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Is stem cell therapy less effective in older patients with chronic diseases?

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IMAGE:BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Lanza, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and Editor Jane Taylor, PhD. The Journal... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, January 12, 2014--A promising new therapeutic approach to treat a variety of diseases involves taking a patient's own cells, turning them into stem cells, and then deriving targeted cell types such as muscle or nerve cells to return to the patient to repair damaged tissues and organs. But the clinical effectiveness of these stem cells has only been modest, which may be due to the advanced age of the patients or the effects of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a probing Review article published in BioResearch Open Access, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers . The article is available on the BioResearch Open Access website.

Anastasia Yu. Efimenko, TN Kochegura, ZA Akopyan, and YV Parfyonova, Moscow State University (Russia), analyze how aging and chronic diseases might affect the regenerative potential of autologous stem cells and explain the differences between the promising results reported in preclinical studies using stem cells derived from healthy young donors and the more modest success of clinical studies in aged patients. The authors propose strategies to test for and enhance to regenerative properties and therapeutic potential of stem cells in the article "Autologous Stem Cell Therapy: How Aging and Chronic Diseases Affect Stem and Progenitor Cells".

"This review discusses a very important issue in regenerative medicine, how aging and chronic pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders affect adult stem/progenitor cells," says BioResearch Open Access Editor Jane Taylor, PhD, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. "Future therapies are discussed by the authors in terms of overcoming or correcting the limitations of these cells in order to enhance their therapeutic potential."

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About the Journal

BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Lanza, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and Editor Jane Taylor, PhD. The Journal provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, bioengineering, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience. All articles are published within 4 weeks of acceptance and are fully open access and posted on PubMed Central. All journal content is available on the BioResearch Open Access website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many areas of science and biomedical research, including DNA and Cell Biology, Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, Human Gene Therapy, HGT Methods, and HGT Clinical Development, and AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

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Is stem cell therapy less effective in older patients with chronic diseases?

Gordie Howe continues to improve after stem cell treatment

By Stem Cell Treatment

Former Detroit Red Wingsright-winger Gordie Howe's condition has continued to improve after stem cell treatment in December, Howe's family told Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

Howe, who will turn 87 in March, has severe dementia. He had multiple strokes last summer and a serious one in October, and he was hospitalized in December with a case of dehydration.

Howe's family opted to have the NHL legend, who spent 32 years as a professional hockey player, undergo stem cell treatment in December. The familiy has said that his condition has improved markedly since then.

Canadiens honor Charlie Hebdo victims by playing French anthem

Prior to the treatment, Howe was limited to shuffling his feet while sitting down. He has since regained the ability to kick a ball around and to push a shopping cart. He has gone out in public with family members.

Howe's son Mark, who is currently a pro scout for the Red Wings, said that his father "is doing very well, overall."

Howe spent 25 seasons with the Red Wings from 1946 to 1971. After six years with the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association, Howe returned to the NHL for a final season with the Hartford Whalers, retiring in 1980.

Wild honor J.P. Parise with pregame ceremony, helmet decal

During his season in Hartford, Howe, 51 at the time, scored 15 goals and recorded 26 assists in 80 games.

Devils veteran Patrik Elias notches 1,000th career point

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Gordie Howe continues to improve after stem cell treatment

Howe seeing further gains following stem cell treatment

By Stem Cell Treatment

Gordie Howe suffered a major stroke in October and his condition seemed grim at the end of November when his son, Mark Howe, reported that his father was unable to walk and his speech is very minimal.

He started to see an improvement in his health soon after that though and his family said that Howe took amazing steps forward thanks to stem cell treatment in Mexico.

Roughly a month after that treatment, Howe is continuing to make gains. Hes gone from not being able to walk to pushing a cart at a grocery store, Mark informed the Detroit Free Press. Mr. Hockey has also gone to the mall recently and can kicked a small ball around outside.

(Howe) is doing very well, overall, Mark said.

Howe, 86, was also suffering from back problems and has dementia. He lives with his daughter, Cathy, in Lubbock, Texas.

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Howe seeing further gains following stem cell treatment

Family's hope as blind tot heads to India for medical treatment

By Stem Cell Treatment

A TODDLER is jetting out to India with his mother and grandmother for a second course of treatment which could give him some eyesight.

Little Connor Wrighton, who is just over 13 months old, is having stem cell therapy at a clinic in New Delhi, following treatment he had in the city in October and November.

Parents Nathan and Lisa Wrighton said they were feeling very positive that the pioneering treatment was going to make a major difference to Connors life.

He was born blind and with a form of cerebral palsy. At just 23 days old, Connor had a shunt fitted to relieve the pressure on his brain by taking away fluid to his stomach.

