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Gift from Bacardi family will help Mayo Clinic researchers in Jacksonville close in on 'the future of medicine'

By Stem Cell Clinic

The future of medicine is regenerative medicine.

Thats a view shared by Thomas Gonwa, associate director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine in Jacksonville, and by Jorge and Leslie Bacardi.

Regenerative medicine will be the cutting-edge medicine of the 21st century, Gonwa says.

We think it is the most important thing happening in medicine, Leslie Bacardi said.

Now the Bacardis, who live in Nassau in the Bahamas, have given what Mayo Clinic officials call a substantial gift to fund ongoing research and clinical trials in regenerative medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

Jorge Bacardi, part of the family that has been making rum and other spirits for 150 years, declined to specify the amount of the gift. Were not people who boast about the amount we give, he said.

Its an amount that should be sufficient to fund the ongoing research into regenerative medicine in Jacksonville, he said.

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic both in Jacksonville and in Rochester, Minn., now envision a future in which new organs can be grown for patients, using their own cells, and a time when the injection of stem cells can be used to repair a damaged organ.

Last year, Tim Nelson, a physician with the Center for Regenerative Medicine in Rochester, removed tissue from the arm of ABC Nightline reporter Bill Weir and created what Weir called a tiny piece of my cardiac tissue that had dramatically formed into the shape of a heart a pumping, three-dimensional glimpse into a future when this kind of cell could theoretically be injected into a heart-attack victim or a diseased child and literally mend the person from within.

That, to us, was just mind-boggling, Leslie Bacardi said. ... Regenerative medicine is for us an investment in our future and the future of medicine. It may take a while to reap any benefits, but when those benefits do come, it will make the investment seem small.

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Gift from Bacardi family will help Mayo Clinic researchers in Jacksonville close in on 'the future of medicine'

Stem cell discovery may make tissue regeneration more efficient

By Uncategorized

A new stem-cell discovery might one day lead to a more streamlined process for obtaining stem cells, which in turn could be used in the development of replacement tissue for failing body parts, according to UC San Francisco scientists who reported the findings in the current edition of Cell.

The work builds on a strategy that involves reprogramming adult cells back to an embryonic state in which they again have the potential to become any type of cell.

The efficiency of this process may soon increase thanks to the scientists identification of biochemical pathways that can inhibit the necessary reprogramming of gene activity in adult human cells. Removing these barriers increased the efficiency of stem-cell production, the researchers found.

Our new work has important implications for both regenerative medicine and cancer research, said Miguel Ramalho-Santos, Ph.D., associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF, who led the research, funded in part by a prestigious NIH Directors New Innovator Award.

The earlier discovery that it was possible to take specialized adult cells and reverse the developmental clock to strip the mature cells of their distinctive identities and characteristics and to make them immortal, reprogrammable cells that theoretically can be used to replace any tissue type led to a share of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine being awarded to UCSF, Gladstone Institutes and Kyoto University researcher Shinya Yamanaka, M.D., in 2012.

These induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are regarded as an alternative experimental approach to ongoing efforts to develop tissue from stem cells obtained from early-stage human embryos. However, despite the promise of iPS cells and the excitement surrounding iPS research, the percentage of adult cells successfully converted to iPS cells is typically low, and the resultant cells often retain traces of their earlier lives as specialized cells.

Researchers generate stem cells by forcing the activation within adult cells of pluripotency-inducing genes starting with the so-called Yamanaka factors a process that turns back the clock on cellular maturation.

Yet, as Ramalho-Santos notes, From the time of the discovery of iPS cells, it was appreciated that the specialized cells from which they are derived are not a blank slate. They express their own genes that may resist or counter reprogramming.

But the nature of what exactly was getting in the way of reprogramming remained poorly understood. Now, by genetically removing multiple barriers to reprogramming, we have found that the efficiency of generation of iPS cells can be greatly increased, he said. The discovery will contribute to accelerating the safe and efficient use of iPS cells and other reprogrammed cells, according to Ramalho-Santos.

Miguel Ramalho-Santos

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Stem cell discovery may make tissue regeneration more efficient

Bacardis Make Gift to Significantly Advance Mayo Clinic's Regenerative Medicine Research

By Uncategorized

Released: 29-Jul-2014 8:00 AM EDT Source Newsroom: Mayo Clinic Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Imagine a future in which a new lung is grown for a patient in need, using the patients own cellular material, or a day when an injection of replacement cells will enable a patient to self-heal damage in the brain, nerves or other tissues.

MULTIMEDIA ALERT: For audio and video of Dr. Keller and Jorge Bacardi talking about the gift and regenerative medicine, visit the Mayo Clinic News Network.

