Paralyzed patients regain some sensory function after neural stem cell treatment

StemCells' human neural stem cell

But, promising new research from a phase 1 study conducted at the University of Zurich sponsored by StemCells, Inc. shows that six months after the implantation of neural stem cells, two out of three complete injury patients - meaning they had no neurological function below the point of injury - were able to gain some sensory function.

"We haven't made progress in how to address injury after they occur, but using neural stem cells in a transplant lets us, for the first time, think we can repair this," Dr. Stephen Huhn, a neurosurgeon and the vice president and head of the CNS program at StemCells, Inc. said to HealthPop.

The phase 1 study was intended to see if the implantation treatment had any unwanted side effects. For the procedure, 20 million neural stem cells were implanted directly into the spinal cord, something that has never been done before. Then, any reactions were monitored including complex examinations of sensory function - for example light touch, sensitivity to temperature and sensitivity to subtle electronic stimulation - as well as electrostimulation of the spinal cord itself.

What researchers were surprised to find was that the neural stem cell implantation was able to return some sensation to these paralyzed patients, who were all injured at the thoracic or chest level.

Hugh explained that if you think of the spinal cord and its 31 segments as a building with a series of floors, these patients could not access the floor below the point of the initial trauma. However, after the implantation, one patient was able to access three to four floors (or spinal cord segments below the paralysis point) and the other was able to reach five or six floors.

"These patients have had such an injury to their spinal cord that to see this kind of effect is amazing. They contain the worst of the worst injuries," he explained.

While the other patient did not regain sensation, none of the patients had any negative side effects. Huhn believes this means that the treatment may be able to work even better for people who have limited function after a traumatic injury. Since the treatment has been deemed to be safe, the next phase is to test the implantation on nine other people who have incomplete injuries or some limited sensation or function after an injury.

Huhn recognizes that the field of stem cell research is controversial. The world's only other trial using stem cells to treat spinal injury - which used embryonic stem cells - was ended in 2011 for financial reasons, according to the New Scientist. But, Huhn feels that the unique properties of neural stem cells and potential benefits warrant their use in medical treatment. Neural stem cells have the unique ability to divide and replicate themselves though cell culture. This means that for this trial, the team was able to use only one donated brain source to supply all the material needed for the study.

"This is a very delicate area, and we appreciate that neural stem cells are one of the first discoveries that we've had in which we can think about biologically repairing the nervous system," "Now we have a tool, a technology - something we can think about repairing the central nervous system with."

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Paralyzed patients regain some sensory function after neural stem cell treatment

Lorna Tolentino underwent stem cell treatment to improve health

PEP:

Kahit pa noong kabataan niya ay kilala na si Lorna Tolentino bilang isa sa may pinakamagandang mukha sa Philippine showbiz industry. Hanggang ngayon na edad 50 na siya ay wala pa rin itong kupas.

Ang kanyang sikreto ay nasa patuloy na pangangalaga niya sa katawan.

Mahilig mag-ehersisyo si Lorna, at ilan sa regular niyang ginagawa ay ang yoga at gym workout. Nagda-diet din siya upang suportahan ang pag-e-exercise.

Halos lahat na ng diet ay napagdaanan ko na, pero ang tamang paraan pa rin ay mag-ehersisyo ka at [kumain ng] tamang pagkain, saad ng aktres sa panayam ng PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal), noong July 17 sa TV5 event sa Elements Centris, Quezon City.

Ibig sabihin, meron pa ring caution akong ginagawa. Binabantayan ko rin kung ano yung kinakain ko kasi sabi nga nila, You are what you eat, e.

Mas mapili ngayon si Lorna sa kanyang mga kinakain dahil na rin sa kanyang bad cholesterol level at hormonal imbalance sa katawan.

Hindi siya kumakain ng anumang matataba at maalat na pagkain.

Pagdating naman sa kanyang balat, Siyempre sa pangangalaga ng Flawless at Belo, at ni Joey Santos ng Villa Medica, kaya heto, patuloy na maganda yung skin ko.

STEM CELL TREATMENT. Bukod sa kanyang panlabas na anyo ay pinangangalagaan din nang husto ni Lorna ang kanyang kalusugan.

