Stem Cell Clinic

Researchers turn stem cells into somites, precursors to skeletal muscle, cartilage and bone – Medical Xpress

By adminFebruary 8, 2017Stem Cell Medical Center

February 8, 2017 by Mirabai Vogt-James The new protocol turned 90 percent of human pluripotent stem cells into somite cells in just four days; those somite cells then generated (left to right) cartilage, bone and muscle cells. Credit: UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center/Cell Reports

Adding just the right mixture of signaling moleculesproteins involved in developmentto human stem cells can coax them to resemble somites, which are groups of cells that give rise to skeletal muscles, bones, and cartilage in developing embryos. The somites-in-a-dish then have the potential to generate these cell types in the lab, according to new research led by senior author April Pyle at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.

Pluripotent stem cells, by definition, can become any type of cell in the body, but researchers have struggled to guide them to produce certain tissues, including muscle. In developing human embryos, muscle cellsas well as the bone and cartilage of vertebrae and ribs, among other cell typesarise from small clusters of cells called somites.

Researchers have studied how somites develop in animals and identified the molecules that seem to be an important part of that process in animals. But when scientists have tried to use those molecules to coax human stem cells to generate somites, the protocols have been inefficient.

The scientists isolated the minuscule developing human somites and measured expression levels of different genes both before and after the somites were fully formed. For each gene that changed levels during the process, the researchers tested whether adding molecules to boost or suppress the function of that gene in human pluripotent stem cells helped push the cells to become somite-like. They found that the optimal mixture of molecules in humans was different than what had been tried in animals. Using the new combination, they could turn 90 percent of human stem cells into somite cells in just four days.

The scientists followed the cells over the next four weeks and determined that they were indeed able to generate cells including skeletal muscle, bone and cartilage that normally develop from somites.

The new protocol to create somite-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells opens the door to researchers who want to make muscle, bone and cartilage cells in the lab. Pyle's group plans to study how to use muscle cells generated from the new somites to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe form of muscle degeneration that currently does not have a cure.

Explore further: Gene key for chemically reprogramming human stem cells

More information: Haibin Xi et al. In Vivo Human Somitogenesis Guides Somite Development from hPSCs, Cell Reports (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.01.040

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Cellect Biotechnology (APOP) Says It Treated First Blood Cancer Patient in Phase I/II Trial of ApoGraft – StreetInsider.com

By adminFebruary 8, 2017Stem Cell Medical Center

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Cellect Biotechnology Ltd. (Nasdaq: APOP), a developer of stem cells selection technology, today announces that it has treated the first blood cancer patient in the recently initiated Phase I/II trial of its stem cell technology ApoGraft.

The trial is intended to assess the Cellect ApoGraft process which is designed to prevent Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD), a common complication associated with stem cell transplant in which the transplanted immune cells attack the recipient's body cells and organs. GvHD is a life-threatening condition occurring in up to 50% of stem cell transplants. In this trial, the company will be testing stem cells transplanted from a matched donor related to the patient.

Referring to the trial on healthy volunteers, the company plans to release definitive and complete results of this trial before the end of Q1 this year.

Cellect CEO, Shai Yarkoni commented, Enrolling our first cancer patient to be treated using our groundbreaking method is a critical milestone for millions of patients worldwide. ApoGraft has been proven to be effective in assisting successful stem cells transplants and preventing GvHD during our animal studies. I am excited with prospects of Cellect becoming a key contributor to the fast-growing market for stem cells based products enabling 21st century regenerative medicine.

The study is being conducted at the Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel. The primary objective of the trial is to assess the safety and tolerability of ApoGraft administered to patients with hematological malignancies undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation from a matched related donor.

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Cellect Biotechnology (APOP) Says It Treated First Blood Cancer Patient in Phase I/II Trial of ApoGraft - StreetInsider.com

Medical marijuana may have killed cancer patient in California – Rolling Out

By adminFebruary 8, 2017Stem Cell Medical Center

Rolling Out

Medical marijuana may have killed cancer patient in California
Rolling Out
The patients were undergoing intense chemotherapy and stem cell therapy at UC Davis Medical Center. According to the family, every time the victim smoked the marijuana he became sick. Soon he was in the hospital diagnosed with a serious fungal ...
Contaminated medical marijuana believed to have killed cancer patientCBS News
Weed Contaminated With Fungus Allegedly Kills Cancer PatientDaily Caller

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Medical marijuana may have killed cancer patient in California - Rolling Out

Experimental stem cell therapy brings positive results – Manufacturer.com

By adminFebruary 8, 2017Stem Cell Medical Center

Kris Boesen works out his upper body after being part of a new stem cell trial. Image courtesy of Greg Iger

USC researchers have potentially discovered the secret to treating paraplegic injuries using stem cells.

A team of doctors from the Keck Medical Center of USC have become the first in California to inject a patient with an experimental treatment made from stem cells as part of a multi-center clinical trial.

The patient in question is Kristopher (Kris) Boesen, a 21-year-old who on March 6 last year suffered a traumatic injury to his cervical spine after his car fishtailed on a wet road and slammed into both a tree and telephone pole.

Kris parents were told that there was a good chance their son would be permanently paralyzed from the neck down. That was until the Keck Medical Center of USCs surgical team offered them hope in the form of an injection of an experimental dose of 10 million AST-OPC1 cells directly into Kris cervical spinal cord just one month after his accident.

Now nine months after this injection and Kris is one of six patients to have lost all motor and sensory function below the injury site that have shown additional motor function improvement after both six months and nine months of treatment with 10 million AST-OPC1.

The stem cell procedure received by the six patients is part of a Phase 1/2a clinical trial which is evaluating the safety and efficacy of escalating doses of AST-OPC1 cells developed by biotechnology company Biotherapeutics Inc.

