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Big Breakthrough In Stem Cell Manufacturing Technology

By Uncategorized

April 1, 2014

University of Nottingham

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have developed a new substance which could simplify the manufacture of cell therapy in the pioneering world of regenerative medicine.

Cell therapy is an exciting and rapidly developing area of medicine in which stem cells have the potential to repair human tissue and maintain organ function in chronic disease and age-related illnesses. But a major problem with translating current successful research into actual products and treatments is how to mass-produce such a complex living material.

There are two distinct phases in the production of stem cell products; proliferation (making enough cells to form large tissue) and differentiation (turning the basic stem cells into functional cells). The material environment required for these two phases are different and up to now a single substance that does both jobs has not been available.

Now a multi-disciplinary team of researchers at Nottingham has created a new stem cell micro-environment which they have found has allowed both the self-renewal of cells and then their evolution into cardiomyocyte (heart) cells. The material is a hydrogel containing two polymers an alginate-rich environment which allows proliferation of cells with a simple chemical switch to render the environment collagen-rich when the cell population is large enough. This change triggers the next stage of cell growth when cells develop a specific purpose.

Major priority

Professor of Advanced Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Kevin Shakesheff, said:

Our new combination of hydrogels is a first. It allows dense tissue structures to be produced from human pluripotent stem cells (HPSC) in a single step process never achieved before. The discovery has important implications for the future of manufacturing in regenerative medicine. This field of healthcare is a major priority for the UK and we are seeing increasing investment in future manufacturing processes to ensure we are ready to deliver real treatments to patients when HPSC products and treatments go to trial and become standard.

The research, Combined hydrogels that switch human pluripotent stem cells from self-renewal to differentiation, is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

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Big Breakthrough In Stem Cell Manufacturing Technology

Stem Cells May Rejuvenate Failing Hearts, Study Suggests

By Stem Cell Treatment

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, March 31, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Stem cells injected directly into heart muscle can help patients suffering from severe heart failure by improving an ailing heart's ability to pump blood, a new Danish trial indicates.

Doctors drew stem cells from patients' own bone marrow, and then injected those cells into portions of the heart where scar tissue seemed to interfere with heart function, explained lead researcher Dr. Anders Bruun Mathiasen. He is a research fellow in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Rigshospitalet University Hospital Copenhagen.

Within six months of treatment, patients who received stem cell injections had improved heart pumping function compared to patients receiving a placebo, according to findings that were to be presented Monday at the American Academy of Cardiology's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

"We know these stem cells can initiate the growth of new blood vessels and heart muscle tissue," Mathiasen said. "That's what we think has happened."

If larger follow-up trials prove the treatment's effectiveness, it could provide hope for people suffering from untreatable heart failure.

"Heart failure is one of the biggest causes of death. If you can save lives or improve their symptoms, then a treatment like this would be extremely beneficial," said Dr. Cindy Grines, a cardiologist with the Detroit Medical Center and a spokeswoman for the American College of Cardiology.

The treatment could delay the need for a heart transplant and extend the lives of people who can't qualify for a transplant, Grines added.

This new clinical trial included 59 patients with severe heart failure who were considered untreatable. It is the largest randomized trial to test the potential of stem cell injections in treating heart disease, the researchers said.

In the trial, 39 patients received injections of stem cells into their heart muscle through a catheter inserted in the groin. The procedure required only local anesthesia, Mathiasen said. The other 20 received saline injections.

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Stem Cells May Rejuvenate Failing Hearts, Study Suggests

