Stem Cell Therapy for Knees: Process, Efficacy, and Cost

Throughout the United States, stem cell therapy is being touted as a miracle cure for everything from wrinkles to spinal repair.

Though very few of these applications have any scientific backing, stem cell therapy for knees has been the subject of quite a few promising studies.

Arthritis develops when the cartilage lining the joints starts to deteriorate, causing pain and limiting function. Osteoarthritis is incredibly common. Arthritis and similar conditions are a major cause of disability in the United States.

Every year about 600,000 Americans get a knee replacement, a number that could rise to 3 million by 2030. Until recently, treatment options were either temporary or surgical.

Now, in numerous cases, stem cell therapy for knees is reducing pain and repairing cartilage. As a result, many people have been able to improve their quality of life and avoid surgery.

As studies continue, the forms and combinations of stem cell preparations are improving, and outcomes are expected to improve as well.

The job of adult stem cells is to maintain and heal tissues by replenishing damaged and dying cells. In some areas of the body, such as the knee, blood supply is limited, so stem cells dont work as well as they should.

Alternatively, though, they can be injected, at which point they appear to initiate the self-recovery process.

The usual job of joint cartilage is to promote smooth movement of joint surfaces and protect bones from friction. This process allows for shock absorption of up to 20 times the weight of the body. Its essential to physical movement, especially in athletics.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common chronic degenerative disorders and it very often affects the knee, causing deterioration of its joint cartilage over time.

Osteoarthritis can also begin as a result of a knee injury, such as a ligament tear, tendon damage, or a fracture.

In the face of damage, the joint becomes unstable and this wears down the articular cartilage. From there, the bone can suffer damage as well, in addition to the synovial joint lining, tendons, ligaments, and muscles.

Stem cell therapy for knees is minimally invasive. Its a procedure that can decrease inflammation, slow and repair all these forms of damage from arthritis, and delay or prevent knee replacement surgery.

Adult stem cells can be extracted from bone marrow or fat through simple methods. Its then concentrated and injected into the knee with image guidance, usually to successful results.

In one study, patients experienced improvement in both knees even though only one knee was injected. Although natural deterioration of the knee continues, at five years, those knees that are injected with stem cells are in better shape than they were before the injections.

Researchers believe that stem cell therapy for the knee works by:

Ongoing research is striving to determine which stem cell knee therapy techniques, cell choices, and dosages yield the most effective and consistent results.

While some seem more potent than others and overall results are promising, more research is needed.

Stem cell treatment for knees is noninvasive and rarely painful. Side effects are minimal.

The most frequent experiences after the procedure include mild pain at the injection site, swelling, and some joint stiffness.

A review of multiple medical institutions reveals an average cost for stem cell treatment for knees of approximately $3,000 to $5,000 per knee, depending largely on geographical location.

Most insurance companies dont cover stem cell injections yet, but that may be starting to change as more research accumulates showing the effectiveness of the process.

People typically complete the procedure in one visit, but usually have an initial consultation and a follow-up appointment. The injections take approximately two to three hours.

Although stem cell therapy can pose serious risks when performed on other parts of the body, such as the eyes or the spine, its relatively safe when performed on the knees.

Stem cell therapy using adult stem cells is safest because the stem cells are collected from the persons own body. This reduces the risk of a bad reaction.

Risks are increased if:

Because this is such a new area, new research is released frequently.

While the FDA is closely watching stem cell therapy developments, the only applications that are approved involve embryonic stem cells to treat blood or immune system disorders.

If youre experiencing knee pain or limited knee mobility, alternative initial treatments might include anti-inflammatory medications, opioid pain medications, or physical therapy.

Alternative treatments include injections with platelet-rich plasma, hyaluronic acid, or steroids.

Surgical treatments may be tried as well, such as arthroscopy, subchondral bone drilling, or microfracture.

Stem cell therapy for knees is still very new and the FDA is proceeding with caution, but studies so far are very promising.

