Stem Cells Shed Light On Bipolar Disease

Researchers have grown embryonic-like stem cells from patients with bipolar disorder and transformed them into brain cells that are already answering questions about the condition.

The cells, which carry the precisely tailored genetic instructions from the patients own cells, behave differently than cells taken from people without the disorder, the researchers report.

Already, we see that cells from people with bipolar disorder are different in how often they express certain genes, how they differentiate into neurons, how they communicate, and how they respond to lithium," Sue O'Shea, a stem cell specialist at the University of Michigan who led the study, said in a statement.

The work, described in the journal Translational Psychiatry, helps fulfill one of the big promises of stem cells research using a patients own cells to study his or her disease.

Mental illness is especially hard to study. Getting into a living persons brain is almost impossible, and scientists cant deliberately cause it in people in order to study it.

Creating animals such as mice with what looks like human mental illness is imprecise at best.

The University of Michigan team turned instead to what are called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. These are ordinary skin cells taken from a patient and tricked into turning back into the state of a just-conceived embryo.

These cells, grown from skin cells taken from people with bipolar disorder, arose from stem cells and were coaxed to become neural progenitor cells -- the kind that can become any sort of nervous system cell. The research showed differences in cell behavior compared with cells grown from people without bipolar disorder.

They are pluripotent, meaning they can become any type of cell there is. In this case, the Michigan team redirected the cells to become neurons the cells that make up much of the brain. "This gives us a model that we can use to examine how cells behave as they develop into neurons, OShea said.

Bipolar disorder, once called manic-depression, is very common, affecting an estimated 3 percent of the population globally. It runs in families, suggesting a strong genetic cause, and is marked by mood swings from depression to feelings of euphoria and creativity thats considered the manic phase.

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Stem Cells Shed Light On Bipolar Disease

Stem Cells Shed Light on Bipolar Disorder

Researchers have grown embryonic-like stem cells from patients with bipolar disorder and transformed them into brain cells that are already answering questions about the condition.

The cells, which carry the precisely tailored genetic instructions from the patients own cells, behave differently than cells taken from people without the disorder, the researchers report.

Already, we see that cells from people with bipolar disorder are different in how often they express certain genes, how they differentiate into neurons, how they communicate, and how they respond to lithium," Sue O'Shea, a stem cell specialist at the University of Michigan who led the study, said in a statement.

The work, described in the journal Translational Psychiatry, helps fulfill one of the big promises of stem cells research using a patients own cells to study his or her disease.

Mental illness is especially hard to study. Getting into a living persons brain is almost impossible, and scientists cant deliberately cause it in people in order to study it.

Creating animals such as mice with what looks like human mental illness is imprecise at best.

The University of Michigan team turned instead to what are called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. These are ordinary skin cells taken from a patient and tricked into turning back into the state of a just-conceived embryo.

These cells, grown from skin cells taken from people with bipolar disorder, arose from stem cells and were coaxed to become neural progenitor cells -- the kind that can become any sort of nervous system cell. The research showed differences in cell behavior compared with cells grown from people without bipolar disorder.

They are pluripotent, meaning they can become any type of cell there is. In this case, the Michigan team redirected the cells to become neurons the cells that make up much of the brain. "This gives us a model that we can use to examine how cells behave as they develop into neurons, OShea said.

Bipolar disorder, once called manic-depression, is very common, affecting an estimated 3 percent of the population globally. It runs in families, suggesting a strong genetic cause, and is marked by mood swings from depression to feelings of euphoria and creativity thats considered the manic phase.

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Stem Cells Shed Light on Bipolar Disorder

5 doctors charged with falsifying papers to get certificate for stem cell group

PRC: Stem cell group submitted fake SEC registration. At a press conference in Manila on Monday, March 17, Professional Regulation Commission chairperson Teresita Manzala said the PRC endorsement documents allegedly submitted by the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were fabricated and have her tampered signature. The SEC previously revoked the corporate registration of the PSSCM. Danny Pata

In a statement, Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) chair Teresita Manzala said she has asked the Professional Regulatory Board of Medicine (PRBOM) to initiate, investigate and file charges against doctors Leo Olarte, Bu Castro, Rey Melchor Santos, Oscar Tinio and Jose Asa Sabili before the PRCs legal division.

Olarte is the current president of the PMA.

The five doctors are all incorporators of the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM,) which was able to obtain an SEC certificate despite previously being denied corporate registration. They were able to do this, said the statement, by submitting false PRC endorsements to the commission.

The PRBOM eventually got hold of a copy of the SEC Registration. On examination of the supposed PRC Endorsement, it was noted that the reference regulatory law used was the Philippine Veterinary Law of 2004, instead of Republic Act 2382, otherwise known as the Medical Act of 1959, and there appeared a signature of the PRC Chairperson, the PRC statement said.

Manzala said complaints were filed against the doctors for unprofessional, dishonorable and unethical conduct.

According to the statement, the incorporators later denied participation in obtaining the SEC registration, instead naming a Dr. Mike Aragon as the person who obtained the certification.