Brescia hospitals suspend Stamina treatments

By Stem Cell Treatment

Stem-cell treatment discredited in government probes

(ANSA) - Rome, April 2 - Hospitals in Italy that used a discredited stem-cell treatment announced Wednesday they have suspended the program. "Our clinics have decided to suspend Stamina treatments indefinitely," Ezio Belleri, extraordinary commissioner of the civic hospital system in Brescia, told the parliament health committee. Italy's health ministry announced in October that the Stamina Foundation - the nonprofit foundation that developed the treatment - would not be allowed to test it on humans. The foundation was also stripped of its non-profit status after a study found its treatment was "ignorant of stem-cell biology". The head of the foundation, Davide Vannoni, a former psychology lecturer, was indicted earlier this year for alleged attempted fraud against the Piedmont Region. The Stamina Foundation had asked for 500,000 euros of funding to develop a stem-cell laboratory, a request prosecutors argue was fraudulent because the efficacy of the treatment has been "completely disproved". The Stamina treatment involves extracting bone-marrow stem cells from a patient, turning them into neurons by exposing them to retinoic acid for two hours, and injecting them back into the patient. Supporters of the therapy thought it could be a cure for fatal degenerative nerve diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy, while detractors said it was devoid of scientific merit. A panel of experts appointed by Italy's health ministry said in January it found the therapy seriously lacking in both premise and practice. Their report cited "serious imperfections and omissions in the Stamina protocol, including conceptual errors and an apparent ignorance of stem-cell biology".

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Brescia hospitals suspend Stamina treatments

Revolutionary stem cell op to treat heart failure

By Stem Cell Doctors

Graham Parker, 41, from County Durham is one of first to benefit from trial Some participants were given stem cells and the rest placebo Stem cells were taken from bone marrow in his hip and injected into heart Years later Graham feels better - but still classed as having heart failure

By Carol Davis

PUBLISHED: 18:04 EST, 31 March 2014 | UPDATED: 18:25 EST, 31 March 2014

Graham Parker took part in a trial using stem cells to repair heart damage

A major new trial is using patients' own stem cells to treat heart failure. One of the first to benefit is Graham Parker, 41, an archaeology student from Stanley, County Durham. He tells CAROL DAVIS his story.

Working as a supply teacher a few years ago, I started feeling exhausted. I couldn't walk more than 50 metres without pausing, was constantly breathless and would wake at night coughing.

At first I thought it was a cold or flu, or the stress of a house move. But my mum, a retired nurse, pointed out I'd been ill for two months, and sent me to the doctor.

The GP suspected asthma, and gave me an inhaler. But within a week it was worse and I couldn't walk more than a few yards without retching.

So I saw a second GP. She didn't say what she thought it was - she called an ambulance instead. I was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, then transferred to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle while they ran several tests, including an ECG (electrocardiogram) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan.

Doctors explained I had heart failure: part of my heart muscle was damaged and the lower pumping chamber had become flabby so couldn't pump blood round my body properly. This was why I was so exhausted.

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Revolutionary stem cell op to treat heart failure

Scientist accused of manipulating data in 'breakthrough' stem cell paper

By Stem Cell Medical Center

TOKYO

Japan's top research body on Tuesday accused the lead writer of stem cell papers hailed as a game-changer in the field of medical biology of misconduct involving fabrication, but the scientist called the findings unacceptable.

Two papers published in the scientific journal Nature in January detailed simple ways to reprogram mature animal cells back to an embryonic-like state, allowing them to generate many types of tissues.

Such a step would offer hope for a simpler way to replace damaged cells or grow new organs in humans.

But reports have since pointed out irregularities in data and images used in the papers, prompting RIKEN, a semi-governmental research institute and employer of the lead writer, to set up a panel to look into the matter.

The panel said, for example, that one of the articles reused images related to lead writer Haruko Obokata's doctoral dissertation, which was on different experiments.

"Actions like this completely destroy data credibility," Shunsuke Ishii, head of the committee, said at a news conference.

"There is no doubt that she was fully aware of this danger.

We've therefore concluded this was an act of research misconduct involving fabrication."

In a statement, Obokata said she would soon file a complaint with RIKEN, challenging the findings.

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Scientist accused of manipulating data in 'breakthrough' stem cell paper

Japanese Scientist Falsified Claims On Groundbreaking Stem Cell Research

By Stem Cell Medical Center

April 1, 2014

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Less than three months after a rising Japanese scientist made claims of a significant stem cell breakthrough, new evidence has come forward that confirms the findings of the groundbreaking study were falsified.

Haruko Obokata, the lead author of a study published in the journal Nature in January, claimed that stem cells could be created by dipping blood cells into acid, potentially leading to hope in growing Stap (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) cell tissue to treat illnesses such as diabetes and Parkinsons disease. But scientists at the Riken Centre for Development Biology in Kobe, Japan, the same center where Obokata conducted her research, is now saying the researchers claims were falsified.