Many people have successfully avoided knee surgery and side effects are minimal for this particular body part.

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Stem Cell Therapy for Knees: Process, Efficacy, and Cost

How Much Do Stem Cell Treatments Really Cost? – The Niche

Stem cell treatments of various kinds are now widely available in America at more than 100 stem cell clinics offering non-FDA approved interventions for dozens of conditions.

American patients are often recruited on the Internet to travel around the US or to Mexico and other countries.

How much do these stem cell treatments cost?

American clinics charge approximately $10,000 per treatment. Notably, many patients gets more than one of these non-FDA approved treatments and must pay each time of course.

Some clinics have reduced prices to the $7,000-$8,000 range. Interestingly, costs for treatments outside of the US are usuallyfar higher than in the US,charging anywhere from $20,000 all the way up to $100,000. These clinics still generally have Americans as clientele. Whether inside or outside the US, insurance does not cover the costs of these potentially dangerous, unproven treatments.

Clinic profits are difficult to estimate and vary depending on the type of stem cells and other factors such as malpractice insurance cost. However, I have heard estimates of the clinics own costs being around $1,000-$2,000 per treatment, yielding a very high profit margin.

Part of the way that clinics cut corners to boost their profitsis by not following FDA regulations, putting patients in danger. Clinics typically do not do pre-clinical studies to get evidence of safety and efficacy before starting to sell their offerings to patients. Clinics also do not include sufficient follow up in the cost of the treatments. They do not publish their data to get peer review and feedback. They often do not have GMP compliant facilities or devices.

Patients themselves are frequently unable to afford these expensive, unproven stem cell treatments, and so they turn to their communities including churches, friends, and family to do fundraisers. For example, a coach reportedlyrecently raised $70,000 for a stem cell intervention fromhis community. Update: The non-FDA approved Stemedica stem cell intervention sold in Tijuana via partner Novastem reportedly costs $32,000-$40,000 a pop.

With the rapidly increasing number of clinics right here in the US, in theory one might imagine costs would go down due to competition. Its not clear if that is driving some clinics to lower prices.

Of course othercosts to patients going to dubious clinics, sometimes not considered, include the price of false hope, potential injury due to dangerous stem cell treatments, possibly being excluded from a real clinical trial in the future, and injury from deferring other arguably more real treatments.

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Six patients with rare blood disease are doing well after gene therapy clinical trial – UCLA Newsroom

Sarah C.P. Williams | January 27, 2020

UCLA researchers are part of an international team that reported the use of a stem cell gene therapy to treat nine people with the rare, inherited blood disease known as X-linked chronic granulomatous disease, or X-CGD. Six of those patients are now in remission and have stopped other treatments. Before now, people with X-CGD which causes recurrent infections, prolonged hospitalizations for treatment, and a shortened lifespan had to rely on bone marrow donations for a chance at remission.

With this gene therapy, you can use a patients own stem cells instead of donor cells for a transplant, said Dr. Donald Kohn, a member of theEli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and a senior author of the new paper, published todayin the journal Nature Medicine. This means the cells are perfectly matched to the patient and it should be a much safer transplant, without the risks of rejection.

People with chronic granulomatous disease, or CGD, have a genetic mutation in one of five genes that help white blood cells attack and destroy bacteria and fungus using a burst of chemicals. Without this defensive chemical burst, patients with the disease are much more susceptible to infections than most people. The infections can be severe to life-threatening, including infections of the skin or bone and abscesses in organs such as lungs, liver or brain. The most common form of CGD is a subtype called X-CGD, which affects only males and is caused by a mutation in a gene found on the X-chromosome.

Other than treating infections as they occur and taking rotating courses of preventive antibiotics, the only treatment option for people with CGD is to receive a bone marrow transplant from a healthy matched donor. Bone marrow contains stem cells called hematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem cells, which produce white blood cells. Bone marrow from a healthy donor can produce functioning white blood cells that effectively ward off infection. But it can be difficult to identify a healthy matched bone marrow donor and the recovery from the transplant can have complications such as graft versus host disease, and risks of infection and transplant rejection.

