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The Future of Stem Cells: Opportunities at the Cutting Edge of Science

By Stem Cell Medicine

Stem cell technology representsone of the most fascinating and controversial medical advances of the past several decades. By now the enormous controversy which surrounded the use of federal funds to conduct scientific research on human stem cells during the George W. Bush administration has largely blown over. Five years have passed since President Obama lifted federal funding restrictions, and amazing progress has already been made in the field.

One can make a good case for stem cells being the most fascinating and versatile cells in the human body. This is precisely due to their stem role. In their most basic form, theyre capable of both replicating themselves an unlimited number of times and differentiating themselvesinto a huge number of other cell types. Muscle cells, brain cells, organ cells, and many others can all be created from stem cells. If youre interested, the NIH has an awesome introductionon stem cells on their website.

The question which has arisen since the discovery of thisamazing cell type has been how to harness their power and versatility. This is the primary focus of research today: how can we precisely control stem cells to perform whatever tasks we need them to do? Of course, other important issues, such as figuring out thebest places from which to harvest stem cells,exist.

Because of their role in the body, the number of potential applications for stem cells are truly stunning. From building custom cell clusters with 3D printers to curing a variety of diseases through bone marrow transplants, growingorgans for transplants, andeven growing edible meat, research is progressing at a frantic pace.

There are two particular areas of research which seem to hold the greatest promise at this point. The first is organs. Anyone who has ever been involved in an organ transplant knows how incredibly complex and difficult the process is. But difficulties like finding the right donor, preserving the organ, and finding enough supply to meet the incredible demand could all be overcome if we could simply use stem cells to grow a custom organ for each transplant from scratch.

Besides this perhaps science-fiction-sounding process of growing organs, theres also incredible excitement surrounding the potential of bone marrow transplants to cure diseases like HIVand Leukemia. This is done by implanting stem cells containing genetic mutations which confer immunity to a variety of diseases into a patients bone marrow, where they can begin naturally replicating and affecting the immune system.

Thisprocedurealso covers transplants designed simply to reintroduce healthy stem cells to help tackle a wider variety of ailments. Often, referred to as regenerative medicine as itinvolves stimulating the bodys preexisting repair mechanisms to help the healing process,thisprocedurealso offer great promise.

Naturally, the speed at which advances are being made in the field has led to problems as well. One recent well-publicized study which seemed to point to the possibility of achieving stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (essentially demonstrating a new type of stem cells) is now believedto have beenfraudulent.

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The Future of Stem Cells: Opportunities at the Cutting Edge of Science

Renowned professor's book addresses stem cell biology & regenerative medicine

By Uncategorized

IMAGE:This is the cover for Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. view more

Credit: World Scientific, 2015

In his latest book published by World Scientific, Professor David Warburton from The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California presents a collection of essays on the current state of the regenerative medicine and stem cell research field.

Entitled Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, this up-to-date compendium surveys current issues in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Topics range from key concepts in regenerative medicine to the newest progenitor cell therapies for organ systems, to advice on how to set up a pluripotent stem cell laboratory.

Overviews of the most recent progress in stem cell research describe work that is in the pre-clinical pipeline from scientists working at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and colleagues around the world.

"The book addresses some of the big questions faced by researchers in the field of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine," said Professor Warburton. "Those of us working in this field in California are positively impacted by the critical funding provided by the citizens of the state through the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. I believe this book shows that the hope behind CIRM - the hope that stem cells can really revolutionize medicine and human health - is fully justified."

A global collection of essays from collaborating investigators in Australia, Brazil, Iran, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, as well as across the United States. This book will describe diverse regenerative medicine solutions for airways, cancer, craniofacial structures, intestine, heart, kidney, liver, lung and nervous system. These advances are placed in the context of the overall field, providing an investigator-level overview which will be accessible to the educated scientific generalist as well as a college-educated readership, scientific writers, educators and professionals of all kinds.

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Professor Warburton's research is supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the National Institutes of Health: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Fogarty International Center, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, The Pasadena Guild of Children's Hospital Los Angeles, The Santa Anita Foundation, The Webb Foundation, The Garland Foundation and anonymous venture philanthropy.

The book retails for US$155/ 102 (hardcover). More information on the book can be found at http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/9212.

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Renowned professor's book addresses stem cell biology & regenerative medicine

Peter S. Kim Named the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford

By Uncategorized

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Newswise January 13, 2015 New York, NY Peter S. Kim has been named the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine. Established in 1994, Ludwig professorships have since been awarded to a total of 15 leading scientists at academic institutions affiliated with the six U.S.-based Ludwig Centers. With this appointment Kim also becomes a member of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research and Medicine at Stanford.

Kims lab focuses on the mechanisms by which viral membranes fuse with cell membranes, which has to happen for the virus to invade its target cell. His team also studies how that process might be disrupted by small molecules and antibodies. Kims lab is, for example, using such studies to engineer antigens for a vaccine that might elicit antibodies that block a key step in HIVs invasion of its target cell. The strategies that he is developing could be applied to design new preventive and therapeutic vaccines for cancers. His lab is also developing methods to identify small molecules that bind tightly and very specifically to proteins that have so far proved resistant to targeting by typical drug-like molecules.

Kim joined Stanford University in February 2014 after a ten-year tenure as president of Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc. During this time he oversaw the development and FDA approval of Gardasil, the worlds first vaccine against HPV, the causative agent of cervical cancer. Kim began his academic career as a professor in the biology department at MIT, where he ultimately served as associate head. During his 16 years at MIT Kim was also an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

We are very happy, and fortunate, to have Peter Kim back here at Stanford, where he began his graduate training, said Irv Weissman, director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research and Medicine at Stanford. Peter brings with him rare experience and new strategies for developing preventive tools and therapiesincluding immunotherapiesfor viral infections that cause, allow and/or infect cancers. His goals are in line with our mission, and his approaches complement our own efforts to recruit the immune system to attack cancer cells.

Kim has received numerous awards for his research and holds leadership positions at several academic and scientific institutions. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He serves on the Scientific Review Board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the External Scientific Advisory Board of the Harvard Program in Therapeutic Science, the Board of Scientific Governors of the Scripps Research Institute and the Scientific Advisory Working Group of the Vaccine Research Center, NIAID, NIH.

Kim joins four other Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professors at Stanford: Lucy Shapiro, Irving Weissman, Sanjiv Sam Gambhir and Roeland Nusse.

# # #

About Ludwig Cancer Research Ludwig Cancer Research is an international collaborative network of acclaimed scientists that has pioneered cancer discoveries for more than 40 years. Ludwig combines basic research with the ability to translate its discoveries and conduct clinical trials to accelerate the development of new cancer diagnostics and therapies. Since 1971, Ludwig has invested more than $2.5 billion in life-changing cancer research through the not-for-profit Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the six U.S.-based Ludwig Centers.

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Peter S. Kim Named the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford

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

By Uncategorized

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.

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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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