Stem cells used in study to regenerate heart tissue

Medical investigators are embarking on a study that involves infusing 10 million stem cells directly into a coronary artery of heart attack patients in an effort to regenerate tissue that otherwise would be forever damaged.

Regeneration has been an ongoing theme in science fiction and a goal of real-life scientists.

Dr. Luis Gruberg, of the Stony Brook Heart Institute, and Dr. Allen Jeremias, director of the intensive care unit, led a team late last month in a novel case, which they describe as a clinical trial designed to harvest, and then inject, a patient's own stem cells into the blocked artery responsible for the attack.

"This is a post-heart attack procedure and it is for patients who have had a large heart attack," said Gruberg, director of interventional cardiology research.

In patients whose attacks are severe, vast portions of the heart are irreparably damaged, resulting in cardiac tissue that no longer performs efficiently.

Every year about 715,000 Americans have a heart attack. Of those, 525,000 are a first heart attack and 190,000 are repeat episodes. Every 44 seconds someone in the United States dies of a heart attack, according to federal data.

If stem cells can aid in the remodeling of the heart, regenerating healthy tissue, then medicine can offer patients a new lease on life, the doctors said.

Arriving at a point when such a treatment can be offered, Gruberg added, requires research. The gold standard of clinical study in Western medicine is the placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial, which means some of the Stony Brook heart patients will receive a stem cell transplant, others, a placebo.

Doctors began their study, part of a larger national investigation, abruptly late last month because they had been awaiting the perfect patient.

That person, a 66-year-old man who had been visiting Long Island from the Midwest, arrived at Stony Brook University Hospital as a transfer from Southampton Hospital.

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Stem cells used in study to regenerate heart tissue

Opinions on Stem Cell Facelift? Doctor Answers, Tips

many plastic surgeons who perform structural fat grafting report that patients often describe a variety of improvements in their facial skin following fat grafting surgery. This observation has led to the use of fat grafting in reconstructive surgery, for instance in the management of chronic wounds such as those seen in some patients following radiation treatment for cancer. Fat grafting into the tissues below a chronic, non-healing wound has been shown to stimulate successful wound healing in a number of studies.

So what is responsible for this effect? Many of us suspect that it is produced by 'stem cells' which are known to be present in abundance in human adipose (fatty) tissue. Stem cells are very dynamic human cells which have the capacity to be transformed into any number of cell types (fat, muscle, skin, fascia, etc), and which are capable of producing a variety of proteins which promote the repair of damaged cells and tissues.

Much of the evidence has been anecdotal, i.e. the personal observations of physicians made while treating patients in their usual clinical practice, outside the setting of a specific scientific study. A great deal of basic science research is now being done to specifically determine cause and effect, and it is certain that over the next few years we will gain a much clearer understanding of the healing properties of fatty tissue and stem cells.

Be aware that the term 'stem cell' is increasingly being used in what I feel may be an irresponsible manner - as a marketing gimmick to attract patients to a particular practice or surgeon. Nobody has an exclusive claim or right to the use of stem cells, and as yet no one has demonstrated an objective, quantitative method for measuring any 'stem cell effect' in facial rejuvenation surgery, if it is truly present. I believe that this effect exists, but it currently is not objectively and reproducibly measurable and therefore should not be used to 'sell' surgery.

Web reference: http://www.michaellawmd.com

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Opinions on Stem Cell Facelift? Doctor Answers, Tips

Phoenix Pain Management Doctors at Arizona Pain Stem Cell …

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Kidney grown from stem cells by Australian scientists

Scientists are hoping to increase the size of future kidneys and believe the resulting organs will boost research and allow cheaper, faster testing of drugs. Within the next three to five years, the artificial organs could be used to allow doctors to repair damaged kidneys within the body, rather than letting diseases develop before proceeding with a transplant.

The engineered kidney was developed by a team of Australian scientists led by the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience.

Professor Wainwright said the process for developing the kidney was "like a scientific approach to cooking". The scientists methodically examined which genes were switched on and off during kidney development and then manipulated the skin cells into embryonic stem cells which could "self-organise" and form complex human structures.

"The [researchers] spent years looking at what happens if you turn this gene off and this one on," he said. "You can eventually coax these stem cells through a journey they [the cells] go through various stages and then think about being a kidney cell and eventually pop together to form a little piece of kidney."