The positive efficacy results from this study and the effect it has had on the five patients were announced on January 24 at a press conference held by Biotherapeutics Inc.

The positive results in regards to improvements in upper extremity motor function were measured using the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) scale. The trial saw improvements in Upper Extremity Motor Score and also Motor Level Improvement amongst the six patients.

For the five patients who completed at least six months of follow-up, all five patients saw early improvements in their motor score (UEMS) at three months maintained or further increased through their most recent data point of either six or nine months.

And for patients completing at least six months of follow-up, all five achieved at least one motor level improvement over baseline on at least one side, and two of the five had achieved two motor levels over baseline on at least one side, while one patient achieved a two motor level improvement on both sides.

The trial results reveal a positive safety profile for AST-OPC1, as there have been no serious adverse events from the study which indicates that AST-OPC1 can be safely administered to patients in the subacute period after severe cervical spinal cord injury.

Dr Richard Fessler is the professor in the department of neurosurgery at Rush University Medical Center, one of six centers in the US currently studying this new stem cell treatment.

Dr Fessler said the new treatment was bringing improvements to the patients lives involved in the trial: With these patients, we are seeing what we believe are meaningful improvements in their ability to use their arms, hands and fingers at six months and nine months following AST-OPC 1 administration.

Recovery of upper extremity motor function is critically important to patients with complete cervical spinal cord injuries, since this can dramatically improve quality of life and their ability to live independently.

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Experimental stem cell therapy brings positive results - Manufacturer.com

Neuroscience: New nerves for old – Nature.com

By adminFebruary 8, 2017Stem Cell Clinic

Greg Iger/Keck Medicine of USC

Kristopher Boesen, who broke his neck in a car accident, regained the ability to move his arms and hands after his spinal cord was injected with stem cells.

Two years after having a stroke at 31, Sonia Olea Coontz remained partially paralysed on her right side. She could barely move her arm, had slurred speech and needed a wheelchair to get around. In 2013, Coontz enrolled in a small clinical trial. The day after a doctor injected stem cells around the site of her stroke, she was able to lift her arm up over her head and speak clearly. Now she no longer uses a wheelchair and, at 36, is pregnant with her first child.

Coontz is one of stem-cell therapy's miracle patients, says Gary Steinberg, chair of neurosurgery at Stanford School of Medicine in California, and Coontz's doctor. Conventional wisdom said that her response was impossible: the neural circuits damaged by the stroke were dead. Most neuroscientists believed that the window for functional recovery extends to only six months after the injury.

Stem-cell therapies have shown great promise in the repair of brain and spinal injuries in animals. But animal models often behave differently from humans nervous-system injuries in rats, for example, heal more readily than they do in people. Clinical trial results have been mixed. Interesting signals from small trials have faded away in larger ones. There are plenty of unknowns: which stem cells are the right ones to use, what the cells are doing when they work and how soon after an injury they can be used.

The field is still young. Stem cells are poorly understood, and so is what happens after a spinal-cord injury or stroke. Yet, there are success stories, such as Coontz's, which seem to show that therapy using the right sort of stem cell can lead to functional improvements when tried in the right patients and at the right time following an injury. Researchers are fired up to determine whether stem-cell therapies can help people who are paralysed to regain some speech and motor control and if so, what exactly is going on.

Neurologists seeking functional restoration are up against the limited ability of the human central nervous system to heal. The biology of the brain and spinal cord seems to work against neuroregeneration, possibly because overgrowth of nerves could lead to faulty connections in the finely patterned architecture of the brain and spine, says Mark Tuszynski, a neurologist at the University of California, San Diego. Local chemical signals in the central nervous system tamp down growth. Over time, scarring develops, which prevents the injury from spreading, but also keeps cells from entering the site.

It's really hard to fix the biology, says Charles Yu Liu, a neurosurgeon and director of the University of Southern California Neurorestoration Center in Los Angeles. Stem cells seem to promise a workaround.

So far, neural regeneration cell therapy has had only anecdotal success, leaving investors and patients disappointed. In people with Parkinson's disease, for example, neurosurgeons replaced dead and dying dopamine-producing neurons with fetal neurons. Although initial results were promising, in larger studies, patients reported involuntary movements. Another effort tried treating people who'd had a stroke with cells derived from tumours; the results were mixed, and researchers were uneasy about the cells' cancerous source.

In recent years, researchers have had success with stem cells coaxed to develop into particular cell types, such as neural support cells. Tuszynski has showed how well stem cells can work at least, in animal models1. His group implanted neural stem cells derived from human fetal tissue into rats with severe spinal-cord injuries. Seven weeks later, the cells had bridged the gap where the spinal cord had been cut and the animals were able to walk again. The cells used in the study were manufactured by Neuralstem of Rockville, Maryland. The group has shown that other kinds of stem cell, including those derived from adult tissue, also work. Tuszynski has seen similar results in a rat spinal-cord-injury model, using neural stem cells made from the tissues of a healthy 86-year-old volunteer2.

Mark Tuszynski/Ken Kadoya/Ref. 3

Regeneration of axons (red) beyond implanted neural progenitor cells (green) in a rat with a spinal injury.

But animal studies are also making it clear that simply regrowing the connective wiring of the nervous system to bridge damaged areas is not enough, says Zhigang He, who studies neural repair at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. No matter what the animal model is, he says, the axons don't always grow into the right places. It's not enough to have a nerve, that nerve must become part of a functional circuit.

