Stem Cell Clinic

Jordans stem-cell law can guide the Middle East

By adminJune 16, 2014Uncategorized

In January, Jordan passed a law to control research and therapy using human stem cells derived from embryos the first such regulation in the Arab and Islamic region. I was part of the group headed by Abdalla Awidi Abbadi, director of the Cell Therapy Center at the University of Jordan in Amman, that initiated the call for the law and later drafted it. Stem-cell research is a hot topic for Jordan because of the kingdoms status as a health-care hub that draws patients from abroad. It is already one of few countries in the Middle East with regulations for protecting people who participate in clinical trials. This latest law should serve as an example to other countries in the region.

The new rules ban private companies from using human embryonic stem (ES) cells in research or therapies. Such work will be allowed only in government organizations or publicly funded academic institutions in Jordan, which have higher levels of transparency than private firms and are supervised by the health ministry and a specialized committee. The law also bans payment for donations of stem cells and eggs, and says that modified and manipulated cells are not to be used for human reproduction. There is no current research on human ES cells in Jordan; this is a pre-emptive step.

Much of the controversy and disagreement over work on stem cells worldwide arises from the different views of the major religions on the earliest stages of life. Although the use of human ES cells is opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and some Protestant denominations, it is generally supported by the Jewish community and accepted in many Muslim countries. There is no consensus on when human embryonic life begins, but the majority of Muslim scholars consider it to start 40120 days after conception and therefore hold the view that a fertilized egg up to 5days old has no soul it is not human life but biological life. So for many, there is no ethical problem in the Islamic faith with using an early embryo to produce stem cells.

All our discussions in Jordan have concluded that stem-cell research is permissible in Islam.

Such conclusions are not easy to reach. Many Muslim countries consider legislation and bioethics principles to be based on three pillars of Islamic law. The first is the Quran. The second is Sunnah, or the legislative decisions of the Prophet Muhammad. The third is ijmaa the consensus of Muslim scholars and ijtihad, the concept that every adequately qualified scholar has the right to independently solve problems. On the basis of these pillars, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia have drawn up guidelines on stem-cell research, but they are not legally binding.

Jordans stem-cell law is the product of years of discussions by committees comprising scientists, physicians, Arabic-language experts, lawyers and Muslim and Christian theologians. The issues that arose confusion between stem cells and embryonic stem cells, for instance were discussed and resolved. We consulted with both the National Committee for Science and Technology Ethics and the education ministry. The final law was approved by the council of Muslim scholars, the Majlis Al-Iftaa.

The council agreed with a 2003 decision (fatwa) by Muslim scholars that allows the use of human ES cells from permissible sources including legally produced excess fertilized eggs from invitro fertilization. The decision to ban private companies from using these cells was driven by concerns that the work would encourage termination of pregnancies, which is illegal in Jordan unless the mothers life or health is at risk. The council was clear that the new law must forbid human reproductive cloning and should not allow embryos to be created from the sperm and eggs of unmarried couples.

The distinction drawn between the various sources of stem cells earlier in the discussion process allowed the Majlis Al-Iftaa to take a more permissive approach to techniques using stem cells that are not derived from human embryos. For example, somatic-cell nuclear transfer (in which a patients DNA is transplanted into an unfertilized human egg that has no nucleus) and induced pluripotent stem cells, which are made from adult cells, can be worked on by the private sector under the new rules.

The therapeutic use of bone-marrow transplantation including transplants of blood-forming stem cells is well established in Jordan. Such procedures are already regulated by existing laws on medical practice, so the new law makes a clear distinction between these techniques and human ES-cell therapy.

The legislation not only covers all current aspects of stem-cell research and use, but also leaves room for later modification. It mandates the creation of a national committee that, among other things, will take responsibility for laying out specific regulations for stem-cell banking in accordance with international standards.

Fetal-cell revival for Parkinsons

By adminJune 16, 2014Stem Cell Treatment

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Defective brain neurons are responsible for the mobility problems seen in people with Parkinsons disease.

A neurosurgery team will next month transplant cells from aborted human fetuses into the brain of a person with Parkinsons disease. The operation breaks a decade-long international moratorium on the controversial therapy that was imposed after many patients failed to benefit and no one could work out why.

But the trial comes just as other sources of replacement cells derived from human stem cells are rapidly approaching the clinic. And this time, scientists want to make sure that things go better. So the teams involved in all the planned trials have formed a working group to standardize their research and clinical protocols in the hope that their results will be more easily interpretable.

