Stem Cell Clinic

Benefit to defray cost of stem cell treatment set for May 7 – WatertownDailyTimes.com

By Stem Cell Treatment

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CARTHAGE To help defray the costs of a Carthage natives stroke treatment, friends and family will host a benefit from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 7, at the Bassett-Baxter American Legion Post 789, 415 West St.

A stroke left Cynthia Wright completely paralyzed, unable to speak and to swallow on Thanksgiving Day 2015. After treatment, she regained her speech and some movement but was still weak on her left side. After a year, she recovered somewhat being able to walk and talk but her left arm and hand were still not functioning.

Ms. Wright, who now lives in Redwood, said she walks daily to regain her strength and coordination. She has been able to return to work, overseeing operations at five locations in the state Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Department.

I did the best I could with what I have Im not one to sit around and mope, she said.

To Ms. Wright, a member of St. James Family Choir, the loss of her singing voice was as tragic as losing the use of her arm.

I cant put into words how bad I felt losing my singing voice that was the worst part for me, she said.

Ms. Wright also had sung for private events and had been active in the Carthage Little Theater, including playing the lead in Funny Girl in the 1990s.

After seeing a television news report about the use of stem cell treatments to reverse the effects of strokes, Ms. Wright had hopes for a more complete recovery. She was approved for treatment at StemGenex Medical Group in California.

The treatment involved harvesting her own stem cells and injecting the treated cells into her arm, leg and through her nostrils.

She said the treatment was not bad at all and only took a couple of hours to complete after the harvesting on the first day.

Some results have been noticed more arm movement and better speech but she said it could take three to six months to see real results, which would come a little at a time.

Since the treatment is not FDA approved, Ms. Wright had to come up with the $16,000 needed for the treatment plus travel expenses.

Entertainment at the benefit will be provided by the Amarillo Band, a country/rock band from Watertown, who will host a band jam also featuring Dirty Sally, the Britton Brothers and Southbound. Food.

There will also be 50/50 raffles, a wine pull and a Chinese auction.

We wanted to do this for Cindy to show our love and support, said Tamara Charette, Ms. Wrights sister and the events organizer.

She said they are still seeking donations of auction items; donors can call 315-493-1794 to make arrangements.

The benefit committee is also selling raffle tickets for a half of a cow from Noltzs of Lowville. The winning ticket will be drawn at the benefit.

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Benefit to defray cost of stem cell treatment set for May 7 - WatertownDailyTimes.com

$10 million settlement over alleged misconduct in Boston heart stem cell lab – Science Magazine

By Stell Cell Research

Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS/Newscom

By Kelly ServickApr. 27, 2017 , 5:00 PM

A research misconduct investigation of a prominent stem cell lab by the Harvard Universityaffiliated Brigham and Womens Hospital (BWH) in Boston has led to a massive settlement with the U.S. government over allegations of fraudulently obtained federal grants. As Retraction Watch reports, BWH and its parent health care system have agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that former BWH cardiac stem cell scientist Piero Anversa and former lab members Annarosa Leri and Jan Kajstura relied on manipulated and fabricated data in grant applications submitted to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

A statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Massachusetts released today notes that it was BWH itself that shared the allegations against Anversas lab with the government. The hospital had been conducting its own probe into the Anversa lab since at least 2014, when a retraction published in the journal Circulation revealed the ongoing investigation. The hospital has not yet released any findings.

In 2014, Anversa and Leri sued Harvard and BWHalong with BWH President Elizabeth Nabel and Gretchen Brodnicki, Harvards dean for faculty and research integrityfor launching and publicizing the investigation that they claimed wrongfully damaged their careers. In their complaint, they acknowledged fabricated data in the Circulation paper and altered figures in a 2011 paper for whichThe Lancethas published an expression of concern. But they claimed that Kajstura had altered data without their knowledge. (Anversa and Leris recent papers list their institution as Swiss Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Retraction Watch notes.)

In July 2015, a federal district court judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiffs had to first air their grievances with the federal Office of Research Integrity, which handles misconduct investigations at NIH-funded labs.

Grant fraud cases against universities rarely involve research misconduct, and most are brought by whistleblowers who stand to claim a share of any returned funds. Despite the high penalty, BWH gets praise from the Department of Justice in todays announcement for self-disclosing the allegations and for taking steps to prevent future recurrences of such conduct.

