Approach Could Free Organ Patients From Anti-Rejection Drugs

March 7, 2012 -- New research holds the promise of freeing many organ transplant patients from a lifetime of anti-rejection drugs.

In the first study of its kind, eight kidney transplant patients received stem cells from their kidney donors manipulated to trick their bodies into accepting the foreign organ as its own.

Transplant recipients who are not perfectly matched with their donors typically take several drugs a day for the rest of their lives to keep their bodies from rejecting the new organ and to treat the side effects of those drugs.

Lindsay Porter, who was the last of the eight patients enrolled in the new study, had her kidney transplant in the summer of 2010 and was weaned off all anti-rejection drugs within a year.

The Chicago actress and mother says she feels better than she has in 15 years and sometimes has to remind herself that she had a kidney transplant.

I was 45 when I had the surgery, and I knew I would probably need another kidney at some point, she tells WebMD. The opportunity to have a transplant that would last for the rest of my life and to avoid all of those drugs was very appealing.

The ongoing research is the culmination of many years of work by researcher Suzanne Ildstad, MD, of the University of Louisville, and other researchers, including transplant surgeon Joseph Leventhal, MD, PhD, of Chicagos Northwestern University.

The new wrinkle is that organ donors who are not a perfect genetic match with the patient donate blood as well as a kidney for the procedure.

Bone marrow stem cells collected from the blood were processed in an 18-hour procedure to remove cells associated with organ rejection, leaving behind facilitating cells that do not promote rejection, Ildstad says.

Originally posted here:
Altered Stem Cells Limit Transplant Rejection

Kidney transplant-recipients have to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent rejection.

A. MASSEE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a common and often deadly complication of bone-marrow transplantation that occurs when immune cells from an unrelated donor attack the transplant recipients tissue. Now, researchers have for the first time managed to completely replace peoples bone-marrow-derived stem cells with those from unrelated donors without causing GvHD1. And because of this, the recipients could also accept kidneys from the same donors without the need for drugs that suppress the immune system.

The outcome has been amazing, says Lindsay Porter, a 47-year-old Chicago resident with polycystic kidney disease who was one of the study subjects. She has been off immunosuppressive drugs for seven months. I feel so normal, it feels like its not a big deal.

But according to experts in the field, the findings, published today in Science Translational Medicine1, are a huge deal. Its kind of difficult to believe, says Tatsuo Kawai, a transplant surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who wrote a commentary to accompany the paper. Its almost common sense to have GvHD in mismatched individuals.

The latest study builds off of work Kawai and his colleagues began fourteen years ago, when they launched the first clinical trial that attempted to use bone marrow to induce immune tolerance for kidney recipients, to avoid the sometimes dangerous side effects of life-long immosuppressive therapy.

Working first in people with perfectly immune-matched siblings2 and then with partially mismatched donor-recipient pairs3, the researchers showed that the majority of individuals could achieve stable kidney function and successfully wean off of their immunosuppressants with few problems in one case for up to nine years. But the study subjects only maintained noticeable levels of the foreign bone marrow for a few weeks, and the protocol didnt work for everybody. Some researchers speculated that maintaining higher levels of donor immune cells for longer could help to improve the success rate.

For the latest study, a team led by Suzanne Ildstad, director of the University of Louisvilles Institute for Cellular Therapeutics in Kentucky, found a way to avoid GvHD by using a regimen involving chemotherapy, radiation and blood stem cells manipulated to eliminate those that cause GvHD while retaining specialized bone-marrow-derived cells they called facilitating cells.

Ildstad and her colleagues report that five of eight people who underwent the treatment were able to stop all immunosuppressive therapy within a year after their kidney and stem-cell transplants, four of which came from unrelated donors. Notably, all of these patients maintained entirely donor-derived immune systems with no signs of GvHD. Ildstad and her team have since treated seven more people. We continue to see good results, she says.

It might be premature, however, to say for certain that the trial participants are in the clear. The question is: will these patients remain free of GvHD? says David Sachs, director of the Transplantation Biology Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. You would hope that its true, but its a little early to claim that.

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Drug-free organ transplants without tissue matching

(AP) An experimental technique seems to be freeing some kidney transplant patients from having to take anti-rejection drugs.

Researchers transplanted certain cells from the kidney donor's bone marrow along with the new organ. Five of eight transplant recipients who tried the method so far were off immune-suppressing medication up to 2 1/2 years later, the researchers reported Wednesday.

The preliminary results were considered important enough to be published in the journal Science Translational Medicine even though the study still is under way, because the technique worked for patients who didn't have well-matched or related donors.

The idea is that if a sort of twin immune system takes root and lasts, it can allow the patient's body to accept the foreign organ and not attack it, said study co-author Dr. Suzanne Ildstad of the University of Lousville. Scientists call it chimerism.

