Category Archives: Stem Cell Treatment


Patient with severe burns treated using stem cell therapy – Business Standard

IANS | Mumbai June 23, 2017 Last Updated at 00:16 IST

Raising hopes of new and less painful treatment for burn injuries, a 26-year-old patient with Grade 2 burn injuries was successfully treated using stem cell therapy at a city-based hospital, doctors said on Thursday.

Anand Tiwari suffered burns after accidentally falling in a boiler unit while at work. He sustained Grade 2 and early Grade 3 burns in all parts of the body below his neck.

When admitted to the city based StemRx Bioscience Solutions hospital, he had severe burning sensation and pain all over the body. Blisters and swellings were noticed in many areas of his chest and limbs.

According to doctors, after initial care and stabilisation of the patient, for treatment of burns, a treatment protocol was prepared by Pradeep Mahajan, a regenerative medicine researcher at Stemrx Bioscience Solutions Hospital.

Explaining the treatment procedure, Mahajan said: "This involved the use of growth factors and fibroblasts and collagen based gel. These biological agents stimulate natural healing mechanisms in the body."

"The advantage of these growth factors is that they can be obtained from the patients' own body and hence are safe and effective. Additionally, unlike conventional treatment options, biological agents promote faster recovery," he said.

Under the stem cell therapy, the treatment process has to be repeated continuously so as to get rid of the problem completely and accordingly the procedure was performed.

"During the entire treatment, the patient was not given any closed dressing. He also underwent blood and supplementary fluid transfusion as required to maintain systemic homeostasis," said Mahajan.

He said that changes in the patient were observed as early as two-three days after the initiation of therapy. Drying of superficial burns began and swelling started reducing.

"Gradually, dry crusts started peeling and by the end of the third week, initial healing of most areas was complete. There was no odour or oozing from any wound and he did not complain of pain or burning sensation anymore.

"After a month-long treatment, healthy skin formation is being observed and further healing is progressing at an impressive rate," said Mahajan, adding that in treatment through conventional modalities, it takes more than eight weeks for healing to happen and further several months for patient to be able to regain joint and facial movements.

--IANS

rup/nir

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Raising hopes of new and less painful treatment for burn injuries, a 26-year-old patient with Grade 2 burn injuries was successfully treated using stem cell therapy at a city-based hospital, doctors said on Thursday.

Anand Tiwari suffered burns after accidentally falling in a boiler unit while at work. He sustained Grade 2 and early Grade 3 burns in all parts of the body below his neck.

When admitted to the city based StemRx Bioscience Solutions hospital, he had severe burning sensation and pain all over the body. Blisters and swellings were noticed in many areas of his chest and limbs.

According to doctors, after initial care and stabilisation of the patient, for treatment of burns, a treatment protocol was prepared by Pradeep Mahajan, a regenerative medicine researcher at Stemrx Bioscience Solutions Hospital.

Explaining the treatment procedure, Mahajan said: "This involved the use of growth factors and fibroblasts and collagen based gel. These biological agents stimulate natural healing mechanisms in the body."

"The advantage of these growth factors is that they can be obtained from the patients' own body and hence are safe and effective. Additionally, unlike conventional treatment options, biological agents promote faster recovery," he said.

Under the stem cell therapy, the treatment process has to be repeated continuously so as to get rid of the problem completely and accordingly the procedure was performed.

"During the entire treatment, the patient was not given any closed dressing. He also underwent blood and supplementary fluid transfusion as required to maintain systemic homeostasis," said Mahajan.

He said that changes in the patient were observed as early as two-three days after the initiation of therapy. Drying of superficial burns began and swelling started reducing.

"Gradually, dry crusts started peeling and by the end of the third week, initial healing of most areas was complete. There was no odour or oozing from any wound and he did not complain of pain or burning sensation anymore.

"After a month-long treatment, healthy skin formation is being observed and further healing is progressing at an impressive rate," said Mahajan, adding that in treatment through conventional modalities, it takes more than eight weeks for healing to happen and further several months for patient to be able to regain joint and facial movements.

--IANS

rup/nir

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

IANS

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Patient with severe burns treated using stem cell therapy - Business Standard

Stem cell therapy relying on patient’s own unhealthy heart may be dangerous – Genetic Literacy Project

A new study at Tel Aviv University shows that stem cell therapy, one of the few treatments available to patients with severe and end-stage heart failure, can actually harm them unless it is done differently.

