Ohio diocese discourages ALS Association ice bucket challenge, cites embryonic stem cell funds

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By: Amanda Lee Myers, The Associated Press

Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014 at 3:23 PM | Comments: 0

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Major League Baseball Commissioner-elect Rob Manfred participates in the ALS Ice-Bucket Challenge outside the organization's headquarters in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. Manfred participated with more than 160 other MLB employees to raise more than $16,000 for the ALS Association. (AP Photo/Vanessa A. Alvarez)

CINCINNATI - A Roman Catholic diocese in Ohio is discouraging its 113 schools from participating in the ice bucket challenge to benefit the ALS Association, saying the group's funding of embryonic stem cell research is "in direct conflict with Catholic teaching."

Jim Rigg, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, told the schools in a letter Tuesday to "immediately cease" any plans to raise funds for the association and to instead direct donations to another organization that combats ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease that causes paralysis and almost certain death.

The Catholic Church relates the use of embryonic stem cells in research to abortion and says it violates the sanctity of human life. The use of adult stem cells in research is not forbidden by Catholic teaching.

"We certainly appreciate the compassion that has caused people all over the country, certainly including many Catholics, to be interacting and engaging in a fun way to support ALS research," diocese spokesman Dan Adriacco said Thursday. "But it's a well-established moral principle that not only the ends be good, but the means must be good, too."

Carrie Munk, a spokeswoman for the ALS Association, said her group largely funds adult stem cell research but does fund one study involving embryonic stem cells using money from one specific donor.

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Ohio diocese discourages ALS Association ice bucket challenge, cites embryonic stem cell funds

Adler Footcare Recognized as New York Center of Excellence for HyProCure Foot Treatment

New York, New York (PRWEB) August 20, 2014

Dr. Jeffrey Adler, Dr. Darline Kulhan and Dr. Alex Tievsky, accomplished podiatric surgeons with Adler Footcare, have been recognized as the first HyProCure Center of Excellence in New York. The group is one of less than 20 nationwide to receive the designation from GraMedica, a global orthopedic medical device company headquartered in Macomb, Michigan. The Center of Excellence designation reflects superior quality of care, education and experience as related to the HyProCure medical procedure.

HyProCure is an innovative solution to the devastating effects of partial talotarsal dislocation, a foot imbalance that throws the foot and the entire body out of alignment. Two common symptoms of this condition are hyperprontation (where the feet roll inwards) and fallen arches. Conservative estimates indicate that up to 40% of people of all ages suffer from this painful misalignment and related secondary conditions, such as: bunions, heel pain, knee pain, hip and back pain. HyProCure is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that preserves full foot motion and permanently corrects talotarsal displacement, realigning both the foot and the entire body.

Dr. Adler, Medical/Surgical Director and owner of Adler Footcare, has been in practice for 35 years and has performed thousands of foot surgeries. He is Board Certified in Podiatric Surgery and Primary Podiatric Medicine and is also a Professor of Minimally Invasive Surgery for the Academy of Ambulatory Foot and Ankle Surgeons.

Dr. Kulhan has 35 years of medical and surgical experience in podiatry, sports medicine, geriatrics and podopediatrics. She also provides cutting-edge expertise in cosmetic treatments for varied foot problems.

Dr. Tievsky is well-versed in all aspects of foot and ankle surgery. His residency included a specialization in reconstructive foot and ankle surgery and he has extensive expertise in wound care.

At Adler Footcare, Dr. Adler and his colleagues are committed to exceptional care supported by advanced technology and technique. They specialize in minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery, pain management, stem cell therapy and the treatment of common foot problems. Visit them at either of two convenient locations in Manhattan and White Plains; the Manhattan office features a state-of-the-art, accredited Podiatric Operating Suite.

To learn more about how Adler Footcare can help resolve your foot and ankle problems, please contact either the Manhattan office at (646) 783-1477, the White Plains office at (914) 712-6365 or visit http://www.mynycpodiatrist.com/.

For more information about the HyProCure procedure, please visit http://Alignmyfeet.com.