The research could eventually help address the demand for transplant organs and improve medical testing of new drugs for patients with kidney disease.

Human kidneys are particularly susceptible to damage during trials, which makes finding effective medicines costly and time-consuming.

Professor Melissa Little, from the University of Queensland, said scientists could try to grow full-grown kidneys for transplants or even "clusters of mini kidneys" that could be transplanted to boost patients' renal functions. But she told The Australian she believed such developments were still more than a decade away.

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Kidney grown from stem cells by Australian scientists

Pakistani finds stem cell cure in City hospital

Bangalore, Dec 12, 2013, DHNS:

Pakistani national Imran Qureshi, 31, had never thought that he would find a cure for his ailment across the border. Thanks to the doctors of a private hospital in Bangalore, he is now almost on the path of recovery, ready to reunite with his family.

The Karachi-based businessman was treated successfully for advanced avascular necrosis for the hip through stem cell therapy recently. Having gone around the globe to various countries including the United States in a bid to avoid the surgical procedure, Qureshi landed in Bangalore about a month ago.

Avascular necrosis is a medical condition wherein there is cellular death of bone components due to interruption of blood supply. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and the bone collapses.The condition leads to severe pain in the hip joints, often leading to difficulty in walking in acute cases. He had developed pain in his hip two years ago.

I was devastated when I found out about my medical condition. The sad part was that the most common causes which lead to avascular necrosis of hip are alcoholism, steroid usage and chemotherapy. I had none of these and yet was diagnosed with this, he told reporters here on Thursday. Usually you tend to believe that such conditions only occur to people who are old.

But then this just made me realise that it can happen to anyone. I never considered India as an option. After months of rigorous research, I also had discussions with people who underwent treatment in India. I definitely made more sense to go for a stem cell therapy rather than getting my bones removed or replaced, he added.

The idea is to give much more importance to ones own stem cells than other treatments. The patient needs to be admitted only for one day for each injection. With proper treatment, most people with avascular necrosis can lead productive lives, said Dr Nagaraj, Chairman and Managing Director, LIVE 100 Hospital where Qureshi was treated.

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Pakistani finds stem cell cure in City hospital

HIV Returns in Two Men Thought Cured After Stem Cell Transplant

Two HIV-infected men who were thought to be clear of the virus after having stem cell transplants have had the AIDS-causing pathogen return, their doctors said, scuppering hopes their cases might lead to a cure.

The two Boston men, who were also suffering from lymphoma, had no trace of the virus eight months after the transplants, researchers led by Timothy Henrich at Brigham and Womens Hospital said in July, though they said it was too early to say the men had been cured. The virus reappeared in one of the men in August and in the other in November, Henrich said in a statement after presenting the results at an AIDS meeting in Florida yesterday.

The setback leaves just two people known to have been cured of HIV infection: Timothy Ray Brown, a San Francisco man who has been clear of the virus since having a bone marrow transplant for leukemia in 2007, and an infant born with HIV in Mississippi in 2010 who was considered cured after intensive treatment shortly after birth.

The new findings are disappointing, but scientifically significant, Henrich said in a statement. We have discovered the HIV reservoir is deeper and more persistent than previously known and that our current standards of probing for HIV may not be sufficient to inform us if long-term HIV remission is possible if antiretroviral therapy is stopped.

While AIDS drugs such as Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD)s Atripla reduce HIV to undetectable levels in the body, making it a chronic disease, they dont completely clear it. The virus hides in so-called reservoirs, where it switches off the normal process of replication, enabling it to avoid detection by the medicines.

Studies have shown that when patients who have the virus under control stop treatment, the latent HIV reactivates and comes roaring back, forcing victims to resume daily pill therapy.

The two Boston men had stopped treatment following their transplants without the virus rebounding immediately, suggesting they may have been cured. In one man, the virus reappeared 12 weeks after he stopped treatment, and after 32 weeks in the other man. Both have resumed therapy and are in good health, Henrich said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simeon Bennett in Geneva at sbennett9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net

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HIV Returns in Two Men Thought Cured After Stem Cell Transplant

FAQs [Stem Cell Information]

Basic Questions

What are stem cells? Stem cells are cells that have the potential to develop into some or many different cell types in the body, depending on whether they are multipotent or pluripotent. Serving as a sort of repair system, they can theoretically divide without limit to replenish other cells for as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each "daughter" cell has the potential to either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

For a discussion of the different kinds of stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, or induced pluripotent stem cells, see Stem Cell Basics.

