A local veterinary clinic recently added a cuttingedge treatment.

Dr. Tina Gemeinhardt, owner of Tsawwassen Animal Hospital, is excited to be offering stem cell therapy to animals suffering from arthritis and joint issues.

"I'm excited about trying to bring some relief to dogs that are living in pain," she said.

The therapy, which uses stem cells harvested from fat that is surgically removed from the dog, is, in most cases, able to offer relief from the pain and stiffness associated with

Gemeinhardt said once it's determined the therapy is the right course of treatment for an animal, body fat is surgically removed and sent to a lab in California where the stem cells are harvested. The harvested stem cells are then sent back to the vet clinic within 48 hours and injected into the joints in question.

Gemeinhardt, who added the treatment to the clinic's list of services earlier this year, said it's not quite clear exactly how the stem cells work.

"Stem cells seem to inherently know what needs to be done in that area," she said.

The treatment is not a cure-all - the arthritis is still there but the symptoms are lessened - and it does not work instantly. The vet said most animals start to notice a difference in a month or so, and some might require follow up injections.

She said about 85 per cent of animals receiving stem cell therapy have had a beneficial response, while 15 per cent saw no response.

Beatrice, a seven-yearold chow chow, has seen remarkable results. Owner Rose McClelland said Beatrice had been having problems with arthritis in her hips for years and medication wasn't working any more.

More:
Treatment eases arthritis pain in dogs

A gravely ill Tucson teen is hoping a bone-marrow drive this weekend will give her a new chance at life.

Delia Gonzalez was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder called aplastic anemia three years ago. While medication kept the illness at bay for a while, she's now surviving on blood transfusions to keep her alive and is extremely sick, family friend Laine Sklar said.

Aplastic anemia occurs when the body's bone marrow doesn't make enough new blood cells. Bone marrow is a spongelike tissue inside the bones. It makes stem cells that develop into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Gonzalez, 19, who is Hispanic and Norwegian, needs a bone-marrow transplant to save her life but has not been able to find a match among her close friends and family.

The former Catalina Foothills High School student is hoping to both grow the bone-marrow database and find a match for herself, Sklar said.

The bone-marrow drive will be held at two locations from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Sunday. Southern Arizonans between the ages of 18 and 60 are invited to give a cheek swab at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 1300 N. Greasewood Road, and at Ramada 7 in Reid Park across from the McDonald's on East 22nd Street.

Donors with diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds are especially critical, as patients in need of a transplant are most likely to match someone of their own race and ethnicity.

Patients particularly need potential donors between the ages of 18 and 44. That's because younger donors produce more and higher-quality cells than older donors.

All cheek swabs will become part of the Be the Match Registry to potentially help thousands of patients with life-threatening diseases.

The National Marrow Donor Program operates the Be the Match Registry and partners with a global network of leading hospitals, cord-blood banks, laboratories and recruiters.

Link:
Bone-marrow drive on Sunday aims to help sick Tucson teen

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - There are two ways to donate bone marrow. The method used depends on the patient and is determined by their doctor. It's easier than ever and one volunteer is making sure that message is told.

It's a touching story, a young woman finds out she has leukemia, her long time friend sets out to help find a match to save her life.

The woman is Leslie Harris, now mother to a healthy baby boy, born theday doctors diagnosed her.Her future is still unsure. After three rounds of chemo, she's waiting for a bone marrow match.

He's not a student, but Colin Hall carries his backpack with him everywhere. Inside: his swabbing kits used to find a potential bone marrow donor for his friend Leslie Harris.

GetSwabbed.orgis out to "defeat blood cancer by empowering people to take action, give bone marrow and save lives." Hall is a volunteer rep for the DKMS organization.

Hall says, "Once I found out about [Leslie's leukemia]I got online to send out for MY free bone marrow kit because she needed a bone marrow transplant."

That urgent and emotional response was just the beginning of Hall's involvement in bone marrow donation work. He says the statistics are daunting, "Only 1 in 20,000 people become a match for somebody. And part of the problem is there is only 2 percentof the population on the registry. So we need to get more people on that registry so more people have a chance of finding a match."

While finding a match for the patient is hard enough, add to that the fact that many qualified donors don't know how easy the process can actually be.

Dr. Steve Medlin, with the Myeloma Institute at UAMS, says technology has come a long way in just a few short years.

"This used to be a painful procedure -or a more difficult procedure anyway-in which we'd have to extract the stem cells from the bone marrow typically from the hip bones. Now it's a much more simple procedure...and much better tolerated. It's just a process that takes maybe an hour or so to get the cathater in and maybe 4 to 6 hours on a machine to collect the stem cells then the cathater's out and the process is finished." says Medlin.

Continue reading here:
Bone marrow donation easier than ever

SAN DIEGO, May 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc. announced today that its strategic partner in Mexico, Grupo Angeles Health Services, has received approval from Mexico's regulatory agency, COFEPRIS, for a Phase I/II single-blind randomized clinical trial for chronic heart failure. COFEPRIS is the Mexican equivalent of the United States FDA. The clinical trial, to be conducted at multiple hospital sites throughout Mexico, will utilize Stemedica's adult allogeneic ischemia tolerant mesenchymal stem cells (itMSC) delivered via intravenous infusion. The trial will involve three safety cohorts at different dosages, followed by a larger group being treated with the maximum safe dosage. The COFEPRIS approval is the second approval for the use of Stemedica's itMSCs. COFEPRIS approved Stemedica's itMSCs in 2010 for a clinical trial for ischemic stroke. These two trials are the only allogeneic stem cell studies approved by COFEPRIS.

