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New Stem Cell Facial Unveiled at Botanica Day Spa

By Stem Cell Treatment

Clearwater, FL (PRWEB) August 20, 2014

Botanica Day Spa has unveiled their first-ever stem cell facial. Utilizing the new and popular stem cell line from Pevonia, the anti-aging treatment effectively targets fine lines and wrinkles and naturally repairs the skin. The spa also recently announced August specials, highlighting the new service by offering clients a complimentary dermaplaning session with the purchase of the stem cell facial.

Pevonia continues to be a global leader in natural, botanical-based skincare and aging solutions. The Stem Cells Phyto-Elite collection, launched just last month, features two unique plant-based stem cell sources for skin repair and the reversal of signs of aging. According to Pevonia, the new line contains a concentration of stem cells that may be up to ten times higher than any other currently available product. Stem cells from the Argan tree work to improve skin elasticity while stem cells from the European Comfrey Root speed up skin cell renewal. Take a few moments to learn more about the science: What is a plant stem cell?

Aging appears in different ways, but commonly its seen in the form of wrinkles, loss of elasticity and progressively thinner skin over time, said Gen Obolensky, owner at Botanica Day Spa and an aesthetician/facialist herself. All of these common signs of aging are the result of our skin producing fewer and fewer new skin cells over time. Age reversal treatments generally target only the symptoms of slower cell turnover, so its very exciting to be able to offer innovative products that work from inside the skin at the root of what causes these signs of aging.

Obolensky recognizes the buzz surrounding stem cell beauty treatments, adding, Botanicas stem cell facial uses the new Stem Cells Phyto-Elite line which offers a wide range of age reversal benefits. It cleanses, exfoliates, tones, hydrates and brightens while stimulating faster skin cell repairall of which is backed by clinical research and testing, conducted by a respected skincare leader.

In addition to their offer of a no-cost dermaplaning with the stem cell facial, Botanica recently announced more August spa specials including:

Botanica expects appointment spots to fill up quickly with this special offer. To schedule your stem cell facial treatment, call 727-441-1711 or book online today!

ABOUT BOTANICA DAY SPA Located in downtown Clearwater, Botanica Day Spa specializes in natural treatments for the body, skin and nails. Recognized in 2013 as first runner-up for Creative Loafings Best of the Bay awards, Botanica was voted first runner-up for Best Day Spa and first place for Best Mani/Pedi. Botanica was also voted Best of Tampa Bay for Brazilian bikini waxing, eyebrow shaping and therapeutic massage by CitySearch in 2010. With an emphasis on the use of organic and natural product lines in a cutting edge beauty services setting, Botanicas staff is comprised of 12 fully licensed aestheticians, nail technicians, massage therapists and makeup artists offering a full menu of luxury spa services. The spa celebrates its twentieth year in business in 2014. For more information, please visit http://www.BotanicaDaySpa.com.

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New Stem Cell Facial Unveiled at Botanica Day Spa

Cincinnati Archdiocese freezes Catholic school donations to ice bucket challenge charity

By Stem Cell Treatment

The Cincinnati Archdiocese has warned Catholic school principals against donating to the ALS Association due to concerns that the money could wind up funding research that uses embryonic stem cells.

Archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco told the Cincinnati Enquirer that Catholic schools are still allowed to participate in the ice bucket challenge, the inescapable viral video sensation that challenges individuals to either dump a bucket of ice water on their heads or donate $100 to the ALS Association.

But the archdiocese wants Catholic participants to re-purpose thefundraising juggernaut by donating to a different research group one the archdiocese believes is more in line with Catholic values.

We appreciate the compassion that has caused so many people to engage in this, Andriacco told the paper. But its a well-established moral principle that a good end is not enough. The means to that ends must be morally licit.

Cincinnati-area Catholic schools participating in the challenge should direct donations to theJohn Paul II Medical Research Institute in Iowa City instead, Andriacco said. Jim Rigg, superintendent of Catholic schools for the archdiocese, will take the re-purposed version of the ice bucket challenge Thursday morning and make a donation to the archdioceses preferred charity.

