BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION OVERVIEW

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT), also called hematopoietic stem cell transplant or hematopoietic cell transplant, is a type of treatment for cancer (and a few other conditions as well). A review of the normal function of the bone marrow will help in the understanding of bone marrow transplantation.

Bone marrow functionBone marrow is the soft, spongy area in the center of some of the larger bones of the body. The marrow produces all of the different cells that make up the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells (of many different types), and platelets. All of these cells develop from a type of precursor cell found in the bone marrow, called a hematopoietic stem cell.

The body is able to direct hematopoietic stem cells to develop into the blood components needed at any given moment. This is a very active process, with the bone marrow producing millions of different cells every hour. Most of the stem cells stay in the marrow until they are transformed into the various blood components, which are then released into the blood stream. Small numbers of stem cells, however, can be found in the circulating blood, which allows them to be collected under certain circumstances. Various strategies can be employed to increase the number of hematopoietic stem cells in the blood prior to collection. (See 'Peripheral blood' below.)

Bone marrow transplantationSome of the most effective treatments for cancer, such as chemotherapy and radiation, are toxic to the bone marrow. In general, the higher the dose, the more toxic the effects on the bone marrow.

In bone marrow transplantation, you are given very high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, which is intended to more effectively kill cancer cells and unfortunately also destroy all the normal cells developing in the bone marrow, including the critical stem cells. After the treatment, you must have a healthy supply of stem cells reintroduced, or transplanted. The transplanted cells then reestablish the blood cell production process in the bone marrow. Reduced doses of radiation or chemotherapy that do not completely destroy the bone marrow may be used in some settings. (See 'Non-myeloablative transplant' below.)

The cells that will be transplanted can be taken from the bone marrow (called a bone marrow transplant), from the bloodstream (called a peripheral blood stem cell transplant, which requires that you take medication to boost the number of hematopoietic stem cells in the blood), or occasionally from blood obtained from the umbilical cord at the time of birth of a normal newborn (called an umbilical cord blood transplant).

TYPES OF BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

There are two main types of bone marrow transplantation: autologous and allogeneic.

Autologous transplantIn autologous transplantation, your own hematopoietic stem cells are removed before the high dose chemotherapy or radiation is given, and they are then frozen for storage and later use. After your chemotherapy or radiation is complete, the harvested cells are thawed and returned to you.

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Bone marrow transplantation (stem cell transplantation)

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Jacquelyn Jeanty has worked as a freelance writer since 2008. Her work appears at various websites. Her specialty areas include health, home and garden, Christianity and personal development. Jeanty holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Purdue University.

Since 1968, bone-marrow transplant procedures have been used to treat diseases such as leukemia, lymphomas and immune-deficiency disorders. By comparison, stem-cell transplants procedures are a fairly new development within the medical-science world. As a result, the potential uses and risks involved with stem-cell procedures are as of yet not fully known.

Transplant procedures are intended to replace defective or damaged tissues and cells with cells that are able to replace damaged tissue and restore normal function within the body. The use of bone-marrow material versus stem cell material is actually referring to two sides of the same coin, as bone marrow is a type of stem cell derived from the cells inside the bone. Stem cells, in general, can be taken from a number of sources, some of which include the umbilical cord, fetal material, the placenta, somatic cells, embryonic materials, as well as bone marrow material. The type of transplant procedure used will depend on the type of treatment needed and the area of the body affected.

Stem-cell research is a developing field in which stem cells are used to cure diseases, engineer gene-types and clone animals and humans. What makes stem cells so promising is their ability to evolve into a variety of different tissue forms. When used to treat diseased tissues, stem cells may provide a permanent cure as healthy new cells reproduce and replace defective cell organisms. This type of transplant may someday provide a way to treat cancer formations inside the body. Bone marrow stem cells are being used to replace unhealthy bone marrow in people who suffer from blood-borne diseases such as leukemia.

As with any type of surgical procedure, certain risks are involved when undergoing a stem-cell transplant. Frequent testing and possible hospitalizations may be necessary after the procedure is done. Individuals who receive donor stem cells may experience what's called the "graft-versus-host disease." This condition occurs when the patient's immune system reacts to the transplanting of donor stem cells. Symptoms of graft-versus-host disease include vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes and abdominal pain. Organ damage, blood vessel damage and secondary cancers are other possible complications that can arise.

