Yearly Archives: 2015


Stem Cell Clinic > 2015

Roseville teen fights for life, needs donations for stem cell treatment

By Stem Cell Doctors

A 17-year old student from Roseville is fighting to stay alive and preparing for a possible double lung transplant but an experimental and very expensive procedure, which is not covered by his insurance, shows more promise for saving his life.

Tina Castillo says her son Myles has been fighting to survive his entire life. As she explains, it started when he was a baby.

"When he was one, he caught virus and it attacked his white blood cells which led to another virus and his blood wasn't holding oxygen," Tina explains.

As Myles' illness progressed, breathing became harder. The family says his lungs are so badly damaged that doctors want to give 17-year-old Myles, who is currently at Children's Hospital, a double lung transplant. That brings the risk of rejection and infection. So Castillo says she found a better way.

The answer is an experimental procedure provided by a Florida medical facility. She says it involves stem cell treatments that help repair damaged lung tissue helping the patient to breath easier.

But it's not FDA approved and that means insurance won't cover it.

"This doctor in Florida is saying he can save my son. What am I supposed to to do?" Tina said. "But it's not FDA approved and insurance doesn't touch it. It's all cash."

So the family started a Fight for Myles GoFundMe Account to help with the $12,000 per treatment medical bill

"I took him for his first one in October due back in April.

The family says the money raised will not only go to finance the medical procedure but medicine that costs hundreds per month.

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Roseville teen fights for life, needs donations for stem cell treatment

Bio whiz Sheldon High student competes for $1 million in science awards

By Stem Cell Medicine

Sheldon High School senior Ryan Fong is doing his part to help advance the field of stem cell biology.

The research project hes been working on for the past few years entitled, Utility of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Endothelial Cells as Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Models, was selected from more than 1,800 entrants to place him in a semi-finalist slot in the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search.

Fong was one of only three semifinalists and the only one from Elk Grove - selected from Sacramento County for the national search.

He, along with Sheldon High will receive a $1,000 award each for the respected selection.

I was really excited and not expecting it. I was extremely humbled, Fong said. Ive worked on this project for a while. But this whole thing doesnt just affect me - it affects the entire community, thebiology academy at Sheldon, and everyone whos helped me along the way. I also hope that it will all inspire future Sheldon students.

The Intel Science Talent Search recognizes talented young scientists who are creating the technologies and solutions that will positively impact peoples lives.

Projects submitted to the search cover all disciplines of science, including engineering, mathematics, biochemistry, medicine, and health.

Fongs project delved into the devastating disease of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), in which a heart artery narrows leading to right heart failure. The disease is most prevalent in women in their 30s-50s with a five-year survival rate of only 50 percent.

The student chose to take on the project, which is a continuing study at the school, because he noticed the impact it has on women during what many would consider the prime of their lives.

I have no personal connection to the disease, but I wanted to choose a project that had a direct impact on many people. Plus, it affects a demographic that we can all be sensitive about.

Continued here:
Bio whiz Sheldon High student competes for $1 million in science awards

Stamina doc Davide Vannoni offers plea bargain

By Stem Cell Treatment

Psychologist on trial for criminal association, fraud

(ANSA) - Turin, January 23 - A psychologist who developed the now-banned Stamina stem-cell treatment for terminal nerve disease patients has tried to plea bargain his way out of trial, sources said Friday. Davide Vannoni and 13 co-defendants are on trial on charges including aggravated criminal association with intent to commit fraud in connection with the therapy, which he used on terminally ill degenerative nerve disease patients. Vannoni offered to withdraw his suit against the health ministry and to shut down his Stamina Foundation in Italy in exchange for a prison sentence of one year and ten months. In Italy, custodial sentences of under three years are usually suspended. The health ministry last November decreed the end of experimentation with the controversial Stamina treatment, which supporters say could help cure degenerative nerve diseases but which experts say lacks a scientific basis. The credibility of the Stamina treatment, which involves extracting bone-marrow stem cells from a patient, supposedly turning them into neurons by exposing them to retinoic acid for two hours, and injecting them back into the patient, has long been suspect. The health ministry in late 2013 ruled that the Stamina Foundation would no longer be allowed to test the treatment on humans, and it was stripped of its non-profit status. A panel of government-appointed experts said last year it found the therapy seriously lacking in both premise and practice. Their report cited "serious imperfections and omissions in the Stamina protocol, including conceptual errors and an apparent ignorance of stem-cell biology". Vannoni told Nature magazine in a 2013 interview that he developed the therapy after receiving what he said was stem-cell treatment for a virus-induced facial paralysis in Russia in 2004. The court will decide next week whether to accept his plea bargain, sources said.

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Stamina doc Davide Vannoni offers plea bargain

Broeska breaks silence, responds to coverage of MS treatment operation

By Stem Cell Treatment

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

By: Mary Agnes Welch

Posted: 10:43 AM | Comments: | Last Modified: 12:19 PM | Updates

After days of silence, the Winnipeg medical researcher who charged MS patients thousands for overseas stem cell treatment says hes been "unfairly accused and victimized by inaccurate media reporting" and looks forward to clearing his name.