Patients can certainly get better with these bone marrow transplants, but it requires finding a matched donor and even with a match, there are risks, Kohn said. Patients must take anti-rejection drugs for six to 12 months so that their bodies dont attack the foreign bone marrow.

In the new approach, Kohn teamed up with collaborators at the United Kingdoms National Health Service, France-based Genethon, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, and Boston Childrens Hospital. The researchers removed hematopoietic stem cells from X-CGD patients and modified the cells in the laboratory to correct the genetic mutation. Then, the patients own genetically modified stem cells now healthy and able to produce white blood cells that can make the immune-boosting burst of chemicals were transplanted back into their own bodies. While the approach is new in X-CGD, Kohn previously pioneereda similar stem cell gene therapyto effectively cure a form of severe combined immune deficiency (also known as bubble baby disease) in more than 50 babies.

The viral delivery system for the X-CGD gene therapy was developed and fine-tuned by Professor Adrian Thrashers team at Great Ormond Street Hospital, or GOSH, in London, who collaborated with Kohn. The patients ranged in age from 2 to 27 years old; four were treated at GOSH and five were treated in the U.S., including one patient at UCLA Health.

Two people in the new study died within three months of receiving the treatment due to severe infections that they had already been battling before gene therapy. The seven surviving patients were followed for 12 to 36 months after receiving the stem cell gene therapy. All remained free of new CGD-related infections, and six of the seven have been able to discontinue their usual preventive antibiotics.

None of the patients had complications that you might normally see from donor cells and the results were as good as youd get from a donor transplant or better, Kohn said.

An additional four patients have been treated since the new paper was written; all are currently free of new CGD-related infections and no complications have arisen.

Orchard Therapeutics, a biotechnology company of which Kohn is a scientific co-founder, acquired the rights to the X-CGD investigational gene therapy from Genethon. Orchard will work with regulators in the U.S. and Europe to carry out a larger clinical trial to further study this innovative treatment. The aim is to apply for regulatory approval to make the treatment commercially available, Kohn said.

Kohn and his colleagues plan to develop similar treatments for the other forms of CGD caused by four other genetic mutations that affect the same immune function as X-CGD.

Beyond CGD, there are also other diseases caused by proteins missing in white blood cells that could be treated in similar ways, Kohn said.

The research was supported by grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, both at the National Institutes of Health; the Wellcome Trust; Boston Childrens Hospital; the National Institute for Health Research Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre; the Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University College London; the Great Ormond Street Hospital Childrens Charity; the AFM-Tlthon, French Muscular Dystrophy Association; and the European Commission through the Net4CGDconsortium.

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Foretinib Inhibits Cancer Stemness and Gastric Cancer Cell Proliferati | OTT – Dove Medical Press

Sung-Hwa Sohn,1,* Bohyun Kim,1,* Hee Jung Sul,1 Bo Youn Choi,1 Hyeong Su Kim,2 Dae Young Zang1,2

1Hallym Translational Research Institute, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang 14066, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 14068, Republic of Korea

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Dae Young ZangDivision of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University College of Medicine, 22, Gwanpyeong-ro 170beon-gil, Dongan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 14068, Republic of KoreaTel +82-31-380-4167Fax +82-31-386-1528Email fhdzang@gmail.com

