Stem Cell Clinic

Cellular Dynamics reports higher quarterly revenues and bigger losses

By Stem Cell Medicine

Cellular Dynamics International said revenues for the quarter that ended June 30 rose nearly 30 percent over the same quarter last year but expenses jumped even more quickly.

The Madison stem cell company reported a net loss of $8.6 million, or 54 cents a share, on $3.6 million in revenues for the most recent quarter compared with a $5.1 million net loss, or $2.92 a share, on revenues of $2.8 million for the same period last year.

Costs rose because of higher research and development expenses related to CDI's contract to set up a stem cell bank with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, San Francisco, and to higher expenses resulting from CDI's initial public stock offering in July 2013, the company said.

At the same time, CDI said, it has manufactured stem cells for 179 customers in the past 12 months, up from 136 customers in the previous year, and the largest customers increased their purchases by 45 percent.

"We intend to achieve profitability in the long term," said the company, which was founded in 2004 by UW-Madison stem cell pioneer James Thomson.

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Cellular Dynamics reports higher quarterly revenues and bigger losses

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By Stem Cell Medicine

WASHINGTON A U.S. researcher who co-authored controversial papers on stem cell development will quit his post at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston on Sept. 1, the institution said Tuesday.

Charles Vacanti, chairman of the hospitals Department of Anesthesiology, Preoperative and Pain Medicine, was involved in the publication by a Japanese institution of two theses on so-called STAP cells whose credibility came into question earlier this year.

Vacanti, known as a mentor of Haruko Obokata at the Japanese government-affiliate Riken institute who is a key author of the papers, will remain on faculty, the Boston hospital said.

Following a one-year sabbatical Vacanti intends to focus his energies on regenerative medicine and mentoring the next generation of anesthesiologists, the hospital said.

It remains unknown if his latest step is linked with the STAP cell controversy.

According to a U.S.-based expert on regenerative medicine, Vacanti of Harvard Medical School is believed to have written an email informing his colleagues and others of his intention to resign from the post.

Paul Knoepfler, associate professor at the University of Californias Davis School of Medicine, released Vacantis email on his blog on Monday.

It is with somewhat mixed emotions that I share with you my decision to step down, it reads.

Vacanti did not mention whether his decision has to do with his involvement in the papers on STAP cells that were published in the British science journal Nature in January and retracted in July after critical errors were found.

I plan to take a one-year sabbatical to contemplate my future goals, redirect my efforts and spend time doing some of the things that I enjoy most, the email says.

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Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute Opens First-of-its-Kind Research Stem Cell Clinic for Cardiac Patients

By Stem Cell Treatment

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Newswise LOS ANGELES (Aug. 12, 2014) Regenerative medicine experts at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have opened a new clinic to evaluate heart and vascular disease patients for participation in stem cell medical studies.

Led by Eduardo Marbn, MD, PhD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, and Timothy Henry, MD, director of the Heart Institutes Cardiology Division, the doctors and researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute Regenerative Medicine Clinic use a scientific approach to assess the possible benefits of stem cells to repair damaged or diseased cardiovascular tissues. The clinic is believed to be the first at a major U.S. academic medical center dedicated to matching patients with appropriate stem cell clinical trials, whether those research interventions are available at the medical center or at other institutions.

The Heart Institute Regenerative Medicine Clinic offers consultative services for patients with heart and vascular disease who may qualify for investigative stem cell therapy. The goal is to provide research options to patients who remain symptomatic on their current management regimen, or for patients with stable heart disease who are concerned about disease progression.

Over the past decade, medical experts have predicted that in the future, stem cell therapies would transform heart disease treatment and save lives, said Shlomo Melmed, MD, dean of the Cedars-Sinai faculty and the Helene A. and Philip E. Hixon Distinguished Chair in Investigative Medicine. At Cedars-Sinai, we have a track record of successfully directing cardiac stem cell studies as well as transferring innovations from the laboratory to the patient bedside.