The latest news comes after criticism surrounded the research last month, after researchers from around the world could not replicate the teams findings using the same approach. The growing body of criticism led some on the research team to consider retracting their paper, which in turn led to further investigations from investigators within the Riken Centre.

Despite the growing controversy, Charles Vacanti, a tissue engineer at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Womens Hopsital in Boston, a coauthor of the study, said at the time that he would stick by the results.

It would be very sad to have such an important paper retracted as a result of peer pressure, when indeed the data and conclusions are honest and valid, Vacanti told theWall Street Journal in March.

But as of now, it has come to light that nearly all claims made by Obokata were manipulated and she had falsified images of DNA fragments used in her research, according to the Riken Centre investigative team.

The manipulation was used to improve the appearance of the results, Shunsuke Ishii, the head of the committee set up to investigate allegations that the research was fraudulent, told The Associated Press.

When the news broke in January that Obokata, who had just received her PhD three years earlier, had appeared to create a new method of turning blood cells into stem cells easily, she became an instant hero, with many calling it the third most significant breakthrough in stem cell research, according to a report in The Washington Post.

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Japanese Scientist Falsified Claims On Groundbreaking Stem Cell Research

Major breakthrough in stem cell manufacturing technology

By Uncategorized

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have developed a new substance which could simplify the manufacture of cell therapy in the pioneering world of regenerative medicine.

Cell therapy is an exciting and rapidly developing area of medicine in which stem cells have the potential to repair human tissue and maintain organ function in chronic disease and age-related illnesses. But a major problem with translating current successful research into actual products and treatments is how to mass-produce such a complex living material.

There are two distinct phases in the production of stem cell products; proliferation (making enough cells to form large tissue) and differentiation (turning the basic stem cells into functional cells). The material environment required for these two phases are different and up to now a single substance that does both jobs has not been available.

Now a multi-disciplinary team of researchers at Nottingham has created a new stem cell micro-environment which they have found has allowed both the self-renewal of cells and then their evolution into cardiomyocyte (heart) cells. The material is a hydrogel containing two polymers -- an alginate-rich environment which allows proliferation of cells with a simple chemical switch to render the environment collagen-rich when the cell population is large enough. This change triggers the next stage of cell growth when cells develop a specific purpose.

Professor of Advanced Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Kevin Shakesheff, said:

"Our new combination of hydrogels is a first. It allows dense tissue structures to be produced from human pluripotent stem cells (HPSC) in a single step process never achieved before. The discovery has important implications for the future of manufacturing in regenerative medicine. This field of healthcare is a major priority for the UK and we are seeing increasing investment in future manufacturing processes to ensure we are ready to deliver real treatments to patients when HPSC products and treatments go to trial and become standard."

The research, "Combined hydrogels that switch human pluripotent stem cells from self-renewal to differentiation" is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Nottingham. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Major breakthrough in stem cell manufacturing technology

Arroyo's alternative medicine doctor unlicensed

By Uncategorized

MANILA, Philippines The alternative medicine doctor who took in former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2012 for possible stem cell therapy is not licensed to practice in the Philippines.

On Tuesday, April 1, Antonia Park of the Green & Young Health & Wellness Center admitted to Rappler in a phone interview she is not a registered physician in the Philippines because "I'm not from here." She is instead a registered medical practitioner in London and Korea.

"Thats why its a wellness center. If dito ako [registered], maglalagay na lang ako ng medical center," she said, referring to her center located in Tagaytay City. (That's why it's a wellness center. If I am registered here, I might as well put up a medical center.)

A document from the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) dated Aug 12, 2013 showed Park is not in the database of physicians which contains the names of those duly authorized to practice medicine in the Philippines.

Certification Antonia Carandang Park

Park and some of her clinic staff are facing charges of estafa and reckless imprudence resulting in homicide. The charges were filed last year by businessman Bernard Tan with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after his 23-year-old daughter Kate died.

Kate, an Ateneo student who graduated with honors in March 2013, died 4 months later on July 4, due to a tumor that blocked the entry of blood to her heart, secondary to Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The disease is an uncommon but curable cancer of the lymphatic system.

High-profile patient

Kate was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. After undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she was declared cancer-free in January 2012. The cancer recurred around May or June of the same year, however, prompting Kate to try something else besides traditional treatment.

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Arroyo's alternative medicine doctor unlicensed

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