Scientists have managed to use body fat and turned it into cartilage It is now hoped technique could help patients born with microtia At the moment, doctors take cartilage from other parts of the body

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 06:43 EST, 2 March 2014 | UPDATED: 06:46 EST, 2 March 2014

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British scientists are aiming to grow ears and noses in a laboratory to transplant then into humans.

Scientists from Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London have managed to use abdominal body fat and turn it into cartilage.

It is now hoped that the technique could help patients who have been born with microtia, which means the ear fails to develop properly, or who have been in an accident.

Scientists from Great Ormond Street Hospital are aiming to grow ears and noses in a laboratory to transplant then into humans

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Ears and noses to be grown in lab from stem cells for human transplants thanks to revolutionary technique

BBQ2d Ethical Issues Related to Stem Cell Therapy
We do not own any pictures or music within this video.

By: Emily DeMarco

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BBQ2d Ethical Issues Related to Stem Cell Therapy - Video

Experience and expertise run in the genes of this doctor, a third-generation fresh cell therapy practitioner

It was a pleaseant, winter morning in Edenkoben, Germany and a group of 15 people from various countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Italy, and Germany congregated for breakfast in a coffee shop in this quaint city. Most of these people just flew in from their respective countries, or drove in from different European cities.

But they were not there for an international conference. They were all there for their shots of fresh cell from Dr. Robert Janson-Mueller.

For the past couple of years, through his solo practice, Dr. Robert Mueller has been sharing the benefits of fresh cell therapy with people who need to seek alternative means to remedy various diseases or chronic conditions of their body, or anti-aging solutions.

Although Filipinos has heard of stem cell therapy only in recent years, thanks to celebrities and politicians who have undergone the treatment and do swear by its efficacy, fresh cell therapy has been around since the 1930s.

The Swiss doctor Prof. Paul Niehans first injected cells originating from animal organs intramuscular into patients in 1931 and is thus considered the founder of live cell therapy. Dr. Robert Muellers grandfather, Dr. Philipp Janson, was one of the first doctors to introduce this method in Germany in 1949. His father, Dr. Wolfgang Janson-Meller, also extensively practiced for 35 years.

Since the 90s, I have been able to participate in the wealth of experience that my father, who is always available for help and advice, has gladly passed on to me. I have been using this method of treatment in my own practice since 2003, says Dr. Mueller.

However, the 47-year old doctor differentiates his practice from others (there are only five known doctors who do fresh cell therapy in Germany) because his clinic tailor-fits the fresh cell injections according to the specific needs of the individuals body. A patient thus gets from about eight to 30 injections, depending on the needs.

In this interview with Dr. Mueller, the German expert sheds more light on this therapy that is attracting more and more Filipinos as an alternative treatment. He also explains why fresh cell therapy is not a cure-all or a miracle therapy, why cells from the sheep embryo is being used, why the treatment is becoming popular in Asia, and why it is not possible, up to now, that these therapies can be done in the Philippines.

For more information on fresh cell therapy, visit the website http://www.janson-mueller.de or call Joey Santos at 0917898-6564 or 633-8653.

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Cracking the fresh cell code

Orange County, CA (PRWEB) March 03, 2014

The top stem cell treatment clinic in Southern California, Telehealth, is now offering several knee pain treatment options for avoiding joint replacement. The regenerative medicine treatments involve either platelet rich plasma therapy, bone marrow derived stem cell injections or blood derived stem cell treatment. Call for more information and scheduling call (888) 828-4575. The treatments may be completely or partially covered by insurance.

Although knee replacement procedures have been exceptionally successful for reducing one's pain and improving functional abilities, there are some risks associated with the procedure, along with the fact they are not meant to last forever. Unlike conventional nonoperative treatments, such as steroid injections, regenerative medicine treatments maintain the ability to repair and regenerate arthritic tissue as opposed to simply masking pain.

The Board Certified doctors at Telehealth have extensive experience and regenerative medicine therapies for degenerative arthritis of the knee. Stem cell therapy for arthritis has been shown in several small published studies to provide excellent pain relief and maintain cartilage in the knee.

