Acute torn meniscus; 5 months after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson
At Docere Clinics, the vast majority of cases we see are for chronic pain. Occasionally, we get acute injuries and do very well with them. Here, Bryan describes his experience 5 months after...

By: Harry Adelson, N.D.

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Acute torn meniscus; 5 months after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson - Video

The entire heart muscle in young children may hold untapped potential for regeneration, new research suggests.

For decades, scientists believed that after a child's first few days of life, cardiac muscle cells did not divide. Instead, the assumption was that the heart could only grow by having the muscle cells become larger.

Cracks were already appearing in that theory. But new findings in mice, scheduled for publication in Cell, provide a dramatic counterexample -- with implications for the treatment of congenital heart disorders in humans.

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered that in young mice 15 days old, cardiac muscle cells undergo a precisely timed spurt of cell division lasting around a day. The total number of cardiac muscle cells increases by about 40 percent during this time, when the rest of the body is growing rapidly. [A 15-day-old mouse is roughly comparable to a child in kindergarten; puberty occurs at day 30-35 in mice.]

The burst of cell division is driven by a surge of thyroid hormone, the researchers found. This suggests that thyroid hormone could aid in the treatment of children with congenital heart defects. In fact, doctors have already tested thyroid hormone supplementation in this setting on a small scale.

The findings also have broader hints for researchers developing therapies for the heart. Activating the regenerative potential of the muscle cells themselves is a strategy that is an alternative to focusing on the heart's stem cells, says senior author Ahsan Husain, PhD, professor of medicine (cardiology) at Emory University School of Medicine.

"It's not as dramatic as in fish or amphibians, but we can show that in young mice, the entire heart is capable of regeneration, not just the stem cells," he says.

The Emory researchers collaborated with Robert Graham, MD, executive director of the Victor Change Cardiac Research Institute in Australia. Co-first authors of the paper are Nawazish Naqvi, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at Emory and Ming Li, PhD, at Victor Chang.

The researchers tested how much mice, at the age of day 15, can recover from the blockage of a coronary artery. Consistent with previous research, newborn (day 2) mice showed a high level of repair after such an injury, but at day 21, they did not. The day 15 mice recovered more than the day 21 mice, indicating that some repair is still possible at day 15.

The discovery came unexpectedly during the course of Naqvi and Husain's investigation of the role of the gene c-kit -- an important marker for stem cells -- in cardiac muscle growth. Adult mice with a disabled c-kit gene in the heart have more cardiac muscle cells. The researchers wanted to know: when does this difference appear?

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Spurt of heart muscle cell division seen in mice well after birth: Implications for repair of congenital heart defects

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 08, 2014

Xcelthera Inc, a major innovator in the stem cell research market and one of the first U.S. companies formed for clinical applications of human embryonic stem cell (human ES cell) therapeutic utility for unmet medical needs, and its joint research partner San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Patent No. 8,716,017 entitled, Technologies, Methods, and Products of Small Molecule-Directed Tissue and Organ Regeneration from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. This newly-issued patent is the first among a portfolio of intellectual property of Xcelthera Inc covering PluriXcel human stem cell technology platform for large-scale production of high quality clinical-grade pluripotent human ES cell lines and their functional human neuronal and heart muscle cell therapy products.

Neurodegenerative and heart diseases are major health problems and cost the worldwide healthcare system more than $500 billion annually. The limited capacity of these two cell systems -- neurons and cardiomyocytes -- for self-repair makes them suitable for stem cell-based neuronal and heart therapies. Nevertheless, to date, the existing markets lack a clinically-suitable human neuronal cell source or cardiomyocyte source with adequate regenerative potential, which has been the major setback in developing safe and effective cell-based therapies for neurodegenerative and heart diseases. Xcelthera proprietary PluriXcel technology allows efficient derivation of clinical-grade human ES cell lines and direct conversion of such pluripotent human ES cells by small molecule induction into a large commercial scale of high quality human neuronal or heart muscle cells, which constitutes clinically representative progress in both human neuronal and cardiac therapeutic products for treating neurodegenerative and heart diseases.

PluriXcel technology of Xcelthera Inc is milestone advancement in stem cell research, offering currently the only available human cell therapy products with the pharmacological capacity to regenerate human neurons and contractile heart muscles that allow restitution of function of the central nervous system (CNS) and heart in the clinic. Through technology license agreement with San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute, Xcelthera Inc has become the first in the world to hold the proprietary breakthrough technology for large-scale production of high quality clinical-grade pluripotent human ES cell lines and their functional human neuronal and heart cell therapy products for commercial and therapeutic uses.

As neurodegenerative and heart diseases incur exorbitant costs on the healthcare system worldwide, there is a strong focus on providing newer and more efficient solutions for these therapeutic needs. Millions of people are pinning their hopes on stem cell research. PluriXcel technology platform of Xcelthera Inc is incomparable, providing life scientists and clinicians with novel and effective resources to address major health concerns. Such breakthrough stem cell technology has presented human ES cell therapy derivatives as a powerful pharmacologic agent of cellular entity for a wide range of incurable or hitherto untreatable neurodegenerative and heart diseases. Introduction of medical innovations and new business opportunities based on PluriXcel technology will shape the future of medicine by providing pluripotent human ES cell-based technology for human tissue and function restoration, and bringing new therapeutics into the market.