In 2009, Marbn and his team completed the worlds first procedure in which a patients own heart tissue was used to grow specialized heart stem cells. The specialized cells were then injected back into the patients heart in an effort to repair and re-grow healthy muscle in a heart that had been injured by a heart attack. Results, published in The Lancet in 2012, showed that one year after receiving the stem cell treatment, heart attack patients demonstrated a significant reduction in the size of the scar left on the heart muscle after a heart attack.

Henry has served as principal investigator of multiple large, multicenter trials in acute coronary syndromes, myocardial infarction and angiogenesis, including several ongoing cardiovascular stem cell trials. He also is principal investigator for one of seven NIH Clinical Cardiovascular Stem Cell Centers.

Our goal is to help make stem cells a regular treatment option for heart disease, Henry said. Right now, many patients with advanced heart disease have limited treatment options. Stem cells offer not only hope but a real chance of a game-changing treatment.

As part of each patients assessment in the Heart Regenerative Medicine Clinic, physicians will evaluate patients interested in participating in stem cell clinical trials at Cedars-Sinai and, for patients willing to travel at other medical institutions across the nation. For patients willing to travel to participate in research, Cedars-Sinai physicians will work closely with investigators at other centers to expedite referrals and seamlessly transfer all relevant medical records.

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Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute Opens First-of-its-Kind Research Stem Cell Clinic for Cardiac Patients

UCSD Looking For Spinal Cord Injury Patients To Test Stem Cell Treatment

By Stem Cell Treatment

The UC San Diego Health System put out a call Monday for eight spinal cord injury patients to take part in a five-year test of the safety of a new treatment involving neural stem cells.

The researchers are looking for people who suffered an injury to the middle or lower levels of the spine's thoracic vertebrae between one and two years ago. According to UCSD, the injury must be between the seventh and 12th thoracic vertebrae.

"The goal of this study is to evaluate the safety of transplanting neural stem cells into the spine for what one day could be a treatment for spinal cord injuries," said Dr. Joseph Ciacci, the study's principal investigator and a neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health System. "The study's immediate goal, however, is to determine whether injecting these neural stem cells into the spine of patients with spinal cord injury is safe."

The doctors also want to know how long the transplanted stem cells will last, and whether drugs designed to prevent rejection by the immune system are effective, according to UCSD Health.

The researchers will also look for possible changes in motor and sensory function, bowel and bladder function, and pain levels.

The stem cells were tested in laboratory rats by Ciacci and Dr. Martin Marsala, of the UC San Diego School of Medicine. They detected signs of improved motor function with minimal side effects. The cells have also been tested for safety in human patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

UCSD cautioned prospective test subjects that since human tests are just beginning, unforeseen risks, complications or unpredictable outcomes are possible.

The clinical trial at UC San Diego Health System is funded by Neuralstem Inc. and was launched and supported by the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center. The center was recently created to "advance leading-edge stem cell medicine and science, protect and counsel patients, and accelerate innovative stem cell research into patient diagnostics and therapy," according to UCSD.

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UCSD Looking For Spinal Cord Injury Patients To Test Stem Cell Treatment

Nationally Recognized Beverly Hills Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Raj, Now Offering Stem Cell Procedures to Help Patients …

By Stem Cell Doctors

Beverly Hills, California (PRWEB) August 11, 2014

Nationally recognized Beverly Hills orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Raj, is now offering stem cell procedures to help patients avoid the need for surgery. This may include joint replacement along with tendon or ligament surgery. For more information on stem cell therapy and scheduling at the Beverly Hills Orthopedic Institute, call (310) 247-0466.

As the benefit of stem cells for repair and regeneration of human tissue has evolved, the opportunity to avoid surgery has too. This includes those with cartilage degeneration, tendonitis and ligament injury. Dr. Raj has been a pioneer in bringing stem cell therapies to the forefront, and is now offering the procedures to all patients.

According to Celebrity Fitness Expert Dr. Raj, a nationally recognized Double Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon at the Beverly Hills Orthopedic Institute, stem cell injections are being used to heal conditions that used to require surgery. Dr. Raj has been featured on The Doctors, SPIKE TV, NBC, CBS, Martha Stewart Living Radio, Beverly Hills Times and has been named Best of LA by KCAL 9 as well we making Americas Top Orthopedics List in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Dr. Raj explains that stem cells have started a medical revolution and have altered the way doctors approach treatment. Stem cells help to regenerate the damaged cartilage within a joint and allow patients to take a more conservative route, adds Dr. Raj. Surgery should be a last case scenario after all other options have been exhausted.