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Lorna Tolentino underwent stem cell treatment to improve health

Annabelle Rama to undergo stem cell treatment to improve health

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Talent manager Annabelle Rama will fly to Germany in September to undergo therapy - stem cell therapy, that is. This has been a promise made by her son Richard Gutierrez who's footing the bill. "Early this year pa lang ay napagplanuhan na 'yung pagpapa-stem cell ng nanay ko at prinomise ko sa kanya na pag-iipunan ko, prinomise ko sa kanya na ako ang magti-treat sa kanya," Richard said on the first episode of "H.O.T. TV," Aug. 5.

He noted, "'Yung mom ko hindi mahilig 'yan na pumunta sa mga doctor, hindi mahilig magpa-check-up."

Looking forward

This early, Annabelle is already excited about her trip and the upcoming treatment.

"Kaya ako excited pumunta kasi unang-una mataas ang aking sugar, mataas ang aking cholesterol, tapos me problema pa ako sa high blood, blood pressure ko. Siguro nga kailangan kong pumunta ng Germany," she said, noting that the condition of her friends, talent manager Lolit Solis and actress Lorna Tolentino, have improved tremendously after going through stem cell therapy.

"Nakita ko ang mukha ni Lolis pumuputi ang mukha niya, eh at saka mukha siyang fresh na fresh. Lalo na si LT, nakita ko rin siya. Mukhang gumanda naman siya. Basta lahat ng kaibigan kong galing doon, nakakausap ko, sabi nila ay talagang gumaling daw sila. 'Yung kanilang napi-feel na mabigat sa katawan dahil sa sakit nila ay nawawala lahat," she said.

Exorbitant fees?

Annabelle had already inquired about the fees of stem cell procedure in the country and she feels it's exorbitant.

"Kasi sa Piipinas may pinagtatanungan na ako, umabot ng mga four million pesos 'yung naitanong ko kaya parang na-discourage akong magpagamot kasi nga ganoon kamahal."

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Annabelle Rama to undergo stem cell treatment to improve health

Stem cells of youth

Public Lives By: Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer

Recently, I listened to a friend recount his stem cell treatment at a medical spa in Europe. The treatment costs about P1 million. The clinic where it is done has lately been attracting hundreds of Filipinos in search of the modern version of the proverbial fountain of youth.

Youre fetched from the airport by a limousine, my friend said, and brought to a beautiful countryside lodge in the middle of a lush forest. Over three relaxing days, three injections of a serum taken from the fetus of a sheep are administered on the patients buttocks. In between treatments, the spas overseas guests are taken on a guided tour of nearby sights as part of the package. The physical change is supposed to be felt gradually after a week. I cant explain to you exactly how it works, he said, but I do feel good and strong. All the aches in my bones are gone, and the wrinkles on my face have receded. He did look rested, I must say. But, if I had that kind of money, I thought to myself, I would sooner buy a motorcycle.

Stem cell experimentationand the post-human future it signifieshas always fascinated me. And so I asked my no-nonsense dermatologist who has been treating me for occasional allergic flare-ups what she thought of stem cells as the new path to prolonged youth. Its definitely the newest craze in town, she confirmed. More than a dozen of her own patients have been enticing her with an all-expenses-paid European holiday just to accompany them to this famous clinic. She advises them instead to take off for a week and pamper themselves at a local spa if they have money to spend. But if they are persistent, she tells them they can get the same treatment in China or Thailand for maybe half the price.

These foreign clinics are not medical centers for stem cell therapy, she tells me, short of saying they are scams. They are really nothing but expensive spas that offer a menu of rejuvenation treatments. The cells taken from the fetuses of animals and injected into their clients bodies cannot be called stem cells, she says emphatically. They are adult cells.

Stem cells are called such because they are the cells that generate fresh tissue or blood. The human body has reserves of these stem cells, mostly found in the bone marrow. They are mobilized like an army when the body requires regeneration from injury or illness. Sometimes, when the healing, for example, of a broken bone is taking an unusually long time, a surgeon may draw stem cells from a persons bone marrow, and graft these directly onto his injured bone. These autologous stem cells (meaning, sourced from the same person) speed up the healing process. These are also used to treat some forms of cancer like leukemia. At the moment of birth, a babys umbilical cord is filled with stem cells, and these are sometimes harvested and preserved for future use to treat that babys congenital illnesses or defects.