About Xcelthera Inc.

Xcelthera INC (http://www.xcelthera.com) is a new biopharmaceutical company moving towards clinical development stage of novel and most advanced stem cell therapy for a wide range of neurological and cardiovascular diseases with leading technology and ground-breaking medical innovation in cell-based regenerative medicine. The Company was recently incorporated in the state of California to commercialize the technologies and products developed, in part, with supports by government grants to the founder, by San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute (SDRMI), an non-profit 501C3 tax-exempt status independent biomedical research institute that is interested in licensing its PATENT RIGHTS in a manner that will benefit the public by facilitating the distribution of useful products and the utilization of new processes, but is without capacity to commercially develop, manufacture, and distribute any such products or processes. Xcelthera is a major innovator in the stem cell research market and one of the first companies formed for clinical applications of human embryonic stem cell (human ES cell) therapeutic utility for unmet medical needs. The Company is the first to hold the proprietary breakthrough technology for large-scale production of high quality clinical-grade pluripotent human ES cell lines and their functional human neuronal and heart muscle cell therapy products for commercial and therapeutic uses. The Company owns or has exclusive rights in a portfolio of intellectual property or license rights related to its novel PluriXcel human stem cell technology platforms and Xcel prototypes of human stem cell therapy products. The inception of Xcelthera is driven by the urgent need for clinical translation of human ES cell research discoveries and innovations to address unmet medical challenges in major health problems. Xcelthera breakthrough developments in human ES cell research dramatically increase the overall turnover of investments in biomedical sciences to optimal treatment options for a wide range of human diseases. The overall strategy of the Company is to use cutting-edge human stem cell technology to develop clinical-grade functional human neural and cardiac cell therapy products from pluripotent human ES cells as cellular medicine or cellular drugs to provide the next generation of cell-based therapeutic solutions for unmet medical needs in world-wide major health problems. The Company is currently offering Series A Convertible Preferred Stock to accredited investors through equity crowdfunding to raise fund for its pre-IPO business operation and filing confidential IPO as an emerging growth company according to the JOBS Act to create a public market for its common stock and to facilitate its future access to the public equity market and growth of the Company.

Visit Xcelthera Inc. at http://www.xcelthera.com.

For more information or investment opportunity about Xcelthera series A round, please contact: Xuejun H Parsons, PhD, Chief Executive Officer Xcelthera Inc. http://www.xcelthera.com 888-706-5396 or 858-243-2046 investors(at)xcelthera.com or parsons(at)xcelthera.com

About San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute

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Xcelthera Inc Secures First U.S. Patent for Large-Scale Production of High Quality Human Embryonic Stem Cells and ...

Cleveland, Ohio (PRWEB) May 08, 2014

ChanTest announces a new Heart-in-a-Dish in vitro cardiac safety assessment tool to support this critical component of the drug development process for biopharmaceutical companies.

ChanTest has developed this breakthrough in safety assessment by taking advantage of the pairing of two recent technologies stem cell-derived human cardiomyocytes, and Multi-Electrode Array (MEA) recording -- to open a new avenue toward simplifying the cardiac risk assessment process.

Adult human cells can be reprogrammed to simulate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). These iPSCs can be differentiated into heart cells (myocytes) and can be grown in culture dishes to form a spontaneously beating layer of myocytes that display the electrical properties similar to an intact human heart.

With the application of multiple electrodes, this Heart-in-a-Dish will generate a signal that closely resembles an EKG which has been recorded in the doctors office. Now imagine a miniature version of this system. By miniaturizing the recording system in the form of multi-well MEA assay plates, this enables simultaneous, parallel measurements from this Heart-in-a-Dish in order to detect potentially dangerous arrhythmias before human clinical trials.

This powerful system rapidly tests the safety of multiple compounds, at multiple concentrations and time points, explained Chris Mathes, Ph.D., Chief Commercial Officer at ChanTest. And the new offering keeps ChanTest on the cutting edge of providing services tuned to the current regulatory environment for drug discovery.

ChanTest has developed this Heart-in-a-Dish multi-well MEA assay that enables the recording of EKG-like signals to identify side effects from drugs. This new tool can allow biopharmaceutical companies and other drug discovery teams to screen compounds in an informative and robust manner, prior to implementing in vivo animal or human studies.

About ChanTest The Ion Channel Expert ChanTests mission is to serve the drug discovery and development needs of customers worldwide. Since its start in 1998, the Contract Research Organization has tested compounds for more than 300 global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. ChanTest also partners with these companies to accelerate the drug development process for the release of better, safer drugs. ChanTest offers integrated ion channel and GPCR services (GLP and non-GLP) and reagents. The companys library of validated ion channel cell lines, and nonclinical cardiac risk assessment service portfolio, is the most comprehensive commercial library available today.

