A new genome editing method brings the possibility of gene therapies closer to reality
By NEVAGiles23
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
11-Jul-2014
Contact: Jia Liu liujia@genomics.cn BGI Shenzhen
July 3, 2014, Shenzhen, China Researchers from Salk Institute for Biological Studies, BGI, and other institutes for the first time evaluated the safety and reliability of the existing targeted gene correction technologies, and successfully developed a new method, TALEN-HDAdV, which could significantly increased gene-correction efficiency in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC). This study published online in Cell Stell Cell provides an important theoretical foundation for stem cell-based gene therapy.
The combination of stem cells and targeted genome editing technology provides a powerful tool to model human diseases and develop potential cell replacement therapy. Although the utility of genome editing has been extensively documented, but the impact of these technologies on mutational load at the whole-genome level remains unclear.
In the study, researchers performed whole-genome sequencing to evaluate the mutational load at single-base resolution in individual gene-corrected hiPSC clones in three different disease models, including Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), sickle cell disease (SCD), and Parkinson's disease (PD).
They evaluated the efficiencies of gene-targeting and gene-correction at the haemoglobin gene HBB locus with TALEN, HDAdV, CRISPR/CAS9 nuclease, and found the TALENs, HDAdVs and CRISPR/CAS9 mediated gene-correction methods have a similar efficiency at the gene HBB locus. In addition, the results of deep whole-genome sequencing indicated that TALEN and HDAdV could keep the patient's genome integrated at a maximum level, proving the safety and reliability of these methods.
Through integrating the advantages of TALEN- and HDAdV-mediated genome editing, researchers developed a new TALEN-HDAdV hybrid vector (talHDAdV), which can significantly increase the gene-correction efficiency in hiPSCs. Almost all the genetic mutations at the gene HBB locus can be detected by telHDAdV, which allows this new developed technology can be applied into the gene repair of different kinds of hemoglobin diseases such as SCD and Thalassemia.
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A new genome editing method brings the possibility of gene therapies closer to reality
Stem cell heart failure treatment advances
By NEVAGiles23
Stem cells grown under low oxygen. These stem cells from Stemedica are licensed to CardioCell.
CardioCell, a San Diego stem cell company, has started a Phase 2a trial of its treatment for chronic heart failure.
The companys special stem cells will be injected into patients with heart failure not caused by a heart attack. Nearly 2 million Americans have that kind of heart failure.
CardioCell is also testing these stem cells on heart attack patients to help their recovery. The cells are licensed from Stemedica, CardioCell's parent company.
Taken from bone marrow, the stem cells produce chemicals intended to heal malfunctioning heart cells. They are grown under low oxygen conditions, or hypoxia. CardioCell says hypoxia reflects the conditions under which natural stem cells exist. Histogen, also of San Diego, is developing its own kind of low-oxygen stem cells.
Growing stem cells with abundant oxygen reduces their "stemness," and they become prone to differentiate, said Sergey Sikora, CardioCell's president and chief executive.
Sergey Sikora, president and CEO of CardioCell / CardioCell
More than 20 patients are being sought to take part in the study, which is taking place at three locations. These are Emory University in Atlanta, Northwestern University in Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Patients will receive injections of the stem cells, and a control group will receive a saline injection. After 90 days, the groups will be reversed. Patients who had received the stem cells will get a saline injection, and the control group will get the stem cells.
The stem cells last for about a month, after which they disappear, Sikora said.
Scientists discover that pluripotency factor NANOG is also active in adult organisms
By NEVAGiles23
3 hours ago A cross section of a mouse esophagus. The dark brown staining shows epithelial cells containing NANOG protein. Credit: CNIO
Scientists from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have discovered that NANOG, an essential gene for embryonic stem cells, also regulates cell division in stratified epitheliathose that form part of the epidermis of the skin or cover the oesophagus or the vaginain adult organisms. According to the conclusions of the study, published in the journal Nature Communications, this factor could also play a role in the formation of tumours derived from stratified epithelia of the oesophagus and skin.