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Stem cells of youth

Stem Cells Bring New Hope for Parry-Romberg Syndrome Patients

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark clinical study, scientists of the RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute have demonstrated that the transplant of patients' own ("autologous") stem cells can dramatically improve the ability of plastic surgeons to repair diseases. In the September 2012 issue of the prestigious international plastic surgery journal Annals of Plastic Surgery (69:3), researchers published their controlled study of the power of stem cells, describing a breakthrough with patients who have Parry-Romberg Syndrome. More than 200,000 have this tragic and debilitating disease in the U.S. alone. Their prognosis without treatment is the slow loss of control, then paralysis of the face and in some cases the mouth and even eyes. Most patients with Parry-Romberg begin to experience these symptoms between the age of five (5) and fifteen (15) years of age. There is, says the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, "no cure." To date, treatments have involved waiting until the disease slows and then transplanting fat into patients' faces, strengthening bones in their faces, and using microvascular surgery to "install" a free flap of skin.

However the only solution for patients with this disorder, and those with similar disorders, the grafting of fat, is at best a temporary solution, which alleviates none of the pain felt by these patients, and can in fact result in an increase in pain when fat grafts fail. So, plastic surgeons, engineers and others have searched for years for a solution with longer term effects, or even a way to fight the disease's symptoms in a sustained way.

Dr. Kyeung-Suk Ko and Dr. Jong-Woo Choi led a research team under Dr. Jeong-chan Ra of RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute that may have uncovered, for the first time, just such a tool for plastic surgeons: patients' own stem cells. In their controlled study, the team painlessly removed a few ounces of fat from one group Parry-Romberg Syndrome patients, harvesting stem cells from these patients' fat, cells that are genetically identical to the patient's cells throughout their body and that have well documented abilities to "home in" on inflammation and disease and have dramatic effects on patients' symptoms and even disease itself. In this study, those patients in the "treated" group received stem cells magnified into the millions (using the team's patented technology whose safety has been well published). These patients' outcomes, adding stem cells to standard-of-care therapies, were measured against traditional microfat grafts in the control group receiving no stem cells.

In what many have described as a revolutionary finding, the team found that those patients who received their own "adult" mesenchymal stem cells saw unprecedented improvement in the effectiveness of therapies. Fat grafts that are often "resorbed" into patients' skin shortly after they are placed were 50% less likely to disappear when provided alongside stem cells (20.59% vs 46.81%).

This study was approved by the Korea Food and Drug Administration, the institutional IRB of the Asan Medical Center, and peer-reviewed prior to acceptance in the renowned plastic surgery publication under the title: "Clinical application of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells in progressive hemifacial atrophy (Parry-Romberg Disease) with microfat grafting techniques using three-dimensional computed tomography and three-dimensional camera." Authors and investigators included: Koh KS, Oh TS, Kim H, Chung IW, Lee KW, Lee HB, Park EJ, Chung JS, Shin IS, Ra JC, Choi JW. Media and others may access the article at http://journals.lww.com/annalsplasticsurgery/Abstract/2012/09000/Clinical_Application_of_Human_Adipose.22.aspx. Its National Library of Medicine ID is PMID:22878516.

Dr. Ra, senior author, said, "We believe that this is a big step for Parry-Romberg Syndrome patients and expect to see autologous stem cell transplantation as standard of care for their treatment. The next step is to test the efficacy of the many ways in which stem cells from adults' own bodies will expand the quality of life and even identify cures for many rare diseases."

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Stem Cells Bring New Hope for Parry-Romberg Syndrome Patients

New stem cell treatment cuts costs, hospital stay

Published on Aug 29, 2012

Madam Purwati receiving a blood transfusion to treat her cancer. -- PHOTO: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CANCER INSTITUTE

When Madam Usdiati Endah Purwati, 52, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma earlier this year, she braced herself for a treatment that she knew could cost as much as $70,000.

After all, the stem cell transplant the school principal needs to treat the bone marrow cancer will keep her in the hospital for three weeks. But her bill ended up being half of that amount, and she did not have to be hospitalised at all.