For those individuals suffering from joint arthritis of the hip, knee, shoulder or ankle, surgery is an elective decision with nonsurgical options that traditionally did not alter the course of arthritis. They have merely acted as a "band aid" for pain relief, but not effective at long term relief due to healing arthritis.

Stem cell therapy offers the opportunity for relief and increased activity, while staying out of the operating room. The procedures are outpatient and safe, with minimal risks involved.

For more information on the stem cell procedures provided with the top orthopedic doctor in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, call (310) 247-0466.

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Nationally Recognized Beverly Hills Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Raj, Now Offering Stem Cell Procedures to Help Patients ...

How Breast Cancer Usurps the Powers of Mammary Stem Cells

By Stem Cell Medicine

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Newswise During pregnancy, certain hormones trigger specialized mammary stem cells to create milk-producing cells essential to lactation. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have found that mammary stem cells associated with the pregnant mammary gland are related to stem cells found in breast cancer.

Writing in the August 11, 2014 issue of Developmental Cell, David A. Cheresh, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Pathology and vice-chair for research and development, Jay Desgrosellier, PhD, assistant professor of pathology and colleagues specifically identified a key molecular pathway associated with aggressive breast cancers that is also required for mammary stem cells to promote lactation development during pregnancy.

By understanding a fundamental mechanism of mammary gland development during pregnancy, we have gained a rare insight into how aggressive breast cancer might be treated, said Cheresh. This pathway can be exploited. Certain drugs are known to disrupt this pathway and may interfere with the process of breast cancer progression.

During pregnancy, a new mammary stem cell population arises, distinct from those involved in development and maintenance of the non-pregnant gland. These stem cells remodel the breasts and lactating glands in preparation for feeding the newborn child. Normally, these stem cells contribute only to early remodeling events and are switched off by the time milk production begins.

The researchers found, however, that signals regulating stem cell activation during pregnancy appear to be hijacked by cancer cells to produce faster-growing, more aggressive tumors. This normal pathway ends up contributing to the progression of cancer, said Desgrosellier, first author of the study.

A connection between pregnancy and breast cancer has long been known. But the association between pregnancy and breast cancer risk is complex. While having a child reduces a womans risk of developing breast cancer later in life, there is also an increased short-term risk for the development of a highly aggressive form of breast cancer following each pregnancy. The current study suggests that molecules important for stem cell behavior during pregnancy may contribute to these more aggressive pregnancy-associated breast cancers, a possibility the researchers plan to investigate further.

The authors are quick to point out that their findings should not be interpreted as a reason to avoid pregnancy. The signaling pathway usurped by cancer cells is not the cause of breast cancer. Rather, they said, it may worsen or accelerate a cancer caused by other factors, such as an underlying mutation or genetic predisposition.

Our work doesnt speak to the actual cause of cancer. Rather, it explains what can happen once cancer has been initiated, said Cheresh. Heres an analogy: To get cancer, you first have to start with an oncogene, a gene that carries a mutation and has the potential to initiate cancer. Think of the oncogene as turning on a cars ignition. The signaling pathway exploited by cancer cells is like applying gas. It gets the car moving, but it means nothing if the oncogene hasnt first started the process.

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How Breast Cancer Usurps the Powers of Mammary Stem Cells

BioEden calls for transparancy and education on stem cell availability

By Uncategorized

(PRWEB UK) 11 August 2014

BioEden the specialist tooth stem cell bank calls for a more intelligent approach, transparency and public education regarding stem cell banking.

"The public needs to be made aware that the success of stem cell medicine is largely dependant on the right material being available at the right time," says Tony Veverka Group CEO of the rapidly expanding specialist bank.

"With 1 in 3 people predicted to use stem cell therapy within their lifetime people need to know what their choices are at a time when they are able to do something about it, for example obtaining stem cells from their childrens naturally shed baby teeth."

