(CNN) -

A Florida cardiologist could have his medical license revoked by state authorities who have accused him of performing illegal stem cell therapy on a patient who died during the procedure.

Florida's Department of Health ordered the emergency suspension of Zannos Grekos' medical license Wednesday, accusing the Bonita Springs doctor of violating an emergency order against using stem cell treatments in Florida and causing the death of an unidentified elderly patient. Grekos can appeal the order.

According to the license suspension order, Grekos performed a stem cell treatment this month on the patient, who was suffering from pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary fibrosis. Both diseases restrict blood flow to the heart.

"During said stem cell treatment, patient R.P. suffered a cardiac arrest and died," the suspension order said.

CNN first investigated Grekos' activities in 2009, when he said he was using stem cell therapy for a company called Regenocyte Therapeutic. His profile, listed on the company's website, describes Grekos as having "extensive experience in the field of stem cell therapy" and says he "was recently appointed to the Science Advisory Board of the United States' Repair Stem Cell Institute."

At the time of CNN's interview, Grekos said he extracted stem cells from patients and then sent the blood to Israel for laboratory processing. That processing, he said, resulted in "regenocytes," which he said would help heal crippling diseases, mostly associated with lung problems.

The president of the International Society of Stem Cell Research, Dr. Irving Weissman, told CNN at the time that "there is no such cell."

"There is nothing called a regenocyte," he said.

After CNN's initial report, Grekos said the name was "advertising" and was not intended to be scientific.

Read more here:
Patient dies during procedure

By David Fitzpatrick and Drew Griffin, Special Investigations Unit

updated 1:34 PM EST, Thu March 8, 2012

Dr. Zannos Grekos, seen here in 2009, could have his license suspended.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- A Florida cardiologist could have his medical license revoked by state authorities who have accused him of performing illegal stem cell therapy treatment on an elderly patient who died during the procedure.

Florida's Department of Health ordered the emergency suspension of Dr. Zannos Grekos' medical license Wednesday, accusing the Bonita Springs doctor of violating an emergency order against using stem cell treatments in Florida and allegedly causing the death of an unnamed elderly patient. Grekos can appeal the order.

According to the license suspension order, Grekos performed a stem cell treatment earlier this month on the patient, who was suffering from pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary fibrosis. Both diseases restrict blood flow to the heart.

"During said stem cell treatment, patient R.P. suffered a cardiac arrest and died," the suspension order said.

CNN first investigated Grekos's activities in 2009 and, at that time, he said he was using stem cell therapy for a company he called Regenocyte Therapeutic. His profile, listed on the company's website, describes Grekos as having "extensive experience in the field of stem cell therapy" and says he "was recently appointed to the Science Advisory Board of the United States' Repair Stem Cell Institute."

At the time of CNN's interview, Grekos said he extracted stem cells from patients and then sent the blood to Israel for laboratory processing. That processing, he said, resulted in "regenocytes," which he claimed would help heal crippling diseases, mostly associated with lung problems.

Excerpt from:
Florida suspends doctor accused of illegal stem cell therapy

Approach Could Free Organ Patients From Anti-Rejection Drugs

March 7, 2012 -- New research holds the promise of freeing many organ transplant patients from a lifetime of anti-rejection drugs.

In the first study of its kind, eight kidney transplant patients received stem cells from their kidney donors manipulated to trick their bodies into accepting the foreign organ as its own.

Transplant recipients who are not perfectly matched with their donors typically take several drugs a day for the rest of their lives to keep their bodies from rejecting the new organ and to treat the side effects of those drugs.

Lindsay Porter, who was the last of the eight patients enrolled in the new study, had her kidney transplant in the summer of 2010 and was weaned off all anti-rejection drugs within a year.

The Chicago actress and mother says she feels better than she has in 15 years and sometimes has to remind herself that she had a kidney transplant.

I was 45 when I had the surgery, and I knew I would probably need another kidney at some point, she tells WebMD. The opportunity to have a transplant that would last for the rest of my life and to avoid all of those drugs was very appealing.

The ongoing research is the culmination of many years of work by researcher Suzanne Ildstad, MD, of the University of Louisville, and other researchers, including transplant surgeon Joseph Leventhal, MD, PhD, of Chicagos Northwestern University.

The new wrinkle is that organ donors who are not a perfect genetic match with the patient donate blood as well as a kidney for the procedure.

Bone marrow stem cells collected from the blood were processed in an 18-hour procedure to remove cells associated with organ rejection, leaving behind facilitating cells that do not promote rejection, Ildstad says.

Originally posted here:
Altered Stem Cells Limit Transplant Rejection

Nature | Health

Bone-marrow transfers prior to organ transplants could end the need for lifelong immunosuppression

March 7, 2012

By Elie Dolgin of Nature magazine

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a common and often deadly complication of bone-marrow transplantation that occurs when immune cells from an unrelated donor attack the transplant recipient's tissue. Now, researchers have for the first time managed to completely replace people's bone-marrow-derived stem cells with those from unrelated donors without causing GvHD. And because of this, the recipients could also accept kidneys from the same donors without the need for drugs that suppress the immune system.

"The outcome has been amazing," says Lindsay Porter, a 47-year-old Chicago resident with polycystic kidney disease who was one of the study subjects. She has been off immunosuppressive drugs for seven months. "I feel so normal, it feels like it's not a big deal."

But according to experts in the field, the findings, published today in Science Translational Medicine, are a huge deal. "It's kind of difficult to believe," says Tatsuo Kawai, a transplant surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who wrote a commentary to accompany the paper. "It's almost common sense to have GvHD in mismatched individuals."

Facilitating tolerance

The latest study builds off of work Kawai and his colleagues began fourteen years ago, when they launched the first clinical trial that attempted to use bone marrow to induce immune tolerance for kidney recipients, to avoid the sometimes dangerous side effects of life-long immosuppressive therapy.

Working first in people with perfectly immune-matched siblings and then with partially mismatched donor-recipient pairs, the researchers showed that the majority of individuals could achieve stable kidney function and successfully wean off of their immunosuppressants with few problems -- in one case for up to nine years. But the study subjects only maintained noticeable levels of the foreign bone marrow for a few weeks, and the protocol didn't work for everybody. Some researchers speculated that maintaining higher levels of donor immune cells for longer could help to improve the success rate.