Grupo Angeles is a Mexican company that is 100% integrated into the national healthcare development effort. The company is comprised of 24 state-of-the-art hospitals totaling more than 2,000 beds and 200 operating rooms. Eleven thousand Groupo Angeles physicians annually treat nearly five million patients a year. Of these, more than two million are seen as in-patients. In just over two decades, Groupo Angeles has radically transformed the practice of private medicine in Mexico and contributed decisively to reform in the country's health system. Grupo Angeles hospitals conduct an estimated 100 clinical trials annually, primarily with major global pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

"We are pleased that we will be working with the largest and most prestigious private medical institution in Mexico to study Stemedica's product for this indication. If successful, our stem cells may provide a treatment option for the millions of patients, both in Mexico and internationally, who suffer from this condition," said Maynard Howe, PhD, CEO of Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc.

Roberto Simon, MD, CEO of Grupo Angeles Health Services, noted, "We are proud to be the first organization to bring regulatory-approved allogeneic stem cell treatment to the people of Mexico. We envision that this type of treatment may well become a standard for improving cardiac status for chronic heart failure patients and are pleased to be partnering with Stemedica, one of the leading companies in the field of regenerative medicine."

Nikolai Tankovich, MD, PhD, President and Chief Medical Officer of Stemedica commented, "For the more than five million North Americans who suffer from chronic heart failure, this is an important trial. Our ischemia tolerant mesenchymal stem cells hold the potential to improve ejection fraction--the amount of blood pumped with each heart beat--and therefore, dramatically improve quality of life."

For more information about Stemedica please contact Dave McGuigan at dmcguigan(at)stemedica(dot)com. For more information about Grupo Angeles and the chronic heart failure trial please contact Paulo Yberri at pyberri(at)angelesehealth(dot)com.

About Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc. Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc.(http://www.stemedica.com) is a specialty bio-pharmaceutical company committed to the manufacturing and development of best-in-class allogeneic adult stem cells and stem cell factors for use by approved research institutions and hospitals for pre-clinical and clinical (human) trials. The company is a government licensed manufacturer of clinical grade stem cells and is approved by the FDA for its clinical trials for ischemic stroke. Stemedica is currently developing regulatory pathways for a number of medical indications using adult allogeneic stem cells. The Company is headquartered in San Diego, California.

This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/stemedica-clinical-trial/chronic-heart-failure/prweb9550806.htm

Original post:
Stemedica Stem Cells Approved for Clinical Trials in Mexico for Chronic Heart Failure

More Topics: Choose a Sector Accounting Firms Advertising/Media/Communications Capital CEO/Board General Business Health/Biotech Internet/Technology Investment Firms Law Firms Mergers & Acquisitions Money Managers People Private Companies Public Companies Venture Capital

Posted May 29, 2012

Philip A. Lowry

Highly Recognized Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant Specialist Added to Existing Member Expertise in Maternal Fetal Medicine, Cardiology, and Pathology

CLEARWATER, FL -- Biostem U.S., Corporation, (OTCQB: HAIR) (PINKSHEETS: HAIR) a stem cell regenerative medicine sciences company, announced that Philip A. Lowry, MD, has been appointed as the Chairman of its Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors (SAMBA).

According to Biostem CEO, Dwight Brunoehler, "As Chairman, Dr. Lowry will work with a team drawn from a cross-section of medical specialties. His combination of research, academic and community practice experience make him the perfect individual to coordinate and lead the outstanding group of physicians that makes up our SAMBA. As a group, The SAMBA will guide the company to maintain the highest ethical standards in every effort, while seeking and developing new cutting edge technology based on stem cell use. I am privileged to work with Dr. Lowry, once again."

Dr. Lowry stated, "Dwight is an innovative businessman with an eye on cutting-edge stem cell technology. His history in the industry speaks for itself. I like the plan at Biostem and look forward to working with everyone involved."

Dr. Philip A. Lowry received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College before going on to the Yale University School of Medicine. His completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Virginia then pursued fellowship training in hematology and oncology there as well. During fellowship training and subsequently at the University of Massachusetts, he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Peter Quesenberry working on in vitro and in vivo studies of mouse and human stem cell biology.

Dr. Lowry twice served on the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center from 1992-1996 and from 2004-2009 as an assistant and then associate clinical professor of medicine establishing the bone marrow/stem cell transplantation program there, serving as medical director of the Cryopreservation Lab supporting the transplant program, helping to develop a cord blood banking program, and teaching and coordinating the second year medical school course in hematology and oncology. Dr. Lowry additionally has ten years experience in the community practice of hematology and oncology. In 2010, Dr. Lowry became chief of hematology/oncology for the Guthrie Health System, a three-hospital tertiary care system serving northern Pennsylvania and southern New York State. He is charged with developing a cutting-edge cancer program that can project into a traditionally rural health care delivery system.

Dr. Lowry has also maintained a career-long interest in regenerative medicine springing from his research and practice experience in stem cell biology. His new role positions him to foster further development of that field. As part of a horizontally and vertically integrated multi-specialty team, he is closely allied with colleagues in cardiology, neurology/neurosurgery, and orthopedics among others with whom he hopes to stimulate the expansion of regenerative techniques.