"The most reliable indicator of really being successful at taking someone off immune-suppressing drugs is durable chimerism," says Ildstad, who teamed with doctors at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital for the research.

Transplant recipients usually must take multiple immune-suppressing pills for life to prevent rejection of their new organ. Those drugs cause lots of side effects, such as raising the risk of cancer and kidney damage.

Other scientists are attempting to tap bone marrow to induce immune tolerance, with varying success.

Ildstad's approach transfuses a special mix of bone marrow cells including blood-producing stem cells and another type named "facilitating cells" that are thought vital for a successful transplant. She filters out still other cells that can become too aggressive and cause a life-threatening disorder named graft-versus-host disease.

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Transplant recipients had radiation and chemotherapy, not destroying their own bone marrow but tamping it down to make space for the donated cells, explained study co-author Dr. Joseph Leventhal, a Northwestern transplant surgeon. Five patients who had the dual immunity a year later were weaned off all drugs. Two others whose hybrid immunity faded are faring well using a low dose of one anti-rejection drug. One patient needed a repeat transplant after an infection and didn't get to try weaning.

See more here:
New treatment for kidney transplant patients may reduce need for anti-rejection drugs

Nature | Health

Bone-marrow transfers prior to organ transplants could end the need for lifelong immunosuppression

March 7, 2012

By Elie Dolgin of Nature magazine

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a common and often deadly complication of bone-marrow transplantation that occurs when immune cells from an unrelated donor attack the transplant recipient's tissue. Now, researchers have for the first time managed to completely replace people's bone-marrow-derived stem cells with those from unrelated donors without causing GvHD. And because of this, the recipients could also accept kidneys from the same donors without the need for drugs that suppress the immune system.

"The outcome has been amazing," says Lindsay Porter, a 47-year-old Chicago resident with polycystic kidney disease who was one of the study subjects. She has been off immunosuppressive drugs for seven months. "I feel so normal, it feels like it's not a big deal."

But according to experts in the field, the findings, published today in Science Translational Medicine, are a huge deal. "It's kind of difficult to believe," says Tatsuo Kawai, a transplant surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who wrote a commentary to accompany the paper. "It's almost common sense to have GvHD in mismatched individuals."

Facilitating tolerance

The latest study builds off of work Kawai and his colleagues began fourteen years ago, when they launched the first clinical trial that attempted to use bone marrow to induce immune tolerance for kidney recipients, to avoid the sometimes dangerous side effects of life-long immosuppressive therapy.

Working first in people with perfectly immune-matched siblings and then with partially mismatched donor-recipient pairs, the researchers showed that the majority of individuals could achieve stable kidney function and successfully wean off of their immunosuppressants with few problems -- in one case for up to nine years. But the study subjects only maintained noticeable levels of the foreign bone marrow for a few weeks, and the protocol didn't work for everybody. Some researchers speculated that maintaining higher levels of donor immune cells for longer could help to improve the success rate.

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Treatment Allows Drug-Free Transplant Patients to Elude Graft-versus-Host Disease

Lindsay Porter knew she would eventually need a kidney transplant. She was 19 years old when her mother died from polycystic kidney disease -- a genetic condition that Porter had 50/50 odds of inheriting, and did.

"It didn't really affect me much until my early 30s," said Porter, an actress and mother living in Chicago. "And as I got into my 40s, my kidneys started getting very big with multiple cysts. They were huge."

Porter's kidneys weighed 16 pounds, causing an obvious bulge in her tiny frame.

"It was like two full-term babies inside me," she said, adding that people often mistook her for pregnant. "They had to be removed."

In May 2010, doctors removed Porter's overgrown and failing kidneys. Two months later, a friend gave her one of his. But it was no ordinary transplant. Along with the fist-size organ, doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago transplanted bone marrow stem cells -- an experimental procedure they hoped would eliminate the need for anti-rejection drugs.

"These drugs are currently an absolute necessity, but they have a downside," said Dr. Joseph Leventhal, Porter's transplant surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Anti-rejection drugs suppress the immune system, preventing it from attacking the donated organ like an infection. But suppressing the immune system makes the body vulnerable to infections and even cancer. And the drugs, which carry toxic side effects, can't ward off rejection forever. "Many individuals will still lose their transplants over time due to chronic rejection," said Leventhal.

To coax Porter's body into recognizing the new kidney as her own, Leventhal and colleagues wiped out part of her immune system and replaced it with the donor's. It took four days of chemotherapy, whole-body irradiation and a bone marrow transplant -- no walk in the park, according to Porter. But over time, the donor bone marrow stem cells gave rise to immune cells that accepted the kidney as if it was Porter's own -- a process called induced immune tolerance.