Read the original post:
Treatment Allows Drug-Free Transplant Patients to Elude Graft-versus-Host Disease

Lindsay Porter's kidneys weighed 16 pounds before her transplant.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- By the time Lindsay Porter had her kidneys removed two years ago, they were bulging -- covered in cysts -- and together weighed 16 pounds.

Her abdominal area was so distended, "I looked nine months pregnant, and people regularly asked when I was due," Porter said.

As she prepared for a transplant to address her polycystic kidney disease, Porter, 47, had mixed feelings -- relief to have found a donor, tinged with resignation. She was looking forward to both a new kidney, and a lifetime on immune system-suppressing drugs.

"You get this brand new shiny kidney, and then they give you drugs that eventually destroy it," said Porter.

But that scenario may eventually change, if results of a new pilot study are replicated in a larger group of patients. The study, published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, describes eight kidney transplant patients, including Porter, who received a stem cell therapy that allowed donor and recipient immune cells to coexist in the same body.

The effect, in a handful of those patients, was to trick the recipient's immune system into recognizing the donated kidney as its own.

When it works, patients become a sort of medical rarity called a chimera.

"Chimerism is a condition wherein two different genetic cell populations are present in the body, and both cell types are tolerated," said Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, via e-mail.

Read more:
Transplant without lifetime of drugs?

Texas State radiation therapy students traveled to the University of Texas Pan America last weekend to collect enough bone marrow registrations to save the lives of 1,613 cancer patients.

The Kathy Soliz Texas State Radiation Therapy Outreach Program set up tables in prime locations around the campus on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They asked passing students if they had five minutes to save a life. On the first day, the program exceeded 600 registrations, their target number for the whole trip.

Testing for a bone marrow match includes filling out a form and swabbing the inside of the cheek with a Q-tip. Donors can be called at anytime during their lives to save a life.

The program is named after Kathy Soliz, who fought leukemia for 10 years before losing her battle with cancer approximately one year ago. As a Hispanic, she only had about a one in 600,000 chance to find a bone marrow match. Soliz had two matches, but both donors declined the request for bone marrow.

Ronnie Lozano, chair of the radiation therapy program, was inspired by Solizs story and decided to help raise awareness for donating bone marrow. Texas State officials chose to partner with UTPA because the university is 89 percent Hispanic. Minorities have a lower chance of finding a match than Caucasians. A college campus also holds thousands of people who are unrelated and have younger stem cells.

Graciela Sandoval, doctoral student, said they had a good problem because they ran out of t-shirts and forms the first day from so many students registering. The student recreation center gave Texas State radiation therapy students extra t-shirts to give out.

The fact that theyre collecting them and people are registering thats hope for somebody, said Ricardo Soliz, assistant principal at San Marcos High School and father of the late Kathy Soliz.

Program officials are planning to travel to different minority schools each year for a bone marrow drive. Next spring the program plans to travel to a primarily African-American population campus.

The idea is to make a difference in the statistic numbers for all minorities, Lozano said.

The radiation therapy program has had bone marrow drives on the Texas State campus for the past four years, and there will be another in March.

Visit link:
Radiation therapy program campaigns for marrow donors

SILVER SPRING, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Nuvilex, Inc. (OTCQB:NVLX), an emerging biotechnology provider of cell and gene therapy solutions, released information today about the companys cell encapsulation technology and the breakthrough in stem cell research which overcomes specific fundamental challenges faced in stem cell therapyhost rejection and migration of implanted cells away from the target site.

Stem cell therapy is believed by many medical researchers as holding a key to treating cancer, Type 1 diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Celiac Disease, cardiac failure, muscle damage, neurological disorders, and other chronic, debilitating diseases. There are presently >1,400 registered trials using stem cells that are recruiting patients (ClinicalTrials.gov). The encapsulation technology being advanced allows live stem cells to be implanted into robust, flexible and permeable capsules where they can replicate inside the capsules at the target site free from attack by the bodys immune system and free to undergo natural changes to become the appropriate cell type needed.

The Goldman Small Cap Research report, issued February 29, 2012, noted some inherent difficulties encountered in stem cell treatments, such as keeping stem cells alive for significant periods of time, potential rejection of the cells and subsequent destruction by the recipients immune system, and the migration of the stem cells away from the critical treatment site, while making a distinction that the Companys cell encapsulation technology overcomes these concerns.

The report also accurately recognized, Cells encapsulated in SG Austrias porous beads remain alive for long periods of time in humans, surviving intact for at least two years. Once encapsulated, cells are protected from the bodys immune system. Furthermore, encapsulated cells remain within the beads and do not migrate out of the beads to other sites in the body.

In assessing the overall importance of this technology to Nuvilexs overall business model, Goldman pointed out, The Companys acquisition of the Cell-in-a-Box approach along with the expertise of SG Austria could significantly advance the implementation and utilization of stem cells for a host of debilitating diseases and conditions, in addition to being used to target cancer cells, thus making it a uniquely valuable commodity. We believe that by partnering with leading players in the field, Nuvilex could find that companies with deep pockets would be happy to collaborate or license the delivery system and engage in further research which could result in meaningful development and licensing revenue.

Dr. Robert Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of Nuvilex, added, There is a broad range of expanding research supporting the use of stem cells to treat a variety of human diseases and conditions. Our technology allows for precise maintenance and localization of stem cells, preventing their loss from the critical area of need, that will enable us to potentially create miniature organs at specific sites and as a result we believe greater utilization of those stem cells at the site for their intended purpose, once implanted. As stem cell treatments advance, we expect Nuvilex to be at the forefront of developing new, significant, life changing therapies.

For a detailed review of the research report and valuation methodology, investors are directed to the Goldman Research Report.

About Nuvilex

Nuvilex, Inc. (OTCQB:NVLX) is an emerging international biotechnology provider of clinically useful therapeutic live encapsulated cells and services for encapsulating live cells for the research and medical communities. Through our effort, all aspects of our corporate activities alone, and especially in concert with SG Austria, are rapidly moving toward completion, including closing our agreement. One of our planned offerings will include cancer treatments using the companys industry-leading live-cell encapsulation technology.

Read more from the original source:
Nuvilex Announces Major Breakthrough in Stem Cell Research

Newswise UCLA stem cell researchers have discovered a critical placental niche cell and signaling pathway that prevent blood precursors from premature differentiation in the placenta, a process necessary for ensuring proper blood supply for an individuals lifetime.

