Stem Cells Treat Multiple Sclerosis in Mice

Human embryonic stem cells the bodys powerful master cells might be useful for treating multiple sclerosis, researchers reported Thursday.

A team has used cells taken from frozen human embryos and transformed them into a type of cell that scientists have hoped might help treat patients with MS, a debilitating nerve disease.

Mice with an induced version of MS that paralyzed them were able to walk freely after the treatment, the teams at Advanced Cell Technology and ImStem Biotechnology in Farmington, Connecticut, reported.

The cells appeared to travel to the damaged tissues in the mice, toning down the mistaken immune system response that strips the fatty protective layer off of nerve calls. Its that damage that causes symptoms ranging from tremors and loss of balance to blurry vision and paralysis.

These embryonic stem cells were carefully nurtured to make them form a type of immature cell called a mesenchymal stem cell. These cells worked better to treat the mice than naturally developed mesenchymal stem cells taken directly from bone marrow, the team wrote in the journal Stem Cell Reports, published by the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

The top mouse is paralyzed, while the mouse on the bottom was treated with human embryonic stem cells and is able to run around.

The company released a video to show the benefits. Untreated mice were suffering. They are paralyzed. They on their backs. They are dragging their limbs. They are in really sad shape, ACTs chief scientific officer, Dr. Bob Lanza, told NBC News.

Treated animals, they are walking and jumping around just like normal mice.

Lanza says human trials are many months away, but he thinks it will not be necessary to use controversial cloning technology to make perfectly matched human embryonic stem cells to treat patients.

We can use an off-the-shelf source and itll work for everyone, he said. So you can use them and not worry about rejection.

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Stem Cells Treat Multiple Sclerosis in Mice

New stem cells may help in battling multiple sclerosis

The great promise of stem cells may finally be getting close for multiple sclerosis patients.

Stem cells, which have the power to transform into other types of cells, have been much anticipated for more than a decade as a way to treat or even cure diseases like MS, Parkinson's, blindness, and spinal cord injuries. But it's taken time to turn that promise into a workable reality.

Two new studies, both published in the journal Stem Cell Reports, suggest that researchers are getting close.

"We haven't landed on the moon yet, but we've tested in the rockets," said Jeanne Loring, author of one of the studies and a professor and director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif.

Her study found that a certain type of stem cell, injected once into the spinal cords of mice with an MS-like condition, could dramatically improve the animals for at least six months.

The mice's immune systems almost immediately rejected and destroyed the cells, known as human embryonic stem cell-derived neural precursor cells. But the cells seemed to trigger a long-lasting benefit, dampening inflammation to slow the disease's progression, and repairing the damaged sheathing around nerve cells that is the hallmark of MS, according to Thomas Lane, a neural immunologist at the University of Utah who helped lead the research.

The other study, led by Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of Advanced Cell Technology, a Massachusetts-based biotech, showed that mice with an MS-like disease could be restored to near normal by injecting them with a different type of stem cell. When injected, these cells ?? mesenchymal stem cells derived from human embryonic stem cells ?? were able to home in on damaged cells in the nervous system, even crossing the blood-brain barrier, Lanza said.

They not only reduced the symptoms of the disease, but prevented more damage to nerve cells, he said.

The two studies together "speak to the changing role of stem cells and their potential as treatment strategies for MS," said Tim Coetzee with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, an advocacy group. The idea of using stem cells in MS has been around for a while, but these two studies overcome some of the challenges of finding a therapy that can be consistent and effective for many people.

"They set the stage quite impressively for potential work in humans," he said, with clinical trials likely within the next few years.

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New stem cells may help in battling multiple sclerosis

Stem cells found to play restorative role when affecting brain signaling process

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Jun-2014

Contact: Robert Miranda cogcomm@aol.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair

Putnam Valley, NY. (June 5, 2014) A study by a Korean team of neuroscientists has concluded that when mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs; multipotent structural stem cells capable of differentiation into a variety of cell types) are transplanted into the brains of mice modeled with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the cells stimulate neural cell growth and repair in the hippocampus, a key brain area damaged by AD. The finding could lead to improved AD therapies.

The study will be published in a future issue of Cell Transplantation and is currently freely available on-line as an unedited early e-pub at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-CT1059Oh.