All of the treatments provided are low-risk and outpatient. They involve blood or bone marrow from the patient him or herself, which reduces the risk profile even more.

Telehealth Medical Group has two locations in Southern California. One is right in Santa Ana, while the other is in Upland. Appointments are readily available. Call for more information and scheduling to (888) 828-4575.

Link:
Southern California Stem Cell Clinic, Telehealth, Now Offering Several Knee Treatment Options to Avoid Joint Replacement

Jesse Freeman, 71, had stem cells from his bone marrow injected into his heart after he had a cardiac arrest. With his wife Christine, 67

Mike Brooke, Reporter Sunday, March 2, 2014 6:00 PM

A 71-year-old man has become one of the first heart attack victims to receive pioneering stem cell surgery to see if it will help his recovery.

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On March 12, I will be 72, so the stem cell surgery for me is an early birthday present just to be alive, admits Jesse Freeman.

I was never ill in my life, then one day I was indoors and didnt feel great. I thought it was an infection that started in my jaw, then spread to my chest. I had a shower and drove down to Harold Wood walk-in centre.

I had extremely high blood pressure and they told me I had had a heart attack.

They took me to The London Chest Hospital and I was being operated on within 10 minutes.

The hospital saved my life they removed the blockage and put in a wire mesh stent to keep the artery open.

The doctors asked me while I was in recovery if I would take part in the stem cell trial.

Originally posted here:
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An advanced surgery was performed at TOSH hospital on Saturday to treat a patient with knee arthritis, with the damaged cartilage in the knee regenerated using stem cells.

Prof. A.A. Shetty, director of minimally invasive surgery and stem cell research at Canterbury Christchurch University, UK, who performed the surgery, said all the Indian Council of Medical Researchs guidelines were adhered to while performing the procedure. He was speaking at a press meet on Saturday.

Under an earlier version of this technique, stem cells harvested in the bone marrow had to be cultured in the lab and then injected into the knee after six weeks. There were several disadvantages with this technique longer hospital stay, increased chances of infection, lower success rates and increased costs, he said.

However, under the new technique, the stem cells are harvested and centrifuged within the operation theatre. The stem cell concentrate is then mixed with a special fibrin gel and inserted directly at the site of the damaged cartilage through a keyhole procedure.

This surgery is less expensive, at around Rs. 75,000, and the patient can go home the next day. Its failure rate is only 10 to 15 per cent and it can also be performed on patients with advanced osteoarthritis, Prof. Shetty said.

A 49-year-old woman, on whom the surgery has been performed, is currently recovering at the hospital.

Prof. Seok Jung Kim, director of the regenerative medical system, South Korea, and S.H. Jaheer Hussain, orthopaedic and trauma surgeon, TOSH hospital, also participated in the meet.

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Chennai TOSH hospital treats knee arthritis with stem cells

The stem cell therapy delivering incredible results to severe MS sufferers
BEDRIDDEN AND WHEELCHAIR-BOUND TO WALKING - the extraordinary cutting edge treatment transforming lives. Telecast date: Wednesday 26 February 2014.

By: Channel Seven Perth

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The stem cell therapy delivering incredible results to severe MS sufferers - Video

They used a process similar to one they used in an earlier project published last September where they reported creating neural networks in the brains of mice. In both cases the researchers reprogrammed the nerve support cells known as astrocytes into functional nerves. Astrocytes tend to be abundant, particularly at the site of injury where they proliferate and form scar tissue that actually prevents regrowth of the damaged nerves.

The Texas teams first step involved using a biologic substance to manipulate the expression of genes in the astrocytes at the site of spinal injury in the mice. They tried 12 different ones before they found one that is efficient in turning the protective cells into progenitor cells for nerves; think of them as middlemen between nerve stem cells and adult nerve. They then used a common drug called valproic acid to encourage those progenitor cells to mature into functioning nerves.

