In an interesting dispatch from spring training, Yahoos Jeff Passan reports on Los Angeles Angels pitcher Garrett Richardss recovery from a May 2016 elbow injury that shut him down for the season.

Instead of electing to undergo standard Tommy John surgery, Richards decided to try to heal his injury by getting an injection of stem cells directly into his elbow. Passan, whose 2016 book The Arm showed hes not afraid to make his readers feel queasy, described the procedure as such: Richards was fortunate to only suffer a partial tear, which is naturally easier to repair than a full tear.

A doctor guided a needle into the iliac crest of his pelvic bone and began to extract bone marrow.

[...]

Within a few minutes, the harvested marrow was hurried to a centrifuge, spun to separate the good stuff, mixed into a slurry of platelet-rich plasma and readied to inject into Richards damaged right elbow.

Gross, but it apparently worked. Passan reports Richards is feeling great and throwing 98 mph at spring training. Richards is clearly pleased with the tentatively positive outcome: Science, bro. Im a believer now, Richards told Passan.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache, sports premiere orthopedic surgeon, says he is looking forward to seeing where the research on the efficacy of orthobiologics goes, but he also has a theory that the simple resting of the muscle could be the impetus for muscle repair. Or, at least, that the two factors combined can be effective.

A stem cell procedure is less invasive than UCL surgery, of course, and right now it looks like the healing process could be much shorter than that of Tommy John surgery, at least for pitchers with partial UCL tears. Standard TJ recovery time is 14 monthsnearly long enough to inspire an oh yeah, that guy reaction when the player eventually returns. Richards underwent his stem cell procedure in May 2016 and Passan reports that he was throwing by August and was ready to go by October.

Richards will, of course, be kept on a short leash this season as he and the Angels look to avoid a setback or worse, but the potential for an expedited return from partial UCL tears is a major development for the science of pitching.

If stem cell treatments can get electric pitchers like Richards healed and back on the field quicker than surgery can, thats obviously a good thing for baseball. Still, its hard to read Passans story and not come away from it asking, Whats a PED again? Heres Richards talking about his stem cell treatment in the Los Angeles Timesback in 2016:

Stem cells are a remarkable thing. The body heals itself, so thats awesome. Were not out of the woods yet, but todays a good day.

HGH doesnt exactly work the same way this stem cell treatment appears to, but their essential benefits are the same. While the term performance enhancing drugs is still commonly associated with the mega-roids 1990s, HGH is of value to athletes largely for its ability to quicken injury recovery and extend careers. Doctors pushing orthobiologics experiments on their patients are free of the whiff of impropriety, but it seems that has less to do with their virtue than it does their good fortune at being on the right side of baseballs arbitrary PED laws.

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Stem Cell Treatments Could Be The Next Frontier In Fixing Broken ... - Deadspin

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If we cut off the tail of a lizard, it grows back. If we cut off the hand of a human being, it does not grow back. Why not? This question has perplexed scientists for a long time. Recently scientists at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Arizona State University (ASU) in the US identified three tiny RNA switches (known as microRNAs) which turn genes on and off and are responsible for the regeneration of tails in the green lizard. Now researchers are hoping that using the next generation genomic DNA and computer analysis will lead to discoveries of new therapeutic approaches to switch on similar regenerative genes in human beings.

Micro RNAs are able to control many genes at the same time. They have been compared to an orchestra conductor controlling and directing many musicians. Hundreds of genes (musicians playing the orchestra of life), controlled by a few micro RNA switches, have been identified that are responsible in the regenerative process. This may well mark the beginning of a new era in which it may be possible to regenerate cartilage in knees, repair spinal cords and amputated limbs.

Tissue regeneration has become an attractive field of science, triggered by exciting advances in stem cell technologies. Stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells that are then converted into various types of cells such as heart, kidney or skin through a process known as differentiation. They can divide into more stem cells and provide a very effective mechanism for repair of damaged tissues in the body. The developing embryo contains stem cells which are then transformed into specialised cells as the embryo develops. They can be obtained by extraction from the bone marrow, adipose tissue or blood, particularly the blood from the umblical cord after birth.

Stem cells are now finding use in a growing number of therapies. For instance leukaemia is a cancer of the white blood cells. To treat leukaemia, one approach is to get rid of the diseased white blood cells and replace them with healthy cells. This may be done by a bone marrow transplant through which the patients bone marrow stem cells are replaced with those from a healthy, matching donor. If the transplant is successful, the stem cells migrate into the patients bone marrow resulting in the production of new, healthy white blood cells that replace the abnormal cells. Stem cells can now be artificially grown and then transformed (differentiated) into the heart, kidney, nerve or other typed of cells.

The field of regenerative medicine is developing at a fast pace. It involves the replacement, engineering or regeneration of human tissues and organs so that their normal function can be restored. Tissues and organs can also be grown in the laboratory if the body cannot heal itself. If the cells of the organ being grown are derived from the patients own cells, the possibility of rejection of the transplanted organ is minimised. Stem cells may also be used to regenerate organs.

Each year about 130,000 organs, mostly kidneys, are transplanted from one human being to another. The process of growing organs artificially has been greatly accelerated by the advent of 3D bioprinting. This involves the use of 3D printing technologies through which a human organ, liver or kidney, is produced by printing it with cells, layer-by-layer. This became possible when it was discovered that human cells can be sprayed through the nozzles of an inkjet printer without destroying or damaging them. Tissues and organs can thus be produced and transplanted into humans. Joints, jaw bones and ligaments can also be produced in this manner.

Initially, the work was confined to animals when ears, bones and muscle tissues were produced by bioprinting and then successfully transplanted into animals. Even prosthetic ovaries of mice were produced and transplanted so that the recipient mice could conceive and give birth later. While gonads have not been produced by bioprinting in humans, blood vessels have already been produced by the printing process and successfully transplanted into monkeys. Considerable work is also going on in the production of human knee cartilage pads through the bioprinting process. Wear and tear of the cartilage results in difficulties in walking, particular in older age groups, and often requires knee replacement through surgeries. The development of technologies to replace the damaged cartilages with new cartilages made by bioprinting could prove to be invaluable.

Another area of active research in this field is the production of human skin by bioprinting which may be used for treating burns and ulcers. Technologies have been developed to spray stem cells derived from the patient directly on the areas of the body where the skin is needed. In this way, stem cells help skin cells regrow under suitable conditions. Similar progress is being made in generating liver, kidney and heart tissues so that the long waiting time for donors can be circumvented.

When will we be able to print entire human organs? It has been estimated that complete human kidneys and livers should become commercially available through the bioprinting process within five to seven years. Hearts will probably take longer because of their more complex internal structure. However, one thing is clear: a huge revolution is now taking place in the field of regenerative medicine, triggered by spectacular advances in stem cell research. This presents a wonderful opportunity for learning and developing expertise in this field for us in our country.

In Pakistan a number of important steps have been taken in this fast evolving field. One of them is the establishment of a first rate facility for stem cell research in the Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD) in the University of Karachi. This institution has already earned an international reputation because of its outstanding publications in this field.

A second important development is that plans to set up an Institute for Translational Regenerative Medicine at PCMD so that Pakistan remains at the cutting edge in this fast emerging field are now under way.

Such initiatives can however only contribute to the process of socio-economic development if they operate under an ecosystem that is designed to promote the establishment of a strong knowledge economy.

Pakistan spends only about 0.3 percent of its GDP on science and about two percent of its GDP on education, bringing the nations ranking to the lowest 10 countries in the world. This is largely due to the stranglehold of the feudal system over our democracy. It is only by tapping into our real wealth our children that Pakistan can emerge from the quagmire of illiteracy and poverty and stand with dignity in the comity of nations.

The writer is chairman of UN ESCAP Committee on Science Technology & Innovation and former chairman of the HEC. Email: [emailprotected]

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Amazing medicine - The News International

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Amazing medicine – The News International | February 22nd, 2017

Feb. 20--Kevin Wise doesn't know the man who donated the bone marrow that helped rid his body of leukemia a year ago.