The placental niche, a stem cell safe zone, supports blood stem cell generation and expansion without promoting differentiation into mature blood cells, allowing the establishment of a pool of precursor cells that provide blood cells for later fetal and post-natal life, said study senior author Dr. Hanna Mikkola, an associate professor of molecular cell and developmental biology and a researcher at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.

Mikkola and her team found that PDGF-B signaling in trophoblasts, specialized cells of the placenta that facilitate embryo implantation and gas and nutrient exchanges between mother and fetus, is vital to maintaining the unique microenvironment needed for the blood precursors. When PDGF-B signaling is halted, the blood precursors differentiate prematurely, creating red blood cells in the placenta, Mikkola said.

The study, done in mouse models, appears March 1, 2012, in the peer-reviewed journal Developmental Cell.

We had previously discovered that the placenta provides a home for a large supply of blood stem cells that are maintained in an undifferentiated state. We now found that, by switching off one signaling pathway, the blood precursors in the placenta start to differentiate into red blood cells, Mikkola said. We learned that the trophoblasts act as powerful signaling centers that govern the niche safe zone.

The study found that the PDGF-B signaling in the trophoblasts is suppressing production of Erythropoietin (EPO), a cytokine that controls red blood cell differentiation.

When PDGF-B signaling is lost, excessive amounts of EPO are produced in the placenta, which triggers differentiation of red blood cells in the placental vasculature, said Akanksha Chhabra, study first author and a post-doctoral fellow in Mikkolas lab.

Mikkola and Chhabra used mouse models in which the placental structure was disrupted so they could observe what cells and signaling pathways were important components of the niche.

The idea was, if we mess up the home where the blood stem cells live, how do these cells respond to the altered environment, Chhabra said. We found that it was important to suppress EPO where blood stem cell expansion is desired and to restrict its expression to areas where red blood cell differentiation should occur.

The finding, Chhabra said, was exciting in that one single molecular change was enough to change the function of an important blood stem cell niche.

Read more from the original source:
UCLA Scientists Identify Cell and Signaling Pathway that Regulates the Placental Blood Stem Cell Niche

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT, OTCBB: ACTC), a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced year-end results for the year ended December 31, 2011. The Company utilized $13.6 million in cash for operations during the year, compared to $8.8 million in the year-earlier period. The increase in cash utilization resulted primarily from ACTs ongoing clinical activities in the US and Europe. ACT ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of $13.1 million, compared to $15.9 million in cash and cash equivalents in the year-earlier period.

Some of the 2011 highlights included:

2011 was a very important and successful year for ACT as we began our Phase 1/2 trials for the treatment of macular degeneration, said Gary Rabin, chairman and CEO of ACT. We are very excited about the preliminary Phase 1/2 clinical data from our dry-AMD and Stargardts disease trials, which were published in The Lancet earlier this year. The data demonstrated the safety of ACTs human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells for the treatment of both diseases. The vision of both patients appears to have improved after transplantation, and no adverse safety issues have been observed. We look forward to validating these early findings as we expand these clinical activities throughout this year. Additionally, we made significant progress in advancing our scientific platform, expanding our board of directors and management team and strengthening our balance sheet.

The Company also announced today that it expects to shortly file a preliminary proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in which it will seek shareholder approval for a reverse split of between 1-for 20 and 1-for 80 shares. The Company is pursuing the reverse split for the sole purpose of meeting the requirements necessary for a listing on the Nasdaq Global Market. The Company believes that a listing on a national change will allow it to expand its shareholder base and improve the marketability of its common stock by attracting a broader range of investors.

Conference Call

The Company will hold a conference call at 9:00 a.m. EST tomorrow, during which it will discuss 2011 results and provide an update on clinical activities. Interested parties should dial (888)264-3177 followed by the reference conference ID number: 57426004. The call will be available live and for replay by webcast at: http://us.meeting-stream.com/advancedcelltechnology030212

About Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., is a biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the field of regenerative medicine. For more information, visitwww.advancedcell.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

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Advanced Cell Technology Announces 2011 Financial Results

NEW YORK & PETACH TIKVAH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB: BCLI.OB - News), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, announced today that the prestigious Nature Reviews Neurology, a Nature Publishing Group Journal, highlighted recently published preclinical research results indicating that stem cells, generated with Brainstorm’s NurOwn™ technology, provide hope for Huntington disease's patients.

In the preclinical studies conducted by leading scientists including Professors Melamed and Offen of Tel Aviv University and originally reported in Experimental Neurology, patients' bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells secreting neurotrophic factors (MSC-NTF) that were transplanted into an animal model of Huntington disease showed therapeutic benefits.

Addressing the role of these MSC-NTF cells in Huntington disease, Professor Daniel Offen explains, "the premise is that such cells can be transplanted safely into affected areas of the brain, and thereby serve as vehicles for delivering neurotrophic factors." Offen expressed his hope that this cell-based therapy may eventually progress to the clinic.

BrainStorm is currently conducting a Phase I/II Human Clinical Trial for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease at the Hadassah Medical center. Initial results have shown that Brainstorm’s NurOwn™ therapy is safe, does not show any significant treatment-related adverse events, and have also shown certain signs of beneficial clinical effects.

Follow this link for the Research Highlights page in Nature Reviews Neurology (starts Feb. 28th ): http://www.nature.com/nrneurol/journal/vaop/ncurrent/index.html

To read the Original Article entitled ‘Mesenchymal stem cells induced to secrete neurotrophic factors attenuate quinolinic acid toxicity: A potential therapy for Huntington's disease’ by Sadan et al. follow this link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014488612000295

About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Inc.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is a biotech company developing adult stem cell therapeutic products, derived from autologous (self) bone marrow cells, for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Ltd., holds rights to develop and commercialize the technology through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Ramot (www.ramot.org) at Tel Aviv University Ltd., the technology transfer company of Tel-Aviv University. The technology is currently in a Phase I/II clinical trials for ALS in Israel.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute "forward-looking statements" and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.'s actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, inter alia, regarding safety and efficacy in its human clinical trials and thereafter; the Company's ability to progress any product candidates in pre-clinical or clinical trials; the scope, rate and progress of its pre-clinical trials and other research and development activities; the scope, rate and progress of clinical trials we commence; clinical trial results; safety and efficacy of the product even if the data from pre-clinical or clinical trials is positive; uncertainties relating to clinical trials; risks relating to the commercialization, if any, of our proposed product candidates; dependence on the efforts of third parties; failure by us to secure and maintain relationships with collaborators; dependence on intellectual property; competition for clinical resources and patient enrollment from drug candidates in development by other companies with greater resources and visibility, and risks that we may lack the financial resources and access to capital to fund our operations. The potential risks and uncertainties include risks associated with BrainStorm's limited operating history, history of losses; minimal working capital, dependence on its license to Ramot's technology; ability to adequately protect its technology; dependence on key executives and on its scientific consultants; ability to obtain required regulatory approvals; and other factors detailed in BrainStorm's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q available at http://www.sec.gov. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made by us.