Purpose: CD44 isoforms are highly expressed in cancer stem cells, initiating tumor growth and sustaining tumor self-renewal. Among these isoforms, CD44 variant 9 (CD44v9) is overexpressed in chronic inflammation-induced cancer. CD44 and the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) receptor tyrosine kinase are coactivated in some gastric cancers (GCs). In this study, we characterized MET and CD44 expression and signaling in human GC cell lines and analyzed differences in the susceptibility of these lines to foretinib.Patients and Methods: We analyzed cell viability and the rate of apoptotic cells using MTS assays and flow cytometry, respectively. Gene and protein expression were assessed by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunoblotting, respectively.Results: Foretinib treatment resulted in dose-dependent inhibition of growth in c-MET-amplified MKN45 and SNU620 cells with concomitant induction of apoptosis, but not in c-MET-reduced MKN28 and AGS cells. Foretinib treatment also significantly reduced phosphor-c-MET, phosphor-AKT, beta-catenin, and COX-2 protein expression in MKN45 and SNU620 cells. Interestingly, foretinib significantly reduced CD44, CD44v9, COX-2, OCT3/4, CCND1, c-MYC, VEGFA, and HIF-1a gene expression in CD44 and MET coactivated MKN45 cells and increased CD44s gene expression; in contrast, these drugs were only slightly active against SNU620 cells.Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that foretinib could be a therapeutic agent for the prevention or treatment of GCs positive for CD44v9 and c-MET.

Keywords: c-MET, CD44v9, foretinib, gastric cancer, OCT3/4

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Chinese New Year babys B.C. family gives gift of life in cord-blood donation – The Province

Jack Chieh and Yinnie Wong with their baby boy, born last Friday (Chinese New Year). The couple donate her baby's cord blood to the cord blood bank at B.C. Womens Hospital & Health Centre.Handout

Yinnie Wong and Jack Chiehs six-pound, 13-ounce baby boy as yet unnamed was born on an auspicious day, Jan. 24, Chinese New Year, and hes already doing good in the world.

Everyone was really happy, it is supposed to be a lucky day, said Wong.

Although the birth was a planned C-section, Wong had no control over the date hospital administrators chose for the birth. What she did have control over was the choice to donate her babys cord blood to the cord blood bank at B.C. Womens Hospital & Health Centre, which has just celebrated its fifth anniversary.

Cord blood is blood that is taken from the umbilical cord and placenta immediately after the birth of a healthy infant. Cord blood is rich in stem cells, and can be used to treat over 80 diseases, including leukemia.

According to Canadian Blood Services, ethnically diverse donors are especially needed because although Stats Canada data shows 67.7 per cent of Canadians consider their ethnic origin to be diverse, only 31 per cent of Canadians with blood in Canadas stem-cell registry are from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Crystal Nguyen, 20, is a former B.C. Childrens Hospital patient whose life was saved by a stem-cell transplant from donated cord blood. Nguyen was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 12. After chemo, she went into remission for almost three years. Then the cancer returned. She was told she needed a bone-marrow transplant.

Crystal Nguyen, now 20, was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 12. She found a stem-cell match for a needed bone-marrow transplant through the international cord blood bank.Handout

When I relapsed I was very confused, it was kind of surreal. The main thing about being told I needed the bone-marrow stem-cell transplant was confusion, fear and anxiety.

Nguyen is of Vietnamese descent and needed a match to survive. No one in her family was a match, nor was there a stem-cell match in the Canadian cord blood bank, but a match was found thanks to the Canadian Blood Services partnerships with 47 international blood banks.

I was told it came through the international cord blood bank from somewhere very far away, said Nguyen, who has been in remission since the transplant.

When she learned the stem-cell transplant had been successful, Nguyen, who is now studying to become a pediatric oncology nurse, said it felt too good to be true.

There was a lot of happiness, joy, excitement. Donating cord blood is such a simple way to save a life.

Although cord blood can be collected and stored for a fee by private companies and reserved for the donor familys use, cord blood donated through Canadian Blood Services is available free to the public whoever needs the match.

Wong didnt hesitate when her son was born. I felt like I wanted to do it if it helps someone in the public, and if it could save lives I would have been very happy to help another child, said Wong, who is a nurse at B.C. Womens hospital.

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PERCEPT myeloma: a protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial of exercise prehabilitation before and during autologous stem cell transplantation…

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PERCEPT myeloma: a protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial of exercise prehabilitation before and during autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with multiple myeloma.