More:
Biostem Appoints Philip A. Lowry, MD as Chairman of Its Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors

SUNRISE, Fla., May 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bioheart, Inc. (OTCBB:BHRT.OB - News) announced today that it will offer another laboratory training course in partnership with the Ageless Regenerative Institute, an organization dedicated to the standardization of cell regenerative medicine, on Saturday/Sunday June 23-24, 2012. Attendees will participate in hands on, in depth training in laboratory practices in stem cell science at Bioheart, Inc.'s corporate headquarters and clean room in Sunrise, Florida. The course was designed for Laboratory technicians, Students, Physicians and Physician Assistants.

"Attendees will graduate from this one-of-a-kind course with an extensive understanding of stem cell science laboratory practices," said Kristin Comella, Chief Scientific Officer, Bioheart, Inc. "Previous attendees described the course as incredibly well orchestrated providing comprehensive know how for laboratory start up."

An emerging field with tremendous opportunities, adult stem cell research has been shown to regenerate and repair injured or diseased structures via the release of bioactive tissue growth factors and cytokines. This is the second time that The Ageless Regenerative Institute has partnered with Bioheart, Inc. to provide hands-on training in a stem cell laboratory. This course provides instruction regarding how to grow stem cells and perform quality control testing in an actual cGMP facility following FDA regulations.

The course goals and objectives include reviewing stem cell types and characteristics; learning cell culture including plating, trypsinization and harvesting, and cryopreservation; learning quality control tests including cell count, viability, flow cytometry, endotoxin, mycoplasma, sterility; and learning and performing cGMP functions including clean room maintenance, gowning and environmental monitoring.

For information on costs and to register, visit http://www.agelessregen.com or email: info@agelessregen.com.

About Bioheart, Inc.

Bioheart is committed to maintaining its leading position within the cardiovascular sector of the cell technology industry delivering cell therapies and biologics that help address congestive heart failure, lower limb ischemia, chronic heart ischemia, acute myocardial infarctions and other issues. Bioheart's goals are to cause damaged tissue to be regenerated, when possible, and to improve a patient's quality of life and reduce health care costs and hospitalizations.

Specific to biotechnology, Bioheart is focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage and peripheral vascular disease. Its leading product, MyoCell, is a clinical muscle-derived cell therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. For more information on Bioheart, visit http://www.bioheartinc.com.

About Ageless Regenerative Institute, LLC

The Ageless Regenerative Institute (ARI) is an organization dedicated to the standardization of cell regenerative medicine. The Institute promotes the development of evidence-based standards of excellence in the therapeutic use of adipose-derived stem cells through education, advocacy, and research. ARI has a highly experienced management team with experience in setting up full scale cGMP stem cell manufacturing facilities, stem cell product development & enhancement, developing point-of-care cell production systems, developing culture expanded stem cell production systems, FDA compliance, directing clinical & preclinical studies with multiple cell types for multiple indications, and more. ARI has successfully treated hundreds of patients utilizing these cellular therapies demonstrating both safety and efficacy. For more information about regenerative medicine please visit http://www.agelessregen.com.

See original here:
Bioheart and Ageless Regenerative Partner to Advance Stem Cell Field With New Laboratory Training Program on June 23 ...

EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Research into conditions such as multiple sclerosis and heart and liver disease will benefit from multi-million dollar stem cell research and life sciences facilities opened yesterday by HRH, the Princess Royal.

The Princess Royal is to unveil plaques this afternoon at the $85 million Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM) and $38 million bio-incubator facility, Nine, in Edinburgh.

The University of Edinburgh's Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine will carry out cutting-edge stem cell research to help find therapies for patients with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease, and heart and liver diseases.

The centre is the first large-scale, purpose-built facility of its kind and provides accommodation for up to 250 stem cell scientists. The centre, funded by the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Enterprise, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the British Heart Foundation through its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, was opened by the Princess Royal in her role as Chancellor of the University. It includes the most up-to-date facilities in the UK, which meet the highest guidelines, to manufacture stem cell lines that could be used for patient therapies.

Nine, which has been jointly funded by Scottish Enterprise and the UK Government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, provides 85,000 square feet of laboratory and office space for both established biotechnology companies and start-up ventures. These could include potential spin-out companies from the University of Edinburgh.

Both buildings form a major investment in research at Edinburgh BioQuarter, which is in the city's Little France area and encompasses the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh's Queen's Medical Research Institute and Chancellor's Building.

Professor Charles french-Constant, Director of the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the SCRM and Chair of Medical Neurology at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Recent research into stem cells has heralded the beginning of a revolution in modern medicine. The Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine's great strength lies in bringing world-class clinicians and scientists to work together, encouraging the translation of laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients. The research will help in finding treatments for devastating conditions, for which there are currently no cures."

Jim McFarlane, Managing Director of Operations at Scottish Enterprise said: "Scotland has a distinguished history in developing breakthroughs in medical science and we believe that, collectively, the concentration of world-class research and facilities at Edinburgh BioQuarter will provide a breeding ground conducive to new medical discoveries that will continue that tradition for centuries to come and have a significant impact on the Scottish economy.

"Already, Nine has secured its first tenants and is attracting significant interest from potential occupiers from Scotland's life sciences sector.The official opening of the bio-incubator facility marks a major milestone in cementing Scotland's global reputation for excellence in commercialization of medical research."