Bone-marrow material is made up of the soft tissue contained inside the bones. This material is responsible for producing and storing the body's blood cells. Bone marrow can be extracted from the breast bone, the hips, the spine, the ribs and the skull. Transplant materials can be used to replace unhealthy bone material for individuals who've undergone radiation or chemotherapy treatments. Individuals who suffer from a genetic disease such as Hurler's syndrome or adrenoleukodystrophy can also benefit from receiving a healthy supply of bone-marrow material.

The risks involved with bone marrow transplants vary depending on how healthy a person is, the type of transplant being done and how compatible a donor's material is. Individuals who've undergone chemotherapy or radiation treatments may experience complications because of the weakened state that the body is in. As bone-marrow material can come from the patient or from a donor, compatibility risks are more of a concern when donor materials are used. Possible complications from a transplant include anemia, infection, internal bleeding or internal-organ damage.

There are different types of bone marrow transplants, including an allogeneic and an autologous transplant. In allogeneic bone marrow transplants, stem cells...

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Stem - Cell Transplant Vs. Bone - Marrow Transplant | eHow

Watch the Cancer.Net Video: Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation: An Introduction, with Sonali Smith, MD, adapted from this content.

Key Messages:

Stem cell transplantation is a procedure that is most often recommended as a treatment option for people with leukemia, multiple myeloma, and some types of lymphoma. It may also be used to treat some genetic diseases that involve the blood.

During a stem cell transplant diseased bone marrow (the spongy, fatty tissue found inside larger bones) is destroyed with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy and then replaced with highly specialized stem cells that develop into healthy bone marrow. Although this procedure used to be referred to as a bone marrow transplant, today it is more commonly called a stem cell transplant because it is stem cells in the blood that are typically being transplanted, not the actual bone marrow tissue.

The purpose of bone marrow and hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells

Bone marrow produces more than 20 billion new blood cells every day throughout a person's life. The driving force behind this process is the hematopoietic (pronounced he-mah-tuh-poy-ET-ick) stem cell. Hematopoietic stem cells are immature cells found in both the bloodstream and bone marrow. These specialized cells have the ability to create more blood-forming cells or to mature into one of the three different cell types that make up our blood. These include red blood cells (cells that carry oxygen to all parts of the body), white blood cells (cells that help the body fight infections and diseases), and platelets (cells that help blood clot and control bleeding). Signals passing from the body to the bone marrow tell the stem cells which cell types are needed the most.

For people with bone marrow diseases and certain types of cancer, the essential functions of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are disrupted because the hematopoietic stem cells dont mature properly. To help restore the bone marrows ability to produce healthy blood cells, doctors may recommend stem cell transplantation.

Types of stem cell transplantation

There are two main types of stem cell transplantation:

Autologous transplantation (AUTO). A patient undergoing an AUTO transplant receives his or her own stem cells. During the AUTO transplant process, the patients stem cells are collected and then stored in a special freezer that can preserve them for decades. Usually the patient is treated the following week with powerful doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, after which the frozen stem cells are thawed and infused into the patient's vein. The stem cells typically remain in the bloodstream for about 24 hours until they find their way to the marrow space, where they grow and multiply, beginning the healing process.

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What is Stem Cell/Bone Marrow Transplantation? | Cancer.Net

Phoenix, Arizona (PRWEB) April 21, 2014

The Center for Joint Regeneration is now offering several stem cell procedures for patients with knee arthritis to help avoid the need for joint replacement. The procedures are offered by Board-certified and Fellowship-trained orthopedic doctors, with the stem cells being derived from either bone marrow or amniotic fluid. For more information and scheduling with the top stem cell providers in the greater Phoenix area, call (480) 466-0980.

For the hundreds of thousands of individuals who undergo a knee replacement every year, it should be considered an absolute last resort, after other conservative options have failed. Although the vast majority of knee replacements do well, the implants are not meant to last forever, the surgery does have potential risks and the biomechanics of the knee are significantly changed with the prosthetic implants.

Stem cells for knee arthritis have the potential to repair and regenerate damage from arthritis and relieve pain substantially. Center for Joint Regeneration offers these outpatient procedures with several methods.

The first involves usage of the patient's own bone marrow, with a short harvesting procedure, processing the bone marrow, and injection at the same setting into one or both knees.

Another method is with amniotic derived stem cell rich material, which not only possesses concentrated stem cells but also a significant amount of growth factors and hyaluronic acid. The material is a meteorologically privileged and has been used tens of thousands of times around the world with minimal adverse events.

Platelet rich plasma therapy for knee degeneration is also offered. PRP therapy has been shown in recent studies at Hospital for Special Surgery to work well for pain relief from knee arthritis. It also offers the ability to preserve knee cartilage based on serial MRI's performed in the study.