There is growing evidence that besides becoming replacement nerves, stem cells perform other functions they also seem to generate a supportive milieu that may encourage the natural recovery process or prevent further damage after an injury. Many types of neural stem cell secrete a mix of molecules that unlock suppressed growth pathways in nerves. Earlier this year, Tuszynski reported that any sort of spinal-cord stem cell, whether derived from adult tissues or embryos, from humans, rats or mice, could trigger native neural regeneration in rats3. But his success in rats has not yet translated into clinical trials. More work is needed, Tuszynski says, to determine which type of cell will work best for which particular injury.

For people who have had a stroke or spinal-cord injury, physical therapy is currently the best hope for recovery in the weeks and months after the injury. The brain is plastic and can co-opt other circuits and pathways to compensate for damage and to restore function. Once the inflammation ebbs and the brain adjusts, people can start to regain function. But the window of opportunity is short. Most people don't make functional gains after six months.

That timeline is why the remarkable recovery enjoyed by Coontz and other patients with chronic stroke in the same clinical trial is so surprising, says Steinberg. This changes our whole notion of recovery, he says. There were 18 people in the trial Coontz took part in, and all were treated using stem cells manufactured by SanBio of Mountain View, California. The company's cells are bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. The cells are treated with a DNA fragment that is transiently expressed in them, and causes changes in their protein-expression patterns. In animal studies, these cells promote the migration and growth of native neural stem cells, among other effects.

The trial, which was designed to look at safety as well as efficacy, recruited patients after an ischaemic stroke. During this kind of stroke, a clot cuts off the blood supply to part of the brain, causing significant damage. Patients in the trial had all had ischaemic strokes deep in the brain 736 months earlier past the 6-month window for significant recovery. Each patient was injected with either 2.5 million, 5 million or 10 million of SanBio's cells4. Steinberg has followed participants for 24 months; an interim study at 12 months reported that most patients showed functional improvements. Some, like Coontz, achieved almost complete recovery.

What is not clear, however, is what the stem-cell injections do in the brain. In animal studies, the SanBio cells do not turn into neurons, but seem to send supporting signals to native cells in the brain. Indeed, preclinical research shows that the cells do not integrate into the brain most die after 12 months. Instead, the cells seem to secrete growth factors that encourage the formation of new neurons and blood vessels, and foster connections called synapses between neurons. And in rats, the nerve-cell connections that extended from one side of the brain to the other, as well as into the spinal cord, lasted, even though the injected cells did not4.

But these mechanisms are not sufficient to explain Coontz's overnight restoration of function, says Steinberg. He is entertaining several hypotheses, including that the needle used to deliver the cells may have had some effect. One week after treatment, we saw abnormalities in the premotor cortex that went away after one month, he says. The size of these microlesions was strongly correlated with recovery at 12 months. A similar effect can happen when electrodes are implanted in the brains of people with Parkinson's, although this deep-brain stimulation quietens tremors for only a short time. The people who'd had a stroke had a lasting recovery, suggesting that both the needle and the stem cells may have played a part.

The SanBio trial was small, and did not have a placebo control; the company is now recruiting for a larger phase II trial. Of the 156 participants that will be recruited, two-thirds will have cells injected the others will have a sham surgery. Even the trial surgeons, including Steinberg, will not know who is getting which treatment. The main outcome measure will be whether patients' motor-skill scores improve on a test called the Fugl-Meyer Motor scale six months after treatment. Participants will be monitored for at least 12 months, and will also be evaluated with tests that look for changes in gait and dexterity. Meanwhile, Steinberg plans to study microlesions in animal models of stroke to determine whether they do have a role in recovery.

An ongoing clinical trial evaluating escalating doses of neural stem cells in patients with acute spinal-cord injuries is also looking promising. Asterias Biotherapeutics of Fremont, California, coaxes the cells to develop into progenitors of oligodendrocytes, a type of support cell that's found in the brain and spinal cord and that creates a protective insulation for neuronal axons.

The trial tests the safety and efficacy of administering these cells to people with recent cervical, or neck-level, spinal-cord injury. Interim results for patients who had received the two lower doses were presented at the International Spinal Cord Society meeting in September. After 90 days, 4 patients who received 10 million cells showed improved motor function; a fifth patient had not reached the 90-day mark yet. At one year, the three patients receiving a lower dose of two million cells showed measurable improvement in motor skills.

These cells were initially developed by Geron, a biotechnology company that has since moved away from regenerative medicine. Before spinning out Asterias in 2013, Geron had run a safety trial of the cells in people with a chronic lower-back injury. No issues were identified, and the US Food and Drug Administration agreed to let the company test the cells in patients who'd been recently injured. Asterias focused the current trial on patients with cervical injuries because these are closer to the brain, so new nerve cells have a shorter distance to grow to gain functional improvements. People with severe cervical spine injuries are typically paralysed below the level of the damage. The company's hope is to restore arm and hand function for people with such injuries, potentially making a tremendous difference to a person's independence and quality of life.

Asterias seems to have realized this hope in at least one patient who received one of the higher doses. Kristopher Boesen, who is 21, has had a dramatic recovery. In March, Boesen's car fishtailed in a rainstorm; he hit a telephone pole and broke his neck. About a month later, Boesen was still paralysed below the injury, and his neurological improvements seemed to have plateaued. His doctors at a trauma centre in Bakersfield, California, were in touch with Liu, who is an investigator in the Asterias trial. As soon as he was stable, Boesen travelled to Los Angeles to join the trial.

Liu injected Boesen's spinal cord with Asterias's cells in April. Two days later, Boesen started to move his hands, and in the summer, he regained the ability to move the toes on one foot.

Asterias Biotherapeutics

A surgeon prepares to inject stem cells to treat a spinal injury as part of Asterias's clinical trial.

Liu is excited about Boesen's response. He was looking at being quadriplegic, and now he's able to write, lift some weights with his hands, and use his phone, says Liu. For somebody to improve like this is highly unusual I want to be jumping out of my shoes. But Liu cautions that this is still a small trial, and that Boesen's response is just one anecdotal report. Until the results are borne out in a large, placebo-controlled clinical trial, Liu will remain earthbound.