Doctors at Unistem Biosciences in New Delhi are starting a new phase of treatment for Connor, taking cells from his hips to hopefully regenerate his eyes. The latest course of treatment is expected to last just under two weeks.

Mr Wrighton, formerly of Oxenhope and Silsden and an ex-student of South Craven School in Cross Hills, said the family was very hopeful that the stem cell therapy would make a significant difference to his sons sight.

He added: "We were very impressed with the doctors last time we feel very confident the treatment is going well.

"Connor does seem to have started to react to light and we believe there is some vision there. We always knew it was a bit of a long shot but obviously we want to give him every chance we can. So far we are delighted with Connors progress and feel very positive."

Mum Lisa and her mother, Joyce Stallebrass, are accompanying Connor on the trip this week and staying with him at the hospital, where he is expected to be for 12 or 13 days.

As the therapy is not available on the NHS, the family had to start an appeal to raise the cash to pay for the treatment, and raised about 25,000 in donations from well-wishers in just four months.

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Family's hope as blind tot heads to India for medical treatment

NHL Notebook: Gordie Howes health continutes improving after stem cell treatment – Mon, 12 Jan 2015 PST

By Stem Cell Treatment

The remarkable resurgence of Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe continues, as he has gone from wheelchair bound to pushing a shoppingcart.

Son Mark Howe, who was at Saturdays game between the Wings and Washington Capitals in his role as a Wings pro scout, told the Detroit Free Press that Gordie Howe is doing very well,overall.

Gordie Howe, who turns 87 in March, has severe dementia and has suffered a series of strokes since last summer, including a serious one in October. He was rushed to hospital in early December with what was feared to be another

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The remarkable resurgence of Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe continues, as he has gone from wheelchair bound to pushing a shoppingcart.

Son Mark Howe, who was at Saturdays game between the Wings and Washington Capitals in his role as a Wings pro scout, told the Detroit Free Press that Gordie Howe is doing very well,overall.

Gordie Howe, who turns 87 in March, has severe dementia and has suffered a series of strokes since last summer, including a serious one in October. He was rushed to hospital in early December with what was feared to be another stroke, but turned out to bedehydration.

The family sons Mark, Marty, Murray and daughter Cathy, the latter of whom Gordie Howe resides with in Lubbock, Texas opted to have Gordie Howe undergo stem cell treatment in mid-December. Since then, their fathers quality of life has improved to the point he goes out in public accompanied by familymembers.

Before the treatment, Mark Howe said, his fathers mobility was limited to shuffling his feet forward while sitting in a wheelchair. Now hes able to kick a small ball around outside. And within the past few days, dad was pushing a cart at a grocery store, and hes gone to the mall, Mark Howesaid.

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NHL Notebook: Gordie Howes health continutes improving after stem cell treatment - Mon, 12 Jan 2015 PST

Bedford clinic seeks stem cell match for man with leukemia

By Stem Cell Clinic

If youre between 17 and 35 years old, you may be able to save Chris LeBruns life.

LeBrun, 48, was diagnosed with leukemia last May. The accountant and father of two learned last fall that he needs a stem cell donation to beat the disease.

But the donor cant be just anyone. It has to be someone who is a match for the genetic markers in the proteins of LeBruns white blood cells.

That sounds complicated, but the test to find a genetic match is quite simple. Just by swiping the inside of the mouth with a cotton swab, enough cells are collected to determine whether a match has been found.

Donors between 17 and 35 are accepted, and males are preferred, as transplants from men tend to be more successful.

On Saturday in Bedford, 36 people joined the stem cell registry through Canadian Blood Services to try to help LeBrun and others with certain forms of cancer, bone marrow deficiency diseases, anemia and other immune system and metabolic disorders.

LeBrun lives in Cambridge, Ont., but has deep ties to Nova Scotia, says his longtime friend, Barb Leighton.

Leighton describes her friend as a community leader who volunteers tirelessly for causes that are important to him.

Hes very quiet, very humble, very modest, not at all for attention. Complete, pure altruism, she says.

It seems that LeBruns community spirit runs in the family. His great-uncle, Gerald LeBrun, was a well-regarded Bedford doctor who regularly made house calls long after that practice fell out of fashion. Saturdays stem cell clinic was held at the LeBrun Recreation Centre, which was named after the doctor.

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Bedford clinic seeks stem cell match for man with leukemia

Stem Cell Treatment In US – Choosing a Stem Cell Clinic

By Stem Cell Clinic

Its important to recognize that the pace of medical discovery is nothing less than amazing. Initially, there was complete ignorance of stem cells. Then there was the birth of stem cell therapy in the 70-80s, limited to cancers of the blood/lymph system and now as with all changes, there initially is a disbelief period followed by experimental and unproven claims and then finally acceptance. Arthur C. Clarke stated it well, New ideas pass through three periods: 1) It cant be done. 2) It probably can be done, but its not worth doing. 3) I knew it was a good idea all along! We are currently experiencing mild acceptance that stem cell therapy is a medical procedure with potentials. The old school anti-clinical applications groups remain vocal, however they are quickly loosing their impact.

