Parkinson #39;s Disease: Mr Garnet #39;s experience 6 months after stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D.
At Docere Clinics, our clinical focus is on the treatment of musculoskeletal pain disorders. On rare occasions, we have patients, usually relatives of satisf...

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Parkinson's Disease: Mr Garnet's experience 6 months after stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D. - Video

A new procedure can quickly and efficiently increase the length of human telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that are linked to aging and disease, according to scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Treated cells behave as if they are much younger than untreated cells, multiplying with abandon in the laboratory dish rather than stagnating or dying.

The procedure, which involves the use of a modified type of RNA, will improve the ability of researchers to generate large numbers of cells for study or drug development, the scientists say. Skin cells with telomeres lengthened by the procedure were able to divide up to 40 more times than untreated cells. The research may point to new ways to treat diseases caused by shortened telomeres.

Telomeres are the protective caps on the ends of the strands of DNA called chromosomes, which house our genomes. In young humans, telomeres are about 8,000-10,000 nucleotides long. They shorten with each cell division, however, and when they reach a critical length the cell stops dividing or dies. This internal "clock" makes it difficult to keep most cells growing in a laboratory for more than a few cell doublings.

'Turning back the internal clock'

"Now we have found a way to lengthen human telomeres by as much as 1,000 nucleotides, turning back the internal clock in these cells by the equivalent of many years of human life," said Helen Blau, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford and director of the university's Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology. "This greatly increases the number of cells available for studies such as drug testing or disease modeling."

A paper describing the research was published today in the FASEB Journal. Blau, who also holds the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Professorship, is the senior author. Postdoctoral scholar John Ramunas, PhD, of Stanford shares lead authorship with Eduard Yakubov, PhD, of the Houston Methodist Research Institute.

The researchers used modified messenger RNA to extend the telomeres. RNA carries instructions from genes in the DNA to the cell's protein-making factories. The RNA used in this experiment contained the coding sequence for TERT, the active component of a naturally occurring enzyme called telomerase. Telomerase is expressed by stem cells, including those that give rise to sperm and egg cells, to ensure that the telomeres of these cells stay in tip-top shape for the next generation. Most other types of cells, however, express very low levels of telomerase.

Transient effect an advantage

The newly developed technique has an important advantage over other potential methods: It's temporary. The modified RNA is designed to reduce the cell's immune response to the treatment and allow the TERT-encoding message to stick around a bit longer than an unmodified message would. But it dissipates and is gone within about 48 hours. After that time, the newly lengthened telomeres begin to progressively shorten again with each cell division.

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Telomere extension turns back aging clock in cultured human cells, Stanford study finds

Naples, Florida (PRWEB) January 23, 2015

The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center announces a series of free public seminars on the use of adult stem cells for various degenerative and inflammatory conditions. They will be provided by Dr. Thomas A. Gionis, Surgeon-in-Chief and Dr. Nia Smyrniotis, Medical Director and Surgeon.

The first seminar will be held on Sunday, January 25, 2015, at 11:00am, 1:00pm and 3:00pm at the Hilton Naples, 5111 Tamiami Trail North, Naples, FL 34103. Please RSVP at (561) 331-2999.

The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center (Miami; Boca Raton; Orlando), along with sister affiliates, the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center (Irvine; Westlake Villages, Ca.) and the Manhattan Regenerative Medicine Medical Group (Manhattan, New York), abide by approved investigational protocols using adult adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) which can be deployed to improve patients quality of life for a number of chronic, degenerative and inflammatory conditions and diseases. ADSCs are taken from the patients own adipose (fat) tissue (found within a cellular mixture called stromal vascular fraction (SVF)). ADSCs are exceptionally abundant in adipose tissue. The adipose tissue is obtained from the patient during a 15 minute mini-liposuction performed under local anesthesia in the doctors office. SVF is a protein-rich solution containing mononuclear cell lines (predominantly adult autologous mesenchymal stem cells), macrophage cells, endothelial cells, red blood cells, and important Growth Factors that facilitate the stem cell process and promote their activity.