Neuroscientists know that Alzheimer's disease is caused by the presence of amyloid-B (AB) "plaques" and "tangles" in the brain's network of neurons. Recently, a protein signaling pathway called "Wnt" (Wingless-type mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) related integration site family) which plays a role in embryonic development as well as the development of some diseases, such as cancer, has been linked to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers speculate that an interruption in the Wnt pathway signaling process caused by the AB plaque buildup may have an impact on potential brain cell renewal processes, called neurogenesis. Evidence has indicated that the Wnt signaling pathway plays an important role in the pathogenesis of AD.

This study was carried out to determine if MSCs benefitted neurogenesis in the hippocampus by "modulating" the Wnt pathway in such a way that that the MSCs are able to differentiate into neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs) that could help rebuild the affected areas of the brain.

"Recent studies have shown that MSCs express various proteins related to the Wnt pathway," said study co-author Dr. Phil Hyu Lee, Department of Neurology, Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea. "It has also been determined that MSCs derived from bone marrow produce biologically active Wnt proteins that may counteract the negative influence of AB on neuronic activity."

The authors report that MSC treatment of AD in cellular and animal models significantly increased hippocampal neurogenesis and enhanced neuronal differentiation of NPCs.

"Our data suggest that the modulation of adult neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation to repair the damaged AD brain using MSCs could have a significant impact on future strategies for AD treatment," the researchers concluded.

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Stem cells found to play restorative role when affecting brain signaling process

Animal Medical Center of New York Seeks Candidates for Clinical Trial for Cats with Chronic Kidney Disease to Receive …

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 04, 2014

The Animal Medical Center of New York is offering stem cell therapy provided through Vet-Stem and long-term management in a clinical trial for qualifying cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The ultimate goal of this study is to investigate the use of stem cells (obtained from the patients own fat) in aiding the enhancement of renal (kidney) function by their regenerative capabilities, with the goal of improving survival in cats with CKD.

Currently there are no therapeutic options for cats with CKD other than renal transplantation, which is not typically an option for most owners. Most efforts aim at improving uremic signs with food, dietary supplements, and antacids, but there are no current methods for improving function of the kidney directly. CKD is the leading cause of death in older cats, and 35% of cats will develop CKD at some point.

Since renal failure is so common in cats and renal cell death is the ultimate result, improving the health and environment of the cells that remain could improve the overall function of the kidneys and ultimately improve the survival times and quality of life in patients. The aim is to use the cats own adipose (fat) derived stem cells to improve renal function directly, as stem cells are thought to improve, repair, and aid in the growth of damaged tissue.

The potential health benefits of using stem cells to combat CKD include renal regeneration, anti-fibrotic effects, a decrease in proteinuria (also called urine albumin or an abnormal amount of protein in the urine), and an improvement in the Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR used to help measure kidney function). AMC is offering free fat collection, isolation of the stem cells from the fat, and intra-arterial injection for qualifying cats, as well as free follow-up for three years. Qualifying cats must be diagnosed with IRIS Stage 3 CKD that have had no other experimental therapies. Potential candidates must undergo a full workup and have no history of urinary tract stone disease or the presence of other concurrent, unrelated disease.

Allyson Berent, DVM, DACVIM and Catherine E. Langston, DVM, DACVIM will be leading the three year study, and invite owners with a cat that has been diagnosed with CKD to call 212.329.8763 for more information on qualifying for the clinic trial. To learn more about the study go to http://www.amcny.org/clinicaltrials. To watch a short special interest film about one cats success go to http://www.vet-stem.com/pr_detail.php?id=49.

The Animal Medical Center in New York City is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit veterinary center that has been a national leader in animal care since 1910. As an academic veterinary hospital, The AMC promotes the health and well-being of companion animals through advanced treatment, research and education. Stem Cell Therapy through Vet-Stem has been offered at AMC since 2008 to treat pain associated with chronic osteoarthritis. To find out more about AMC and their stem cell therapy services for osteoarthritis go to http://www.amcny.org/surgery/neurosurgery/stem-cell-therapy.

Vet-Stem, Inc. was formed in 2002 to bring regenerative medicine to the veterinary profession. The privately held company is working to develop therapies in veterinary medicine that apply regenerative technologies while utilizing the natural healing properties inherent in all animals. As the first company in the United States to provide an adipose-derived stem cell service to veterinarians for their patients, Vet-Stem, Inc. pioneered the use of regenerative stem cells in veterinary medicine. The company holds exclusive licenses to over 50 patents including world-wide veterinary rights for use of adipose derived stem cells. In the last decade over 10,000 animals have been treated using Vet-Stem, Inc.s services, and Vet-Stem is actively investigating stem cell therapy for immune-mediated and inflammatory disease, as well as organ disease and failure. For more on Vet-Stem, Inc. and Veterinary Regenerative Medicine visit http://www.vet-stem.com or call 858-748-2004.

