Stem Cell Treatment at "EmCell"
http://www.emcell.com/ Stem cell therapy is the rapidly developing area of modern medicine. Unique properties of fetal stem cells, the core of EmCell treatme...

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Stem Cell Treatment at "EmCell" - Video

Laminine Testimonial - Chronic Kidney Disease
Laminine is availabe in the Philippines!!! "The Closest Alternative To Stem Cell Therapy..." "The miracle formula from a 9-day-old fertilized hen eggs" For M...

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Laminine Testimonial - Chronic Kidney Disease - Video

By Liisa Vexler

A new age in biology and biotechnology may be upon us as scientists in London, England have successfully created embryonic-type stem cells without the use of actual embryos. By re-engineering mature cells, scientists may be close to overcoming one of the largest ethical debates in stem cell research, the use of human embryos. Though the initial research was conducted with cells from mice, scientists believe the technique could be successful in humans.

Researchers at the University College London were able to generate pluripotent cells from fully developed, or mature cells. Chris Mason, Chair of Regenerative Medicine Bioprocessing at the institution described the process as the most simple, lowest-cost and quickest method to-date. These pluripotent cells have unlimited therapeutic potential as they are able to develop into different cell types.

Mason explained to Reuters, If it works in man, this could be the game changer that ultimately makes a wide range of cell therapies available using the patients own cells as starting material.

Researchers from other institutions including Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the RIKENCenter for Developmental Biology in Japan took part in this study.

Scientists performed the experiment by allowing mature cells to multiply and then, using a number of methods, stressing them almost to the point of death. According to the researchers, the cells were able to survive and recover by returning to a state similar to that of an embryonic stem cell.

Stem Cells Defined

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have the ability to differentiate into specialized types of cells that the body needs. There are two types of stem cells, embryonic stem cells found in embryos, and adult or IPS stem cells, which are harvested from the blood or skin and genetically reprogrammed into stem cells.

According to scientists, the stem cells ability to regenerate tissue makes them valuable in the fight against degenerative diseases including Parkinsons and cardiovascular disease.

Source: http://www.euronews.com/2014/01/29/stem-cells-produced-without-embryo-in-major-scientific-breakthrough/

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Biologists Create Embryonic-Type Stem Cells Without Embryos

StemCells, Inc. Expands Phase I/II Spinal Cord Injury Trial to North America

NEWARK, Calif., Jan. 10, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEM) announced today that a team at the University of Calgary successfully transplanted its first subject in the Company's Phase I/II clinical trial in chronic spinal cord injury, with the Company's proprietary HuCNS-SC human neural stem cells. The ninth subject to enroll in the trial, which was initiated in Switzerland, is the first spinal cord injury patient to have undergone transplantation in North America. This expansion from a single-site, single-country study to a multi-site, multi-country program accelerates the current trial, which should complete enrollment of the remaining three patients this quarter, and pave the way for a controlled Phase II efficacy study that StemCells, Inc. plans to initiate mid-year to further investigate its HuCNS-SC product candidate as a treatment for spinal cord injury.

"With this transplantation in Canada, we have the first international trial investigating neural stem cells for spinal cord injury," said Stephen Huhn, M.D., FACS, FAAP, Vice President, CNS Clinical Research at StemCells, Inc. "The 12-month data from the first cohort has demonstrated a favorable safety profile, and sensory gains first detected in two of the three subjects at the six-month assessment have persisted. The third subject remains stable. We are extremely encouraged with the progress of our spinal cord injury program and the transition into an international study will accelerate completion of enrollment."

Steve Casha, M.D., Ph.D., FRCSC, the principal investigator at the University of Calgary, added, "We are proud to be the first center to enroll a subject in North America. This important research is yielding critical insight into the use of stem cells in treating spinal cord injury patients. The results should serve as a solid foundation for the Company's planned Phase II controlled efficacy study and represents an important step in the development of this promising technology."

"We have closely followed the conduct of the StemCells, Inc. trial at the University of Zurich, under the direction of Dr. Armin Curt," said Michael Fehlings M.D., Ph.D., FACS, FRCSC. Dr. Fehlings is Medical Director of the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, head of the Spinal Program at the Toronto Western Hospital, and principal investigator for the trial at the University of Toronto. "There is a large unmet medical need for treatments in spinal cord injury. The opening of sites in North America is great news for the worldwide community of patients and their families, as well as for researchers. There is a strong rationale to explore novel therapeutic approaches to treating spinal cord injury, and we are pleased to be working with StemCells at the forefront of this trailblazing study."