But that didn't stop the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District battalion chief and a few of his colleagues from organizing two bone marrow registry drives -- even before he underwent his transplant -- in hopes of helping others like him.

As Wise said, it was a way to "pay it forward."

It paid off quickly.

Last week, one of Wise's fellow firefighters, one of nearly 200 people who registered during the drive, donated his bone marrow to a 53-year-old man.

"I feel like it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said volunteer firefighter Richard Gleaves. "I am lucky I got to do it. I would do it again if I had the chance."

The chances of a match are pretty slim. In fact, only 1 in every 430 Americans on the registry will actually donate.

Gleaves doesn't know anything about the recipient. He doesn't know what disease he has, whether he has children or where he is from. He just hopes that, like with Wise, the bone marrow will save the man's life and that someday he can meet him.

Gleaves, who lives in Oakdale, said he had no hesitation when he was contacted as a potential match a few months ago. He was even excited despite thinking that donating would require anesthesia and surgery to have bone removed from his hip. He'd been through it before when a foot injury required a fusion from bone that was taken from his hip. He said the recovery was painful, but the memory of it didn't deter him.

He went to a local clinic to have blood drawn for additional testing and eventually was determined to be the best genetic match for the recipient. Then Gleaves learned that his donation wouldn't require a surgery but rather a peripheral blood-stem donation, which is the method used by 70 percent of transplant facilities.

It wasn't a pain-free process and it required a bit of his time, but Gleaves said representatives from Be The Match went above and beyond to make it easier for him and his wife, paying for travel and hotel expenses near Stanford Medical Center and thoroughly explaining all the potential side effects.

The donation required five days of injections of a medication that causes the stem cells to leave the bone marrow where they're produced and enter the bloodstream.

Gleaves said he experienced the bone and joint pain about which he was counseled. It became most uncomfortable two nights before the procedure. But he received additional medication to cope with the pain.

The donation procedure took about six hours. Blood was removed from one of Gleaves' arms, run through a machine that extracts the bone marrow, then put back into his body though the other arm, he said. Gleaves said he was exhausted afterward but felt normal the next day.

He encourages others to sign up for the registry to increase the chance of survival for those with blood cancers.

"What you are doing for people -- what I have done and what the person did for Kevin -- it is life. It's the absolute best hope you are giving for someone. So who cares if you have to take a little time off of work," Gleaves said, joking that the worst part was the traffic getting to and from the Bay Area.

Of his recipient, Gleaves said, "I hope I get to meet the guy ... it would be nice to shake each other's hand."

Be The Match, the organization that manages the marrow registry, allows for donors and recipients to apply to meet each other a year to three years after the recipient received the transplant, depending on the country the people are from.

That requirement is in place, representatives have said, because the outcome for the recipient and his or her family is not always positive. There is the possibility the cancer will return or an even higher chance the recipient will suffer an infection or his or her body will reject the donor's bone marrow, resulting in an attack on the patient's organs. The chances of those decrease with time.

Last month, Wise, who lives in Modesto, celebrated one year since his transplant, a milestone that means the chance the leukemia will return decreased from a range of 40 percent to 60 percent to 10 percent, he said. After two years, he will be officially cured.

Wise has defied many odds in his recovery, such as returning to work six months early. He even has been cleared by his doctor to participate in a firefighter stair climb in Seattle next month that benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Wise will climb 69 flights of stairs in full turnout, gear and an oxygen mask. Contributions can be made at his fundraising page.

Last month, Wise applied to meet his donor and is awaiting a response.

Erin Tracy: 209-578-2366

___ (c)2017 The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.) Visit The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.) at http://www.modbee.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Stanislaus Fire Chief and Others Hold Bone Marrow Drives and ... - Firehouse.com (press release) (registration) (blog)

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This colored scanning electron micrograph (SEM) is showing the internal structure of a broken finger bone. Here, the periosteum (outer bone membrane, pink), compact bone (yellow) and bone marrow (red), in the medullary cavity, can be seen. Photo Credit: STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

Updated July 15, 2016.

Bone marrow is the soft, flexible connective tissue within bone cavities. A component of the lymphatic system, bone marrow functions primarily to produce blood cells and to store fat. Bone marrow is highly vascular, meaning that it is richly supplied with a large number of blood vessels. There are two categories of bone marrow tissue: red marrow and yellow marrow. From birth to early adolescence, the majority of our bone marrow is red marrow.

As we grow and mature, increasing amounts of red marrow is replaced by yellow marrow. On average, bone marrow can generate hundreds of billions of new blood cells every day.

Bone marrow is separated into a vascular section and non-vascular sections. The vascular section contains blood vessels that supply the bone with nutrients and transport blood stem cells and mature blood cells away from the bone and into circulation. The non-vascular sections of the bone marrow are where hematopoiesis or blood cell formation occurs. This area contains immature blood cells, fat cells, white blood cells (macrophages and plasma cells), and thin, branching fibers of reticular connective tissue. While all blood cells are derived from bone marrow, some white blood cells mature in other organs such as the spleen, lymph nodes, and thymus gland.

The major function of bone marrow is to generate blood cells. Bone marrow contains two main types of stem cells. Hematopoietic stem cells, found in red marrow, are responsible for the production of blood cells.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (multipotent stromal cells) produce the non-blood cell components of marrow, including fat, cartilage, fibrous connective tissue (found in tendons and ligaments), stromal cells that support blood formation, and bone cells.

In adults, red marrow is confined mostly to skeletal system bones of the skull, pelvis, spine, ribs, sternum, shoulder blades, and near the point of attachment of the long bones of the arms and legs. Not only does red marrow produce blood cells, but it also helps to remove old cells from circulation. Other organs, such as the spleen and liver, also filter aged and damaged blood cells from the blood. Red marrow contains hematopoietic stem cells that produce two other types of stem cells: myeloid stem cells and lymphoid stem cells. These cells develop into red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets. (See, bone marrow stem cells).

Yellow marrow consists primarily of fat cells. It has poor vascular supply and is composed of hematopoietic tissue that has become inactive. Yellow marrow is found in spongy bones and in the shaft of long bones. When blood supply is extremely low, yellow marrow can be converted to red marrow in order to produce more blood cells.

If bone marrow becomes damaged or diseased, it can result in low blood cell production. Bone marrow disease can develop from bone marrow and blood cancers such as leukemia. Radiation exposure, certain kind of infections, and diseases such as aplastic anemia and myelofibrosis can also cause blood and marrow disorders. These diseases compromise the immune system and deprive organs and tissues of the life giving oxygen and nutrients they need. A bone marrow transplant may be done in order to treat blood and marrow diseases. In the process, damaged blood stem cells are replaced by healthy cells obtained form a donor. The healthy stem cells can be obtained from the donor's blood or bone marrow. Bone marrow is extracted from bones such as the hip or sternum. Stem cells may also be obtained from umbilical cord blood to be used for transplantation.

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Bone Marrow - Structure, Function, Disease and More

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Bone Marrow – Structure, Function, Disease and More | February 21st, 2017

TEMPE, Ariz. On the day he hoped would save his elbow, Garrett Richards laid face down on a table with his back exposed. A doctor guided a needle into the iliac crest of his pelvic bone and began to extract bone marrow. Richards was wide awake, the blessing of local anesthesia saving him from physical pain but not the anxiety that crept into his head: Is this really going to work?

Within a few minutes, the harvested marrow was hurried to a centrifuge, spun to separate the good stuff, mixed into a slurry of platelet-rich plasma and readied to inject into Richards damaged right elbow. Rather than the standard tear across his ulnar collateral ligament, Richards ran lengthwise along the middle of his UCL, a rare manifestation of an increasingly commonplace injury that almost always ends with Tommy John surgery. Not in this case. While he could have chosen that route, he wanted to explore first the efficacy of the aforementioned good stuff: stem cells.