The pluripotency factor NANOG is active during just two days previous to the implantation of the embryo in the uterus (from day 5 to day 7 post-fertilization). At this critical period of development, NANOG contributes to giving embryonic stem cells the extraordinary capacity to make up all of the tissues that become the adult organism, an ability technically known as pluripotency.
Up until now, it was thought that the function of NANOG was limited to the above-mentioned developmental stage immediately prior to implantation. The CNIO study, led by Manuel Serrano and Daniela Piazzolla, however, shows that NANOG also plays a role in the adult organism.
After analysing the presence of NANOG in different mouse tissues by immunohistochemistry, the CNIO team demonstrated that, in addition to being present in embryonic tissue, this factor is also found in stratified epithelia such as the oesophagus, skin or vagina.
NANOG Is Linked to Tumours Derived From Stratified Epithelia
Furthermore, the researchers studied a line of mice that can be programmed to induce the NANOG factor over a limited period of time. As described in the article, when NANOG was increased in these mice, the epithelia showed an increase in cellular proliferation, hyperplasia, and an increase in the amount of DNA damage in the cells.
"Interestingly, the effects of NANOG were only observed in stratified epithelia, whereas other tissues, such as the liver of kidney, were completely indifferent to the expression of NANOG", says Serrano. This reinforces the idea that NANOG selectively operates in stratified epithelia.
"Using genome-wide analysis, we demonstrate that this factor is able to specifically regulate cell proliferation in these tissues, and it does it by means of the AURKA protein that is involved in the control of cell division", says Serrano.
The authors of the work also show that NANOG is increased in patient-derived tumour samples from stratified epithelia. Furthermore, when they blocked the action of the gene using RNA interference, the cell proliferation index was reduced.
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Scientists discover that pluripotency factor NANOG is also active in adult organisms
Stem Cell Treatment for Dogs – Pet Insurance
By NEVAGiles23
Photo credit: Steve Sweitzer
Meet Malibu, a white shepherd, who was picture-perfect at six weeks of age when she was adopted by her family. Energetic, with a zest for chasing after and jumping for her toy ball, Boo thrived on being active.
Fast forward nine years. Its 2008 and age has taken its toll. Boo has great difficulty standing up and struggles to walk to her dog bed. She limps painfully and her back arches, bracing from the pain of severe arthritis in her hips.
Boo wasnt responding significantly to traditional anti-inflammatory treatment for her arthritis. Her owners, Steve and Sheila Sweitzer, were worried about her quality of life. But, they discovered there was a new option for Boo: Stem cell regenerative treatment surgery.
This revolutionary treatment for dogs can helpbut pet owners should be financially prepared. The average cost for stem cell treatment for a dog costs approximately $2,500.
Stem cells hold immense promise for medical treatment because they can take on the traits of all kinds of cells and then replicate many times over. But theyre also the subject of fierce controversy because the most versatile cells can only be derived from embryos.
But what if you can utilize stem cells found in your own body? Not only is it possible, its also proven to be effective in animals.
Vet-Stem Regenerative Veterinary Medicine in San Diego, Calif., has spent the past 20 years developing a successful stem cell treatment for animals.
Vet-Stem CEO and founder Robert Harmon says that during their development phase Vet-Stems treated nearly 3,000 horses, many with joint problems. One of those, a race horse named Be A Bono had bone chips and fluid buildup in his knees that threatened to end his prize-winning careerand his life.
After receiving stem cell treatment, Be A Bono returned to the race track and has since earned more than $1.25 million in prize money.