About the StemCells, Inc. Spinal Cord Injury Clinical Trial

The Company's Phase I/II clinical trial is designed to assess both safety and preliminary efficacy of HuCNS-SC cells as a treatment for chronic spinal cord injury. The Company plans to enroll 12 subjects with thoracic (chest-level) neurological injuries at the T2-T11 level, classified as complete or incomplete according to the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale.

To date, nine patients have been enrolled and transplanted with HuCNS-SC cells.Each of the first three subjects suffered a complete injury prior to enrolling in the study. Twelve months after transplantation of the HuCNS-SC cells, data showed multi-segment gains in sensory function in two of the first three subjects, one of which converted from a complete injury classification to an incomplete injury.The third subject in this cohort remained stable, 12 months after transplantation. The company expects to report additional interim data on both the first and second cohorts by mid-2014.

The trial is currently enrolling spinal cord injury patients at three centers: the University of Calgary; the University of Toronto; and at Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, a world-leading medical center for spinal cord injury and rehabilitation. Patients who may qualify and are interested in participating in the study in North America should contact the University of Calgary at 403-944-4334 or the University of Toronto at 416-603-5285. For information on enrollment in Switzerland, interested parties may contact the study nurse either by phone at +41 44 386 39 01, or by email at stemcells.pz@balgrist.ch.

All subjects who enroll in the trial will receive HuCNS-SC cells through direct transplantation into the spinal cord and will undergo temporary treatment with immunosuppressive drugs.Evaluations will be regularly performed in the post-transplant period in order to monitor and assess the safety of the HuCNS-SC cells, the surgery and the immunosuppression, as well as to measure any change in neurological function.Preliminary efficacy will be evaluated based on defined clinical endpoints, such as changes in sensation, motor function and bowel/bladder function.The Company intends to follow the effects of this intervention long term, and each of the subjects will be invited to enroll in a separate four-year observational study after completing the Phase I/II study.In addition, the Company plans to initiate a controlled Phase II efficacy trial in in spinal cord injury in 2014.

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StemCells, Inc. Expands Phase I/II Spinal Cord Injury ...

Shimona Kanwar, TNN Feb 11, 2014, 02.07PM IST

CHANDIGARH: A substantial number of stem cell shots from the bone marrow might treat an irreversible neurodegenerative disease. And, this hope is being offered by PGI, as none of the centres elsewhere have started clinical trials for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The first phase of the stem cell trial for the neurodegenerative disease started at PGI three years ago.

Ten ALS patients received one shot of the stem cell. After a follow-up, it was found they could not be relieved. But a study has revealed that the condition of the patients did not deterioratea??one of the features of ALS is that it progresses to disability. This provided a premise for the neurology department of the institute to carry forward with the second phase of the stem cell trial.

"Now, we have increased the sample to 30 patients who have received two shots of the stem cells in a year. We are following them up. Most of them have shown no progress in deterioration, while a few have shown unexceptional results," said Dr S Prabhakar, head of the department and the main investigator of the study.

It was felt that with just one shot of autologous stem cells (cells derived from the patient's own bone marrow) the degeneration could not be repaired. The early symptoms of the disease were muscle weakness or stiffness, which later progressed to paralysis of the muscles that control functions such as speech and swallowing among others.

"There are patients who are unable to hold a pen, speak or walk without assistance. We can only switch them to some mechanical or life supporters. But stem cell is the only therapy which may treat the disease which disables a person," said Dr Prabhakar.

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PGI offers ray of hope for ALS patients - Times Of India

By Matt Richardson Photos by Ed Mulholland

Junior middleweight Boyd Melson has a fight scheduled for tomorrow night at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan against Donald Ward. Its a fight that Melson (13-1-1, 4 KOs) says he expects will be difficult, despite Ward being a late replacement for veteran Mike Ruiz. Its a fight, however, thats relatively small in relation to the one Melson fights on a daily basis.