Regenerative medicine is no longer science fiction, and a substantial gift from Jorge and Leslie Bacardi of the Bahamas will significantly accelerate the research of Mayo Clinics Center for Regenerative Medicine on the Florida campus.

Jorge Bacardi, whose family has manufactured rum and other spirits for 150 years, suffered since childhood with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a debilitating lung disease that nearly ended his life. A double lung transplant at Mayos Florida campus in 2008 enabled him to take his first full breath of air at age 64.

Regenerative medicine is an extraordinary step in the evolution of mankind, says Jorge Bacardi. It is for Leslie and I a great honor to be able to join Mayo Clinic in the development of such an advancement in the medical field."

Regenerative medicine is addressing the root causes of disease and disability by developing ways to rejuvenate the body using its natural self-healing processes; replace damaged cells with healthy ones derived from the patient (avoiding immune system rejection); and regenerate function by applying specific cells or cell products.

Mayos regenerative medicine researchers are targeting conditions throughout the body, including heart disease, stroke, Alzheimers disease and traumatic injuries that affect combat veterans. Some studies are in the earliest stages. Others are in clinical trials with patients.

Researchers now can differentiate stem cells into skin, brain, lung and many other types of cells. For example, a patient's own skin cells may be collected, reprogrammed in a laboratory to give them certain characteristics, and then delivered back to the patient to treat diseases at various places within the body.

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Bacardis Make Gift to Significantly Advance Mayo Clinic's Regenerative Medicine Research

Brisbane mother dies in Russia

By Stem Cell Treatment

Kellie van Meurs, pictured with her husband Mark, died while undergoing stem cell treatment in Russia. Photo: Facebook

Supporters of a Brisbane mother-of-two who died while undergoing a controversial stem cell treatment in Russia say it did not cause her death, nor have others been discouraged from seeking it.

Kellie van Meurs suffered from a rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome, which causes progressive rigidity of the body and chronic pain.

She travelled to Moscow in late June to undergo an autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) under the care of Dr Denis Fedorenko from the National Pirogov Medical Surgical Centre.

Kellie van Meurs, pictured with family and supporters, died while undergoing stem cell treatment in Russia. Photo: Facebook

The transplant more commonly used for multiple sclerosis patients involves rebooting a patients immune system with their own stem cells after high-dose chemotherapy.

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Ms van Meurs was Dr Fedorenkos first SPS patient, and her husband Mark said she died of a heart attack on July 19.

I do know that Rosemary [Ms van Meurs' aunt and carer in Moscow] felt she received the best possible care, especially from Dr Fedorenko, he said.

Given her level of constant pain and overlapping auto-neuronal problems I still don't think we had a better option.

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Brisbane mother dies in Russia

Queensland mum dies in Russia

By Stem Cell Treatment

Kellie van Meurs, pictured with her husband Mark, died while undergoing stem cell treatment in Russia. Photo: Facebook

Supporters of a Brisbane mother-of-two who died while undergoing a controversial stem cell treatment in Russia say it did not cause her death, nor have others been discouraged from seeking it.

Kellie van Meurs suffered from a rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome, which causes progressive rigidity of the body and chronic pain.

She travelled to Moscow in late June to undergo an autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) under the care of Dr Denis Fedorenko from the National Pirogov Medical Surgical Centre.

Kellie van Meurs, pictured with family and supporters, died while undergoing stem cell treatment in Russia. Photo: Facebook

The transplant more commonly used for multiple sclerosis patients involves rebooting a patients immune system with their own stem cells after high-dose chemotherapy.

Advertisement

Ms van Meurs was Dr Fedorenkos first SPS patient, and her husband Mark said she died of a heart attack on July 19.

I do know that Rosemary [Ms van Meurs' aunt and carer in Moscow] felt she received the best possible care, especially from Dr Fedorenko, he said.

Given her level of constant pain and overlapping auto-neuronal problems I still don't think we had a better option.

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Queensland mum dies in Russia

Qld mum dies in Russia

By Stem Cell Treatment

Kellie van Meurs, pictured with her husband Mark, died while undergoing stem cell treatment in Russia. Photo: Facebook

Supporters of a Brisbane mother-of-two who died while undergoing a controversial stem cell treatment in Russia say it did not cause her death, nor have others been discouraged from seeking it.

Kellie van Meurs suffered from a rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome, which causes progressive rigidity of the body and chronic pain.

She travelled to Moscow in late June to undergo an autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) under the care of Dr Denis Fedorenko from the National Pirogov Medical Surgical Centre.

Kellie van Meurs, pictured with family and supporters, died while undergoing stem cell treatment in Russia. Photo: Facebook

The transplant more commonly used for multiple sclerosis patients involves rebooting a patients immune system with their own stem cells after high-dose chemotherapy.