ADSCs are the bodys natural healing cells - they are recruited by chemical signals emitted by damaged tissues to repair and regenerate the bodys injured cells. The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center only uses Adult Autologous Stem Cells from a persons own fat No embryonic stem cells are used; and No bone marrow stem cells are used. Current areas of study include: Emphysema, COPD, Asthma, Heart Failure, Heart Attack, Parkinsons Disease, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Lou Gehrigs Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohns Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Inflammatory Myopathies, and degenerative orthopedic joint conditions (Knee, Shoulder, Hip, Spine).

For more information, or if someone thinks they may be a candidate for one of the adult stem cell protocols offered by the Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center, they may contact Dr. Gionis or Dr. Smyrniotis directly at (561) 331-2999, or see a complete list of the Centers study areas at: http://www.MiamiStemCellsUSA.com.

About the Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center: The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center, along with sister affiliates, the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center and the Manhattan Regenerative Medicine Medical Group, is an affiliate of the California Stem Cell Treatment Center / Cell Surgical Network (CSN); we are located in Boca Raton, Orlando, Miami and The Villages (opening soon), Florida. We provide care for people suffering from diseases that may be alleviated by access to adult stem cell based regenerative treatment. We utilize a fat transfer surgical technology to isolate and implant the patients own stem cells from a small quantity of fat harvested by a mini-liposuction on the same day. The investigational protocols utilized by the Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center have been reviewed and approved by an IRB (Institutional Review Board) which is registered with the U.S. Department of Health, Office of Human Research Protection (OHRP); and our studies are registered with Clinicaltrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

For more information, visit our websites: http://www.MiamiStemCellsUSA.com, http://www.IrvineStemCellsUSA.com , or http://www.NYStemCellsUSA.com.

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The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center Announces Adult Stem Cell Public Seminars in Naples, Florida

UCLA has received grant funding from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to lead a research mission that will send rodents to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission will allow astronauts on the space station and scientists on Earth to test a potential new therapy for accelerating bone growth in humans.

The research will be led by Dr. Chia Soo, a UCLA professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery and orthopaedic surgery, who is member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. Soo is also research director for UCLA Operation Mend, which provides medical care for wounded warriors. The study will test the ability of a bone-forming molecule called NELL-1 to direct stem cells to induce bone formation and prevent bone degeneration.

Other members of the UCLA research team are Dr. Kang Ting, a professor in dentistry who discovered NELL-1 and is leading efforts to translate NELL-1 therapy to humans, Dr. Ben Wu, a professor of bioengineering who modified the NELL-1 molecule to make useful for treating osteoporosis, and Dr. Jin Hee Kwak, an assistant professor of dentistry who will manage daily operations.

Based on results of previous studies supported by the NIH, the UCLA-ISS team will begin ground operations in early 2015. They hope that the study will provide new insights into the prevention of bone loss or osteoporosis as well as the regeneration of massive bone defects that can occur in wounded military personnel. Osteoporosis is a significant public health problem commonly associated with "skeletal disuse" conditions such as immobilization, stroke, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury and jaw resorption after tooth loss.

"NELL-1 holds tremendous hope, not only for preventing bone loss but one day even restoring healthy bone," Ting said. "For patients who are bed-bound and suffering from bone loss, it could be life-changing."

The UCLA team will oversee the ground operations of the mission in tandem with a flight operation coordinated by CASIS and NASA.

"A group of 40 rodents will be sent to the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory onboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule, where they will live for two months in a microgravity environment during the first ever test of NELL-1 in space," said Dr. Julie Robinson, NASA's chief scientist for the International Space Station program at the Johnson Space Center.

"CASIS is proud to work alongside UCLA in an effort to promote the station as a viable platform for bone loss inquiry," said Warren Bates, director of portfolio management for CASIS. "Through investigations like this, we hope to make profound discoveries and enable the development of therapies to counteract bone loss ailments common in humans."

Prolonged space flights induce extreme changes in bone and organ systems that cannot be replicated on Earth.

"Besides testing the limits of NELL-1's robust bone-producing effects, this mission will provide new insights about bone biology and could uncover important clues for curing diseases such as osteoporosis," Wu said.