Edinburgh BioQuarter is a joint venture between NHS Lothian, Scottish Enterprise, the University of Edinburgh and Alexandria Real Estate Equities, to boost developments in life sciences. This includes assisting the formation of spin-out companies from NHS and University of Edinburgh research, as well as encouraging partnerships with the bio-pharmaceutical industry.

See the original post here:
Scotland opens stem cell research center and bio-medical incubator

May 23, 2012 12:00pm

Replacing dead or dysfunctional nerve cells with new, healthy ones derived from stem cells eases chronic pain in mice, a new study found.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells into becoming mature nerve cells that could bridge gaps in the circuitry that triggers neuropathic pain.

One of the major causes of neuropathic pain is the loss of inhibitory control at the level of the spinal cord because of nerve loss or dysfunction, said study author Allan Basbaum, chairman of UCSFs department of anatomy. The idea was to replace or repopulate the spinal cord cells that provide that inhibition.

The same stem cells, destined to become inhibitory neurons that dampen the signals that cause pain, were previously shown to improve symptoms in a mouse model of epilepsy, Basbaum said. The question was whether we could take the exact same cells and put them in the spinal cord.

Before injecting the cells into the spinal cords of mice with neuropathic pain, the researchers labeled them with a fluorescent tracer to track the connections they made.

We were able to show how these cells integrate beautifully, Basbaum said, describingthe waythe transplanted cells looked and behaved like the mouses own.

Not only did the cells set up shop in the spinal cord, sending and receiving signals through a complex network of neurons, they also eased the neuropathic pain.

In four weeks, the animals condition completely disappeared, Basbaum said, adding that transplanted control cells that lacked the inhibitory properties of the stem-cell-derived neurons failed to ease the pain.

The clinical significance is that we think were actually modifying the disease, not just treating the symptoms, Basbaum said, adding that drugs currently used to ease neuropathic pain fail to treat the underlying problem. Instead of taking a drug to suppress the pain, were trying to normalize the circuit that was damaged by the disease or the injury. The cells repopulate, they integrate, and basically they treat the disease.

See the original post:
Stem Cells Curb Chronic Pain in Mice

May 24, 2012

Connie K. Ho for RedOrbit.com

Technology is rapidly progressing and so is research related to stem cells.

Researchers from the University of Michigan recently announced that they found a special surface without biological contaminants that can help adult-derived stem cells to grow and change into different cell types. The findings, published in the journal Stem Cells, are considered a breakthrough in stem cell research.

In the study, scientists grew bone cells on the surface and then transplanted the cells to the skulls of mice to look at the cells regenerative powers. The results showed that the cells produced four times as much new bone growth in mice without the help of extra bone cells. The importance of these adult-derived induced stem cells is that they come from the patient and these cells are compatible for medical treatments.

We turn back the clock, in a way. Were taking a specialized adult cell and genetically reprogramming it, so it behaves like a more primitive cell, commented Paul Krebsbach, professor of biological and materials sciences at the U-M School of Dentistry, on the process of stem cell creation.

In the project, researchers examined how human skin cells are turned into stem cells and, even though they are not exactly sure as to how the process works, how it involves the addition of proteins that can signal the genes to turn on and off to the adult cells. Prior to being used to repair parts of the body, the stem cells are grown and directed to become a specific cell type. Researchers were able to use the surface of the animal cells and proteins for stem cell habitats, but saw that the amount of cells produced could vary by animal.

You dont really know whats in there, noted Joerg Lahann, associate professor of chemical engineering and biomedical engineering.

One difficulty researchers have encountered in the past is the fact that human cells and animals cells can sometimes mix. However, the polymer gel made by Lahann and his fellow researchers helped avoid this problem. Researchers were able to gain better control over the gels ingredients and how they were combined.

Its basically the ease of a plastic dish, Lahann said. There is no biological contamination that could potentially influence your human stem cells.

Go here to see the original:
Bone Repair Via Stem-cell-growing Surface

(CBS News) A new study of patients with heart failure found a novel treatment approach might reverse the damage that has long been considered irreversible: Fixing their damaged hearts using stem cells derived by their own skin cells.

Stem cells heal heart attack scars, regrow healthy muscle Stem cells cure heart failure? What "breakthrough" study shows

In what scientists are calling a first, skin cells were taken from heart failure patients and transformed into stem cells, which were then turned into heart muscle cells capable of beating - albeit in a petri dish.

The treatment approach has scientists buzzing because it avoids the risk of possible immune system rejection from transplanting "foreign" stem cells, since the cells came from patients' own bodies.

"What is new and exciting about our research is that we have shown that it's possible to take skin cells from an elderly patient with advanced heart failure and end up with his own beating cells in a laboratory dish that are healthy and young - the equivalent to the stage of his heart cells when he was just born," the study's author Professor Lior Gepstein, professor of cardiology and physiology at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, said in a news release.

Just how do skin cells become heart cells? Researchers took skin cells from two male patients with heart failure, a 51 and 61-year-old, and genetically reprogrammed them by injecting a cocktail of "transcription factors" and a virus into the nucleus of the skin cell, followed by removing the virus and transcription factors that have been linked to cancerous tumor growth. The goal was to reprogram the cells into human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) that could help repair hearts.

"One of the obstacles to using hiPSCs clinically in humans is the potential for the cells to develop out of control and become tumours," explained Prof Gepstein in using the technique.