The ALS Association hasraised more than$30million through the ice bucket challenge since late July, including fundsfrom 637,527 new donors to the association. By comparison, the organization received just $1.9 million in donations for the same time period last year. The funds support the organizations mission of pursuing research, treatment and care for the disease better known asLou Gehrigs disease.

Like just about everyone in your Facebook news feed, several Catholic schools and organizations have already participated in the challenge, seemingly without any dissonance over the charity it benefits.

Those participants include the seventh-grade volleyball team atSt. James Catholic School, seen here:

As the challenge caught on, a few Catholic organizations began to raise questions aboutwhat sort of research the ALS Association funds. Although the Vatican has in recent years expressed support for research using adult stem cells, the issue of embryonic stem cells is more morally complicated for Catholics.

In general, the church believes that adult stem cell research is more scientifically and morally sound than that conducted on embryonic stem cells.

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Cincinnati Archdiocese freezes Catholic school donations to ice bucket challenge charity

Stem Cell Research Holy Grail' Uncovered, Thanks to Zebrafish

By Stem Cell Treatment

By Estel Grace Masangkay

With help from the zebrafish, a team of Australian researchers has uncovered how hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) renew themselves, considered by many to be the holy grail of stem cell research.

HSCs are a significant type of stem cell present in the blood and bone marrow. These are needed for the replenishment of the bodys supply of blood and immune cells. HSCs already play a part in transplants in patients with blood cancers such as leukemia and myeloma. The stem cells are also studied for their potential to transform into vital cells including muscle, bone, and blood vessels.

Understanding how HSCs form and renew themselves has potential application in the treatment of spinal cord injuries, degenerative disorders, even diabetes. Professor Peter Currie, of the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute at Victorias Monash University, led a research team to discover a crucial part of HSCs development. Using a high-resolution microscopy, Prof. Curies team caught HSCs on film as they formed inside zebrafish embryos. The discovery was made while the researchers were studying muscle mutations in the aquatic animal.

Zebrafish make HSCs in exactly the same way as humans do, but whats special about these guys is that their embryos and larvae develop free living and not in utero as they do in humans. So not only are these larvae free-swimming, but they are also transparent, so we could see every cell in the body forming, including HSCs, explained Prof. Currie.

While playing the film back, the researchers noticed that a buddy cell came along to help the HSCs form. Called endotome cells, they aided pre-HSCs to turn into HSCs. Prof. Currie said, Endotome cells act like a comfy sofa for pre-HSCs to snuggle into, helping them progress to become fully fledged stem cells. Not only did we identify some of the cells and signals required for HSC formation, we also pinpointed the genes required for endotome formation in the first place.

The next step for the researchers is to locate the signals present in the endotome cells that trigger HSC formation in the embryo. This can help scientists make different blood cells on demand for blood-related disorders. Professor Currie also pointed out the discoverys potential for correcting genetic defects in the cell and transplanting them back in the body to treat disorders.

The teams work was published in the international journal Nature.

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Stem Cell Research Holy Grail' Uncovered, Thanks to Zebrafish

Stem cell study reveals how genetic variations linked to mental illness affects neuron

By Stem Cell Medicine

A new study of stem cells has revealed how a genetic variation linked to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and severe depression affects connections among neurons in the developing brain.

According to the study led by Guo-li Ming and Hongjun Song of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, using stem cells generated from people with and without mental illness to observe the effects of a rare and pernicious genetic variation on young brain cells found that several major mental illnesses have common roots in faulty "wiring" during early brain development.

Ming said that this was the next best thing to going back in time to see what happened while a person was in the womb to later cause mental illness and they found the most convincing evidence yet that the answer lies in the synapses that connect brain cells to one another.

One difficulty in studying the genetics of common mental illnesses is that they are generally caused by environmental factors in combination with multiple gene variants, any one of which usually could not by itself cause disease. A rare exception is the gene known as disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), in which some mutations have a strong effect. Two families have been found in which many members with the DISC1 mutations have mental illness.

