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Researchers recreate stem cells from deceased patients to study present-day illnesses

By Stem Cell Medical Center

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Dec-2014

Contact: Cara Martinez cara.martinez@cshs.org 310-423-7798 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center @cedarssinai

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 1, 2014) - Research scientists have developed a novel method to re-create brain and intestinal stem cells from patients who died decades ago, using DNA from stored blood samples to study the potential causes of debilitating illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease.

The lab research, published in the journal STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, could yield new therapies for people who suffer from aggressive motor-neuron and gut-related conditions that proved fatal to the deceased patients who long-ago volunteered their blood samples.

"The potential implications of this research are vast," said Dhruv Sareen, PhD, the study's lead author, and assistant professor and director of the David and Janet Polak Foundation Stem Cell Core Laboratory in the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute.

By using a deceased patient's stored blood samples, Sareen and his colleagues found that they can develop stem cells known as iPSCs in a petri dish - essentially reanimating diseased cells from patients long after they have died.

This approach allows researchers to connect the dots between a deceased patient's symptoms, genetic information contained in DNA and the behavior of stem cells in the lab. This, in turn, enables investigators to study the biological mechanisms behind diseases and potentially design new therapies.

The technique also allows physicians to replace invasive biopsy procedures typically required of living patients to create iPSC cells.

"These novel developments allow us to create new lines of stem cells from literally millions of patient samples stored in large repositories," said Clive Svendsen, PhD, director of the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute. "Some of these deceased patients were diagnosed with rare and important diseases."

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Researchers recreate stem cells from deceased patients to study present-day illnesses

World Stem Cell Summit kicks off in SA with Public Education Day

By Stem Cell Medical Center

NEWS

1200+ scientists, patient advocates from 40 countries in town for summit

Posted YESTERDAY, 6:04 PM Updated YESTERDAY, 6:33 PM

SAN ANTONIO - More than a thousand scientists, industry leaders and patient advocates from 40 countries are headed to San Antonio for the World Stem Cell Summit.

Organizers are calling it the center of the universe when it comes to stem cells and regenerative medicine.

On Tuesday the summit kicked off with Public Education Day, where some of the smartest scientists in the field broke the topic down into bite-sized pieces.

"To be able to replenish our cells that die within a tissue on a daily basis, in order for us to be able to heal wounds, we have to have stem cells," said Elaine Fuchs, an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

She started her research in the field in the 1970s with work on skin stem cells, and said she was fascinated with creating skin in a petri dish that could then be used for burn therapy.

Fuchs spoke at Public Education Day about the most basic biology of stem cells and said that knowledge is leading to a new world in medicine.

"The biology of stem cells is gong to be and is being extremely valuable in terms of developing new therapies and coming up with new drugs to treat various different devastating diseases," Fuchs said.

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World Stem Cell Summit kicks off in SA with Public Education Day

The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center Announces Adult Stem Cell Public Seminars in Baco Raton and Fort Lauderdale …

By Stem Cell Treatment

Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, Florida (PRWEB) December 02, 2014

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

The seminars will be held on Sunday, December 7, 2014, at 1:00pm and 3:00pm at the Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center, 1515 N. Federal Highway, Suite 105, Boca Raton, FL 33432 and Thursday, December 11, 2014 at 2:00 pm at the Thasos Greek Taverna, 3330 E. Oakland Park Blvd, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308. Please RSVP at (561) 331-2999.

The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center abides by 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 body's 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. Current areas of study include: Emphysema, COPD, Asthma, Heart Failure, Parkinsons Disease, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohns Disease, and degenerative orthopedic joint conditions. 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 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 is an affiliate of the Cell Surgical Network (CSN); they are located in Baco Raton, Orlando, and Miami, 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; and the study is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). For more information visit our website: http://www.MiamiStemCellsUSA.com.

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The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center Announces Adult Stem Cell Public Seminars in Baco Raton and Fort Lauderdale ...

UF researchers recruiting local pets for arthritis study

By Stem Cell Treatment

ORLANDO, Fla. -

If you think your dog is suffering from arthritis, researchers at the University of Floridas Health Science Center want you.

[WEB EXTRA: See if your pet meets study criteria | More info on stem cell process ]

Well, actually your pet.

Your dog may be eligible for a blind study being conducted by the University of Floridas College of Veterinary Medicine.