Once in stem cell-form, the cells differentiated in a petri dish to become heart muscle cells called cardiomyocytes, which the researchers then combined with heart tissue and cultured them into healthy heart muscle tissue. Within 48 hours, the tissues were beating together.

"The tissue was behaving like a tiny microscopic cardiac tissue comprised of approximately 1000 cells in each beating area," Gepstein said in a statement.

The researchers then transplanted the new human tissue into rats, finding it grafted to the rat's host cardiac tissues. Their research is published in the May 22 issue of the European Heart Journal.

Link:
Skin cells transformed into beating heart tissue, fueling heart failure treatment hopes

CLEARWATER, FL--(Marketwire -05/24/12)- Biostem U.S., Corporation, (HAIR.PK) (HAIR.PK) (Biostem, the Company), a fully reporting public company in the stem cell regenerative medicine sciences sector, announces a $5,000,000 financing agreement through private placement of stock.

CEO, Dwight Brunoehler, announced today that the company has signed an agreement with a funder to issue 20,000,000 shares of the company's common stock in exchange for $5,000,000 in cash or 25 cents ($.25) per share. No other considerations will be granted to the funder in exchange for the cash payment.

In announcing the funding agreement, Mr. Brunoehler commented, "We consider the eagerness of the funder to acquire Biostem shares at a price above the current market to be a tribute to our proven proprietary technology to enhance hair re-growth using human stem cells. Although we anticipated funding the company through the sale of a convertible debenture, the funder insisted on being able to acquire stock at a set price now, rather than risk having to convert at higher prices later. Although Rule 144 sale restrictions usually cause private placements of stock to be executed at a discount to the market, Biostem feels that its current share price is not truly reflective of the value of its proprietary technology; as well as the fact that the technology is already being employed, and the overall size of the hair replacement marketplace. It was for this reason that the company and the funder were able to come to an agreement to price the private placement above the current share price."

About Biostem U.S., Corporation

Biostem U.S., Corporation is a fully reporting Nevada corporation with offices in Clearwater, Florida. Biostem is a technology licensing company with proprietary technology centered on providing hair re-growth using human stem cells. The company also intends to train and license selected physicians to provide Regenerative Cellular Therapy treatments to assist the body's natural approach to healing tendons, ligaments, joints and muscle injuries by using the patient's own stem cells. Biostem U.S. is seeking to expand its operations worldwide through licensing of its proprietary technology and acquisition of existing stem cell related facilities. The company's goal is to operate in the international biotech market, focusing on the rapidly growing regenerative medicine field, using ethically sourced adult stem cells to improve the quality and longevity of life for all mankind.

More information on Biostem U.S., Corporation can be obtained through http://www.biostemus.com, or by calling Fox Communications Group 310-974-6821.

Continue reading here:
Biostem U.S., Corporation Announces $5,000,000 Financing Agreement Through Private Placement of Stock

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB: ISCO) (www.internationalstemcell.com) today announced that several of its leading scientists will present experimental results from three of ISCOs pre-clinical therapeutic programs.

These results not only show the progress we have made in these important programs, but also demonstrate the broad application of human parthenogenetic stem cells in the development of treatments for incurable diseases

Firstly, the application of A9 dopaminergic neurons derived from human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSC) for the treatment of Parkinsons disease. Demonstrating functional dopaminergic neurons in vivo represents an important milestone towards the goal of creating well characterized populations of cells that could be used to develop a treatment for Parkinsons.

Secondly, the differentiation of hpSC and embryonic stem cells into cornea-like constructs for use in transplantation therapy and the in vitro study of ocular drug absorption. There are approximately ten million people worldwide who are blind as a result of damage to their cornea. Generating human corneas from a pluripotent stem cell source should increase the likelihood that people will receive treatment in the future even in the absence of suitable tissue from eye banks.

Lastly, the in vivo and in vitro characterization of immature hepatocyte derived from hpSC. Such cells could be used to develop a treatment for individuals with a liver that has been damaged by disease or sufferers of genetic disorders that inhibit normal liver function. In both cases, implanting healthy hepatocyte cells could treat the underlying disease and prolong the life of the individual.

These results not only show the progress we have made in these important programs, but also demonstrate the broad application of human parthenogenetic stem cells in the development of treatments for incurable diseases, says Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, Vice President of Research and Development.

The presentations will take place at the 15th Annual Meeting of American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, in Philadelphia at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 17th.

About International Stem Cell Corporation

International Stem Cell Corporation is focused on the therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) and the development and commercialization of cell-based research and cosmetic products. ISCO's core technology, parthenogenesis, results in the creation of pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized oocytes (eggs). hpSCs avoid ethical issues associated with the use or destruction of viable human embryos. ISCO scientists have created the first parthenogenic, homozygous stem cell line that can be a source of therapeutic cells for hundreds of millions of individuals of differing genders, ages and racial background with minimal immune rejection after transplantation. hpSCs offer the potential to create the first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell. ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology (www.lifelinecelltech.com), and stem cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care (www.lifelineskincare.com). More information is available at http://www.internationalstemcell.com or follow us on Twitter @intlstemcell.

To receive ongoing corporate communications, please click on the following link: http://www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=1468&to=ea&s=0

Read this article:
International Stem Cell Corporation Scientists to Present Pre-Clinical Research Results at American Society of Gene ...