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Growing bone in space: Study to test therapy for bone loss on the International Space Station

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Newswise UCLA has received grant funding from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to lead a research mission that will send rodents to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission will allow astronauts on the space station and scientists on Earth to test a potential new therapy for accelerating bone growth in humans.

The research will be led by Dr. Chia Soo, a UCLA professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery and orthopaedic surgery, who is member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. Soo is also research director for UCLA Operation Mend, which provides medical care for wounded warriors. The study will test the ability of a bone-forming molecule called NELL-1 to direct stem cells to induce bone formation and prevent bone degeneration.

Other members of the UCLA research team are Dr. Kang Ting, a professor in dentistry who discovered NELL-1 and is leading efforts to translate NELL-1 therapy to humans, Dr. Ben Wu, a professor of bioengineering who modified the NELL-1 molecule to make useful for treating osteoporosis, and Dr. Jin Hee Kwak, an assistant professor of dentistry who will manage daily operations.

Based on results of previous studies supported by the NIH, the UCLA-ISS team will begin ground operations in early 2015. They hope that the study will provide new insights into the prevention of bone loss or osteoporosis as well as the regeneration of massive bone defects that can occur in wounded military personnel. Osteoporosis is a significant public health problem commonly associated with skeletal disuse conditions such as immobilization, stroke, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury and jaw resorption after tooth loss.

NELL-1 holds tremendous hope, not only for preventing bone loss but one day even restoring healthy bone, Ting said. For patients who are bed-bound and suffering from bone loss, it could be life-changing.

The UCLA team will oversee the ground operations of the mission in tandem with a flight operation coordinated by CASIS and NASA.

A group of 40 rodents will be sent to the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory onboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule, where they will live for two months in a microgravity environment during the first ever test of NELL-1 in space, said Dr. Julie Robinson, NASAs chief scientist for the International Space Station program at the Johnson Space Center.

CASIS is proud to work alongside UCLA in an effort to promote the station as a viable platform for bone loss inquiry, said Warren Bates, director of portfolio management for CASIS. Through investigations like this, we hope to make profound discoveries and enable the development of therapies to counteract bone loss ailments common in humans.

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Growing Bone in Space: UCLA and CASIS Announce Pioneering Collaborative Study to Test Therapy for Bone Loss on the ...

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy May Be Helped With Cardiac Stem Cells
Study shows cardiac stem cells used to treat heart attacks may also help children with muscular dystrophy. Dr. Bruce Hensel reports for the NBC4 News at 5 on...

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University researchers have developed a new testing system that can improve care for patients who need bone marrow and stem cell transplants.

Graft-versus-host disease is a life-threatening condition that can occur in response to transplants. GVHD causes immune cells from the transplant to attack the bodys healthy tissue. In patients with diseases such as leukemia, which compromises the bodys immune system, bone marrow or stem cell transplants are necessary.

John Levine, professor of pediatrics and the study's lead author, said in these types of cases, GVHD is a real danger.

Following transplantation surgeries, our major concern is the development of GVHD in our patients, Levine said. However, it is difficult to predict the severity of GVHD at the onset of the symptoms as it varies from patient to patient.

Prior to the research, there was no method for determining the severity of a GVHD case and whether or not it needed treatment. The treatment involves high doses of medication that reduce immune activity, so doctors must be extremely cautious when treating GVHD. Levine and his co-investigators assessed nearly 800 patients and created a scoring system that uses three proteins to assess the severity of each case of the disease.

We found out that it was not one protein but a combination of three recently validated biomarkers TNFR1, ST2, and Reg3, Levine said. We then formulated an equation which computes the concentration of the biomarkers into three Ann Arbor scores. The scores are positively correlated with the amount of risk the diagnosed patient is in, so a score 1 indicates a patient with minimal risk while a patient diagnosed with a score of 3 will subjected to intensive primary therapy.

The Ann Arbor scoring system will help ensure patients at lower risk are subjected to less aggressive treatments than patients at higher risk. Patients will then gain individualized treatments based on their needs.

More than half of the patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation develop GVHD. Though the degree of severity differs in patients, the disease is highly lethal if not treated immediately.

The research began in the late 1990s when investigators analyzed blood samples from 500 GVHD patients. The results were verified when another 300 patient blood samples from across the United States were analyzed.