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Adler Footcare Recognized as New York Center of Excellence for HyProCure Foot Treatment

Animal-free reprogramming of adult cells improves safety

20 hours ago Growing stem cells in conditions free of animal material makes them safe for use in humans. Credit: Eraxion/iStock/Thinkstock

Human stem cells produced through genetic reprogramming are beset by safety concerns because current techniques alter the DNA of the stem cells and use material from animals to grow them. Now, A*STAR researchers have developed an efficient approach that produces safe, patient-specific human stem cells.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells have the potential to treat a number of diseases without the ethical issues associated with embryonic stem cells. Pluripotent stem cells can be produced from adult cells by introducing genes that reprogram them. Typically, the stem cells are grown on a layer of mouse cells in solutions (known as media) that contain animal proteinsand therefore, potentially may also carry disease. For such stem cells to be safe for use in humans, they need to be grown in 'xeno-free' conditions, which are devoid of material from other animals.

Andrew Wan and Hong Fang Lu at the A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore and colleagues set out to develop a new xeno-free system. The researchers carried out the genetic reprogramming of cells on an artificially produced protein substrate rather than mouse cells. They also used media that contained no animal components. The result was more efficient reprogramming than seen with conventional approaches.

"A xeno-free system will eliminate the risk of disease transmission from other species, which is important for regulatory approval," explains Wan. "Yet there have been few studies on cell reprogramming under totally xeno-free conditions."

The researchers went one step further by addressing the problem of cells acquiring alterations to their DNA during reprogramming.

"Incorporation of transgenes into the genome of the cell poses another safety issue, risking unwanted genetic alterations," explains Lu. "In our work, the transgenes were introduced to initiate the reprogramming, but after this they were removed from the cell, leading to transgene-free stem cells."

The researchers demonstrated that after genetic reprogramming and the removal of the added genes, the stem cells could still develop into different cells types. They were even able to induce them to form dopaminergic neurons, the type that degenerates in Parkinson's disease. The conditions in which the stem cells were grown mean that they are suitable for clinical use and can be derived from a patient's own cells, ensuring complete compatibility.

"Regulatory approval for clinical application of stem cells largely depends on the conditions in which the stem cells are derived," says Wan. "We present a workable protocol for the reprogramming of fibroblasts to stem cells that minimizes any potential safety risks."

Explore further: Discovery may make it easier to develop life-saving stem cells

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Animal-free reprogramming of adult cells improves safety

Cord blood donation available at two additional metro hospitals

Beginning today, Menorah Medical Center and Shawnee Mission Medical Center have joined Saint Lukes Hospital's Cord Blood Program and now offer mothers the option to donate their newborn babys umbilical cord blood to help those in need of a stem cell transplant.

According to a news release from Saint Luke's Hospital, umbilical cord blood, like bone marrow, is rich in hematopoietic stem cells, which create all of a persons blood cells. Cord blood cells can be used in the treatment of leukemia, sickle cell anemia and dozens of other diseases. Cord blood stem cells are collected after the birth of a healthy infant and pose no risk to the donating mother or baby.

Through this partnership, our hospitals are helping increase the worlds supply of stem cell-rich umbilical cord blood and helping those who suffer from any one of 80 life-threatening diseases, said Bill Ward, director of the Cord Blood Program for Saint Lukes Hospital of Kansas City.

Prior to today, the Cord Blood Program at Saint Lukes Hospital, the areas only free cord blood donation program, collected and processed donations from the four metro area Saint Lukes hospitals, as well as Overland Park Regional Medical Center.

Since its inception in 2008, the Cord Blood Program at Saint Lukes has received more than 9,000 donations and banked 939 units of cord blood at the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank. Cord blood units are made available to anyone, anywhere in the world, who needs a stem cell transplant.

Cord blood collected from the hospitals is processed and cryopreserved at Saint Lukes before being sent to the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank, which distributes the blood units to hospitals upon request. Donations are made anonymously, and the process is safe, painless, easy and free to families. The cord blood is collected after the baby has delivered, so it does not interfere with the birthing process. The collection does not take place if there is concern for the safety of the mother or newborn.

For more information about Saint Lukes Cord Blood Program, click here.