In a notarized affidavit submitted to the PRBOM, 'Dr. Mike Aragon' declared that he was the person authorized to register a corporation to be called 'Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine' and admitted paying 15,000 pesos to a trading company for them to file the necessary documents for incorporation of the PSSCM, the PRC statement said.

But Aragon claimed to have had no participation whatsoever in the actual processing of the SEC papers for incorporating the PSSCM. Patricia Denise Chiu/BM, GMA News

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5 doctors charged with falsifying papers to get certificate for stem cell group

The pros and cons of banking your baby's stem cells

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Umbilical cord stem cell banking can be expensive and controversial, but Jamie and Ben Page decided to bank their daughter Harlow's stem cells, just in case. Then, "just in case" became a reality.

She spins, kicks, and giggles. Like most five year olds, Harlow Page is full of energy.

"This is Harlow when she was first born. We had heard about cord blood banking and talked about it a lot and thought let's just go for it and have it just as a backup," said Jamie Page, Harlow's mom.

It turns out they did need it. Harlow had cancer in her uterus.

"On the ultrasound they immediately saw that there was a mass in her abdomen about the size of a grapefruit," Jamie said.

After a year of chemo, the tumor was gone. Doctors wanted to keep it that way.

"So, when the doctors found out we actually had her own stem cells they were very excited," Jamie said.

"I think that her umbilical cord cells were used as a boost to her own cells when we harvested her to have adequate cells for reconstitution," said Elaine Morgan, MD, Oncologist, Lurie Children's Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Morgan does not advocate private cord stem cell banking at birth to be saved for a healthy baby's later use, because it's not clinically useful and it's expensive.

The Pages paid almost $2,000 for the initial banking fee, plus an extra $125 per year.

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The pros and cons of banking your baby's stem cells

Stem cell transplant helps boy grow past rare disease

By Amber South

asouth@publicopinionnews.com @AESouthPO on Twitter

MERCERSBURG >> Two years after a stem cell transplant, Chevy Hockenberry is growing in mind and body toward the 4-year-old that he is.

He has started a preschool program, and is improving his speech and getting physically stronger.

"He's just very much like a normal boy now," said his mom, Melissa Johnson, of Mercersburg. He is the son of Lance Hockenberry, Fayetteville.

But Chevy continues to wear hearing aids and glasses, and still has some physical issues with his bones to contend with as he continues his journey living with Hurlers syndrome.

Public Opinion last talked to Johnson in March 2012, about a week before the stem cell transplant surgery to prevent the disease from gaining more ground inside Chevy's little body.

Doctors diagnosed Chevy with Hurlers syndrome in January 2012. The rare, inherited disease prevents the body from producing an enzyme that helps break down and process long chains of sugar molecules, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center's website. Without the enzyme, the sugar molecules can build up and damage organs.

Chevy stayed at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for six months after his surgery. The results of the surgery were not immediately great.

"He got really sick after the transplant," Johnson said.

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Stem cell transplant helps boy grow past rare disease

Ottawa mans stem-cell transplant set-back

Ottawa-native, Chris Taylor, is riding an emotional roller coaster.

Taylor was first diagnosed with Leukemia 2 years ago. Chemotherapy worked but the cancer soon returned. Without a stem-cell transplant, doctors fear his cancer will keep coming back.

Taylor is a business partner at the Crazy Horse Grill in Kanata, and he manages Grace O'Malley's pub in Toronto. In October, his friends and colleagues held swabbing parties, hoping to find him a stem-cell match.

In Canada, the OneMatch registry is looking for male donors aged 17 to 35. For those who do match someone in need, the procedure isn't painful; in most cases it's similar to donating blood.

In November, Taylor was told his match had been found. Days before the transplant, the donor suffered a medical complication that made him unable to donate.

Taylor was put back on the list, and a second donor was found. A new transplant date was set for early April. Suddenly, that donor has backed-out. The circumstances surrounding that decision remain confidential.

"There are a lot of reasons why somebody could (back-out), so I can't judge, says Taylor, Who am I to judge anyway. I have to stay positive for my own fight.

Right now Taylor's cancer is in remission, he only hopes to find another match before it returns.

If the cancer comes back we are in trouble, explains Taylor. We can't do the transplant that's the problem. The patient has to be in remission, that's why the clock is ticking.

CTVs Natalie Pierosara will have more on this story tonight at six.

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Ottawa mans stem-cell transplant set-back

Doctors charged with fraud

Teresita Manzala, chair of the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), has accused five prominent doctors of committing fraud to secure approval for a corporation that they set up.

Leo Olarte, Bu Castro, Rey Melchor Santos, Oscar Tinio and Jose Asa Sabili allegedly forged Manzalas signature so their corporation could be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Olarte is the current president of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), while the others are past presidents of the group.

The SEC has revoked the registration of the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine Inc. (PSSCM), the company the five doctors registered.

Criminal and administrative charges may be filed against Olarte et al. for allegedly forging the PRC heads signature.

PSSCMs stated purpose is to organize and operate an organization that will advocate the development and propagation of stem cell technology, including but not limited to information dissemination, research, fora, seminars and other related activities to support the above-mentioned.