"At first I was taking 24 pills a day," said Porter, describing the "cocktail" of anti-rejection drugs needed to fend off an attack on her new kidney while the bone marrow stem cells were setting up shop. "And you really can't miss a dose. I had to set my cell phone alarm for every 12 hours every single day to remind me."

After six months, Porter started weaning herself off the drugs. And after a year, she no longer needed them at all.

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New Transplant Approach Changes Lives

A new type of stem cell-seeded patch has shown promising results in promoting healing after a heart attack, according to a study released today in the journal STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.

Durham, NC (PRWEB) March 07, 2012

Ischemic heart disease, caused by vessel blockage, is a leading cause of death in many western countries. Studies have shown the potential of stem cells in regenerating heart tissue damaged during an attack. But even as the list of candidate cells for cardiac regeneration has expanded, none has emerged as the obvious choice, possibly because several cell types are needed to regenerate both the hearts muscles and its vascular components.

Aside from the choice of the right cell source for tissue regeneration, the best way to deliver the stem cells is up for debate, too, as intravenous delivery and injections can be inefficient and possibly harmful. While embryonic stem cells have shown great promise for heart repairs due to their ability to differentiate into virtually any cell type, less than 10 percent of injected cells typically survive the engraftment and of that number generally only 2 percent actually colonize the heart.

In order for this type of treatment is to be clinically effective, researchers need to find ways to deliver large numbers of stem cells in a supportive environment that can help cells survive and differentiate.

In the current cardiopatch study, conducted by researchers from the Faculty of Medicine of the Geneva University in collaboration with colleagues at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), cardiac-committed mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) were committed toward the cardiac fate using a protein growth factor called BMP2 and then embedded into a fibrin hydrogel that is both biocompatible and biodegradable. The cells were loaded with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles so they could be tracked using magnetic resonance imaging, which also enabled the researchers to more accurately assess regional and global heart function.

The patches were engrafted onto the hearts of laboratory rats that had induced heart attacks. Six weeks later, the hearts of the animals receiving the mESC-seeded patches showed significant improvement over those receiving patches loaded with iron oxide nanoparticles alone. The patches had degraded, the cells had colonized the infarcted tissue and new blood vessels were forming in the vicinity of the transplanted patch. Improvements reached beyond the part of the heart where the patch had been applied to manifest globally.

Marisa Jaconi, PhD, of the Geneva University Department of Pathology and Immunology, and Jeffrey Hubbell, PhD, professor of bioengineering at the EPFL, were leaders on the investigative team. Their findings could make a significant impact on how heart patients are treated in the future. Altogether our data provide evidence that stem-cell based cardiopatches represent a promising therapeutic strategy to achieve efficient cell implantation and improved global and regional cardiac function after myocardial infarction, said Jaconi.

###

The full article, Embryonic stem cell-based cardiopatches improve cardiac function in infarcted rats, can be accessed at: http://www.stemcellstm.com/content/early/recent.

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Stem Cell-Seeded Cardiopatch Could Deliver Results for Damaged Hearts

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., one of the worlds premier leukemia and stem cell transplant researchers and clinicians, has been named the new director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Nimer, the Alfred P. Sloan Chair in Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, will assume the key University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and UHealth-University of Miami Health System post this spring, bringing 30 years of pioneering research and clinical experience and an unquenchable passion for improving the lives of patients with cancer, and their families.

The focus will not be solely on taking care of the cancer, it will be on taking care of the patient, said Nimer, whose patient-centered philosophy has won him as much acclaim as his clinical and laboratory accomplishments. That means trying to understand as fully as possible each patients cancer the biology driving the cancer, and the impact of the cancer on the patients life in order to develop a personalized therapeutic approach suited to each individual.

Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Miller School, and CEO of UHealth, said Nimer, who headed the Division of Hematologic Oncology at Sloan-Kettering for a dozen years, is the ideal physician-scientist to lead Sylvester into its third decade and to designation as one of the nations official comprehensive cancer centers by the NIHs National Cancer Institute.

Stephen possesses a unique combination of outstanding clinical skills and visionary scientific acumen in cancer research that will lead Sylvester to become the next top comprehensive cancer center in the U.S., Dean Goldschmidt said. He brings a true patient-centered approach to clinical care and leading-edge research that makes a real difference for our fellow humans. Cancer patients across South Florida and around the world will benefit from his expertise and leadership.

Dr. Nimer will be a spectacular leader for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, said UM President Donna E. Shalala.This is a momentous development for the Miller School, the University of Miami, and all of South Florida.