UF veterinarians are looking for 30 dogs, ages 2 to 10 years old, to participate in the next phase of a stem cell therapy project.

The dogs must be healthy, 10 to 120 pounds, and should have been diagnosed with elbow arthritis or dysplasia by their local vet.

Doctors are injecting stem cells directly into the elbows (front leg joints) of the animals to determine if the treatment will decrease the inflammation and pain associated with elbow dysplasia.

Dr. Stanley Kim, a specialist in small animal surgery, says some pets are given a placebo and not even the owner will know if saline or stem cells have been injected into the pets joints until the 6 month study is completed.

The dogs are evaluated at one month, three months and then again at six months but no dog will be left without the stem cell therapy.

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UF researchers recruiting local pets for arthritis study

A Swedish Scientist is Among the Recipients of the Hamdan Medical Award

By Stem Cell Medical Center

DUBAI, December 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

The Karolinska Institutet Professor Olle Ringdn, who is also the medical director at the Center for Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation at the Huddinge University Hospital in Stockholm, is a co-winner of the Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence, in the topic of Cell Therapy, sharing the prestigious Award with the American Professor Carl June.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141201/719718 )

At a grand ceremony, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and the Patron of the Award will honor the Swedish Professor Ringdn alongside with 18 other winners of various categories of this Award at its 8th term (2013-2014).

Prof. Ringden devoted his life to treating patients with various life-threatening disorders. By endless hard work during four decades, he has substantial discoveries in a variety of research fields that led to decreased transplantation-related mortality and improved survival.

He established a stem cell research laboratory, where he, amongst other achievements, pioneered allogenic hematopoetic stem cell transplantation research in Sweden.

He conducted various comprehensive studies of the immune system, thus uncovering the compartmentalization of this system. Subsequent to his work, spleen cells are routinely used for immunological testing of deceased organ donors for transplantation.

Prof. Ringdn developed several immunosuppressive therapies to facilitate peripheral blood stem cell transfer from unrelated donors. He highlighted the potential value of mesenchymal stem cells in various transplantation regimens, and this is one of his numerous achievements in the field of stem cell transplantation.

He established bone marrow and allogenetic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) in Sweden, and designated a research laboratory for this purpose. This laboratory was the nucleus for what became the Centre for Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation (CAST) in 1999, which is unique for this specialty in Northern Europe.

Prof Olle Ringdn changed the way immunomodulatory therapy is applied; by using cells from the patient, or from appropriate donors, to re-focus immune responses, heal inflammation, restore and rebuild tissues. This concept is now well embraced and practiced worldwide; helping to save the lives of many patients.

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A Swedish Scientist is Among the Recipients of the Hamdan Medical Award

Researchers Recreate Pain-Sensing Neurons

By Stem Cell Medical Center

Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department have successfully developed pain-sensing neurons from mouse and human skin cells, according to a report published in Nature Neuroscience in late November.

The study specifically aimed to simulate primary afferent nociceptors, very specialized pain-sensing neurons.

According to head researcher Clifford J. Woolf, a professor of Neurology and Neurobiology at theMedical School, the findings may lead to development of more effective pain medications, better methods to evaluate who is at risk for developing chronic pain, and ways to combat pain complications resulting from cancer chemotherapy.

What weve been able to do with stem cell technology for the first time is recreate some of the key elements of the nervous system by taking one cell and turning it into a particular other cell, Woolf said. This enables us for the first time to really dissect how human neurons function in the nervous system.

For Woolf, the study is a culmination of many years of research, previously done only in mouse cells.

The fact that we can even create these cells with a human gives us the opportunity to study the mechanisms of the way human nervous systems work that havent been possible before, Woolf said.

Tony L. Yaksh, co-director of the Pain and Symptom Management Core of the University of California at San Diegos Regional Cancer Center, emphasized the studys role in raising new questions for further research.

I think this is highly innovative and an extremely well-done paper, Yaksh said. Id say this represents a very concerted, well-organized group effort to define this very critical issue. It leaves you with more questions than before you read the paper, but it starts the ball rolling in a very exciting way.

Yaksh also highlighted the importance of the study in streamlining gene-specific treatment.

The significance is [that] this allows us to define a mechanism that may be relevant to pain transmission in humans without having to euthanize a human being, Yaksh said.

