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BrainStorm Treats 8th Patient in Phase IIa Trial; Completes Enrollment of Final 4 Patients

NEW YORK, NY and PETACH TIKVAH, ISRAEL--(Marketwired - Jun 10, 2013) - BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (OTCQB: BCLI), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced that it has successfully treated the eighth patient in its ongoing Phase IIa ALS clinical trial at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel, thus completing treatment of the second of three cohorts. Enrollment of the final group of four patients has also been completed, and the company expects to conclude treatment of these patients by the end of the third quarter of this year.

In this Phase IIa dose-escalating trial, currently underway at Hadassah under the direction of Principal Investigator Professor Dimitrios Karussis, 12 ALS patients are receiving combined intramuscular (IM) and intrathecal (IT) administration of NurOwn cells, in three cohorts, with increasing doses. The study participants will be monitored for six months following transplantation.

About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Inc. BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is a biotechnology company engaged in the development of first-of-its-kind adult stem cell therapies derived from autologous bone marrow cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The Company holds the rights to develop and commercialize its NurOwn technology through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Ramot, the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.brainstorm-cell.com.

Safe Harbor Statement - Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute "forward-looking statements" and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.'s actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Terms and phrases such as "may," "should," "would," "could," "will," "expect," "likely," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "predict," "potential," and similar terms and phrases are intended to identify these forward-looking statements.The potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks associated with BrainStorm's limited operating history, history of losses; minimal working capital, dependence on its license to Ramot's technology; ability to adequately protect the technology; dependence on key executives and on its scientific consultants; ability to obtain required regulatory approvals; and other factors detailed in BrainStorm's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q available at http://www.sec.gov.These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on BrainStorm's forward-looking statements.The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this press release. We do not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or assumptions if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, unless otherwise required by law. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

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BrainStorm Treats 8th Patient in Phase IIa Trial; Completes Enrollment of Final 4 Patients

The Science of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine – Arnold Caplan PhD (Part 1) – Video


The Science of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine - Arnold Caplan PhD (Part 1)
Professor Arnold Caplan of Case Western Reserve University is widely regarded as "The Father of the Mesenchymal Stem Cell". This lecture is a "must see" for ...

By: http://www.cellmedicine.com

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The Science of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine - Arnold Caplan PhD (Part 1) - Video

Lewis County man hopes for stem cell therapy

VANCEBURG | A Lewis County man is working his way toward stem cell therapy in an attempt to help him walk again.

Jennifer Richardson, a long-time friend of Anthony Schumacher, said Schumacher was involved in an accident in December 2012, which left him paralyzed.

According to Richardson, Schumacher was in a comma for a few days and has no memory of the accident.

"He was going to work when his tire blew out and he wrecked the car," Richardson said. "He was in a coma for days and when he woke up he was paralyzed from the belly button down and couldn't remember anything."

Tammy Moore, Schumacher's mother, said he keeps a positive attitude about his situation.

"He's a happy person," she said. "He works out everyday and tries to learn new things about his situation and the procedure."

Moore said she would like to see Schumacher get the therapy.

"I don't know a lot about it. I'm still learning about it," she said. "But, from what I've seen, it's a good thing that can help him get at least some of the feeling back, if not all. I want to see him get it, if it can help."

Schumacher said he looks forward to the possibility of the procedure, too.

"I'm hopeful," he said. "I want to get it done. I've been trying to do my research and I would like to do this."

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Lewis County man hopes for stem cell therapy

$150,000 donation to fund stem cell research

A Newport Beach nonprofit donated $150,000 toward stem cell research that could slow or reverse heart damage in patients, including those with a specific muscular dystrophy condition, the organization announced last week.

Coalition Duchenne gave the money to a Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute team developing a treatment that could help treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients who develop heart disease, according to a news release from the coalition.

Boys with Duchenne are born with damage to their hearts that worsens over time, according to Dr. Ron Victor, associate director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.

"If we can use stem cells to slow or stop heart damage, it could help stall progression of the disease," he said in a prepared statement.

The institute's experimental treatment involves removing a raisin-size piece of heart muscle that is used to grow the stem cells.

Researchers have seen an average 50% reduction in muscle damage following a heart attack when those cells are injected back into the patient, according to the release.

"Each year, 20,000 boys are born with Duchenne," said Catherine Jayasuriya, who founded Coalition Duchenne in 2010 after her son was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy associated with the disease. "Many do not live into their 20s and we lose many to cardiac issues. We need to focus on changing the course of the disease. We hope that working with cardiac stem cells is one way we will eventually change that outcome."

Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck

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$150,000 donation to fund stem cell research

Paralyzed Dog Receives Stem Cell Therapy

HIALEAH (CBSMiami) A team of Hialeah veterinarians performed a groundbreaking medical procedure on a dog to help him walk again.

Brando, a 9-year-old German shepherd, received an innovative two-part stem cell therapy at Paradise Animal Clinic in Hialeah on Wednesday. Its the first time this type of therapy has been performed in Florida.

The dog had been paralyzed from the waist down since January and used a doggie wheelchair to get around.

Vets said that he had a skin infection that paralyzed his lungs and then spread to a disc in his back. The infection caused 80 percent of Brandos leg muscles to weaken.

We were totally emotionally destroyed. Kids were crying, wife was upset, I was upset, said owner Manuel Bouza. Obviously the issue was he was so sick whether we put him down because hes paralyzed or whether we deal with it.

Bouza said that they wanted to do whatever they could to help him. One day, he stumbled across a video on YouTube about a dog in Great Britain who had received a stem cell treatment and he became interested.

With no proven options for recovery, they decided to try an experimental stem cell procedure never performed before in Florida.

This is a last ditch effort, said Bouza.

During the procedure, surgeons took fat from Brandos stomach and processed out the stem cells which were then re-injected into his spinal cord. They hope the cells will regenerate tissue and help Brando become more mobile.

The idea is that stem cells are able to go to a given place in the body and repair, said said animal surgeon Jose Gorostiza. Hopefully they will help the cells that are there function again, the new ones.

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Paralyzed Dog Receives Stem Cell Therapy

Rewinding development: A step forward for stem cell research

Javascript is currently disabled in your web browser. For full site functionality, it is necessary to enable Javascript. In order to enable it, please see these instructions. 3 hours ago The picture shows a 9.5-day-old mouse embryo including extra-embryonic tissue. The red region marks embryonic stem cells in the extra-embryonic yolk sac. Embryonic stem cells are not normally able to do this, but when cells are pushed backwards in development as described in Morgani et al. Credit: Sophie Morgani, University of Copenhagen.

Scientists at the Danish Stem Cell Center, DanStem, at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that they can make embryonic stem cells regress to a stage of development where they are able to make placenta cells as well as the other fetal cells. This significant discovery, published in the journal Cell Reports today, has the potential to shed new light on placenta related disorders that can lead to problematic pregnancies and miscarriages.

Embryonic stem cells can make all kinds of adult cells in the human body such as muscle, blood or brain cells. However, these embryonic stem cells are created at a point when the embryo has already lost the ability to make extra-embryonic tissue such as placenta and yolk sac. Extra-embryonic tissues are formed at the very earliest stage of development right after fertilization and are essential for the growth of the embryo and its implantation in the womb.

A team of scientists at the Danish Stem Cell Center, DanStem, at the University of Copenhagen have shown that it is possible to rewind the developmental state of embryonic stem cells. By maintaining mouse embryonic stem cells under certain conditions, they found that cells appear to regress and resemble extremely early embryo cells that can form any kind of cell including placenta and yolk sac cells.

"It was a very exciting moment when we tested the theory," says Professor Josh Brickman from DanStem. "We found that not only can we make adult cells but also placenta, in fact we got precursors of placenta, yolk sac as well as embryo from just one cell."

Sophie Morgani, PhD student at DanStem and first author of the paper, which was published in the scientific journal Cell Reports today adds: "This new discovery is crucial for the basic understanding of the nature of embryonic stem cells and could provide a way to model the development of the organism as a whole, rather than just the embryonic portion. In this way we may gain greater insight into conditions where extra-embryonic development is impaired, as in the case of miscarriages."

LIF protein plays a crucial role

Brickman and colleagues grew their embryonic stem cells in a solution containing LIF, which is a protein known to somehow support embryonic stem cells but also for its role in implantation of the embryo into the uterus. As implantation is stimulated by the cells that will become the placenta, not the embryo, these roles appeared to be contradictory. The DanStem study resolved this contradiction by revealing that LIF helps maintain the cells in their regressed, early stage of development.

"In our study we have been able to see the full picture unifying LIF's functions: What LIF really does, is to support the very early embryo state, where the cells can make both embryonic cells and placenta. This fits with LIFs' role in supporting implantation," Josh Brickman says.

Explore further: Sorting stem cells

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Rewinding development: A step forward for stem cell research