BMJ Open. 2020 Jan 29;10(1):e033176

Authors: McCourt O, Fisher A, Ramdharry G, Roberts AL, Land J, Rabin N, Yong K

AbstractINTRODUCTION: Myeloma, a blood cancer originating from plasma cells, is the most common indication for autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT). Patients with myeloma undergoing autologous SCT (ASCT) experience treatment-related morbidity and reduction in function and well-being for many months post-treatment. Interventions targeting physical functioning delivered prior to and during SCT have shown promising results in mixed haematological populations and may offer a non-pharmacological solution to physically optimising and preparing patients for SCT. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of a physiotherapist-led exercise intervention as an integral part of the myeloma ASCT pathway at a UK tertiary centre.METHODS AND ANALYSIS: PERCEPT is a single-site, pilot randomised controlled trial of an exercise intervention embedded within the myeloma ASCT pathway, compared with usual care. The primary study end points will be feasibility measures of study and intervention delivery including recruitment rates, acceptability of intervention, study completion rate and any adverse events. Secondary end points will evaluate differences between the exercise intervention group and the usual care control group in cancer-related fatigue, quality of life, functional capacity (6min walk test; handheld dynamometry; a timed sit-to-stand test) and objective and self-reported physical activity. Outcomes will be assessed at four time points, approximately 6-8 weeks prior to SCT, on/around day of SCT, on discharge from SCT hospital admission and 12 weeks post-discharge. The exercise intervention comprises of partly supervised physiotherapist-led aerobic and resistance exercise including behaviour change techniques to promote change in exercise behaviour. The primary outcomes from the trial will be summarised as percentages or mean values with 95% CIs. Group differences for secondary outcomes at each time point will be analysed using appropriate statistical models.ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has NHS REC approval (Camden and Kings Cross, 19/LO/0204). Results will be disseminated through publication and presentations at haematology and rehabilitation-related meetings.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN15875290.

PMID: 32001493 [PubMed in process]

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PERCEPT myeloma: a protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial of exercise prehabilitation before and during autologous stem cell transplantation...

Malcolm McGregor, 5, who is fighting cancer, returns home to hero’s welcome – Wisconsin Rapids Tribune

Malcolm McGregor, 5, has been receiving treatment in Madison for neuroblastoma and returned home Sunday for the first time in four months. 24/7 Wall Street

GRAND RAPIDS Malcolm McGregor returned home to a heros welcome Sunday.

Family and friends erupted into cheers as the 5-year-old boy pulled into his driveway for the first time in four months.The McGregor family was escorted through Kellner and back to their Grand Rapids home by emergency vehicles from the Grand Rapids Police Department, Grand Rapids Fire Department, Wood County Sheriffs Department, Wood County Sheriff's Rescue, United Ambulance and others.

Groups of well-wishers also gathered along 80th Street in Kellner to welcome him home.

Malcolm, who has been battling stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma since Dec. 24, 2018, spent the past four months at American Family Children's Hospitaland the Ronald McDonald House in Madison after receiving his second stem cell transplant in early October. The stay was initially expected to last only four weeks, but fevers, high blood pressure, infections and other life-threatening complications extended his stay.

RELATED:4-year-old Wisconsin Rapids boy fights cancer; family asks for cards and letters

RELATED:Wisconsin Rapids' 2019 People of the Year

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His parents, Jon and Tracy McGregor, have provided near-daily updates on Malcolms health struggles and victories during the stay on the Facebook group Malcolms MARVELous SUPER HERO cancer fighters, and on Saturday morningthey shared the happy news.

Four months Malcolm has been here. He missed four holidays. He almost died. Just thinking of writing this post has me all kinds of emotional but here we go. MALCOLM IS GOING HOME! Tracy McGregor wrote.