To find out how a DISC1 variation with a few deleted DNA "letters" affects the developing brain, the research team collected skin cells from a mother and daughter in one of these families who have neither the variation nor mental illness, as well as the father, who has the variation and severe depression, and another daughter, who carries the variation and has schizophrenia. For comparison, they also collected samples from an unrelated healthy person. Postdoctoral fellow Zhexing Wen, Ph.D., coaxed the skin cells to form five lines of stem cells and to mature into very pure populations of synapse-forming neurons.

After growing the neurons in a dish for six weeks, collaborators at Pennsylvania State University measured their electrical activity and found that neurons with the DISC1 variation had about half the number of synapses as those without the variation.

To find out how DISC1 acts on synapses, the researchers also compared the activity levels of genes in the healthy neurons to those with the variation and found that the activities of more than 100 genes were different and the researchers added that this is the first indication that DISC1 regulates the activity of a large number of genes, many of which are related to synapses.

The study was published online in the journal Nature.

(Posted on 18-08-2014)

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Stem cell study reveals how genetic variations linked to mental illness affects neuron

Stem cells reveal how illness-linked genetic variation affects neurons

By Stem Cell Medicine

A genetic variation linked to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and severe depression wreaks havoc on connections among neurons in the developing brain, a team of researchers reports. The study, led by Guo-li Ming, M.D., Ph.D., and Hongjun Song, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and described online Aug. 17 in the journal Nature, used stem cells generated from people with and without mental illness to observe the effects of a rare and pernicious genetic variation on young brain cells. The results add to evidence that several major mental illnesses have common roots in faulty "wiring" during early brain development.

"This was the next best thing to going back in time to see what happened while a person was in the womb to later cause mental illness," says Ming. "We found the most convincing evidence yet that the answer lies in the synapses that connect brain cells to one another."

Previous evidence for the relationship came from autopsies and from studies suggesting that some genetic variants that affect synapses also increase the chance of mental illness. But those studies could not show a direct cause-and-effect relationship, Ming says.

One difficulty in studying the genetics of common mental illnesses is that they are generally caused by environmental factors in combination with multiple gene variants, any one of which usually could not by itself cause disease. A rare exception is the gene known as disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), in which some mutations have a strong effect. Two families have been found in which many members with the DISC1 mutations have mental illness.

To find out how a DISC1 variation with a few deleted DNA "letters" affects the developing brain, the research team collected skin cells from a mother and daughter in one of these families who have neither the variation nor mental illness, as well as the father, who has the variation and severe depression, and another daughter, who carries the variation and has schizophrenia. For comparison, they also collected samples from an unrelated healthy person. Postdoctoral fellow Zhexing Wen, Ph.D., coaxed the skin cells to form five lines of stem cells and to mature into very pure populations of synapse-forming neurons.

After growing the neurons in a dish for six weeks, collaborators at Pennsylvania State University measured their electrical activity and found that neurons with the DISC1 variation had about half the number of synapses as those without the variation. To make sure that the differences were really due to the DISC1 variation and not to other genetic differences, graduate student Ha Nam Nguyen spent two years making targeted genetic changes to three of the stem cell lines.

In one of the cell lines with the variation, he swapped out the DISC1 gene for a healthy version. He also inserted the disease-causing variation into one healthy cell line from a family member, as well as the cell line from the unrelated control. Sure enough, the researchers report, the cells without the variation now grew the normal amount of synapses, while those with the inserted mutation had half as many.

"We had our definitive answer to whether this DISC1 variation is responsible for the reduced synapse growth," Ming says.

To find out how DISC1 acts on synapses, the researchers also compared the activity levels of genes in the healthy neurons to those with the variation. To their surprise, the activities of more than 100 genes were different. "This is the first indication that DISC1 regulates the activity of a large number of genes, many of which are related to synapses," Ming says.