Advertisement

Ms van Meurs was Dr Fedorenkos first SPS patient, and her husband Mark said she died of a heart attack on July 19.

I do know that Rosemary [Ms van Meurs' aunt and carer in Moscow] felt she received the best possible care, especially from Dr Fedorenko, he said.

Given her level of constant pain and overlapping auto-neuronal problems I still don't think we had a better option.

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Qld mum dies in Russia

Stem cell treatment warnings

By Stem Cell Doctors

Video will begin in 5 seconds.

While stem cells have many applications in treating bone tumors and early leukaemia and lymphoma cases Dr Tony Bartone says patients undergoing unproven treatments are taking "life into a Tatts Lotto" situation.

Authorities are warning of the risks of unproven stem cell treatments available in Australia and overseas after the death of an Australian woman in Russia.

Brisbane mother-of-two Kellie van Meurs travelled to Moscow for treatment for a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome but died from a heart attack while undergoing the controversial treatment on July 19.

Her death - and the continued marketing of stem cell tourism by groups including Adult Stem Cell Foundation - prompted warnings that manyof the therapies on offer are untested and not acceptedby mainstream science.

Stem Cells Australia's head of education, ethics, law and community awareness Megan Munsie said a proliferation of private clinics combined with a growing consumer base was a potentially dangerous mix.

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''This sad case illustrates that some people are prepared to take the risk,'' she said. ''But people should balance their high hopes with the acknowledgement that there is a risk.''

She also cautioned that treatment decisions should be based more on the advice of medical professionals than the experiences outlined in social media, which was flush with success stories and often failed to reflect reality.

In December the country's main medical research funding body, the National Health and Medical Research Council, released a guide for patients and doctors highlighting the risks associated with unproven stem cell treatments in Australia and overseas.

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Stem cell treatment warnings

Stem cell treatment warnings after Australian woman dies in Russia

By Stem Cell Doctors

Video will begin in 5 seconds.

While stem cells have many applications in treating bone tumors and early leukaemia and lymphoma cases Dr Tony Bartone says patients undergoing unproven treatments are taking "life into a Tatts Lotto" situation.

Authorities are warning of the risks of unproven stem cell treatments available in Australia and overseas after the death of an Australian woman in Russia.

Brisbane mother-of-two Kellie van Meurs travelled to Moscow for treatment for a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome but died from a heart attack while undergoing the controversial treatment on July 19.

Her death - and the continued marketing of stem cell tourism by groups including Adult Stem Cell Foundation - prompted warnings that manyof the therapies on offer are untested and not acceptedby mainstream science.

Stem Cells Australia's head of education, ethics, law and community awareness Megan Munsie said a proliferation of private clinics combined with a growing consumer base was a potentially dangerous mix.

Advertisement

''This sad case illustrates that some people are prepared to take the risk,'' she said. ''But people should balance their high hopes with the acknowledgement that there is a risk.''

She also cautioned that treatment decisions should be based more on the advice of medical professionals than the experiences outlined in social media, which was flush with success stories and often failed to reflect reality.

In December the country's main medical research funding body, the National Health and Medical Research Council, released a guide for patients and doctors highlighting the risks associated with unproven stem cell treatments in Australia and overseas.

Link:
Stem cell treatment warnings after Australian woman dies in Russia

'Sad case' reveals stem cell risk

By Stem Cell Doctors

Video will begin in 5 seconds.

While stem cells have many applications in treating bone tumors and early leukaemia and lymphoma cases Dr Tony Bartone says patients undergoing unproven treatments are taking "life into a Tatts Lotto" situation.

Authorities are warning of the risks of unproven stem cell treatments available in Australia and overseas after the death of an Australian woman in Russia.

Brisbane mother-of-two Kellie van Meurs travelled to Moscow for treatment for a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome but died from a heart attack while undergoing the controversial treatment on July 19.

Her death - and the continued marketing of stem cell tourism by groups including Adult Stem Cell Foundation - prompted warnings that manyof the therapies on offer are untested and not acceptedby mainstream science.

Stem Cells Australia's head of education, ethics, law and community awareness Megan Munsie said a proliferation of private clinics combined with a growing consumer base was a potentially dangerous mix.

Advertisement

''This sad case illustrates that some people are prepared to take the risk,'' she said. ''But people should balance their high hopes with the acknowledgement that there is a risk.''

She also cautioned that treatment decisions should be based more on the advice of medical professionals than the experiences outlined in social media, which was flush with success stories and often failed to reflect reality.

In December the country's main medical research funding body, the National Health and Medical Research Council, released a guide for patients and doctors highlighting the risks associated with unproven stem cell treatments in Australia and overseas.

Excerpt from:
'Sad case' reveals stem cell risk

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