The next step, according to Levine, is the launch of a clinical trial. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved this step.

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University creates new scoring system for transplant recipients

Cost of Stem Cells Transplant in Mexico l Placid Answer
In this Video you can get the best answers for your questions about Cost of Stem Cells Transplant in Mexico! http://www.placidway.com/answer-detail/1477/What-is-the-cost-of-stem-cells-transplant-...

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"She #39;s Happy" RMG #39;s next Stem Cell Miracle
Meet Mary Taylor, she was blind for four years from wet and dry Macular Degeneration. Her son Richard, was a previous patient of Regenerative Medical Group, as he received treatment for his...

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"She's Happy" RMG's next Stem Cell Miracle - Video

MIAMI (PRWEB) January 22, 2015

Regenestem, a division of the Global Stem Cells Group, Inc., has announced the launch of a new stem cell treatment center in Veracruz, Mexico. The new facility offers the most advanced protocols and techniques in cellular medicine to patients from around the world.

The opening of Regenestem Veracruz is in partnership with Eleuterio Arrieta, M.D., Director of Santa Teresita Hospital in Veracruz. Dr. Arrieta has extensive experience in management of chronic degenerative diseases with autologous stem cell therapies, expertise he will use to deliver cutting edge therapies and follow-up treatment under the Regenestem brand in Veracruz.

Under the direction of Global Stem Cells Group, Regenestem is expanding its clinical presence worldwide by partnering with qualified physicians experienced in stem cell therapies to open new clinics, licensed and developed under the Regenestem banner.

In 2014, Global Stem Cells Group expanded the Regenestem Networks presence to 20 countries, adding new state-of-the-art regenerative medicine facilities to the company's growing global presence.

Regenestem offers stem cell treatments to help with a variety of diseases and conditions including arthritis, autism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and pain due to injuries at various facilities worldwide. Regenestem Veracruz will have an international staff experienced in administering the leading cellular therapies available.

Regenestem is certified for the medical tourism market, and staff physicians are board-certified or board-eligible. Regenestem clinics provide services in more than 10 specialties, attracting patients from the United States and around the world.

The Global Stem Cells Group and Regenestem are committed to the highest of standards in service and technology, expert and compassionate care, and a philosophy of exceeding the expectations of their international patients.

For more information, visit the Regenestem Network website, email info(at)regenstem(dot)com, or call 305-224-1858.

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Regenestem Network, a division of Global Stem Cells Group, Announces Launch of New Stem Cells and Regenerative ...

The International Society for Stem Cell Research's McEwen Award recipient Hans Clevers extends breakthrough work

CHICAGO -- The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has awarded Dr. Hans Clevers, senior author on two important papers published recently in the scientific journal Cell, the society's McEwen Award for Innovation. The papers describe the development of a culturing system for human liver stem cells, as well as stem cells from pancreatic cancer, discoveries with the potential to revolutionize liver transplantation and aid in the fight against pancreatic cancer, respectively.

Clevers is a professor at the Hubrecht Institute and president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. He shares the McEwen Award for Innovation with Dr. Irving Weissman, Stanford School of Medicine, for the identification, prospective purification and characterization of somatic (adult) tissue-associated stem cells and advancement of this research toward clinical applications.

"These new discoveries by Hans Clevers extend the work for which he was awarded the McEwen Award, the ISSCR's most prestigious award," Dr. Rudolf Jaenisch, ISSCR president, said. "The innovative approach Dr. Clevers took in the gut has borne fruit and proven the basis of these significant advances in the liver and pancreas, which hold great promise for the study of and treatments for diseases impacting these organs."

Organoids

Until recently, it appeared impossible to keep healthy or diseased tissue from patients alive under laboratory conditions, let alone multiply it. However, in 2009, the research group headed by Clevers described a revolutionary culturing method that allowed the culturing of mini-guts from single mouse intestine stem cells. These organoids are functional miniature organs that can grow in tissue culture. The same research group now adds a culturing system for liver stem cells and stem cells from pancreatic cancer to their record. In the future, cultured stem cells could conceivably replace donor organs for transplantation. They also offer prospects for personalized medicine, the development of treatments specifically geared to individual patients.