The research team is now looking more closely at other genes that are linked to mental disorders. By better understanding the roots of mental illness, they hope to eventually develop better treatments for it, Ming says.

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Stem cells reveal how illness-linked genetic variation affects neurons

Blood Cells Generate Neurons in Crayfish; Could Have Implications for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders

By Stem Cell Treatment

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Newswise A new study by Barbara Beltz, the Allene Lummis Russell Professor of Neuroscience at Wellesley College, and Irene Sderhll of Uppsala University, Sweden, published in the August 11 issue of the journal Developmental Cell, demonstrates that the immune system can produce cells with stem cell properties, using crayfish as a model system. These cells can, in turn, create neurons in the adult animal. The flexibility of immune cells in producing neurons in adult animals raises the possibility of the presence of similar types of plasticity in other animals.

We have been suspicious for some time that the neuronal precursor cells (stem cells) in crayfish were coming from the immune system, Beltz wrote. The paper contains multiple lines of evidence that support this conclusion, in addition to the experiments showing that blood cells transferred from a donor to a recipient animal generate neurons.

Beltz, whose research focuses on the production of new neurons in the adult nervous system, uses the crustacean brain as the model system because the generations of precursor cells are spatially segregated from one another. According to Beltz, this separation is crucial because it allowed the researchers to determine that the first generation precursors do not self-renew. For the Developmental Cell study, the cells of one crayfish were labeled and this animals blood was used for transfusions into another crayfish. They found that the donor blood cells could generate neurons in the recipient.

In many adult organisms, including humans, neurons in some parts of the brain are continually replenished. While this process is critical for ongoing health, dysfunctions in the production of new neurons may also contribute to several neurological diseases, including clinical depression and some neurodegenerative disorders.

Beltz notes, of course, that it is difficult to extrapolate from crayfish to human disease. However, because of existing research suggesting that stem cells harvested from bone marrow also can become neural precursors and generate neurons, she says it is tempting to suggest that the mechanism proposed in crayfish may also be applicable in evolutionarily higher organisms, perhaps even in humans.

Prior studies conducted in both humans and mice and published about a decade ago, showed that bone marrow recipients who had received a transplant from the opposite gender had neurons with the genetic signature of the opposite sex. The implication was that cells from the bone marrow generated those neurons. However, it is currently thought that neuronal stem cells in mammals, including humans, are self-renewing and therefore do not need to be replenished. Thus, these findings have not been interpreted as contributing to a natural physiological mechanism.

Every experiment we did confirmed the close relationship between the immune system and adult neurogenesis, Beltz said. Often when one is doing research, experiments can be fussy or give variable results. But for this work, once we started asking the right questions, the experiments worked first time and every time. The consistency and strength of the data are remarkable.

Our findings in crayfish indicate that the immune system is intimately tied to mechanisms of adult neurogenesis, suggesting a much closer relationship between the immune system and nervous system than has been previously appreciated, said Sderhll. If further studies demonstrate a similar relationship between the immune system and brain in mammals, these findings would stimulate a new area of research into immune therapies to target neurological diseases.

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Blood Cells Generate Neurons in Crayfish; Could Have Implications for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders

Cedars-Sinai Medical Tip Sheet for August

By Stem Cell Clinic

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Newswise Expert on Parkinsons Disease and Depression Available for Interviews Michele Tagliati, M.D., director of the Movement Disorders Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, is available to discuss Parkinsons disease and depression. An internationally renowned expert in all types of movement disorders, including Parkinsons Disease, he believes it is important to understand several aspects of the disease: Parkinsons Disease (PD) is not only a movement disorder; more than half of patients diagnosed with PD also suffer from depression. Many patients say that depression is the most disabling symptom of PD (not shaking or difficulty walking, etc.) Depression is intrinsic to PD, but differs from bipolar or major depression. Its symptoms may include general apathy (loss of interest in life), fatigue, insomnia, lack of appetite, etc. Patients may or may not recognize these as symptomatic of depression, so it is important for their physicians to proactively ask appropriate questions that can help identify depression. While depression can be a major problem for patients with PD, its important to realize that help is available. Medications and counseling can help reduce the severity of symptoms. CONTACT: Sandy Van, 808-526-1708; Email sandy@prpacific.com