What classes of stem cells are there? Stem cells may be pluripotent or multipotent.

Where do stem cells come from? There are several sources of stem cells. Pluripotent stem cells can be isolated from human embryos that are a few days old. Cells from these embryos can be used to create pluripotent stem cell "lines" cell cultures that can be grown indefinitely in the laboratory. Pluripotent stem cell lines have also been developed from fetal tissue (older than 8 weeks of development).

In late 2007, scientists identified conditions that would allow some specialized adult human cells to be reprogrammed genetically to assume a stem cell-like state. These stem cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). IPSCs are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem celllike state by being forced to express genes and factors important for maintaining the defining properties of embryonic stem cells. Although these cells meet the defining criteria for pluripotent stem cells, it is not known if iPSCs and embryonic stem cells differ in clinically significant ways. Mouse iPSCs were first reported in 2006, and human iPSCs were first reported in late 2007. Mouse iPSCs demonstrate important characteristics of pluripotent stem cells, including expressing stem cell markers, forming tumors containing cells from all three germ layers, and being able to contribute to many different tissues when injected into mouse embryos at a very early stage in development. Human iPSCs also express stem cell markers and are capable of generating cells characteristic of all three germ layers.

Although additional research is needed, iPSCs are already useful tools for drug development and modeling of diseases, and scientists hope to use them in transplantation medicine. Viruses are currently used to introduce the reprogramming factors into adult cells, and this process must be carefully controlled and tested before the technique can lead to useful treatments for humans. In animal studies, the virus used to introduce the stem cell factors sometimes causes cancers. Researchers are currently investigating non-viral delivery strategies.

Non-embryonic (including adult and umbilical cord blood) stem cells have been identified in many organs and tissues. Typically there is a very small number of multipotent stem cells in each tissue, and these cells have a limited capacity for proliferation, thus making it difficult to generate large quantities of these cells in the laboratory. Stem cells are thought to reside in a specific area of each tissue (called a "stem cell niche") where they may remain quiescent (non-dividing) for many years until they are activated by a normal need for more cells, or by disease or tissue injury. These cells are also called somatic stem cells.

Why do scientists want to use stem cell lines? Once a stem cell line is established from a cell in the body, it is essentially immortal, no matter how it was derived. That is, the researcher using the line will not have to go through the rigorous procedure necessary to isolate stem cells again. Once established, a cell line can be grown in the laboratory indefinitely and cells may be frozen for storage or distribution to other researchers.

Stem cell lines grown in the lab provide scientists with the opportunity to "engineer" them for use in transplantation or treatment of diseases. For example, before scientists can use any type of tissue, organ, or cell for transplantation, they must overcome attempts by a patient's immune system to reject the transplant. In the future, scientists may be able to modify human stem cell lines in the laboratory by using gene therapy or other techniques to overcome this immune rejection. Scientists might also be able to replace damaged genes or add new genes to stem cells in order to give them characteristics that can ultimately treat diseases.

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FAQs [Stem Cell Information]

MS-UK | Stem cells And MS Research

StemGenex continues to announce groundbreaking stem cell therapies for MS patients(03/12/13)

New targeted stem cell therapy looks to improve MS patients dealing with incontinence complications.

StemGenex, the leading resource for adult adipose stem cell therapy in the US aimed at improving the lives of patients dealing with degenerative diseases today announced the newest therapy to assist patients diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

According to the National MS Society, at least 80% of people with MS experience bladder dysfunction. StemGenex believes a new therapy delivering adipose derived mesenchymal cells directly to the bladder may reduce the inflammation that is causing the patients incontinence.

Direct bladder targeting is the latest in a series of targeted therapies StemGenex plans to announce in the next few months for patients dealing with degenerative diseases such as Parkinsons, Alzheimers, COPD and of course Multiple Sclerosis. Earlier this month StemGenex announced a new intranasal stem cell therapy. The goal of this new technique is to encourage more stem cells to travel through the blood brain barrier to target the damage caused by MS.

Stem cell treatment studies are currently being offered by StemGenex to patients diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and other degenerative neurological diseases. StemGenex takes a unique approach of compassion and empowerment while providing access to the latest stem cell therapies for degenerative neurological diseases including Parkinsons and Alzheimers disease, stroke recovery and others. Rita Alexander, founder of StemGenex and the companys first stem cell patient, insists that all patients be treated like they are one of our loved ones. "Hope, compassion, and the relentless pursuit for an end to these diseases are our primary focus."