So far, clinical outcomes with the stem cell regenerative procedures have been excellent. The Board-Certified orthopedic doctors at Center for Joint Regeneration, Doctors Farber and Dewanjee, are exceptionally well trained and highly skilled at these outpatient procedures.

For those individuals looking to avoid or delay the need for knee replacement due to degenerative arthritis, call the Center for Joint Regeneration today at (480) 466-0980. The Center offers stem cell treatments Phoenix and Scottsdale trust!

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Center for Joint Regeneration Now Offering Several Stem Cell Procedures for Patients to Avoid Knee Replacement

Marie McCullough, Inquirer Staff Writer Last updated: Sunday, April 20, 2014, 8:51 AM Posted: Saturday, April 19, 2014, 4:05 PM

Mason Shaffer was seven months old when doctors treated him for a fatal genetic bone disorder by destroying his blood and immune systems and rebuilding them with donated blood stem cells.

That's when his parents, Sarah and Marc Shaffer of Lansdowne, learned about a fairly unsung medical trend: public, nonprofit facilities that collect, store, and distribute blood from donated umbilical cords. The stem cells that saved Mason, now a healthy 5-year-old, were in cord blood.

Nonprofit cord-blood banking is a complicated, costly network, but it has been growing steadily, thanks to federal support, stem-cell research - and families like the Shaffers.

Sarah and Marc discovered that in the Philadelphia area, even if parents realized umbilical cords were more than just waste products of childbirth, there was no easy way to donate the tissue. So they established the Mason Shaffer Foundation to change that.

This month, Temple University Hospital launched a program in collaboration with the foundation and the New Jersey Cord Blood Bank to educate expectant parents and enable them to donate in a convenient way - at no charge to them or Temple. The foundation provides the educational material, and the cord-blood bank covers the collection costs, which are offset by health insurance reimbursement for transplants.

Three years ago, Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood became the foundation's first cord-blood donation center.

Temple, however, is expected to help fill the desperate need for a more racially diverse cord-blood stockpile. That need was recognized by the federal Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005, which included funding that will help underwrite the first year of Temple's program.

Of the 3,200 babies delivered at Temple each year, 65 percent are African American, and 30 percent are Hispanic.

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Umbilical cord blood transplants become standard

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Help TBI Case! See the Amazing Before After Results!
Dr. Steenblock treated John F. for a TBI. John suffered from a TBI or a traumatic brain injury after a bike accident. He had just one bone marrow stem cell t...

By: David Steenblock

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Bone Marrow Stem Cells Help TBI Case! See the Amazing Before & After Results! - Video

Stem cells in bone marrow need to produce hydrogen sulfide in order to properly multiply and form bone tissue, according to a new study from the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology at the Ostrow School of Dentistry.

Professor Songtao Shi, principal investigator on the project, said the presence of hydrogen sulfide produced by the cells governs the flow of calcium ions. The essential ions activate a chain of cellular signals that results in osteogenesis, or the creation of new bone tissue, and keeps the breakdown of old bone tissue at a proper level.

Conversely, having a hydrogen sulfide deficiency disrupted bone homeostasis and resulted in a condition similar to osteoporosis -- weakened, brittle bones -- in experimental mice. In humans, osteoporosis can cause serious problems such as bone fractures, mobility limitations and spinal problems; more than 52 million Americans have or are at risk for the disease.

However, Shi and his team demonstrated that the mice's condition could be rescued by administering small molecules that release hydrogen sulfide inside the body. The results indicate that a similar treatment may have potential to help human patients, Shi said.

"These results demonstrate hydrogen sulfide regulates bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, and restoring hydrogen sulfide levels via non-toxic donors may provide treatments for diseases such as osteoporosis, which can arise from hydrogen sulfide deficiencies," Shi said.

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The above story is based on materials provided by University of Southern California. The original article was written by Beth Newcomb. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Proper stem cell function requires hydrogen sulfide

Researchers announced today that tissue engineering has been used to construct natural esophagi which in combination with bone marrow stem cells have been safely and effectively transplanted in rats, according to a study published in the prestigious online journal, Nature Communications. The study shows that the transplanted organs remain patent and display regeneration of nerves, muscles, epithelial cells and blood vessels.

The new method was developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, within an international collaboration lead by Professor Paolo Macchiarini, and including Doris Taylor, MD, Director of Regenerative Medicine Research at the Texas Heart Institute (THI).