We concluded that stem cells used in cardiac therapy should be drawn from healthy donors or be better genetically engineered for the patient, said lead researcher Jonathan Leor of the universitys Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Sheba Medical Center.

Doctors use tissue or adult stem cells to replace damaged tissue, which encourages regeneration of blood vessel cells and new heart muscle tissue. But cardiac stem cells from a diseased heart can lead to a toxic interaction via a molecular pathway between the heart and the immune system, the study found.

We found that, contrary to popular belief, tissue stem cells derived from sick hearts do not contribute to heart healing after injury, Leor said. Furthermore, we found that these cells are affected by the inflammatory environment and develop inflammatory properties. The affected stem cells may even exacerbate damage to the already diseased heart muscle.

[Read the fully study here (behind paywall)]

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:Study says some stem cells dangerous for heart patients

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Stem cell therapy relying on patient's own unhealthy heart may be dangerous - Genetic Literacy Project

Could you benefit from stem cell treatments? – Good4Utah

Do you have aching knees or shoulders? How about pain in your neck or back?

There are many causes of these kinds of pains: arthritis, degenerative joint or disk disease, tendonitis, sciatica, sprains and many more.

Dr. William Cimikoski, Medical Director of Utah Stem Cells Joint Treatment and Wellness Center, joined Midday to talk about Stem Cell Regeneration.

Dr. Cimikoski says nearly anyone suffering from acute or chronic pain can benefit from this treatment.

Stem Cell Joint Regeneration works by injecting stem cells and platelet rich plasma (PRP) in and around the joint to help your body repair itself. The procedure lasts about 45 minutes and there is essentially no down time.

Utah Stem Cells Joint Treatment and Wellness Center is offering a special promotion for viewers: a free consultation and a $300 gift certificate for yourself, as well as another one for a friend or a family member.

Call the office in Salt Lake City near the Sandy border at: 8010-999-4860 or visit: UtahStemCells.com.

This segment contains sponsored content.

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Could you benefit from stem cell treatments? - Good4Utah

Governor Signs Law to Allow Chronic, Terminally Ill in Texas to Get Stem Cell Treatments – Spectrum News

AUSTIN, Texas -- Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a new law that allows terminally ill or those which chronic diseases receive stem cell treatments in Texas.

Stem cell therapy is the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition, and is often patient's last hope for improvement.

Bone marrow transplant is the most widely used stem-cell therapy, and can often help those with multiple sclerosis and other diseases.

MORE |New Law Opens Door for Stem Cell Therapy in Texas

House Bill 810, which was introduced by Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, passed in both the Texas House and Senate.

"It is easy to fall into the trap of viewing legislation as just words on a piece of paper," said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, the bill's sponsor in the Senate. "But for the many people who are ill with multiple sclerosis and other diseases that stem cell therapy has the hope of solving in our lifetime, I look at this bill, I look at the possibility of what can happen in the 21st Century, with Texas taking the lead on adult stem cell treatments and this bill has the potential to extend lives and make a difference for these patients."

The Texas Medical Board will be responsible for writing the rules for the treatment.

"Everyone has a zest for life. This adult stem cell treatment possibility gets government out of the way to let these new therapies flourish and give these patients hope for a future good quality of life," Bettencourt added.

The legislation takes effect Sept. 1.

-- Value of Stem Cell Therapy --

According to the National Institues of Health, stem cellshave the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth.

In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive.

When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to 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.

Doctors say stem cells are important for living organisms for many reasons.

In the 3- to 5-day-old embryo, called ablastocyst, the inner cells give rise to the entire body of the organism, including all of the many specialized cell types and organs such as the heart, lungs, skin, sperm, eggs and other tissues.

In some adult tissues, such as bone marrow, muscle, and brain, discrete populations of adult stem cells generate replacements for cells that are lost through normal wear and tear, injury, or disease.

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Governor Signs Law to Allow Chronic, Terminally Ill in Texas to Get Stem Cell Treatments - Spectrum News

‘Advances made in stem cell therapy in Asia far more than those made in US’ – The Hindu

'Advances made in stem cell therapy in Asia far more than those made in US'
The Hindu
Indigenously developed therapeutic modules for neuro development disorders like autism have demonstrated a higher rate of recovery and improvement among sufferers, Nandini Gokulchandran, a Mumbai-based researcher in the field of stem cell therapy ...