Unique Study Focuses on Combined Treatment Approach for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Investigators at the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute are developing a novel, multistep investigational treatment for one of the most complex and difficult-to-treat forms of the disease, locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Locally advanced pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of any solid tumor, with a cumulative five-year survival rate of only 4 percent for all stages of disease. Surgery is rarely an option for patients because tumors often involve vital blood vessels. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy given concurrently remain the mainstay treatment, yet to-date, no treatment has had a significant impact on improving outcomes. CONTACT: Cara Martinez, 310-423-7798; Email cara.martinez@cshs.org

Research Initiative Will Examine Innovative Strategies to Deliver Care More Efficiently Cedars-Sinai has launched an applied research center to improve the value of patient care inside the medical center and beyond its walls by strengthening patient-doctor bonds and bringing greater efficiency to the delivery of clinical services. Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS, will lead the new Cedars-Sinai Center for Outcomes Research and Education, or CS-CORE. As director of Health Services Research, he will oversee a digital health strategy aimed at enhancing healthcare quality and reducing excessive use of resources. CONTACT: Duke Helfand, 310-248-6608; Email duke.helfand@cshs.org

Tissue Collection Aids Search for Neurologic and Neuromuscular Disease Causes and Cures Like other major research centers studying genetic causes of uncommon and poorly understood nervous system disorders, Cedars-Sinai maintains a growing collection of DNA and tissue samples donated by patients. What sets Cedars-Sinais Repository of Neurologic and Neuromuscular Disorders apart is its special emphasis on tissue collection part of its focus on creating future individualized treatments for patients. CONTACT: Sandy Van, 808-526-1708; Email sandy@prpacific.com

Congenital Heart Disease Specialists Develop Nonsurgical Technique to Correct Birth Defects in Premature Infants A new technique for repairing the most common cardiac birth defect in newborns, commonly referred to as a hole in the heart, has been used successfully to mend the condition in six premature infants without subjecting the tiny patients to open-heart surgery. The technique for repairing the condition, patent ductus arteriosus, also called PDA, was published online by the peer-reviewed medical journal Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, the official journal of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. CONTACT: Sally Stewart, 310-248-6566; Email sally.stewart@cshs.org

Cedars-Sinai Immunotherapy Expert Honored for Work in Kidney Transplantation Ashley Anh Vo, PharmD, administrative director of the Transplant Immunotherapy Program at the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center, has been named the 2014 Clinician of Distinction by the American Society of Transplantation for her work in developing anti-rejection drug protocols for patients. CONTACT: Laura Coverson, 310-423-5215; Email laura.coverson@cshs.org

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute Opens First-of-its-Kind Research Stem Cell Clinic for Cardiac Patients Regenerative medicine experts at the Heart Institute have opened a new clinic to evaluate heart and vascular disease patients for participation in stem cell medical studies. The clinic is believed to be the first at a major U.S. academic medical center dedicated to matching patients with appropriate stem cell clinical trials, whether those research interventions are available at the medical center or at other institutions. CONTACT: Sally Stewart, 310-248-6566; Email sally.stewart@cshs.org

Childbirth Experts Debate Best Delivery Practices at Third Annual Birth Community Day Doctors, nurses, midwives and doulas debated healthy labor and delivery practices including the use of the synthetic hormone Pitocin to hasten childbirth and vitamin K to speed blood clotting in newborns -- at the third annual Cedars-Sinai Birth Community Day. CONTACT: Laura Coverson, 310-423-5215; Email laura.coverson@cshs.org

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Tip Sheet for August

Adipose-derived stem cells and nerve regeneration

By Stem Cell Treatment

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

14-Aug-2014

Contact: Meng Zhao eic@nrren.org 86-138-049-98773 Neural Regeneration Research

Stem cell researchers at the Blond McIndoe Laboratory, University of Manchester, UK, led by Dr Adam Reid, present a review of the current literature on the suitability of adipose-derived stem cells in peripheral nerve repair.