We are very excited and honored to be a part of the team taking such heroic steps, that will ultimately benefit so many patients throughout the world, said Dr. Taylor, who is leading ground-breaking organ-building work at THI that may ultimately lead to the ability to grow new hearts and other organs using a patients own stem cells.

Dr. Taylor has collaborated with Professor Macchiarini for several years, and they have jointly published previous papers on tissue engineering. THI and Dr. Taylor are in the midst of multiple international collaborations in this field, and she also serves on a committee named by Texas Medical Center (TMC) President Robert Robbins, MD, to help guide regenerative medicine research throughout TMC.

The joint goal is to discover, develop, and take first steps toward delivering a more complex tissue, such as a heart, added Dr. Taylor. We see this as another important milestone along that path, which we expect will ultimately help many millions of patients.

James T. Willerson, MD, President, THI added This is a very important step forward toward the goal of regenerating tissues using Dr. Taylors methods. The ability to regenerate a patients esophagus after it has been injured, will help many people. The same is true for an injured heart.

The technique to grow human tissues and organs so called tissue engineering has been employed so far to produce urinary bladder, trachea and blood vessels, which have also been used clinically. However, despite several attempts, it has been proven difficult to grow tissue to replace a damaged esophagus.

In this new study, the researchers created the bioengineered organs by soaking esophagi from rats to remove all the cells. With the cells gone, a scaffold remains in which the structure as well as mechanical and chemical properties of the organ are preserved. The produced scaffolds were then reseeded with cells from the bone marrow of the recipient. The adhering cells have low immunogenicity, which minimizes the risk of immune reaction and graft rejection and also eliminates the need for immunosuppressive drugs. The cells adhered to the biological scaffold and started to show organ-specific characteristics within three weeks.

The cultured tissues were used to replace segments of the esophagus in rats. All rats survived and after two weeks the researchers found indications of the major components in the regenerated graft: epithelium, muscle cells, blood vessels and nerves.

We believe that these very promising findings represent major advances towards the clinical translation of tissue engineered esophagi, said Paolo Macchiarini, Director of Advanced Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine (ACTREM) at Karolinska Institutet.

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International team of researchers engineer construction of esophagus

Researchers announced today that tissue engineering has been used to construct natural esophagi which in combination with bone marrow stem cells have been safely and effectively transplanted in rats, according to a study published in the prestigious online journal, Nature Communications. The study shows that the transplanted organs remain patent and display regeneration of nerves, muscles, epithelial cells and blood vessels.

The new method was developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, within an international collaboration lead by Professor Paolo Macchiarini, and including Doris Taylor, MD, Director of Regenerative Medicine Research at the Texas Heart Institute (THI).

We are very excited and honored to be a part of the team taking such heroic steps, that will ultimately benefit so many patients throughout the world, said Dr. Taylor, who is leading ground-breaking organ-building work at THI that may ultimately lead to the ability to grow new hearts and other organs using a patients own stem cells.

Dr. Taylor has collaborated with Professor Macchiarini for several years, and they have jointly published previous papers on tissue engineering. THI and Dr. Taylor are in the midst of multiple international collaborations in this field, and she also serves on a committee named by Texas Medical Center (TMC) President Robert Robbins, MD, to help guide regenerative medicine research throughout TMC.

The joint goal is to discover, develop, and take first steps toward delivering a more complex tissue, such as a heart, added Dr. Taylor. We see this as another important milestone along that path, which we expect will ultimately help many millions of patients.

James T. Willerson, MD, President, THI added This is a very important step forward toward the goal of regenerating tissues using Dr. Taylors methods. The ability to regenerate a patients esophagus after it has been injured, will help many people. The same is true for an injured heart.

The technique to grow human tissues and organs so called tissue engineering has been employed so far to produce urinary bladder, trachea and blood vessels, which have also been used clinically. However, despite several attempts, it has been proven difficult to grow tissue to replace a damaged esophagus.

In this new study, the researchers created the bioengineered organs by soaking esophagi from rats to remove all the cells. With the cells gone, a scaffold remains in which the structure as well as mechanical and chemical properties of the organ are preserved. The produced scaffolds were then reseeded with cells from the bone marrow of the recipient. The adhering cells have low immunogenicity, which minimizes the risk of immune reaction and graft rejection and also eliminates the need for immunosuppressive drugs. The cells adhered to the biological scaffold and started to show organ-specific characteristics within three weeks.

The cultured tissues were used to replace segments of the esophagus in rats. All rats survived and after two weeks the researchers found indications of the major components in the regenerated graft: epithelium, muscle cells, blood vessels and nerves.