The work seems to map out a strategy to get new nerve growth directly in patients, or in vivo. The paper was published in Nature Communication and a press release from the university was picked up by ScienceCodex and it quoted the senior researcher Chun-Li Zhang on the impact:

You can read about some of CIRMs dozens of projects trying to repair or regrow nerve cells in our stem cells and stroke fact sheet.

Don Gibbons

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CIRM Stem Cell Research Updates: Team tricked scar tissue ...

In 2009, Steven Bustamante, 58, was in bad shape.

A major heart attack, along with nearly every complication in the book, had led to heart failure. He called his brother from the hospital to say his goodbyes, fearing he would fall asleep and never wake up.

But when he did wake up, an unfamiliar doctor from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine was sitting in his room, offering him the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial where his heart would be injected with stem cells extracted from his bone marrow.

The results were transformative.

I went from being a person who probably needed a heart transplant to someone whose heart is in a normal range, Bustamante said. I dont feel like a sick person anymore, at all.

Several studies at the UM Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) have shown that stem cells derived from adult bone marrow, which carry the potential to grow into various kinds of cells based on their environment, can help repair damaged heart tissue.

As researchers continue to explore the potential of stem cell therapy in current and upcoming studies, they are taking what some see as early but steady strides toward changing the future of cardiac care perhaps to one in which doctors help patients regenerate and rejuvenate their own hearts.

Weve taken some very important steps, said Dr. Joshua Hare, director of the ISCI, and we really envision the possibility that this may be an applicable therapy that could help a lot of people. But there are a lot of questions.

To answer those questions, researchers are simultaneously expanding trial sizes, branching into various cardiac diseases and trying to hone in on ideal treatment, dosage and delivery.

One of the pilot trials, published in November 2012, aimed to determine if stem cells from a donor are as safe and effective as a patients own stem cells. The results from 30 people showed that both types are safe good news because donor cells can be prepared in advance.

Originally posted here:
University of Miami researchers explore potential of stem ...

Callie (left) and her sister Alaina between transplants

Tonight, local rapper Kusha Tarantino will host a jam-packed hip-hop bill at Fitzgeralds. When James Courtney first pitched me an article about the show, I wrote back fastest way to my heart!

Thats not because I particularly love Kusha, (though he seemed like a smart, passionate guy in the subsequent article James wrote) but because I fully support the concerts secondary mission: signing people up for the National Marrow Donor Program.

I myself have donated marrow once and stem cells once (these are two different methods to get the same type of cells into the patient in need). Both times it was a treatment of the last resort for the patient, my sister Alaina, who spent several years in her late teens battling a particularly aggressive form of leukemia. Sadly, my donations did not save her life, but they did prolong it. Without the marrow and stem cell transplant, Alaina wouldnt have been well enough to leave the hospital and recover at home. She wouldnt have lived long enough to graduate high school and apply to college. For many other patients (typically those with blood disorders or blood cancer), the transplant does save their life.

Signing up for the marrow donor registry, which you can do for free tonight at the Kusha Tarantino show thanks to the organization LOVE HOPE STRENGTH, is absurdly easy. They swab your cheek to get your DNA, and then send it off to NMDP where theyll scan in for human leukocyte antigens (HLA). When a patient in need of a bone marrow or stem cell transplant cant find one in their own family, doctors turn to the registry to find a donor.

This is the part that makes people nervous. What if they call me? people ask when I tell them about the registry. Well, a) you can always decline (odds are 1 in 540 that youll get called to be a donor sometime in your life if youre on the registry) and b) the donation is also pretty easy, especially consider the end result is generally life-saving, or at least life-prolonging. Im in a unique position to tell you about both, so here it goes:

Bone Marrow: This is an outpatient surgery. Dont worry, in both cases you have several weeks to prepare, its not like they call you and tell you to be in surgery prep the next day. A doctor in your city or nearby will help you through the process and work with you to schedule the surgery date. I was in and out in one day, and the surgery had general anesthesia, so I dont remember any of it. They extract the marrow with a needle from your hip/pelvis area. Afterward, I felt a little sore there, like I had fallen and bruised my tailbone. I had two teeny tiny scars that are no longer visible. The soreness lasted for a few days, and in about a week I was feeling normal. I was in college at the time and donated over spring break, so I didnt have to worry about taking off of work or school, but Id probably recommend taking the next day off, if only because it hurts to sit down in a chair for 8-10 hours. Standing desk or working from home? No problem.