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/lffnp7/stem_cell_research) has announced the addition of the "Stem Cell Research Products: Opportunities, Tools & Technologies 2012 (Updated)" report to their offering.

Stem cells are primitive cells found in all multi-cellular organisms that are characterized by self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate into any mature cell type. Several broad categories of stem cells exist, including embryonic stem cells, derived from blastocysts; fetal stem cells, obtained from aborted fetuses; adult stem cells, found in adult tissues; cord blood stem cells, isolated from umbilical tissue; dental stem cells, derived from deciduous teeth; cancer stem cells, which give rise to clonal populations of cells that form tumors or disperse in the body; and animal stem cells, derived from non-human sources.

In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the specialized embryonic tissues. In adult organisms, stem and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells. Of interest to researchers is the potential for use of stem cells in regenerative medicine to treat conditions ranging from diabetes, to cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders. Additionally, the ability to use stem cells to improve drug target validation and toxicology screening is of intense interest to pharmaceutical companies. Stem cells are also being studied for their ability to improve both the understanding and treatment of birth disorders.

To facilitate research resulting from interest in these far-ranging applications, a large and growing stem cells research products market has emerged. Large companies selling stem cell research products include Life Technologies, BD Biosciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Millipore, although dozens of other suppliers exist as well. Products offered by these companies include: antibodies to stem cell antigens, bead-based stem cell separation systems, stem cell protein purification and analysis tools, tools for DNA and RNA-based characterization of stem cells, stem cell culture and media reagents, stem cell specific growth factors and cytokines, tools for stem cell gene regulation, a range of stem cell services, tools for in vivo and in vitro stem cell tracking, and stem cell lines.

This report explores current market conditions and provides guidance for companies interested in developing strategically positioned stem cell product lines.

Featured elements of this report include:

- What are novel stem cells research products that can be developed?

- What stem cells types are most frequently used by research scientists?

- Which species of stem cells do scientists prefer and what are the factors driving this preference (access, pricing, funding, handling advantages)?

See more here:
Research and Markets: Stem Cell Research Products: Opportunities, Tools & Technologies 2012 (Updated)

University of Michigan Hospital (Credit: UM.edu)

ANN ARBOR Three patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis will be permitted to receive a second dose of stem cells delivered directly to the spinal cord, in a clinical trial being led by the University of Michigans Eva Feldman, M.D.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the second treatment after a review concluded that the patients showed no adverse effects from their first implantation surgeries.

All have ALS, the inevitably fatal degenerative disease of the nervous system that many call Lou Gehrigs disease. They received injections directly into the lumbar, or lower, area of the spinal cord.

None of the patients experienced any long-term complications related to either the surgical procedure or the implantation of stem cells, or showed signs of rejecting the cells. And in the months following the surgery to inject the cells, none showed evidence that their ALS progression was accelerating.

These patients will receive a second implantation to the cervical, or upper, region of the spine where the nerves that control breathing reside. Most ALS patients die of respiratory failure as these nerves die or are damaged by the disease.

We believe that the cells and the route of administration are safe, said Feldman, principal investigator of the trial and the director of the UMs A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute. The FDA go-ahead to bring these three patients back for re-dosing is a further validation of that.

The trial is funded by Neuralstem, to which Feldman is an unpaid consultant.

This Phase 1 safety trial, which is taking place at Emory University in Atlanta, began in January 2010. After reviewing safety data from the first 12 patients, the FDA granted approval for the trial to advance the cervical injections. Three patients so far have received injections to that area. Those to be re-dosed will come from the first cohort of 12.

Results from that cohort recently were featured in the peer-reviewed journal Stem Cells in an article authored by Feldman and her colleagues at Emory, including neurologist Jonathan Glass, M.D. and neurosurgeon Nick Boulis, M.D., who performed the implantation surgeries. Boulis, an adjunct professor at UMs Medical School and a Taubman Scholar, also developed the device used to inject the stem cells into the spinal cord, which received a notice of patent allowance from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October.

See the article here:
ALS Patients Approved For More Stem Cells

Latest Senior Health News

THURSDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers who found a way to rejuvenate aged blood-forming cells in mice say their achievement offers clues about how it may be possible to combat health problems associated with old age.

The study by scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Ulm University Medicine in Germany appeared online May 3 in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Hematopoietic (meaning "to make blood") stem cells, which originate in the bone marrow, produce all of the body's red and white blood cells and platelets. As people age, these cells increase in number but become but less effective at generating new blood cells and immune cells. This makes older people more susceptible to infections and diseases, including leukemia.

In laboratory experiments with mouse cells, the researchers found that a specific protein that regulates cell aging also controls a process that causes blood-making stem cells to age. Using drugs to inhibit the action of this protein (called Cdc42) reversed aging of the hematopoietic stem cells and restored their function to a level similar to that of younger stem cells.

It had been believed that the aging of hematopoietic stem cells was locked in by nature and could not be reversed by using drugs, according to a hospital news release.

"Our findings suggest a novel and important role for Cdc42, and identify its activity as a target for ameliorating natural [hematopoietic stem cell] aging," principal investigator Hartmut Geiger, of the University of Ulm, said in the release. "We know the aging of [these stem cells] reduces in part the response of the immune system response in older people, which contributes to diseases such as anemia and may be the cause of tissue attrition in certain systems of the body."