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'Advances made in stem cell therapy in Asia far more than those made in US' - The Hindu

Lab-created antibody could hold the secret to making stem cell therapy safer – Phys.Org

June 15, 2017 Researchers from the A*STAR Bioprocessing Technology Institute involved in the study. Credit: A*STAR Bioprocessing Technology Institute

Stem cells have paved the way for a new era in regenerative medicine, but their use is fraught with risk. Now, A*STAR scientists have developed an antibody that could make stem cell therapy safer.

Human pluripotent stem cells that can differentiate in a petri dish to become any cell needed to repair tissues and organs, hold great promise. Since the first human embryonic stem cells were isolated in 1998, scientists have edged closer to developing 'cell therapy' for humans. In early 2017, a Japanese man became the first patient to receive a retina transplant made of reprogrammed pluripotent stem cells to treat macular degeneration.

These potential rewards come with great risk. Differentiating stem cells into other cell types is an imperfect process, and any stem cells that remain in a culture of transplanted cells can form dangerous by-products, including tumors, such as teratomas.

"If stem cells become a cell therapy product there will be the question of safety," Andre Choo, from the A*STAR Bioprocessing Technology Institute, explains.

Choo and his team are working to make stem cell treatments safer by creating antibodies that 'clean up' the pluripotent stem cells which fail to differentiate.

In 2016, the researchers used a whole-cell immunization strategy to generate different antibodies by injecting mice with viable embryonic stem cells. They then isolated the antibodies and tested their ability to search and destroy pluripotent stem cells in a culture dish.

One antibody, tagged 'A1', was discovered which destroyed pluripotent stem cells in minutes but left other cells unharmed.

Choo's team then focused on how the antibody destroyed its target. The scientists discovered that A1 docks to sugar molecules that are only present on the surface of embryonic stem cells, setting off a signaling cascade that ruptures the stem cell.

"That was quite exciting because it now gives us a view of the mechanism that is responsible for the cell-killing effect," says Choo.

Understanding this mechanism could allow Choo's team to combine the A1 antibody with other treatments to clean stem cells from a mixture of differentiated cells even more effectively.

The finding could also pinpoint how best to target antibodies against sugar molecules on other unwanted cells, including cancer cells.

"We hope that in the near future regenerative medicine will have a place in the clinic," says Choo, who wants this antibody to be part of that process.

The A*STAR-affiliated researchers contributing to this research are from the Bioprocessing Technology Institute. For more information about the team's research, please visit the Stem Cell 1 group webpage.

Explore further: New tools to study the origin of embryonic stem cells

More information: Ji Yun Zheng et al. Excess reactive oxygen species production mediates monoclonal antibody-induced human embryonic stem cell death via oncosis, Cell Death and Differentiation (2017). DOI: 10.1038/cdd.2016.164

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Stem cells have paved the way for a new era in regenerative medicine, but their use is fraught with risk. Now, A*STAR scientists have developed an antibody that could make stem cell therapy safer.

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Lab-created antibody could hold the secret to making stem cell therapy safer - Phys.Org

Kilkenny legend Richie Power: ‘Stem-cell treatment is my last hurrah … – Independent.ie

Following extensive research the eight-time All-Ireland winner has opted to take a leaf out of the book of many American Football players and hopes such therapy can help prolong an inevitable knee replacement.

To keep hurling with Carrickshock would be a bonus but doing the simple things in life without pain is what really attracted him to Zagreb clinic (which costs "under 1,000") in what he admits is "a last hurrah" after six operations.

"It's regenerating the cartilage in the left knee. They take some good cartilage from the right knee, bring it into the lab and more or less clone it.

"Then they inject it back into your left knee and you are hoping that the blood will run to it and regenerate there," the 31-year-old former Kilkenny star said.

"It's not to get back playing. It's just to get a quality of life with my own knee. Some days I'd find it hard to go and puck around with Rory (his son) like.

"That makes it very hard. It's for things like that as the years go on. I'm probably looking at a knee replacement by the time I'm 40.

"It is just to try and give me an extra 15-20 years with my own knee and if they can do that then great, it will be well worth it. If not I need to make a decision and maybe end up hanging up the boots altogether. Look, if it has to be done it has to be done.

