Author Archives: admin


Family of Margot Martini launch new stem cell and bone marrow appeal

VIEW GALLERY

The family of brave toddler Margot Martini launched a new bone marrow donor appeal this morning exactly a year after she was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Her relatives said the first Team Margot Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Awareness Day would be held in another 12 months, on Wednesday October 7, 2015.

The two-year-old underwent a bone marrow transplant in February after her dad, Yaser, from Essington, and mum Vicki launched a desperate appeal for help.

Margot Martini with mum Vicky

But she relapsed and her parents decided to end her treatment after being told her chances of survival were less than one per cent.

The awareness day is designed to promote awareness around the need for more potential stem cell donors to join the UK and worldwide registries.

Her family said they hoped mixed race people would sign up to plug a gaping hole on the lists.

Just sixty per cent of the 37,000 patients needing a stem cell donor worldwide receives a perfect match.

But that figure plunges to barely 20 per cent for those from black, Asian or ethnic minority communities.

Read the original post:
Family of Margot Martini launch new stem cell and bone marrow appeal

Stem cell cure for blindness offers hope to thousands

London: Hundreds of thousands of people who are registered blind have been offered new hope after scientists discovered stem cells in the eye that can be altered to pick up light.

Researchers found a reservoir of stem cells in an area called the corneal limbus. They have proven that, in the right environment, the cells can be transformed into photoreceptor cells that react to light. Scientists are hopeful that implanting the cultured stem cells in a damaged eye will reverse blindness.

It could offer a potential cure for hundreds of thousands of people suffering macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa, both of which are caused by the loss of photoreceptor cells. The researchers at the University of Southampton found that the cells even existed in the eyes of a 97-year-old, opening up the possibility that the treatment will work for the elderly.

These cells are readily accessible, and they have surprising plasticity, which makes them an attractive cell resource for future therapies, said Andrew Lotery, a professor at the university and a consultant ophthalmologist at Southampton General Hospital, who led the study, which is published in the journal Plos One.

This would help avoid complications with rejection or contamination because the cells taken from the eye would be returned to the same patient. More research is now needed to develop this approach before these cells are used in patients. The loss of photoreceptor cells causes irreversible blindness. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world and affects around one in three people in Britain by the age of 75.

Around 513,000 people are in the late stage of AMD, a figure that is expected to rise by a third to nearly 700,000 cases by 2020. Almost two million people in the UK live with sight loss. There is currently no treatment for blindness caused by the loss of photoreceptors. The Southampton scientists have shown only that the concept works in the lab and are yet to implant the stem cells in a human patient.

Clara Eaglen, the RNIBs eye health campaigns manager, said: At RNIB we talk to people every day who tell us about the huge impact that losing their sight has on daily life, so this is very interesting research. The study shows that you can grow stem cells and make them act like light sensitive cells, a big step forward in helping patients with conditions such as age-related macular degeneration where damage has occurred to the light sensitive cells. These cells can then be taken from a patient, changed, and replaced - reducing the risk of rejection which is exciting. We are hopeful that stem cell technology will significantly change the way in which people with sight loss are treated over the next decade.

The Telegraph Group Limited, London, 2014

See more here:
Stem cell cure for blindness offers hope to thousands

Tucson Medical Center offering umbilical cord blood donation program

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Newborns at Tucson Medical Center now have a chance to save lives across the country.

TMC is the first hospital in Southern Arizona that collects donated umbilical cord blood intended for life-saving stem cell transplants starting this October.

The hospital partnered with the Arizona Public Cord Program in collecting and processing cord blood donated by a consenting mothers.

With Tucson's demographic, TMC is poised to make an impact on a "significant shortage" of cord blood for Hispanics, Native Americans and African Americans.

Cord blood contains blood-forming stem cells that could cure dozens of blood diseases and cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.

"If you don't do anything, if you're not going to privately bank it, it will just be thrown away unless you decide to publicly donate it to us. I would say 95 percent of them say 'oh great, fantastic, I don't want it to go in the garbage if could save somebody's life," said TMC Cord Blood Coordinator, Kristen Wilt.

The average cost for a mother to bank her child's cord blood can be up to $1,500, plus an additional $150 annual fee to store the blood, according to Wilt.

But cord blood donated to the national registry is collected with no cost to the family through this program, due to funding from the Affordable Care Act. The Arizona Public Cord Program is part of the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission that works with the University of Colorado to store the blood.