We believe that these very promising findings represent major advances towards the clinical translation of tissue engineered esophagi, said Paolo Macchiarini, Director of Advanced Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine (ACTREM) at Karolinska Institutet.

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Dr. Taylor assists international team of researchers achieve milestone by tissue engineering construction of esophagus

Tissue engineering has been used to construct natural oesophagi, which in combination with bone marrow stem cells have been safely and effectively transplanted in rats. The study, published in Nature Communications, shows that the transplanted organs remain patent and display regeneration of nerves, muscles, epithelial cells and blood vessels.

The new method has been developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, within an international collaboration lead by Professor Paolo Macchiarini. The technique to grow human tissues and organs, so called tissue engineering, has been employed so far to produce urinary bladder, trachea and blood vessels, which have also been used clinically. However, despite several attempts, it has been proven difficult to grow tissue to replace a damaged esophagus.

In this new study, the researchers created the bioengineered organs by using oesophagi from rats and removing all the cells. With the cells gone, a scaffold remains in which the structure as well as mechanical and chemical properties of the organ are preserved. The produced scaffolds were then reseeded with cells from the bone marrow. The adhering cells have low immunogenicity which minimizes the risk of immune reaction and graft rejection and also eliminates the need for immunosuppressive drugs. The cells adhered to the biological scaffold and started to show organ-specific characteristics within three weeks.

The cultured tissues were used to replace segments of the esophagus in rats. All rats survived and after two weeks the researchers found indications of the major components in the regenerated graft: epithelium, muscle cells, blood vessels and nerves.

"We believe that these very promising findings represent major advances towards the clinical translation of tissue engineered esophagi," says Paolo Macchiarini, Director of Advanced center for translational regenerative medicine (ACTREM) at Karolinska Institutet.

Tissue engineered organs could improve survival and quality of life for the hundreds of thousands of patients yearly diagnosed with esophageal disorders such as cancer, congenital anomalies or trauma. Today the patients' own intestine or stomach is used for esophageal replacements, but satisfactory function rarely achieved. Cultured tissue might eliminate this current need and likely improve surgery-related mortality, morbidity and functional outcome.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Karolinska Institutet. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Regenerated esophagus transplanted in rats

By Estel Grace Masangkay

Bone marrow stem cells may help in stroke recovery, according to a team of researchers from the University of California, Irvines Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center.

Neurologist Dr. Steven Cramer and biomedical engineer Weian Zhao together analyzed 46 studies evaluating the use of a type of multipotent adult stem cells mostly processed from the bone marrow called mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in animal models of stroke. Results showed that MSCs were superior to control therapy in 44 out of the 46 studies.

Dr. Cramer said Stroke remains a major cause of disability, and we are encouraged that the preclinical evidence shows [MSCs] efficacy with ischemic stroke. MSCs are of particular interest because they come from bone marrow, which is readily available, and are relatively easy to culture. In addition, they already have demonstrated value when used to treat other human diseases.

The MSCs effect on functional recovery was shown to be robust regardless of other factors such as dosage, time of administration relative to the stroke onset, or administration method. An earlier report focusing on MSC mechanisms of action explained how the cells were attracted to the injury sites and began releasing a wide range of molecules in response to signals emitted by the damaged areas. The molecules in turn stimulate several activities including blood vessel creation for enhanced circulation, protection of vulnerable cells, brain cell growth, and others. The MSCs also fostered an environment conducive to brain repair.

We conclude that MSCs have consistently improved multiple outcome measures, with very large effect sizes, in a high number of animal studies and, therefore, that these findings should be the foundation of further studies on the use of MSCs in the treatment of ischemic stroke in humans, said Dr. Cramer.

The UCI teams analysis appeared in the April 8 issue of Neurology.

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UCI Team Discovers Bone Marrow Stem Cells' Potential In Stroke Recovery

Lumbar Disc Pain 10 months after stem cell treatment by Dr Harry Adelson
Bill discusses his outcome 10 months after having his L4/5, L5/S1 discs injected with bone marrow stem cells by Dr Harry Adelson http://www.docereclinics.com.

By: Harry Adelson, N.D.

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Lumbar Disc Pain 10 months after stem cell treatment by Dr Harry Adelson - Video

Cancer survivor to run London Marathon with his life-saver

11:00am Saturday 12th April 2014 in News

A BONE marrow donor will run Sundays London Marathon with the man whose life he saved.

Sean Hagan, 23, donated his stem cells after being inspired by Ulverston teenager Alice Pyne, who put it at the top of her bucket list before her tragic death from cancer in 2013.

