients medical needs before, during and after a transplant procedure are extensive and labor-intensive, said Philip McCarthy, MD, Director of RPCIs Blood & Marrow Transplant Program. Given that context, were especially proud to once again earn Blue Distinction for our transplant program from BlueCross BlueShield.

More Research shows that Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients with higher survival rates compared with their peers.

We are pleased that RPCI has been recognized for their quality transplant care, said Dr. Thomas Schenk, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York. As part of the BCBS network they are a valued and once again nationally recognized provider of quality care.

Although rare, the number of transplants including heart, lung, liver, pancreas and bone marrow/blood stem cell in the nation have increased in recent years. There were 28,954 transplant procedures performed in 2013 compared to 28,052 in 2012. Today, more than 123,000 people are awaiting organ donations for transplants, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

In 2006, the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program was developed to help patients find quality providers for their specialty care needs while encouraging healthcare professionals to improve the care they deliver.

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Roswell Park Recognized for Quality in Bone Marrow Transplant Care

Tuesday 07/15: Dangerous Additives in Beer? Stem Cell Therapy; Summer Health Tips - Show Promo
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For many years scientists have been trying to unravel mechanisms that guide function and differentiation of blood stem cells, those cells that generate all blood cells including our immune system. The study of human blood stem cells is difficult because they can only be found in the bone marrow in specialized "niches" that cannot be recapitulated in a culture dish. Now a group of scientists from Dresden led by stem cell researcher Prof. Claudia Waskow (Technische Universitt Dresden) was able to generate a mouse model that supports the transplantation of human blood stem cells despite the species barrier and without the need for irradiation. They used a mutation of the Kit receptor in the mouse stem cells to facilitate the engraftment of human cells.

In the new model human blood stem cells can expand and differentiate into all cell types of the blood without any additional treatment. Even cells of the innate immune system that can normally not be found in "humanized" mice were efficiently generated in this mouse. Of significance is the fact that the stem cells can be maintained in the mouse over a longer period of time compared to previously existing mouse models. These results were now published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

"Our goal was to develop an optimal model for the transplantation and study of human blood stem cells," says Claudia Waskow, who recently took office of the professorship for "animal models in hematopoiesis" at the medical faculty of the TU Dresden. Before, Prof. Waskow was a group leader at the DFG-Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden where most of the study was conducted.

The trick used by Claudia Waskow's team to achieve optimal stem cell engraftment was the introduction of a naturally occurring mutation of the Kit receptor into mice that lack a functional immune system. This way they circumvented the two major obstacles of blood stem cell transplantation: the rejection by the recipient's immune system and absence of free niche space for the incoming donor stem cells in the recipient's bone marrow. Space is usually provided by irradiation therapy, called conditioning, because it damages and depletes the endogenous stem cells and thus frees space for the incoming human cells. However, irradiation is toxic to many cell types and can lead to strong side effects. The Kit mutation in the new mouse model impairs the recipient's stem cell compartment in such a way that the endogenous blood stem cells can be easily replaced by human donor stem cells with a functional Kit receptor. This replacement works so efficiently that irradiation can be completely omitted allowing the study of human blood development in a physiological setting. The model can now be used to study diseases of the human blood and immune system or to test new treatment options.

The results from Prof. Waskow's group also show that the Kit receptor is important for the function of human blood stem cells, notably in a transplantation setting. Further studies will now focus on using this knowledge about the role of the receptor to improve conditioning therapy in the setting of therapeutic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients.

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

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Opening-up the stem cell niche: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation without irradiation

By Marcus Johnson

Researchers at Brown University have found that adipose-derived human stem cells (ASCs) might be highly resistant to methotrexate (MTX), a common chemotherapy drug. ASCs can ultimately become bone and other vital tissues throughout the body, which could be key for researchers looking to protect bone tissue from the damage caused by MTX treatment. MTX, which is used to treat a number of different cancers including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, causes the loss of bone density and has an adverse effect on bone marrow derived stem cells.

Kids undergo chemotherapy at such an important time when they should be growing, but instead they are introduced to this very harsh environment where bone cells are damaged with these drugs, said Olivia Beane, a Brown University graduate student in the Center for Biomedical Engineering and lead author of the study. That leads to major long-term side effects including osteoporosis and bone defects. If we found a stem cell that was resistant to the chemotherapeutic agent and could promote bone growth by becoming bone itself, then maybe they wouldnt have these issues.

Beane examined how MTX affects stem cells and certain tissues in the body and said that the resistance of certain stem cells to the drugs toxicity could mean new possibilities in the drug development realm. The researchers are now looking to find a way to make their study practical for doctors that are treating patients suffering from cancer. The next step is to test ASC survival in animal trials, where researchers will determine how the cells fare in mice that are also hit with the chemotherapy drug.

The study was published in the journal, Experimental Cell Research.

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Brown University Researchers Discover Chemo Resistant Stem Cells

After Stem Cell Therapy - Patient Interview
Patient Interview with #39;Josh #39; after stem cell treatment with Dr Mike Belich of Integrative Medical Clinics. The benefits of stem cell therapy and Regenerative Medicine.

By: Integrative Medical Clinics

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After Stem Cell Therapy - Patient Interview - Video

Stem Cell Therapy and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy

By: DR Kyle Kinmon

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Stem Cell Therapy and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy - Video

CHICAGO Bone marrow transplants can reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults, a small study by government scientists found, echoing results seen with a similar technique used in children.

The researchers and others say the findings show age need not be a barrier and that the technique may change practice for some adult patients when standard treatment fails. The transplant worked in 26 of 30 adults, and 15 of them were even able to stop taking drugs that prevent rejection one year later.

We're very pleased,'' said Dr. John Tisdale, the study's senior author and a senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health. This is what we hoped for.''

The treatment is a modified version of bone marrow transplants that have worked in kids. Donors are a brother or sister whose stem cell-rich bone marrow is a good match for the patient.

Tisdale said doctors have avoided trying standard transplants in adults with severe sickle cell disease because the treatment is so toxic. Children can often tolerate it because the disease typically hasn't taken as big a toll on their bodies, he said.

The disease is debilitating and often life-shortening; patients die on average in their 40s, Tisdale said. That's one reason why the researchers decided to try the transplants in adults, with hopes that the technique could extend their lives.

The treatment involves using chemotherapy and radiation to destroy bone marrow before replacing it with healthy donor marrow cells. In children, bone marrow is completely wiped out. In the adult study, the researchers only partially destroyed the bone marrow, requiring less donor marrow. That marrow's healthy blood cells outlast sickle cells and eventually replace them.

Sickle cell disease is a genetic condition that damages oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in red blood cells, causing them to form abnormal, sickle shapes that can block blood flow through the veins. It can cause anemia, pain and organ damage. The disease affects about 100,000 Americans, mostly blacks, and millions worldwide.

Results from the adult study, involving patients aged 29 on average, were published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The usual treatment hadn't worked, a drug called hydroxyurea, and they had transplants at an NIH research hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.

The treatment failed to reverse sickle cell in four of the 30 patients and one died of a disease-related complication. Another patient died suddenly a few weeks ago an elderly man whose transplant four years ago had been a success. Tisdale said that man had lived longer than the normal lifespan for sickle cell patients but that his death was unexpected and an autopsy was to be performed.

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Marrow transplants can reverse adult sickle cell