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Cord blood donation available at two additional metro hospitals

Most Cosmetic Procedures Based on Stem Cells Are Bogus, Experts Say

MONDAY, Aug. 4, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Could stem cell injections help rejuvenate your face or body? Probably not, plastic surgery experts say, but ads for these types of bogus procedures abound on the Internet.

"Stem cells offer tremendous potential, but the marketplace is saturated with unsubstantiated and sometimes fraudulent claims that may place patients at risk," a team led by Dr. Michael Longaker, of Stanford University Medical Center, wrote in a review published in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

The experts say consumers need to be wary of advertisements promoting the benefits of "minimally invasive, stem cell-based rejuvenation procedures." Claims for stem cell procedures for facelifts, breast augmentation and vaginal rejuvenation are not only unsubstantiated, but also risky, Longaker's team said.

They note that, to date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only one cosmetic stem cell procedure designed to treat fine facial wrinkles. And since that single procedure was approved, the product involved has been monitored extensively.

Overall, cosmetic stem cell procedures have not undergone significant scientific scrutiny, the Stanford team said. The risks associated with stem cell and tissue processing have not been closely examined. The effects of aging on stem cells are also not well established, the researchers explained.

To investigate concerning claims being made about cosmetic stem cell procedures, the researchers performed a basic Internet search. They found the most common result was "stem cell facelifts." Most of the procedures used stem cells isolated from fat but did not provide details on the quality of the stem cells.

More than 100 clinical trials are currently evaluating stem cells derived from fat, but few are focusing on cosmetic treatments. The researchers cautioned that the products used in these cosmetic procedures likely involves additional types of cells unless they utilized sophisticated cell-sorting techniques.

Many blood plasma-enriched "platelet protein treatments" are also incorrectly advertised as stem cell therapy, the study's authors noted.

Meanwhile, there is only minimal evidence that cosmetic stem cell procedures have any anti-aging effects, the researchers said. They warn that stem cell facelifts may actually be "lipo-filling" procedures -- fat injections with no prolonged anti-aging effect.

Although stem cells do hold potential for cosmetic procedures in years to come, today's advertising claims for these procedures are going beyond any scientific evidence on safety and effectiveness, the researchers conclude.

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Most Cosmetic Procedures Based on Stem Cells Are Bogus, Experts Say

Stem cell beauty treatments? Be wary, experts say

Could stem cell injections help rejuvenate your face or body? Probably not, plastic surgery experts say, but ads for these types of bogus procedures abound on the Internet.

"Stem cells offer tremendous potential, but the marketplace is saturated with unsubstantiated and sometimes fraudulent claims that may place patients at risk," a team led by Dr. Michael Longaker, of Stanford University Medical Center, wrote in a review published in the August issue ofPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

The experts say consumers need to be wary of advertisements promoting the benefits of "minimally invasive, stem cell-based rejuvenation procedures." Claims for stem cell procedures for facelifts, breast augmentation and vaginal rejuvenation are not only unsubstantiated, but also risky, Longaker's team said.

They note that, to date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only one cosmetic stem cell procedure designed to treat fine facial wrinkles. And since that single procedure was approved, the product involved has been monitored extensively.

Overall, cosmetic stem cell procedures have not undergone significant scientific scrutiny, the Stanford team said. The risks associated with stem cell and tissue processing have not been closely examined. The effects of aging on stem cells are also not well established, the researchers explained.

14 Photos

Tummy tucks and facelifts pale in comparison to these surprising surgeries patients request

To investigate concerning claims being made about cosmetic stem cell procedures, the researchers performed a basic Internet search. They found the most common result was "stem cell facelifts." Most of the procedures used stem cells isolated from fat but did not provide details on the quality of the stem cells.

More than 100 clinical trials are currently evaluating stem cells derived from fat, but few are focusing on cosmetic treatments. The researchers cautioned that the products used in these cosmetic procedures likely involves additional types of cells unless they utilized sophisticated cell-sorting techniques.

Many blood plasma-enriched "platelet protein treatments" are also incorrectly advertised as stem cell therapy, the study's authors noted.

