Showing posts with label stem cell. Show all posts

Stem Cell Therapy Allows Mice With MS-Like Condition To Walk Again





May 16, 2014 | by Justine Alford

In a study published recently in Stem Cell Reports, a team of scientists have demonstrated that transplantation of human stem cells into disabled mice with a multiple sclerosis (MS) - like condition resulted in rapid and sustained clinical recovery. Within just two weeks of the treatment the mice were able to walk again, raising the possibility that this technique could eventually be applied to treat MS patients.
MS is a chronic and progressive inflammatory condition that results in the loss of myelin, the fatty insulating layer that forms around neurons. Myelin serves to ensure that electrical impulses that transmit information to and from the brain are transmitted efficiently. This demyelination and damage to neuronal cells results in a variety of clinical symptoms, from difficulty walking to blurred vision.
Over 2.3 million people worldwide suffer from MS, but current treatments have demonstrated little long-term benefit. There is therefore a need for therapies that bestow sustained improvements in patients, and previous studies using cell therapies in animal models have suggested that this could be a promising avenue.
Read the full article at IFLScience 
 (http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/stem-cell-therapy-allows-mice-ms-condition-walk-again#PFuKREOoFelQ8o6d.99)

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Ground breaking hip and stem cell surgery completed using 3D-printed implant

Date:
May 16, 2014
Source:
University of Southampton
Summary:
Doctors and scientists have completed their first hip surgery with a 3D-printed implant and bone stem cell graft. The 3D printed hip, made from titanium, was designed using the patient's CT scan and CAD CAM (computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing) technology, meaning it was designed to the patient's exact specifications and measurements. The implant will provide a new socket for the ball of the femur bone to enter. Behind the implant and between the pelvis, doctors have inserted a graft containing bone stem cells.

Doctors and scientists in Southampton have completed their first hip surgery with a 3D printed implant and bone stem cell graft.
The 3D printed hip, made from titanium, was designed using the patient's CT scan and CAD CAM (computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing) technology, meaning it was designed to the patient's exact specifications and measurements.
The implant will provide a new socket for the ball of the femur bone to enter. Behind the implant and between the pelvis, doctors have inserted a graft containing bone stem cells.

Read the full article at Science Daily 
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140516203334.htm)
3D printer

First use of retrograde gene therapy on a human heart


Procedure delivers stem cells to the heart to repair damaged muscle and arteries
December 2, 2013

A new procedure designed to deliver stem cells to the heart to repair damaged muscle and arteries in the most minimally invasive way possible has been performed for the first time by Amit Patel, M.D., director of Clinical Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering and an associate professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
Patel started investigating cell and gene-based therapies for the treatment of heart disease 12 years ago, but only recently received FDA approval to try the therapy on Lively, who was the first of several patients anxious to receive the treatment.
More than 6 million people are currently living with heart failure. As the condition progresses, patients’ options are usually limited to a heart transplant or assist devices, such as an artificial heart. Patel wanted to find a way to intervene in the progression of heart failure before a patient advanced to the point of needing a heart transplant or device.
Read the full article at Kurzweilai
(http://www.kurzweilai.net/first-use-of-retrograde-gene-therapy-on-a-human-heart)
health

Historic Japan Stem Cell Trial Approved


Wed, 08/14/2013 - 12:00pm
Cynthia Fox


The first clinical trial of revolutionary stem cells that won a Nobel Prize for their developer has been greenlit.

The cells, called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) Cells, will be morphed into retinal cells, then given to six patients with a major cause of blindness: age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The trial, approved by Japan Health Minister Norihisa Tamura, will be led next summer by Masayo Takahashi. She is a retina regeneration expert, and a colleague of the man who first developed iPS cells: Shinya Yamanaka.
The trial epitomizes, to many, Japan’s determination to dominate the iPS cell field, an ambition that kicked into high gear when Yamanaka shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine last October for his iPS cell work.
“If things continue this way, this will be the first in-clinic study in iPS cell technology,” says Doug Sipp of the Riken Center for Developmental Biology (CDB). The CDB, Takahashi’s institute, will co-run the trial with Kobe’s Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation. "It's exciting."
Read the whole article at Bio Science Technology 
cancer

Dr. Kevin Bethel clears up misconceptions about stem cells

By Yasmin Popescu - Media Unlimited
Aug 14, 2013 - 11:31:07 PM
DSCN6463sm.jpg
Freeport, Grand Bahama - The Bahamas may have missed the boat on being the first country with a stem cell research center. One was proposed for Grand Bahama but due to lack of proper legislation has delayed.

 Dr. Kevin Bethel of Freeport Family Wellness Center, made this statement as he addressed the Rotary Club of Grand Bahama Sunrise on Wednesday morning at Geneva’s Restaurant.
He stated that at the outset that there has been some misconceptions about stem cells which he said for the most part was unfounded.

 “Because,” he continued, “we have to start with the definition – what is stem cell? We are not talking about something that is produced from outer space or high science fiction thing or anything they have been talking about. All of us have stem cells in our body.

 “Stem cells are biologically active cells in the body that have the ability to transform into any cell line in the body. So there are any types of stem cells. The basic definition of stem cell is a cell that has the ability to turn itself into any type of cell.”

 Dr. Bethel said that whenever someone has an injury, stem cells can be taken from the person to regrow and provide self-population for the repair.

 “So for something as simple as a cut or burn on the skin, we have stem cells in our skin, and in the fat layers under our skin, that can transform into the various different types of cells that are necessary for our skin to grow back. It’s a miracle when you see things like that.”

 While admitting that at first the stem cell research began using placentas, Dr. Bethel said that at this present time, stem cells are taken from the person who needs it and grown.

Read more at the Bahamas Weekly
alternative medicine
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