The Askam-in-Furness mans donation saved the life of father-of-two Johnny Pearson, 44, from North Yorkshire, after he was diagnosed with leukaemia for the second time in just 18 months.

Sean, whose stem cell donation was undertaken by the Anthony Nolan charity, said: I remember being amazed at how simple it was. I hope Alice Pynes parents will see this and know what a special daughter they had. She was the reason I joined the Anthony Nolan register in the first place.

"Saving Johnnys life is the best thing Ive ever done and its the best thing Ill ever do.

The two men were allowed to write to each other anonymously and shared a series of emotional letters in which Johnny told Sean he wanted to shake his hand and show him what his donation means to his wife, children and friends.

They subsequently arranged to run the London Marathon together on Sunday.

Anthony Nolan, a charity that has been matching donors to recipients for 40 years, arranged for the pair to meet up for a training session before they undertake the 26.2 mile slog through the capital.

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Cancer survivor to run London Marathon with his life-saver

Brenda Goodman HealthDay Reporter Posted: Monday, April 7, 2014, 4:00 PM

MONDAY, April 7, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- In an early test, researchers report they've safely injected stem cells into the brains of 18 patients who had suffered strokes. And two of the patients showed significant improvement.

All the patients saw some improvement in weakness or paralysis within six months of their procedures. Although three people developed complications related to the surgery, they all recovered. There were no adverse reactions to the transplanted stem cells themselves, the study authors said.

What's more, the researchers said, two patients experienced dramatic recoveries almost immediately after the treatments.

Those patients, who were both women, started to regain the ability to talk and walk the morning after their operations. In both cases, they were more than two years past their strokes, a point where doctors wouldn't have expected further recovery.

The results have encouraged researchers to plan larger and longer tests of the procedure, which uses stem cells cultured from donated bone marrow.

An expert who was not involved in the research called it a promising first step.

"It's a small, early human study. It takes multiple steps to get to something clinically useful, and this is a nice, early step," said Dr. Steven Cramer, clinical director of the Stem Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine.

The findings were to be presented Monday at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting, in San Francisco. The results of studies presented at meetings are considered preliminary until they've been published in peer-reviewed medical journals.

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Stem Cells Show Promise for Stroke Recovery

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8-Apr-2014

Contact: Vanessa Wasta wasta@jhmi.edu 410-614-2916 Johns Hopkins Medicine

Research in mice and human cell lines has identified an experimental compound dubbed TTT-3002 as potentially one of the most potent drugs available to block genetic mutations in cancer cells blamed for some forms of treatment-resistant leukemia.

Results of the research by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center investigators, described March 6 in the journal Blood, show that two doses a day of TTT-3002 eliminated leukemia cells in a group of mice within 10 days. The treatment performed as well as or better than similar drugs in head-to-head comparisons.

More than 35 percent of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients harbor a mutation in the gene FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3). Normal FLT3 genes produce an enzyme that signals bone marrow stem cells to divide and replenish. But when FLT3 is mutated in some AML patients, the enzyme stays on permanently, causing rapid growth of leukemia cells and making the condition likely to relapse after treatment.

Many investigators are developing and testing drugs designed to block the FLT3 enzyme's proliferation, several of which are now in clinical trials. So far, their effectiveness has been limited, according to Donald Small, M.D., Ph.D., the Kyle Haydock Professor of Oncology and director of pediatric oncology at Johns Hopkins. Small led a team of researchers who originally cloned the FLT3 gene and linked it to leukemia a decade ago.

"We're very excited about TTT-3002, because it appears in our tests so far to be the most potent FLT3 inhibitor to date," says Small. "It showed activity against FLT3-mutated cells taken from patients and with minimal toxicity to normal bone marrow cells, making it a promising new candidate for the treatment of AML."

In a series of experiments with the drug, Small, postdoctoral fellow Hayley Ma, Ph.D., and others found that the amount of TTT-3002 needed to block FLT3 activity in human leukemia cell lines was six- to sevenfold lower than for the most potent inhibitor currently in clinical trials. TTT-3002 also inhibited proteins made by genes further down the FLT3 signaling pathway, including STAT5, AKT and MAPK, and showed activity against the most frequently occurring FLT3 mutations, FLT3/ITD and FLT3/D835Y. Many cancer drugs are currently ineffective against FLT3/D835Y mutations.

When the Johns Hopkins team tested the drug in a mouse model of leukemia, they found that it not only eliminated the presence of leukemic cells within 10 days of treatment but also that the mice lived an average of more than 100 days following treatment, to study completion, and resumed normal bone marrow activity. By contrast, mice treated with a placebo died an average of 18 days following treatment.