At present the forces of big pharma and regulatory agencies (read the FDA) are dictating your choices, based on the lost revenue models that stem cell therapies may impact, in the US. There is a study suggesting that the stem cell industry will rise to 10% of the current pharmaceutical industrys net revenue in the next 10 years. This represents a 9 Billion dollar challenge to this entrenched big phama, clearly a formable business concern. For those of you interested in the methods of restraint used, read the Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 part 1271. The key words are minimal manipulation and those surrounding the definition of a drug. Your cells become a drug with even a smidgen of treatment and require the full testing and 10+ years of development.

Internationally there has been a much more favorable attitude and many of the most important steps forward are made overseas. The predominant attitude of many international governments is that the implosion of the health care industry in the US will lead to an explosion of medical tourism. A recent survey has foreign hospitals clamoring to achieve JCAHO certification, which stands for Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, to assure the public of their quality control. This organization evaluates and certifies hospitals to meet standards and receive Medicare/Medicade funding.

Curiously, many of the tools of the stem cell trade are manufactured in the US. However, the same firms can sell the products domestically if used only for research. They collect a certification statement to this effect, when selling in the US.

Its vitally important that as a consumer of medical services you chose a facility that is unequivocally interested in both an appropriate and well delivered level of services. There are, as with any procedures, risks and benefits. The practice of medicine is both an art and science and requires the correct practitioner, laboratory support and coordination team to provide the highest level of care possible.

This checklist is intended to give you a more precise approach, toward making your medical decisions. Please excuse its length, however a more specific and all encompassing look at this important decision is very significant.

1. There are no guarantees in medicine. The understanding of how the human body functions is still not fully understood. At this time stem cell therapies are not offered as a cure for any disease or a substitute for other forms of care. One of the most potentially misleading approaches to selling medical procedures is the use of anecdotal evidence or personal experiences, regardless of how miraculous they appear. The response of a patient is so individual in nature, without scientific study and collection of data, as to be only a sign of a potential, not proof of a treatments overall effect. ___

2. Does a specific board-certified physician perform the procedures? There are many levels of expertise and only an experienced physician, in the field specific to your disease, should be involved. A board of advisers is helpful and appropriate to have a better opportunity to keep up with the fast pace of medicine, but these individuals are not those administering the actual procedures. ___

3. Are the clinics physicians in compliance with existing medical laws? Although this may seem a strange question, consider the Mexican laws. There they issue a very limited number of licenses, specifically for stem cells, with both allogeneic and autologous limitations. Ask to see a picture of these certifications and check who is listed. Many countries have no regulation and allow any type of physician to perform the procedures. ___

4. Personal experiences with a clinic in regards to their delivery of services, facilities, and personnel should not be relied upon to make a decision for treatment. Its important to feel comfortable, particularly in a foreign country where you will need assistance to navigate and express your needs. At World Stem Cells Clinic we pride ourselves in paving the way toward making your treatments as smooth an experience as possible. Our well-trained team assists you from the start, at the time of contact at the airport, to end of the treatment and with follow-up thereafter. ___

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Stem Cell Treatment In US - Choosing a Stem Cell Clinic

CSU research on horse injuries, stem-cell recovery, may help humans

By Stem Cell Treatment

Doctors, nurses and anesthesiologist's care for a horse that will be receiving stem cells to help repair a meniscal tear in the stifle at the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Fort Collins. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

Stem-cell research by Colorado State University staffers using bone marrow from horses to heal joint injuries on the same animal is making strides, and researchers have great hope that the project will lead to human medical applications.

A team with CSU's Equine Orthopaedic Research Center reports that adding stem-cell therapy to traditional arthroscopic surgery on horses has significantly increased success rates.

Horses that had follow-up, stem-cell treatment were twice as likely to return to normal activity as those that did not, said David Frisbie, an associate professor of equine surgery with CSU and part of the research team.

"We've doubled it, conservatively," in treating cartilage damage in the knee, Frisbie said.

The team had results of its work published last year in the journal Veterinary Surgery.

Some lesions in the meniscus of horses that could not be treated by surgery have been successfully mended using stem cells alone.

"Western performance horses, reining and cutting horses, and barrel horses are very prone to meniscal injuries," Frisbie said.

Beyond meniscus damage, researchers also have focused on tendon lesions in the lower leg, which typically strike race horses.