The McGregor family first shared Malcolms story with a Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune reporter in January 2019 when they asked people to send superhero-, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- and PAW Patrol-inspired cards and letters to the boy as he fought cancer.

Soon, packages started arriving from across the United States and countries around the world.

I cannot begin to describe what its been like getting all these cards and packages, Tracy McGregor shared last year on Facebook. Malcolm loves going to the post office to pick them up! Thank you everyone!

That support has continued throughout Malcolms ongoing treatment. Community members have contributed over $12,000 to the familys GoFundMe account, donated items to the familys Amazon Wishlist and provided meals through Meal Train.

Hundreds of people also organized, volunteered at, donated to and attended the Malcolms Marvelous Superhero Cancer Crusade fundraiser in September at Wildhorse Saloon. The event included music, childrens activities, food and basket raffles.

Malcolm McGregor, 5, his family and members of local law enforcement organizations pose for a photo after Malcolm returned to his Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, home on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. He has been receiving treatment in Madison for stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma for the past four months and returned home for the first time Sunday.(Photo: Jamie Rokus/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

In November, two members of the Wood County Sheriffs Rescue traveled to Madison to deliver Christmas cheer and gifts to Malcolm. And many local small-business owners and individuals have held fundraisers during the past year for the family, too.

Malcolm still will have to return to Madison monthly for immunotheraphy treatment through June and by mid-summer Malcolm will be done with treatment, Tracy McGregor wrote on Facebook.

People who wish to support the family can find needed items on their Amazon Wishlist or donate money through PayPal or GoFundMe.

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4 Crazy but Effective Ways to Save More Money This Year – Nasdaq

It's no secret that Americans aren't doing all that well in the savings department. An estimated 39% of U.S. adults don't have the money on hand to cover a $400 emergency, and 45% of Americans have no money earmarked for retirement savings.

If your savings efforts have been far from fruitful in recent years, it's time to do better -- even if that means going to a bit of an extreme to get there. Here are a few far-out but effective methods of boosting your savings -- and buying yourself the financial security you're currently missing.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

If you're not familiar with no-spend periods, they involve not forking over so much as a dime on non-essentials for different periods of time. It's common to have an occasional no-spend week or no-spend month, but if you're really intent on boosting your savings, you may want to extend that restriction for a full year. That's right -- no restaurant meals, non-work clothing, or paid entertainment for an entire 12 months.

Will that be difficult? Absolutely. But imagine you currently spend $600 a month on dining out, leisure, apparel, and other items you enjoy having but can technically live without. In the course of a year, you'll be $7,200 richer.

Housing is the typical American's greatest monthly expense, so if you're able to reduce it substantially, you're apt to boost your savings in a very meaningful way. Imagine you currently rent a three-bedroom, 2000-square-foot apartment with your spouse and child for $2,000 a month. If you were to downsize to a one-bedroom (yes, you read that correctly) that takes up 800 square feet, you might reduce your rent to $1,000.

Will living in cramped quarters for a year be easy? Not at all. But if it saves you $12,000, it's a sacrifice worth making.

It costs $9,282 a year, on average, to own a vehicle, according to AAA. If you're willing to give yours up, you could wind up banking that much cash in the course of a year instead.

Now if you live in an area where public transportation is abundant, that's not such a huge ask. But if you live in suburbia, it could prove more challenging. That doesn't mean it can't be done, though. You could consider carpooling with your spouse (meaning, downsize from a two-car household to a single car), catching rides with friends or colleagues, or biking to and from work if that's a reasonable thing to do (if your office is 40 miles away, it's not).

Will giving up a car limit you logistically and socially? Probably. But think about it this way -- if it's harder to get around, you may be less inclined to dine out or spend money on entertainment, which will help your savings efforts.

The typical American spends $3,456 a year on restaurant meals and food outside the home, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But restaurants generally charge a 300% markup on the items they serve, which means that if your spending is in line with the typical American's, you could save yourself close to $2,600 in the course of a year by cooking every meal you eat at home.