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Nature: BrainStorm's NurOwn™ Stem Cell Technology Offers Hope for Treating Huntington Disease

ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2012) — For the first time, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have isolated egg-producing stem cells from the ovaries of reproductive age women and shown these cells can produce what appear to be normal egg cells or oocytes. In the March issue of Nature Medicine, the team from the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology at MGH reports the latest follow-up study to their now-landmark 2004 Nature paper that first suggested female mammals continue producing egg cells into adulthood.

"The primary objective of the current study was to prove that oocyte-producing stem cells do in fact exist in the ovaries of women during reproductive life, which we feel this study demonstrates very clearly," says Jonathan Tilly, PhD, director of the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology in the MGH Vincent Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who led the study. "The discovery of oocyte precursor cells in adult human ovaries, coupled with the fact that these cells share the same characteristic features of their mouse counterparts that produce fully functional eggs, opens the door for development of unprecedented technologies to overcome infertility in women and perhaps even delay the timing of ovarian failure."

The 2004 report from Tilly's team challenged the fundamental belief, held since the 1950s, that female mammals are born with a finite supply of eggs that is depleted throughout life and exhausted at menopause. That paper and a 2005 follow-up published in Cell showing that bone marrow or blood cell transplants could restore oocyte production in adult female mice after fertility-destroying chemotherapy were controversial; but in the intervening years, several studies from the MGH-Vincent group and other researchers around the world have supported Tilly's work and conclusions.

These supporting studies include a 2007 Journal of Clinical Oncology report from the MGH-Vincent team that showed female mice receiving bone marrow transplants after oocyte-destroying chemotherapy were able to have successful pregnancies, delivering pups that were their genetic offspring and not of the marrow donors. A 2009 study from a team at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, published in Nature Cell Biology, not only isolated and cultured oocyte-producing stem cells (OSCs) from adult mice but also showed that those OSCs, after transplantation into the ovaries of chemotherapy-treated female mice, gave rise to mature oocytes that were ovulated, fertilized and developed into healthy offspring.

"That study singlehandedly deflated many of the arguments from critics of our earlier Nature paper by showing that oocyte-producing stem cells exist in mice and could develop into fully functional eggs," says Tilly. Another paper from a west-coast biotechnology company, published in Differentiation in 2010, provided further independent confirmation of Tilly's earlier conclusions regarding the presence of oocyte-producing stem cells in ovaries of adult mice.

Tilly is quick to point out, however, "These follow-up studies, while providing definitive evidence that oocyte-producing stem cells exist in ovaries of adult female mammals, were not without their limitations, leaving the question open in some scientific circles of whether the adult oocyte pool can be renewed. For example, the protocol used to isolate OSCs in the 2009 Nature Cell Biology study is a relatively crude approach that often results in the contamination of desired cells by other cell types." To address this, the MGH-Vincent team developed and validated a much more precise cell-sorting technique to isolate OSCs without contamination from other cells.

The 2009 study from China also had isolated OSCs based on cell-surface expression of a marker protein called Ddx4 or Mvh, which previously had been found only in the cytoplasm of oocytes. This apparent contradiction with earlier studies raised concerns over the validity of the protocol. Using their state-of-the-art fluorescence-activated cell sorting techniques, the MGH-Vincent team verified that, while the marker protein Ddx4 was indeed located inside oocytes, it was expressed on the surface of a rare and distinct population of ovarian cells identified by numerous genetic markers and functional tests as OSCs.

To examine the functional capabilities of the cells isolated with their new protocol, the investigators injected green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled mouse OSCs into the ovaries of normal adult mice. Several months later, examination of the recipient mouse ovaries revealed follicles containing oocytes with and without the marker protein. GFP-labeled and unlabeled oocytes also were found in cell clusters flushed from the animals' oviducts after induced ovulation. The GFP-labeled mouse eggs retrieved from the oviducts were successfully fertilized in vitro and produced embryos that progressed to the hatching blastocyst stage, a sign of normal developmental potential. Additionally, although the Chinese team had transplanted OSCs into ovaries of mice previously treated with chemotherapy, the MGH-Vincent team showed that it was not necessary to damage the recipient mouse ovaries with toxic drugs before introducing OSCs.

In their last two experiments, which Tilly considers to be the most groundbreaking, the MGH-Vincent team used their new cell-sorting techniques to isolate potential OSCs from adult human ovaries. The cells obtained shared all of the genetic and growth properties of the equivalent cells isolated from adult mouse ovaries, and like mouse OSCs, were able to spontaneously form cells with characteristic features of oocytes. Not only did these oocytes formed in culture dishes have the physical appearance and gene expression patterns of oocytes seen in human ovaries -- as was the case in parallel mouse experiments -- but some of these in-vitro-formed cells had only half of the genetic material normally found in all other cells of the body. That observation indicates that these oocytes had progressed through meiosis, a cell-division process unique to the formation of mature eggs and sperm.

The researchers next injected GFP-labeled human OSCs into biopsied human ovarian tissue that was then grafted beneath the skin of immune-system-deficient mice. Examination of the human tissue grafts 7 to 14 days later revealed immature human follicles with GFP-negative oocytes, probably present in the human tissue before OSC injection and grafting, as well as numerous immature human follicles with GFP-positive oocytes that would have originated from the injected human OSCs.

"These experiments provide pivotal proof-of-concept that human OSCs reintroduced into adult human ovarian tissue performed their expected function of generating new oocytes that become enclosed by host cells to form new follicles," says Tilly, a professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School and chief of Research at the MGH Vincent Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "These outcomes are exactly what we see if we perform the same experiments using GFP-expressing mouse OSCs, and GFP-expressing mouse oocytes formed that way go on to develop into fully functional eggs.