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Researchers Recreate Pain-Sensing Neurons

Fear of unknown barrier to iPS cures, expert says

By Stem Cell Medical Center

Masayo Takahashi, who led the worlds first operation to implant induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into a human body, says greater Japanese understanding of the risks and benefits of new medical procedures is key to achieving her goal of standardizing the procedure one day.

About two months after her team successfully transplanted retinal cells grown from iPS cells into a woman in her 70s with age-related macular degeneration, Takahashi, an ophthalmologist at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, said she wanted to make the treatment available and affordable in about 10 years.

My goal is to make the treatment a standard one, Takahashi said Wednesday at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan in Tokyo, adding that the pioneering operation in September was just a start.

The operation was primarily aimed at checking for any medical problems that might arise, including the possibility of cancer, after iPS-derived retinal cells were transplanted to the patient, whose form of the disease could lead to loss of vision.

It is expected to take around a year to assess the safety and side effects of the transplant operation.

The most difficult part of the surgery was removal of damaged tissue, Takahashi said. So we were very excited when the damaged tissue was removed safely.

The surgery, performed by a team of researchers at the Riken institute and the Institute of Biomedical Research and Innovation Hospital, was the first in which iPS-derived cells were introduced into a human body.

Developed by Nobel Prize-winning Kyoto University professor Shinya Yamanaka, iPS cells are a versatile type of stem cell that can grow into various types of human body tissue.

However, a potential obstacle to spreading the treatment is reluctance among Japanese to take risks when they encounter something new, including medical treatments, according to Takahashi.

In Japan, people dont accept risks at all, she said, adding it is necessary to accept a certain level of risk when receiving advanced medicine and it is important to understand the balance between risks and benefits.

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Fear of unknown barrier to iPS cures, expert says

Global Stem Cell Groups Stem Cell Training to Launch Post-graduate Studies Program in Stem Cell Therapies and …

By Uncategorized

MIAMI (PRWEB) December 01, 2014

MIAMI, Dec. 1, 2014Stem Cell Training, Inc., a division of Global Stem Cells Group, Inc., has announced plans to launch a post graduate studies program in stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine in 2015.

The program will include five days of intensive, interactive training coursework with classroom instruction and laboratory practice through didactic lectures, hands-on practical experience in laboratory protocols and relevant lessons in regulatory practices. Global Stem Cells Group Advisory Board member Dr. David B. Harrell, PhD will teach the coursework and perform laboratory instruction, accompanied by a series of guest lecturers from the Global Stem Cells Group faculty of scientists.

Attendees will receive hands-on training in techniques for a variety of laboratory processes, and gain insight into the inner workings of a cGMP laboratory and FDA registered tissue bank. Regenerative medicine experts with more 15 years of experience in the field will train attendees and provide the necessary tools to implement regulatory and clinical guidelines in a cGMP laboratory setting

The graduate course is to be held four times in Miami in 2015.

Course details, objectives and instruction include:

Didactic Lectures will include:

For additional information, visit the Stem Cell Training, Inc. website, email info(at)stemcelltraining(dot)net, or call 305-224-1858.

About Global Stem Cells Group:

Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. is the parent company of six wholly owned operating companies dedicated entirely to stem cell research, training, products and solutions. Founded in 2012, the company combines dedicated researchers, physician and patient educators and solution providers with the shared goal of meeting the growing worldwide need for leading edge stem cell treatments and solutions. With a singular focus on this exciting new area of medical research, Global Stem Cells Group and its subsidiaries are uniquely positioned to become global leaders in cellular medicine.

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Global Stem Cell Groups Stem Cell Training to Launch Post-graduate Studies Program in Stem Cell Therapies and ...

Kidney organ regeneration research leaps forward

By Uncategorized

Okayama City, Japan (PRWEB UK) 2 December 2014

Researchers at Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Kyorin University School of Medicine have successfully generated a kidney-like structure from just a single cell.

It has been predicted that the kidney will be among the last organs successfully regenerated in vitro due to its complex structure and multiple functions, states Shinji Kitamura, Hiroyuki Sakurai and Hirofumi Makino at the beginning of their latest report, before continuing to describe results suggesting a far more positive prognosis for the pace of kidney regeneration research. Despite the anatomical challenges posed by the kidney anatomy and the complexities understood from embryonic kidney development processes, the researchers have demonstrated that kidney-like structures can be generated from just a single adult kidney stem cell.