Today, Garrett Richards is darting 98-mph fastballs again. I feel as good as I ever have throwing a baseball, he said Monday from Tempe Diablo Stadium, where the Los Angeles Angels, perhaps the most Tommy John-addled team in baseball, expect to break camp with Richards as their opening day starter. The 28-year-old is the latest player to turn to orthobiologics, the class of treatments that includes stem cells and PRP, in hopes of healing an injury. While clinical studies have shown great success with those who use orthobiologics, they are not yet a panacea for the pervasive elbow injuries in baseball for two reasons: They work only on partial ligament tears, like Richards, and medical studies have yet to validate their efficacy independent of other treatments run concurrently.

The lack of knowledge as to how orthobiologics work inside the body while the proteins in stem cells and platelets are believed to regrow damaged tissue, doctors have yet to isolate best practices for particular injuries speaks to the difficulties in true medical advances. Still, the desire of Richards and others to avoid surgery lends orthobiologics enough credence to warrant further studies.

I truly think this kind of treatment has significant potential, said Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a longtime orthopedic surgeon at the Kerlan-Jobe clinic in Los Angeles who introduced orthobiologics to Major League Baseball when he injected PRP into the elbow of Dodgers reliever Takashi Saito in 2008. Theres no question biologics are here to stay and biologic manipulation is the frontier of treatment in what were doing. The problem, as I see it, is that the marketing and clinical use has far exceeded the science behind it.

Translation: Once the use of PRP and stem cells found traction in the media, pro athletes and weekend warriors alike sought their use, even if the success stories skewed anecdotal. Bartolo Colon resurrected his career after a stem cell injection in 2010 and is still pitching today at 43. Others did so without the fanfare or publicity. Richards faced a choice after being diagnosed with a partially torn UCL last May: Undergo Tommy John surgery and, at earliest, return following the 2017 All-Star break or follow the advice of Dr. Steve Yoon, a partner of ElAttraches at Kerlan-Jobe, and try to salvage the ligament with stem cells.

Science, bro, Richards said. Im a believer now.

Two weeks before Richards began his treatment, teammate Andrew Heaney had looked to avoid Tommy John via stem cells. Richards figured theyd rehab together every step of the way and be back in time for the fall instructional league. Then at the end of June, a scan showed Heaneys elbow wasnt healing, and he would need reconstructive surgery. Already Tyler Skaggs had taken nearly two years to return from his 2014 surgery, and six weeks after Heaneys, starter Nick Tropeano went down. Like Heaney, he is expected to miss the 2017 season.

It made Richards recovery that much more imperative. His first checkup, six weeks in, showed regrowth in the torn area via ultrasound. By August, he started throwing, and come October, when instructional league was in full bloom, so too was Richards. He didnt hesitate to pump his fastball and rip off one of his spin-heavy breaking balls. As far as pure, raw stuff goes, few in baseball can match Richards.

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He was convinced science was working, bro, though the skepticism about orthobiologics generally remains, and understandably so, in the medical community. In May 2013, a paper published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found 30 of 34 overhand throwers with partial UCL tears who used PRP had returned to their previous level of competition. This was reason for celebration. If a player could avoid the 14-month-plus recovery from the surgery, better for him as well as the team.

Another study arrived in 2016 that didnt cast doubt on the value of orthobiologics so much as offer a different avenue: rest. The 28 players used everything from electrical stimulation, ultrasound, laser therapy, massage and other soft-tissue work. And when paired with rest, their return to previous level came in at 84 percent. It was almost exactly as effective as PRP.

This reinforced ElAttraches concern: Neither of those studies had a control group against which to measure, so the numbers, while impressive, could not isolate what helped and what didnt. This chicken-or-egg question struck ElAttrache just the same when Saito returned and went on to pitch five seasons.

Maybe it was the injection, ElAttrache said. Or maybe it was that we shut him down and let him heal.

Garrett Richards is darting 98-mph fastballs again after turning to orthobiologics. (Getty Images)

He doesnt know, and thats an important distinction as orthobiologics grows exponentially. In 2004, voters in California pledged to provide $3 billion for stem-cell research and create the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. It remains a benefactor for an industry trying to find its place in the United States.

Across the world, stem cells have far greater potency. U.S. law prevents doctors from manipulating the cells in any way. They are extracted and put back into patients bodies as is. In Switzerland, for example, doctors will harvest stem cells, manipulate them to promote greater healing capacity and then inject them. At least one star pitcher this offseason sought a stem cell injection in the United States, according to sources, while another veteran traveled halfway across the world to Zurich, seeking the comparative lack of regulations just as Peyton Manning did in 2011 to help heal a neck injury that eventually needed surgery.

The future of orthobiologics domestically doesnt end with the FDA loosening rules on stem cell usage. Doctors see significant promise in stem cells from a babys umbilical cord or a mothers placenta, both of which can be frozen. Already theyre capable of harvesting stem cells from old patients and engineering the cells into an immature state. The possibilities going forward are endless.

For right now, theyre going to play themselves out in Anaheim. The danger zone for re-injury after using orthobiologics tends to fall between April and June, though Richards cant imagine falling prey again. In addition to the 13-week break from throwing he took over the summer, Richards spent 10 more weeks in the offseason letting it heal further.

During his down time, Richards studied his own delivery to find even the slightest inefficiencies. He had three numbers in mind. The first was 85. Thats the percent at which he said hell throw his fastball, though because of improved mechanics he expects it wont hinder his velocity. The second is 100. Thats the pitch limit the Angels will foist on Richards, and hes not one to fight. The third is 200. Thats the number of innings Richards wants to pitch this season. He did it in 2015 and sees no reason he cant again.

If he can throw 85 percent, keep his pitch count below 100 and get those 200 innings, it will play publicly as another validation of orthobiologics. Just the same, if Richards elbow gives out eventually, his association with stem cells could perhaps give those considering it pause. Richards pays no mind to this. He just wants to be great.

So much so, in fact, that its going to cost him. Inside the Angels clubhouse, a chart, labeled 1 through 13, is taped to the side of a locker. Its a list of shame with the price buying lunch for the entire team. Players, coaches, P.R. directors, even manager Mike Scioscia are on there. Next to No. 6, it read: G. Rich Ace. He had made the mistake of saying aloud what he believed to be true: that hes the ace of the Angels.

Fulfilling that depends on plenty of things, none as important as his elbow, and Richards knows that. Hell do everything he can to take care of it, to nurture it, to fight against its natural gift of velocity that puts him at such risk. To make sure that next time hes on a table in the doctors office, its not with his elbow opened up and another season lost.

More on Yahoo Sports: Tom Bradys missing jersey is worth a small fortune Bob Huggins says he fell to his knees because his defibrillator activated Kings GM Vlade Divac says he turned down abetter deal for DeMarcus Cousins Yoenis Cespedes is back with his amazing cars

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Cellect Announces Positive Clinical Trial Results P&T Community Dr. Yaron Pereg, Cellect's Chief Development Officer, commented: These results from processing human stem cells for bone marrow transplantation using ApoGraft clearly demonstrated that Cellect's proprietary platform could improve the outcome of stem ... Early-stage study validates Cellect Bio's method of stem cell selection; shares ahead 19%Seeking Alpha all 5 news articles »

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The disease is caused by the immune system malfunctioning and mistakenly attacking nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

It leads to problems with movement, vision, balance and speech.

The treatment, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT), was given to patients with advanced forms of the disease who had failed to respond to other medications.

A similar approach has been trialed on people with certain forms of cancer, with encouraging early results.

Dr Paolo Muraro, the new study's lead author, said: "We previously knew this treatment reboots or resets the immune system but we didn't know how long the benefits lasted.

"In this study, which is the largest long-term follow-up study of this procedure, we've shown we can 'freeze' a patient's disease - and stop it from becoming worse, for up to five years."