"In this paper we provide the three key pieces of evidence requested by those who have been skeptical of our previous work," he adds. "We developed and extensively validated a cell-sorting protocol to reliably purify OSCs from adult mammalian ovaries, proving once again that these very special cells exist. We tested the function of mouse oocytes produced by these OSCs and showed that they can be fertilized to produce healthy embryos. And we identified and characterized an equivalent population of oocyte-producing stem cells isolated from adult human ovaries."

Among the many potential clinical applications for these findings that Tilly's team is currently exploring are the establishment of human OSC banks -- since these cells, unlike human oocytes, can be frozen and thawed without damage -- the identification of hormones and factors that accelerate the formation of oocytes from human OSCs, the development of mature human oocytes from OSCs for in vitro fertilization, and other approaches to improve the outcomes of IVF and other infertility treatments.

Tilly notes that an essential part of his group's accomplishment was collaboration with study co-author Yasushi Takai, MD, PhD, a former MGH research fellow on Tilly's team and now a faculty member at Saitama Medical University in Japan. Working with his clinical colleagues at Saitama, Takai was able to provide healthy ovarian tissue from consenting patients undergoing sex reassignment surgery, many in their 20s and early 30s. Co-lead authors of the Nature Medicine report are Yvonne White, PhD, and Dori Woods, PhD, of the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology at MGH. Additional co-authors are Osamu Ishihara, MD, PhD, and Hiroyuki Seki, MD, PhD, of Saitama Medical University.

The study was supported by a 10-year MERIT Award to Tilly from the National Institute on Aging, a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health, the Henry and Vivian Rosenberg Philanthropic Fund, the Sea Breeze Foundation, and Vincent Memorial Hospital Research Funds.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Massachusetts General Hospital.

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Journal Reference:

Yvonne A R White, Dori C Woods, Yasushi Takai, Osamu Ishihara, Hiroyuki Seki, Jonathan L Tilly. Oocyte formation by mitotically active germ cells purified from ovaries of reproductive-age women. Nature Medicine, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nm.2669

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Egg-producing stem cells isolated from adult human ovaries

WASHINGTON -- For 60 years, doctors have believed women were born with all the eggs they'll ever have. Now Harvard scientists are challenging that dogma, saying they've discovered the ovaries of young women harbor very rare stem cells capable of producing new eggs.

If Sunday's report is confirmed, harnessing those stem cells might one day lead to better treatments for women left infertile because of disease -- or simply because they're getting older.

"Our current views of ovarian aging are incomplete. There's much more to the story than simply the trickling away of a fixed pool of eggs," said lead researcher Jonathan Tilly of Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital, who has long hunted these cells in a series of controversial studies.

Tilly's previous work drew fierce skepticism, and independent experts urged caution about the latest findings.

A key next step is to see whether other laboratories can verify the work. If so, then it would take years of additional research to learn how to use the cells, said Teresa Woodruff, fertility preservation chief at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

Still, even a leading critic said such research may help dispel some of the enduring mystery surrounding how human eggs are born and mature.

"This is going to spark renewed interest, and more than anything else it's giving us some new directions to work in," said David Albertini, director of the University of Kansas' Center for Reproductive Sciences. While he has plenty of questions about the latest work, "I'm less skeptical," he said.

Scientists have long taught that all female mammals are born with a finite supply of egg cells, called ooctyes, that runs out in middle age. Tilly, Mass General's reproductive biology director, first challenged that notion in 2004, reporting that the ovaries of adult mice harbor some egg-producing stem cells. Recently, Tilly noted, a lab in China and another in the U.S. also have reported finding those rare cells in mice.

But do they exist in women? Enter the new work, reported Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine.

First Tilly had to find healthy human ovaries to study. He collaborated with scientists at Japan's Saitama Medical University, who were freezing ovaries donated for research by healthy 20-somethings who underwent a sex-change operation.

Tilly also had to address a criticism: How to tell if he was finding true stem cells or just very immature eggs. His team latched onto a protein believed to sit on the surface of only those purported stem cells and fished them out. To track what happened next, the researchers inserted a gene that makes some jellyfish glow green into those cells. If the cells made eggs, those would glow, too.

"Bang, it worked -- cells popped right out" of the human tissue, Tilly said.

Researchers watched through a microscope as new eggs grew in a lab dish. Then came the pivotal experiment: They injected the stem cells into pieces of human ovary. They transplanted the human tissue under the skin of mice, to provide it a nourishing blood supply. Within two weeks, they reported telltale green-tinged egg cells forming.

That's still a long way from showing they'll mature into usable, quality eggs, Albertini said.

And more work is needed to tell exactly what these cells are, cautioned reproductive biologist Kyle Orwig of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who has watched Tilly's work with great interest.

But if they're really competent stem cells, Orwig asked, then why would women undergo menopause? Indeed, something so rare wouldn't contribute much to a woman's natural reproductive capacity, added Northwestern's Woodruff.

Tilly argues that using stem cells to grow eggs in lab dishes might one day help preserve cancer patients' fertility. Today, Woodruff's lab and others freeze pieces of girls' ovaries before they undergo fertility-destroying chemotherapy or radiation. They're studying how to coax the immature eggs inside to mature so they could be used for in vitro fertilization years later when the girls are grown. If that eventually works, Tilly says stem cells might offer a better egg supply.

Further down the road, he wonders if it also might be possible to recharge an aging woman's ovaries.

The new research was funded largely by the National Institutes of Health. Tilly co-founded a company, OvaScience Inc., to try to develop the findings into fertility treatments.

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Ovary stem cells can produce new eggs, researchers say

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Posted February 23, 2012

WASHINGTON -- The Stem Cell Action Coalition opposes Virginia House Bill No.1, the so-called Virginia "personhood bill." The Virginia Senate Committee on Education and Health is scheduled to take the matter up this week.

The language of the personhood bill states, in part, that the laws of Virginia "shall be interpreted and construed to acknowledge on behalf of unborn children at every stage of development all of the rights, privileges and immunities available to other persons, citizens and residents." The bill further states "unborn children shall include the offspring of human beings from the moment of conception until birth at every stage of biological development."