Will that constitute a time investment? It sure will. But you never know -- you may discover that you enjoy cooking your own food, and that doing so is healthier for you anyway.

If you're doing reasonably well financially -- meaning, you're on track for retirement and have a healthy emergency fund -- then there's certainly no need to go to any of the above extremes (unless, of course, you happen to love a good challenge). But if your near-term and long-term savings are virtually nonexistent, then you may need to take drastic measures to build them up. The good news? You don't need to commit to these extremes for a lifetime. Make any of the above moves for a single year, and your savings could easily take a turn for the much improved.

The $16,728 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as$16,728 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

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Patient in Japan 1st to have iPS cell heart muscle transplant : The Asahi Shimbun – Asahi Shimbun

A patient who received the worlds first transplant of cardiac muscle cells using artificially derived stem cells known as iPS cells this month is in stable condition, an Osaka University team said Jan. 27.

After surgery, doctors closely monitored the patient, who had ischemic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which clotted arteries cause heart muscles to malfunction. But the patient has been moved toa general hospital ward, the team said.

Yoshiki Sawa, a professor of cardiovascular surgery at the university, who led the team that conducted the transplant, said the team aims to put the technique into practical use.

Sawa said the team hopestransplants of heart muscle tissues derived from induced pluripotent stem cellswill be used to save many patients who have heart conditions.

In the clinical trial, three sheets of heart muscle tissues made from iPS cells stocked at Kyoto Universitys Center for iPS Cell Research and Application were attached to affected parts of the patients heart. The iPS cells were created from tissues provided by a healthy donor.

The sheets were 4 to 5 centimeters in diameter and 0.1 millimeter thick.

The transplant's goal is to regenerate cardiac blood vessels using a substance secreted by the sheets of muscle cells. The sheets are degradable and disappear from the body several months after they secrete the substance, according to the team.

The university plans to perform similar transplants on nine other patients who have serious heart problems.

The Osaka University team had planned to conduct the clinical trial of the transplant earlier after the government approved the plan in May 2018.

But it was postponed due to damage from a powerful earthquake that hit Osaka Prefecture the following month that rendered its facility to cultivate cells unusable.

The trial is part of the process toward the future distribution of medical products using cells.

Osaka Universitys announcement of the successful transplant of tissues created from iPS cells marked the fourth such transplantation.

Including Osaka University's trial, Japanese surgeons have now successfully transplanted tissues created from iPS cells four times.

The world's first transplant of iPS-derived cells was conducted in 2014 whenthe Riken research institute transplanted retina cells for a patient with age-related macular degeneration.

In 2018, Kyoto University transplanted nerve cells for a Parkinson disease patient. Osaka University transplanted cornea cells into a patient with a disease of the cornea in 2019.

Patients who undergo transplants using iPS-derived cell must accept the risk that the cells may become cancerous.

The moreiPS-derived cells a patient receives, the higher their risk.

Hundreds of thousands of retina cells were used in the 2014 retina transplant. In the 2018 and 2019 transplants, the number of nerve and cornea cells used soared to between 5 million to 6 million.

Osaka University's latest transplant utilized roughly 100 milliontissues made from iPS cells.

Sawa acknowledged the transplanted heart muscle tissues could turn cancerous, but said the teamhas made great efforts to remove potentially cancerous cells.

Hideyuki Okano, professor of molecular neurobiology at Keio University, who is researching the application of iPS-derived nerve cells to treat patients with spinal cord damage, said the risk was worth it.

Okano said the Osaka University's transplant, using tissues made from iPS cells from a donor, could be more effective than the existing therapy, which uses the patients own muscle tissues.

I understand that the transplanted tissues might become cancerous or cause an erratic heart rhythm, but the transplantation of the iPS-derived heart muscle tissues can be more effective than muscle tissue sheets made from the patients leg, Okano said.

Keio University is also planning to conduct clinical research using iPS-derived cells to regenerate heart tissues.

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