Researchers say the next step is to test a protein inhibitor in mice to see how hematopoietic stem cells and various tissues respond. The researchers also are gathering samples of human blood-making stem cells for future lab tests.

Although studies involving animals can be useful, they frequently fail to produce similar results in humans.

-- Robert Preidt

Go here to see the original:
Researchers Rejuvenate Blood-Forming Stem Cells in Mice

Nature | Health

Regenerative medicine gets a cash boost from the nation's health ministry, but stricter regulations are needed to ensure safety

May 1, 2012

By Soo Bin Park of Nature magazine

Seoul, South Korea

The South Korean health ministry announced last month that research into stem cells and regenerative medicine will receive a funding boost of 33 billion won (US$29 million) in 2012, four times that given in 2011. Overall, six different ministries will invest 100 billion won in stem-cell research this year.

Until last year, public investment in stem cells in South Korea was relatively low and targeted mainly at basic research. But the country's Ministry of Health and Welfare is now expanding its support for clinical research on stem cells, with the money being used to link basic research to intermediate or clinical studies. The aim is to commercialize the research at an early stage.

"From the current research atmosphere and infrastructure, the government has judged that stem-cell studies are now maturing," says Hyung Min Chung, president of Seoul-based biotechnology firm Cha Bio and Diostech and an adviser on the budget plan. He adds that his company is particularly pleased that government investment decisions on developing stem-cell therapies will be made more quickly.

Target market

The government money will be allocated to two areas: rare or incurable diseases for which there is little incentive for private investment, such as spinal cord damage; and common chronic conditions, such as arthritis, for which the aim is to help South Korean companies to capture part of the large potential market for treatments.

Read more:
South Korea Steps Up Stem-Cell Work

Public release date: 2-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Holly Auer holly.auer@uphs.upenn.edu 215-200-2313 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHIA -- HIV patients treated with genetically modified T cells remain healthy up to 11 years after initial therapy, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in the new issue of Science Translational Medicine. The results provide a framework for the use of this type of gene therapy as a powerful weapon in the treatment of HIV, cancer, and a wide variety of other diseases.

"We have 43 patients and they are all healthy," says senior author Carl June, MD, a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Penn Medicine. "And out of those, 41 patients show long term persistence of the modified T cells in their bodies."

Early gene therapy studies raised concern that gene transfer to cells via retroviruses might lead to leukemia in a substantial proportion of patients, due to mutations that may arise in genes when new DNA is inserted. The new long-term data, however, allay that concern in T cells, further buoying the hope generated by work June's team published in 2011 showing the eradication of tumors in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia using a similar strategy.

"If you have a safe way to modify cells in patients with HIV, you can potentially develop curative approaches," June says. "Patients now have to take medicine for their whole lives to keep their virus under control, but there are a number of gene therapy approaches that might be curative." A lifetime of anti-HIV drug therapy, by contrast, is expensive and can be accompanied by significant side effects.

They also note that the approach the Penn Medicine team studied may allow patients with cancers and other diseases to avoid the complications and mortality risks associated with more conventional treatments, since patients treated with the modified T cells did not require drugs to weaken their own immune systems in order for the modified cells to proliferate in their bodies after infusion, as is customary for cancer patients who receive stem cell transplants.

To demonstrate the long-term safety of genetically modified T cells, June and colleagues have followed HIV-positive patients who enrolled in three trials between 1998 and 2002. Each patient received one or more infusions of their own T cells that had been genetically modified in the laboratory using a retroviral vector. The vector encoded a chimeric antigen receptor that recognizes the HIV envelope protein and directs the modified T cell to kill any HIV-infected cells it encounters.

As is standard for any trial, the researchers carefully monitored patients for any serious adverse events immediately after infusion -- none of which were seen. Additionally, because of the earlier concerns about long-term side effects, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also asked the team to follow the patients for up to 15 years to ensure that the modified T cells were not causing blood cancers or other late effects. Therefore, each patient underwent an exam and provided blood samples during each of the subsequent years.

Now, with more than 500 years of combined patient safety data, June and colleagues are confident that the retroviral vector system is safe for modifying T cells. By contrast, June notes, the earlier, worrying side effects were seen when viral vectors were used to modify blood stem cells. The new results show that the target cell for gene modification plays an important role in long-term safety for patients treated. "T cells appear to be a safe haven for gene modification," June says.

Originally posted here:
Genetically modified T cell therapy shown to be safe, lasting in decade-long study of HIV patients

Public release date: 1-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Charles Casey charles.casey@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9048 University of California - Davis Health System

UC Davis Health System researchers are a step closer to launching human clinical trials involving the use of an innovative stem cell therapy to fight the virus that causes AIDS.

In a paper published in the May issue of the Journal of Virology, the UC Davis HIV team demonstrated both the safety and efficacy of transplanting anti-HIV stem cells into mice that represent models of infected patients. The technique, which involves replacing the immune system with stem cells engineered with a triple combination of HIV-resistant genes, proved capable of replicating a normally functioning human immune system by protecting and expanding HIV-resistant immune cells. The cells thrived and self-renewed even when challenged with an HIV viral load.

"We envision this as a potential functional cure for patients infected with HIV, giving them the ability to maintain a normal immune system through genetic resistance," said lead author Joseph Anderson, an assistant adjunct professor of internal medicine and a stem cell researcher at the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures. "Ideally, it would be a one-time treatment through which stem cells express HIV-resistant genes, which in turn generate an entire HIV-resistant immune system."