In embryos, kidney development requires two types of primordial cells cells at the earliest stage of development. However by generating kidney-like structures from a single type of kidney stem cell the researchers provide evidence for differences in the organ development in adults and embryos.

Kitamura, Sakurai and Makino researchers from Okayama and Kyorin Universities - took kidney stem cells from the different kidney components of microdissected adult rats and grew them in culture. A method for growing three-dimensional cell clusters showed that kidney-like structures could form so long as the initial cell cluster was large enough.

The minimum cluster size required might suggest that not all the kidney stem cells have stem cell characteristics. Therefore the researchers cloned kidney stem cells and confirmed that kidney-like structures still formed from the clusters of clone cells after a few weeks.

The researchers add, Although the physiological roles of such cells are currently unclear, analogous cells in the adult human kidney would be a valuable resource for the regeneration of kidneys in vitro.

Background Kidney structure There are more than a dozen distinct types of cell in the kidneys. The basic structural unit of the kidney is the nephron, which filters the blood to regulate the concentration of water and soluble substances such as sodium salts. Each nephron comprises several well-defined segments: the glomerulus, the proximal tubule, the loop of Henle, the distal tube and the collecting duct.

In embryo kidney organogenesis two primordial cell types are required to differentiate into all the different cell types in the kidney: metanephric mesenchymal cells and uteric bud cells. Kitamura, Sakurai and Makino produced kidney cells that could differentiate into a kidney-like structure without these primordial cell types, suggesting these are adult kidney stem cells.

Obtaining kidney stem cells The researchers microdissected adult rat kidneys into segments from the glomeruli, proximal convoluted tubule (S1/PCT), proximal straight tubule (S2, S3), medullary thick ascending limb of Henles loop and the collecting duct. They then grew the cells on mouse mesenchymal cells. While there is no known single biomarker for adult kidney stem cells, immunohistochemical anaylysis identified a number of markers in the kidney stem cells- that are found in embryonic or adult kidneys.

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Kidney organ regeneration research leaps forward

Global Stem Cells Group and Portal Medestetica to Launch Latin American Stem Cell Portal

By Uncategorized

MIAMI (PRWEB) December 01, 2014

GlobalStemCellsGroup.com has announced plans to team with Portal Medestetica, the largest physician portal in Lain America, to launch Portalstemcells.com, a new portal dedicated to providing physicians in Spain and Latin America with relevant information, clinical research news and products relating to stem cells and regenerative medicine.

The new collaboration between Global Stem Cells Group and Portal Medestetica will answer a growing need to expand the reach of high-impact news, studies and breakthroughs, and significantly advance the clinical utilization of stem cell research and clinical trials throughout Latin America. The Portalstemcells.com site is designed to help promote the latest state-of-the-art developments in regenerative medicine as they become available, and to share educational content with physicians throughout the region.

Portalstemcells.com will be the ideal vehicle to promote education and cutting-edge science throughout the region, says Ricardo de Cubas, founder of Global Stem Cells Group. The potential of regenerative medicine and stem cells therapies inspiring the medical community to find real opportunities to repair or replace tissue damaged from disease, relieve pain and provide the potential for curing chronic diseases where no cure existed before.

The Portalstemcells.com site is aimed at fostering growth and ethical development in the fast-moving field of stem cell medicine by filling a gap in the resources available throughout Latin America. The goal is to elevate the delivery of stem cell science in order to impact the lives of many patients worldwide.

For more information visit the Global Stem Cells website, email bnovas(at)regenestem(dot)com, or call 305-224-1858.

About the Global Stem Cells Group:

Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. is the parent company of six wholly owned operating companies dedicated entirely to stem cell research, training, products and solutions. Founded in 2012, the company combines dedicated researchers, physician and patient educators and solution providers with the shared goal of meeting the growing worldwide need for leading edge stem cell treatments and solutions.

With a singular focus on this exciting new area of medical research, Global Stem Cells Group and its subsidiaries are uniquely positioned to become global leaders in cellular medicine.

Global Stem Cells Groups corporate mission is to make the promise of stem cell medicine a reality for patients around the world. With each of GSCGs six operating companies focused on a separate research-based mission, the result is a global network of state-of-the-art stem cell treatments.

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Global Stem Cells Group and Portal Medestetica to Launch Latin American Stem Cell Portal

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