"What we're trying to do is increase the registry so that patients, especially in these ethnic minorities, might be able to find a suitable match," OB/GYN and TMC Cord Blood Medical Director Dr. Manny Arreguin said.

Celina Martinez gave birth to her baby boy on Tuesday and upon hearing the donation could help children, decided to donate her son's umbilical cord blood to the national registry.

Read more from the original source:
Tucson Medical Center offering umbilical cord blood donation program

Okyanos Presents the Science, Safety, and Efficacy of Adult Stem Cell Therapy

Freeport, Grand Bahama (PRWEB) October 02, 2014

Dr. Todd K. Malan, M.D., presented to the Grand Bahama Medical & Dental Association 14th Annual Scientific Educational Conference on the science, safety and efficacy of adipose- (fat) derived stem and regenerative cells (ADRCs) for ischemic heart disease and other unmet healthcare needs.

"It was an honor to participate in this conference with medical leadership that values this technology and works so tirelessly to serve the people of Grand Bahama," said Dr. Todd Malan." It is an opportunity for us to work closely with local doctors to improve the quality and standards of care for all patients."

Dr. Malan explained the interrelationship between tissue ischemia, inflammation, autoimmune response and cell death and how ADRCs have combined mechanisms known to assist in repairing multi-factorial illnesses associated with those issues.

According to Malan,The procedure begins with the extraction of a persons body fat, a process done using advanced water-assisted liposuction technology. The persons own adult stem cells are then separated from the fat tissue using a European Union-approved cell processing device."

Immediately following this, the cardiologist injects these cells into and around the low blood flow regions of the heart via a cathetera protocol which allows for better targeting of the cells to repair damaged heart tissue.

Adult stem cell therapy for heart disease is emerging as a new alternative for patients with severe heart conditions who want to live a normal life but are restricted in activities they can no longer do.

"As a leader in providing cell therapy, Okyanos is very excited to bring this innovative treatment to patients in a near-shore, regulated jurisdiction with a new standard of care, said Matt Feshbach, CEO of Okyanos. We welcome the opportunity to help those patients with limited options a chance to live a normal life.

Offering this minimally invasive adult stem cell treatment in their new cardiac catherization lab, Okyanos is scheduled to open in October in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

About Okyanos Heart Institute: (Oh key AH nos)

Read the rest here:
Okyanos Presents the Science, Safety, and Efficacy of Adult Stem Cell Therapy

Stem Cell Treatment for Heart Disease

Tijuana, Mexico (PRWEB) October 01, 2014

On August 15, 2014 Regenerative Medicine Institute, Mexico (RMI) began seeing patients through a new ambulatory clinic. Although RMI has been serving patients at Hospital Angeles in Tijuana since 2009, patients with conditions not requiring a hospital stay are now able to be treated at the new ambulatory clinic, giving them more options in their treatment setting.

When it comes to stem cell treatment for heart disease, there are a number of new players, including Okyanos in the Bahamas. As these exciting new practices get off the ground, RMI continues to grow and build upon expertise gained throughout the past five years.

Physicians at RMI began their practice with the knowledge that adipose-derived adult autologous stem cells had the potential to help the body regenerate. It was with a great deal of excitement that they began to offer the option of adult stem cells to seriously ill patients from around the globe. With board certified specialists taking lead in each and every case, RMI developed 27 disease specific research protocols, submitting them for both IRB and government approval.

Through their experiences, RMI learned that not every condition could be treated as successfully as others. It is important that a patient be able to have confidence in his doctor, said Dr. Javier Lopez, Director of RMI. Our board of directors represents cutting-edge researchers and physicians from around the world. The reason we sought a board with such a strong pedigree is that we wanted to be held to the highest possible standards. When a protocol is successful we want to build upon it. When one does not work well, we seek to learn everything we can from it so that the greatest number of patients will benefit.

After five years of clinical practice and through collaboration with various research institutions, RMI has refined its practice and recognized the value of an ambulatory clinic to further serve its patients. In the new clinic physicians use stem cell therapy to treat type 2 diabetes and immunotherapy for serious conditions such as Alzheimers disease, arthritis, chronic kidney disease, hepatitis, lupus, Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinsons disease.

With a practice that offers services through both an ambulatory clinic as well as the state-of-the-art Hospital Angeles, RMI employs some of the most respected physicians and specialists in their field. Due to the sheer amount of research that has taken place over the course of the last five years, RMI has begun to offer a new and promising immunotherapeutic approach to cancer treatment.