To establish immunity in mice whose immune systems paralleled those of patients with HIV, Anderson and his team genetically modified human blood stem cells, which are responsible for producing the various types of immune cells in the body.

Building on work that members of the team have pursued over the last decade, they developed several anti-HIV genes that were inserted into blood stem cells using standard gene-therapy techniques and viral vectors (viruses that efficiently insert the genes they carry into host cells). The resulting combination vector contained:

a human/rhesus macaque TRIM5 isoform, which disrupts HIV from uncoating in the cytoplasm a CCR5 short hairpin RNA (shRNA), which prevents certain strains of HIV from attaching to target cells a TAR decoy, which stops HIV genes from being expressed inside of the cell by soaking up a critical protein needed for HIV gene expression These engineered blood stem cells, which could be differentiated into normal and functional human immune cells, were introduced into the mice. The goal was to validate whether this experimental treatment would result in an immune system that remained functional, even in the face of an HIV infection, and would halt or slow the progression toward AIDS.

The results were successful on all counts.

"After we challenged transplanted mice with live HIV, we demonstrated that the cells with HIV-resistant genes were protected from infection and survived in the face of a viral challenge, maintaining normal human CD4 levels," said Anderson. CD4+ T-cells are a type of specialized immune cell that HIV attacks and uses to make more copies of HIV.

Read more:
Study using stem cell therapy shows promise in fight against HIV

When a person suffers a heart attack, scar tissue forms over the damaged areas of the heart, reducing the organs function. However, in a recent study, scientists successfully turned this scar tissue into working heart muscle without the use of stem cells.

Duke University researchers used molecules called microRNAs to convert scar tissue (called fibroblasts) into heart muscle cells in a living mouse, improving the hearts ability to pump blood.

According to the scientists, this process is much simpler than stem cell transplants and has none of the ethical concerns, making it a potential turning point in the science of tissue regeneration.

Right now, theres no good evidence stem cells can do the job, senior author Dr. Victor Dzau, a James B. Duke professor of medicine and chancellor of health affairs at Duke University, told FoxNews.com.

Scientists believe embryonic stem cells are the best to use for tissue regeneration because they are pluripotentmeaning they can become any type of cell in the body. However, Dzau said there have not been enough experiments done to prove how functional the stem cells are in regenerating tissues and whether or not they may form deadly tumors.

Additionally, there are ethical concerns about using cells derived from a human embryo, he said.

Meanwhile, adult stem cells avoid the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells but have a limited capacity to form other types of cells. The results of using these adult stem cells for tissue regeneration are not as satisfying as one would like, Dzau said.

Rather than stem cells, the new method developed by Dzaus team uses microRNA moleculeswhich typically control gene activityand delivers them into the scar tissue that develops after a heart attack. The microRNAs are able to reprogram, or trick, the scar tissue into becoming heart muscle again instead.

Testing is still in its early stages, but so far, the method appears to be relatively easy, and the data looks very promising, according to the researchers.

Its a much simplified, feasible way of causing regeneration; very easy to use as therapy, Dzau said. With stem cells, you have to take them from the embryo or tissue in the body, grow them in culture, and re-inject themand then there can be technical and biological problems.

Go here to see the original:
Repairing the heart without using stem cells

A previously hairless mouse following an implantation of bioengineered hair follicles recreated from adult tissue-derived stem cells

Researchers lead by Professor Takashi Tsuji from the Tokyo University of Science have successfully induced the natural hair growth and loss cycle in previously hairless mice. They have achieved this feat through the implantation of bioengineered hair follicles recreated from adult-tissue derived stem cells. While these results offer new hope for curing baldness, the work has broader implications, demonstrating the potential of using adult somatic stem cells for the bioengineering of organs for regenerative therapies.

The method devised by Professor Tsujis team involves reconstructing hair follicle germs from adult epithelial stem cells and cultured dermal papilla cells (dermal papilla are nipple-like projections at the base of hairs) and implanting these germs within or between skin layers. To recreate the desired hair densities normally about 120 hair shafts per square centimeter (0.15 square inch) or 60-100 hair shafts per square centimeter following a conventional hair transplantation method 28 bioengineered follicle germs were transplanted onto a circular patch of cervical skin measuring 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter. The resulting hair density of 124 hair shafts per square centimeter (plus or minus 17 shafts) turned out to be satisfactory, but there was more good news.

Far more importantly, the implanted follicle germs developed all the proper structures and formed correct connections with the surrounding host tissues, including epidermis, arrector pili muscle and nerve fibers. Also, the stem and progenitor cells along with their niches were recreated in the bioengineered follicles, making a continuous hair-growth cycle possible.

The method has been shown to work with all types of hair follicles, regardless of function, structure and color (depending on the type of the origin follicle). In fact, some features of the hair shaft, such as pigmentation, may be controlled fancy a new permanent hair color?

Although more research is still necessary (such as further study of stem cell niches and optimizing the way origin follicles are to be sourced for clinical applications), the study constitutes another milestone on the way to next generation regenerative therapies.

Source: Tokyo University of Science

Just enter your friends and your email address into the form below

For multiple addresses, separate each with a comma

Privacy is safe with us because we have a strict privacy policy.

View post:
Adult stem cells used to induce the natural hair growth cycle in hairless mice