Thats because Melson, an Army captain in the U.S. Army Reserves, is also battling a much tougher foe: spinal cord injuries. As a boxer who donates his full purses to spinal cord research, its easy to say he has a dog in this fight and its one where hes continuing to punch, despite the odds.

Were trying to bring awareness to spinal cord injuries and fund a clinical trial to happen here in the U.S, explained Melson. Theres a clinical trial thats going to be happening at the end of this year that a doctor named Dr. Wise Young is working on. Hes doing a trial here hopefully in New York and New Jersey, before this year is out, where hes going to be using umbilical cord cells and injecting them into the spinal cord. He already did this in China and hes using that data to get FDA approval here.

15 out of the 20 patients he did that were paralyzed after seven years, one of them was as long as 19 years paralyzed, Melson continued. But 15 out of the 20 are walking now with a walker and no human assistance. Its out of this world. Its a miracle. Its real frustrating for me to know that in another part of the world we may have a cure for this and its not here yet. It stinks.

Despite his being profiled in a series of publications and television programs, Melson said theres still a way to go in matching the awareness of the issue to a potential cure.

Its still a big fight, he admitted. Maybe, locally in New York people know about it. Or theyll just know that I donate my purses. A lot of them think its stem cell research, which is not correct. That happened because theyre taking stem cells from the umbilical cord for this study but theyre adult stem cells. They were donated after the baby was born. But there are plenty of different types of therapies people are using, going outside stem cells. This one just happens to be using it but its to cure paralysis, not to study stem cells.

Melson isnt alone in his aim to obtain more spinal cord injury research and has even secured the support of a series of other fighters, including Steve Cunningham, Demetrius Andrade, Deandre Latimore, Edgar Santana and Danny Jacobs on his Team Fight to Walk.

Those are some pretty strong names right there, he said.

Hes right.

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Melson keeps fighting

New details about how motor neurons die in ALS have been uncovered by a new cell-culture system that combines spinal cord or brain cells from ALS patients with human motor neurons. The culture system shows that patient astrocytes (shown here with a blue-stained nucleus) release a toxin that kills motor neurons via a recently discovered process described as a controlled cellular explosion. Image: Diane Re.

NEW YORK, NY (February 6, 2014) In most cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrigs disease, a toxin released by cells that normally nurture neurons in the brain and spinal cord can trigger loss of the nerve cells affected in the disease, Columbia researchers reported today in the online edition of the journal Neuron.

The toxin is produced by star-shaped cells called astrocytes and kills nearby motor neurons. In ALS, the death of motor neurons causes a loss of control over muscles required for movement, breathing, and swallowing. Paralysis and death usually occur within 3 years of the appearance of first symptoms.

The report follows the researchers previous study, which found similar results in mice with a rare, genetic form of the disease, as well as in a separate study from another group that used astrocytes derived from patient neural progenitor cells. The current study shows that the toxins are also present in astrocytes taken directly from ALS patients.

I think this is probably the best evidence we can get that what we see in mouse models of the disease is also happening in human patients, said the studys senior author, Serge Przedborski, MD, PhD, the Page and William Black Professor of Neurology (in Pathology and Cell Biology), Vice Chair for Research in the department of Neurology, and co-director of Columbias Motor Neuron Center.

The findings also are significant because they apply to the most common form of ALS, which affects about 90 percent of patients. Scientists do not know why ALS develops in these patients; the other 10 percent of patients carry one of 27 genes known to cause the disease.

Now that we know that the toxin is common to most patients, it gives us an impetus to track down this factor and learn how it kills the motor neurons, Dr. Przedborski said. Its identification has the potential to reveal new ways to slow down or stop the destruction of the motor neurons.

In the study, Dr. Przedborski and study co-authors Diane Re, PhD, and Virginia Le Verche, PhD, associate research scientists, removed astrocytes from the brain and spinal cords of six ALS patients shortly after death and placed the cells in petri dishes next to healthy motor neurons. Because motor neurons cannot be removed from human subjects, they had been generated from human embryonic stem cells in the Project A.L.S./Jenifer Estess Laboratory for Stem Cell Research, also at CUMC.