Cancer is not a single disease, but rather a group of more than 100 distinct and different illnesses that all begin with cellular abnormalities. Our proprietary T Cell Modulator is a leucocyte extract whose purpose is to regulate immune function by controlling the production of signaling substances that influence immune cell activity, said Dr. Lopez.

As to the concerns patients may have in regard to receiving medical treatment in a foreign country, Dr. Lopez says, Even though many of us live and work in Tijuana, we understand the concerns of patients who may not be familiar with the city. For that reason, we encourage our patients to fly or drive into San Diego. We pick each patient up and shuttle them the few miles across the border to our clinic or Hospital Angeles. It is a routine trip for us and we have never faced a problem. Our ultimate goal is to keep our patients comfortable.

Dr. Lopez expresses enthusiasm as other programs, like Okyanos, open their doors for the first time. The media shares plenty of stories of international clinics with less-than-honest practices, but there are also amazing medical programs out there, doing the cutting-edge work that will help us get a handle on how most major health issues can be effectively dealt with.

See the rest here:
Stem Cell Treatment for Heart Disease

Cell therapy – Institute of Cell Therapy – …

About cell therapy

Cell therapy is a new official direction in medicine, based on the use of regenerative potential of the adult stem cells, aimed at the treatment of a variety of serious diseases, rehabilitation of patients after injuries and fighting with the premature signs of aging. Stem cells are also considered to be the promising biological material for the creation of the prosthetic heart valves, blood vessels, trachea, they are also used as the unique biofiller for the reconstitution of bone defects and other purposes of the plastic and reconstructive surgery.

The scientists explain the regenerative mechanism of action of stem cells both by their ability to transform into the cells of blood, liver, myocardium, bone, cartilage or nervous tissue and thus restore damaged organs and also by the reovery of the functional activity of the other cells (through the so-called paracrine type) by means of the production of a variety of growth factors.

For clinical purposes, in most cases stem cells are obtained from the bone marrow and cord blood, it is also known that the amount of stem cells, sufficient for treatment, can be isolated from the peripheral blood of an adult person, but after pre-stimulation of hematopoiesis. In recent years there is an increasing number of reports worldwide on the clinical application of stem cells, derived from the placenta, adipose tissue, umbilical cord tissue, amniotic fluid, and even pulp of the milk teeth. Depending on the disease, age and condition of the patient, one or another source of stem cells may be preferred. Hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells are used for more than 50 years in the treatment of leukemia and lymphomas, and this treatment is commonly known as the bone marrow transplantation, but today hematopoietic stem cells, derived from umbilical cord blood and peripheral blood are more often used in the hematologic clinics of the world. At the same time, for the treatment of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, the stimulation of fractures and chronic wounds healing the mesenchymal stem cells are more preferred, being the precursors of the connective tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells are found in big quantity in fatty tissue, placenta, umbilical cord blood, amniotic fluid. Due to the immunosuppressive effects of mesenchymal stem cells, they are also used in the treatment of a variety of autoimmune diseases (multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, Crohns disease, etc.), as well as post-transplantation complications (to prevent the rejection of the transplanted donor organ). For the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, including lower limbs ischemia, the umbilical cord blood is considered to be the most promising, as it contains a special kind of the endothelial progenitor stem cells, which can not be found in any other human tissue.

Cell therapy may be autologous (own cells are used) and allogeneic (donor cells are used). However, it is known that every nucleated cell in the human body has certain immunological characteristics (HLA-phenotype or immune passport), that is why the use of donor stem cells requires immunological compatibility. This fact determines the appropriateness of the banking of the own stem cells, frozen until the person is still young and healthy. In this aspect the human umbilical cord blood has undisputed medical and biological value as the source of several unique lines of stem cells. Collected in the first minutes of life, umbilical cord blood stem cells have the highest potential for proliferation (growth) and directed differentiation.

Stem cell therapy can be applied both intravenously like a drug, and directly into the damaged tissue. In recent years the method of intraosseous transplantation of cord blood stem cells is more widely used, contributing to the more rapid engraftment. Also a method of introducing stem cells directly into the coronary arteries (coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction) was introduced and it is called cellular cardiomyoplasty.

Cell therapy can be carried out both in monotherapy and complementary to the surgical or drug treatment.

Currently stem cells are successfully used in the treatment of about 100 serious diseases, and in some cases this is the only effective treatment.

Go here to see the original:
Cell therapy - Institute of Cell Therapy - ...