People with Parkinsons disease suffer from a degeneration of neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is crucial for normal movement. This often leaves patients with severe mobility problems. Standard treatment includes the drug l-dopa, which replaces dopamine in the brain but can cause side effects. The cellular therapies aim to replace the missing neurons with dopamine-producing (dopaminergic) cells from fetal brains or with those derived from human stem cells.

The moratorium on replacement-therapy trials was introduced in 2003 because the early fetal-cell studies had produced varying results that were impossible to interpret.

We want to avoid a repeat of this situation, says neurologist Roger Barker at the University of Cambridge, UK, who helped to organize the working groups inaugural meeting in London last month. The group, known as the Parkinsons Disease Global Force, includes scientists from the European, US and Japanese teams about to embark on the trials. At the meeting, they pledged to share their knowledge and experiences.

The first human transplantation of fetal brain cells took place in 1987 at Lund University in Sweden, where the technique was pioneered. Surgical teams took immature fetal cells destined to become dopaminergic neurons from the midbrain of aborted fetuses and transplanted them into the striatum of patients brains, the area of greatest dopamine loss in Parkinsons disease.

More than 100 patients worldwide received the therapy as part of clinical trials before the moratorium. But centres used different procedures and protocols it was impossible to work out why some patients did very well and others didnt benefit at all, says Barker.

In 2006, Barker, together with neuroscientist Anders Bjrklund at Lund University, set up a network to bring together the original seven teams that had performed the transplants, to assess all protocol details and patient data retrospectively.

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New Stem Cell Based Treatment for COPD; Nebulized Pure PRP System Uses Blood Growth Factors That Can Trigger Healing …

By adminJune 14, 2014Stem Cell Treatment

Sarasota, FL (PRWEB) June 12, 2014

Nebulized Pure PRP may offer COPD sufferers a less expensive and an effective alternative to stem cell therapy. When normal injury occurs, platelets are stimulated to release growth factors, cytokines and other immune system components in what is called the inflammatory phase of healing. In the lungs, platelets can adhere to injured or inflamed endothelial cells where they start the healing process. It is believed that by increasing the number of platelets in the lungs through this method, it is possible to decrease inflammation and accelerate the healing process in the lungs. Platelets are vehicles for the delivery of growth factors (PDGF, TGF-, IGF, EGF, VEGF) that induce proliferation of fibroblasts, osteoblasts and endothelial cells, promoting and accelerating healing of hard and soft tissues.

Autologous Platelet Rich Plasma also contains fibrin, fibronectin and vitronectin that act as cell adhesion molecules for lung epithelial migration. Autologous Platelet Rich Plasma treatment has been evaluated in various medical disciplines including orthopaedics, wound healing, neurosurgery, dentistry as well as cosmetic, plastic and cardiothoracic surgery. Nebulized Pure PRP treatment holds much promise and is being researched for its applications.

This new medical advance can bring effective and affordable healthcare to many patients with COPD. It is also attractive because the patients own blood is used thus, limiting the potential for disease transmission.

Our key product differentiation is to enable the Pure PRP treatment to be applied to patients who are suffering from COPD. COPD is the most dangerous disease in the elderly, affecting more than 200 million people across the globe. COPD is considered to be the cause of about 3 million deaths annually. This is a life-threatening disease caused by many reasons such as smoking, pollution, dust, irritants, genetic disorders, etc. It is associated with the excess production of sputum and an inflammation which obstructs the airways and results in breathing problems.

Though there is no cure for COPD, the condition can be controlled with the help of treatments. Stem cell therapy which has proved to be one of the most successful treatments for many chronic health conditions like heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, etc., has given a ray of hope in favor of COPD. Stem cells are known for their regenerative properties which help in the development of the tissues and blood cells. These cells are of two types: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can be derived from blastocyst which is a type of embryo; whereas adult stem cells are found in the bone marrow, skin, umbilical cord, placenta and many other tissues. Embryonic stem cells are derived and are grown in cell culture for research and development. But adult stem cells, once removed from the body, divide with great difficulty which makes the treatment difficult to perform. The stem cells are either from the person itself who needs it which is known as autologous stem cell or they can be received from a donor which is known as allogeneic stem cell.