The trial is currently recruiting between 5 and 8 patients for another cohort that will receive a doubled dose of 20 million cells. As the trial goes on, Asterias hopes to find clues about the underlying mechanism. We're looking at changes in the anatomy of the injury, says the company's chief scientific officer, Jane Lebkowski. She says that there is some evidence that axons have traversed the injury site in patients who have recovered function. Preclinical work suggests that the cells might be sending growth-encouraging chemical signals to the native tissue. And, as support cells, the astrocytes may also be preventing more neurons from dying in the aftermath of the acute spinal injury.

Not all clinical trials have performed so well. The SanBio and Asterias results are positive signals in a sea of negative or mixed trials. For example, StemCells of Newark, California, terminated its phase II trial of stem cells for the treatment of spinal-cord injury in May, and shortly afterwards announced that it will restructure its business. The company declined to comment for this article.

Physicians such as Liu and Steinberg temper their public enthusiasm about stem-cell therapies, so as not to give false hope to desperate patients. People with paralysing injuries or those who have a neurodegenerative disease are easy marks for unscrupulous stem-cell clinics, whose therapies are not only unproven, but also come with risks.

Patients say, 'Go ahead, doc, you can't make me any worse,' says Keith Tansey, a neurologist and researcher at the Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson, Mississippi, and president-elect of the American Spinal Injury Association. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Cell therapies given at a clinic, outside the context of a clinical trial, can lead to chronic pain, take away what little function a patient has left and render a patient ineligible for future studies, says Tansey. He has seen the consequences in his clinical practice. I treated a kid who had two different tumours in his spinal cord from two different individuals' cells, he says.

Many unanswered questions remain about whether stem cells can heal the central nervous system in people, and how they might do it. Researchers also don't know what cells are the best to use. Is it enough for them to grow into supportive cells that send friendly growth signals, or is it better that they grow into replacement neurons? The answer is likely to differ depending on the site and nature of the disease or injury. If the stem cells are producing supportive factors that encourage growth and repair, it might be possible, says He, to discern what these are and give them directly to patients. But biologists are not yet close to deciphering the recipe for such a cocktail.

Every time we get an experiment done we realize it's more complex than we thought it would be.

Tansey agrees that there are many unknowns and these seem to be multiplying. Every time we get an experiment done we realize it's more complex than we thought it would be, he says. Tansey thinks that the best way to resolve such uncertainties is with carefully regulated clinical trials. Rat models will only tell us so much the human nervous system is much larger and is wired differently. If stem cells help patients such as Coontz and Boesen to regain their speech and give them greater independence without adverse effects, then it makes sense to continue, he says, even without knowing all the details of how they work.

Until these positive, but small, results are replicated in larger, controlled clinical trials, neurologists are containing their optimism. I'd like to hear of any clinical trial that has more than an anecdotal benefit, says Tansey. And Liu is anticipating the day when he won't need to control his elation. In a few years, perhaps there will be a genuine opportunity to jump for joy.

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Neuroscience: New nerves for old - Nature.com

Regenerative Biologics Institute (RBI) Offers Next Generation Regenerative Treatments Including Stem Cell Therapy … – PR Web (press release)

By adminFebruary 8, 2017Stem Cell Clinic

Vero Beach, FL (PRWEB) February 08, 2017

The Regenerative Biologics Institute, or RBI, has opened a state-of-the-art facility in Vero Beach, FL to offer innovative regenerative therapies to patients on the Treasure Coast and throughout Florida. RBI is the first of its kind center of excellence in the area that specializes in minimally-invasive regenerative therapies and is complete with a dedicated biologics laboratory. RBI also utilizes advanced image guidance technology including ultrasound and even live x-ray for precise delivery of therapeutics into certain areas of the body like the spine. Regenerative Medicine is an innovative approach that utilizes a patients own natural regenerative ability in the form of stem cells and platelets to treat degenerative conditions, sports injuries and more. The field has been recognized worldwide as one that offers the potential to dramatically impact patient care in the 21st century.

Millions of Americans suffer from chronic pain or sustain injuries during their lives that can often be debilitating and limit their daily activities. RBIs stem cell therapy and platelet rich plasma therapy (PRP), treatments may offer new hope to these patients since they are among the few therapies that offer the true promise of treating the underlying causes of degenerative conditions instead of just treating the symptoms. The ultimate goal of using regenerative therapies is reduce pain, rebuild healthier tissue and restore more normal tissue function allowing patients to live and age better.

We are very excited about opening an RBI facility in Vero Beach, said Jason Griffeth, RBIs Managing Director. Ive had the opportunity to travel the globe learning, teaching and developing regenerative medicine techniques for nearly 15 years so it is exciting to bring this expertise to my home town. Our goal is to establish one of the premier regenerative medicine clinics in Florida and to help patients feel & function better using their own bodies natural healing ability.

RBI treats a wide variety of conditions including back/spine pain, sports related injuries, arthritis and more. RBIs therapies use the bodys natural healing capability to stimulate and enhance healing without side effects. All RBIs treatments are non-surgical and minimally invasive so they require little down time post-procedure, allowing patients to get back to their active lifestyle quickly. The entire treatment can be completed within a couple hours and patients return home the very same day.

For stem cell therapy treatments, a small tissue sample is taken from a patient then processed to isolate and concentrate millions of regenerative cells. These cells are then combined with bioactive platelets and injected precisely into an area of need such as a degenerative disc or arthritic joint.

