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Was Stem Cell therapy behind death of 3 Solons?

By Uncategorized

Manila, Philippines --- Several congressmen have indeed undergone stem cell therapy in Germany and two of them died while serving the 15th Congress.

This was gathered from several sources as one outgoing congressman disclosed that a group of Mindanao mayors are set to depart for Europe to visit stem cell clinics in Germany.

''But virility and aesthetic enhancements are the reasons for the trip,'' said outgoing Agham Party-list Rep. Angelo Palmones in an interview yesterday.

Palmones admitted that one of the veteran solons who died during the 15th Congress was a stem cell therapy patient but whether or not the procedure contributed to his death remains unknown.

''He died of heart attack but the purpose of his stem cell treatment was to improve virility,'' said Palmones, outgoing vice chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology.

Two others reportedly flew to Europe to seek treatment for cancer but both died.

A former broadcaster, Palmones authored House Resolution No. 1075 calling for a congressional investigation in aid of legislation on the operation of stem cell therapy clinics in malls in a bid to ensure the ''safety and security of patients.''

In a press statement the other day, the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) aired suspicions that ''three politicians'' from Mindanao may have died due to stem cell treatments from unauthorized practitioners.

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Was Stem Cell therapy behind death of 3 Solons?

Stem cell treatment new frontier

By Stem Cell Treatment

An Australian-based biomedical company has approached sports scientists and doctors, including those at AFL clubs, spruiking contentious ''frontier'' stem cell treatment to help players recover from injury.

The developmental and largely unproven treatment, banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency if it is performance-enhancing, but approved if it is solely for injury purposes, involves fat cells being taken from a player and processed.

These processed stem cells are then injected into the injured tendon or joint, in the hope it stimulates cartilage growth to ease pain.

But at a time when the Essendon and Melbourne football clubs are under investigation for a supplements scandal, allegedly used in part to fast-track recovery for injured players, an AFL medico and club doctors have told Fairfax Media they remain cautious about stem cell treatment.

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They confirmed the company and treatment was known within AFL circles but some said there was little or no proof that it worked.

There have been reports the company, Regeneus, along with other biomedical companies, are willing to provide free treatment in the hope of using that player's rights to help sell the product. This particular treatment costs $9000 and there is no Medicare rebate.

There have also been concerns from sports doctors about safety and whether treatment would endanger players in the long term, for the stem cells may only mask the pain and not heal the injury itself.

''I am just a little bit sceptical about it at the moment,'' one AFL club doctor said. ''It's available to us, and it's a little more expensive, but we have used a couple of other blood-derived products ourselves.''

Another AFL doctor said: ''I would see it as a frontier area for potential treatments. I don't see it playing a role in performance enhancement. It's a form of injury treatment.''

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Stem cell treatment new frontier

PMA probes politicians’ deaths due to stem cell treatment

By Stem Cell Treatment

MANILA The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) is now investigating the deaths of three politicians who died allegedly after undergoing stem cell treatment in Germany.

While the association refused to divulge identities of the politicians, PMA president Dr. Leo Olarte said the three held notable posts in the country.

"Sila ay nabigyan ng mga stem cell na galing sa tupa, rabbit at mga embryonic stem cell at mga stem cell na galing din sa aborted na mga bata o fetuses. Nagkaroon sila ng kumplikasyon pagbalik dito, he said.

He added: Nagkaroon sila ng late hypersensitivity graft-host reaction. Dito na sila sa Pilipinas namatay."

Olarte said they already approached the families of the victims to get more details but some of them refused to cooperate causing a little delay in the investigation.

Based on the data gathered by the PMA, the three politicians died a year after seeking the treatment in Germany.

Unlike in the Philippines, the PMA said it is allowed to harvest stem cells from animals in European countries like Germany.

Saying that stem cells harvested from animals are dangerous, the PMA urged Filipinos not to fly abroad just to seek stem cell therapy treatment.

Olarte said the country has experts, who are members of the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM), competent to perform the treatment in the Philippines.

The PMA and PSSCM have already partnered with the Department of Health, Professional Regulations Commission, National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to go after those performing the treatment in the country without authority. from a report by Dennis Datu, dzMM

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PMA probes politicians' deaths due to stem cell treatment

Stearns family waits for outcome of stem cell transplant

By Stem Cell Treatment

BLUE MOUND The stress of leukemia treatment weighs heavily not only on Brynn Stearns, but also on her two children.

Before Stearns had a stem cell transplant at Loyola University in Chicago on June 11, her doctors warned of what was likely to happen to her body over the next four months.

She received massive doses of chemotherapy drugs for several days before the transplant to effectively kill her immune system. She is experiencing nausea, diarrhea, mouth sores and hair loss. Medications to reduce those side-effects have their own side-effects such as anxiety, drowsiness, muscle tightness and shakiness.

Im just nervous of the outcome, Stearns said. The chemo and how youre going to be sick.

Now, as the family waits, the effect on Kaydence, 6, and Kolby, 5, is apparent. When the topic turns to their mothers future, the two otherwise active children become quiet and stare blankly.

It plays on the kids, Stearns mother Nancy Piper said. When we talk about it, theyre quiet.