Because of ChanTests influential role in the cardiac safety field, along with the companys uncompromising commitment to quality, an independent survey has named ChanTest the most trusted and most used fee-for-service provider since 2006. ChanTest is based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Visit http://www.chantest.com to learn more about ChanTest.

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ChanTest Launches new Heart-in-a-Dish Cardiac Safety Assessment Tool

Bone marrow stem cells are special cells within the bone marrow that can form into any type of blood cell when triggered. This allows the bone marrow to supply blood cells to the body as they are needed. The bone marrow acts as a sort of factory or manufacturing station for blood cells, using these undifferentiated stem cells as raw material for white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.

Doctors and scientists have known that bone marrow stem cells can grow into any type of blood cell. Research has shown, however, that these cells also can develop into other types of cells such as cardiac cells, skin cells, and even muscle cells. This research indicates that bone marrow stem cells might be able to be used to treat a number of diseases that are not necessarily related to blood.

Bone marrow stem cells are used to treat several blood-based diseases. Perhaps the best known of these treatments is the bone marrow transplant, commonly used to treat leukemia and lymphoma. In these forms of cancer, intense radiation therapy or chemotherapy destroys the bone marrow cells, which in this case have begun to malfunction. The malfunctioning bone marrow is then replaced with cells from a bone marrow donor. In some cases, a patient may donate blood cells but the cells must be cancer-free for the treatment to be effective; this process is referred to as autologous bone marrow.

For a bone marrow donation to be effective, the blood type of the donor and other factors typically must be evaluated and matched to that of the patient. The more similar characteristics that exist between patient and donor, the more likely the transplant is to be successful. Because of this, close relatives of the patient are more likely to be able to provide a compatible donation. Donations also can come from non-related people, as well.

It is possible to be tested for these important factors ahead of time and be placed on a list of possible donors. In cases where bone marrow stem cells are needed for a transplant, individuals on the list will be evaluated to look for a match with the patient. Like blood banks, bone marrow donations lists are a vital tool to help those afflicted with certain types of devastating diseases. As scientific research continues, more uses for bone marrow stem cells are likely to surface, some of which could revolutionize modern medicine.

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What Are Bone Marrow Stem Cells? (with pictures)

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Newswise Two new gifts from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation to UCLA totaling $4 million will fund research in stem cell science and digestive diseases and support the recruitment of key faculty at two renowned research centers.

The gifts bring to $30 million The Broad Foundation's total support of faculty recruitment and basic and translational research at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and at the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at UCLA's Division of Digestive Diseases.

A $2 million gift to the Broad Stem Cell Research Center adds to The Broad Foundation's original 2007 gift of $20 million, which has supported faculty and research and launched the Innovation Award program, which furthers cutting-edge research at the center by giving UCLA stem cell scientists "seed funding" for their research projects. The new gift will enable the continuation of the award program, which has yielded a 10-to-1 return on investment with grantees securing additional funding from other agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and more than $200 million in total grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state's stem cell agency.

"The Broads' generous support has been essential to the development of new therapies that are currently in, or very near, clinical trials for treating blindness, sickle cell disease and cancer," said Dr. Owen Witte, director of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center. "The Broad Stem Cell Research Center's work, supported by critical philanthropic and other resources, is quickly being translated from basic scientific discoveries into new cellular therapies that will change the practice of medicine and offer future treatment options for diseases thought to be incurable, such as muscular dystrophy, autism and AIDS."

The $2 million gift to the Division of Digestive Diseases builds on nearly $6 million in previous commitments from The Broad Foundation since 2003.

The gifts have enabled the division to develop a comprehensive research and clinical enterprise focused on inflammatory bowel disease, one of only a few such centers in the world. Earning a multifold return for The Broad Foundation's initial investments, these grants have enabled investigators to secure $11 million in funding from pharmaceutical companies, the National Institutes of Health and nonprofit foundations.

In addition, The Broad Foundation's Broad Medical Research Program has provided more than $600,000 in grants to UCLA researchers over the past decade for the study of inflammatory bowel disease.

The new gift will support the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and research led by Dr. Charalabos "Harry" Pothoulakis, the center's director. Pothoulakis' team conducts research aimed at identifying the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of this group of chronic debilitating diseases, for which there is no cure.

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$4 Million from Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation Will Support UCLA Research

Beware of fake medicines and advertisements touting the purported miracles that stem cell therapy can do. This was the warning aired by former health secretary Esperanza Cabral at the Kapihan sa Manila at the Diamond Hotel last Monday.

Contrary to what the ads claim, she said, stem cell therapy has not been scientifically proven to cure any disease or make anyone young again. It has been successful in a very few experiments, which is the reason quack doctors are taking advantage of it to make exaggerated claims that the therapy can cure the deadliest diseases known to man.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) very recently issued a similar warning against it.