In a statement sent to local media Friday morning, Doug Broeska, owner of Regenetek Research says media reports that he falsified his credentials, overstated the effects of the stem cell clinical trial, failed to follow up with patients and was recently asked to step down as the studys researcher are false.

He said he stands by his role in the "case-based study" where his job was to track patients for follow-up. He said he has not breached ethical standards and did not give medical advice to patients.

He also enclosed a notarized copy of his PhD certificate from Brightland University, which is not accredited in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom. Brightlands website includes no contact or location information, spells Brightland incorrectly and is linked to a well-known degree mill operator

He also enclosed a notarized copy of his PhD certificate from Brightland University, which is not accredited in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom. Brightlands website includes no contact or location information, spells "Brightland" incorrectly and is linked to a well-known degree mill operator.

Broeskas degree certificate, notarized by Liya Akalu, a notary public in Washington, D.C., includes a stamp saying the oath was sworn before her Dec. 15, 2015, a date that has not yet occurred.

Broeska originally claimed to have a BSc and a PhD from the University of Manitoba. Neither is true.

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Broeska breaks silence, responds to coverage of MS treatment operation

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

By Stem Cell Medical Center

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Stem Cell Medical Center

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scientists announce revolutionary culturing technique for liver and pancreas

By Uncategorized

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

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

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

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

Organoids

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

Cultured Liver Stem Cells

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

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

Pancreatic Stem Cells

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Scientists announce revolutionary culturing technique for liver and pancreas

The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center Announces the Opening of a New Office in The Villages

By Stem Cell Treatment

The Villages, Florida (PRWEB) January 22, 2015

The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center announces the opening of a new office in The Villages, Florida on January 28, 2015, with Dr. Thomas A. Gionis, Surgeon-in-Chief and Dr. Nia Smyrniotis, Medical Director and Surgeon.

Their new office is located at the Villages Endoscopy & Surgical Center, 10900 SE 174th PL. Rd., Summerfield, FL 34491. If you have any questions or would like further information please call us at (561) 331-2999.

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

ADSCs are the bodys natural healing cells - they are recruited by chemical signals emitted by damaged tissues to repair and regenerate the bodys injured cells. The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center only uses Adult Autologous Stem Cells from a persons own fat no embryonic stem cells are used; and no bone marrow stem cells are used. Current areas of study include: Emphysema, COPD, Asthma, Heart Failure, Heart Attack, Parkinsons Disease, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Lou Gehrigs Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohns Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Inflammatory Myopathies, and degenerative orthopedic joint conditions (Knee, Shoulder, Hip, Spine). For more information, or if someone thinks they may be a candidate for one of the adult stem cell protocols offered by the Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center, they may contact Dr. Gionis or Dr. Smyrniotis directly at (561) 331-2999, or see a complete list of the Centers study areas at: http://www.MiamiStemCellsUSA.com.

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

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The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center Announces the Opening of a New Office in The Villages

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

By Stem Cell Treatment

Naples, Florida (PRWEB) January 23, 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BPA Exposure May Change Stem Cells, Lower Sperm Production

By Stem Cell Treatment

Chemicals that mimic estrogen hamper development of the stem cells responsible for making sperm in mice

The study is the first to suggest that low, brief exposures to bisphenol-A early in life can alter the stem cells responsible for producing sperm later in life. Credit: anyaivanova/Thinkstock

BPA and other estrogenic compounds hamper development of the stem cells responsible for producing sperm in mice, which suggests such exposure could contribute to declining sperm counts in men, according to a new study.

The study, published online today in PLoS Genetics, is the first to suggest that low, brief exposures to bisphenol-A, or other estrogens such as those used in birth control but found as water contaminants, early in life can alter the stem cells responsible for producing sperm later in life.

Exposure to estrogens is not simply affecting sperm being produced now, but impacting the stem cell population, and that will affect sperm produced throughout the lifetime, said Patricia Hunt, a geneticist at Washington State University who led the study.

BPA is a ubiquitous chemical found in most people and used to make polycarbonate plastic and found in some food cans and paper receipts. People also are exposed to synthetic estrogens used in birth control as they are commonly foundcontaminating water, even after treatment.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned BPA from baby bottles in 2012 but maintains that BPA currently used in food containers and packaging is safe. And this week the European Food Safety Authority announced in a new assessment there is no consumer health risk from bisphenol-A exposure.

However, Hunts study adds to evidence that low doses of the compound may harm us.

Hunt and colleagues exposed some newborn mice to BPA and some newborn mice to a synthetic estrogen used in birth control pills and hormone therapy.

These exposurescomparable to human exposures to the compoundscaused permanent alterations to the stem cells responsible for sperm production, the authors wrote.

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BPA Exposure May Change Stem Cells, Lower Sperm Production

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