"I'd like to be in a position where I am completely pain-free. I'd like to maybe run around and not worry about the leg going under me. I went to see everyone. I sat down with the Aussie Rules doctors and teams when they were here and absolutely everyone and anyone that I could. This is the last hurrah. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work."

Subscribe to The Throw-In, Independent.ie's weekly Championship podcast, for the best in GAA discussion and analysis every Monday, with some of the biggest names in football and hurling from Joe Brolly, Toms 'S, Brendan Cummins and John Mullane.

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Kilkenny legend Richie Power: 'Stem-cell treatment is my last hurrah ... - Independent.ie

Hong Kong biotech start-up claims world first in stem cell treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases – South China Morning Post

Oper Technology, a Hong Kong biotechnology start-up, has pioneered what it claims is a world first in stem cell treatment that it says could potentially help millions of patients suffering from Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases.

The business was co-founded by Hong Kong Baptist Universitys Professor Ken Yung, who specialises in neurobiology and neurological diseases in the universitys biology department.

He and his team has now developed a method of harvesting neural stem cells from the brains of live subjects using specially developed nanoparticles.

The exploration of using stem cells to repair damaged neural cells is not a new concept. Scientists in the US and elsewhere have experimented using stem cells from fat and skin, developing them into neural cells.

But Yung claims his team is the first to successfully harvest stem cells directly from the brain and re-inject the developed neural cells back into a live subject, thereby artificially regenerating any cells which have died off, due to neurological diseases from neural stem cells themselves.

Stem cells have the potential to develop into different types of cells with specialised functions.

The nanoparticles which are made of a type of iron oxide work like magnets to attract the stem cells within the brain.

Yung said these can then be developed into more specific neural cells and re-injected into the brain to replace damaged cells caused by diseases such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons, where neurons in the patients brains progressively die off with time.

He suggests the treatment could benefit almost 100 million patients around the world, who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases, including strokes.

China alone has the largest population of people with dementia, with an estimated 23.3 million now projected to suffer from the condition by 2030, according to the World Health Organisation.

Yung co-founded Oper Technology and serves as its chairman.

The company is being developed under Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Incu-Bio programme, which provides select biotechnology start-ups with laboratory and support services, and ultimately it aims to commercialise its medical technology.

If you put the [developed] cells in a different environment from where the [stem cells are harvested], there might be [misdirected] growth in an uncontrolled environment, said Yung.

We want to use neural cells to repair neural cells, and since the stem cells and re-injected neural cells are from the same micro-environment, there will not be uncontrollable growth.

The method has proven to be very successful when tested on rats, especially in cases of Parkinsons, according to Yung, who suggested the method could eventually become an ultimate treatment for the disease.

Furthermore, the risks of this treatment are similar to what is currently on the market today, he added.

The treatment could also help to treat early-stage Alzheimers patients, slowing down or even halting the degeneration process, although Yung acknowledged that its effectiveness in treating terminal stage patients may be limited since it would be difficult to regenerate enough neural cells when patients brains have shrunk due to the condition.

While animals subjected to the treatment displayed an improvement in neural function following the re-injection, the team has yet to start on clinical trials as such cell therapy is still nascent and largely unregulated in Hong Kong.

Oper Technology is currently seeking investment and often sets up booths at conferences such as last weeks EmTech Hong Kong conference, which focuses on innovation and emerging technologies.

Yung hopes to raise enough funds to begin clinical trials in Australia in the near future, where autologous cell therapies are legal and thus provides an ideal environment for clinical trials.

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Hong Kong biotech start-up claims world first in stem cell treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases - South China Morning Post

Stem Cell Therapy Becomes Law in Texas – PR Newswire (press release)

"At StemGenex, we are committed to helping people achieve optimum health and better quality of life through the healing benefits of their own stem cells," said Alexander. "Specifically, we use adipose-derived adult stem cell therapy for patients battling conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, COPD, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis. We are also committed to the science of stem cell therapy and sponsor five clinical outcome studiesregistered with theNational Institute of Health (NIH) for these diseases."