Cultured Liver Stem Cells

The technology described in Cell can be used for the long-term replication in the laboratory of minute amounts of tissue harvested from a healthy or diseased liver. Over a period of four months, the equivalent of a full-grown liver can be cultured from a single liver stem cell. All analyses show that this cultured tissue is genetically the same as healthy liver tissue and is very stable.

The cultured human mini-livers have already been successfully transplanted in mice with liver damage. This is the first step toward using this cultured liver tissue to replace donor livers for transplantation. As such, this technology could solve the worldwide shortage of donor livers. Moreover, this technology offers future potential for personalized medicine. Organoids could, for instance, be grown from the tissue of patients suffering from genetic liver diseases, so that drugs could be tested on this patient material first, before being administered to the patients themselves. Examples of such diseases are alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and Alagille Syndrome.

Pancreatic Stem Cells

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Scientists announce revolutionary culturing technique for liver and pancreas

Thursday 01/22: Celebrity Transformations; Stem Cell Therapy Debate; Samantha Harris Health Crisis
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The New Stem Cell Therapy 2015
Regener8 Hair.

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The New Stem Cell Therapy 2015 - Video

Multiple myeloma is a malignant disease characterised by proliferation of clonal plasma cells in the bone marrow and typically accompanied by the secretion of monoclonal immunoglobulins that are detectable in the serum or urine. Increased understanding of the microenvironmental interactions between malignant plasma cells and the bone marrow niche, and their role in disease progression and acquisition of therapy resistance, has helped the development of novel therapeutic drugs for use in combination with cytostatic therapy.

Together with autologous stem cell transplantation and advances in supportive care, the use of novel drugs such as proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs has increased response rates and survival substantially in the past several years. Present clinical research focuses on the balance between treatment efficacy and quality of life, the optimum sequencing of treatment options, the question of long-term remission and potential cure by multimodal treatment, the pre-emptive treatment of high-risk smouldering myeloma, and the role of maintenance. Upcoming results of ongoing clinical trials, together with a pipeline of promising new treatments, raise the hope for continuous improvements in the prognosis of patients with myeloma in the future.

Professor Martin Bornhuser and Doctor Christoph Rllig, both experts in the field of blood cancer at the Carl Gustav Carus Medical Faculty of the TU Dresden, have now turned their long-term clinical and research experience in treatment of multiple myeloma into an instructive review for other physicians. The review has just been electronically published ahead of print in the medical journal The Lancet. After a short introduction into the current understanding of myeloma disease biology, the authors then describe the standard diagnostic work-up and provide a clear overview on the best available treatment options. These include established drugs such as melphalan or steroids, novel substances such as bortezomib and lenalidomide and also therapies using stem cell transplantation.

Multiple Myeloma is one of the most common blood cancers, mainly diagnosed in elderly patients. As life expectancy increases, the frequency of the disease has therefore increased during the last decades. Both deeper insights into disease biology including interactions between malignant plasma cells and their bone marrow environment, and the design and clinical testing of new drugs have led to a considerable improvement in the prognosis of this mostly incurable disease during the last years. The right timing and the choice of the best treatment match for the particular myeloma stage and the needs of the individual patient are essential for optimal disease control.

Bornhuser and Rllig present a structured guidance when and how which treatment should be used and introduce new ways to paralyze the cell cycle of cancer cells or to attack malignant cells by transfusing specific immune bodies. These new therapy approaches will help to further increase the prognosis of myeloma patients in the near future.

Myeloma patients can get individual treatment advice and information on participation in clinical trials in the myeloma outpatient clinic at the Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I of the university hospital Dresden.

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

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How to attack and paralyze myeloma cells: Comprehensive review on multiple myeloma

20 hours ago

Transcription factor Twist1 is involved in many processes where cells change shape or function. Thereby, Twist1 is crucial for embryonic development, but has also been implicated in cancer progression. However, the precise contribution of Twist1 to these processes is under much debate. Scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen describe a new mode of action: a short-term, transient activation of Twist1 primes cells for stem cell-like properties. By contrast, prolonged, chronic Twist1 activity suppresses stem cell-like traits. These results, published in the journal Cell Reports, help to unravel seemingly contradictory observations and illuminate the complexities of transcription factor action in regeneration and tumor progression.