BioEden pioneered the banking of stem cells from childrens baby teeth in 2006 in Austin Texas, and now operates in 21 countries.

BioEden says its unique process has many advantages over other forms and sources of stem cells, and eliminates the costly and painful process of getting stem cells from bone marrow for example.

The BioEden process is patent protected and offers the most natural form of stem cell banking that exists today.

"It is nonsense to say that a dental surgeon needs to extract a childs baby tooth in order to get the best result. The tooth falls out naturally and providing the stem cell bank offers quality transportation and processing, not even dental intervention is required," says Mr Veverka.

There are significant advantages in banking stem cells from teeth over cord blood for example, including the potential for a much wider therapeutic application, its non-invasive, not limited to the number of cells such as with cord blood during the birthing process, and is the least expensive form of private banking there is.

Banking your child's cells is the only way of ensuring a perfect stem cell match, eliminating the emotional distress caused when no match can be found.

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BioEden calls for transparancy and education on stem cell availability

Beyond DNA: Epigenetics Plays Large Role in Blood Formation

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Newswise Blood stem cells have the potential to turn into any type of blood cell, whether it be the oxygen-carrying red blood cells, or the immune systems many types of white blood cells that help fight infection. How exactly is the fate of these stem cells regulated? Preliminary findings from research conducted by scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Hebrew University are starting to reshape the conventional understanding of the way blood stem cell fate decisions are controlled, thanks to a new technique for epigenetic analysis they have developed. Understanding epigenetic mechanisms (environmental influences other than genetics) of cell fate could lead to the deciphering of the molecular mechanisms of many diseases, including immunological disorders, anemia, leukemia, and many more. It also lends strong support to findings that environmental factors and lifestyle play a more prominent role in shaping our destiny than previously realized.

The process of differentiation in which a stem cell becomes a specialized mature cell is controlled by a cascade of events in which specific genes are turned on and off in a highly regulated and accurate order. The instructions for this process are contained within the DNA itself in short regulatory sequences. These regulatory regions are normally in a closed state, masked by special proteins called histones to ensure against unwarranted activation. Therefore, to access and activate the instructions, this DNA mask needs to be opened by epigenetic modifications of the histones so it can be read by the necessary machinery.

In a paper published in Science, Dr. Ido Amit and David Lara-Astiaso of the Weizmann Institutes Department of Immunology, along with Prof. Nir Friedman and Assaf Weiner of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, charted for the first time histone dynamics during blood development. Thanks to the new technique for epigenetic profiling they developed, in which just a handful of cells as few as 500 can be sampled and analyzed accurately, they have identified the exact DNA sequences, as well as the various regulatory proteins, that are involved in regulating the process of blood stem cell fate.

Their research has also yielded unexpected results: As many as 50% of these regulatory sequences are established and opened during intermediate stages of cell development. This means that epigenetics is active at stages in which it had been thought that cell destiny was already set. This changes our whole understanding of the process of blood stem cell fate decisions, says Lara-Astiaso, suggesting that the process is more dynamic and flexible than previously thought.

Although this research was conducted on mouse blood stem cells, the scientists believe that the mechanism may hold true for other types of cells. This research creates a lot of excitement in the field, as it sets the groundwork to study these regulatory elements in humans, says Weiner.

Discovering the exact regulatory DNA sequence controlling stem cell fate, as well as understanding its mechanism, holds promise for the future development of diagnostic tools, personalized medicine, potential therapeutic and nutritional interventions, and perhaps even regenerative medicine, in which committed cells could be reprogrammed to their full stem cell potential.

Dr. Ido Amits research is supported by the M.D. Moross Institute for Cancer Research; the J&R Center for Scientific Research; the Jeanne and Joseph Nissim Foundation for Life Sciences Research; the Abramson Family Center for Young Scientists; the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust; the Abisch Frenkel Foundation for the Promotion of Life Sciences; the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust; Sam Revusky, Canada; the Florence Blau, Morris Blau and Rose Peterson Fund; the estate of Ernst and Anni Deutsch; the estate of Irwin Mandel; and the estate of David Levinson. Dr. Amit is the incumbent of the Alan and Laraine Fischer Career Development Chair.