Joseph Rosenblatt, M.D., who has served as interim director of Sylvester, said Dr. Nimers arrival will allow Sylvester to find its rightful place among the worlds premier cancer centers, and his leadership will usher in a new era for our cancer center, which I and our faculty anticipate with great enthusiasm.

Nimer, currently vice chair for faculty development at Sloan-Ketterings Department of Medicine, plans to develop and expand a number of services at Sylvester, including programs for breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and hematological malignancies, among others. He also plans to recruit more than 30 new scientists and physicians, develop key core facilities and expand the clinical and laboratory research capabilities.

He specifically hopes to recruit experts in areas such as bone marrow transplantation, mouse models of human cancer, and molecular diagnostics, as well as additional surgeons skilled in complex, curative and restorative procedures, such as breast reconstruction. He also will expand efforts in cancer prevention, screening and early diagnosis and in identifying those factors that predispose people to develop cancer.

Read the original here:
Internationally Recognized Leukemia Physician and Researcher to Lead Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

By Fiona Macrae

Last updated at 1:55 AM on 8th March 2012

Important breakthrough: One in ten glaucoma sufferers go blind, due to late diagnosis, drugs not working or the disease being particularly severe (file picture)

A treatment for one of the most common causes of blindness could soon be available.

British researchers have used stem cells to heal the damage caused by glaucoma.

The treatment has only been tested on rats, but scientists say it could be tested on humans by 2015 and in widespread use four years later.

At present one in ten glaucoma sufferers go blind, due to late diagnosis, drugs not working or the disease being particularly severe.

Researchers at University College London took healthy stem cells master cells capable of turning into other types of cell and widely seen as a repair kit for the body from human eyes.

They used a cocktail of chemicals to turn them into retinal ganglion cells those that die in glaucoma. They then injected these into the eyes of rats with glaucoma-like damage.

After just four weeks, the cells had connected with existing nerve cells, and the animals eyes worked 50 per cent better, the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine reports.

See the rest here:
Stem cell repair kit for glaucoma could mean a treatment for the most common cause of blindness

Lindsay Porter's kidneys weighed 16 pounds before her transplant.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- By the time Lindsay Porter had her kidneys removed two years ago, they were bulging -- covered in cysts -- and together weighed 16 pounds.

Her abdominal area was so distended, "I looked nine months pregnant, and people regularly asked when I was due," Porter said.

As she prepared for a transplant to address her polycystic kidney disease, Porter, 47, had mixed feelings -- relief to have found a donor, tinged with resignation. She was looking forward to both a new kidney, and a lifetime on immune system-suppressing drugs.

"You get this brand new shiny kidney, and then they give you drugs that eventually destroy it," said Porter.

But that scenario may eventually change, if results of a new pilot study are replicated in a larger group of patients. The study, published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, describes eight kidney transplant patients, including Porter, who received a stem cell therapy that allowed donor and recipient immune cells to coexist in the same body.

The effect, in a handful of those patients, was to trick the recipient's immune system into recognizing the donated kidney as its own.

When it works, patients become a sort of medical rarity called a chimera.

"Chimerism is a condition wherein two different genetic cell populations are present in the body, and both cell types are tolerated," said Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, via e-mail.

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Transplant without lifetime of drugs?

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) announced that the second patient to receive stem cells in the cervical (upper back) region of the spine was dosed on February 29th in the ongoing Phase I trial of its spinal cord neural stem cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). Patient 14 is also the first woman to be treated in the trial. Stem cell transplantation into the cervical region of the spinal cord couldsupport breathing, a key function that is lost as ALS progresses. The first twelve patients in the trial received stem cell transplants in the lumbar (lower back) region of the spinal cord only.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061221/DCTH007LOGO )

"This cohort of patients represents another first for our trial, as we transplant cells directly into the gray matter of the spinal cord in the cervical region," said Karl Johe, PhD, Neuralstem's Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer. "We are delighted that the surgeries are progressing in a region that could have a significant impact on the quality of life for ALS patients. With the safe transplantation of our 14th patient, we are well are on our way to demonstrating the safety of our novel procedure."

About the Trial The Phase I trial to assess the safety of Neuralstem's spinal cord neural stem cells and intraspinal transplantation method in ALS patients has been underway since January 2010. The trial is designed to enroll up to 18 patients. The first 12 patients were each transplanted in the lumbar (lower back) region of the spine, beginning with non-ambulatory and advancing to ambulatory cohorts. The trial has now progressed to the final six patients. Each is in the cervical (upper back) region of the spine. The entire 18-patient trial concludes six months after the final surgery.

About Neuralstem Neuralstem's patented technology enables the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells constitutively into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. Neuralstem is in an FDA-approved Phase I safety clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, and has been awarded orphan status designation by the FDA.