Within two weeks, many of the motor neurons had shrunk and their cell membranes had disintegrated; about half of the motor neurons in the dish had died. Astrocytes removed from people who died from causes other than ALS had no effect on the motor neurons. Nor did other types of cells taken from ALS patients.

Astrocytes from ALS patients release a toxin that kills human motor neurons. Left: a disintegrating motor neuron on top of human astrocytes (blue). Right: a healthy motor neuron on top of astrocytes from people unaffected by ALS. Image: Diane Re.

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Medical Center Researchers Create Human ALS Model That May Lead to New Therapies

REGULATED INFORMATION FEBRUARY 4, 2014

TiGenix reaches major cell therapy milestone with 1000th implant of ChondroCelect

Leuven (BELGIUM) - February 4, 2014 - TiGenix (NYSE Euronext: TIG), a leader in the field of cell therapy, announced today that it reached a major milestone with the performance of the 1000th ChondroCelect implantation for cartilage repair in the knee. ChondroCelect is the first cell therapy that was granted approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as an Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP). Today it is routinely used in orthopedic centers of excellence across several European countries.

"A 1000 patients have already benefited from this innovative therapy, further supporting its efficacy and safety profile," said Eduardo Bravo, CEO of TiGenix. "A milestone such as today's is a clear demonstration of how far the cell therapy field has progressed over recent years, and I have no doubt that it is on its way to become a mainstay in clinical practice. We will continue to work towards turning our ChondroCelect franchise into a cash flow positive asset, and to push the clinical development of our pipeline of stem cell programs to a successful conclusion."

About ChondroCelect An innovative treatment, ChondroCelect has been shown to result in long-term durable clinical benefits in patients with recent cartilage lesions. Five-year follow-up data confirm that the therapeutic effect and the clinical benefit of ChondroCelect gained over baseline is maintained up to at least five years after the cartilage repair intervention. In addition, the data confirm that early treatment with ChondroCelect results in a superior clinical benefit over microfracture, and a lower failure rate.

Cartilage lesions of the knee are a frequent cause of disability in the active population. Caused by repetitive microtraumata, or due to sports or traffic accidents, cartilage lesions rarely heal spontaneously. When untreated, they predispose to osteoarthritis, which causes disability and represents a major socioeconomic burden. A treatment that allows symptom relief and functional recovery is key. To meet this important medical need, TiGenix developed ChondroCelect, the first cell therapy that was granted approval by the EMA as an ATMP.

ChondroCelect is administered to patients in an autologous chondrocyte implantation procedure known as Characterized Chondrocyte Implantation. TiGenix has designed a sophisticated manufacturing process to preserve the cells' characteristics and biological activity, and to maintain their ability to produce high quality cartilage. This process meets the highest quality standards and has been approved by the EMA.

For more information: Eduardo Bravo Chief Executive Officer eduardo.bravo@tigenix.com

Claudia D'Augusta Chief Financial Officer claudia.daugusta@tigenix.com

About TiGenix

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TiGenix : reaches major cell therapy milestone with 1000th.

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3-Feb-2014

Contact: Kim Newman sciencenews@einstein.yu.edu 718-430-3101 Albert Einstein College of Medicine

February 3, 2014 (Bronx, NY) Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have found a chemical "signature" in blood-forming stem cells that predicts whether patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will respond to chemotherapy.

The findings are based on data from nearly 700 AML patients. If validated in clinical trials, the signature would help physicians better identify which AML patients would benefit from chemotherapy and which patients have a prognosis so grave that they may be candidates for more aggressive treatments such as bone-marrow transplantation. The paper was published today in the online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Sparing Patients from Debilitating Side Effects

According to the American Cancer Society, AML accounts for nearly one-third of all new leukemia cases each year. In 2013, more than 10,000 patients died of AML.

"AML is a disease in which fewer than 30 percent of patients are cured," said co-senior author Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of cell biology and of medicine and the Diane and Arthur B. Belfer Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research at Einstein and associate chair for translational research in oncology at Montefiore. "Ideally, we would like to increase that cure rate. But in the meantime, it would help if we could identify who won't benefit from standard treatment, so we can spare them the debilitating effects of chemotherapy and get them into clinical trials for experimental therapies that might be more effective."