Woman grows a nose on her spine after experimental stem cell treatment goes awry
By NEVAGiles23
A female patient in the US has grown a nose on her back following a failed experimental stem cell treatment that was intended to cure her paralysis. The nose-like growth, which was producing a thick mucus-like material, has recently been removed as it was pressing painfully on herspine. If you ever needed an example of the potential perils of stem cell therapy, and just how little we actually know about the function of stem cells, this is it. Its also notable that this stem cell therapy was carried out in a developed country, as part of an approved trial (apparently unwanted growths are more common in developing nations with less stringent medical safeguards).
Eight years ago, olfactory stem cells were taken from the patients nose and implanted in her spine. The stem cells were meant to turn into nerve cells that would help repair the womans spine, curing her of paralysis. Instead, it seems they decided to do what they were originally meant to do and attempt to build a nose. Over a number of years, the nose-like growth eventually became big enough and nosy enough to cause pain and discomfort to the patient. As reported by New Scientist, surgeons removed a 3-centimetre-long growth, which was found to be mainly nasal tissue, as well as bits of bone and tiny nerve branches that had not connected with the spinal nerves. [DOI: 10.3171/2014.5.SPINE13992 - "Autograft-derived spinal cord mass following olfactory mucosal cell transplantation in a spinal cord injury patient"]
Your olfactory system. 1 is the olfactory bulb (the bit of your brain that processes smells); 6 is the olfactory receptors that bind to specific chemicals (odors). [Image credit: Wikipedia]
What went wrong, then? Basically, at the top of your nasal passages there is the olfactory mucosa. This region contains all of the machinery for picking up odors, and the neurons for sending all of that data off to your brains olfactory bulb for processing. Cells from this region can be easily and safely harvested, and with the correct processing they behave just like pluripotent embryonic stem cells that can develop into many other cell types. These olfactory stem cells could develop into cartilage, or mucus glands, or neurons. The researchers obviously wanted the latter, to cure the patients spinal nerve damage but seemingly they got it wrong, and thus she sprouted a second nose. Moving forward, newer olfactory stem cell treatments have an isolation stage to prevent this kind of thing from happening. [Read:The first 3D-printed human stem cells.]
Its important to note that medicine, despite being carried out primarily on humans, is still ultimately a scientific endeavor that requires a large amount of trial and error. In the western world, its very, very hard to get a stem cell therapy approved for human trials without lots of animal testing. Even then, the therapies are often only used on people who have nothing to lose. Obviously its hard to stomach news like this, and Im sure that stem cell critics will be quick to decry the Frankensteinian abomination created by these scientists. But when you think about the alternative no advanced medicine and significantly reduced lifespans for billions of people then really, such experimental treatments are nothing to sneeze at.
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Woman grows a nose on her spine after experimental stem cell treatment goes awry
Stem Cell Therapy | Regenerative Medicine
By NEVAGiles23
Call A Stem.MD Health Advisor Now (561)2873018
Stem.MD
National Regenerative Medical Practice
Mets sign Bartolo Colon, 41, to a 2 year $20mm deal after being treated with the Stem MD proprietary BMAC procedure.
There was a time when, due to shoulder and elbow injueries, Colon, didn't know if he would ever pitch in the majors again.
Stem MDs foundation is built on the combined knowledge of the most trusted and effective sources and practitioners in regenerative medicine today. Leveraging our vast resources and collective experience, Stem MD offers a treatment plan tailored specifically to each patients needs. Our Health Consultants carefully assess your case and work with you and our doctors to ensure you get the treatment you deserve. We are committed to the best possible solution, which means knowing where breakthrough regenerative medicine can be used effectively, and only performing invasive surgery as a last resort. Read more about the Stem MD patient experience.
Dr. Joseph Purita is a pioneer within the worldwide orthopaedic surgery community. He has lectured on five continents and has been instrumental in helping some countries design their policies concerning the use of regenerative medicine. Dr. Purita graduated from Georgetown University Medical School and completed his residency at University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital. Like all Stem.MD physicians, Dr. Purita prides himself on offering the latest surgical and non-surgical techniques to our clients, which range from celebrities to weekend athletes to the elderly. Read more about Stem MD.