Peripheral Blood Stem Cell: This is a non-surgical procedure. As in bone marrow donation, a doctor will work with you to prepare and schedule your appointment. Unlike bone marrow donation, for five days leading up to stem cell donation you have to take some injections that boost your stem cell count. About the only side effect from that I can recall were some low-grade headaches. The donation itself can take about eight hours or less and is fairly similar to donating blood or platelets, except for during the donation, they take blood from one arm and separate out the stem cells, then put your own blood back into your body via the other arm. So, both arms have needles in them and you cant do very much except watch movies or TV. I watched a couple of Godfather films back-to-back, and was done before we could start the third. Afterward, theres much less bodily soreness than with bone marrow, but you probably dont want to hit up the club that night.

If you think you want to get on the registry, but hip-hops not your thing, locally, GenCurehandles donor drives and recruitment for the NMDP. You can also learn more from any South Texas Blood and Tissue Center donor room.

Read more from the original source:
Why You Should Join the Bone Marrow Donor Registry

Research Dr. Amy Firth introduces students Jason Ward of San Jacinto Valley Academy and Kaitlan Navarro of Eastlake High School to the finer points of preparing and separating brain slices for scientific research.

LA JOLLA Minely Araujo, a senior at San Pasqual High School, arranged slices from a mouse brain onto glass slides Saturday that researchers at the renowned Salk Institute for Biological Sciences would study for their work examining brain cancer.

She looked at chimpanzee skin cells that had been transformed back into stem cells. And she marveled at a mouse its skin florescent green from the protein of jelly fish as it scampered inside a cage.

Its so interesting. I like to know what caused things, said Minely, who hopes to study forensic pathology at University of Southern California next year.

Its amazing that we get to see the work that is going on here. Its real research.

More than 200 students got the rare opportunity to tour Salks famed La Jolla research facilities for the 24th annual High School Science Day, co-sponsored by the March of Dimes.

The program is designed to nudge students into a science education or career while giving them the chance to meet with researchers and scientists who are striving to solve real problems.

They toured more than a dozen Salk labs that focused on everything from genetic, stem cell, infectious disease and neurobiology research. Students dissected mouse brains, studied fluorescent markers in worms and isolated single cells using a special micromanipulator.

Through lab tours, interactions with working scientists and participation in lab experiments, these students can picture themselves in the roles of future scientists observing, innovating and discovering, said William Brody, president of the Salk Institute.

Five scientists trained at Salk have won Nobel Prizes, and the labs are home to nine Howard Hughes Medical Investigators and 14 members of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Budding scientists get rare look inside Salk labs

by Jalees Rehman More than just getting from A to B. Credit: Shutterstock

One of the world's largest clinical cell therapy trials has begun to enroll 3,000 heart attack patients, some of whom will have bone marrow cells extracted with a needle from their hip and fed into their heart using a catheter in their coronary arteries.

The BAMI trial has 5.9m in funding from the European Commission and will be conducted in ten European countries. Enlisted patients will be randomly assigned into two groups: one group will receive the standard care given to heart attack patients while the other will get an added infusion of bone marrow cells.

A number of studies, including one in the New England Journal of Medicine and another in the European Heart Journal, have suggested that bone marrow cells could be beneficial to patients with heart disease. However, because these studies were too small to work out whether cell infusions affected patients' survival, they instead focused on the extent of scar formation after a heart attack or the ability of the heart muscle to contract after cell infusion.