Analyzing Methylation Patterns

The Einstein study focused on so-called epigenetic "marks" chemical changes in DNA that turn genes on or off. The researchers focused on one common epigenetic process known as methylation, in which methyl (CH3) groups attach in various patterns to the genes of human cells. Researchers have known that aberrations in the methylation of hematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem cells (HSCs) can prevent them from differentiating into mature blood cells, leading to AML.

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Chemical stem cell signature predicts treatment response for acute myeloid leukemia

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Newswise LA JOLLAThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies will join Stanford University in leading a new Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics, created through a $40 million award by California's stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The center will bring together experts and investigators from seven different major California institutions to focus on bridging the fields of genomics the study of the complete genetic make-up of a cell or organism with cutting-edge stem cell research.

The goal is to use these tools to gain a deeper understanding of the disease processes in cancer, diabetes, endocrine disorders, heart disease and mental health, and ultimately to find safer and more effective ways of using stem cells in medical research and therapy.

"The center will provide a platform for collaboration, allowing California's stem cell scientists and genomics researchers to bridge these two fields," says Joseph Ecker, a Salk professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Investigator. "The Center will generate critical genomics data that will be shared with scientists throughout California and the rest of the world."

Ecker, holder of the Salk International Council Chair in Genetics, is co-director of the new center along with Michael Snyder, a professor and chair of genetics at Stanford.

Salk and Stanford will lead the center, and U.C. San Diego, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the Scripps Research Institute, the J. Craig Venter Institute and Illumina Inc., all in San Diego, will collaborate on the project, in addition to U.C. Santa Cruz, which will also run the data coordination and management component.

"This Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics shows why we are considered one of the global leaders in stem cell research," says Alan Trounson, president of the stem cell agency. "Bringing together this team to do this kind of work means we will be better able to understand how stem cells change as they grow and become different kinds of cells. That deeper knowledge, that you can only get through a genomic analysis of the cells, will help us develop better ways of using these cells to come up with new treatments for deadly diseases."

In addition to outside collaborations, the center will pursue some fundamental questions and goals of its own, including collecting and characterizing induced pluripotent stem cell lines from patients with familial cardiomyopathy; applying single-cell genomic techniques to better understand cellular subpopulations within diseased and healthy brain and pancreatic tissues; and developing novel computational tools to analyze networks underlying stem cell genome function.

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Salk Institute and Stanford University to Lead New $40 Million Stem Cell Genomics Center

The heart beats in a mouse embryo grown with stems cells made from blood.

Back in 1958, a young biologist at Cornell University made a stunning discovery.

He took a single cell from a carrot and then mixed it with some coconut milk. Days went by and the cell started dividing. Little roots formed. Stems started growing. Eventually, a whole new carrot plant rose up from the single cell.

Imagine if you could perform a similar feat with animal cells, even human cells.

A team of Japanese biologists say they've taken a big step toward doing just that, at least in mice. Instead of using coconut milk, though, the magic ingredient is something akin to lemon juice.

Biologist Haruko Obokata and her colleagues at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology say they've figured out a fast, easy way to make the most powerful cells in the world embryonic stem cells from just one blood cell.

The trick? Put white blood cells from a baby mouse in a mild acid solution, Obokata and her team report Wednesday in the journal Nature. Eventually a few stem cells emerge that can turn into any other cell in the body skin, heart, liver or neurons, you name it.

For decades, scientists have been searching for easy ways to make human embryonic stem cells. These cells hold great potential for treating diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease and diabetes.

But for a long time, human stem cells were essentially off limits for researchers because the only way to get them was by destroying human embryos.

Then in 2007, another team of scientists at the RIKEN center figured out a way to make human stem cells from skin and blood by manipulating the cell's genes.

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A Little Acid Turns Mouse Blood Into Brain, Heart And Stem ...

When it comes to finding cures for heart disease scientists are working to their own beat. That's because they may have finally developed a tissue model for the human heart that can bridge the gap between animal models and human patients. These models exist for other organs, but for the heart, this has been elusive. Specifically, the researchers generated the tissue from human embryonic stem cells with the resulting muscle having significant similarities to human heart muscle. This research was published in the February 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal.