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Experimental drug shows promise for treatment-resistant leukemias

A Calgary blood and marrow transplant doctor says hes looking forward to the establishment of a national cord blood bank, which will provide stem cells for procedures at two city hospitals once its fully up and running later this year.

The National Cord Blood Bank, run by Canadian Blood Services, is set to become the first public cord blood bank in the country, with hospitals in Edmonton, Ottawa, Vancouver and Brampton designated as collection sites.

Dr. Victor Lewis, a pediatric oncologist at the Alberta Childrens Hospital, said the stem cells collected from cord blood can make a huge difference for patients by increasing the inventory doctors can search to find donors.

Theres a good chance we may find donors for Canadian children in the Canadian cord bank, he said, noting cord blood stem cells are biologically younger and considered more flexible for treatment options compared to adult cells.

Umbilical cord blood is a sought-after source for stem cells since the match doesnt have to be as precise for the young cells, compared with bone marrow sources, said Heidi Elmaoazzen, director of the national public cord blood bank.

Until the first phase of the project opened in Ottawa last year, umbilical cords were considered medical waste, said Elmaoazzen, speaking to a Calgary Herald editorial board meeting.

The national centre will now cryopreserve the material collected from the four donor hospitals and store it indefinitely for use treating diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma.

In Calgary, it will allow physicians to perform stem cell transplants at the Alberta Childrens Hospital and Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

The agency has raised about $7.8 million of its $12.5-million fundraising goal for the project, said campaign co-chair Dale Sheard.

The rest of the funds for the $48-million blood bank are set to come from provincial and territorial governments, apart from Quebec.

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Calgary childrens hospital eager for access to national cord blood bank

Bone marrow stem cells needed

By: RBCLife Malaysia

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Bone marrow stem cells needed - Video

By Estel Grace Masangkay

CardioCell LLC announced that it has received FDA approval for its investigational new drug (IND) application for a U.S.-based Phase IIA clinical study evaluating its allogeneic stem-cell therapy for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).

Dr. Sergey Sikora, CardioCells president and CEO, said, With the FDAs IND approval, CardioCell is pleased to proceed with a Phase 2a CHF clinical trial based on the safety data reported in previous clinical trials using our unique, hypoxically grown stem cells. At the studys conclusion we will understand if our therapy produces signs of improvement in a population of patients with dilated CHF, a condition largely unaddressed by current therapies. Dilated CHF is characterized by a viable but non-functioning myocardium in which cardiomyocytes are alive but are not contracting as they should. We hope that unique properties of our itMSCs will transition patients cardiomyocytes from viable to functioning, eventually improving or restoring heart function.

The company has developed an ischemic tolerant mesenchymal stem cells (itMSC) treatment for the type of dilated CHF that is not related to coronary artery disease. The treatment could potentially apply to about 35 percent of CHF patients. Only CardioCells CHF therapies feature itMSCs, exclusively licensed from CardioCells parent company Stemedica Cell Technologies Inc. The company said Stemedicas bone marrow-derived, allogeneic MSCs are different from other MSCs because they are grown under hypoxic conditions that closely resemble the environment in which they thrive on in the body.

Dr. Stephen Epstein, CardioCells Scientific Advisory Board Chair, said Although past trials have tested the efficacy of different stem cells in patients with DCM, CardioCells itMSCs, grown under chronic hypoxic conditions, are unique. As compared to stem cells grown under normoxic conditions, they express higher levels of factors that could exert beneficial effects on the mechanisms contributing to myocardial dysfunction and disease progression. This study, therefore, provides an exciting opportunity to test the potential of these itMSCs to attenuate or eliminate these mechanisms and, in so doing, improve patient outcomes.

The trial entitled A Phase 2a, Single-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover, Multi-Center, Randomized Study to Assess the Safety, Tolerability, and Preliminary Efficacy of a Single Intravenous Dose of Ischemia-Tolerant Allogeneic Mesenchymal Bone Marrow Cells to Subjects With Heart Failure of Non-Ischemic Etiology, will be conducted at Emory University, Northwestern University, and the University of Pennsylvania in May this year.

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FDA Approves CardioCell's Phase 2A Trial For CHF Stem Cell Therapy

I found the whole process fascinating and rewarding, and when Alison contacted me to tell me that the first couple Id donated to hadnt eventually conceived, she also told me she was setting up Altrui, and I got involved. Its an amazing thing to be a part of. I wouldnt donate again, as Im focusing on my own family now, but I love supporting other donors with their journeys.