Injuries to peripheral nerves are common and cause life-changing problems for patients alongside high social and health care costs for society. Current clinical treatment relies on sacrificing a nerve from elsewhere in the body to provide a nerve graft at the injury site, but much work has been done to develop a bioengineered nerve graft that would not require this sacrifice. Stem cells are prime candidates as accelerators of regeneration in these nerve grafts.

This prospect, reported in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No.14, 2014), presents the current literature on the potential of adipose-derived stem cells as tools to improve nerve regeneration through bioengineered nerve grafts. "Adipose-derived stem cells have the potential to stimulate improved nerve regeneration", stated the authors. "Their incorporation into bioengineered nerve graft treatments could revolutionize the current clinical approach to peripheral nerve repair".

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Article: "Adipose derived stem cells and peripheral nerve regeneration" by Alessandro Faroni, Richard JP Smith, Adam J Reid (1 Blond McIndoe Laboratories, Institute of Inflammation and Repair, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; 2 Department of Plastic Surgery & Burns, University Hospital of South Manchester, Manchester, UK)

Faroni A, Smith RJP, Reid AJ. Adipose derived stem cells and peripheral nerve regeneration. Neural Regen Res. 2014;9(14):1341-1346.

Contact: Meng Zhao eic@nrren.org 86-138-049-98773 Neural Regeneration Research http://www.nrronline.org/

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Adipose-derived stem cells and nerve regeneration

San Diegan joins state stem cell agency

By Stem Cell Treatment

David Higgins of San Diego, a biotech veteran and an advocate for people with Parkinson's disease, has joined the governing board of California's stem cell agency.

Higgins, who has Parkinson's himself, replaces Joan Samuelson on the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee that governs the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The institute is distributing a total of $3 billion in state bond money in a years-long bid to turn stem cell research into therapies.

Higgins' appointment was announced this week. He was chosen by state Controller John Chiang to take the patient advocate position for Parkinson's disease. Higgins is president of the board for the Parkinson's Association of San Diego.

David Higgins / Parkinson's Association of San Diego

He holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics from the University of Rochester, and has worked at the biotech companies Invitrogen, Chiron and Idun Pharmaceuticals. Higgins now serves as an adviser to iDiverse, a gene technology company in Del Mar.

In addition, he's a board member for the Center for Ethics in Science and Technology.

And he serves as the San Diego representative for the Parkinson's Action Network, which lobbies elected officials on policies regarding Parkinson's research and treatment.

Higgins is a good choice for the stem cell agency's board not only because of his scientific and medical expertise, but also his personal qualities, said Jerry Henberger, executive director of the local Parkinson's association.

"He's patient, thoughtful, extremely intelligent and a great leader," Henberger said. "We're excited about Parkinson's getting a voice. We know he'll do a great job."

Joe Panetta, a member of the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee, welcomed Higgins to the board. Panetta is president and chief executive of Biocom, the San Diego-based life science trade group.

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San Diegan joins state stem cell agency

Transparent Fish Lead to Stem Cell Research Breakthrough

By Stem Cell Medicine

brindafella (702231) writes Australian scientists have accidentally made one of the most significant discoveries in stem cell research, by studying the transparent embryos of Zebrafish (Danio rerio). The fish can be photographed and their development studied over time, and the movies can be played backwards, to track back from key developmental stages to find the stem cell basis for various traits of the fish. This fundamental research started by studying muscles, but the blood stem cell breakthrough was a bonus. They've found out how hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), among the most important stem cells found in blood and bone marrow, is formed. The scientists are based at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute at Monash University. The research has been published in the Nature medical journal. This discovery could lead to the production of self-renewing stem cells in the lab to treat multiple blood disorders and diseases.

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Transparent Fish Lead to Stem Cell Research Breakthrough

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