Source: Copyright 1997-2013, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC. Vocus, PRWeb (03/12/13)

A team of Ottawa doctors is preparing to publish a full report on its breakthrough multiple sclerosis treatment study that has so far eliminated the disease in those treated.

The experimental study began about 13 years ago as a last resort for patients who fail to improve on drug therapy and who suffer severe symptoms of MS. Snippets of the results have been published here and there, said, neurologist Dr. Mark Freedman, one of the leads of the program at The Ottawa Hospital, but its never been published in its entirety.

No specific date has been set for its release, but the teams findings are far from secret. With MS not returning in any of the 24 participants, patient success stories appear in news media across the country. Since the original studys completion, about another dozen patients have been treated with all of them showing the same results.

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Stem cell doctor, Zannos Grekos leading stem cell doctors

Dr. Zannos Grekos is one of the few pioneers among American stem cell doctors. Based in Southwest Florida, his stem cell clinic walks each patient through the stem cell surgery process with care. While the treatment is not administered in the USA, there are hopes on the horizon that eventually stem cell surgery in the USA will become possible.

See how this stem cell company eases their patients through procedures with care.

For now, stem cell clinics in America begin the pre-operational procedure and then move to a state-of-the-art facility in the Dominican Republic to complete the cell transplants. Stem cell treatments clinics will draw the patient's blood and then transport it to a laboratory where clinicians begin to grow additional stem cells from the patient's blood. The next phase of the process is the actual stem cell surgery where the cells are inserted back into the body to enhance the affected area.

Watch patient stories HERE and see how American stem cell doctors are introducing radically simple procedures.

Stem cell doctors in the USA are beginning to support stem cell surgery. Stem cell doctors such as Zannos Grekos are excited to be helping patients at their stem cell therapy clinics using stem cell production for patients with both heart and lung diseases. Stem cell companies are also studying therapy for other diseases as well.

Curious to see what stem cell doctors are up to? Stem cell clinics in America are committed to researching the best and safest measures to help their patients. At Regenocyte, Dr. Grekos and his stem cell company specialize in research and implementation of stem cell regeneration.

Discover more about stem cell clinics today.

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The Doctors: Lichen Sclerosus Symptoms & Stem Cell Therapy …

The Doctors: Lichen Sclerosus Symptoms

The Doctors continued their womens health discussion with Jayme, a woman who felt hopeless after a debilitating vaginal condition left her unable to live a normal life. Hear how The Doctors were finally able to offer help.

After Jayme welcomed a son with her husband, Brian, she experienced burning and itching that her OB/GYN diagnosed as a yeast infection. In fact, Jayme had Lichen Sclerosus, and was devastated to learn that there was no cure, and hardly any treatment available.

Jayme said that her condition caused white patches, severe itching, and razor-blade type pain while urinating. Even sitting on a hard chair would feel like intense menstrual cramp pain. Clearly, this condition affected not just Jaymes personal life, but also her everyday life.

The Doctors discussed how Jaymes painful lichen sclerosus, developed after childbirth, was treated with stem cell therapy.

Dr. Jennifer Ashton said that 1 in 60 women will develop Lichen Sclerosus, but its often misdiagnosed, which can make treating the condition extremely difficult.

Stem cell therapist Dr. Nathan Newman volunteered to offer Jayme a new treatment. Using mini-liposuction and PRP (platelet rich plasma), Dr. Newman gave Jayme three sessions over a period of nine months. Amazingly, Jayme started feeling better after her second treatment, and is now feeling great.

Lichen Sclerosus is also an auto-immune issue, so not surprisingly, Jayme was also diagnosed with a thyroid condition. If youre worried about Lichen Sclerosus, Dr. Ashton recommends using a mirror to examine yourself. Lichen looks like white tissue paper with a wrinkly texture. Also look for unusual moles, spots, or bumps. If you notice anything strange, its best to visit your doctor as soon as possible.

Tagged as: Lichen Sclerosus, Lichen Sclerosus Jayme, Lichen Sclerosus Stem Cell Therapy, Lichen Sclerosus Symptoms, Lichen Sclerosus Treatment, The Doctors Lichen Sclerosus

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The Doctors: Lichen Sclerosus Symptoms & Stem Cell Therapy ...