One commonly used surrogate measure is the cardiac ejection fraction, which measures the fraction of blood squeezed out by the heart during a contraction. A healthy rate ranges from 55% to 65%. Bone marrow cell infusion has been associated with a modest but statistically significant improvement in heart function. In 2012, a comprehensive analysis of 50 major studies with a combined total of 2,625 heart disease patients showed that cardiac ejection fraction in patients receiving these infusions was 4% higher than in control patients.

While the results were encouraging, the study was a retrospective analysis with patients who had varying treatments and endpoints. There also remain questions over 400 patients included in the analysis from trials showing benefits of bone marrow cell infusions that were conducted by controversial German cardiologist Bodo Strauer, who some scientists have accused of errors in research.

The new large-scale BAMI trial will be able to provide a more definitive answer to the efficacy of bone marrow cell infusions and address the even more important question: does this experimental treatment prolong the lives of heart attack patients?

A hard cell

Despite the impressive target of enrolling 3,000 patients, there is a problem with how the trial is being framed. The underlying premise of why bone marrow cells are thought to improve heart function is that the bone marrow contains stem cells which could potentially regenerate the heart. In media reports, the BAMI trial is portrayed as a study which will test whether stem cells can heal broken hearts, and a press release by Barts Health NHS Trust, which is leading on the trial, described the study as "the largest ever adult stem cell heart attack trial". But the scientific value of the BAMI trial for stem cell research is questionable.

In 2013, a Swiss study reported the results of treating heart attack patients with bone marrow cells. Not only did the study find no significant improvement of heart function with cell therapy, the researchers also reported that only 1% of the infused cells had clearly defined stem cell characteristics. The vast majority of the infused bone marrow cells were a broad mixture of various cell types, including immune cells such as lymphocytes and monocytes.

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Does cell therapy treatment prolong the lives of heart ...

The video begins like a clip from a James Bond movie, where the billionaire tycoon announces his plan to save humanity.

"Since the dawn of time, great men have challenged the status quo and dared to dream," an off-screen female narrator says in a sultry British accent while images of Leonardo da Vinci, Martin Luther King and other great historical figures parade across the screen.

The great man in question is none other than Peter Nygrd, the Helsinki-born, Manitoba-raised fashion magnate best known as the founder of Nygrd International.

And his plan to save humanity? Use stem-cell research to cure diseases and live forever, just as you would expect a billionaire tycoon to declare in a Bond movie.

In a 10-minute YouTube video titled Bahamas Stem Cell Laws: The Peter Nygrd Breakthrough, the 70-year-old former Winnipegger claims to be at the forefront of scientific and legislative efforts to further the achievements of stem-cell research.

Nygrd claims to have lobbied the Bahamian government to further stem-cell research, though the Bahamas Weekly reported the island nation's attorney general denied the billionaire was involved in drafting legislation.

That alone is fascinating, but Nygrd isn't just a stem-cell advocate. He says he's personally involved in the research by receiving injections of his own cells grown in Peter, or rather, petri dishes.

Yes, Nygrd claims he is actually getting younger. In his video, he calls stem-cell research a game-changer for humanity.

"This could eliminate all disease. This perhaps is immortality," he breathlessly states in a video that appears entirely serious.

"Ponce de Leon had the right idea. He was just too early," Nygrd continues, referring to the 16th-century conquistador who searched for the fountain of youth. "That was then. This is now."

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Nygrd uses stem cells to pursue immortality

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Newswise BETHESDA, Md., February 27, 2014 Six scientific societies will hold their joint scientific sessions and annual meetings, known as Experimental Biology (EB), from April 26-30, 2014, in San Diego. This meeting, EB 2014, brings together the leading researchers from dozens of life-science disciplines. The societies represented at the meeting will be: the American Association of Anatomists (AAA), the American Physiological Society (APS), the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).