"We hope that our human engineered cardiac tissues will serve as a platform for developing reliable models of the human heart for routine laboratory use," said Kevin D. Costa, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Cardiovascular Cell and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Cardiovascular Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, in New York, NY. "This could help revolutionize cardiology research by improving the ability to efficiently discover, design, develop and deliver new therapies for the treatment of heart disease, and by providing more efficient screening tools to identify and prevent cardiac side effects, ultimately leading to safer and more effective treatments for patients suffering from heart disease."

To make this advance, Costa and colleagues cultured human engineered cardiac tissue, or hECTs, for 7-10 days and they self-assembled into a long thin heart muscle strip that pulled on the end-posts and caused them to bend with each heart beat, effectively exercising the tissue throughout the culture process. These hECTs displayed spontaneous contractile activity in a rhythmic pattern of 70 beats per minute on average, similar to the human heart. They also responded to electrical stimulation. During functional analysis, some of the responses known to occur in the natural adult human heart were also elicited in hECTs through electrical and pharmacological interventions, while some paradoxical responses of hECTs more closely mimicked the immature or newborn human heart. They also found that these human engineered heart tissues were able to incorporate new genetic information carried by adenovirus.

"We've come a long way in our understanding of the human heart," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "but we still lack an adequate tissue model which can be used to test promising therapies and model deadly diseases. This advance, if it proves successful over time, will beat anything that's currently available."

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The above story is based on materials provided by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Engineered cardiac tissue model developed to study human heart

WASHINGTON: In a breakthrough, scientists claim to have successfully transformed human skin cells into hair-follicle-generating stem cells for the first time.

Xiaowei "George" Xu from the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues have found a method for converting adult cells into epithelial stem cells (EpSCs), the first time anyone has achieved this in either humans or mice.

The epithelial stem cells, when implanted into immunocompromised mice, regenerated the different cell types of human skin and hair follicles, and even produced structurally recognizable hair shaft, raising the possibility that they may eventually enable hair regeneration in people.

Xu and his team started with human skin cells called dermal fibroblasts. By adding three genes, they converted those cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which have the capability to differentiate into any cell types in the body. They then converted the iPS cells into epithelial stem cells, normally found at the bulge of hair follicles.

The team demonstrated that by carefully controlling the timing of the growth factors the cells received, they could force the iPSCs to generate large numbers of epithelial stem cells.

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Human skin cells help regrow hair in mice

Nicolo' Minerbi / LUZphoto / eyevine

Mauro Ferrari, who heads the Institute for Academic Medicine at the Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, is the Italian government's nominee to chair a committee on the controversial Stamina Foundation.

Top scientists in Italy have called on the health minister Beatrice Lorenzin to reconsider the composition of the new scientific advisory committee she has proposed to assess a controversial stem-cell therapy offered by the Stamina Foundation.

Their move follows a renewed media frenzy around the affair, prompted by statements made to the press and television by the committees proposed president, Mauro Ferrari, shortly after he was nominated on 28 December.

The Stamina therapy, which has not been scientifically proven to be effective in a clinical trial, involves extracting mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow of a patient, manipulating them and then reinjecting them into the same patients blood or spinal fluid. Stamina, based in Brescia, has already treated more than 80 patients for a wide range of serious diseases.

Stamina's practices have been widely criticized by experts both in Italy and outside, and the first government-appointed scientific committee to rule on Stamina prepared a detailed report describing the Stamina protocol as without a scientific basis, ineffective and dangerous. However, a regional court declared that committee unlawfully biased on 4 December. But after that committee's report was leaked to the press on 20 December (see 'Leaked files slam stem-cell therapy'), many families of patients who claim to have been damaged by the therapy announced that they had brought charges for damages against Stamina and its president Davide Vannoni. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

In response to the court findings, minister Lorenzin nominated Ferrari to chair a new committee. Ferrari, who heads the Institute for Academic Medicine at the Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, told journalists that he was neither for nor against the Stamina method.

However on the 22 January episode of a widely viewed television show, Le iene, Ferrari said he thought Stamina offered Italy the opportunity to take a world lead in bringing experimental therapies into the clinic. He also referred to Stamina as the first important case for regenerative medicine here in Italy, a statement that has incensed some Italian researchers.