HB 1 arguably would apply to every aspect of Virginia law thus profoundly impacting inheritance, adoption, guardianship, civil and criminal liability by according the same rights as adults and children to a single cell.

The personhood bill would surely interfere with reproductive and related rights of women and couples along several fronts. These interferences include making it exceedingly difficult for couples in Virginia to seek in vitro fertilization as a means of creating families and donating for research IVF-created embryos not needed for implantation or not sufficiently healthy for implantation. Moreover, the law would prevent the pursuit of medical research in Virginia that utilizes human embryonic stem cells.

In this twisted new world, Virginia researchers deriving embryonic stem cells from donated embryos might be charged with capital crimes, even murder. Couples donating embryos to research might be designated as accessories to these crimes. Microscopic embryos, consisting of a few cells in lab dishes or frozen in IVF clinics might be designated as wards of the state and by mandate have legal guardians appointed on their behalf.

Human embryonic stem cell research has been described by scientists as the "gold standard" for those seeking to develop cures based on stem cell technology for many diseases and maladies such as Parkinson's, ALS, diabetes, MS, macular degeneration and other causes of blindness, spinal cord injuries, and other medical conditions for which there is no known cure.

Bernard Siegel, J.D., spokesperson for the Coalition and executive director of the Genetics Policy Institute commented, "It is a sad day indeed when the Commonwealth of Virginia should become an outpost for extremism by impeding potentially lifesaving scientific research. Thomas Jefferson would be appalled. The wise voters of Colorado (twice) and Mississippi overwhelmingly rejected personhood amendments to their state constitutions.

The profound implications of the personhood bill cannot be wished away by its sponsors. Passage of this bill would be an affront to couples trying to avail themselves of modern infertility treatments, stem cell researchers targeting cures and to all Virginians suffering from chronic and life threatening disease. Passage of HB 1 is akin to crushing hope.

Human embryonic stem cell research holds the promise of discovering the root causes of disease, serves as a tool for drug discovery, and will surely lead to regenerative medicines and cell therapies for repairing or replacing damaged tissues and organs.

Microscopic cells in a lab dish, that by a couples' decision, will never be implanted in a womb, should not be defined as 'people'," Siegel continued.

HB 1 represents a concerted move by opponents of all forms of early termination of pregnancy and medical research involving human embryos to attempt to pass laws to define "person" as the being that comes into existence at conception. In addition to Virginia, similar efforts to pass "personhood" legislation are underway in Oklahoma, Mississippi and in other states.

The Stem Cell Action Coalition has 75 nonprofit affiliated organizations including patient groups, medical philanthropies, scientific and medical societies and public interest organizations all dedicated to advancing scientifically meritorious and ethically responsible research.

The Stem Cell Action Coalition serves as an engine to unite the pro-cures community. It recognizes that human embryonic stem cell research must be a national public health priority at all branches and levels of government, not only as a matter of the medical health of the individuals who comprise the United States, but also as a matter of national financial health. The Coalition sponsors a web site http://www.stemcellaction.org and can be found on Twitter @StemCellAction and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/stemcellaction.

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Stem Cell Action Coalition Opposes Virginia Personhood Bill

22-02-2012 02:19 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Buddhist Tzu-Chi Medical Center, Hualien, Taiwan, speaking on "Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells support prolonged expansion of human embryonic stem cells without tumorigenesis" at the International Conference of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine for Neurodegenerative Diseases to be held at the Tzu-Chi Hospital in Hualien, Taiwan on April 22-24, 2010.

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Dah-Ching Ding, "Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells support prolonged expansion of... - Video

Bioethicists debate how to remain impartial as a bioethics journal editor joins a company that peddles unproven stem cell therapies.

By Sabrina Richards | February 22, 2012

Bioethicists are debating how, or even whether, one can remain impartial when working for industry as Glenn McGee, founder and editor of the American Journal of Bioethics, joins CellTex, a company that banks patients’ cells for untested stem cell therapies, reported Nature. McGee, who joined CellTex in December of last year and will step down from AJOB on March 1, says he hopes to bring ethical standards to CellTex’s stem cell trials.

CellTex licenses therapies from RNL Bio, a South Korea-based company that converts patients’ fat cells into patient-specific mesenchymal stem cells, which the company claims can be reinjected to treat conditions like spinal cord injury. To date, no clinical trials have been completed that back these claims.

Though criticism has been leveled at McGee for joining CellTex while remaining at AJOB, observers also wonder whether bioethicists can work in industry at all. McGee has argued that bioethicists have a place in industry, thereby helping bioethics to have a practical purpose. Others, such as Insoo Hyun, a stem-cell bioethicist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, are doubtful. Hyun developed patient consent procedure for egg donation for Woo Suk Hwang, the infamous Korean stem cell researcher whose claims of human cloning later proved fraudulent.

“I know firsthand how difficult it is to separate conflict of interest—to maintain the role of bioethicist,” Hyun told Nature. “I know you need to not be too chummy with enterprises trying to speed ahead in stem cells.”

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Bioethics Backlash

Monkeys suffering from Parkinson's disease show a marked improvement when human embryonic stem cells are implanted in their brains, in what a Japanese researcher said Wednesday was a world first.

A team of scientists transplanted the stem cells into four primates that were suffering from the debilitating disease.

The monkeys all had violent shaking in their limbs -- a classic symptom of Parkinson's disease -- and were unable to control their bodies, but began to show improvements in their motor control after about three months, Kyoto University associate professor Jun Takahashi told AFP.

About six months after the transplant, the creatures were able to walk around their cages, he said.

"Clear improvements were confirmed in their movement," he said.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological illness linked to a decrease in dopamine production in the brain. There is currently no medical solution to this drop off in a key neurotransmitter.

The condition, which generally affects older people, gained wider public recognition when Hollywood actor Michael J. Fox revealed he was a sufferer.

Takahashi said at the time of the implant about 35 percent of the stem cells had already grown into dopamine neuron cells, with around 10 percent still alive after a year.

He said he wants to improve the effectiveness of the treatment by increasing the survival rate of dopamine neuron cells to 70 percent.

"The challenge before applying it to a clinical study is to raise the number of dopamine neuron cells and to prevent the development of tumours," he said.

"I would like to make this operation more effective and safe" before clinical trials, Takahashi said.

Takahashi said so far he had used embryonic stem cells, which are harvested from foetuses, but would likely switch to so-called Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells, which are created from human skin, for the clinical trial.