In 2010, MLB player, Bartolo Colon received stem cell injections from Dr. Purita after half a decade struggle with shoulder and elbow injuries. Dr. Purita treated him and in a comeback that was nothing short of miraculous, Colon went on to pitch his signature 95-mile-an-hour fastball the next season.
Stem MDs foundation is built on the combined knowledge of the most trusted and effective sources and practitioners in regenerative medicine today. Leveraging our vast resources and collective experience, Stem MD is able to offer a treatment plan tailored specifically to each patients needs.
2.150 Bone Marrow Aspirate
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Stem Cell Therapy | Regenerative Medicine
Top 16 Safe Alzheimer Stem Cell Therapy Options Worldwide – Video
By NEVAGiles23
Top 16 Safe Alzheimer Stem Cell Therapy Options Worldwide
The cure for Alzheimer #39;s has not yet been found, yet, the miraculous stem cells have been effective in treating the symptoms of the disease and re-establishing neural connections. Available...
By: placidways
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Top 16 Safe Alzheimer Stem Cell Therapy Options Worldwide - Video
News Review From Harvard Medical School — Transplant May Help Adults with Sickle Cell
By NEVAGiles23
July 2, 2014
News Review From Harvard Medical School -- Transplant May Help Adults with Sickle Cell
A partial transplant of bone-marrow stem cells may reverse sickle cell disease in adults, a new study finds. People with sickle cell disease have abnormally shaped red blood cells. They get stuck in blood vessels. This causes organ damage, pain and other medical problems. The new study included 30 adults with severe sickle cell disease. Each of them had a brother or sister who was a suitable match for a bone-marrow stem cell transplant. The sibling donor's cells were mixed with some of the patient's own cells. During 3.4 years of follow-up, the partial transplant reversed sickle cell disease in 26 out of 30 people, researchers said. In these patients, the bone marrow began making normal red blood cells. Fifteen people also were able to stop taking drugs to prevent rejection of the transplant. Overall, people were much less likely than before to need hospital treatment for the disease. Use of narcotic drugs for pain also was greatly reduced. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it July 1.
By Howard LeWine, M.D.Harvard Medical School
What Is the Doctor's Reaction?
In the United States, more than 90,000 people are affected by sickle cell disease. Most of them are African-American. Worldwide, the number is much higher. About 300,000 babies are born with this genetic disease every year.
In sickle cell disease, the red blood cells made in the bone marrow are abnormal. Instead of having a normal round shape, the cells are curved and stiff. This causes the red blood cells to get stuck inside blood vessels before they reach the tissues. The result:
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News Review From Harvard Medical School -- Transplant May Help Adults with Sickle Cell
Special Harvard Commentary: How Stem Cells Help Treat Human Disease
By NEVAGiles23
Last reviewed and revised on May 20, 2013
By Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. Brigham and Women's Hospital
Both adult and umbilical cord stem cells already are used to treat disease.
Adult stem cells:
For many years, doctors have used adult stem cells successfully to treat human disease, through bone marrow transplantation (also known as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation). Most often, this treatment is used to treat cancers of the bloodlymphomas and leukemias. When all other treatments have failed, the only hope for a cure is to wipe out all of the patients blood cellsthe cancerous ones and the healthy onesand to give a patient an entirely new blood system. The only way to do this is to transplant blood stem cellscells that can reproduce themselves indefinitely and turn into all types of specialized blood cells.
Here's how it's done. First, the doctors need to collect blood stem cells from a patient's bone marrow, and let them multiply.
Second, the patient is given a dose of chemotherapy that kills all of the cancer cells a dose that, unfortunately, also kills the cells in the patient's bone marrow.
Third, the blood stem cellsthe cells designed to give the patient a whole new blood systemare given to the patient through an intravenous catheter. Hopefully, the blood stem cells then travel through the blood to the bone marrow, where they take up residence and start to make a new blood system.