Michele de Luca, a stem-cell biologist from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia says that Ferrari's assertions were an insult to the many scientists in Italy working on translating stem-cell research into new clinical applications. In particular, De Luca's own group was the first in the world to cure a form of blindness with a stem-cell therapy they developed, he points out.

In a letter dated 26 January, which was seen by Nature, four influential clinical scientists say that they were extremely worried by Ferrari's televised statements. The signatories were Silvio Garattini, head of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan; Giuseppe Remuzzi, head of the Mario Negri Institute in Bergamo; Gianluca Vago, rector of the University of Milan; and Alberto Zangrillo, vice-rector for clinical activities at the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan.

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Row over controversial stem-cell procedure flares up again

Professor Austin Smith of Cambridge University, writing in the Journal Nature said the new cells could be seen as a blank slate from which any cell could emerge depending on its environment.

Remarkably, instead of triggering cell death or tumour growth as might be expected, a new cell state emerges that exhibits and unprecedented potential for differentiation into every possible cell type, he said.

The discovery has been hailed as incredible by scientists who believe it will speed up the advancement of personalised medicine.

Stem cells offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including Alzheimer's, spinal cord injury, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

They could be used to regenerate organs, stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, or create skin grafts.

(This) approach in the mouse is the most simple, lowest cost and quickest method to generate pluripotent cells from mature cells, said Professor Chris Mason, Chair of Regenerative Medicine Bioprocessing, at University College London.

If it works in man, this could be the game changer that ultimately makes a wide range of cell therapies available using the patients own cells as starting material the age of personalised medicine would have finally arrived.

Who would have thought that to reprogram adult cells to an embryonic stem cell-like (pluripotent) state just required a small amount of acid for less than half an hour an incredible discovery.

Professor Mason said the development was likely to speed up the development of technology in everyday clinical practice although warned that was still years away.

Dr Dusko Ilic, Reader in Stem Cell Science, Kings College London, said the findings were revolutionary.

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'Stem cells' created in less than 30 minutes in 'groundbreaking' discovery

Scientists have created embryonic-like stem cells by simply bathing ordinary skin or blood cells in a weak acid solution for half an hour in an astonishing breakthrough that could allow doctors in the future to repair diseased tissue with a patient's own cells.

Researchers at the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology in Japan have announced the breakthrough in the journal Nature and it has been welcomed in Britain as an important step towards using stem cells routinely in medicine without the ethical or practical problems of creating human embryos or genetically modified cells.

Although the research was carried out on laboratory mice, scientists believe that the same approach should also work on human cells. It radically changes the way "pluripotent" stem cells - which can develop into any of the specialised tissues of the body - can be created from a patient's own cells as part of a "self-repair" kit.

"Once again Japanese scientists have unexpectedly rewritten the rules on making pluripotent cells from adult cells....that requires only transient exposure of adult cells to an acidic solution. How much easier can it possibly get?" said Professor Chris Mason, chair of regenerative medicine at University College London.

Two studies in Nature have shown that there is now a third way of producing pluripotent stem cells, other than creating embryos or inducing the changes by introducing new genes into a cell. The third way is by far the simplest of the three approaches, scientists said.

The scientists believe that the acidity of the solution created a "shock" that caused the blood cells of adult mice to revert to their original, embryonic-like state. From this pluripotent state, the newly created stem cells were cultured in specially prepared solutions of growth factors to develop into fully mature cells, including an entire foetus.

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge of the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research, said: "It is going to be a while before the nature of these cells are understood, and whether they might prove to be useful for developing therapies, but the really intriguing thing to discover will be the mechanism underlying how a low pH shock triggers reprogramming. And why it does not happen when we eat lemon or vinegar or drink cola?"

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Groundbreaking discovery could pave way for routine use of stem cells in medicine

Stem Cell Therapy - A New Way to Eternal Life?

By: Klentze

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Stem Cell Therapy - A New Way to Eternal Life? - Video

8 hours ago Endodermal cells, they form organs such as lung, liver and pancreas. Credit: IDR, Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen

The Wnt/-catenin signaling pathway and microRNA 335 are instrumental in helping form differentiated progenitor cells from stem cells. These are organized in germ layers and are thus the origin of different tissue types, including the pancreas and its insulin-producing beta cells. With these findings, Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen scientists have discovered key molecular functions of stem cell differentiation which could be used for beta cell replacement therapy in diabetes. The results of the two studies were published in the renowned journal Development.