Cells donated by the donor may or may not be accepted by the bodys immune system. Hence, using ones own stem cells reduces the chances of rejection. In COPD, the tissues and cells of the lungs are destroyed, which causes various types of complications. Hence, with the help of stem cell therapy, the destroyed or damaged cells can be regenerated and new lung tissues can be formed. According to the procedure followed by the International Stem Cell Institute (ISCI); San Diego, California, adipose tissue is removed from the patient and is processed with a combination of platelet rich plasma which contains growth factors that help in the process of cell multiplication and development. This helps in COPD treatment as whenever the lungs need repair, about 80% of the stem cells reach the repairing site through the circulatory system. When the blood passes through the lungs, stem cells get trapped in the space where there is damage. The stem cells then start multiplying and repairing the tissue. The recovery does not take place immediately, but improvement can be noticed in 3 to 6 months. It helps in the suppression of inflammation, improves breathing and cures many pulmonary complications. Our Nebulized Pure PRP System aims to support this proposition to treat COPD patients. Treatments run about $1,000 and insurance does not currently pay for this treatment.

Contact our office at (941) 330-8553 to find out more about how Nebulized Pure PRP can offer you relief from symptoms of COPD. Also we are at http://advancedwellness.us/blog2/nebulized-platelet-rich-plasma-prp-for-asthma-copd-and-systemic-growth-effects-in-athletics/

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Texas Biomed Regenerative Medicine Program Expands With Two New Research Scientists

By adminJune 14, 2014Uncategorized

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Newswise San Antonio, June 10, 2014 Texas Biomedical Research Institute has recruited two new research scientists to its Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) who will focus on regenerative medicine, working with animal models to develop human stem cell therapies for medical conditions such as Parkinsons disease, degenerative diseases of the eye and muscular dystrophy.

Tiziano Barberi, PhD and Marcel M. Daadi, PhD join Texas Biomed as Associate Scientists in the SNPRC. Barberi comes from the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia and Daadi arrives from Palo Alto, CA where he was part of the Consulting Faculty of Stanford Universitys Department of Neurosurgery. He is also President and Chief Scientific Officer of NeoNeuron LLC.

Dr. Barberi and Dr. Daadi are significant additions to our regenerative medicine research program, Texas Biomed President and CEO Kenneth P. Trevett said. Both have focused on stem cell research, have published significant research results in peer review journals and received recognition for their leading roles within research teams and at institutions. Regenerative medicine is a major focus for Texas Biomed, where we have new facilities and financial resources dedicated for that purpose, he said. We also look to expand our work with other institutions and groups in San Antonio to promote progress in this field. Dr. Barberi and Dr. Daadi both have strong backgrounds in developing collaborative efforts, and we look forward to the contributions they will make in this important research arena.

Barberi, a native of Italy, had been one of 15 Chief Investigators of the Stem Cells Australia Consortium for stem cell research and Group Leader for the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute. With a laboratory research focus on the directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hESC and iPSC) into specific developmental fates, his research aims are to provide tools for human development studies, in vitro disease modeling and a cell therapeutics approach to disease. He described in a seminal work a method to obtain all the clinically relevant neuronal subtypes from mESC, and was the first to have directed differentiation of hESC into mesenchymal precursors and into the progenitor cells forming the skeletal muscle system.

Prior to his work in Australia, Barberi was head of the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Development at the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope in Duarte, CA. During the time spent at City of Hope, Barberi was awarded the prestigious New Faculty Award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). He is an invited reviewer for a number of stem cell-related research journals and is a grant reviewer/assessor for research programs in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union.

Daadi has unique academia and industry experiences bridging basic and translational research. He comes to Texas Biomed from the San Francisco bay area where he founded a biotechnology company, NeoNeuron, focused on developing therapies for treating neurological disorders. He served as Director of Stem Cell Research, CIRM Disease Team Stroke Neural Transplant Program at Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of the Parkinson's Disease Program at the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute, Layton Biosciences Inc and NeuroSpheres LLC.

At Stanford University, Daadi developed a novel technology to purify homogenous populations of neural stem cells from human pluripotent stem cells and coax them to specific types of neurons that can be used for brain repair. His research is paving the way for clinical trials to treat patients with devastating neurological disorders, such as Parkinsons disease, stroke and traumatic brain injury. He seeks to expand on the capabilities of the SNPRC and to build new collaborative programs and projects in stem cell research with colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Daadi serves as editor and reviewer for many peer review journals. He is a permanent member on the National Institutes of Health Grant Review Committee, The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund and serves on many other national and international Grant Review Committees.