His team, which has also transplanted iPS cells into monkeys, are now looking to see if the primates with Parkinson's disease show similar improvements in their motor control.

Scientists say the use of human embryonic stem cells as a treatment for cancer and other diseases holds great promise, but the process has drawn fire from religious conservatives, among others.

Opponents say harvesting the cells, which have the potential to become any cell in the human body, is unethical because it involves the destruction of an embryo.

The Japanese government currently has no guidelines on the use of human stem cells in clinical research.

In October last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union banned the patenting of stem cells when their extraction causes the destruction of a human embryo, a ruling that could have repercussions on medical research.

Scientists warned that the ruling would damage stem cell research in Europe, while the Catholic church hailed it as a victory for the protection of human life.

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Stem cell implants boost monkeys with Parkinson's

SAN BRUNO, Calif., Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cord Blood Registry (CBR) is the exclusive partner for a growing number of clinical researchers focusing on the use of a child's own cord blood stem cells to help treat pediatric brain injury and acquired hearing loss. To ensure consistency in cord blood stem cell processing, storage and release for infusion, three separate trials have included CBR in their FDA-authorized protocol—including two at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) working in partnership with Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, and a third at Georgia Health Sciences University, home of the Medical College of Georgia (MCG). This makes CBR the only family stem cell bank pairing researchers with prospective patients for these studies. 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120216/AQ54476LOGO)

"Partnering with a series of specialists who want to research the use of a child's own newborn blood stem cells on a variety of disease states allows CBR to help advance medical research for regenerative therapies by connecting the child whose family banked with CBR to appropriate researchers," said Heather Brown, MS, CGC, Vice President of Scientific & Medical Affairs at Cord Blood Registry.  "The pediatric specialists from UTHealth, Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, and Georgia Health Sciences University are at the forefront of stem cell research as they evaluate cord blood stem cells' ability to help facilitate the healing process after damage to nerves and tissue."

Hearing Loss and Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Trials Break New Ground

Sensorineural hearing loss affects approximately 6 per 1,000 children by 18 years of age, with 9 percent resulting from acquired causes such as viral infection and head injury.(1,2,3)  The Principal Investigator of the hearing loss study is Samer Fakhri, M.D., surgeon at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and associate professor and program director in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at UTHealth.  He is joined by James Baumgartner, M.D., sponsor of the study and guest research collaborator for this first-of-its-kind FDA-regulated, Phase 1 safety study of the use of cord blood stem cells to treat children with acquired hearing loss. The trial follows evidence from published studies in animals that cord blood treatment can repair damaged organs in the inner ear. Clients of CBR who have sustained a post-birth hearing loss and are 6 weeks to 2 years old may be eligible for the year-long study. "The window of opportunity to foster normal language development is limited," said James Baumgartner, M.D.  "This is the first study of its kind with the potential to actually restore hearing in children and allow for more normal speech and language development."

Although the neurologic outcome for nearly all types of brain injury (with the exception of abuse) is better for children than adults,(4,5) trauma is the leading cause of death in children,(6) and the majority of the deaths are attributed to head injury.(7) Distinguished professor of pediatric surgery and pediatrics at UTHealth, Charles S. Cox, M.D. launched an innovative study building on a growing portfolio of research using stem cell-based therapies for neurological damage. The study will enroll 10 children ages 18 months to 17 years who have umbilical cord blood banked with CBR and have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are enrolled in the study within 6-18 months of sustaining the injury. Read more about the trial here.

"The reason we have become interested in cord blood cells is because of the possibility of autologous therapy, meaning using your own cells. And the preclinical models have demonstrated some really fascinating neurological preservation effects to really support these Phase 1 trials," says Charles S. Cox, M.D., principle investigator of the trial. "There's anecdotal experience in other types of neurological injuries that reassures us in terms of the safety of the approach and there are some anecdotal hints at it being beneficial in certain types of brain injury."

Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU) Focuses on Cerebral Palsy

At the GHSU in Augusta, Dr. James Carroll, professor and chief of pediatric neurology, embarked on the first FDA-regulated clinical trial to determine whether an infusion of stem cells from a child's own umbilical cord blood can improve the quality of life for children with cerebral palsy. The study will include 40 children whose parents have stored their cord blood at CBR and meet inclusion criteria. 

"Using a child's own stem cells as a possible treatment is the safest form of stem cell transplantation because it carries virtually no threat of immune system rejection," said Dr. Carroll. "Our focus on cerebral palsy breaks new ground in advancing therapies to change the course of these kinds of brain injury—a condition for which there is currently no cure."

Cerebral palsy, caused by a brain injury or lack of oxygen in the brain before birth or during the first few years of life, can impair movement, learning, hearing, vision and cognitive skills. Two to three children in 1,000 are affected by it, according to the Centers for Disease Control.(8)

Cord Blood Stem Cell Infusions Move From the Lab to the Clinic

These multi-year studies are a first step to move promising pre-clinical or animal research of cord blood stem cells into clinical trials in patients. Through the CBR Center for Regenerative Medicine, CBR will continue to partner with physicians who are interested in advancing cellular therapies in regenerative applications.

"The benefits of cord blood stem cells being very young, easy to obtain, unspecialized cells which have had limited exposure to environmental toxins or infectious diseases and easy to store for long terms without any loss of function, make them an attractive source for cellular therapy researchers today," adds Brown. "We are encouraged to see interest from such diverse researchers from neurosurgeons to endocrinologists and cardiac specialists."

About CBR

CBR® (Cord Blood Registry®) is the world's largest and most experienced cord blood bank.  The company has consistently led the industry in technical innovations and supporting clinical trials. It safeguards more than 400,000 cord blood collections for individuals and their families. CBR was the first family bank accredited by AABB and the company's quality standards have been recognized through ISO 9001:2008 certification—the global business standard for quality. CBR has also released more client cord blood units for specific therapeutic use than any other family cord blood bank. Our research and development efforts are focused on helping the world's leading clinical researchers advance regenerative medical therapies. For more information, visit http://www.cordblood.com.