The researchers noted, however, that the nature of the treatment, which involves aggressive chemotherapy, carried significant risks.

The chemotherapy deactivates the immune system for a short period of time, which can lead to greater risk of infection - of the 281 patients who received AHSCT, eight died in the 100 days after treatment.

The treatment works by destroying the immune cells responsible for attacking the nervous system.

Patients were given a drug which encourages stem cells to move from the bone marrow into the bloodstream, where they were removed from the body.

High-dose chemotherapy was then administered to kill all immune cells, before the patient's own stem cells were put back into the body to "reset" the immune system.

Nearly three in four (73%) patients with relapsing MS - where the disease flares up before symptoms improve - found their symptoms did not worsen for five years after having AHSCT, compared with one in three patients with progressive MS, the more severe variant of the disease.

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New stem cell treatment 'freezes' multiple sclerosis - Telegraph.co.uk

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on New stem cell treatment ‘freezes’ multiple sclerosis – Telegraph.co.uk | February 20th, 2017

A MAN who narrowly missed out on a heart transplant has become the first patient in Europe to receive a revolutionary new treatment on compassionate grounds.

Gordon Foster, 59, suffered the first of a number of heart attacks at 30, and was advised he would need a heart transplant.

But as his heart functionality was working at 17 per cent, he was not eligible for the transplant which requires functionality at below 16 per cent.

Gordon, a welder, was then made redundant and became depressed.

His poor health meant he became housebound and, at times, was unable to move from one room to the next.

But his life has now been transformed as he has become the first patient in Europe to undergo stem cell treatment to regenerate part of his heart muscle through the new Compassionate Treatment Programme at St Bartholomews Hospital in London.

The treatment meant Gordon was given injections to stimulate the growth of his own stem cells. Bone marrow was then taken and the stem cells extracted from it before being injected back into his heart to regenerate the muscle.

Within a week of the operation, Gordon no longer needed to use his stair lift, his daily tasks such as walking up the stairs and doing housework became easier and he was able to enjoy spending time with his wife and children.

Gordon, who lives in Bridlington, said: I will forever be thankful to the Heart Cells Foundation, and the work of the team at St Bartholomews Hospital, as without them I believe I wouldnt be here today and Im enjoying every moment I spend with my wife and children.

Not only has the stem cell treatment I received helped to improve my physical health, but it has also massively improved my mental health and I now live every day with hope for the future.

Professor Anthony Mathur, consultant at St Bartholomews Hospital, said: Gordons story proves just how important it is to offer cell therapy to those who have no other medical choice.

With more than a million people suffering with heart disease and failure in the UK, the need for treatment in this field has never been greater.

We hope to lead the way to the treatment ultimately being available to thousands of other patients through the NHS, so we can help people like Gordon to lead near normal lives again.

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New start for stem cell heart op man, Gordon - The Press, York

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on New start for stem cell heart op man, Gordon – The Press, York | February 20th, 2017

February 18, 2017 at 1:00 am | By Lisa Turpin Special to the News-Press

National Donor Day, observed on Feb. 14, is a great time to register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor or to make an appointment to donate blood or platelets.

What could show more love on Valentines Day than the act of giving ones body to help another?

Whether you are a living donor of blood products, stem cells, kidney or liver, register with your state as an organ donor, or make the decision for your loved one to be a donor, you are truly giving the gift of life.

Nationally, more than 119,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant, including 2,091 children.

That doesnt include the number waiting for a bone marrow (stem cell) matched donor which is much more complicated to find.

Significant progress continues in the advancement of transplantation medicine with goals of lengthening life spans, restoring function, appearance, and quality of life.

But it still takes the generosity of donors and their loved ones to make a transplant possible.

Claudia Swigart of Pinehurst believes the true value of organ donation is the gift of time.

In her case, fifteen years with her husband Wendell that she, their five combined children, thirteen grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren may not have had.

Wendell and his three siblings all had Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), an inherited condition causing cysts to form in the kidney causing damage and kidney failure.

Wendell worked in the mine here in the Valley, shares Claudia.

He found out he had Polycystic Kidney Disease when he was thirty-four and he was careful, he exercised, ate healthy and never smoked. He didnt have any kidney problems until he was sixty-three and had to have open heart surgery.

The surgery was hard on Wendell and his lungs collapsed, he nearly died and it put his kidneys in distress.

He started dialysis after that and was eventually put on the kidney transplant list to receive a transplant at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

The dialysis center in Pinehurst had not opened, so Claudia drove Wendell to Coeur dAlene two times a week for three-hour treatments.

Claudia shared, I am so thankful they opened a dialysis center here. Its exhausting enough to be on dialysis without the traveling.

But there is more to this story.

We always liked telling everyone we could about what happened because we knew God had His hand in the plan, explains Claudia.

They normally traveled to Arizona in their camper for the winter.

Wendell would arrange to have dialysis at the center in Arizona instead of Coeur dAlene.

Well, in 2001 we were planning on leaving so Wendell called to remove himself from the transplant list while we were gone. But, when he called to arrange dialysis at the center in Arizona, they were full! said Claudia.

Since Wendell couldnt have dialysis in Arizona, they were forced to stay home which meant he remained on the transplant list.

Just a few weeks later we got the call! Claudia exclaimed.

Wendell was told he had a matched kidney on the way from a donor in Alaska.

Wendell was sixty-five at the time and he asked if there were any younger people waiting for transplants, anyone still raising young kids who needed it more than he did. His doctor knew he was that kind of man and firmly told him that it was Wendells kidney and he was taking it!

Wendells kidney was such a good match he never experienced any problems or symptoms of rejection.

The transplant coordinators said that the Swigarts could write a letter to the donors family in Alaska if they wanted to have communication with them or thank them.

We wrote a letter to the family two months later and Wendell told them he would take real good care of the kidney, Claudia said.

Wendell did take great care of himself but unfortunately fought esophageal cancer unrelated to his kidneys and passed away in March of 2016 at the age of 80.

The donors family never wrote back, so they do not know the identity of the donor, but Claudia and Wendell were glad they sent the thank-you letter.

We went back to Arizona the year after the transplant and didnt have to worry about dialysis any more. We may never have gotten to do that and he sure wouldnt have had the life he had without the generosity of the donor and their family.

Wendell Swigart had 15 extra quality years with his bride and they celebrated their forty-sixth wedding anniversary before his passing.

Statistics say that only three out of 1,000 people who die are candidates for organ donation, and thats if their families agree to donation.

Even if you register as a donor, it is still up to your family to make the final decision.

Making your family aware that you want to be a donor is the most important thing you can do. For more information visit http://www.donatelife.net or http://www.Organize.org.

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Giving the Gift of Life ~ National Donor Day - Shoshone News Press

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. As a boy growing up in Kano, Nigeria, Dr. Abba Zubair dreamed of going to space.

On Sunday, his work hitched a ride with a private rocket blasting off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a trip to the International Space Station.

Dr. Zubair, an associate professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at the Mayo Clinic's Florida campus, prepared a science package involving stem cells as part of a resupply mission to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

"It was my first rocket launch view," said Dr. Zubair, who was on hand to watch and listen to the deafening sound as his experiment rode into space. "It was incredible."

The stem cells -- specialized cells derived from bone marrow come from Dr. Zubair's lab. Dr. Zubair, according to a report from the Mayo Clinic, specializes in cellular treatments for disease and regenerative medicine. He hopes to find out how the stem cells hold up in space and if they can be more quickly produced in microgravity.

More specifically, Zubair said, he is hoping the research can help in treatment of patients who have suffered a stroke-related brain injury.

"Stem cells are known to reduce inflammation," he said in a press release. "We've shown that an infusion of stem cells at the site of stroke improves the inflammation and also secretes factors for the regeneration of neurons and blood vessels."