Below are some programming highlights:

Productive Public-Private Partnerships for Pharmacological Progress (ASPET) This timely symposium will explore new models of productive relationships used by pharmaceutical companies, academia, government and foundations to foster the discovery and development of new therapeutics to address unmet medical needs. Among the topics discussed will be the role of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health in helping to speed delivery of new drugs to patients, how public-private partnerships in the United States and the European Union are carrying out basic science that is relevant to drug discovery and how industry can build successful partnerships with academic institutions while avoiding the usual pitfalls. (Tues., 4/29)

Stem Cells for Heart Repair (ASIP) Heart failure is a leading cause of death, but most of todays therapies only delay the progression of disease. Recent clinical trials and laboratory experiments have conceptually demonstrated how stem cells could be used to repair the heart and improve cardiac function. In this session, leading investigators talk about using cardiac progenitor cells to regenerate contractile heart muscle cells in both developing and aging hearts as well as the potential use of stem cells for forming new vessels in the injured heart. (Sun., 4/27)

Molecular Basis of Addiction: Neurocognitive Deficits and Memory (ASBMB) This symposium will address the emerging idea that addiction is a disease of learning and memory. The general consensus is that the rewarding properties of addictive drugs depend on their ability to ultimately increase dopamine in the brain, but current research does not adequately explain the molecular mechanisms of drug addiction, how repeated dopamine release leads to compulsive use, why the risk of relapse can persist for years and how drug-related cues come to control behavior. This symposium will present new data providing evidence that addiction partly represents a pathological usurpation of processes involved in long-term memory. (Mon., 4/28)

Neurocognition: The Food-Brain Connection (ASN) Does food addiction exist? This double session will take a trans-disciplinary view of the emerging evidence on cognitive neuroscience, nutrition and food/sensory factors involved in understanding the brains role in food consumption. Topics include current perspectives and misunderstandings related to food and the brain as well as methods for studying food reward and control of food intake. (Mon., 4/28)

Signaling by Natural and Engineered Extracellular Matrices (AAA) This mini-meeting will explore how cells and tissues respond to the physical structure and biological properties of natural and engineered extracellular matrices. The presentations will show how interplay and bi-directional interaction between cells and their surrounding extracellular matrix scaffold play a pivotal role in the formation of new organs and tissues. Plenary speakers will discuss matrix-dependent mechanical regulation of organ development; the microenvironment of aging muscle stem cells as a therapeutic target; and how growth factors, the extracellular matrix and microRNAs regulate vessel formation. (Sun., 4/27)

Sex Differences in Physiology and Pathophysiology (APS) Scientists are discovering significant differences between males and females that affect health, illness and how the body responds to therapeutics. This symposium will discuss the latest animal and clinical research on sex differences in both disease and non-disease physiology. Topics include sex differences in chronic kidney disease, sex-specific signaling in heart muscle cells, mechanisms of hypertension in the transition to menopause, and a newly discovered peptide that controls hormonal release from the pituitary gland with differing effects in males and females. (Sun., 4/27)

Excerpt from:
Experimental Biology 2014 Programming at a Glance

Indianapolis, IN (PRWEB) February 28, 2014

Chernoff Cosmetic Surgeons is excited to bring Phytoceutical science to Indianapolis, offering patients an innovative new treatment in the form of the Apple Stem Cell Facial.

A phytoceutical is a plant-derived compound with skin and health benefits. The benefits of phytoceuticals and apple stem cells have been witnessed in Europe and some Asian Countries, but have not gained much exposure in the U.S. until now. Dr. Gregory Chernoff of Chernoff Cosmetic Surgeons is excited to bring this effective and innovative treatment to Indianapolis.

Apple Stem Cells contain similar Epigenetic Factors as human stem cells. Together, these growth factors and the complex of science-based plant nutrients provide optimal improvement in skin health, says Dr. Chernoff.

The innovative facial uses special Malus apple stem cells combined with a phytoceutical complex, both of which are rich in growth factors. This powerful combination is used to enhance collagen production and stimulate fibroblast regeneration. Additional key ingredients in this facial that make it unique are polysaccharides that improve connective tissue and stimulate micro blood circulation, and pectin extract which acts as a fibroblast nutrient to improve skin.