After receiving the PSSCM application, the SEC asked its incorporators to submit a favorable endorsement from the PRC because of the medical nature of the proposed company.

Complying with the SEC order, the incorporators submitted a document which bore the signature presumed to be that of PRC Chair Manzala.

The document states the PRC went over the provisions of PSSCMs articles of incorporation and found these consistent with the PRC Modernization Law of 2000.

On the basis of the alleged endorsement, the SEC approved the application.

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Doctors charged with fraud

Man hoping for third stem cell match after first 2 donors back out

Watch the video above:Leukemia patient Chris Taylor loses 2nd bone marrow transplant donor. Angie Seth reports.

TORONTO A 36-year-old leukemia patient is searching for a bone marrow donor for the third time, after his first two donors backed out for medical or unknown reasons.

Chris Taylor was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012. He originally went to Mount Sinai hospital with chest pains and spent several days in the ICU though doctors couldnt figure out what was wrong with him, he said.

But several weeks later, Princess Margaret Hospital found his cancer at the chromosomal level. HE immediately started chemotherapy and it went into remission.

It came back after ten months, he said. I was starting to feel better and the side effects were starting to wear off and then the cancer came back.

They found a match around Christmas of 2013, he said. They started preliminary testing and even got a proposed date but two days before, the donor pulled out.

Unfortunately that donor was medically unfit to donate, Taylor said.

So they went back to searching. They found another donor.

We began again the process of getting ready to go in for the transplant, he said. Unfortunately for unknown reasons that donor had to opt-out of the procedure.

I was disappointed but I dont hold any ill-will or anything like that.

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Man hoping for third stem cell match after first 2 donors back out

Leukemia patient pins hopes on OneMatch stem cell donor registry

Each day is a gift for Chris Taylor and every phone call could be the one that saves his life.

Thats why the 36-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia keeps his cellphone within reach, waiting to hear that a stem cell donor has been found and hell get the bone marrow transplant he needs.

Taylor, who was diagnosed in July 2012, has already had two false alarms but is confident a match will become available before its too late.

Getting the call is a miracle in itself. It comes after an online search of unrelated people by the Canadian Blood Services OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network. The registry has access to 22 million potential volunteer donors in 71 countries, strangers prepared to help those like Taylor.

Despite popular belief, family members are matches only 25 per cent of the time, said Mary-Lynn Pride, a patient transplant liaison specialist at OneMatch.

More than 800 Canadians currently await transplants. OneMatch has more than 333,000 registered Canadian donors.

Taylor signed up after a second round of chemotherapy last summer, when doctors at Princess Margaret Hospital advised he needed a bone marrow transplant.

Taylor received the first call last November. The timing was perfect because his cancer was in remission, the only time a transplant can be done.

Two days before he was to be admitted to hospital, Taylor got bad news. The procedure was cancelled because the donor had unspecified medical complications, he said. OneMatch does not say why donors decide to abandon the procedure.

The second call came last month, but the donor withdrew for reasons unknown to Taylor.

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Leukemia patient pins hopes on OneMatch stem cell donor registry

Stem cells inside sutures could improve healing in Achilles tendon injuries

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

12-Mar-2014

Contact: Camille Gamboa camille.gamboa@sagepub.com 805-410-7441 SAGE Publications

Los Angeles, CA (March 12, 2014) Researchers have found that sutures embedded with stem cells led to quicker and stronger healing of Achilles tendon tears than traditional sutures, according to a new study published in the March 2014 issue of Foot & Ankle International (published by SAGE).

Achilles tendon injuries are common for professional, collegiate and recreational athletes. These injuries are often treated surgically to reattach or repair the tendon if it has been torn. Patients have to keep their legs immobilized for a while after surgery before beginning their rehabilitation. Athletes may return to their activities sooner, but risk rerupturing the tendon if it has not healed completely.

Drs. Lew Schon, Samuel Adams, and Elizabeth Allen and Researchers Margaret Thorpe, Brent Parks, and Gary Aghazarian from MedStar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, conducted the study. They compared traditional surgery, surgery with stem cells injected in the injury area, and surgery with special sutures embedded with stem cells in rats. The results showed that the group receiving the stem cell sutures healed better.

"The exciting news from this early work is that the stem cells stayed in the tendon, promoting healing right away, during a time when patients are not able to begin aggressive rehabilitation. When people can't fully use their leg, the risk is that atrophy sets in and adhesions can develop which can impact how strong and functional the muscle and tendon are after it is reattached," said Dr. Schon. "Not only did the stem cells encourage better healing at the cellular level, the tendon strength itself was also stronger four weeks following surgery than in the other groups in our study," he added.

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For further information on how to take care of your feet and ankles, or to find a local orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon, visit the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society patient website at http://www.footcaremd.org.

"Stem Cell-Bearing Suture Improves Achilles Tendon Healing in a Rat Model" by Samuel B. Adams, Jr, MD; Margaret A. Thorpe, BS; Brent G. Parks, MSc; Gary Aghazarian, BS; Elizabeth Allen, MD; and Lew C. Schon, MD in the March 2014 Foot & Ankle International.

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Stem cells inside sutures could improve healing in Achilles tendon injuries