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Stem cell beauty treatments? Be wary, experts say

Dramatic Growth of Grafted Stem Cells in Rat Spinal Cord Injuries

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Newswise Building upon previous research, scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System report that neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and grafted into rats after a spinal cord injury produced cells with tens of thousands of axons extending virtually the entire length of the animals central nervous system.

Writing in the August 7 early online edition of Neuron, lead scientist Paul Lu, PhD, of the UC San Diego Department of Neurosciences and colleagues said the human iPSC-derived axons extended through the white matter of the injury sites, frequently penetrating adjacent gray matter to form synapses with rat neurons. Similarly, rat motor axons pierced the human iPSC grafts to form their own synapses.

The iPSCs used were developed from a healthy 86-year-old human male.

These findings indicate that intrinsic neuronal mechanisms readily overcome the barriers created by a spinal cord injury to extend many axons over very long distances, and that these capabilities persist even in neurons reprogrammed from very aged human cells, said senior author Mark Tuszynski, MD, PhD, professor of Neurosciences and director of the UC San Diego Center for Neural Repair.

For several years, Tuszynski and colleagues have been steadily chipping away at the notion that a spinal cord injury necessarily results in permanent dysfunction and paralysis. Earlier work has shown that grafted stem cells reprogrammed to become neurons can, in fact, form new, functional circuits across an injury site, with the treated animals experiencing some restored ability to move affected limbs. The new findings underscore the potential of iPSC-based therapy and suggest a host of new studies and questions to be asked, such as whether axons can be guided and how will they develop, function and mature over longer periods of time.

While neural stem cell therapies are already advancing to clinical trials, this research raises cautionary notes about moving to human therapy too quickly, said Tuszynski.

The enormous outgrowth of axons to many regions of the spinal cord and even deeply into the brain raises questions of possible harmful side effects if axons are mistargeted. We also need to learn if the new connections formed by axons are stable over time, and if implanted human neural stem cells are maturing on a human time frame months to years or more rapidly. If maturity is reached on a human time frame, it could take months to years to observe functional benefits or problems in human clinical trials.

In the latest work, Lu, Tuszynski and colleagues converted skin cells from a healthy 86-year-old man into iPSCs, which possess the ability to become almost any kind of cell. The iPSCs were then reprogrammed to become neurons in collaboration with the laboratory of Larry Goldstein, PhD, director of the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center. The new human neurons were subsequently embedded in a matrix containing growth factors and grafted into two-week-old spinal cord injuries in rats.

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Dramatic Growth of Grafted Stem Cells in Rat Spinal Cord Injuries

Beware of claims about cosmetic stem cells procedures, says review in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

29-Jul-2014

Contact: Connie Hughes Connie.Hughes@wolterskluwer.com 646-674-6348 Wolters Kluwer Health

July 29, 2014 Advertising claims for cosmetic procedures using stem cells are running far ahead of the scientific evidence for safety and effectiveness, according to a review in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

"Stem cells offer tremendous potential, but the marketplace is saturated with unsubstantiated and sometimes fraudulent claims that may place patients at risk," write Dr Michael T. Longaker of Stanford University Medical Center and colleagues.

'Worrying advertisements' for cosmetic stem cell procedures

Dr Longaker and coauthors raise concerns about the unregulated use of stem cells for unproven indicationsincluding cosmetic procedures. While stem cell therapy "remains in its infancy," they write, "there are a growing number of cosmetic practitioners that are advertising minimally invasive, stem cell-based rejuvenation procedures."

The article was prompted by "worrying advertisements" claiming benefits of stem cell procedures for facelifts, breast augmentationeven "stem cell vaginal rejuvenation." These ads claim benefits from procedures that have not undergone rigorous scientific evaluationincluding potential risks related to stem cell and tissue processing and the effects of aging on stem cells.

To gain insight into these claims, Dr Longaker and coauthors performed a Google search for cosmetic stem cell treatments, the most common of which was "stem cell facelifts." Most procedures used "stem cells" isolated from fat. However, the websites provided little information on the quality of the stem cells used.

Without advanced cell-sorting procedures, these products used in these procedures likely contain many other types of cells besides fat-derived stem cells. Many clinics also offered plasma-rich platelet protein treatments, which they inaccurately marketed as stem cell therapy.