This benefits of this new treatment can be maximized using enhanced delivery with micro needling. Micro needling is a form of non-ablative collagen induction therapy. This technique delivers active apple stem cells, growth factors, vitamins & nutrients deep into the dermis, providing intensive fibroblast and cell regeneration. Hyaluronic acid and tri-lipids seal in the active growth factors.

Apple stem cells are not something new to Dr. Chernoffs patients. His professional line of skincare offers an Apple Stem Cell Serum that his patients have been using for years. The Apple Stem Cell Facial is the first of several phytoceutical facials offered at Chernoff Cosmetic Surgeons using advanced growth factors to help improve skin tone, texture, and quality. The treatment is excellent for all skin types including dry, sensitive, acne prone, or compromised skin. Dr. Chernoff recommends his patients use his professional line of GREGORY M.D., Apple Stem Cell Serum for optimal results.

Greg Chernoff, M.D., is a Triple Board Certified Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. His practice is dedicated exclusively to aesthetic plastic surgery, hair replacement surgery, cosmetic laser therapy, and all forms medical aesthetics. Dr. Chernoffs laser research has been instrumental in developing and refining accepted laser techniques now utilized by physicians worldwide, and he is at the forefront of research in the areas of fibroblast, stem cell, and regenerative medicine. Dr. Chernoff provides excellent results and outstanding patient care. For more information, contact Chernoff Cosmetic Surgeons at 317-573-8899 http://www.drchernoff.com.

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Chernoff Cosmetic Surgery Pleased to Offer Innovative Phytoceutical Apple Stem Cell Facial

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

27-Feb-2014

Contact: Eric C. Liao cliao@partners.org Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)/Harvard Medical School, Drs. Beste Kinikoglu and Yawei Kong, led by Dr. Eric C. Liao, cultured and characterized for the first time multipotent neural crest cells isolated from zebrafish embryos. This important study is reported in the February 2014 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine. Neural crest is a unique cell population induced at the lateral border of the neural plate during embryogenesis and vertebrate development depends on these multipotent migratory cells. Defects in neural crest development result in a wide range of malformations, such as cleft lip and palate, and diseases, such as melanoma. Dr. Liao's laboratory uses zebrafish as a model vertebrate to study the genetic basis of neural crest related craniofacial malformations. Zebrafish has long been used to study early development and recently emerged as a model to study disease. "Development of in vitro culture of neural crest cells and reproducible functional assays will provide a valuable and complementary approach to the in vivo experiments in zebrafish" said Dr. Eric C. Liao, senior author of the study and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at MGH, and Principal Faculty at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

The team took advantage of the sox 10 reporter transgenic model to enrich and isolate the neural crest cells (NCCs), which were subsequently cultured under optimized culture conditions. Cultured NCCs were found to express major neural crest lineage markers such as sox10, sox9a, hnk1, p75, dlx2a, and pax3, and the pluripotency markers c-myc and klf4. The cells could be further differentiated into multiple neural crest lineages, contributing to neurons, glial cells, smooth muscle cells, melanocytes, and chondrocytes. Using the functional cell behavior assays that they developed, the team was able to assess the influence of retinoic acid, an endogenously synthesized, powerful, morphogenetic molecule, on NCC behavior. This study showed that retinoic acid had a profound effect on NCC morphology and differentiation, significantly inhibited proliferation and enhanced cell migration. The data implicate NCCs as a target cell population for retinoic acid and suggest that it plays multiple critical roles in NCC development.

"We hope that our novel neural crest system will be useful to gain mechanistic understanding of NCC development and for cell-based high-throughput drug screening applications" said Dr. Beste Kinikoglu, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Liao's laboratory and the study's first author. Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine said "Liao and colleagues have provided the first zebrafish embryo derived NCC pure population in vitro model for the study of neural crest development. I believe that this will be a valuable tool for this purpose".

###

Experimental Biology and Medicine is a journal dedicated to the publication of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the biomedical sciences. The journal was first established in 1903. Experimental Biology and Medicine is the journal of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine. To learn about the benefits of society membership visit http://www.sebm.org. If you are interested in publishing in the journal please visit http://ebm.sagepub.com/.