This arrangement was possible because of a new treatment regimen introduced last year at the National University Cancer Institute that offers outpatient autologous stem cell transplants to multiple myeloma patients.

In such procedures, the patient's stem cells are taken and stored; and after chemotherapy - which destroys much of the blood-producing stem cells along with the cancer cells - the stem cells are transplanted back to the same patient to help the body produce blood at a normal rate again.

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New stem cell treatment cuts costs, hospital stay

PART 1: Lorna Tolentino admits undergoing stem cell treatment to keep vital organs rejuvenated

PART 1: Lorna Tolentino admits undergoing stem cell treatment to keep vital organs rejuvenated

Isang bihirang pagkakataon na nakausap uli ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) sa isang mahabang interview ang multi-awarded actress na si Lorna Tolentino.

Naganap ang panayam noong nakaraang Huwebes, August 23, sa faculty office ng Central Colleges of the Philippines (CCP), kung saan ginanap ang taping ng weekly supernatural mystery drama series naThird Eye ng TV5.

During dinner break, nabanggit ni Lorna ang tungkol sa pinsang si Zsa Zsa Padilla, who was diagnosed with Stage 1 cancer of the kidney.

"Ka-text ko si Zsa Zsa. Four weeks daw siya doon, tapos saka babalik dito.

Four weeks after the operation, hindi pa siya puwedeng mag-work.

August 27 ang naiulat noon na schedule ng operasyon ni Zsa Zsa sa Cedars-Sinai Medical Center sa Los Angeles, California.

Sixteen hours and delay ng oras ng U.S. sa Pilipinas, kayat malamang na ngayong araw na ang operasyon ni Zsa Zsa.

Tatanggalin ang mala-golf ball sa laking namuong laman sa kanyang kidney.

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PART 1: Lorna Tolentino admits undergoing stem cell treatment to keep vital organs rejuvenated

PART 1: Lorna Tolentino admits undergoing stem cell treatment to keep her vital organs rejuvenated

PART 1: Lorna Tolentino admits undergoing stem cell treatment to keep vital organs rejuvenated

Isang bihirang pagkakataon na nakausap uli ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) sa isang mahabang interview ang multi-awarded actress na si Lorna Tolentino.

Naganap ang panayam noong nakaraang Huwebes, August 23, sa faculty office ng Central Colleges of the Philippines (CCP), kung saan ginanap ang taping ng weekly supernatural mystery drama series naThird Eye ng TV5.

During dinner break, nabanggit ni Lorna ang tungkol sa pinsang si Zsa Zsa Padilla, who was diagnosed with Stage 1 cancer of the kidney.

"Ka-text ko si Zsa Zsa. Four weeks daw siya doon, tapos saka babalik dito.

Four weeks after the operation, hindi pa siya puwedeng mag-work.

August 27 ang naiulat noon na schedule ng operasyon ni Zsa Zsa sa Cedars-Sinai Medical Center sa Los Angeles, California.

Sixteen hours and delay ng oras ng U.S. sa Pilipinas, kayat malamang na ngayong araw na ang operasyon ni Zsa Zsa.

Tatanggalin ang mala-golf ball sa laking namuong laman sa kanyang kidney.

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PART 1: Lorna Tolentino admits undergoing stem cell treatment to keep her vital organs rejuvenated

Neuralstem Completes Phase I ALS Stem Cell Trial

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CUR) announced the completion of the Phase I trial of its NSI-566 spinal cord neural stem cells for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), with the eighteenth patient treated. This patient, the third to return to the trial for an additional set of injections, is also the last in the Phase I portion of the trial as it is currently designed, which is scheduled to conclude six months after this final surgery.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061221/DCTH007LOGO )

"We are delighted to have completed Phase I in this groundbreaking trial, the first approved by the FDA to test neural stem cells in patients with ALS," said Karl Johe, PhD, Chairman of Neuralstem's Board of Directors and Chief Scientific Officer.

"There have been many firsts in this trial, including the first lumbar intraspinal injections, the first cervical region intraspinal injections, and the first cohort of patients to receive both," said Jonathan D. Glass, MD, Director of the Emory ALS Center. "This has required incredible effort from the Emory medical and support team and I wish to express my thanks to all of them, as well as to acknowledge the generosity and courage of the patients and their families."