But the result is confusing and potentially discouraging, says Ferric Fang, a microbiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, who has published several analyses of retractions, misconduct, and the scientific enterprise. It sounds as if the researchers themselves were found to have engaged in improper practices, but the institution is on the hook for the settlement. The decision deserves greater clarification, he says, or it could discourage other institutions from being as forthcoming in the future.

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$10 million settlement over alleged misconduct in Boston heart stem cell lab - Science Magazine

Making bone transparent – The Biological SCENE

By Stem Cell Medical Center

Scientists have developed a biochemical process that renders bones transparent and then used it to visualize the bone-cell-proliferating action of a new osteoporosis drug (Sci. Transl. Med. 2017, DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aah6518). In addition to enabling the study of drug effects on bone cells, the feat could provide an unprecedented view of the processes in bone cell growth and death.

The team, led by Caltech biology and biological engineering professor Viviana Gradinaru, based its bone-clearing strategy on a soft-tissue-clarifying method, called Clarity, that Gradinaru helped develop as a postdoc in Karl Deisseroths lab at Stanford University.

In recent years, numerous scientists have made significant progress in being able to remove light-scattering lipids from brains and other soft-tissue constructs. The ability to visualize clear, intact soft tissue has great advantages over examining tissue slices because the structures and cells within remain connected and undisturbed.

Bones, however, have been tougher to render transparent than soft tissues because they are impregnated with minerals, which are difficult to wash away while maintaining bone structure.

To clear the calcium from bones, Gradinarus lab used ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Then, as in the original version of Clarity, the researchers infused the bone with acrylamide monomers to form a stabilizing hydrogel mesh and finally washed out lipids with a detergent.

To see cells inside the transparent bone, the group genetically engineered mice so that their bone stem cells, known as osteoprogenitors, glowed red. Drug company Amgen provided the team with a new osteoporosis drug to investigate. Gradinarus team compared the bones of mice who had received the drug with those who hadnt. They saw a clear proliferation of osteoprogenitors in the vertebrae of mice who had been given the drug.

Sean Morrison, director of the Childrens Medical Center Research Institute at the University of Texas Southwestern says improving our understanding of the localization of osteoprogenitors in the bone marrow is an important goal that will enhance our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate the maintenance of the adult skeleton.

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Making bone transparent - The Biological SCENE

Washington University School of Medicine – Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

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Goal is vaccine that targets inflammation in joints

Using CRISPR technology, a team of researchers led by Farshid Guilak, PhD, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, rewired stem cells' genetic circuits to produce an anti-inflammatory arthritis drug when the cells encounter inflammation. The technique eventually could act as a vaccine for arthritis and other chronic conditions.

Using new gene-editing technology, researchers have rewired mouse stem cells to fight inflammation caused by arthritis and other chronic conditions. Such stem cells, known as SMART cells (Stem cells Modified for Autonomous Regenerative Therapy),develop into cartilage cells that produce a biologic anti-inflammatory drug that, ideally, will replace arthritic cartilage and simultaneously protect joints and other tissues from damage that occurs with chronic inflammation.

The cells were developed at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Shriners Hospitals for Children-St. Louis, in collaboration with investigators at Duke University and Cytex Therapeutics Inc., both in Durham, N.C. The researchers initially worked with skin cells taken from the tails of mice and converted those cells into stem cells. Then, using the gene-editing tool CRISPR in cells grown in culture, they removed a key gene in the inflammatory process and replaced it with a gene that releases a biologic drug that combats inflammation.

The research is availableonline April 27 in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

Our goal is to package the rewired stem cells as a vaccine for arthritis, which would deliver an anti-inflammatory drug to an arthritic joint but only when it is needed, said Farshid Guilak, PhD, the papers senior author and a professor of orthopedic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. To do this, we needed to create a smart cell.

Many current drugs used to treat arthritis including Enbrel, Humira and Remicade attack an inflammation-promoting molecule called tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). But the problem with these drugs is that they are given systemically rather than targeted to joints. As a result, they interfere with the immune system throughout the body and can make patients susceptible to side effects such as infections.

We want to use our gene-editing technology as a way to deliver targeted therapy in response to localized inflammation in a joint, as opposed to current drug therapies that can interfere with the inflammatory response through the entire body, said Guilak, also a professor of developmental biology and of biomedical engineering and co-director of Washington Universitys Center of Regenerative Medicine. If this strategy proves to be successful, the engineered cells only would block inflammation when inflammatory signals are released, such as during an arthritic flare in that joint.