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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Purification, culture and multi-lineage differentiation of zebrafish neural crest cells

Stem Cell Therapy | Stem cells from osteoarthritis patients as good as controls?
http://wwwarthritistreatmentcenter.com Stem cells from patients with osteoarthritis are as good as normal controls Alwin Scharstuhl and colleagues, in an art...

By: Nathan Wei

Link:
Stem Cell Therapy | Stem cells from osteoarthritis patients as good as controls? - Video

Annie - Before Stem Cell
Here are some REAL results from stem cell therapy. This is Annie before her stem cell therapy treatment.

By: Stacey Ragsdale

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Annie - Before Stem Cell - Video

Annie - Before and After Stem Cell Therapy
I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (http://www.youtube.com/editor)

By: Stacey Ragsdale

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Annie - Before and After Stem Cell Therapy - Video

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers created new nerve cells in the brains and spinal cords of living mammals without the need for stem cell transplants to replenish lost cells.

Although the research indicates it may someday be possible to regenerate neurons from the body's own cells to repair traumatic brain injury or spinal cord damage or to treat conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, the researchers stressed that it is too soon to know whether the neurons created in these initial studies resulted in any functional improvements, a goal for future research.

Spinal cord injuries can lead to an irreversible loss of neurons, and along with scarring, can ultimately lead to impaired motor and sensory functions. Scientists are hopeful that regenerating cells can be an avenue to repair damage, but adult spinal cords have limited ability to produce new neurons. Biomedical scientists have transplanted stem cells to replace neurons, but have faced other hurdles, underscoring the need for new methods of replenishing lost cells.

Scientists in UT Southwestern's Department of Molecular Biology first successfully turned astrocytes -- the most common non-neuronal brain cells -- into neurons that formed networks in mice. They now successfully turned scar-forming astrocytes in the spinal cords of adult mice into neurons. The latest findings are published today in Nature Communications and follow previous findings published in Nature Cell Biology.

"Our earlier work was the first to clearly show in vivo (in a living animal) that mature astrocytes can be reprogrammed to become functional neurons without the need of cell transplantation. The current study did something similar in the spine, turning scar-forming astrocytes into progenitor cells called neuroblasts that regenerated into neurons," said Dr. Chun-Li Zhang, assistant professor of molecular biology at UT Southwestern and senior author of both studies.

"Astrocytes are abundant and widely distributed both in the brain and in the spinal cord. In response to injury, these cells proliferate and contribute to scar formation. Once a scar has formed, it seals the injured area and creates a mechanical and biochemical barrier to neural regeneration," Dr. Zhang explained. "Our results indicate that the astrocytes may be ideal targets for in vivo reprogramming."

The scientists' two-step approach first introduces a biological substance that regulates the expression of genes, called a transcription factor, into areas of the brain or spinal cord where that factor is not highly expressed in adult mice. Of 12 transcription factors tested, only SOX2 switched fully differentiated, adult astrocytes to an earlier neuronal precursor, or neuroblast, stage of development, Dr. Zhang said.

In the second step, the researchers gave the mice a drug called valproic acid (VPA) that encouraged the survival of the neuroblasts and their maturation (differentiation) into neurons. VPA has been used to treat epilepsy for more than half a century and also is prescribed to treat bipolar disorder and to prevent migraine headaches, he said.

The current study reports neurogenesis (neuron creation) occurred in the spinal cords of both adult and aged (over one-year old) mice of both sexes, although the response was much weaker in the aged mice, Dr. Zhang said. Researchers now are searching for ways to boost the number and speed of neuron creation. Neuroblasts took four weeks to form and eight weeks to mature into neurons, slower than neurogenesis reported in lab dish experiments, so researchers plan to conduct experiments to determine if the slower pace helps the newly generated neurons properly integrate into their environment.

In the spinal cord study, SOX2-induced mature neurons created from reprogramming of astrocytes persisted for 210 days after the start of the experiment, the longest time the researchers examined, he added.

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New neurons generated in brains, spinal cords of living adult mammals