Stem cell therapy is the process of injecting into patients young cells taken from humans or sheep. The theory is that the young cells will rejuvenate the old cells of the patients and make them young again and cure whatever diseases they have. Although experiments are being conducted, no such results have been achieved. But that does not prevent foreign quack doctors from coming here and making all those exaggerated claims. Sadly, they are aided by some Filipino doctors.

The reason is that in countries like the Philippines where the people are suckers for miracle cures, stem cell therapyand other miracle curesis like a gold mine.

Aging millionaires looking for the fountain of youth pay a lot of money to undergo stem cell therapy. Patients with terminal illnesses like cancer, in a desperate search for a cure, also fall victim to the sales talk and word-of-mouth yarns of so-and-so being cured by the therapy.

But they get neither younger nor cured. And the quack doctors run laughing with their patients money all the way to the bank.

A friend told me that he had gone abroad to have stem cell therapy. He said he felt better and stronger after the treatment. Look at me, dont I look younger? he said.

I looked at him. He didnt look a minute younger and in fact looked the same as when I last saw him, maybe even older.

My wife said I look younger, he said. It was his wife who had convinced him to have the stem cell therapy.

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Dont be fooled by quacks and fake meds

> My last post introduced the large-scale publicly funded clinical trial called BAMI (the effect of intracoronary reinfusion of Bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells on all course mortality in Acute Myocardial Infarction). That post focused on the role of the public purse in funding such trials and concluded that public monies have a major role to play in what companies would consider not fundable.

Since clinical trials are enormously expensive, however, it makes the choice of trial to run/fund incredibly difficult and important. The BAMI trial proposes to take whole bone marrow cells from patients who have had a heart attack and transplant them into the hearts of the patients with the hope that these cells will prevent people from re-hospitalization and/or death. Interestingly, the BAMI trial is billed as a stem cell therapy, when in reality it is a hodge-podge of un-fractionated cells that are injected into the heart. Cell therapy, yes. Stem cells, maybe not

When we hear about stem cell trials, we often think of permanent cures where the stem cell population(s) replaces damaged stem cells and operates as normal (e.g., as in the case of successful bone marrow transplantations where donor cells repopulate the recipient forever). I dont think it is likely that the cells in the BAMI trial will be setting up shop in the hearts of patients but one never knows and it would be very interesting to see if cells are still present at the two year endpoint. Present or not, if these cell suspensions achieve the 25% reduction in mortality and 15% reduction in re-hospitalization, then it may be worth it despite the lack of permanence.

Even for someone who has trained in the stem cells and regenerative medicine field for 10 years now, it is difficult to imagine how this (stem) cell therapy might work and what the underlying mechanism of action would be. If anything, I think the benefit would come from the other bone marrow cells injected (the non-stem cells) as a sort of directed delivery of key regenerative molecules or cells (e.g., cytokines, immune cells). These molecules may support tissue healing, they may prevent further damage, they may inhibit scarring, but realistically, we simply do not know what they will do and its a bit of a cowboy experiment when the data from previous trials are not exactly a ringing endorsement of promised success.

The only trial I could find, that had any indication of modest effects, was the TAC-HFTtrial (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00768066) showing that the 1-year incidence of serious adverse events was 31.6% for mesenchymal stem cells, 31.6% for bone marrow cells, and 38.1% for placebo controls. This is a marginal decrease in adverse effects, and the trial only enrolled 65 patients.

On the other hand, the majority of completed studies lack strong positive data (as was also highlighted this Nature News article last week) including:

Despite these suggestions that this therapy will not benefit patients, the really good news is that the BAMI trial is well-designed, has clear and defined endpoints that are easy to assess (mortality and re-hospitalization) and is unlikely to be damaging to patients since they are receiving their own cells. Moreover, the trial at its conclusion will have developed several protocols that will be useful to the wider community considering future cell therapies. These include standardized methods for bone marrow cell collection and preparation for autologous transplantation into the heart.

Most importantly, the trial is very large (3000 patients) and statistically well-powered meaning that it should really put the question as to whether there is any benefit to the test. A few years from now, we should have a good sense of whether there is something interesting happening and maybe then scientists might invest some energy into figuring out how and why it might work.

David Kent holds a PhD in Genetics (UBC) and a BSc in Genetics and English (UWO) and is currently a CIHR postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK. He studies normal and malignant stem cell biology and currently sits on the executive for the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars. He also maintains his own blog for early career researchers at University Affairs, called the Black Hole (http://www.universityaffairs.ca/the-black-hole/).

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Will bone marrow stem cells help heart attack patients ...

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

7-May-2014

Contact: Nick Miller nicholas.miller@cchmc.org 513-803-6035 Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

CINCINNATI A new study in Nature challenges research data that form the scientific basis of clinical trials in which heart attack patients are injected with stem cells to try and regenerate damaged heart tissue.

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), report May 7 that cardiac stem cells used in ongoing clinical trials which express a protein marker called c-kit do not regenerate contractile heart muscle cells at high enough rates to justify their use for treatment.