In addition to ALS, the company is also targeting major central nervous system conditions with its cell therapy platform, including spinal cord injury, ischemic spastic paraplegia and chronic stroke. The company has submitted an IND (Investigational New Drug) application to the FDA for a Phase I safety trial in chronic spinal cord injury.

Neuralstem also has the ability to generate stable human neural stem cell lines suitable for the systematic screening of large chemical libraries. Through this proprietary screening technology, Neuralstem has discovered and patented compounds that may stimulate the brain's capacity to generate new neurons, possibly reversing the pathologies of some central nervous system conditions. The company has received approval from the FDA to conduct a Phase Ib safety trial evaluating NSI-189, its first small molecule compound, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Additional indications could include schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and bipolar disorder.

For more information, please visit http://www.neuralstem.com and connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements in this press release regarding potential applications of Neuralstem's technologies constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, uncertainty of clinical trial results or regulatory approvals or clearances, need for future capital, dependence upon collaborators and maintenance of our intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in Neuralstem's periodic reports, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2011.

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Fourteenth Patient Dosed in Neuralstem ALS Stem Cell Trial

WATSON - Jeff DeBacker of Watson is fighting for his life in a battle against cancer, the second time around.

DeBacker, 58, underwent a bone marrow transplant last Thursday and is now waiting to see if the process was successful.

Nearly three years ago, DeBacker was diagnosed with a blood disease known as mantle cell lymphoma. After treating the stage 4 disease with chemotherapy, he was cleared of the cancer for about two years.

Last fall, the cancer returned. He underwent more chemotherapy at Marquette General Hospital and is now undergoing a new cancer treatment procedure at a downstate hospital.

In mid-February, DeBacker was admitted to the Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit for a stem cell bone marrow transplant. His donor is his sister, Debbie Chase of Gladstone, who underwent the blood collection process at the cancer center and is now home.

Prior to Thursday's transplant, DeBacker had seven days of chemotherapy to completely destroy his own bone marrow. His sister's stem cells were transplanted into his bone marrow along with antibiotics.

"That went really well," Chase said Tuesday. "Right now we're waiting to see if it works. We should know by Saturday." She said her brother's doctors are really pleased with how well the transplant went.

His doctors considered him a good candidate for the transplant because of his stage 1 cancer, his age, and his current health condition, DeBacker said during an interview at his home last month.

"There's a 50-percent chance of creating non-cancerous bone marrow," he said. "I'm kind of excited. I want to see this behind me so I can enjoy the summer."

DeBacker will be in isolation at the hospital for one month. The following two months, he must reside within 60 miles from the medical center.

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Boar rancher fights cancer, regulations

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB:ISCO.OB - News) today announced that Co-Chairman Kenneth Aldrich and President and Chief Operating Officer Kurt May will be presenting at the 24th Annual Roth Conference on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time. The conference is being held March 11-14 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Dana Point, California.

About International Stem Cell Corporation

International Stem Cell Corporation is focused on the therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) and the development and commercialization of cell-based research and cosmetic products. ISCO's core technology, parthenogenesis, results in the creation of pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized oocytes (eggs). hpSCs avoid ethical issues associated with the use or destruction of viable human embryos. ISCO scientists have created the first parthenogenic, homozygous stem cell line that can be a source of therapeutic cells for hundreds of millions of individuals of differing genders, ages and racial background with minimal immune rejection after transplantation. hpSCs offer the potential to create the first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell. ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology, and cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care. More information is available at http://www.internationalstemcell.com.

To subscribe to receive ongoing corporate communications, please click on the following link: http://www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=1468&to=ea&s=0.

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International Stem Cell Corporation to Present at the Roth Conference on March 14

by Stephen Coates

HONG KONG, March 7, 2012 (AFP) - One of the world's leading researchers into spinal cord injuries says China could hold the key to a cure that he has been searching for since he met late actor Christopher Reeve in the 1990s.

US-based Doctor Wise Young first used the word "cure" in relation to his work after a conversation with Reeve, the "Superman" hero who became quadriplegic in an equestrian accident in 1995.

Reeve contacted him looking for help and the two became close friends. The actor died of heart failure in 2004 at the age of 52, having devoted his life to raising awareness about spinal cord injuries and stem-cell research.

But it was a star of a different sort, Chinese gymnast Sang Lan, who set Young on the path he believes has brought a cure closer than ever, thanks to ground-breaking clinical trials of stem-cell therapy he is conducting in China.

"Everybody assumed that I'm doing this in China because I wanted to escape George W. Bush, but that's not the case at all," Young told AFP in an interview, recalling the former US president's 2001 decision to effectively stop Federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

"I started the clinical trials in 2005 here in Hong Kong ... mainly because of a promise that I made to a young woman. Her name is Sang Lan."