As part of the study, Guilak and his colleagues grew mouse stem cells in a test tube and then used CRISPR technology to replace a critical mediator of inflammation with a TNF-alpha inhibitor.

Exploiting tools from synthetic biology, we found we could re-code the program that stem cells use to orchestrate their response to inflammation, said Jonathan Brunger, PhD, the papers first author and a postdoctoral fellow in cellular and molecular pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Over the course of a few days, the team directed the modified stem cells to grow into cartilage cells and produce cartilage tissue. Further experiments by the team showed that the engineered cartilage was protected from inflammation.

We hijacked an inflammatory pathway to create cells that produced a protective drug, Brunger said.

The researchers also encoded the stem/cartilage cells with genes that made the cells light up when responding to inflammation, so the scientists easily could determine when the cells were responding. Recently, Guilaks team has begun testing the engineered stem cells in mouse models of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

If the work can be replicated in animals and then developed into a clinical therapy, the engineered cells or cartilage grown from stem cells would respond to inflammation by releasing a biologic drug the TNF-alpha inhibitor that would protect the synthetic cartilage cells that Guilaks team created and the natural cartilage cells in specific joints.

When these cells see TNF-alpha, they rapidly activate a therapy that reduces inflammation, Guilak explained. We believe this strategy also may work for other systems that depend on a feedback loop. In diabetes, for example, its possible we could make stem cells that would sense glucose and turn on insulin in response. We are using pluripotent stem cells, so we can make them into any cell type, and with CRISPR, we can remove or insert genes that have the potential to treat many types of disorders.

With an eye toward further applications of this approach, Brunger added, The ability to build living tissues from smart stem cells that precisely respond to their environment opens up exciting possibilities for investigation in regenerative medicine.

Brunger JM, Zutshi A, Willard VP, Gersbach CA, Guilak F. Genome engineering of stem cells for autonomously regulated, closed-loop delivery of biologic drugs. Stem Cell Reports. April 27, 2017.

This work was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant numbers AR061042, AR50245, AR46652, AR48182, AR067467, AR065956, AG15768, OD008586. Additional funding provided by the Nancy Taylor Foundation for Chronic Diseases; the Arthritis Foundation; the National Science Foundation (NSF), CAREER award number CBET-1151035; and the Collaborative Research Center of the AO Foundation, Davos, Switzerland.

Authors Farshid Guilak, and Vincent Willard have a financial interest in Cytex Therapeutics of Durham, N.C., which may choose to license this technology. Cytex is a startup founded by some of the investigators. They could realize financial gain if the technology eventually is approved for clinical use.

Washington University School of Medicines 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient-care institutions in the nation, currently ranked seventh in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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Washington University School of Medicine - Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Global CAR T Cell Therapy Market & Clinical Trials Insight 2022: Pipeline Analysis by Company, Indication & Phase … – PR Newswire (press…

By Uncategorized

The report highlights the ongoing clinical and non-clinical advancement in the field of Car T Cell Therapy. As per report findings, the promise of CAR modified T cell therapy derives from its combined immunologic benefits and include the specificity of a targeted antibody, the ability to expand the T cell population and the potential for long term persistence to facilitate the ongoing tumor surveillance. The success in early phase trials, assess the feasibility of evaluating the treatment modality across the multiple centers and in larger patients. Currently, there are 99 CAR T Cell based therapies in clinical pipeline and most of them belong to Phase-I and Phase-I/II clinical trials.

In recent years, researchers have identified the chimeric antigen receptor as a potential target for molecular genetics to insert a new epitopes on the receptor region which allows a degree of control of the immune system. CAR T cell therapy satisfy the need to explore new and efficacious adoptive T cell therapy. The gene transfer technology could efficiently introduce the genes encoding CARs into the immune effector cells. The transferring of engineered T cells provides the specific antigen binding in a non-major histocompatibility complex. The promise of CAR modified T cell therapy derives from its combined immunologic benefits and include the specificity of a targeted antibody, the ability to expand the T cell population and the potential for long term persistence to facilitate the ongoing tumor surveillance. The success in early phase trials, assess the feasibility of evaluating the treatment modality across the multiple centers and in larger patients.