Team leader Christina Scheel summarizes the results: "Twist1 is a developmental master regulator that has also been implicated in cancer progression. We show that transient Twist1 activation primes certain cells for stem-cell-like properties and cellular plasticity. Said differently, induction of these traits depends on Twist1, but they are only displayed by the cells after Twist1 deactivation. By contrast, chronic Twist1 activity suppresses stem-cell-like properties and promotes a phenotype that is characterized by extreme changes in cell shape and function, effectively locking the cells into an invasive, non-proliferative phenotype. Thereby, our results provide an integrative view of seemingly contradictory results concerning the effects of Twist1 in physiological and pathological processes."

Duration of Twist1 activity decisive

Scientists from the Institute of Stem Cell Research and the Institute of Experimental Genetics at the Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen (HMGU) examined the effects of Twist1 activation on breast epithelial cells, paying particular attention to the duration of the Twist1-signal. To their surprise, cells were permanently altered after a short dose of Twist1-activation: they proliferated under very stringent conditions usually permissive only for stem cells and were able to generate complex multicellular structures, suggesting a gain of cellular plasticity.

Twist1 may fuel regeneration

A high level of plasticity implies regenerative potential. However, when activated during tumor development, Twist1 promotes aggressive behaviour in tumor cells. With their investigations, the team was able to reveal a new aspect of how Twist1 regulates cell shape and function and, thereby, impacts regeneration, but also tumor progression.

"Our results offer important insights for further mechanistic studies of regeneration in healthy and tumour cells", explains first author Johanna Schmidt. "The precise delineation of the different modes of action by Twist1 provide the basis for future studies aiming to manipulate its activity either to promote regeneration or target advanced tumors ," adds co-author Elena Panzilius.

Explore further: New mechanism involved in skin cancer initiation, growth and progression

More information: Schmidt, J. et al. (2015), Stem-Cell-like Properties and Epithelial Plasticity Arise as Stable Traits after Transient Twist1 Activation, Cell Reports, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.12.032

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Twist1: Complex regulator of cell shape and function

Nutech Mediworld - Pioneering human embryonic stem cell therapy
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Nutech Mediworld - Pioneering human embryonic stem cell therapy - Video

Stem cell therapy may have helped patients with a form of multiple sclerosis, according to a preliminary study.

Patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis showed signs of improvement after being treated with their own, or autologous "nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cells," a class of blood-forming stem cells, the study found. It was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Half, or 41 patients, tested two years after treatment experienced significant improvement on the Expanded Disability Status Scale, a measure of disability. And of patients tested at 4 years, 23, or 64 percent, showed significant improvement. Four-year relapse-free survival was 80 percent and progression-free survival was 87 percent.

"To our knowledge, this is the first report of significant and sustained improvement in the EDSS score following any treatment for MS," stated the study. It was led by Dr. Richard K. Burt of Northwestern University in Chicago.

However, only limited conclusions can be drawn from the uncontrolled study, according to scientists who examined the results. While the therapy was associated with improvement, the stem cell transplant may not have been key. A conditioning regimen that partially depleted the stem cells before transplantation may have been responsible, said Dr. Stephen L. Hauser in a JAMA article accompanying the study.

"According to Carl Sagan, 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,' a standard that is not always met in this report, and not claimed by the authors. Even though the authors appropriately acknowledge many of the limitations associated with their case series, their statement that 'to our knowledge, this is the first report of significant and sustained improvement in the EDSS score following any treatment for MS' could be challenged," Hauser wrote.

Jeanne Loring, a stem cell researcher who studies multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases, agreed that the results are far from conclusive.

"Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease, meaning that the patients' own immune cells attack their own nervous systems," Loring said by email after examining the study. "The authors of the JAMA article treated MS patients with their own blood stem cells in the hope that these cells would replace some of the self-destructive immune cells."

However, the uneven course of MS makes it hard to draw conclusions, wrote Loring, who heads the Center for Regenerative Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla.