As a single mother, the first concern for Stearns is her children. Theyre the whole reason why Im doing this, she said.

Stearns and her family began her medical journey almost three years ago. In 2010, doctors diagnosed Stearns, then 24, with leukemia during routine gallbladder surgery. Although otherwise healthy, Stearns was required to take chemotherapy pills to put her body into remission. For two years, the pills did their job.

During a routine visit two years later, the doctors found her blood counts had changed. She was no longer in remission. After more blood work and a bone marrow biopsy, Stearns was told she would need a stem cell transplant.

But first a bone marrow donor was needed. Fortunately, a donor was found quickly. Although they will not be allowed to meet the donor for two years, the family learned the donor is a male from the West Coast. Stearns and the family gave his stem cells a name, Milo.

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Stearns family waits for outcome of stem cell transplant

Researchers Demonstrate Use of Stem Cells to Analyze Causes and Treatment of Diabetes

By Stem Cell Treatment

NYSCF AND COLUMBIA RESEARCHERS DEMONSTRATE USE OF STEM CELLS TO ANALYZE CAUSES AND TREATMENT OF DIABETES

Using patient-specific stem cells to correct deficient insulin-producing cells

Newswise NEW YORK, NY (June 17, 2013) A team from the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute and the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center of Columbia University has generated patient-specific beta cells, or insulin-producing cells, that accurately reflect the features of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY).

The researchers used skin cells of MODY patients to produce induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, from which they then made beta cells. Transplanted into a mouse, the stem cell-derived beta cells secreted insulin in a manner similar to that of the beta cells of MODY patients. Repair of the gene mutation restored insulin secretion to levels seen in cells obtained from healthy subjects. The findings were reported today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Previous studies have demonstrated the ability of human embryonic stem cells and iPS cells to become beta cells that secrete insulin in response to glucose or other molecules. But the question remained as to whether stem cell-derived beta cells could accurately model genetic forms of diabetes and be used to develop and test potential therapies.

We focused on MODY, a form of diabetes that affects approximately one in 10,000 people. While patients and other models have yielded important clinical insights into this disease, we were particularly interested in its molecular aspectshow specific genes can affect responses to glucose by the beta cell, said co-senior author Dieter Egli, PhD, Senior Research Fellow at NYSCF, who was named a NYSCFRobertson Stem Cell Investigator in 2012.

MODY is a genetically inherited form of diabetes. The most common form of MODY, type 2, results in a loss-of-function mutation in one copy of the gene that codes for the sugar-processing enzyme glucokinase (GCK). With type 2 MODY, higher glucose levels are required for GCK to metabolize glucose, leading to chronic, mildly elevated blood sugar levels and increased risk of vascular complications.

MODY patients are frequently misdiagnosed with type 1 or 2 diabetes. Proper diagnosis can not only change the patients course of treatment but affect family members, who were previously unaware that they, too, might have this genetic disorder.

NYSCF scientists took skin cells from two Berrie Center type 2 MODY patients and reprogrammedor revertedthem to an embryonic-like state to become iPS cells. To examine the effect of the GCK genetic mutation, they also created two genetically manipulated iPS cell lines for comparison: one fully functional (two correct copies of the GCK gene) and one with complete loss of function (two faulty copies of the GCK gene). They then generated beta cell precursors from the fully functional and loss-of-function iPS cell lines and transplanted the cells for further maturation into immune-compromised mice.

Our ability to create insulin-producing cells from skin cells, and then to manipulate the GCK gene in these cells using recently developed molecular methods, made it possible to definitively test several critical aspects of the utility of stem cells for the study of human disease, said Haiqing Hua, PhD, lead author on the paper, a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Molecular Genetics, Department of Pediatrics and Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University and the New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute.

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Researchers Demonstrate Use of Stem Cells to Analyze Causes and Treatment of Diabetes

Research and Markets: Complete 2012-13 Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Industry Report (Updated)

By Stem Cell Treatment

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/4rjggk/complete_201213) has announced the addition of the "Complete 2012-13 Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Industry Report" report to their offering.

Stem cell research and experimentation has been in process for well over five decades, as stem cells have the unique ability to divide and replicate repeatedly. In addition, their unspecialized nature allows them to differentiate into a wide variety of specialized cell types. The possibilities arising from these characteristics has caused great commercial interest, with potential applications ranging from the use of stem cells in reversal or treatment of disease, to targeted cell therapy, tissue regeneration, pharmacological testing on cell-specific tissues, and more. Diseases such as Huntington's Chorea, Parkinson's Disease, and spinal cord injuries are examples of clinical applications in which stem cells could offer benefits in halting or even reversing damage.

Traditionally, scientists have worked with both embryonic and adult stem cells as research tools. While the appeal of embryonic cells has been their ability to differentiate into any type of cell, there has been significant ethical, moral and spiritual controversy surrounding their use for research purposes. Although some adult stem cells do have differentiation capacity, it is often limited nature, which creates narrow options for use. Thus, induced pluripotent stem cells represent a promising combination of adult and embryonic stem cell characteristics.