Including collaboration from researchers at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles and the University of Minnesota's Lillehei Heart Institute, the study uncovers new evidence in what has become a contentious debate in the field of cardiac regeneration, according to Jeffery Molkentin, PhD, study principal investigator and a cardiovascular molecular biologist and HHMI investigator at the Cincinnati Children's Heart Institute.

"Our data suggest any potential benefit from injecting c-kit-positive cells into the hearts of patients is not because they generate new contractile cells called cardiomyocytes," Molkentin said. "Caution is warranted in further clinical testing of this method until the mechanisms in play here are better defined or we are able to dramatically enhance the potential of these cells to generate cardiomyocytes."

Numerous heart attack patients have already been treated with c-kit-positive stem cells that are removed from healthy regions of a damaged heart then processed in a laboratory, Molkentin explained. After processing, the cells are then injected into these patients' hearts. The experimental treatment is based largely on preclinical studies in rats and mice suggesting that c-kit-positive stem cells completely regenerate myocardial cells and heart muscle. Thousands of patients have also previously undergone a similar procedure for their hearts but with bone marrow stem cells.

Molkentin and his colleagues report those previous preclinical studies in rodents do not reflect what really occurs within the heart after injury, where internal regenerative capacity is almost non-existent. Molkentin also said that combined data from multiple clinical trials testing this type of treatment show most patients experienced a roughly 3-5 percent improvement in heart ejection fraction a measurement of how forcefully the heart pumps blood. Data in the current Nature study suggest this small benefit may come from the ability of c-kit-positive stem cells in heart to cause the growth of capillaries, which improves circulation within the organ, but not by generating new cardiomyocytes.

"What we show in our study is that c-kit-positive stem cells from the heart like to make endothelial cells that form capillaries. But in their natural environment in the heart, these c-kit positive cells do not like to make cardiomyocytes," Molkentin said. "They will produce cardiomyocytes, but at rates so low roughly one in every 3,000 cells it becomes meaningless."

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Study urges caution in stem cell clinical trials for heart attack patients

Its much easier to defend the use of animal testing for medical research than for cosmetics testing. Yet many cosmetics companies continue to test on animals to ensure that their products dont produce negative outcomes for their human customers.

Even as medical researchers produce organs on a chip to help with drug testing, developing human skin for cosmetics testing has remained elusive. Simply cultivating skin cells in a petri dish doesnt work because the cells dont proliferate enough to be useful for many tests. And fabricating skin cells from stem cells has also fallen short, because the epidermal cells grown in a lab culture dont produce the same barrier that human skin uses to keep moisture in and toxins out.

Researchers at Kings College London and the San Francisco Veteran Affairs Medical Center report they have cleared those hurdles.

Our new method can be used to grow much greater quantities of lab-grown human epidermal equivalents, and thus could be scaled up for commercial testing of drugs and cosmetics, said Theodora Mauro, who led the San Francisco team.

Using both human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, they developed keratinocytes, the cells that make up the skins protective barrier. They positioned the cells into layers while gradually reducing the humidity in the cell culture, and ended up with a stratified epidermis with skin barrier properties similar to those of normal skin. (Essentially, different proteins dominated in each layer.)

The method could viably produce enough skin samples to be used commercially for drug and cosmetics testing, according to the researchers.

An added benefit: Making the skin from stem cells means that particular diseases could be intentionally produced for study, including common skin ailments like dermatitis in which a defective skin barrier means that toxins cannot be handily repelled and become irritants. Admittedly, these diseases are neither life-threatening nor medically exciting, but they are a big nuisance for those who suffer from them. Some, like atopic dermatitis, remain poorly understood.

The ability to obtain an unlimited number of genetically identical units can be used to study a range of conditions where the skins barrier is defective due to mutations in genes involved in skin barrier formation. We can use this model to study how the skin barrier develops normally, how the barrier is impaired in different diseases and how we can stimulate its repair and recovery, Mauro said.

Use of stem cell-based proxies for specific human organs, both to study disease behavior and to test drugs, is a rapidly growing market. In many cases its benefits are so hypothetical eliminating negative outcomes that would, statistically, have happened if in vitro organ tissue hadnt been used that they go unheralded. It will be interesting if the benefits of lab-made skin potentially vastly reduced animal testing laboratories garner more attention for the technique.

Photos: Tania Zbrodko / Shutterstock.com, Petrovo, Mauro, Ilic et al, courtesy Stem Cell Reports

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Human Skin Grown From Stem Cells Replicates The Real Thing ...

A study has found that it is possible to convert skin cells into the male germ cells, which are responsible for sperm production in the testes, using an established technique for creating embryonic stem cells using a form of genetic engineering.

The researchers showed that stem cells derived from human skin become active germ cells when transplanted into the testes of mice even when the man suffers from a genetic condition where he lacks functioning germ cells in his own testes.