Sang crushed her spine during a routine warm-up exercise at the Goodwill Games in New York in 1998. She met Young as she underwent treatment and rehabilitation in the United States over the next 12 months.

"Her parents came to me and asked whether or not there would ever be a cure for her, and I said we're working very hard on it," recalled Young, who was by then one of the leading US experts on spinal cord injuries.

"When she went back to China after doing her rehabilitation in New York she cried and asked how would therapies go from the United States to China.

Read the original here:
Doctor looks to China for spinal injury 'cure'

One of the world's leading researchers into spinal cord injuries says China could hold the key to a cure that he has been searching for since he met late actor Christopher Reeve in the 1990s.

US-based Doctor Wise Young first used the word "cure" in relation to his work after a conversation with Reeve, the Superman hero who became a quadriplegic in an equestrian accident in 1995.

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Reeve contacted him looking for help and the two became close friends. The actor died of heart failure in 2004 at the age of 52, having devoted his life to raising awareness about spinal cord injuries and stem-cell research.

But it was a star of a different sort, Chinese gymnast Sang Lan, who set Young on the path he believes has brought a cure closer than ever, thanks to ground-breaking clinical trials of stem-cell therapy he is conducting in China.

"Everybody assumed that I'm doing this in China because I wanted to escape George W. Bush, but that's not the case at all," Young told AFP, recalling the former US president's 2001 decision to effectively stop federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

"I started the clinical trials in 2005 here in Hong Kong . . . mainly because of a promise that I made to a young woman. Her name is Sang Lan."

Sang crushed her spine during a routine warm-up exercise at the Goodwill Games in New York in 1998. She met Young as she underwent treatment and rehabilitation in the US over the next 12 months.

"Her parents came to me and asked whether or not there would ever be a cure for her, and I said we're working very hard on it," said Young, who was by then one of the leading US experts on spinal cord injuries.

"When she went back to China after doing her rehabilitation in New York she cried and asked how would therapies go from the United States to China.

The rest is here:
Young aims for spinal injury 'cure'

3/7/2012 5:12 AM ET (RTTNews) - Stem cells have set the scientific world agog because it has been proposed as candidates to treat a myriad of diseases ranging from alzheimer's to arthritis, blindness, burns, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, liver disorders, multiple sclerosis, parkinson's, spinal cord injury and stroke.

Engaged in the development of novel stem cell therapeutics targeting diseases of the central nervous system and liver is clinical-stage company StemCells Inc. (STEM: News ).

For readers who are new to this Palo Alto, California-based company, here's what to expect in the coming months...

StemCells' lead product candidate is HuCNS-SC cells, a highly purified composition of human neural stem cells, currently in clinical development for spinal cord injury and for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease, or PMD, a fatal myelination disorder in children.

A phase I/II clinical trial of HuCNS-SC cells in chronic spinal cord injury was initiated by the company last March. The trial, which is the world's first neural stem cell trial in spinal cord injury, is designed to enroll patients with thoracic (chest-level) neurological injuries with progressively decreasing severity of injury in three sequential cohorts.

The first patient in the trial was successfully transplanted with the company's proprietary HuCNS-SC adult neural stem cells last September, and enrollment in the first cohort of the spinal cord injury trial was completed last December. Following transplantation, the patients are being evaluated regularly over a 12-month period in order to monitor and evaluate the safety and tolerability of the HuCNS-SC cells.

The trial, which is currently open for enrollment for the remaining cohorts, is being conducted in Switzerland at the Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich.

In November 2011, Geron Corp. (GERN), the first company to get FDA approval for a clinical trial of an embryonic stem cell-based therapy, abandoned its phase I stem cell trial in patients paralyzed by spinal cord injuries - largely because of financial reasons.

The difference between the spinal cord injury trials of StemCells and Geron lies in the type of stem cells being evaluated. While Geron used human embryonic stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries in its trial, StemCells is using tissue-derived "adult" (non-embryonic) stem cells in its trials.

Yet another trial of StemCells that is underway is a phase I trial evaluating the safety and preliminary efficacy of HuCNS-SC cells as a treatment for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease that primarily affects infants and young children.

Original post:
Will StemCells Walk The Talk?

GAYVILLE When it came to helping his brother, Jason Selchert was willing to do a lot more than give the shirt off his back. In January, he became a bone marrow donor for his sibling, Jeff Selchert.

Jason, 39, superintendent of the Gayville-Volin School, said he had plenty of time to prepare for the procedure.

A little over two years ago, my brother, who is four years older than I am, was diagnosed with leukemia, he stated. When he was diagnosed, they determined that probably at some point in his illness, he was going to have to undergo a bone marrow transplant. Luckily enough, he has five siblings, and we were all tested. Two of the five were a match. I was one of the two.