"Most patients with MS have attacks, followed by recovery, followed by another attack. In a few of these patients, the blood stem cell treatment seemed to extend their time between attacks. It's important to understand that other treatments, including drugs, have shown similar modest improvements, so it's too soon to celebrate a stem cell therapy."

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MS patients given stem cells improve

The face of health care keeps on getting a makeover with each passing day, the result being the availability of newer solutions to the problems that have nagged mankind for centuries. Stem cell research as regards the condition of pregnancy in women has yielded some special results in the recent past. Stem cells have been pretty aptly named, as these are the holding blocks of human life. These cells build the human body and play an important role in the treatment of ravaging diseases like childhood leukemia and some cancer conditions. Apart from this, stem cells have been the center of attraction as far as contemporary pregnancy related medical research is concerned, with conclusive evidence for scientists to believe that stem cells can also be employed in successfully tackling several diseases in the distant future of a human life.

The relation between stem cells and pregnancy is pretty evident from the fact that in just a matter of nine months, stem cells let the embryo progress into a grown baby! These stem cells are mostly found in appreciable counts in the blood flowing through the umbilical cord. The contribution to disease treatment results from the practice of harvesting stem cells at the time of the birth of the baby, separating them from the blood samples, deep storing them for periods as long as two decades and then using these stored stem cells as and when the concerned person falls prey to a disease through the course of his/her lifetime.

During the pregnancy when a woman is 10 weeks pregnant and especially in the last stages of pregnancy, they have some blood tests conducted on them so that the medical experts can determine whether the babys stem cells would be healthy enough to be stored. Also, the medical examiners and analysts have to determine whether there would be chances of cross contamination of blood samples and decide thereafter. Generally, these tests are conducted around a month before the expected delivery date of the child. If the doctors opine that storage of the stem cells of the baby would be fine, then the stem cell storage company you pick sends in a sterile collection kit. Your midwife uses this kit to collect blood from the umbilical cord. This sample is sent over to the laboratory where the stem cells are separated from the blood, frozen and stored as per the established guidelines.

Pregnant ladies find a lot of comfort in the thought that a little consideration at the time of pregnancy could help them guard their babies against the possibilities of being afflicted by serious diseases in the future. Naturally, stem cell storage banks are required to store the babys stem cells for such a long period. The fact that the few cells taken from the babys cord blood can possibly save the life of the baby, a sibling and even the parents at some point in time in the future means that stem cell banks are flourishing. Among the diseases that stored stem cells can work against are acute leukemias, autoimmune diseases, chronic leukemias, congenital immune system disorders and histiocrytic disorders.

Stem cells hold much promise in bringing about medical breakthroughs in form of treatment for previously incurable diseases and conditions like cancer, Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease or paralysis. These blank cells are capable of self-rejuvenation and also transforming into a functional cell; it is these attributes of a stem cell that make them invaluable to scientists. However, to experiment on the stem cells, they must at first be obtained and the mode of collection is where the controversy originates. There are two main types of stem cells, embryonic and adult stem cells. In order to collect the pluripotent embryonic stem cells, the human embryo must be killed as it can only be extracted from the innermost cellular layers of the blastocyst after just four days of fertilization. It is therefore not hard to understand as why killing a human embryo, which could have otherwise been borne as a human baby, is considered equivalent to murder by a lot of people. Even people who would not go as far as calling it murder, usually admit to the procedure being disturbing in terms of ethics at least.

Adult stem cells come from various sources and contrary to what the name may suggest, it does not only come from fully grown human beings. It is just that they are comparatively grown and different than the embryonic stem cells. The placenta and the umbilical cord blood are both rich sources of adult stem cells, the former being even richer than the latter. Our bone marrow contains multipotent stem cells and it is possible to extract these cells clinically, but the procedure is immensely painful for the donor and may even be considered risky. Unlike the extraction of the embryonic stem cells, extracting adult stem cells is not controversial. Ethicists do not support the killing of an embryo for the sake of medical progress, however bright the future may seem, but bio ethicists do understand the importance of stem cell experimentation and thus do not consider extraction of adult stem cells from various sources to be unethical as long as it is agreed upon voluntarily by the donor or the guardian of the concerned source.