I told Lyndon about it all not long after we met, but there was never a problem he has two children from a previous relationship so we both come with a past. Having my daughter has just confirmed how precious my eggs must have been to the couples whose lives I have changed. Im sure that when she is able to understand what Ive done she will be proud of her mum.

Alan Fisher 35, is a data analyst and lives in Nottingham with his girlfriend, Cat. He joined the UKs blood cancer charity and bone marrow register, Anthony Nolan (anthonynolan.org), in 2010 and donated bone marrow at the London Clinic in January

It was a memorable drive to work the day I decided to donate. I tuned into the local radio station to hear a six-year-old boy hosting the breakfast show: he had leukaemia and was raising awareness for the Anthony Nolan register. It was amazing to hear a young, confident voice doing such a brave thing, and I pulled into the office car park feeling uplifted. But as I reached down to turn off the engine the show ended, and I heard the usual presenter explaining that it had been a tribute to the boy, who had died because a donor hadnt been found in time. There and then I knew I would sign up.

I went along to a Join for Joel event organised in memory of the boy, Joel Picker Spence. It was easy: all I had to do was give a saliva sample. Knowing I could be called to donate within months, years or never, I didnt think about it much after that.

A year and a half later I was contacted and told there was a potential recipient for my bone marrow, but after more tests it transpired that they didnt need me. It was a bit of an anticlimax, to be honest. But in 2013, just before Christmas, I got another phone call and recognised the number on my phone. Its my turn now, I thought.

My employers were great about me taking time off. The hospital wanted to take bone marrow under general anaesthetic from my pelvic bone. It seems like the more invasive option you can sometimes give by a stem cell blood donation but as I dont like needles I didnt mind the idea of being knocked out.

The procedure itself went fine: I spent the night before at hospital and was taken to theatre early. When I awoke after the operation, which took less than an hour, I actually thought it hadnt happened. I was left feeling drained, but only for a few days. I also had two small puncture wounds in the small of my back, but they healed nicely. For me, it was a minor inconvenience for the recipient and their family, I hope it has meant a lot more. I found out afterwards that the amount of bone marrow needed indicated that the recipient was a child. Before I was discharged, I also found out it was a young boy, about the same age as Joel.

Jay Kelly 36, is a fertility and birth hypnotherapist. She is divorced and lives in Harrogate with her four daughters, aged 13, 10 and seven (twins). She recently gave birth to a baby for another couple, whom she met through Surrogacy UK (surrogacyuk.org)

Deciding to become a surrogate wasnt some road to Damascus moment. It was something that had been bubbling under for a long time. Through my work I meet a lot of women unable to conceive and I just cant imagine how distressing it must be for them. My children are everything to me, and it struck me that if I could help a couple who couldnt have what I have, it would be a pretty amazing thing to do.

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Would you donate a kidney to someone you had never met?

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, March 31, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Stem cells injected directly into heart muscle can help patients suffering from severe heart failure by improving an ailing heart's ability to pump blood, a new Danish trial indicates.

Doctors drew stem cells from patients' own bone marrow, and then injected those cells into portions of the heart where scar tissue seemed to interfere with heart function, explained lead researcher Dr. Anders Bruun Mathiasen. He is a research fellow in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Rigshospitalet University Hospital Copenhagen.

Within six months of treatment, patients who received stem cell injections had improved heart pumping function compared to patients receiving a placebo, according to findings that were to be presented Monday at the American Academy of Cardiology's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

"We know these stem cells can initiate the growth of new blood vessels and heart muscle tissue," Mathiasen said. "That's what we think has happened."

If larger follow-up trials prove the treatment's effectiveness, it could provide hope for people suffering from untreatable heart failure.

"Heart failure is one of the biggest causes of death. If you can save lives or improve their symptoms, then a treatment like this would be extremely beneficial," said Dr. Cindy Grines, a cardiologist with the Detroit Medical Center and a spokeswoman for the American College of Cardiology.

The treatment could delay the need for a heart transplant and extend the lives of people who can't qualify for a transplant, Grines added.

This new clinical trial included 59 patients with severe heart failure who were considered untreatable. It is the largest randomized trial to test the potential of stem cell injections in treating heart disease, the researchers said.

In the trial, 39 patients received injections of stem cells into their heart muscle through a catheter inserted in the groin. The procedure required only local anesthesia, Mathiasen said. The other 20 received saline injections.

Originally posted here:
Stem Cells May Rejuvenate Failing Hearts, Study Suggests