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Stem cells edited to produce an HIV-resistant immune system

By adminJune 13, 2014Stem Cell Doctors

A team of haematologists has engineered a particular white blood cell to be HIV resistant after hacking the genome of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

The technique has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and was devised by Yuet Wai Kan of the University of California, former President of the American Society of Haematology, and his peers.

The white blood cell the team had ideally wanted to engineer was CD+4 T, a cell that is responsible for sending signals to other cells in the immune system, and one that is heavily targeted by the HIV virus. When testing for the progress of HIV in a patient, doctors will take a CD4 cell count in a cubic millimetre of blood, with between 500 and 1,500 cells/mm3 being within the normal range. If it drops below around 250, it means HIV has taken hold -- the virus ravages these cells and uses them as an entry point.

HIV gains entry by attaching itself to a receptor protein on the CD+4 Tcell surface known as CCR5.If this protein could be altered, it could potentially stop HIV entering the immune system, however. A very small number of the population have this alteration naturally and are partially resistant to HIV as a result -- they have two copies of a mutation that prevents HIV from hooking on to CCR5 and thus the T cell.

In the past, researchers attempted to replicate the resistance by simply transplanting stem cells from those with the mutation to an individual suffering from HIV. The rarity of this working has been demonstrated by the fact that just one individual,Timothy Ray Brown(AKA the Berlin patient), has been publicly linked to the treatment and known to be HIV free today. The Californian team hoped to go right to the core of the problem instead, and artificially replicate the protective CCR5mutation.

Kan has been working for years on a precise process for cutting and sewing back together genetic information. His focus throughout much of his career has been sickle cell anaemia, and in recent years this has translated to researching mutations and how these can be removed at the iPSC stage, as they are differentiated into hematopoietic cells. He writes on his university web page: "The future goal to treatment is to take skin cells from patients, differentiate them into iPS cells, correct the mutations by homologous recombination, and differentiate into the hematopoietic cells and re-infuse them into the patients. Since the cells originate from the patients, there would not be immuno-rejection." No biggie.

This concept has now effectively been translated to the study of HIV and the CD+4 T cell.

Kan and his team used a system known as CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the genes of the iPSCs. It uses Cas9, a protein derived from bacteria, to introduce a double strand break somewhere at the genome, where part of the virus is then incorporated into the genome to act as a warning signal to other cells. An MIT team has already used the technique to correct a human disease-related mutation in mice.

When Kan and his team used the technique they ended up creating HIV resistant white blood cells, but they were not CD+4 T-cells. They are now speculating that rather than aiming to generate this particular white blood cell with inbuilt resistance, future research instead look at creating HIV resistant stem cells that will become all types of white blood cells in the body.

Of course, with this kind of therapy the risk is different and unexpected mutations could occur. In an ideal world, doctors will not want to be giving constant cell transplants, but generating an entirely new type of HIV resistant cells throughout the body carries its own risks and will need stringent evaluation if it comes at all close to being proven.

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Mount Sinai Researchers Identify Protein That Keeps Blood Stem Cells Healthy as They Age

By adminJune 13, 2014Stem Cell Medicine

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Newswise (New York June 9, 2014) -- A protein may be the key to maintaining the health of aging blood stem cells, according to work by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently published online in Stem Cell Reports. Human adults keep stem cell pools on hand in key tissues, including the blood. These stem cells can become replacement cells for those lost to wear and tear. But as the blood stem cells age, their ability to regenerate blood declines, potentially contributing to anemia and the risk of cancers like acute myeloid leukemia and immune deficiency. Whether this age-related decline in stem cell health is at the root of overall aging is unclear.

The new Mount Sinai study reveals how loss of a protein called Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) affects the ability of blood stem cells to regenerate normally, at least in mouse models of human disease. This study has shown that young blood stem cells that lack SIRT1 behave like old ones. With use of advanced mouse models, she and her team found that blood stem cells without adequate SIRT1 resembled aged and defective stem cells, which are thought to be linked to development of malignancies.

"Our data shows that SIRT1 is a protein that is required to maintain the health of blood stem cells and supports the possibility that reduced function of this protein with age may compromise healthy aging," says Saghi Ghaffari, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Developmental and Regenerative Biology at Mount Sinai's Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine. "Further studies in the laboratory could improve are understanding between aging stem cells and disease."

Next for the team, which includes Pauline Rimmel, PhD, is to investigate whether or not increasing SIRT1 levels in blood stem cells protects them from unhealthy aging or rejuvenates old blood stem cells. The investigators also plan to look at whether SIRT1 therapy could treat diseases already linked to aging, faulty blood stem cells.