The problem with such a treatment and studying the treatment is generating enough stem cells for the job. Based on current regenerative medicine studies, patients need at least 100 million stem cells for an effective dose. However, reproducing stem cells can be time consuming since the cells naturally limit their numbers.

"Scalability is a big issue," Dr. Zubair said. "I've been interested in a faster way to make them divide."

And on earth, everything is impacted by gravity, from how high we grow to our bone size and other physiological traits. "So, how can we use the effect of gravity to impact how the cells divide?" he asked.

Experiments that simulate stem cell growth in microgravity, thus far, have shown cells do grow more quickly than experimental controls, he said. So he began working toward getting an experiment into space. The experiment needed to be designed so the crew onboard the space station could run the experiment with some simple training, and Dr. Zubair will be able to watch the experiment in real time via a video connection. "We'll get some data as early as next week," he said.

If all goes well, growing stem cells in space something Dr. Zubair admits sounds like a dream of the distant future might become a reality more quickly than many people think.

"There are some companies interested in floating labs," he said. "I think the future is bright. There are a lot of possibilities in the area of regenerative medicine."

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Mayo doc's stem cell experiment blasts into space - Post-Bulletin

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Researchers in Germany have discovered that a tumor suppressor protein thought to prevent acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can actually promote a particularly deadly form of the disease. The study, "RUNX1 cooperates with FLT3-ITD to induce leukemia," which will be published online February 17 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that targeting this protein could be an effective treatment for certain AML patients.

AML accounts for over 1 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States and is characterized by an excessive proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow and their subsequent failure to differentiate into white blood cells. AML can be caused by various combinations of gene mutations. One of the most common mutations is in the gene encoding the cell surface signaling protein FLT3, and patients with this mutation show poor rates of survival. The mutant form of FLT3 can promote cell proliferation, but experiments in mice have shown that it isn't sufficient to block white blood cell differentiation and induce AML on its own.

Carol Stocking and colleagues at the Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology in Hamburg noticed that many patients carrying the mutant form of FLT3 also showed increased levels of a transcription factor called RUNX1. "This was unexpected because up to 20 percent of AML patients carry mutations that inactivate RUNX1, which is generally considered to be a tumor suppressor that prevents the formation of leukemias," Stocking says.

Stocking's team found that reducing RUNX1 levels attenuated the ability of human AML cells expressing mutant FLT3 to form tumors when injected into mice. In contrast, elevated RUNX1 levels worked with mutant FLT3 to induce AML. Mouse hematopoietic stem cells expressing mutant FLT3 were highly proliferative, and co-expression of RUNX1 blocked their differentiation, allowing them to give rise to AML.

Mutant FLT3 appears to stabilize and activate RUNX1 by promoting the transcription factor's phosphorylation. Active RUNX1 then blocks white blood cell differentiation, at least in part, by inducing another transcription factor called Hhex. Hematopoietic stem cells expressing both Hhex and mutant FLT3 also gave rise to AML, the researchers found.

RUNX1 may therefore suppress the initiation of AML but, after being activated by mutant FLT3, block white blood cell differentiation and promote tumor development. "Therapies that can reverse this differentiation block may offer significant therapeutic efficacy in AML patients with FLT3 mutations," says Stocking. "Ablating RUNX1 is toxic to leukemic cells but not to normal hematopoietic stem cells, so inhibiting RUNX1 may be a promising target in combination with FLT3 inhibitors."

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Materials provided by Rockefeller University Press. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Tumor suppressor promotes some acute myeloid leukemias, study reveals - Science Daily

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Tumor suppressor promotes some acute myeloid leukemias, study reveals – Science Daily | February 19th, 2017

VAIL Hallways at the world-famous Steadman Clinic are lined with framed, autographed jerseys of star athletes who have had surgery here, including John Elway, Mario Lemieux and Alex Rodriguez.

The clinic and its associated Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) attract world-class talent from all fields including U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who joined the institutes board after he was a patient here but perhaps its top recruit was a renowned scientist researching ways to help injuries heal faster and slow down the way our bodies age.

Were trying to develop the iPhone 9 of medicine, said Dr. Johnny Huard, chief scientific officer and director of the institutes Center for Regenerative Sports Medicine. Your iPhone 6 and 7 are great, its doing everything you want, but youre looking on the web at what the iPhone 8s going to do. We want to have surgeons here doing surgery on our best football, hockey, basketball players, and instead of losing a year to heal, can we heal them in six months? Three months? Would that be great?

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

The field is called biologics, and its transforming orthopedics by using cells that heal produced in the patients body in concentrated injections that can hasten tissue repair directly at the site of the injury. Huard is leading cutting-edge research into stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy that he believes will some day delay age-related diseases and cut the recovery time from serious injuries, such as to the knee, in half.

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can become specialized cells muscle, bone, cartilage to help repair tissue. Platelets carry proteins that help in the healing process. The breakthroughs Huard and his colleagues are pursuing hold exciting promise for weekend warriors as well as for star athletes.

I dont think we can reverse aging, but I think we can age better and recover from injury better, said Dr. Marc Philippon, managing partner of the Steadman Clinic and co-chairman of the research institute. As a surgeon my biggest challenge is, if I cut on you theres always that healing phase. We want to recover faster. But the most important thing is prevention of injury. If your cells are aging better, youll have less injury. The way I look at it, thats going to put us out of business, but thats OK. Its a good way to go out of business.

A world-class scientist, Huard discovered muscle-derived stem cells in 1998. Before joining SPRI two years ago he was the director of the Stem Cell Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh.Researchers here believe injections of stem cells and PRP can help delay or prevent the need for joint replacements, and at the adjacent clinic they can test their theories in clinical trials. They have shown in animal studies that young stem cells can rejuvenate old stem cells.

To that end Huard advocates passionately that when a child is born, stem cells from the umbilical cord should be harvested and frozen at minus-80 degrees Fahrenheit. As bodies age, stem cells diminish in number and vitality, but they can be preserved in suspended animation while frozen. Those cells later can be thawed and reintroduced into the body as younger and more robust stem cells than the ones that have aged in the patient, performing like a fountain of youth.

Thats the best gift you can give to that baby, said Huard, a French Canadian with a playful wit. Its the best gift you can give to that mother, too, because that (umbilical cord) is part of her, too. Its not only part of the baby. Can you believe the impact of that?

Stem cells, aging and exercise

Because stem cells can develop into every cell type in the body, researchers believe they can be used to hasten repair of nerves, bone and muscle. Bone marrow transplants are the most common form of stem cell therapy currently in use, but stem cells may be useful in fighting neurodegenerative diseases and other conditions.

We can use them to repair bone, cartilage, the heart, the bladder, Huard said. We have clinical trials now ongoing for bladder and the heart.

Imagine a Broncos running back blowing out his anterior cruciate ligament in training camp but being able to return to the field during the regular season. Huardforesees that day, as well as a time when patients whose stem cells were harvested and stored at birth will be able to have them injected into their knees decades later after ACL repair, for example, which theoretically could allow the person to recover much faster.

If I harvest stem cells from your muscle today, lets say I find 100 stem cells, but if I do the same thing 30 years ago I may have gotten 10,000, Huard said. Not only that, but the 100 stem cells you have are tired. They have been dividing and trying to repair your muscle.

When one of Huards children was born 17 years ago and it came time for Huard to cut the umbilical cord, he asked the nurse what they were going to do with it.

My wife said, Can you stop being a scientist and be my husband for a minute here? Huard tells the story with amusement, but he is passionate that umbilical cord stem cells should be saved.

I tell people, No more flowers, just freeze the stem cells from that newborn, Huard said. Thats the best gift you can give to that kid.

In the meantime, Huard believes exercise remains the best anti-aging mitigation we have. Beyond the benefits already well known, he is convinced exercise increases the production of stem cells and delays the aging process.Researchers found that mice that run on treadmills heal significantly faster than sedentary mice. Mice who exercised also had a better survival rate after being injected with cancer cells than those that were sedentary.