Platelet Rich Plasma, commonly known as PRP, is derived from a patients own blood sample and is composed of highly concentrated platelets and growth factors. PRP has been shown to stimulate healing in soft tissues by supplying growth factors, cytokines and other bioactive proteins. PRP can also act as a biological scaffold for stem cell treatments which can potentially enhance healing even further.

Once available only to professional athletes, RBI aims to bring these innovative therapies to all patients that can benefit from them. If you would like to talk to one of our experienced team members to see if you might benefit from RBIs regenerative therapies, please call us at 772-492-6973, email us at info(at)rbistemcell(dot)com or visit our website at http://www.rbistemcell.com.

About RBIs Team

RBIs unique model is to combine experts and leading scientists from the regenerative medicine field with clinicians that are trained in precise injection techniques. Our Managing Director, Jason Griffeth, has been in the regenerative medicine field for nearly 15 years and has directed the science & development of a number of pioneering regenerative therapies worldwide. He was worked with clinicians at leading research institutions to develop some of the most advanced regenerative medicine treatment protocols and stem cell isolation protocols available.

RBIs Medical Director, Dr. Brett Haake, is a Board Certified Anesthesiologist that has trained with leading stem cell scientists and clinicians. His fervent interest in the field of regenerative medicine is due to his lifelong participation in athletics and service in the military. He joined RBI in order to be on the cutting edge of immunomodulatory therapies including stem cell and PRP treatments. As a Specialist in Anesthesiology, Dr. Haake is a highly trained physician that draws on his extensive knowledge in physiology, pharmacology and diseases to guide his treatment techniques.

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Regenerative Biologics Institute (RBI) Offers Next Generation Regenerative Treatments Including Stem Cell Therapy ... - PR Web (press release)

Researchers engineer new thyroid cells – Science Daily

By adminFebruary 8, 2017Embryonic Stem Cells

Science Daily

Researchers engineer new thyroid cells
Science Daily
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), engineered mouse embryonic stem cells cultured in the lab to express a genetic switch for a specific gene, Nkx2-1, that is important for thyroid development. Then they guided the embryonic ...
Blood-Forming Stem Cell Transplants (Fact Sheet)Oncology Nurse Advisor
Stem Cell Therapy: The Key To Multiple Sclerosis, Details InsideiTech Post

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Researchers engineer new thyroid cells - Science Daily

Integrative Biology Conference | Biology Conferences …

By adminFebruary 8, 2017Uncategorized

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Integrative Biology 2017 offers a premier forum to inspire collaboration among biologists and to share trans-disciplinary integrative thinking to unravel the underlying principal mechanisms and process in biology and medicine. Integrative Biology 2017 mainly emphasis on understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms related to health and disease. Integrative Biology become a label of choice for research, to address and generates new information and new ideas by bringing diverse expertise to problems, so that individual and institutional expertise becomes broader and more exploratory as a consequence.

As name Integrative Biology reflects belief that the study of biological systems is best approached by incorporating many perspectives like Cell Biology,Molecular biology, Genetic Engineering and rDNA Technology, Computational Biology & Bioinformatics, Systems Biology, Developmental Biology,Structural biology,Bio-Engineering, Genomics, Cancer Biology, Biophysics. We bring together a diversity of disciplines that complement one another to unravel the complexity of biology. The concept includesanatomy, physiology,cell biology,biochemistryandbiophysics, and covers animals, human and microorganisms. Our broad range of expertise includes: cell biologist, geneticists, physiologists, molecular biologist, computational biologist, systems biologists, structural biologist, expert in bioinformatics, biophysicists and biotechnologists.

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Track: Molecular Biology

Molecular biologyconcerns the molecular basis of biological activity between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between the different types of DNA, RNA and proteins and theirbiosynthesis, and studies how these interactions are regulated. It has many applications like in gene finding, molecular mechanisms of diseases and its therapeutic approaches by cloning, expression and regulation of gene. Research area includes gene expression, epigenetics and chromatin structure and function,RNA processing, functions of non-coding RNAs, transcription. Nowadays, Most advanced researches are going on these topics: Molecular biology, DNA replication, repair and recombination,Transcription, RNA processing, Post-translational modification, proteomics, Mutation, Site-directed mutagenesis,Epigenetics,chromatin structure and function, Molecular mechanisms of diseases.

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Trcak: Structural Biology

Structural biologyseeks to provide a complete and coherent picture of biological phenomena at the molecular and atomic level. The goals of structural biology include developing a comprehensive understanding of the molecular shapes and forms embraced by biological macromolecules and extending this knowledge to understand how different molecular architectures are used to perform the chemical reactions that are central to life. Most recent topics related to structural biology are: Structural Biochemistry,Structure and Function Determination, Hybrid Approaches for Structure Prediction,Structural Biology In Cancer Research,Computational Approaches in Structural Biology,Strucutural Biology Databases.

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Track: Cancer Biology

Cancer biology encompasses the application of systems biology approaches to cancer research, in order to study the disease as a complex adaptive system with emerging properties at multiple biological scales. More explicitly, because cancer spans multiple biological, spatial and temporal scales, communication and feedback mechanisms across the scales create a highly complex dynamic system.

Cancer biologytherefore adopts a holistic view of cancer aimed at integrating its many biological scales, including genetics, signaling networks,epigenetics, cellular behavior, histology, (pre)clinical manifestations and epidemiology. Basic researchers and clinicians have progressively recognized the complexity of cancer and of its interaction with the micro- and macro-environment, since putting together the components to provide a cohesive view of the disease has been challenging and hampered progress. Most recent research are going onCancer Genetics,Carcinogenesis,DNA damage and repair, Apoptosis,angiogenesis, and metastasis, Tumor microenvironment, Molecular mechanisms of Cancer Pathogenesis ,Cancer stem cells, Discovery of tumor suppressor genes, Aberrant signaling pathways in tumor cells, Roles of ubiquitination pathways in cancer,Molecular cancer epidemiology, Cancer detection and therapy.