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world's top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the Institute is home to scientists, students, technicians, and supporting staff. Institute research efforts include the search for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and the universe, creating novel materials, and developing new strategies for protecting the environment.

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Beyond DNA: Epigenetics Plays Large Role in Blood Formation

Clinical Trial Evaluates Safety of Stem Cell Transplantation in Spine

By Stem Cell Treatment

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Newswise Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have launched a clinical trial to investigate the safety of neural stem cell transplantation in patients with chronic spinal cord injuries. This Phase I clinical trial is recruiting eight patients for the 5-year study.

The goal of this study is to evaluate the safety of transplanting neural stem cells into the spine for what one day could be a treatment for spinal cord injuries, said Joseph Ciacci, MD, principal investigator and neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health System. The studys immediate goal, however, is to determine whether injecting these neural stem cells into the spine of patients with spinal cord injury is safe.

Related goals of the clinical trial include evaluating the stem cell grafts survival and the effectiveness of immunosuppression drugs to prevent rejection. The researchers will also look for possible therapeutic benefits such as changes in motor and sensory function, bowel and bladder function, and pain levels.

Patients who are accepted for the study will have spinal cord injury to the T7-T12 level of the spines vertebrae and will have incurred their injury between one and two years ago.

All participants will receive the stem cell injection. The scientists will use a line of human stem cells approved by the U.S. FDA for human trials in patients with chronic traumatic spinal injuries. These cells were previously tested for safety in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Since stem cell transplantation for spinal cord injury is just beginning clinical tests, unforeseen risks, complications or unpredictable outcomes are possible. Careful clinical testing is essential to ensure that this type of therapy is developed responsibly with appropriate management of the risks that all medical therapies may present.

Pre-clinical studies of these cells by Ciacci and Martin Marsala, MD, at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, showed that these grafted neural stem cells improved motor function in spinal cord injured rats with minimal side effects indicating that human clinical trials are now warranted.

This clinical trial at UC San Diego Health System is funded by Neuralstem, Inc. and was launched and supported by the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center. The Center was recently created to advance leading-edge stem cell medicine and science, protect and counsel patients, and accelerate innovative stem cell research into patient diagnostics and therapy.

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Clinical Trial Evaluates Safety of Stem Cell Transplantation in Spine

A stem cell study shows promising results for severe stroke patients

By Stem Cell Treatment

An injection of stem cells into the brains of recent stroke victims might help their long-term recovery, according to a promising but preliminary study out of the United Kingdoms Imperial College London.

A strokes occurs when there is an interruption or reduction of blood flow to the brain. The particular stem cells used in this treatment could, in theory, encourage the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, as the BBC explained. Blood vessel growth could help patients suffering from a severe stroke regain the ability to walk, talk and take care of themselves to a greater degree, and with greater speed, than previously possible during recovery. But again, this is just a preliminary study a guide for researchers to a potential new path for stem-cell based stroke treatments.

Working on the hypothesis that this approach mighthave an effect on more recent stroke cases, researcherstreatedpatients within a week of their strokes. The stroke patients in the pilot study demonstrated signs of recovery over a six-month period after treatment. But the small study of just five patients did not demonstrate whether that improvement came from the therapy or from the hospital care the stroke patients also received during the six-month time frame.

However, the sample demonstrated a somewhat remarkable survival and tentative recovery rate, no matter the cause.Four patients of the five were recovering from the most severe form of stroke, which overall has an extremely low rate of patients who survive and can eventually live independently. At the end of the study, all four of those patients were alive. Three were able to live independently.

The next step, the ICLs consultant neurologist Paul Bentley told the Guardian, would be a larger, controlled and randomized study with 50 patients. That study, for which the group is currently seeking funding, would look to discernwhether the pilot studys promising results really had anything to do with the treatment.

Abby Ohlheiser is a general assignment reporter for The Washington Post. Before that, she wrote about news, politics, and religion for the Atlantic's Wire, and covered breaking news for Slate. She also has bylines at Religion and Politics, the Revealer, and the Columbia Journalism Review.

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A stem cell study shows promising results for severe stroke patients

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