Huardbelieves exercise helps the brain as well as the heart in ways that might not be fully understood but might have implications for the prevention or delay of dementia and Alzheimers.

Stem cells come from blood vessels, Huard said. What can we do to increase the number of blood vessels? If we can do that, then we can probably improve tissue repair. If you exercise, you increase the number of blood vessels in your tissues.

Platelet-rich plasma therapy

PRP therapy is already in widespread use, not just in elite athletes but in recreational athletes as well. Sometimes it works well, and sometimes it doesnt work at all. Huard is trying to find out why.

Platelets in the blood carry proteins called growth factors that help the body repair injured tissue. In PRP therapy, a patients blood is removed and spun in an centrifuge or filtered to separate platelets. Then the platelet-rich plasma is injected into the site of an injury with hopes of speeding the healing process.

When you injure something, you bleed, Philippon said in his office with a view of Vails ski trails. Some of the first elements going there are your platelets, and theres a reason for that. Platelets have the growth factors, also what we call the chemotactic factors, to attract whats needed (to heal).

Philippon has used PRP to hasten healing of hip tendons in football players, for example.

What we found was that those I injected with PRP early recovered faster, Philippon said. We have that data here. We know, for a tendon injury, PRP is a great therapy.

Huard had elbow surgery last year after snapping a tendon off the bone in a ski accident I like to go fast, he said with a grin and Steadman surgeon Peter Millett asked Huard if he wanted a PRP injection in hopes of hastening recovery.

I said, Of course! You know what? I never wore a sling, Huard said. The week after, I was running. Three weeks after, I was back skiing.

But did the PRP help?

I dont know, Huard said.

So Huard is studying the success rate of PRP therapy in patients who receive it after surgery at the Steadman Clinic. When Philippon uses PRP on a patient, for example, he will set aside a fraction of that PRP and give it to Huard to analyze in the lab. Huard will catalog the different growth factors in each sample and then wait to see how the patients respond.

After this Im going to go back to Marc and say: Which patient worked? Which one was your best patient? Huard said. If he tells me patient No. 24 and 32 and 48, Im going to go back and try to see what those three patients PRP had in common in terms of growth factors.

Then Huard will be able to better advise surgeons before using PRP.

Lets say we find when IGF1 (insulin growth factor one) is high in your blood, PRP always works, Huard said. You know what Im going to give to those surgeons? Im going to say, Before you give PRP, take a blood draw, we go in the lab, test for IGF1, and if IGF1 is high, 95 percent chance PRP is going to help. But another patient, if IGF1 is not high, Based on our tests, I dont think PRP is going to help.

Another thing we found in PRP, it is a mixed bag. You have good things in PRP but you have bad things, too. So were doing science where Im going to take PRP, Im going to take out the bad guys.

As with stem cells, Huard foresees a day when a young patients PRP can be frozen and used decades later to delay aging, administered in conjunction with stem cell injections to work in synergy.

I think the two can be combined somehow, Huard said. They are different, but the stem-cell therapy and the PRP somehow can be together. If I have your PRP from 20 years ago and I have your stem cells from 20 years ago, I can make a very nice mixture, inject this into you. Sometimes adding one thing to another, biologically, it equals not two but three.

Having his laboratory in the same building as the Steadman Clinic, which has eight surgeons on staff, is a boon for Huard in his research. He takes ideas to them and vice versa.

I dont do science just to do science, he said. I do science to improve quality of life, and I think I can make a major contribution in the field. If you delay aging by 10 years, you delay all those age-related disorders by 10 years. The implications for health care is amazing.

Biologics: Using tools produced by a patients body such as stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to help the patient heal faster and better.

Regenerative medicine: This and tissue engineering are promising treatment approaches that can enhance or promote musculoskeletal tissue healing and regeneration following surgery or injection therapy. Biological treatments such as growth factor supplementation, PRP and bone marrow concentrate have been shown to improve patient function and quality of life.

Platelet-rich plasma: A biologic treatment that is produced by concentrating the patients own blood to yield a high platelet count. Platelets are important blood components that secrete hundreds to thousands of biological factors that initiate musculoskeletal tissue healing and regeneration.

Stem cells: Stem cells have the ability to transform into specific musculoskeletal tissue cells. These types of cells also secrete biological factors that initiate musculoskeletal tissue healing and regeneration. There are several forms of stem cells, such as muscle-derived stem cells, bone marrow-derived stem cells, adipose-derived stem cells and others.

John Meyer, The Denver Post

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How researchers in Vail are pursuing breakthroughs to help injuries heal faster and some day slow down the way ... - The Denver Post

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PTH regulates bone marrow progenitor fate Nature.com New research published in Cell Metabolism reveals an important mechanism underlying the anabolic effects of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on bone. Mice with conditional deletion of the gene encoding the PTH 1 receptor (PTH1R) in bone marrow progenitors ...

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PTH regulates bone marrow progenitor fate - Nature.com

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on PTH regulates bone marrow progenitor fate – Nature.com | February 18th, 2017

As a boy growing up in Nigeria, Abba Zubair dreamed of becoming an astronaut.

But as he prepared to apply to college, an advisor told him to find a different path.

He said it may be a long time before Nigeria sends rockets and astronauts into space, so I should consider something more practical, Zubair saud.

He decided to become a physician, and is currently the medical and scientific director of the Cell Therapy Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. And while hell almost certainly never get to make a journey outside the Earths atmosphere himself, if the weather stays good Saturday hell be sending a payload into space.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch at 10:01 a.m. Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center on a cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station. Among the cargo it will be carrying are several samples of donated adult stem cells from Zubairs research lab.

Zubair believes adult stem cells, extracted from bone marrow, are the future of regenerative medicine. Currently at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville they are being used in clinical trials to treat knee injuries and transplanted lungs.

But a big problem with using stem cells to treat illnesses is that it may require up to 200 million cells to treat a human being and the cells take a long time to reproduce. Based on studies using simulators on Earth, Zubair believes that the stem cells will more quickly mass produce in microgravity.

Thats the hypothesis hell be testing as the stem cells from his lab spend a month aboard the space station. Astronauts will conduct experiments measuring changes in the cells. They will then be returned on an unmanned rocket and Zubair will continue to study them in his lab.

We want to undersrand the process by which stem cells divide so we can grow them at a faster rate and also so we can suppress them when treating cancer, he said.

Zubair became interested in the idea of sending stem cells into space four years ago, when he learned of a request for proposals that involved medicine and outer space. Hes been trying to arrange to send stem cells into space for three years.

In May 2015, he sent stem cells to the edge of space as a hot-air balloon carried a capsule filled with cells from his lab to about 100,000 feet then dropped the capsule. The idea was to test how the cells handled re-entry into the Earths atmosphere.

It turned out well, he said. The cells were alive and functioning.

Zubair was supported in that effort as he is being supported in sending cells to the space station by the Center for Applied Science Technology. Its chief executive is Lee Harvey, a retired Navy pilot and former astronaut candidate who lives in Orange Park.

While stem cells have myriad potential medical applications, one that particularly interests Zubair is the use of them in treating stroke patients. Its a personal cause to Zubair, whose mother died of a stroke in 1997.

Weve shown that an infusion of stem cells at the site of stroke improves the inflammation and also secretes factors for the regeneration of neurons and blood vessels, he said.

Zubair hasnt entirely given up on his old dream of being an astronaut. Hes applied for the civilian astronaut program. But he doesnt expect that to happen.

Im not sure I made a cut, he said. I just wanted to apply.

And he realizes what a long, strange trip hes made.

I have come so far from Africa to here, he said, and now Im sending stem cells into space.