Creating sperm-producing human cells in laboratory mice will allow scientists to study in more detail the complex sequence of events during the development if the male reproductive tissue, and to understand how these developmental changes can go awry in infertile men.

Our results are the first to offer an experimental model to study sperm development. Therefore, there is potential for applications [such as] cell-based therapies in the clinic, for example, for the generation of higher quality and numbers of sperm in a dish, said Renee Reijo Pera of Montana State University.

It might even be possible to transplant stem cell-derived germ cells directly into the testes of men with problems producing sperm, said Professor Reijo Pera, who led the study published in the journal Cell Reports. However, she emphasised that further research will be needed before clinical trials can be allowed on humans.

Although the mice had functioning human male germ cells, they did not produce human sperm, Dr Reijo Pera said. There is an evolutionary block that means that when germ cells from one species are transferred to another, there is not full spermatogenesis, unless the species are very closely related, she explained.

About one in a hundred men suffer from azoospermia, where they fail to produce measurable quantities of sperm in the semen. The condition is responsible for about 20 per cent of cases of male infertility, which itself accounts for about half of the 10-15 per cent of couples who have difficulty conceiving naturally.

The study involved creating induced pluripotent stem cells by adding key genes to the skin cells of five men three with a form of azoospermia caused by a genetic mutation on the Y chromosome and two with normal fertility. The resulting stem cells were implanted into the testes of laboratory mice where they developed normally into germ cells.

The scientists found that even the stem cells derived from the infertile men were capable to developing into human male germ cells in the mouse testes. However, the stem cells of the men with the Y chromosome mutation produced about 100 times less germ cells than the men with normal fertility, Professor Reijo Pera said.

Studying why this is the case will help us to understand where the problems are for these men and hopefully find ways to overcome them, Professor Reijo Pera said.

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New infertility treatment could grow sperm from skin cells

Knee arthritis 9 months after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson
Carol describes her outcome from stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson for her arthritic knee http://www.docereclinics.com.

By: Harry Adelson, N.D.

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Knee arthritis 9 months after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson - Video

A service dog that has come from the brink of death and back was in Terry on Wednesday to receive cutting-edge stem cell therapy.

Davis Hawn said his dog, Booster, saved his life and now he's working to return the favor.

"With Booster by my side, I greet each day knowing we can change the world for the better," Hawn said.

Together, Hawn and Booster helped foster international relations by appearing on TV in Cuba. They reassured Thai orphans infected with the HIV virus that life will be OK and they are loved. The list of accomplishments continued to grow until Booster developed hip dysplasia.

"When Booster couldn't get off the floor, I couldn't get out of bed," said Hawn, who suffers from depression. "Just as assuredly as God put Booster into my life, He again answered the call when I read about the modern day marvel of stem-cell implantation."

Medivet America, a global leader in veterinary science with more than 1,000 clinics in 28 countries, learned of Booster's plight and jumped in to help.

"They arranged to perform a procedure in which they injected Booster's own stem cells into his hips and got him back up and running again," Hawn said. "When I went to pay the bill, they refused to accept payment. I like to say that God paid the bill."

In January 2013, Booster again faced a health battle. He was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma and given three weeks to live. An aggressive tumor had eaten through Booster's skull cap and left him writhing in pain. In an effort to save Booster's life, Hawn moved to Florida where the University of Florida operated on Booster and a referral clinic performed radiation therapy.

The University of Minnesota took a piece of the tumor that was removed from Booster and used it to developed the first vaccine for squamous cell carcinoma in dogs.

Booster is now a cancer survivor.

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Service dog receives cutting-edge stem cell therapy

We put up with dry, itchy skin and are constantly applying creams to try (in vain) to fight the flake - but there might be some much needed good news for us eczema sufferers.

New research suggests eczema sufferers may have less chance of developing skin cancer.

A study conducted by experts at King's College London found the immune response triggered by eczema could stop tumours forming by shedding potentially cancerous cells.

Genetically engineered mice lacking three skin proteins - known as "knock-out" mice - were used to replicate some of the skin defects found in eczema sufferers.

Cancer-causing chemicals were tested on normal mice and the knock-out mice. Researchers found the number of benign tumours per mouse was six times lower in knock-out mice.

The new study, published in eLife, suggests both types of mice were equally susceptible to getting cancer-causing mutations, but an exaggerated inflammatory reaction in knock-out mice led to enhanced shedding of potentially cancerous cells from the skin.

Professor Fiona Watt, director of the centre for stem cells and regenerative medicine at King's College London, said: "We are excited by our findings as they establish a clear link between cancer susceptibility and an allergic skin condition in our experimental model.

"They also support the view that modifying the body's immune system is an important strategy in treating cancer.

"I hope our study provides some small consolation to eczema sufferers - that this uncomfortable skin condition may actually be beneficial in some circumstances."