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Track: Genetic Engineering and rDNA Technology

Genetic engineeringis a broad term referring to manipulation of an organisms nucleic acid. Organisms whose genes have been artificially altered for a desired affect is often called genetically modified organism (GMO).Recombinant DNA technology(rDNA) is technology that is used to cut a knownDNA sequencefrom one organism and introduce it into another organism thereby altering the genotype (hence the phenotype) of the recipient. The process of introducing the foreign gene into another organism (or vector) is also called cloning. Sometimes these two terms are used synonymously.

Basically, these techniques are used to achieve the following:

Study the arrangement, expression andregulation of genes, Modification of genes to obtain a changed protein product, Modification ofgene expressioneither to enhance or suppress a particular product, Making multiple copies of anucleic acid segmentartificially, Introduction of genes from organism to another, thus creating a transgenic organism, Creation of organism with desirable or altered characteristics.

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Track: Genomics

Genomics researchoften requires the development of new techniques utilizing Genomics and bioinformatics tools for target assessment, including both experimental protocols and data analysis algorithms, to enable a deeper understanding of complex biological systems. In this respect, the field is entering a new and exciting era; rapidly improving next-generationDNA sequencingtechnologies, Cloud computing, hadoop in genomics, now allow for the routine sequencing of entire genomes and Transcriptomes, or of virtually any targeted set of DNA or RNA molecules.

Genomic labs have the fastest growing market with nearly 250 universities concentrating on its research majorly to be named Whitetail Genetic Research Institute, Stanford University, National Human Genome Research Institute. Major companies concentrating on the research are Affymetrix, Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Genentech etc.The scope and research areas of genomics includes genomics and bioinformatic tools for target assessment, structural,functional and comparitive genomics,genomics in marine monitoring,applications of genomics and bioinformatics, infectious disease modelling and analysis,oncogenomics,clinical genomics analysis,microbial genomics, plant genomics,medical genomics,epigenomics and DNA and RNA structure/functionstudies but are not limited to this only. The promise of genomics is huge. It could someday help us maximize personal health and discover the best medical care for any condition. It could help in the development of new therapies that alter the human genome and prevent (or even reverse) complications from the diseases we inherit.

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Track: Computational Biology & Bioinformatics

Computational Biologyis both an umbrella term for the body of biological studies that use computer programming as part of their methodology, as well as a reference to specific analysis by Bioinformatic tools for protein analysis that are repeatedly used, particularly in the fields of Structural andfunctional genomics,comparative genomicsand bioinformatics insystems biology. Common uses of bioinformatics include the identification of candidategenes and nucleotides(SNPs). Often, such identification is made with the aim of better understanding the Translational bioinformatics forgenomic medicine, Genomics in marine monitoring, andapplications of genomicsand bioinformatics.

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Track: Systems Biology

Systems biologyis the study ofTheoretical aspects of systems biologyof biological components, which may be molecules, cells, organisms or entire species. Living systems are dynamic and complex and their behavior may be hard to predict from the properties of individual parts.

It involves the computational (involvingInsilico modeling in systems biology,Biomarker identification in systems biology) and mathematical modeling of complex biological systems. An emerging engineering approach applied to biomedical and biological scientific research, systems biology is a biology-based inter-disciplinary field of study that focuses on complex interactions within biological systems, using a holistic approach (holism instead of the more traditional reductionism) to biological and biomedical research involving the use of In vitro regulatory models in systems biologyusingOMICS tools. Particularly from year 2000 onwards, the concept has been used widely in the biosciences in a variety of contexts.

ManyFunding Opportunitiesin this research has been bought up bySupport ISB,National Science Foundation,NIHand many CollaborativeFunding Opportunities.

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Track: Bio-Engineering

Biological engineering (Cellular and Molecular Bio-Engineering) or bioengineering (including biological systems engineering) is the application of concepts and methods of biology (and secondarily of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science (In vitro testing in bioengineering) to solve real-world problems related to the life sciences or the application thereof, using engineering's own analytical and synthetic methodologies (defined asSynthetic bioengineering) and also its traditional sensitivity to the cost and practicality of the solution(s) arrived at. In this context, while traditional engineering applies physical and mathematical sciences to analyze, design and manufacture inanimate tools, structures and processes, biological engineering uses primarily the rapidly developing body of knowledge known as molecular biology to study and advance applications of living organisms and to create biotechnology likeCancer Bioengineeringused forOrgan bioengineering and regeneration.

Bio-engineering study remains the main interest of research with more than 340 schools focusing on it majorly beingJohns Hopkins University in Baltimore,Georgia Institute of Technology,University of California - San Diego,University of Washington,and Stanford University.

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Track: Biophysics

Biophysicsis that branch that applies the principles of physics and chemistry and the methods of mathematical analysis and computer modeling to understand how biological systems work. It seeks to explain biological function in terms of the molecular structures and properties of specific molecules. An important area of biophysical study is the detailed analysis of the structure of molecules in living systems. The recent research areas are biophysical approaches tocell biology, cellular movement andcell motility, computational and theoretical biophysics, molecular structure and behavior of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids, molecular structure & behavior ofmembrane proteins, role of biophysical techniques in analysis and prediction, biophysical mechanisms to explain specific biological processes and Nano biophysics. Most recent researchers are going on: Biophysical approaches to cell biology,Cellular Movement and Cell Motility,Computational and theoretical biophysics,Molecular Structure and Behavior of Lipids,Proteins and Nucleic Acids,Molecular Structure & Behavior of Membrane Proteins,Role of Biophysical Techniques in analysis and prediction,Biophysical Mechanisms to explain specific biological processes.