A distinctive feature of this report is an end-user survey of 293 researchers (181 U.S. / 112 International) that identify as having induced pluripotent stem cells as their core research focus. These survey findings reveal iPSC researcher needs, technical preferences, key factors influencing buying decisions, and more. They can be used to make effective product development decisions, create targeted marketing messages, and produce higher prospect-to-client conversion rates.

Remember, to benefit from this lucrative product market, you need to anticipate and serve the needs of your clients, or your competitors will.

Key Findings Include:

- Charts, Timelines, and Financials for the iPSC Research Product Market

- Trends for iPSC Grants, Scientific Publications, and Patents

- 5-Year Market Size Projections (2013-2017)

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Research and Markets: Complete 2012-13 Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Industry Report (Updated)

Research and Markets: Autologous Stem Cell and Non-Stem Cell Based Therapies Market (2012-2017) Report Provides an Up …

By Stem Cell Treatment

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/p7rrs9/autologous_stem) has announced the addition of the "Autologous Stem Cell and Non-Stem Cell Based Therapies Market (2012-2017) (Neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, cancer & autoimmune, skin and infectious diseases)" report to their offering.

This research report titled Autologous Cell Therapy (2012-2017) provides details about various ACT based treatments and their application areas. Every health regulatory bodies will be expecting companies and universities to develop therapy treatments, which are safer, affordable, robust, rapid, easy to use, effective and deliverable to the end user. ACT treatments for particular application areas it is safe, experiencing robust growth, minimal steps of procedure to follow and rapid in deriving the results. As for now the treatment prices are not affordable, but by the intrusion of government bodies, it will definitely experience immense market growth.

The report gives a detailed analysis about the state of autologous cell therapies. It includes the current advances and applications of the technology and trends in terms of market size and growth of autologous cellular therapies in medical treatments globally. It also consists of funding details of the innovative therapy and recent activities in terms of mergers & acquisitions of the company, revenue forecasting. It includes the latest therapy details and products which are available for licensing and approvals from various regulatory bodies. Using drivers, restraints and challenges it is forecasted for a period of five years i.e. 2012-2017.

Autologous Cell Therapy technology is changing the medicinal treatments by introducing various new therapies. Its scope is vast and promising for the future despite challenges.

Companies Mentioned

- Antria (Cro) (U.S.)

- Bioheart (U.S.)

- Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (U.S.)

- Cytori (U.S.)

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Research and Markets: Autologous Stem Cell and Non-Stem Cell Based Therapies Market (2012-2017) Report Provides an Up ...

Grant Initiates New Stem Cell Research for Patients Suffering with Corneal Blindness

By Stem Cell Treatment

Newswise LOS ANGELES (June 21, 2013) Corneal blindness affects roughly 8 million people worldwide, and traditional treatments and surgical interventions have seen little long-term success. With a new vision for stem cell corneal transplantation, and a $1.25 million grant from the National Eye Institute, Cedars-Sinai co-investigators Alexander V. Ljubimov, PhD, FARVO, and Clive Svendsen, PhD, hope to treat previously untreatable patients suffering with corneal blindness.

Our proposed and first-of-a-kind research deals with collecting human eye cells, reprogramming them back in time to a stem cell state and then using them to create a corneal cell source for transplantation. If successful, this could result in future human clinical trials that may lead to improved vision and overall quality of life, said Ljubimov, principal investigator of the grant and director of the Eye Program at the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute. We are first experimenting with allogeneic cells from eye donors, but hope to use persons own cells in the near future.

A common cause of corneal blindness is limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency, which means that a patients history of genetics or eye injuries results in corneal scarring, blood vessel growth, and outgrowth of conjunctiva, all of which lead to vision loss.

This stem cell therapy approach uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), which are adult cells that are genetically reprogrammed to function as embryonic stem cells. Typically, iPSC technology has used stem cells from other places in the patients body, such as the skin, or from donor cells. However, advances in stem cell technology could make it possible for doctors to harvest stem cells from a patients own cornea or sclera (the white of the eye) and then transplant the reprogrammed cells back into the cornea of the patient.

If successful, this new approach may pave the way for human trials in patients affected by limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency, said Svendsen, director of the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute. The engineering of a patients own adult stem cells to embryonic stem-like cells for the use in corneal transplantation may provide a noteworthy treatment alternative to patients affected worldwide.

Svendsen and Ljubimov lead a highly respected research team that includes Mehrnoosh Saghizadeh, PhD, co-investigator of the grant and assistant professor of surgery; Yaron Rabinowitz, MD, director of Ophthalmology Research and co-investigator of the grant; and Dhruv Sareen, PhD, director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute's iPSC core facility.

The research project grant is the first NIH R01 grant awarded to the newly established Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute and was given under the application Stem Cell Approaches to Developing New Therapies for Ocular Diseases."

This grant aims to restore function in diseased eye tissues through the revitalization of existing cells or the transplantation of new cells. The National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, leads the federal government's research on the visual system and eye diseases and supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments.

NIH/NEI Funding: 1R01EY023429-01

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Grant Initiates New Stem Cell Research for Patients Suffering with Corneal Blindness

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