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Eczema Could Reduce The Risk Of Skin Cancer, Research Shows

7 hours ago Cells with activated Wnt can no longer be reprogrammed (in green) are located on the periphery; cells that can be reprogrammed are aggregated anad can be seen in the center of the image (in red) Credit: CRG

In 2012, John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamakana were awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering that adult cells can be reprogrammed into pluripotent ones (iPS); the cells obtained are capable of behaving in a similar way to embryonic stem cells, and hence have enormous potential for regenerative medicine.

However, although there are many research groups around the world studying this process, it is still not completely understood, it is not totally efficient, and it is not safe enough to be used as the basis for a new cell therapy.

Now, researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona have taken a very important step towards understanding cell reprogramming and its efficiency: they have discovered the key role of the Wnt signalling pathway in transforming adult cells into iPS cells.

"Generally, transcription factors are used to try to increase or decrease the cell reprogramming process. We have discovered that we can increase the efficiency of the process by inhibiting the Wnt route", explains Francesco Aulicino, a PhD student in the Reprogramming and Regeneration group, led by Maria Pia Cosma and co-author of the study that has just been published in Stem Cell Reports.

The Wnt signaling pathway is a series of biochemical reactions that are produced in cells. In frogs or lizards, for example, these reactions are those that allow their extremities to regenerate if the animal suffers an injury. Although in general, humans and mammals have lost this regenerative capacity, the Wnt pathway is involved in numerous processes during embryonic development and cell fusion.

As it is in reprogramming. The researchers have studied how the Wnt route behaves throughout the entire process of transforming cells into iPS cells, which usually lasts two weeks. It is a very dynamic process that produces oscillations from the pathway, which is not active all the time. "We have seen that there are two phases and that in each one of them, Wnt fulfils a different function. And we have shown that by inhibiting it at the beginning of the process and activating it at the end we can increase the efficiency of reprogramming and obtain a larger number of pluripotent cells", indicates Ilda Theka, also a PhD student in Pia Cosma's group and a co-author of the article.

To artificially control the pathway, the group has employed a chemical molecule, Iwp2, which is a Wnt secretion inhibitor that does not permanently alter the cells, something which other research into reprogramming using different factors has still has not been able to acheive.

They have also seen that the exact moment when the Wnt pathway is activated is crucial. Doing it too early, makes the the cells begin to differentiate, for example into neurones or endodermal cells, and they are not reprogrammed.

"It is a very important and an innovative advance in the field of cell reprogramming, because until now this was a very inefficient process. There are many groups trying to understand the mechanism by which adult cells become pluripotent, and what blocks that process and makes only a small percentage of cells end up being reprogrammed. We are providing information on why it happens", says Theka.

See the article here:
One step closer to cell reprogramming

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

6-May-2014

Contact: Sally Stewart sally.stewart@cshs.org 310-248-6566 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

LOS ANGELES (EMBARGOED UNTIL NOON ET ON MAY 6, 2014) Investigators at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute whose previous research showed that cardiac stem cell therapy reduces scarring and regenerates healthy tissue after a heart attack in humans have identified components of those stem cells responsible for the beneficial effects.

In a series of laboratory and lab animal studies, Heart Institute researchers found that exosomes, tiny membrane-enclosed "bubbles" involved in cell-to-cell communication, convey messages that reduce cell death, promote growth of new heart muscle cells and encourage the development of healthy blood vessels.

"Exosomes were first described in the mid-1980s, but we only now are beginning to appreciate their potential as therapeutic agents. We have found that exosomes and the cargo they contain are crucial mediators of stem cell-based heart regeneration, and we believe this might lead to an even more refined therapy using the 'active ingredient' instead of the entire stem cell," said Eduardo Marbn, MD, PhD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and a pioneer in developing investigational cardiac stem cell treatments.

"The concept of exosome therapy is interesting because it could potentially shift our strategy from living-cell transplantation to the use of a non-living agent," he added. "Stem cells must be carefully preserved to keep them alive and functioning until the time of transplant, and there are some risks involved in cell transplantation. In contrast, exosome therapy may be safer and simpler and based on a product with a longer shelf life."

In lab experiments, the researchers isolated exosomes from specialized human cardiac stem cells and found that exosomes alone had the same beneficial effects as stem cells. Exosomes also produced the same post-heart attack benefits in mice, decreasing scar size, increasing healthy heart tissue and reducing levels of chemicals that lead to inflammation. Even when exosomes were injected in mice after heart attack scars were well-established, and traditionally viewed as "irreversible," they brought about multiple structural and functional benefits.

Exosomes transport small pieces of genetic material, called microRNAs, that enable cells to communicate with neighboring cells to change their behavior. The researchers pinpointed one such microRNA one that is especially plentiful in cardiac stem cell exosomes as responsible for some of the benefits. It is likely, they believe, that this and other microRNAs in the exosomes work together to produce the regenerative effects.

"The exosomes appear to contain the signaling information needed to regenerate healthy heart tissue, they are naturally able to permeate cells, and they have a coating that protects their payloads from degradation as they shuttle from cell to cell," said Marbn, senior author of an article in the May 6, 2014 Stem Cell Reports. "Injecting exosomes derived from specialized cardiac stem cells may be an attractive alternative to the transplantation of living cells."