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The UK is one of the best places in the world for life sciences, on a par with premier life science destinations such as Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Singapore. We have 4 of the top 10 universities in the world, 19 of the top 100 universities, one of the worlds 3 major financial centers, a stable of quality service providers, world class charitable supporters of the industry and a rich heritage of globally recognized medical research. There are nearly 5,633 life sciences companies in the UK employing an estimated 222,000 people and generates a combined estimated turnover of 60.7 billion. The industry sells into a global industry with current total market values of US$956bn for pharmaceutical and biologics, US$349bn for medical technology and US$50bn for the rapidly growing industrial biotechnology market. There are significant levels of health life sciences employment. This breaks down into: 107,000 employed in the biopharmaceutical sector and service and supply chain in 1,948 companies, generating 39.7 billion turnover; 115,000 employed in the medical technology sector and service and supply chain in 3,685 companies, generating 21 billion turnover. Two thirds of employment is outside of London and the South-East with significant concentrations in the East of England (15%, almost 34,000 people) and North-West (12%, almost 26,000 people). It shows that the UK is second only to the US in terms of life science Foreign Direct Investment projects along with the UKs relative strength in the academic base and clinical research landscape. Combined with the strength of the health life sciences supply chain, these factors are driving investment, growth and employment across the country.

Adjusting for these methodology changes overall jobs growth in the sector is estimated to be 2.9% and overall revenue growth is estimated to be 0.8%. The life science industry is global and 42% of employment is at UK owned companies and 49% of employment is at overseas-owned companies and 10% where the ownership location is unknown.

UK life science companies continue to tackle long-term health challenges such as cancer and antimicrobial resistance, and in addition to this many companies are using bioscience to address a range of issues including environmental challenges and chemical production. This predominantly healthcare manifesto also recognizes the growing importance of these new applications.

Why London??

Londons life sciences sector is a shining jewel and a cornerstone of the citys economy. With a rich history of achievements and medical firsts, the sector employs more than 21,000 in private sector industry, hospitals and research facilities including more than 2,000 researchers. The sector impact is in the manner: $720 Million Indirect benefits/ Economic Spinoffs; 780 number of principal researchers and 19 research institutes. The Major Biotech Companies in London are: Albert Browne Ltd, Parexel Informatics, Alcon Laboratories (UK) Ltd, Baxter Healthcare Ltd, Galderma Laboratories, Agilent Technologies, Abbott Laboratories, and Bayer Healthcare.

London's biotech universities and their spin out companies are Gene Expression Technologies, Photobiotic, Biogenic, Spirogen, Genexsyn, Nervation, Inpharmatica, Immune Regulation Ltd, Cerestem, and MedPharm, Immexis, and Antisoma plc.

London is the capital and most populous city of England, United Kingdom and the European Union. With an estimated 2015 population of 8.63 million within a land area of 1,572 km, London is a leading global city, with strengths in the research and development, arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, tourism, and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is one of the world's leading financial centers and has the fifth-or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world depending on measurement.

London is a world cultural capital. It is the world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe.

List of major societies in UK:

Royal Society of Biology Royal Society of Chemistry BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) The Oxford University Society British Society for Cell Biology Royal Society of Edinburgh Royal Society of Medicine Biochemical Society Astrobiology Society of Britain British Medical Association British Society for the History of Medicine Genetics Society The Mammal Society Royal Institute of Public Health Society for Experimental Biology Zoological Society of London

List of universities and institutes in London:

The Francis Crick Institute, London University College London Imperial College London University of East London Kingston University London University of Westminster Birkbeck, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London King's College London Queen Mary University of London St George's, University of London

The major universities and institutes in UK are:

University of Leeds, University of Leicester, Leeds Trinity University, University of Glasgow, University of Exeter, University of Essex, University of Edinburgh, University of Dundee, Durham University, Cardiff University, University of Chester, University of Bristol, University of Birmingham, University of Bath, University of Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin University, Aston University, University of Bradford, University of East Anglia, University of Liverpool, Loughborough University, University of Nottingham, University of Reading, Queen's University Belfast, University of Sheffield, University of Southampton, University of Sussex, University of Warwick and University of York.

The major Biotech Companies in UK are:

GSK (Stevenage), Martindale Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Brentford), Nova Bio-pharma Holdings Limited, Oxoid Ltd, Omega Pharma Ltd, Quintiles Ltd (Guys Research Centre), Sauflon Pharmaceuticals Limited, Immuno Diagnostic Systems Ltd, Merck Serono Ltd, Quest Diagnostics Ltd, and Fujifilm Diosynth Biotech UK Ltd.

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I believe that this will be the next generation of medicine. Area … – WTHITV.com

By adminFebruary 8, 2017Uncategorized

VINCENNES, Ind. (WTHI) In the past, new moms would be asked if they wanted to save their umbilical cord blood for future, personal use.

But at one area hospital, a new partnership is taking that concept and making it public.

Amelia Nance and her fianc just welcomed their second child on Monday, a baby boy named Finn.

The new mom says, Its neat to be a part of something thats growing in a positive way.

Nance just donated the umbilical cord, cord blood, placenta, and amniotic fluid from Finns birth to Life Line Stem Cell.

Its a partnership at Good Samaritan Hospital thats just weeks old.

However, officials say around 90% of patients take part in the program.

Margaret Suozzi, MSN/RN is the Director of Women & Children Services at Good Samaritan.

She says, Like any program we havent been up and running long enough to have monthly stats yet, but we anticipate that we will be pretty close to that even from the very beginning. And any time you start a new program, its always one of those things where theyre like, What does this mean? What do I do?'

One of the first questions asked is, Does this cost anything? The answer is no. It is a free service.