Companies Mentioned

Key Topics Covered:

1. Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell Therapy - Next Era in Immuno Oncology

2. Evolution of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Design

3. Principle of Chimeric Antigen Receptor Design

4. CAR T Cell Therapies Delivery Pipeline & Mechanism of Action

5. Approaches to Improve the CAR T Cell Therapy

6. Global CAR T Cell Therapy Clinical Trials for Cancer Treatment

7. Global CAR T Cell Therapies Clinical Pipeline by Company, Indication & Phase

8. Global Market Scenario of CAR T Cell Therapy

9. Global Market Size of CAR T Cell Therapy

10. Global CAR T Cell Therapy Market Dynamics

11. Global CAR T Cell Therapy Market Future Prospects

12. Competitive Landscape

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/q57z4j/global_car_t_cell

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Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com

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To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-car-t-cell-therapy-market--clinical-trials-insight-2022-pipeline-analysis-by-company-indication--phase---research-and-markets-300447325.html

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Global CAR T Cell Therapy Market & Clinical Trials Insight 2022: Pipeline Analysis by Company, Indication & Phase ... - PR Newswire (press...

Banking Teeth for Stem Cell Therapy – HealthCentral.com

By Uncategorized

Banking Teeth for Stem Cell Therapy

Banking baby teeth or wisdom teetha practice thats been around for about 10 yearsis becoming more widely accepted in developed areas of the world, according to researchers. It involves cryopreserving teethand the dental stem cells they containfor potential stem cell therapy in the future.

Most research surrounding dental stem cells and tooth banking is still in the experimental stage and, at this time, scientists disagree about whether its worthwhileunlike cord blood banking, which has proven benefits for stem cell therapy. Some research suggests preserved dental stem cells could one day be used to regenerate healthy tissue and help fight complex diseases. But many experts remain less convinced of the potential benefits, as so much of the research is preliminary.

So far, the research has centered around dentinthe innermost hard layer of the tooth, below the enameland soft tissue beneath the dentin called pulp. The pulp contains the tooths nerve and blood supplies. In studying how teeth repair themselvesfrom a cavity, for exampleresearchers discovered that teeth contain stem cells. More studies are needed to determine if these dental stem cells can be harvested, preserved, stored, and someday used for stem cell therapy.

Image Credit: iStock

Sourced from: CNN

A new study suggests that cardiovascular decompensationa life-threatening drop in blood pressure caused by serious injuries involving significant blood lossmay be treated temporarily at the scene or during transport to the hospital simply by applying a bag of ice water to the injured persons face. Decompensation, which remains a dangerous complication even after bleeding has stopped, reduces the delivery of oxygen to the brain, heart, and other vital organs.

For the study, ten healthy volunteers were placed in a special chamber that simulates blood circulation after a person has lost one-half to one liter of blood and a tourniquet has been applied to stop the bleeding. Researchers applied bags of ice water or bags of room-temperature water to the study participants faces for 15 minutes while they continuously monitored cardiovascular function. They discovered that participants treated with bags of ice water experienced significant increases in blood pressure, suggesting that applying ice water can improve cardiovascular function after blood loss and prevent a dangerous drop in blood pressure.

Researchers expect to begin clinical trials soon. The hope is that this simple technique can be used by first responders or medics in the field of combat to improve survival rates after injuries involving blood loss by providing extra time for transport to a hospital or other medical facility.

Image Credit: iStock

Sourced from: ScienceDaily

Cooking dinner at homerather than eating outis a good way to eat healthier and save money, according to researchers at Oregon State University and the University of Washington. Historically, people with a higher socioeconomic status are generally healthier than those with lower incomes, but this study suggests otherwiseIF more money means dining out more often and less money means eating at home.

The study involved about 400 adults in the Seattle-area. Study participants were surveyed about their cooking and eating behaviors for one week and provided various socioeconomic information. Their weekly food intake was graded using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)a scale that ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating a healthier diet.

According to researchers, cooking at home three times per week produced an average score of about 67 on the Healthy Eating Index, and cooking at home six times per week resulted in an average score of 74. Results of the study suggest that home-cooked dinners are associated with a diet lower in calories, sugar and fat, overall than dining out regularly.

Image Credit: iStock

Sourced from: Oregon State University

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Banking Teeth for Stem Cell Therapy - HealthCentral.com

Kelly Osbourne Campaigning to Make Stem Cell Therapy Affordable in America – Hollywood.com

By Stem Cell Treatment

Wenn

Singer-turned-TV personality Kelly Osbourne wants to help cure fellow Lyme disease sufferers by making stem cell therapy available for all in the U.S.

Ozzy and Sharon Osbournes daughter contracted the condition after she was bitten by a tick during a party for the rockers 56th birthday back in 2004, when her mother had a reindeer sanctuary installed at their Los Angeles home.