Where do the blood stem cells come from? Most of the time, they come from the patient himself. They are sucked out of the patients bone marrow through a needle, or taken from the patients blood (some blood stem cells travel in the blood). So the blood stem cells are outside the patients body, growing in a laboratory dish, when the patient is given the chemotherapy that kills all the blood cells still inside the body.
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Special Harvard Commentary: How Stem Cells Help Treat Human Disease
Stem cells: Hope on the line
By NEVAGiles23
On a brilliant day in April, tens of thousands of baseball fans stream past Jonathan Thomas's office towards AT&T Park for the first home game of the San Francisco Giants 2014 season. Thomas's standing desk faces away from the window, but the cheering throngs are never far from his mind.
Thomas chairs the board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the US$3-billion agency hailed by scientists around the world for setting a benchmark for stem-cell research funding. But scientists will not be the ones who decide what becomes of CIRM when the cash runs out in 2017. Instead, it will be the orange-and-black-clad masses walking past Thomas's window. And to win their support, Thomas knows that the agency needs to prove that their collective investment has been worthwhile. We need to drive as many projects to the patient as soon as possible, he says.
Californians voted CIRM into existence in 2004, making it the largest funder of stem-cell work in the world. The money the proceeds of bond sales that must be repaid with $3 billion in interest by taxpayers helped to bring 130 scientists to the state, and created several thousand jobs there. It has funded research that led to the publication of more than 1,700 papers, and it has contributed to five early clinical trials.
The institute has navigated a difficult path, however. CIRM had to revamp its structure and practices in response to complaints about inefficiency and potential conflicts of interest. It has also had to adapt its mission to seismic shifts in stem-cell science.
Now, ten years after taking off, the agency is fighting for its future. It has a new president, businessman Randal Mills, who replaces biologist Alan Trounson. Its backers have begun to chart a course for once again reaching out to voters, this time for $5 billion (with another $5 billion in interest) in 2016. And it is under intense pressure to produce results that truly matter to the public.
Whether or not CIRM succeeds, it will serve as a test bed for innovative approaches to funding. It could be a model for moving technologies to patients when conventional funding sources are not interested.
Much of what is celebrated and lamented about CIRM can be traced back to the Palo Alto real-estate developer who conceived of it: Robert Klein. Although officially retired from CIRM he chaired the board from 2004 to 2011 (see 'State of funding') Klein's office is adorned with mementos of the agency: a commemorative shovel from the groundbreaking of a CIRM-funded stem-cell research centre, and a photo of him with former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Liz Hafalia/San Francisco Chronicle/Polaris/eyevine
Patient advocates and parents at a 2012 meeting in which US$100 million in CIRM grants were approved.
It was Klein's idea to ask voters to support stem-cell research in 2004, through a ballot measure called Proposition 71. When he succeeded, CIRM instilled a kind of euphoria in stem-cell scientists, who were at the time still reeling from a 2001 decree by then-President George W. Bush that severely limited federal funding for embryonic-stem-cell research. California's commitment removed this roadblock and revealed that many in the state and the country supported the research.
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Stem cells: Hope on the line
Adult Stem Cells for Spinal Cord Injuries | Innovations …
By NEVAGiles23
Introduction
Despite advances in early recognition and treatment, spinal cord injuries continue to produce devastating and long lasting disabilities. Patients suffer paralysis that can vary from a partial leg to almost the entire body. In addition, the medical cost of a spinal cord injury patient over a lifetime ranges from $500,000-2,000,000.
The purpose of this paper is to help readers gain a greater understanding of the use of adult stem cells for spinal cord injuries. We also want to offer a framework for evaluating if stem cell treatment should be considered an option for you or your loved one. The paper covers the following:
Feel free to skip to sections that provide information that is helpful to you. For more information including definitions and descriptions of spinal cord injuries visit:
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Spinal cord injuries occur at a rate of 40 persons per million per year in the United States. That translates to over 12,000 new cases a year. Motor vehicle accidents account for almost half of the cases. Falls, violence such as gunshot wounds and sports injuries make up most of the rest. Up to 80% of victims are male. This is a disorder that affects the young; the average age of victims in the US is 38.