Since being a new or expecting mom is hard enough, Life Line has narrowed the donation process down to a questionnaire.

Nance says, The form is actually really simple its pretty laid out, open questions, it asks you about your history, your parents history.

If the tissues werent donated they would be properly disposed of by the hospital.

Suozzi says that could mean missing out on countless possibilities to change someone elses life.

Suozzi says, I believe that this will be the next generation of medicine. We are already finding a million things that stem cells can do for our existing patients in other areas: diabetics, wound care, Chrons disease, and many other things. And I think it is the tip of the ice berg. So for our patients to be able to donate to the cause and to be able to help others, is just one sign of Indiana hospitality.

Life Line Stem Cell allows the family that provides the tissue first dibs if a family member could benefit from the blood.

But after that, its donated to a registry for public use.

Thats part of the reason Nance decided she wanted to take part.

The new mom says, I would say its excellent. The fact that, again, it was absolutely no cost to me, it didnt hurt our child, and we could donate it and it could possibly help him out again or you know, one of my family members. Ive had family members thats died of cancer or different diseases. And its nice to know that there can possibly be research done with this blood that would help progress you know, a cure or even just something that would help prolong a positive future for somebody. Whether it be a kid or a child with a disease that might otherwise be painful or negative in their life.

A rep for Life Line Stem Cell says one placenta can be used to heal as many as 100 eyes.

He says amniotic fluid is showing great results in the healing process for burn victims too.

Tricia Crowe is a Life Line Stem Cell Training Manager. She says, It is important that families understand that we are only using hematopoietic blood cells that are found in the umbilical cord and are blood forming. They give rise to red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Suozzi says Good Samaritan is the only hospital in the Southwest region that is offering this program.

For more information on stem cell donation, contact Good Samaritans Women and Infants Center at 812-885-3369 or click here.

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I believe that this will be the next generation of medicine. Area ... - WTHITV.com

Sickle Cell Trait in Blacks Can Skew Diabetes Test Results – Albany Democrat Herald

By adminFebruary 8, 2017Uncategorized

TUESDAY, Feb. 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- A blood test commonly used to diagnose and treat diabetes may be less accurate in black people who have the sickle cell anemia trait, a new study says.

The test is called hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C). An A1C reading of 5.7 or more indicates prediabetes or diabetes; below 5.7 is normal, says the American Diabetes Association.

But, the current study found that for blacks with a trait for sickle cell anemia, the A1C test may come back lower than it should. This discrepancy could lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, and it might also affect the management of known diabetes.

When the researchers compared the results of A1C tests to other measures that check blood sugar levels, they showed that when A1C readings were expected to be 6 percent, they only registered 5.7 percent for blacks with sickle cell trait.

"We want to make clinicians aware that things like race and hemoglobin traits can have an effect on A1C. If the A1C numbers don't jibe with blood glucose monitor numbers, this could potentially be a part of that," said Tamara Darsow.

Darsow, who wasn't involved in the study, is senior vice president of research and community programs with the American Diabetes Association.

The test measures the percentage of red blood cells that have become "glycated" over a two- to three-month period. Glycated essentially means the red blood cells have sugar attached to them. That can happen when blood sugar levels are too high (hyperglycemia).

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disorder that affects the hemoglobin in red blood cells. Hemoglobin is the substance that carries oxygen to the body through the blood. Sickle cell disease causes the hemoglobin to form in a sickle shape instead of the normal rounded disc shape, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

For people with sickle cell disease, red blood cells live 10 to 20 days instead of the normal 90 to 120 days.

However, someone with sickle cell trait doesn't have sickle cell disease. To get sickle cell disease, you must inherit the gene from both parents. If you only inherit the sickle cell gene from one parent, you have the sickle cell trait. People with sickle cell trait usually don't have any symptoms of the disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As many as 10 percent of black people in the United States have sickle cell trait, the study authors said. People from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries and other parts of the world can also have the trait or the disease, the study's researchers said. The current study's focus was on blacks.

"We found that in people with the sickle cell trait, A1C levels were significantly lower than in people without the sickle cell trait," said the study's lead author, Mary Lacy. She's a doctoral candidate at Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, R.I.

"Hemoglobin A1C is influenced by sugar levels, but also by how old the red blood cells are. Our hypothesis is that people with a sickle cell trait might have red blood cells that live a shorter period of time," Lacy explained.

The current study included more than 4,600 people -- about 1,600 from a study called CARDIA, and about 3,000 from the Jackson Heart Study. Their average age was 52. Both groups had their blood sugar levels measured with A1C, and also with fasting blood sugar tests. In addition, the CARDIA group was given two-hour oral glucose tolerance tests.

When the researchers only used A1C to diagnose diabetes, they saw a major difference -- 29 percent of blacks with a sickle cell trait were diagnosed with prediabetes versus 49 percent of blacks without the sickle cell trait.

Dr. Joel Zonszein is director of the clinical diabetes center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. He wasn't surprised by the study's results.

"The hemoglobin A1C is not a perfect test. Results vary, but it's still a very good test. Patients like it because it doesn't matter if they're fasting or not," he said.

Zonszein added that other blood disorders, such as iron deficiency anemia, kidney failure and late pregnancy can affect the results of an A1C test. "We're using a tool that's practical, but not 100 percent reliable," he said.

Darsow said there was already evidence of this discrepancy from smaller studies.

Also, the diabetes association addresses the difference in its Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes -- 2017.

"We don't have good evidence to make screening or treatment guidelines right now, but it's important to understand it can be a potential interference," Darsow said. "We highlight individualized care in our standards, and this is one of the potential things that could impact diabetes management."

The study was published Feb. 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Sickle Cell Trait in Blacks Can Skew Diabetes Test Results - Albany Democrat Herald