Horses that suffered a tendon lesion had about a 66 percent chance of reinjury after surgery. Add stem-cell treatment and the reinjury rate drops to 21 percent, Frisbie said.

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CSU research on horse injuries, stem-cell recovery, may help humans

Quadriplegic veteran to receive stem cell treatments

By Stem Cell Doctors

LAWTON, Okla._A stem cell surgery procedure, not yet approved by the FDA, could give a local paralyzed veteran the use of his arms again.

Two years ago, retired Senior Airman Ted "TJ" Williams was left as a quadriplegic when his Humvee rolled over in a freak accident while on duty in Montana. He spent several weeks in a coma.

Now, he and his wife have found a surgery that may improve his physical abilities. They're dipping into their funds to pay for the procedure, since it's not covered by insurance, but they've set up a GoFundMe account to raise $7,500 to cover travel expenses out of the country to get the treatment.

Williams is able to move his left wrist and arm more, and has even gained more core control, thanks to therapy. But, he still needs his wife's help for simple tasks like getting dressed and using the restroom.

Williams sits next to his wife in his wheelchair and watches TV. Years ago, he would've been running outside, but one accident changed everything.

"I just remember leaving base and then waking up 2 or 3 weeks later, wondering where am I. I couldn't move anything. It was just shocking seeing my family around my bed. I was just like, Wow. What's going on,'" recalled Williams.

On November 29, 2012, Williams was on duty with his security forces team. He was in the back seat when his Humvee suddenly swerved to miss a herd of deer, rolling several times. He was ejected from the vehicle and was later found 60 feet away.

Williams was rushed to the hospital. When he woke up from the coma, doctors told him he had broken the vertebrae in his neck and lost function from the chest down.

"I was really upset and scared. Me and my wife are young. We haven't had children yet or anything. It scared me not knowing what the future was to hold," said Williams.

He was sent to a VA hospital in San Antonio for in-patient rehab. Once he was finished, he met a physical trainer in who specializes in exercises for those who are suffering from spinal cord and other neurological injuries, which was just what he needed.

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Quadriplegic veteran to receive stem cell treatments

Bad luck may play a role in two thirds of cancers

By Stem Cell Medical Center

While environmental factors and genetics play a role in the development of cancer, scientists at Johns Hopkins University have used statistical modeling to show that two-thirds of adult cancers may be attributable to "bad luck," or random mutations, rather than lifestyle.

Researchers Bert Vogelstein M.D. (Clayton Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, co-director of the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute) and Cristian Tomasetti PhD (assistant professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health) charted the number of stem cell divisions in 31 tissue types and compared them with the lifetime risks of cancer in the same tissues among Americans.

Stem cells "self-renew," meaning they repopulate cells that die off in a specific organ. Cancer occurs when tissue-specific stem cells make random mistakes, or mutations.The more mutations, the higher the risk of cancer, however it was not previously known how these random mutations contribute to cancer compared to genetic or environmental factors.

"All cancers are caused by a combination of bad luck, the environment and heredity, and weve created a model that may help quantify how much of these three factors contribute to cancer development," says Vogelstein.

Vogeltsein and Tomasetti determined the correlation between the total number of stem cell divisions and cancer risk to be 0.804. Mathematically, the closer this value is to one, the more stem cell divisions and cancer risk are correlated. Using statistical theory, they calculated that approximately 65 percen of the variation in cancer risk can be explained by the number of stem cell divisions.

Of the pair tissue types studied, the researchers found that 22 cancer types, including head and neck, esophageal, gallbladder and some bone cancers, can be largely explained by the bad luck factor of random DNA mutations during cell division.

The other nine cancer types had incidences higher than predicted by bad luck, so are presumably due to a combination of bad luck as well as environmental or genetic factors. These include lung cancer, which is linked to smoking, and skin cancer, which is linked to sun exposure.

Vogelstein and Tomasetti use the analogy of a car accident to help explain their results. "Our results would be equivalent to showing a high correlation between length of trip and getting into an accident," they say. "The longer the trip is, the higher the risk of an accident."

They liken road conditions en-route to the destination to the environmental factors in cancer. Worse conditions are associated with a higher risk of an accident. The mechanical condition of the car is a metaphor for inherited genetic factors. Mechanical problems in the car, such as bad brakes and worn tires, increase the risk of an accident. The more mechanical defects, the greater the risk. Similarly, the amount of inherited genetic mutations contributes to cancer risk.

The length of the trip can be compared to the stem cell divisions and random mutations Vogelstein and Tomasetti discuss in their paper. Regardless of road and car conditions, the probability of an accident increases with distance traveled. Short trips have the lowest risk, while long trips are associated with the highest risk.

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Bad luck may play a role in two thirds of cancers

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