The most obvious symptom of spinal cord injury is the paralysis in affected areas. The amount and severity of paralysis depends on several factors including the location and type of injury. Patients can experience anything from a weakness in one extremity to complete paralysis of everything below the neck.
Red areas indicate loss of sensation and motion for injuries at that level
Spinal cord injury patients also experience a number of other complications that include:
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Adult Stem Cells for Spinal Cord Injuries | Innovations ...
stem cell therapy Egypt – Video
By NEVAGiles23
stem cell therapy Egypt
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stem cell therapy Egypt - Video
Fat of the bone: Exercise, diabetes affect amount of fat inside bones
By NEVAGiles23
In your bones, there is fat.
Why? Researchers don't know, but they have theories.
How does it get there? They have theories about that, too.
Is it the same sort of fat found in muscle? Not sure.
Is this bone fat a bad thing? Yes. Researchers think it is. But sometimes, they say, it might not be so bad.
"This is a new field," said Maya Styner, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. "We don't know exactly how it's produced or why it's there to begin with. There are a lot of unanswered questions."
But Styner, an endocrinologist, has used a new kind of imaging technique to answer at least two: what do diabetes drugs and exercise -- or the lack of it -- do to bone fat, and why does this matter?
Stains and scans
Our bones are not stagnant, rock-like things. They change. Marrow -- the tissue inside bones -- is full of various kinds of cells. And marrow is also full of fat. The amounts of these cells and fats can decrease or increase over time. And the production of these marrow cells and fat depend on a specific type of progenitor cell called a mesenchymal stem cell.
"These stem cells give rise to both bone and fat," Styner said. "For a long time in the bone world, it's been thought that these stem cells produce bone but then, as we age, they start to produce fat, instead."
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Fat of the bone: Exercise, diabetes affect amount of fat inside bones
Time-lapse study reveals bottlenecks in stem cell expansion
By NEVAGiles23
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
12-Jun-2014
Contact: Hannah Postles h.postles@sheffield.ac.uk 01-142-221-046 University of Sheffield
A time-lapse study of human embryonic stems cells has identified bottlenecks restricting the formation of colonies, a discovery that could lead to improvement in their use in regenerative medicine.
Biologists at the University of Sheffield's Centre for Stem Cell Biology led by Professor Peter Andrews and engineers in the Complex Systems and Signal Processing Group led by Professor Daniel Coca studied human pluripotent stem cells, which are a potential source of cells for regenerative medicine because they have the ability to produce any cell type in the body.
However, using these stem cells in therapies is currently hampered by the fact they can acquire genetic changes during prolonged culture which are non-random and resemble mutations in cancer cells.
Researchers used time-lapse imaging of single human embryonic stem cells to identify aspects of their behaviour that restrict growth and would be targets for mutations that allow cells to grow more efficiently.
Dr Ivana Barbaric, from the University of Sheffield's Department of Biomedical Science, said: "We study pluripotent stem cells, which have huge potential for use in regenerative medicine due to their ability to become any cell in the human body. A pre-requisite for this is maintaining large numbers of undifferentiated cells in culture. However, there are several obstacles such as cells tend to die extensively during culturing and they can mutate spontaneously. Some of these genetic mutations are known to provide stem cells with superior growth, allowing them to overtake the culture a phenomenon termed culture adaptation, which mimics the behaviour of cancer cells.
"In order for pluripotent stem cells to be used safely in regenerative medicine we need to understand how suboptimal culture conditions, for example culturing cells at low split ratios, affect the cells and can lead to culture adaptation."