(1)  Bergstrom L, Hemenway WG, Downs MP. A high risk registry to find congenital deafness. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 1977;4:369-399.
(2)  Billings KR, Kenna MA. Causes of pediatric sensorineural hearing loss: yesterday and today. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1999 May;125(5):517-21.
(3)  Smith RJ, Bale JF Jr, White KR. Sensorineural hearing loss in children. Lancet. 2005;365(9462):879-890.
(4)  Faul M, Xu L, Wald MM, Coronado VG. Traumatic brain injury in the United States: emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2010.
(5)  Schnitzer, Patricia, PH.D., "Prevention of Unintentional Childhood Injuries", American Academy of Family Physicians, 2006.
(6)  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "10 Leading Causes of Death, United States, 1997-2007", WISQARS, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), National Vital Statistics System
(7)  Marquez de la Plata, Hart et al, National Institutes of Health, "Impact of Age on Long-term Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury", Arch Phys Med Rehabilitation, May 2008.
(8)  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsCerebralPalsy, accessed February 6, 2012

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Groundbreaking Clinical Trials Study Cord Blood Stem Cells to Help Treat Brain Injury and Hearing Loss

World Stem Cells, LLC Stem Cell Therapy at a state of the art clinic in beautiful Cancun. The clinic is staffed by top specialist in the field of stem cell implants and a new laboratory to support the stem cell treatments given.

(PRWEB) February 16, 2012

World Stem Cells, LLC. contract laboratory Advanced Cellular Engineering Lab (Ingenieria Celular Advanzada S.A. de C.V.) a new adult stem cell laboratory being built in Cancun, Mexico to support Stem Cell research, stem cell clinical trials and stem cell treatments. This was accomplished by private funding in conjunction with World Stem Cells, LLC worldstemcells.com a US patient management company, Medicina Biocelular Avanzada , S.E. de C.V. a Mexican patient management company and Advanced Cellular Medicine Clinic of Cancun, a Stem Cell treatment Clinic owned and operated by Dr. Sylvia M. Abblitt a well known board certified hematologist and oncologist, in Cancun.

Uniquely, Dr. Abblitt is one of a limited number of physicians licensed to perform autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants. Dr. Abblitt has been utilizing stem cell therapies with successes for many years.

She is the president and lab director of Advanced Cellular Engineering Lab (Ingenieria Celular Advanzada S.A. de C.V.). Her extensive background includes having been the laboratory director and head of hematology for Hospital Fernando Quiroz for 11 years. As a pioneer in the stem cell transplant field, she brings a vast array of knowledge to the lab. Her memberships include the american association of blood banks (aabb), Mexican society of transfusional medicine, interamerica society of transfusional medicine, Mexican association) for studies of hematologyandicms and ICMS (international cellular medical society and all patients are monitored by ICMS an independent agency for a period of between 2-20 years on a quarterly basis. Dr. abblitt has had a 26-year clinical practice history.

The laboratory construction is complete and operations were transferred to our new facility. This facility provides Cancun, and patient around the world, a state of the art GLP laboratory to support their stem cell treatments in a beautiful, and positive environment. The lab was designed and constructed to provide one ISO7 lab, one wet lab along with a treatment area. This will allow stem cell retrieval, testing, culturing, selection, counting, analyses and sorting along with cryopreservation, without removal from the lab. This all in house capability reduces the possibility of contamination and errors. Dr. M. Abblitt will operate the Lab under cGMP/cGLP guidelines and use the state of the art facility to provide quality care to her stem cell transplant patients.

Working under the guidelines set forth by ICMS world stem cells, LLC ( http://worldstemcells.com/ ) provides stem cell treatment for ankylosing spondylitis, autism, cerebral palsy, charcot-marie-tooth disease (cmt), crohn’s diseases, copd, fuch’s disease, guillain-barre’ syndrome, hashimoto’s thryroiditis, itp, kidney diseases, macular degeneration, lupus (sle), multiple sclerosis, pad, parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, stroke, ulcerative colitis

The laboratory will be engaged in private clinical trials, IRB’s and joint studies with US companies, Mexican Educational Institutes, US universities and doctors to better understand the benefits and precaution to be taken in the stem cell treatment process.

###

Charles Newcomer

727-421-4359
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World Stem Cells, LLC. Stem Cell Treatments In Cancun at Advanced Cellular Medicine Clinic

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Verastem, Inc., (NASDAQ: VSTM - News) a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat breast and other cancers by targeting cancer stem cells, announced that the company will present at the 2012 Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference Symposium “Targeting Cancer Stem Cells in Oncology.” The presentation is on February 19, 2012 at 2:00pm PT at the InterContinental San Francisco Hotel.

About Verastem, Inc.

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSTM - News) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat breast and other cancers by targeting cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are an underlying cause of tumor recurrence and metastasis. Verastem is translating discoveries in cancer stem cell research into new medicines for the treatment of major cancers such as breast cancer.

Forward-looking statements:

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the Company constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company’s views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.

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Verastem to Present at Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference Symposium “Targeting Cancer Stem Cells in Oncology”

SAN FRANCISCO -- Stem cells grown from patients' own cardiac tissue can heal damage once thought to be permanent after a heart attack, according to a study that suggests the experimental approach may one day help stave off heart failure.

In a trial of 25 heart-attack patients, 17 who got the stem cell treatment showed a 50 percent reduction in cardiac scar tissue compared with no improvement for the eight who received standard care. The results were published Tuesday in the medical journal Lancet.

The study, by researchers from Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, tested the approach in patients who recently suffered a heart attack, with the goal that repairing the damage might help stave off failure. While patients getting the stem cells showed no more improvement in heart function than those who didn't get the experimental therapy, the theory is that new tissue regenerated by the stem cells can strengthen the heart, said Eduardo Marban, the study's lead author and director of Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.

The stem cells were implanted within five weeks after patients suffering heart attacks. Doctors removed heart tissue, about the size of half a raisin, using a minimally invasive procedure that involved a thin needle threaded through the veins. After cultivating the stem cells from the tissue, doctors reinserted 12.5 million to 25 million cells using a second minimally invasive procedure.

A year after the procedure, six patients in the stem cell group had serious side effects.

While the main goal of the trial was to examine safety, the decrease in scar tissue in those treated merits a larger study that focuses on broader clinical outcomes, researchers said.

"If we can regenerate the whole heart, then the patient would be completely normal," Dr. Marban said. "We haven't fulfilled that yet, but we've gotten rid of half of the injury, and that's a good start."

First published on February 15, 2012 at 12:00 am

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Heart's stem cells used to mend attack damage