If the question is read as an inquiry to the origin and the natural location of stem cells, then the answer would be that it comes from various tissues of the human body. Stem cells in an adult human being are found in the heart, blood, bone marrow, skeletal muscles, skin and fat as well. After a baby is born, the placenta and the umbilical cord are also found to be rich in stem cells. The placenta however, is much richer in stem cell count than the umbilical cord blood. Embryonic stem cells are among the first cells to develop because it is these that construct all the other tissues and thus the organs, bones, nerves and everything else in our body eventually, by converting into specifically functional cells.

The key factor about stem cells is that they are capable of constant rejuvenation through mitotic cell division and since they are not functional cells, they can transform into any specific type of functional cell, depending on the requirement of the body. Studies related to the possible uses of stem cells in various medical procedures is achieving greater importance with every passing year as scientists keep publishing journals on how the progress is going to improve treatment facilities dramatically. From the ability to repair almost any damaged organ to eliminating previously incurable diseases like cancer or Parkinsons disease, it all seems to be in our reach in the near future. In order for the experiments to be successful, scientists must collect necessary amounts of stem cells from various sources. Embryonic stem cells are collected directly from the inside of the blastocyst, roughly a week or so after the egg cell is fertilized, and it is for that reason it is called unethical and have given rise to controversies regarding the extraction of embryonic stem cells. The germline tissues of the abandoned fetus are also a source of stem cell collection. Umbilical cord blood and placenta are the two other sources for collecting adult stem cells. Although not as pluripotent as the stem cells inside an embryo, the adult stem cells are also extracted by scientists from tissues and bone marrow of individuals for different purposes.

Magnetic stem cells are one of the latest breakthroughs in the field of medical science as they are believed to hold the potential for next generation cell-level treatment procedures. Stem cells would soon be injected into the patients blood stream to treat and cure heart diseases and vascular problems and the theory is to deliver the special stem cells to the area of the injury or disease by guiding them from outside. The magnetism of the cells is what will allow the experts to control the movement of the reparative cells with the help of magnets, once they are injected into the patients body. Scientists have already been successful at directing the magnetized stem cells to the exact area of damage in animals, but the technology is yet to be tried on human beings.

The first part of the procedure involves applying sufficient magnetic nanoparticles on the stem cells to magnetize them, and thus make them controllable. Secondly, these special stem cells are now inserted into the blood stream of the subject with the help of an injection. The final and the most important part of the medical procedure begins next as experts now try to control the direction of the injected magnetic stem cells with the help of a magnet in order to lead them towards the accurate area of the heart damage or anywhere else inside the vascular system for recovery. MRI scans in the USA make use of the same nanomagnets to attain better results already. It is to be noted that the use of magnetic stem cells has a very broad spectrum as far as medical prowess is concerned. From cell therapy to targeting cancerous growths, the scope of using the nanomagnets on stem cells is plenty for repairing the diseased and the injured tissues from inside the body.

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(Tokyo-AFP) - Japanese scientists say they are on their way to being able to create custom-made skin, bone and joints using a 3D printer.

Several groups of researchers around the world have developed small masses of tissue for implants, but now they are looking to take the next step and make them functional.

Tsuyoshi Takato, a professor at the University of Tokyo Hospital, said his team had been working to create "a next-generation bio 3D printer", which would build up thin layers of biomaterials to form custom-made parts.

His team combines stem cells -- the proto-cells that are able to develop into any body part -- and proteins that trigger growth, as well as synthetic substance similar to human collagen.

Using a 3D printer, they are working on "mimicking the structure of organs" -- such as the hard surface and spongy inside for bones, Takato said.

In just a few hours, the printer crafts an implant using data from a Computer Tomography (CT) scan.

These implants can fit neatly into place in the body, and can quickly become assimilated by real tissue and other organs in the patient, the plastic surgeon said.

"We usually take cartilage or bone from the patient's own body (for regular implants), but these custom-made implants will mean not having to remove source material," Takato said.

The technology could also offer hope for children born with bone or cartilage problems, for whom regular synthetic implants are no good because of the rate of their body's growth.

The main hurdle was the heat generated by conventional 3D printers, which damages living cells and protein.

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Japan researchers target 3D-printed body parts

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