The findings of the scientists of the Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research (IDR) at Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen (HMGU) provide new insights into the molecular regulation of stem cell differentiation. These results reveal important target structures for regenerative therapy approaches to chronic diseases such as diabetes.

During embryonic development, organ-specific cell types are formed from pluripotent stem cells, which can differentiate into all cell types of the human body. The pluripotent cells of the embryo organize themselves at an early stage in germ layers: the endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm. From these three cell populations different functional tissue cells arise, such as skin cells, muscle cells, and specific organ cells.

Various signaling pathways are important for this germ layer organization, including the Wnt/-catenin signaling pathway. The cells of the pancreas, such as the beta cells, originate from the endoderm, the germ layer from which the gastrointestinal tract, the liver and the lungs also arise. Professor Heiko Lickert, director of the IDR, in collaboration with Professor Gunnar Schotta of LMU Mnchen, showed that the Wnt/-catenin signaling pathway regulates Sox17, which in turn regulates molecular programs that assign pluripotent cells to the endoderm, thus inducing an initial differentiation of the stem cells.

In another project Professor Lickert and his colleague Professor Fabian Theis, director of the Institute of Computational Biology (ICB) at Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, discovered an additional mechanism that influences the progenitor cells. miRNA-335, a messenger nucleic acid, regulates the endodermal transcription factors Sox17 and Foxa2 and is essential for the differentiation of cells within this germ layer and their demarcation from the adjacent mesoderm. The concentrations of the transcription factors determine here whether these cells develop into lung, liver or pancreas cells. To achieve these results, the scientists combined their expertise in experimental research with mathematical modeling.

"Our findings represent two key processes of stem cell differentiation," said Lickert. "With an improved understanding of cell formation we can succeed in generating functional specialized cells from stem cells. These could be used for a variety of therapeutic approaches. In diabetes, we may be able to replace the defective beta cells, but regenerative medicine also offers new therapeutic options for other organ defects and diseases."

Diabetes is characterized by a dysfunction of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Regenerative treatment approaches aim to renew or replace these cells. An EU-funded research project ('HumEn'), in which Lickert and his team are participating, shall provide further insights in the field of beta-cell replacement therapy.

The aim of research at Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, a partner in the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), is to develop new approaches for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of major common diseases such as diabetes mellitus.

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Insulin-producing beta cells from stem cells: Scientists decipher early molecular mechanisms of differentiation

Anti Stem Cell, Stem Cell Spray, Fetal Stem Cell, Stem Cell Face By Dr. Renato Calabria
http://yourservice.us/jeunesseglobal.html Stem cell therapy is an intervention strategy that introduces new adult stem cells into damaged tissue in order to ...

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Anti Stem Cell, Stem Cell Spray, Fetal Stem Cell, Stem Cell Face By Dr. Renato Calabria - Video

Eleven years ago, Megan Quinn had just gotten married and was the picture of health.

"I used to run five miles a day. All of a sudden on my third mile, I started dragging my foot and I didn't understand. I thought, I'm just getting old and I'm getting tired. I was 27 years old," she said. "Nothing ever clicked to me that something was wrong."

The diagnosis was multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks itself and damages myelin, the protective covering surrounding nerve cells. With that insulation compromised, the nerves deteriorate and can cause a wide range of symptoms including vision problems, fatigue and weakness. The disease affects as many as 350,000 Americans.

"For the past year I've had a really bad time with this disease, just with my hip not working. One night I woke up and I couldn't feel either of my legs," Quinn said.

"Right now, my biggest problem is my hamstring. I cannot get my hamstring to cooperate when I have to walk, so that's my battle right now," she said.

Current treatments only try to stop progression of the disease. Quinn is about to test a new approach: using stem cells designed to actually make MS patients better.

Stem cells can be morphed into any cell in the body. Patients like Quinn have bone marrow removed and the stem cells inside are then changed in the kind of stem cells found in the brain and spinal cord.

Those cells will then be injected directly into the spinal cord. The hope is that they will repair the insulation and perhaps even the wires underneath.

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MS patient to take part in pioneering experiment