Charlie Patton: (904) 359-4413

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Mayo researcher Abba Zubair is sending stem cells for study on the International Space Station - Florida Times-Union

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Mayo researcher Abba Zubair is sending stem cells for study on the International Space Station – Florida Times-Union | February 17th, 2017

Wyoming resident and pediatric nurse Elizabeth Groter has partnered with DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support), the nonprofit leading the fight against blood cancer, to host a bone marrow registration drive in Toulon Friday. The event will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Stark County High School cafeteria, and will help register potential lifesaving donors. Anyone in good general health who is between 18 and 55 can register. The process involves filling out a simple form, understanding the donation methods and swabbing the inside of each cheek for 30 seconds. There is no charge to register. Donations help DKMS cover the $65 registration processing fee but are not required. Groter is a pediatric nurse at Childrens Hospital of Illinois, and a DKMS representative. She was inspired to host a drive with DKMS after experiencing first-hand how simple it is to be added to the KDMS bone marrow registry. With her job experience, Groter has met countless children battling leukemia and other blood cancers who are in need of bone marrow transplants, and wanted to make a difference by helping to grow the registry to find lifesaving matches for patients. Groters uncle is a leukemia survivor and another source of her inspiration. Becoming a part of the bone marrow registry to be a possible match for someone with blood cancer is so incredibly easy, and Im going to make it even easier for you. By doing something as simple as this, you could possibly change someones life in an instant, said Groter. According to DKMS, 70 percent of people suffering from blood-related illnesses must rely on donors outside their families to save their life. Swabbing your cheek is all it takes to register as a potential donor. Anyone who wishes to register as a potential donor but is unable to attend Fridays drive can register online at http://www.dkms.org. DKMS is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating blood cancers like leukemia and other blood-related illnesses. The organization inspires men and woman around to the world to register as bone marrow and blood stem cell donors.

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Nurse asking people to sign up as bone-marrow donors - Kewanee Star Courier

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Nurse asking people to sign up as bone-marrow donors – Kewanee Star Courier | February 15th, 2017

Growing stem cells on carbon nitride sheets not only activates bone-related genes, but also releases calcium ions when exposed to red light.

Asian Scientist Newsroom | February 15, 2017 | In the Lab

AsianScientist (Feb. 15, 2017) - Light absorbing nanosheets could help bone regrowth, according to a study by researchers at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology published in ACS Nano.

Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) have been successfully used to treat fractures by regenerating lost bone tissue. To increase the area of bone regeneration, scientists have attempted to enhance the function of stem cells using carbon nanotubes, graphenes and nano-oxides.

In the present study, Professors Kim Kwang S. and Suh Pann-Ghill examined the bone regenerative abilities of carbon nitride (C3N4) nanosheets. Firstly, Kim's team synthesized carbon nitrogen derivatives from melamine compounds. Then, they analyzed the light-absorbing characteristics of C3N4 sheets at a wavelength range of 455-635 nanometers (nm).

They found that the C3N4 sheets emit fluorescence at the wavelength of 635 nm when exposed to red light in a liquid state. The released electrons induced calcium to accumulate in the cytoplasm, thereby speeding up bone regeneration.

Suh's team then conducted studies investigating biomedical applications of this material. To do so, they cultured stem cells and cancer cells in a medium containing 200 g/ml of C3N4 sheets. The material showed no cytotoxicity after two days of testing, suggesting that it is biocompatible.

They also confirmed that C3N4 sheets induce stem cells to differentiate into osteoblasts to promote mineral formation, turning on osteogenic differentiation marker genes such as ALP, BSP, and OCN. Moreover, Runx2 (Runt-related transcription factor 2), a key transcription factor in osteoblast differentiation was also activated. This gene activation resulted in the increased osteoblast differentiation and accelerated bone formation.

This research has opened up the possibility of developing a new medicine that effectively treats skeletal injuries, such as fractures and osteoporosis, said co-author Professor Seo Young-Kyo. It will be a very useful tool for making artificial joints and teeth with the use of 3D printing.

This is an important milestone in the analysis of biomechanical functions needed for the development of biomaterials, including adjuvants for hard tissues such as damaged bones and teeth.

The research team expects that their findings affirm the potential of C3N4 sheets in developing bone formation and directing hBMSCs toward bone regeneration.

The article can be found at: Tiwari et al. (2016) Accelerated Bone Regeneration by Two-Photon Photoactivated Carbon Nitride Nanosheets.

Source: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology. Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

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Lights, Carbon Nitride, Bone Regeneration! - Asian Scientist Magazine

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Lights, Carbon Nitride, Bone Regeneration! – Asian Scientist Magazine | February 15th, 2017

On Feb. 2, Naomi Ng 16 donated peripheral blood stem cells at an outpatient clinic as part of the Be The Match donor program. She was matched after registering for Be The Match through the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation.

You swab your cheek and you might save someones life, Ng said. Its so easy to register to be a donor that you dont think about the impact.

Ng was informed of the potential match in the fall of 2016 and completed initial blood work. Having graduated in May with a degree in Environmental Studies, she had just begun working for Amtrak in D.C. as senior service planner. She was not contacted again until mid-December, and completed the non-surgical procedure several weeks later.

The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation, a non-profit created in 2010 by the recently retired head football coach. Talley began promoting awareness about bone marrow donation in 1992 by hosting testing opportunities on campus. In 2008, he partnered with Be The Match to form the Get in the Game. Save a Life initiative. The foundation has now enlisted over 78 college football programs to participate in the foundations mission, registering young, healthy college students with the Be the Match registry to increase the chances of finding a bone marrow match for patients diagnosed with blood cancer.

Like many University students Ng registered at one of Talleys on campus testing drives. She swabbed her cheek, filled out the paperwork and doubted that she would ever get a call. I kind of forget that I had registered for it, Ng said. I had hoped obviously, because I wouldnt have registered if I didnt want to do it. Its just such a slim chance.

The donation of peripheral blood stem cells is one of two methods for collecting the blood-forming cells that recipients need. For five days before the procedure, Ng was given injections of filgrastim to increase the number of stem cells in her blood. On the day of the procedure she was connected to a machine via a needle in one arm and her blood was run through the machine and returned to her body through the other arm.

Although the filgrastim injections were painful, Ng described the procedure as pretty non-invasive, saying, I actually slept through the procedure. When I woke up I was like, thats it? I can leave now?

Ngs match is a 66-year old man, but his age and gender are the only things she knows about him. A year after the procedure, Be The Match will help to facilitate contact between the two if desired by donor and recipient.

Its a really emotional experience, Ng said. Ive never met this guy. I dont know his name. I dont know anything about him, but I feel like I have an emotional connection to him now. I dont know yet, but I might have saved his life.

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Senior Becomes the Match to donate bone marrow and saves life - Villanovan (subscription)

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Senior Becomes the Match to donate bone marrow and saves life – Villanovan (subscription) | February 15th, 2017

Home Bone Health Stem cell technique may aid in bone repair

A new method for repairing damaged bones with stem cell and carbon material has been developed by researchers working with the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). The method involves using stem cells from human bone marrow and carbon sheets with photocatalytic properties, and may help to create better treatments for bone injuries like periodontal disease and fractures.

During their study, researchers found that carbon nitride sheets that absorb red light encourage proliferation and growth of bone, as well as osteogenic differentiation. Human bone marrow stem cells have previously been used in the treatment of fractures, as they promote bone regeneration even in patients who have lost large areas of bone because of trauma or disease. The use of carbon nitride sheets alongside the bone marrow stem cells in this study were an attempt to accelerate the regeneration process.

Researchers found that when the carbon nitride was exposed to red light, it absorbed the light and emitted fluorescence, which is already known to expedite bone regeneration. The study also showed proliferation in osteogenic differentiation genes and accelerated bone formation in cells that were cultured in the lab.

This new stem cell research shows that coupling human bone marrow stem cells with carbon nitride could prove to be an effective way to create new bone material in areas that are lacking. With further research, this method could soon be applied to helping to heal bone fractures and wear-and-tear related to diseases like osteoporosis, as well as used to create new joints and teeth.