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Beware of claims about cosmetic stem cells procedures, says review in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Binay hit for questioning DAP allocation for stem cell research

Sen. Nancy Binay. INQUIRER.net PHOTO

MANILAHealth Secretary Enrique Ona has expressed disappointment with Sen. Nancy Binay, who questioned the allocation of P70 million under Disbursement Acceleration Program for a stem cell research project of the Lung Center of the Philippines.

Binay had said the money could have been better spent on more beds for government hospitals.

Im so disappointed with the Senator rather than support the opportunities for our doctors to do all types of research, not just on stem cell Filipinos can jumpstart medical research, comparing it with research capacity of other countriesthats what I would want to hear from her, Ona said Friday on the sidelines of the Department of Healths distribution of awards to the unsung heroes of Typhoon Yolanda.

And I also wish to tell her, I hope she increases the funds for various research being conducted by our doctors, he added. Because if not, these doctors may just opt to work in other countries.

Speaking at the Senate finance committee hearing on Thursday, Ona confirmed that P70 million from DAP was used to fund a Bio-Regenerative Technology Program or Stem Cell Research aimed at harnessing stem cell research and technology to reconstruct new health cells, replacing cancer or dead cells.

According to Ona, medical research is important and its significance should not be compared to the lack of hospital beds.

I hope they dont simplify medical research with [the number of] beds, he said, adding that those making such comments appeared to have limited knowledge in medicine.

Ona said the government bought 8,000 to 10,000 beds for hospitals, though he acknowledged that it needed to buy 5,000 to 10,000 more.

Explaining stem cell research, Ona said he was looking at preventive, promotive, curative and even rehabilitation needs of the entire health sector.

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Binay hit for questioning DAP allocation for stem cell research

Joslin Scientists Create the First IPS Cells to Offer Human Model of Insulin Resistance

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Newswise BOSTON July 24, 2014 Japanese biologist Shinya Yamanaka won a Nobel Prize in 2012 for discovering how to create induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), cells derived from normal adult cells that have the ability to differentiate into almost any other kind of cells. Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center now have created the first iPSCs that offer a human model of insulin resistance, a key driver of type 2 diabetes.

This is one of the very first studies of human iPSC models for type 2 diabetes, and it points out the power of this technology to look at the nature of diabetes, which is complex and may be different in different individuals, says C. Ronald Kahn, MD, Joslins Chief Academic Officer and the Mary K. Iacocca Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Until now, scientists examining the causes and effects of insulin resistance have struggled with a general lack of human cell lines from tissues such as muscle, fat and liver that respond significantly to insulin, Kahn says. Studying insulin resistance as it progresses through pre-clinical stages of type 2 diabetes has been particularly challenging.

There have been no good human cell models to study insulin resistance, but such cells can now be made with iPSCs, says Kahn, co-senior author on a paper about the study published in the journal Diabetes.

Generation of iPSCs typically starts with fibroblasts (connective tissue cells) from skin samples. Kahn and his colleagues used fibroblasts from three patients with severe insulin resistance brought on by mutations in the gene for the insulin receptor (IR)a molecule that crosses the cell membrane and plays a key role in insulin signaling and glucose metabolism.

The Joslin researchers reprogrammed the fibroblasts into iPSCs by using viral procedures that activated four genes that together maintain cells in the iPSC state. The scientists then looked at gene activation in insulin signaling pathways for iPSCs and fibroblasts with IR mutations, and for corresponding cells derived from people without those mutations.

Among the study findings, IR mutations alter expression of many genes both in fibroblasts and iPSCs compared to normal cells, but the impact is very much dependent on the cell type, says Kahn. You see one type of expression pattern in the fibroblasts and a different type of pattern in the iPSCs.

Insulin is a key ingredient for the growth and proliferation of normal stem cells, and the study demonstrated that insulin resistance also reduces the ability of the iPSCs to grow and proliferate. That defect may represent a previously unrecognized mechanism that aids in developing diabetes, Kahn says, as well as helping to explain the problems in wound healing, tissue repair and even beta-cell growth that are common among people with diabetes.

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Joslin Scientists Create the First IPS Cells to Offer Human Model of Insulin Resistance