Read more:
Cedars-Sinai researchers identify how heart stem cells orchestrate regeneration

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

Hemorrhagic stroke is responsible for more than 30 percent of all stroke deaths. It happens when a weakened blood vessel ruptures and bleeds into the brain.

Its something Jon Galvan experienced five years ago when he almost died from a hemorrhagic stroke while at work.

"I was typing away and I felt a pop in my head," Galvan said.

He was able to recover, but Dr. Abba Zubair, medical director of transfusion medicine and stem cell therapy at Mayo Clinic, Florida, said not everyone is as fortunate.

"If it happens, you either recover completely or die," Zubair said. "Thats what killed my mother."

Zubair said he wants to send bone marrow derived stem cells to the international space station.

"Based on our experience with bone marrow transplant, you need about 200 to 500 million cells," Zubair said.

But conventionally grown stem cells take a month. Experiments on earth have shown that stem cells will grow faster in less gravity.

"Five to ten times faster, but it could be more," Zubair said.

Original post:
Health Beat: Growing stem cells in space: Medicine's next big thing?

FAITH Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning by: FR. GAMMY TULABING I would like to share with you this article from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Questions and Answers

What is a stem cell?

A stem cell is a relatively unspecia-lized cell that, when it divides, can do two things: make another cell like itself, or make any of a number of cells with more specialized functions. For example, just one kind of stem cell in our blood can make new red blood cells, or white blood cells, or other kindsdepending on what the body needs. These cells are like the stem of a plant that spreads out in different directions as it grows.

Is the Catholic Church opposed to all stem cell research?

Not at all. Most stem cell research uses cells obtained from adult tissue, umbilical cord blood, and other sources that pose no moral problem. Useful stem cells have been found in bone marrow, blood, muscle, fat, nerves, and even in the pulp of baby teeth. Some of these cells are already being used to treat people with a wide variety of diseases.

Why is the Church opposed to stem cell research using the embryo?

Because harvesting these stem cells kills the living human embryo. The church opposes the direct destruction of innocent human life for any purpose, including research.

If some human embryos will remain in frozen storage and ultimately be discarded anyway, why is it wrong to try to get some good out of them?

In the end, we will all die anyway, but that gives no one a right to kill us. In any case, these embryos will not die because they are inherently unable to survive, but because others are choosing to hand them over for destructive research instead of letting them implant in their mothers womb. One wrong choice does not justify an additional wrong choice to kill them for research, much less a choice to make tax payers support such destruction. The idea of experimenting on human beings because they may die anyway also poses a grave threat to convicted prisoners, terminally ill patients, and others.

Original post:
Questions and Answers

Scottsdale, Arizona (PRWEB) May 05, 2014

Top Phoenix and Scottsdale foot and ankle doctors at Valley Foot Surgeons are now offering stem cell procedures for the nonoperative treatment of Achilles tendonitis and tears. The regenerative medicine procedures are typically able to provide exceptional pain relief while allowing patients the ability to avoid surgery. Call (480) 420-3499 for more information and scheduling about the foot and ankle stem cell procedures.

To date, the lead foot and ankle doctor at Valley Foot Surgeons, Dr. Richard Jacoby, has performed close to 100 regenerative medicine procedures. Typically, these are administered for a variety of conditions such as diabetic ulcers, foot and ankle arthritis, plantar fasciitis, and Achilles injuries.

Conditions with the Achilles tendon may include pain due to chronic tendonitis or tears from degeneration. This may occur during a sporting activity, traumatic event, or simply as part of an individual's tendon weakening after taking quinolone antibiotics.

The stem cell procedures are performed as an outpatient, with the injections consisting of amniotic derived stem cells. The material is harvested from consenting donors after scheduled c-section procedures, with no fetal tissue at all being used.

The material is exceptionally rich in stem cells, growth factors, hyaluronic acid, and more. This can dramatically improve pain relief and healing, which is very different from how steroid medications work.

All too often, traditional treatments for Achilles tendonitis and tears fail to provide relief. This may lead to potentially risky surgery, where complications may lead to continued disability.

With the stem cells for Achilles tears and tendonitis, patients go through an outpatient procedure that is low risk and offers the potential for avoiding the risks of surgery while speeding up recovery.

Dr. Jacoby at Valley Foot Surgeons has been a four time Phoenix Top Doc Winner and sees patients out of two offices in the Valley. For the top stem cell treatment for achilles conditions, diabetic wounds, foot and ankle arthritis and more, call (480) 420-3499.

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Valley Foot Surgeons Now Offering Stem Cell Procedures for Achilles Tendonitis and Tears for Pain Relief and Helping ...

Hip and knee arthritis 5 months after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson
Richard describes his outcome 5 months after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson for his hip and knee arthritis http://www.docereclinics.com.

By: Harry Adelson, N.D.

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Hip and knee arthritis 5 months after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson - Video