However, Kelly wasnt properly diagnosed until 2014, months after suffering a seizure while filming an episode of E!s Fashion Police show in 2013, when doctors claimed her collapse had been caused by epilepsy.

She did some research into her ailments and discovered she was actually struggling with Lyme disease, and promptly sought out alternative treatment to help her overcome the illness.

I started to actually do the one thing doctors tell you not to do and thats to go online and look it up, she explained on Good Morning America, and all roads pointed to Lyme disease so I found a doctor through my mum.

I went to Frankfurt, Germany, and I did stem cell (therapy) and I got cured, Kelly claimed.

The 32-year-old is lucky to have been in a position to afford the treatment, which involves the transplant of stem cells to heal those damaged by the disease, and now she is looking to get involved in making the therapy more widely available and affordable to others less fortunate.

It sickens me that thats not available to everyone and that you have to be considered lucky or privileged to get that sort of treatment, she said. I want to make sure and I will do anything that I can do to make sure that that treatment is available in this country.

Kelly details her experience with the bacterial infection in her new memoir There Is No F**king Secret: Letters from a Bada** B**ch. She isnt the only celebrity to open up about her struggles with Lyme disease pop star Avril Lavigne, and veteran model Yolanda Hadid and her runway star kids Bella and Anwar Hadid have also been battling the illness.

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World’s 1st Stem Cell Transplant from Donor to Man’s Eye Shows Promise of Restoring Sight – EnviroNews (registration) (blog)

By Stem Cell Clinic

(EnviroNews World News) Kobe, Japan For more than two million Americans, straight lines may look wavy and the vision in the center of their eye may slowly disappear. Its called age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and there is no cure. But that may change soon.

A surgical team at Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital in Japan recently injected 250,000 retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells into the right eye of a man in his 60s. The cells were derived from donor stem cells stored at Kyoto University. It marked the first time that retinal cells derived from a donors skin have been implanted in a patients eye. The skin cells had been reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which can be grown into most cell types in the body.

The procedure is part of a safety study authorized by Japans Ministry of Health that will involve five patients. Each will be followed closely for one year and continue to receive follow-up exams for three additional years. Project leader Dr. Masayo Takahashi at Riken, a research institution that is part of the study, told the Japan Times, A key challenge in this case is to control rejection. We need to carefully continue treatment.

A previous procedure on a different patient in 2014 used stem cells from the individuals own skin. Two years later, the patient reported showing some improvement in eyesight. But the procedure cost $900,000, leading the study team to move forward using donor cells. They expect the costs to come down to less than $200,000.

Among people over 50 in developed countries, AMD is the leading cause of vision loss. According to the National Eye Institute, 14 percent of white Americans age 80 or older will suffer some form of AMD. The condition is almost three times more common among white adults than among people of color. Women of all races comprise 65 percent of AMD cases.

The lack of a cure has led some to try unproven treatments. Three elderly women lost their sight after paying $5,000 each for a stem cell procedure at a private clinic in Florida. Clinic staff used liposuction to remove fat from the womens bellies. They then extracted stem cells from the fat, which were injected into both eyes of each patient in the same procedure, resulting in vision loss in both eyes. Two of the three victims agreed to a lawsuit settlement with the company that owned the clinic.

Stem cell therapy is still at an early stage. As of January 2016, 10 clinical uses have been approved around the world, all using adult stem cells. These include some forms of leukemia and bone marrow disease, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and some rare inherited disorders including sickle cell anemia. Stem cell transplants are now often used to treat multiple myeloma, which strikes more than 24,000 people a year in the U.S.

Clinical trials to treat type 1 diabetes, Parkinsons disease, stroke, brain tumors and other conditions are being conducted. The first patient in a nationwide clinical study to receive stem cell therapy for heart failure recently underwent the procedure at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. An experimental treatment at Keck Medical Center of USC last year on a paralyzed patient restored the 21-year-old mans use of his arms and hands. Harvard scientists see stem cell biology as a path to counter aging and extend human lifespans. But the International Society for Stem Cell Research warns that there are many challenges ahead before these treatments are proven safe and effective.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates stem cells to ensure that they are safe and effective for their intended use. But, that doesnt stop some clinics from preying on worried patients. The FDA warns on its website that the hope that patients have for cures not yet available may leave them vulnerable to unscrupulous providers of stem cell treatments that are illegal and potentially harmful.