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Animal Medical Center of New York Seeks Candidates for Clinical Trial for Cats with Chronic Kidney Disease to Receive ...

The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC Announces New Technology for Preventing Catastrophic Adult Stem Cell …

Boston, MA (PRWEB) June 03, 2014

Today, Dr. James L. Sherley, the Director of Bostons Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC (ASCTC) described a new technology for identification of new drug candidates that are toxic to adult stem cell cells in the human body. The new AlphaSTEM technology is the first of its kind to address a long-standing unmet need in the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr. Sherley presented the AlphaSTEM technology at the 7th Annual Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day (MALSI Day 2014; http://www.mattcenter.org/malsi-day-2014/home.html) at the Harvard Club of Boston. ASCTC is one of a select number of start-up companies invited to present posters on their newest innovative biotechnologies at the all day event, which features the best and brightest life sciences innovations of the year.

Just as adult stem cells are crucial for life and normal organ function, their safety is crucial for successful treatment with new drugs. Even if a new drug has high activity against a disease or disorder; it will not be an effective treatment, if it is also too toxic to adult stem cells.

Adult stem cells are found in all renewing tissues and organs of the human body, like hair, skin, liver, and even the brain. They are responsible for replacing old mature tissue cells with new young cells. They are also essential cells for repairing injured tissues and wounds.

Some drugs are known to harm adult stem cells. Examples of these are many cancer drugs. Cancer drugs are often administered at the highest doses at which patients can tolerate the adverse effects of the drugs on adult stem cells. ASCTCs AlphaSTEM technology could accelerate discovery of better cancer drugs with less adult stem cell toxicity.

The major application proposed for the new AlphaSTEM technology is use by pharmaceutical companies to identify adult stem cell-toxic drugs before initiating clinical trials with them or entering the marketplace. Drug failure in clinical trials due to safety concerns is a major unrecovered cost of drug development. Chronic adult stem cell toxicity that now may go undetected until after marketing can result in tragic deaths for patients and catastrophic injury liabilities for the responsible drug companies. The Merck drug Vioxx is an example of such an unfortunate mishap.

The problem faced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the pharmaceutical industry is how to monitor drug effects on adult stem cells, when the cells are difficult to identify, isolate, produce, and count. The solution presented by ASCTC was a computer simulation approach based on the universal tissue cell production properties of adult stem cells.

ASCTC partnered with AlphaSTAR Corporation, a leading global provider of simulation technologies, to develop the AlphaSTEM software program that can simulate the culture multiplication of adult tissue stem cells found in any human tissue. AlphaSTEM technology not only has the power to detect drug toxicity against adult stem cells, but also against other specialized types of tissue cells specifically.

Director Sherley predicted that the introduction of AlphaSTEM technology into the pharmaceutical industry would have many immediate benefits. With relatively inexpensive detection of drugs destined to fail in expensive clinical trials, the new technology could save billions of currently wasted dollars, reducing overall drug development costs in the U.S. by as much as 20%. These savings could accelerate the rate of arrival of new effective drugs to patients by a comparable reduction in time. AlphaSTEM technology may also reduce the occurrence of drugs thought safe, but which actual have a lurking toxicity that emerges as lethal to some patients with wider and longer use.

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The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC Announces New Technology for Preventing Catastrophic Adult Stem Cell ...

New Drug-Based Approach to Regenerative Medicine for Heart Failure

Dr. Mark Penn, founder and CMO of Juventas Therapeutics

While the optimal treatment for heart failure was provided to a group of patients, they were still having symptoms. However when a new drug therapy based in regenerative medicine was given to these patients they showed clinically meaningful improvements in end systolic volumes, end diastolic volumes, ejection fraction and NTproBNP levels.

The drug, produced by Cleveland, Ohio-based Juventas Therapeutics, called JVS-100, is a non-viral gene therapy that expresses SDF-1 and promotes endogenous stem cell repair of the heart in patients with severe heart failure.