"What I personally witnessed before the start of StemGenex were patients who had exhausted conventional medical treatments but wanted to try alternative therapies. I was one of them, suffering from severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. Ihad only three options; I could seek a clinical trial, travel to outside of the U.S. to try alternative therapies such as stem cell treatment or petition the FDA for access to drugs under the agency's "expanded access," or "compassionate use" program. Now, new state laws like the one just passed in Texas, built on model legislation from the Goldwater Institute in Arizona, will allow doctors and patients to make their own informed decisions on treatments that have cleared the safety phase of FDA testing."

Last year, in a move that was seen by some as a response to "Right to Try" laws, the 21st Century Cures Act, a landmark piece of legislation focused on medical innovation and medical research, was signed into law by President Obama. This Act provides the FDA with the flexibility to accelerate how it evaluates regenerative medicine treatments, such as stem cell therapies, while maintaining its high standards of safety and efficacy.

"We're on the cusp of a major change on how patients can access stem cell therapy," saidAlexander. "Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by a wide range of autoimmune and degenerative illnesses," said Alexander. "StemGenex Medical Group is proud to offer the highest quality of care and to potentially help those with unmet clinical needs improve their quality of life."

ABOUT StemGenex Medical Group

StemGenex Medical Group is committed to helping people achieve optimum health and better quality of life through the healing benefits of their own stem cells. StemGenex provides stem cell therapy options for individuals suffering with inflammatory and degenerative illnesses. Committed to the science and innovation of stem cell treatment,StemGenex sponsors five clinical outcome studiesregistered with theNational Institutes of Health (NIH) for Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Osteoarthritis. These have been established to formally document and evaluate the quality of life changes in individuals following adipose-derived stem cell treatment.

Contact: Jamie Schubert, Director of Media & Community Relations jschubert@StemGenex.com, (858) 242-4243

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stem-cell-therapy-becomes-law-in-texas-300472809.html

SOURCE StemGenex Medical Group

http://www.stemgenex.com

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Stem Cell Therapy Becomes Law in Texas - PR Newswire (press release)

Bank on stem cells, gift a life – Calcutta Telegraph

Panchwati Tower on Harmu Road in Ranchi where the stem cell bank is expected to come up. (Hardeep Singh)

In what may be a game-changer for healthcare in Jharkhand, a group of doctors from Ranchi have teamed up with a Mumbai-based pioneering research firm to plan the first stem cell bank of eastern India in the state capital.

Stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells that can differentiate into specialised cells and divide to produce more stem cells. They can be transplanted routinely to treat a variety of blood and bone marrow diseases, including cancer and immune disorders, while extensive research is underway on their potential to cure neurological and muscular problems.

In short, a stem cell bank in Ranchi will allow residents to store their embryonic or adult stem cells, which can be accessed anytime to treat ailing blood relatives.

Dr Deepak Verma, a senior orthopaedic consultant in the city specialising in difficult trauma surgery, said if everything went according to plan, the stem cell bank was expected to debut at Panchwati Tower on Harmu Road in another three to six months.

Dr Verma, along with pathologist Dr Sangita Agrawal and orthopaedic surgeon Dr S.N. Yadav, will form the core team of the Rs 6.5-crore facility, which will be set up in association with stem cell banking company ReeLabs, Mumbai.

"Ranchi will boast the fifth stem cell bank in India after Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Ahmedabad. It will be first such facility in eastern India. We plan to establish a stem cell treatment centre and a cancer immunotherapy centre to turn Ranchi into a healthcare destination," Dr Verma told this newspaper on Sunday.

While the bank will sprawl over an area of 5,000sqft, another 6,000sqft will be reserved for the therapy centres.

Elaborating on the banking system, the doctor said stem cells would be stored in cryogenic vials at minus 176 degrees and liquid nitrogen would be used to acquire the very low temperatures.

"People wishing to use the stem bank service will have to open an account. The bank will then collect stem cells from different sources such as placenta, amniotic sac, amniotic fluid, umbilical cord blood and cord tissue, menstrual blood, dental pulp, bone marrow and peripheral blood," Dr Verma said.

To deposit the stem cells, one may have to pay Rs 45,000 to Rs 2 lakh, depending on the package chosen.

"Those who will deposit stem cells can access the same for blood relatives suffering from 110 listed diseases that cannot be treated using conservative medicines," the doctor said, adding that stem cell therapy could help in cases of leukemia, thalassemia, Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, diabetes and cirrhosis of liver, among others.

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Bank on stem cells, gift a life - Calcutta Telegraph