While there is yet no magic cure for AMD, the Japan study and others may one day lead there. The Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) in Boston is currently researching retina stem cell transplants. One approach uses gene therapy to generate a molecule that preserves healthy vision. Another involves Muller cells, which give fish the ability to repair an injured retina.

But these therapies are far off. We are at about the halfway mark, but there is still a precipitous path ahead of us, Takahashi said.

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World's 1st Stem Cell Transplant from Donor to Man's Eye Shows Promise of Restoring Sight - EnviroNews (registration) (blog)

Cellular Dynamics Adds to Stem Cell Work With Harvard Institute … – Xconomy

By Stem Cell Clinic

Xconomy Wisconsin

Cellular Dynamics International, a Madison, WI-based manufacturer of human cells, recently signed a collaboration agreement with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute thats aimed at making greater quantities of stem cells available to researchers at the institute and its affiliates.

CDI concentrates in part on developing and commercializing therapiesusing induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which can be differentiated into any type of cell found in the human body. These cells in turn have a wide array of applications in regenerative medicine; for example, they could be used to make photoreceptor cellsalso known as rods and conesor even to create whole retinas.

The company said that its goal in working with the HSCI is to make iPS cells and technology more accessible to the institutes network of researchers, who are scattered across hospitals and biomedical businesses based in the Boston area, as well as Harvard Universitys various schools.

Our intention is to partner with both pre-commercial and post-commercial partners and affiliates of HSCI to move these technologies to a higher scale and further toward technology productization, said Bruce Novich, executive vice president and general manager at CDI, in an e-mail to Xconomy.

CDI will design, develop, and manufacture new cell lines for HSCI-affiliated researchers, and provide them with on-site training and support, Novich said.

During the past couple years, CDI has collaborated with several of the HSCIs 200-plus faculty members, Novich said. The announcement of a more formal and extensive collaboration came last week.

Affiliates of the institute, which is funded exclusively by private philanthropy, include Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Novich said that the HSCIs distribution of cells today involves delivering starting materials, known as stem cell cores, to its partners and affiliates. CDI is entering the picture to offer scalable solutions to [researchers] to take [their] results to the next level, he said.

CDI, which has about 160 employees and plans to move into a new manufacturing facility in the next couple years, operates as a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Fujifilm. That company acquired CDI in 2015 for $307 million.

Novich, who is also a division president at Fujifilm North America, said that the companys investment in CDI has allowed it to significantly scale up cell production. Together, the two firmshave the ability to support and facilitate lab-to-clinic iPS cell-based programs, a category that Novich said includes some of the technologies being developed at the Harvard institute.

Jeff Buchanan is the editor of Xconomy Wisconsin. Email: jbuchanan@xconomy.com

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Cellular Dynamics Adds to Stem Cell Work With Harvard Institute ... - Xconomy

‘Growing brains in a dish’ will help in fight against disorders – Irish Independent

By Embryonic Stem Cells

Neural circuits from the most advanced part of the human brain have been recreated in tiny 3D balls of cells that could help scientists investigate psychiatric disorders.

The "brains in a dish", known as spheroids, were grown from stem cells and followed the same developmental process that takes place in the womb.

Two linked spheroids were made, each measuring about one-sixteenth of an inch across.

They modelled different areas of the forebrain including the cerebral cortex, the most highly evolved "thinking" part of the brain.

The research is the first to allow key events unfolding in the brain at late stages of foetal development to be viewed in real time.

As part of the proof-of-concept study, the scientists generated abnormal brain circuits typical of Timothy syndrome, a rare inherited condition leading to heart problems, autism and epilepsy. They were able to pinpoint the defective development path and correct it using two drugs.

Lead scientist Dr Sergiu Pasca, from Stanford University in the US, said: "We've never been able to recapitulate these human brain developmental events in a dish before.

"The process happens in the second half of pregnancy, so viewing it live is challenging. Our method lets us see the entire movie, not just snapshots.

"Our method of assembling and carefully characterising neuronal circuits in a dish is opening up new windows through which we can view the normal development of the foetal human brain.

"More importantly, it will help us see how this goes awry in individual patients."

The research, reported in the journal 'Nature', is expected to open a new window on a wide range of brain conditions including mental disorders such as schizophrenia.

To create the "brains" the scientists first reprogrammed ordinary skin cells, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS cells) with the properties of embryonic stem cells. Floating in a nutrient-rich broth, the stem cells were coaxed into becoming precursor neurons and finally mature brain circuits.

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'Growing brains in a dish' will help in fight against disorders - Irish Independent

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