"What was remarkable about the improvement is that this drug was given to patients who had heart failures stemming from heart attacks that occurred - on average- about eleven years ago," said Dr. Mark Penn, founder and CMO of Juventas Therapeutics, and director of Cardiovascular Research at Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio.

Penn presented phase II clinical data last month at the European Society of Cardiology- Heart Failure Congress in Athens, Greece.

The field of regenerative medicine, which is the process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function, has come a long way. Penn explained that 14 years ago that stem cell based repairs lacked molecular signals that orchestrated the repairs. "Doing research we asked what drives stem cell repair? We saw that newly injured tissue was sending some signal to ask for it to be repaired. And in 2000 we discovered SDF-1 could aid that signal. Now our theory is validated that the gene therapy is a key factor for recruiting stem cells to the site for any injured tissue."

The therapy showed an 80% chance of a significant decrease in mortality for high risk heart failure patients.

With this success, Penn hopes to start next summer of 2015 on a larger trial of 300-400 patients. When that trial is initiated the company will have to move from manufacturing the drug for clinic studies to a commercial scale. Once the drug has regulatory approval the company will decide where to manufacture.

When asked about the reason for the success of the company, Penn says that "the company has always been driven by data. We had no preconceived ideas that this should work. We designed good trials, looked at the data and that told us where to go."

With regard to the financial side of the business, the company has worked with venture investors. And they have formed partnerships. The company has on-going collaborative research programs with Cleveland Clinic, Center for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center and Summa Health System.

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New Drug-Based Approach to Regenerative Medicine for Heart Failure

Funding windfall rescues abandoned stem-cell trial

NIBSC/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Embryonic stem cells may have the ability to repair damaged tissue.

A landmark stem-cell trial is sputtering back to life two-and-a-half years after it was abandoned by the California company that started it. But it now faces a fresh set of challenges, including a field that is packed with competitors.

The trial aims to test whether cells derived from human embryonic stem cells can help nerves to regrow in cases of spinal-cord injury. It was stopped abruptly in 2011 by Geron of Menlo Park, California (see Nature 479, 459; 2011); the firm said at the time that it wanted to focus on several promising cancer treatments instead. Now, a new company Asterias Biotherapeutics, also of Menlo Park plans to resurrect the trial with a US$14.3-million grant that it received on 29May from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the states stem-cell-funding agency.

But the field has moved on since Geron treated its first patient in 2010, and the therapy that Asterias inherited is no longer the only possibility for spinal-cord injury. StemCells, a biotechnology company in Newark, California, has treated 12 patients in a safety study of a different type of stem cell, and it plans to start a more advanced trial this year to test effectiveness. And another entrant to the field, Neuralstem of Germantown, Maryland, received regulatory approval in January 2013 to begin human tests of its stem-cell product.

Gerons human trial was the first approved to use cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. But regulators halted it twice, once citing concerns about the purity and predictability of the cells being implanted, and again after the company reported seeing microscopic cysts in the spinal cords of rats that had been treated in preclinical studies. The worry was that the cysts could be teratomas uncontrolled growths that can form from embryonic stem cells, a feared side effect of treatment. Geron later said that the growths were not teratomas, and the US Food and Drug Administration allowed the trial to proceed. But after injecting the cells into five of the ten intended patients, the company said that it had run out of money for the trial.

Geron founder Michael West and former chief executive Thomas Okarma then formed Asterias, which bought Gerons stem-cell therapy last year. The company plans first to treat three patients with spinal-cord damage in the neck, using a low dose of the stem cells; it will then treat different people with higher doses to see if the therapy can restore any sensation or function in the trunk or limbs.

The five patients previously treated by Geron, whom Asterias continues to track, had cord damage at chest level. On 22May, Asterias reported that none of those five had experienced serious side effects from the treatment or developed immune responses to it.

Researchers say that the continuation of the former Geron trial is important because it uses a type of cell different from the fetus-derived ones used by StemCells and Neuralstem. Geron surgically implanted embryonic stem cells that had been coaxed in vitro to grow into immature myelinated glial cells, which insulate nerve fibres when mature. The other companies are using partially differentiated cells derived from fetal brain tissue, which might produce substances that protect surviving tissue and make new connections in the neural circuitry.

Its very good for the field, because we now have multiple cell lines being tested in very similar populations of patients, and this will help us define what is needed to make this approach work, says Martin Marsala, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Diego, whose work has shown that Neuralstems cells can develop into working neurons and restore movement to rats with cord injuries in the neck.