Since the chance that a sibling will be a match is about one in four, the fact that two were a match was fortuitous, Jason said.

Jason and his oldest brother were both perfect matches, according to the blood and DNA testing.

However, Jason was selected as the best candidate.

After undergoing treatment following the initial diagnosis, Jeffs leukemia went into remission. But a few days prior to last Thanksgiving, the cancer had returned.

It was pretty well advanced, and they determined that the only way to treat it was going to be a transplant, Jason said. I had known for more than two years that it was maybe going to be an option. Its a pretty lengthy psychological process you go through to make sure that you are mentally stable enough to go through it, and understand what is going to happen and what could be the end result for me and my brother.

Jason donated his bone marrow stem cells Jan. 30. A successful transplant to his brother occurred the next day.

The worst part of the process was the time leading up to the donation, according to Jason. During the four previous days, he was given medication that caused his body to overproduce bone marrow stem cells. The process made Jason ache and feel nauseated, similar to the flu.

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Selchert Undergoes Transplant For Brother

alan bernstein From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Published Wednesday, Mar. 07, 2012 2:00AM EST

Most Canadians are unaware that two of their own a lanky physics whiz from Alberta and a rumpled Shakespeare-quoting MD from Toronto made a discovery 50 years ago that transformed the understanding of human biology and opened new doors to the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

Toiling away in labs atop Torontos old Princess Margaret Hospital, James Edgar Till and Ernest Armstrong (Bun) McCulloch proved that a single rare cell could produce the red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets needed to make blood, while simultaneously reproducing itself. Dr. Till and Dr. McCulloch originally called the cell a colony-forming unit. Today, its better known as a stem cell.

A great new book, Dreams and Due Diligence, by Joe Sornberger, tells the story. Still, that so few of us know let alone celebrate the fact that the stem cell is a Canadian discovery is baffling. Canada founded the entire field of stem-cell science. We have done much of the heavy lifting for decades: discovering neural stem cells, skin stem cells and cancer stem cells. If hockey is Canadas game, stem-cell science is Canadas science. Not knowing about Dr. Till and Dr. McCulloch is not knowing about Maurice Richard and Wayne Gretzky.

The way it happened didnt help. Their original paper was published in an obscure journal, Radiation Research, in 1961. Public interest went viral only after American James Thomson isolated human embryonic stem cells in 1998, which simultaneously raised hopes that stem cells could be used to repair any damaged cell in the body and ethical concerns that doing so would encourage the destruction of human embryos.

In 2002, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research developed guidelines for all stem-cell research carried out in Canada with its funds. These guidelines have become the gold standard for other countries, including the United States.

Whats even more remarkable is that Canada does such groundbreaking research on a dime. The all in investment in stem-cell research in Canada public, private and charitable funding is about $75-million. This support is provided by Canadians through taxes, donations to health charities and the generosity of community leaders individuals such as Robert and Cheryl McEwen of Toronto and the late Harley Hotchkiss of Calgary. But we still seriously lag behind California, which, with roughly the same population as Canada, has committed $3-billion over 10 years for stem-cell research.

How much further Canadas star scientists can go, however, is in doubt. According to the Stem Cell Network, there are 40 to 50 early-phase clinical trials using transplanted cells ready to roll out over the next four years. All are currently unfunded.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said his government will continue to make the key investments in science and technology but bemoaned Canadas less-than-optimal results for those investments. Stem-cell research has already proved itself a sound investment: Dr. Till and Dr. McCullochs work formed the basis of the bone marrow transplantation program at Princess Margaret Hospital that alone has saved thousands of lives. But it will take more than government funding: Private industry and private citizens also need to support life-saving research.

Canadians have good reason to be proud of our countrys contributions to health research and medicine. Two stand out as landmarks: the discovery of insulin in the 1920s and the discovery of stem cells in the 1960s. On Wednesday, at a dinner that brings together many of the countrys leading figures in business, the arts, entertainment, sports and science, the Canadian Stem Cell Foundation will be launched. The event will look back at that great discovery 50 years ago and look forward to ensure that Canadians continue to contribute to stem-cell research and its application to human disease.

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If Canada's game is hockey, its science is stem cells

Repeated injections of human umbilical cord blood cells improved motor neuron survival, delayed disease progression and increased lifespan

Oldsmar, FL (PRWEB) March 06, 2012

Dr. Julie G. Allickson, PhD. Vice President of Laboratory Operations and R&D, stated This groundbreaking study demonstrates the amazing capacity of cord blood stem cells to potentially treat a devastating neurodegenerative disease through the secretion of trophic factors that resulted in neuroprotection in the ALS mouse model. The data certainly justifies additional pre-clinical investigations using umbilical cord blood stem cells. This source of cells has mainly been used in hematopoietic and immune diseases in more than 25,000 transplants to date.