"We have found the procedure to be extremely safe," said Eva Feldman, MD, PhD, Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute and Director of Research of the ALS Clinic at the University of Michigan Health System. "In some patients, it appears that the disease is no longer progressing, but it is too early to know if the result from that small number of patients is meaningful." Dr. Feldman is the principal investigator (PI) of the trial and an unpaid consultant to Neuralstem.

About the Trial

The Phase I trial to assess the safety of Neuralstem's NSI-566 spinal cord neural stem cells and intraspinal transplantation method in ALS patients has been underway since January 2010. The trial was designed to enroll up to 18 patients, the last of which was just treated. The first 12 patients were each transplanted in the lumbar (lower back) region of the spine, beginning with non-ambulatory and advancing to ambulatory cohorts.

The trial then advanced to transplantation in the cervical (upper back) region of the spine. The first cohort of three was treated in the cervical region only. The last cohort of threereceived injections in both the cervical and lumbar regions of the spinal cord. In an amendment to the trial design, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the return of previously treated patients to this cohort. The entire 18-patient trial concludes six months after the final surgery.

About Neuralstem

Neuralstem's patented technology enables the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells constitutively into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. Neuralstem is in an FDA-approved Phase I safety clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, and has been awarded orphan status designation by the FDA.

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Neuralstem Completes Phase I ALS Stem Cell Trial

AMERICA STEM CELL, INC. Initiates a Phase I/II Trial of ASC-101 in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies Undergoing …

SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

America Stem Cell, Inc. announced today the initiation of a single-center study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center evaluating ASC-101 in dual-umbilical cord transplantation in patients with hematologic malignancies.

There is a significant unmet medical need to improve stem cell engraftment into bone marrow for patients undergoing umbilical cord transplantation, and America Stem Cell is committed to filling that need, said Dr. Linda Paradiso, Chief Development Officer at America Stem Cell. ASC-101 is a novel enzyme treatment that will potentially transform hematopoietic stem cell transplantation by accelerating patient immune system and platelet recovery, reducing opportunistic infections and other co-morbidities, and improving patient survival.

Enhancing umbilical cord stem cell engraftment into bone marrow in the dual cord transplant setting will improve clinical outcomes for patients with serious, life-threatening cancers and other disorders for which hematopoietic stem cell transplant is prescribed, said, Dr. Elizabeth Shpall, MD, Medical Director, Cell Therapy Laboratory and Director, Cord Blood Bank at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Principal Investigator on the ASC-101 Phase I/II clinical trial. The MD Anderson study has enrolled and dosed its first patient in this Phase I/II study designed to study the safety of ASC-101 in the hematopoietic stem cell transplant setting and gather preliminary data on potential clinical benefit.

ASC was founded with the vision to make stem cell transplants safer and more efficacious for patients undergoing cell therapy. The start of this trial using ASC-101 in cancer patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation is a major step forward in advancing the ASC clinical pipeline, said Lynnet Koh-LeMaire, Chief Executive Officer/Founder of America Stem Cell.

About America Stem Cell, Inc.

ASC is a privately held biotechnology company based in San Antonio, TX, with offices in San Diego, CA. It is focused on the development and commercialization of its novel enzyme technology platforms (ASC-101 and ASC-102) to improve the homing and engraftment of stem cells to target organs and increase their therapeutic potential for patients in need of stem cell transplantation. The initial focus of ASC is to transform clinical efficacy outcomes for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with ASC-101. Additionally, these platforms have the potential to enhance efficacy outcomes for stem cell treatment of inflammation from chemotherapy/radiation, solid tumors, autoimmune diseases, and ischemic diseases including myocardial infarction and stroke. ASC has collaborations/partnerships with medical research institutions including The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, the Sanford-Burnham Institute, Indiana University, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Spectrum Health Innovations as well as a corporate partnership with Kyowa Hakko Kirin. For additional information, please contact Lynnet Koh-LeMaire at (210) 410-6427, or view http://www.americastemcell.com.

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AMERICA STEM CELL, INC. Initiates a Phase I/II Trial of ASC-101 in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies Undergoing ...