Related: Improve bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis with lifestyle changes

Related Reading:

Eat these foods for strong bones

Six tips to improve your bone health

New Stem Cell Technique Shows Promise for Bone Repair

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Stem cell technique may aid in bone repair - Bel Marra Health

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Stem cell technique may aid in bone repair – Bel Marra Health | February 14th, 2017

Ten-year-old Boon Kye Feng prances around the living room in furry purple pants that match the lion's head he is wearing.

He lifts the head and moves it from side to side to a beat only he can hear.

Even when the little lion gets thirsty, he drinks water through the opening in the head.

Seeing him at play, it may be difficult for strangers to tell that he has spent almost half his life battling leukaemia.

His family fought it along with him, gifting two transplants - cord blood from his baby sister and stem cells from his mother - to keep him alive.

MIRACLE BOY

I believe Kye Feng is a 'miracle'. We have all learnt a lot from him, not only in the science of managing the disease and the doctor-patient relationship, but also in his love of life, and his fearlessness and resilience, despite the years of pain and suffering.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR TAN POH LIN, from the paediatric haematology- oncology division of NUH.

Despite the intensive treatment, his parents said he had remained positive and playful.

It had started in late 2011 when Kye Feng developed spots and bruises which his parents thought were sandfly bites.

When the spots appeared a second time, his mother, Mrs Celine Boon, decided to take him for a check-up.

Doctors found that his white blood cell count was very high and told the family he could have leukaemia (cancer of the blood).

It was diagnosed as juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), a rare form of the disease.

But Mrs Boon, 38, was not too surprised.

This was because Kye Feng and his twin brother, Kye Teck, had previously developed juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG), a skin disorder that is usually benign and self-limiting.

They also have an older sister, now 16, who was unaffected.

While reading up on JXG earlier, Mrs Boon had come across a potential link to JMML.

She said: "Still, I had never expected that it would happen to my son. I was quite alarmed."

JMML is so rare that blood samples had to be sent to Germany to confirm the diagnosis.

Kye Feng began chemotherapy at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) in 2012 to control the condition while waiting for a bone marrow transplant.

Although KKH doctors had not seen a JMML case in about 10 years, they did the transplant as there were few other options.

His father, Mr Roy Boon, 46, said: "It was all trial and error. There's no exact treatment for JMML."

Mrs Boon was then pregnant with their fourth child and doctors said the baby girl's cord blood could be used for the transplant as there is a 25 per cent chance of a match between siblings.

Juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML) is a very rare form of childhood leukaemia. The hallmark symptom of the disease is the increased number of white blood cells known as monocytes.

Normal monocytes protect the body from infections, but those in patients with this leukaemia are cancerous and reproduce uncontrollably. The monocytes may then infiltrate organs such as the liver, spleen, lungs, lymph nodes and even skin.

In Western countries, one in a million children are afflicted with the disease each year. Based on Singapore population statistics last year, there is an average of one case every three years.

For the majority of JMML patients, a haematopoietic - or blood forming - stem cell transplant (HSCT) is the only curative option.

Stem cells are cells that have the potential for self-renewal and differentiation. They can develop into different forms, including white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. Such a transplant can help patients develop new and healthy blood cells.

Stem cells can be found in the bone marrow, blood, fat tissue and placenta. They are abundant in the bone marrow but, even so, make up only 1 per cent of all cells there.

They can be "harvested" directly from the bone marrow or from the blood, whether they are from an adult volunteer or from umbilical cord blood.

The bone marrow must be stimulated to coax or force the stem cells into the peripheral blood system, but techniques are well-tested and safe.

After undergoing HSCT, 50 per cent of the patients will go on to become long-term survivors.

Abigail Ng

Source: Associate Professor Tan Poh Lin, senior consultant at the division of paediatric haematology-oncology, National University Hospital.

Thankfully, it was a full match for Kye Feng, who had the transplant and recovered well.

He looked forward to starting Primary 1 with his brother.

But before the March holidays of his first year in school, doctors noticed that the percentage of donor cells in him was beginning to fall, signalling that there could be a problem.

When it became clear that the cancer had returned, Mrs Boon said she broke down and cried.

"I was shocked. There weren't any physical symptoms. Why did it happen so quickly? It wasn't even one year after the transplant and things had looked so promising," she said.

A SECOND CHANCE

The family sought a second opinion from the National University Hospital (NUH) and entered into the care of Associate Professor Tan Poh Lin from the paediatric haematology-oncology division.

While doctors from both hospitals suggested a second transplant for Kye Feng, there was more bad news.

His illness was mutating into mixed-phenotype acute leukaemia, a combination of two forms of cancer.

He also faced a life-threatening infection that caused high fever and bloating.

Besides beginning palliative care to improve his quality of life, the family continued to push for treatment, including natural killer-cell therapy and the removal of Kye Feng's enlarged spleen in a complicated seven-hour operation.

Even though the test results showed that leukaemic cells remained in his bone marrow, Kye Feng had a second transplant in September 2015, this time using stem cells from his mother.

Doctors usually recommend transplants only when patients register no leukaemic cells.

Mrs Boon said: "If he didn't have the transplant, he would have only six months more. With the transplant, he would at least have a chance of recovery.

"He was fighting hard. If I didn't give him the chance, I would never know if he could have survived."

Kye Feng responded well to his mother's stem cells.

Dr Tan said: "I believe Kye Feng is a 'miracle'. We have all learnt a lot from him, not only in the science of managing the disease and the doctor-patient relationship, but also in his love of life, and his fearlessness and resilience, despite the years of pain and suffering."

The crucial three months after the transplant passed by without issue, but the boy developed a graft versus host disease (GVHD) one year later.

Still, his parents were relieved that it was not a second relapse.

He was put on medication for GVHD and will recover completely.

In the meantime, the family is treasuring the time they can spend together.

Mrs Boon said: "We will relax and go with the flow, as long as Kye Feng is happy."

Original post:
Lion-hearted fighter beats the odds - The Straits Times

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on Lion-hearted fighter beats the odds – The Straits Times | February 14th, 2017

Saving a life can begin with a simple swab of a cheek.

Marshalls Student Nurses Association is trying to help accomplish this goal through a bone marrow registry drive with Be The Match, a nonprofit organization, Feb. 15 in the Memorial Student Center. Anyone from ages 18 to 44 with no major preexisting diseases are eligible to register.

The main idea is that Be The Match connects critically ill patients with a life-saving bone marrow donor, senior nursing major Molly Arthur said. Most patients do not find a marrow match within their own family, so they have to rely on a complete stranger to donate to them.

The SNA decided to do this drive after meeting several patients through their clinicals at Cabell Huntington Hospital who have the possibility of receiving a bone marrow transplant through the course of their treatment.

I know a little boy who went recently to see if he had any matches to get a transplant, and they had 10 people that were matches for him, senior nursing major Jenna Fields said. If he would need one later on, they would wipe out his immune system and replace it through the bone marrow to fight off the disease.

In order to register, donors will go through a series of questions about their medical history and will have their cheeks swabbed to collect cells, which will take about 10 minutes. According to Be The Match registry, only one in every 430 people go on to donate.

There are three ways to donate: peripheral blood stem cells through an IV, bone marrow through the hip by a surgical procedure and cord blood after giving birth.

They put an IV in, they take the blood out and spin out what they need and everything else goes back into your body. Its just like giving blood, and you potentially save a life, senior nursing major Alison Evans said.

The registry drive is taking place in the Don Morris Room from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 15. The SNA has a goal of registering 100 donors.

The more people on the registry, the more likely you are to find a match, Evans said. The goal is to get as many people on the registry as possible to potentially raise someones percentage of finding a match.

Heather Barker can be contacted at [emailprotected]

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SNA strives to find bone marrow donors at MU - MU The Parthenon

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Comments Off on SNA strives to find bone marrow donors at MU – MU The Parthenon | February 14th, 2017