The team's research combined the use of time-lapse microscopy, single-cell tracking and mathematical modelling to characterise bottlenecks affecting the survival of normal human embryonic stem cells and compared them with adapted cells.
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Time-lapse study reveals bottlenecks in stem cell expansion
Dr. Ruth Roberts – Stem Cell Therapy For Pets – Video
By NEVAGiles23
Dr. Ruth Roberts - Stem Cell Therapy For Pets
Dr. Ruth Roberts visits Lowcountry Live! to discuss the benefits of Stem Cell Therapy for pets.
By: Ruth Roberts
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Dr. Ruth Roberts - Stem Cell Therapy For Pets - Video
Dr. Omar Gonzalez presents his Integrative Medicine Clinic in Mexico – Video
By NEVAGiles23
Dr. Omar Gonzalez presents his Integrative Medicine Clinic in Mexico
http://www.placidway.com/profile/705/ - Watch this Video as Dr.Omar Gonzalez, MD, specialist in Stem Cell Therapy, Integrative Medicine and Chronic Diseases, presents his new clinic located...
By: placidways
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Dr. Omar Gonzalez presents his Integrative Medicine Clinic in Mexico - Video
Stem-cell advances may quell ethics debate
By NEVAGiles23
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Robert Waddell says he's glad the stem cells that healed him came from "a guy who was 50 years old" and not a human embryo.
As a Catholic, Waddell opposes the destruction of embryos and didn't want to rely on embryonic stem cells to cure his kidney disease. But he avoided this moral dilemma by getting bone marrow stem cells from a friend who donated a kidney as part of a University of Louisville study.
"It has nothing to do with embryonic stem cells," said Waddell, a 47-year-old father of four. "That made it a lot easier."
Recent strides in stem-cell research show adult stem cells to be ever-more-promising, many scientists say, quelling the controversy steeped in faith and science that has long surrounded embryonic stem cells.
In fact, University of Louisville researcher Scott Whittemore said the debate is almost moot.
"Realistically, (many scientists don't use) the types of stem cells that are so problematic anymore," he said, adding that adult stem cells can now be reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells. "The field has moved so fast."
In addition to these genetically reprogrammed adult cells - known as induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells - scientists are on the cusp of being able to turn one type of cell into another in the body without using stem cells at all. They shared some of the latest research last week at the annual International Society for Stem Cell Research in Vancouver.
"IPS cells overcame the main ethical issues," namely the use of embryos some Americans consider sacred human life, said Brett Spear, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at the University of Kentucky who uses iPS cells to model liver disease.
But other scientists argue that embryonic stem cell research remains important.
Dr. George Daley, director of the stem cell transplant program at Boston Children's Hospital and past president of the research society, said embryonic cells are a tool in the search for cures.
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Stem-cell advances may quell ethics debate
Patient Testimonial: Stem cell therapy for Multiple Sclerosis – Video
By NEVAGiles23
Patient Testimonial: Stem cell therapy for Multiple Sclerosis
http://www.placidway.com/profile/1617/ - Stem cell therapy in Switzerland was effective for 44 year old patient who had multiple sclerosis. He explains how the side effects started to diminish...
By: placidways
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Patient Testimonial: Stem cell therapy for Multiple Sclerosis - Video
Stem Cell Therapy for Anti-Aging Treatment, How it works? – Video
By NEVAGiles23
Stem Cell Therapy for Anti-Aging Treatment, How it works?
http://www.placidway.com/package/1023/Affordable-Therapeutic-Treatment-In-Lugano%2C-Switzerland - Antiaging treatments have been and will continue to be a hot topic among men and women of all...
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Stem Cell Therapy for Anti-Aging Treatment, How it works? - Video
How do Stem Cell Therapy Work? Danny Yang – Video
By NEVAGiles23
How do Stem Cell Therapy Work? Danny Yang
By: Marieke van Lankvelt
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How do Stem Cell Therapy Work? Danny Yang - Video