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Funding windfall rescues abandoned stem-cell trial

Bury cop needs 15,000 for treatment in USA

Bury cop needs 15,000 for treatment in USA

5:19pm Monday 2nd June 2014 in News By David Thomson, Reporter

A BURY police officer who suffered a devastating brain haemorrhage and stroke three years ago is trying to raise 15,000 to pay for groundbreaking stem cell treatment in America.

Gulf War veteran Joseph Duffy, aged 46, hopes that the procedure in Arizona will radically improve his mobility and help tackle a rare vascular disease which may have been responsible for his illness.

His wife Wendy, friends and relatives, are planning a series of fundraising events while the Bury-based police constable has launched his own online YouGiving page to help him reach his target.

The father-of-three joined the Army in 1986 and served in West Germany and Canada as well as in the Gulf War. He joined Greater Manchester Police in 2000.

Mr Duffy suffered a suspected heart attack in March, 2011, and a brain haemorrhage and stroke just two months later. He spent six weeks in hospital.

Mrs Duffy, aged 42, said: Joseph has severe left side weakness, struggles to walk and has been left with epilepsy. His speech gets a bit slurred when hes tired. He walks with a stick as well as a muscle stimulator, a cuff around his leg which he uses with a remote control to help his movement.

Joseph also suffers from Churgh Strauss syndrome, a rare vascular disease which attacks various parts of his body and which could have been responsible for the brain haemorrhage and stroke.

Mrs Duffy explained: We hope the treatment can be done this year. It involves liposuction and taking stem cells from the fat and putting them back into the body, to areas that have been damaged, to help repair them and to make new pathways for movement and connection.

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Bury cop needs 15,000 for treatment in USA

Orthocell to list on ASX

REGENERATIVE medicine firm Orthocell is seeking to raise $8 million to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Orthocell develops treatments for tendon, cartilage and soft tissue injuries, using a patient's own stem cells to repair the damage.

It is also developing a collagen-based product called CelGro, which provides mechanical strength to facilitate tissue repair.

"Musculoskeletal conditions are the most common reason to access health care services and costs Australia more than $4 billion each year," Orthocell chief executive Paul Anderson said in a statement on Thursday.

"Regenerative medicine aims to address these conditions by repairing and regenerating damaged tissue using the body's own building blocks in a more effective manner than ever before."

The company is offering 20 million shares at 40 cents per share.

The funds will be used to complete the development of CelGro and lodge it for regulatory approval in Australia.

Money will also go towards maintaining the regulatory approvals for the Ortho-ATI and Ortho-ACI stem cell treatments in Australia.

Orthocell will also use some for the funds to prepare for regulatory approval of Ortho-ATI in its first international market, which is likely to be either Europe or Japan.

The company says it has treated more than 400 patients, using the stem-cell treatments and is generating revenue from the treatments in Australia.

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Orthocell to list on ASX

Scientists Stimulate Dental Stem Cells With Laser

May 29, 2014

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Researchers led by a team from Harvard University have successfully used a low-power laser to stimulate stem cell differentiation within the body, according to a study published on Wednesday by Science Translational Medicine.

[ Watch the Video: What Are Stem Cells? ]

The study team used a laser to stimulate dental stem cells and cause them to form dentin the hard tissue that makes up the majority of a tooth. The study was also able to identify and describe the molecular mechanism behind the growth process.

Study author David Mooney noted that the work could eventually lead to testing of a non-invasive dental procedure.

Our treatment modality does not introduce anything new to the body, and lasers are routinely used in medicine and dentistry, so the barriers to clinical translation are low, said Mooney, a professor of bioengineering at Harvards School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), in a recent statement. It would be a substantial advance in the field if we can regenerate teeth rather than replace them.

The study team began by drilling holes in the molars of rodents. Next, the team treated the tooth pulp containing dental stem cells with a low-power laser, applied short term caps, and kept the animals secure and in good health. After around 12 weeks, observations confirmed that the treatment regimen induced improved dentin development.

It was definitely my first time doing rodent dentistry, said study author Dr. Praveen Arany, a clinical investigator at the National Institutes of Health. The dentin was strikingly similar in composition to normal dentin, but did have slightly different morphological organization.

Moreover, the typical reparative dentin bridge seen in human teeth was not as readily apparent in the minute rodent teeth, owing to the technical challenges with the procedure, he added.

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Scientists Stimulate Dental Stem Cells With Laser