Cryo- Cell is excited about the results of the research Saneron CCEL Therapeutics has completed and proud of the progress Saneron has made in the treatment for ALS. The investment community does not appreciate the value of Cryo-Cells holdings in Saneron and its world-class research initiatives, commented David Portnoy, Cryo-Cells Chairman and CEO.

Given the delay between the onset of symptoms and the actual diagnosis of ALS, the data obtained from this study was critically important to show that multiple low-doses of cord blood cells started after the symptomatic disease stage in the ALS mouse model could benefit disease outcomes, said co-author Nicole Kuzmin-Nichols, President and COO of Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc. Our continuing studies are aimed at translating the preclinical data into future clinical studies.

About Cryo-Cell International, Inc.

Cryo-Cell International, Inc. was founded in 1989 and was the worlds first private cord blood bank to separate and store stem cells in 1992. Today, Cryo-Cell has over 240,000 clients worldwide from 87 countries. Cryo-Cells mission is to provide our clients with the premier stem cell cryopreservation service and to support the advancement of regenerative medicine.

Cryo-Cell operates in a state-of-the-art Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Tissue Practice (cGMP/cGTP)-compliant facility, is ISO 9001:2008 certified and accredited by the AABB. Cryo-Cell is a publicly traded company. OTC:QB Markets Group Symbol: CCEL. Expectant parents or healthcare professionals may call 1-800-STOR-CELL (1-800-786-7235) or visit http://www.cryo-cell.com.

About Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc.

Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology R&D company, focused on neurological and cardiac cell therapy for the early intervention and treatment of several devastating or deadly diseases, which lack adequate treatment options. Saneron, a University of South Florida spin-out company is located at the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator. An affiliate of Cryo-Cell International, Inc., Saneron is committed to providing readily available, noncontroversial stem cells for cellular therapies and has patented and patent-pending technology relating to our platform technology of umbilical cord blood and Sertoli cells.

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Cryo-Cell's Affiliate, Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Releases Pre-clinical Data Indicating That Cord Blood Stem Cells ...

Texas State radiation therapy students traveled to the University of Texas Pan America last weekend to collect enough bone marrow registrations to save the lives of 1,613 cancer patients.

The Kathy Soliz Texas State Radiation Therapy Outreach Program set up tables in prime locations around the campus on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They asked passing students if they had five minutes to save a life. On the first day, the program exceeded 600 registrations, their target number for the whole trip.

Testing for a bone marrow match includes filling out a form and swabbing the inside of the cheek with a Q-tip. Donors can be called at anytime during their lives to save a life.

The program is named after Kathy Soliz, who fought leukemia for 10 years before losing her battle with cancer approximately one year ago. As a Hispanic, she only had about a one in 600,000 chance to find a bone marrow match. Soliz had two matches, but both donors declined the request for bone marrow.

Ronnie Lozano, chair of the radiation therapy program, was inspired by Solizs story and decided to help raise awareness for donating bone marrow. Texas State officials chose to partner with UTPA because the university is 89 percent Hispanic. Minorities have a lower chance of finding a match than Caucasians. A college campus also holds thousands of people who are unrelated and have younger stem cells.

Graciela Sandoval, doctoral student, said they had a good problem because they ran out of t-shirts and forms the first day from so many students registering. The student recreation center gave Texas State radiation therapy students extra t-shirts to give out.

The fact that theyre collecting them and people are registering thats hope for somebody, said Ricardo Soliz, assistant principal at San Marcos High School and father of the late Kathy Soliz.

Program officials are planning to travel to different minority schools each year for a bone marrow drive. Next spring the program plans to travel to a primarily African-American population campus.

The idea is to make a difference in the statistic numbers for all minorities, Lozano said.

The radiation therapy program has had bone marrow drives on the Texas State campus for the past four years, and there will be another in March.

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Radiation therapy program campaigns for marrow donors

05-03-2012 11:59 Learn more about cord blood stem cells here http://www.cordblood.com Cord Blood Registry's Scientific and Medical Affairs team, led by Heather Brown Vice President of Scientific and Medical Affairs, is dedicated to helping understand, communicate and advance stem cell medicine. Her team's focus is on helping find new uses for cord blood, including supporting research that is looking for treatments for conditions that have no treatment today. Our company was founded on the belief that saving newborn stem cells can change the future of medicine. Whether it's providing newborn stem cell banking at no cost to a family with a medical need or partnering with world-class researchers for first-of-their-kind clinical trials, we are committed to advancing stem cell medicine and finding new cures.

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Cord Blood Registry's Leading Science and Research Team - Video