They also believe that SIRT1 might be important to maintaining the health of other types of stem cells in the body, which may be linked to overall aging.

The notion that SIRT1 is a powerful regulator of aging has been highly debated, but its connection to the health of blood stem cells "is now clear," says Dr. Ghaffari. "Identifying regulators of stem cell aging is of major significance for public health because of their potential power to promote healthy aging and provide targets to combat diseases of aging," Dr. Ghaffari says.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital in Boston participated in the study.

About the Mount Sinai Health System The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven member hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient servicesfrom community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.

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Mount Sinai Researchers Identify Protein That Keeps Blood Stem Cells Healthy as They Age

Stem cells are a soft touch for nano-engineered biomaterials

By adminJune 13, 2014Stem Cell Medicine

Scientists from Queen Mary University of London have shown that stem cell behaviour can be modified by manipulating the nanoscale properties of the material they are grown on - improving the potential of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering as a result.

Stem cells are special because they are essential to the normal function of our organs and tissues. Previous research shows stem cells grown on hard substrates go on to multiply but do not differentiate: a process by which the cells specialise to perform specific functions in the body. In contrast, stem cells grown on softer surfaces do go on to differentiate.

In this new study, published in the journal Nano Letters, the researchers used tiny material patches known as nanopatches to alter the surface of the substrate and mimic the properties of a softer material.

"By changing the surface properties like the shape of the substrate at the nanoscale level, we tricked the stem cells to behave differently," explains co-author Dr Julien Gautrot, from QMUL's School of Engineering and Materials Science and the Institute of Bioengineering.

The team tested different sizes of nanopatches - from 3 microns to 100 nanometres (about one thousandth of the diameter of a hair). The stem cells behaved as if they were on a soft surface when in contact with the smallest patches because they can't firmly grip them.

Dr Gautrot added: "This development will be useful when there's a need to create a rigid implant to be inserted into the body. Potentially, such nanopatches could provide a soft touch to the surface of the implant so that cells from the neighbouring tissues are not perturbed by such a hard material."

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Stemcell doctor facing possible disciplinary action

By adminJune 13, 2014Stem Cell Treatment

Suspicions of fraud for offering Stamina, a 'dangerous drug'

(ANSA) - Rome, June 12 - A Brescia-area physician helming a controversial stem-cell treatment faces possible disciplinary action for suspicions of fraud, the supreme Cassation Court said Thursday. Prosecutors in Turin are investigating Mario Andolina, vice-president of the Stamina Foundation, for fraud and issuing a dangerous drug, following a complaint by Lombardy region Health chief Mario Mantovani. The action taken Thursday by Cassation prosecutor Gianfranco Ciani should verify whether or not disciplinary action is warranted. Andolina and the Stamina Foundation have long been front and center in Italian news for their alternative medical therapy for neurodegenerative diseases. Stamina's credibility is considered suspect, and last fall the health ministry ruled that the Stamina Foundation would no longer be allowed to test the treatment on humans. The foundation was also stripped of its non-profit status after a study found its treatment was "ignorant of stem-cell biology". Recent investigations have shown risks of the treatment range from nausea to cancer, and as many as one quarter of all patients treated have experienced "adverse effects". Foundation head Davide Vannoni, may also face indictment. But support from some patients who have used or requested the treatment remains strong. As recently as last week, a court in the central Marche region gave the green light to Andolina to administer Stamina treatment to a toddler with Krabbe disease.

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Eye in a Dish: Researchers Make Retina From Stem Cells

By adminJune 11, 2014Stem Cell Medicine

NBC News -- Researchers have grown part of an eye in a lab dish, using a type of stem cell made from a piece of skin.

They said the little retina started growing and developing on its own an important step towards creating custom-tailored organs in the lab.

We have basically created a miniature human retina in a dish that not only has the architectural organization of the retina but also has the ability to sense light," said M. Valeria Canto-Soler, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The team used cells called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, which are immature stem cells whose powers resemble those of embryonic stem cells they can morph into any cell type in the body.

Theyre made by tricking an ordinary cell, like a skin cell, into reverting back into embryonic mode. Then the researchers activate genes to get the cell to redirect itself into forming the desired cells in this case cells of the retina.

To the surprise of the researchers, the cells started developing as if they were in a growing human embryo.

"We knew that a 3-D cellular structure was necessary if we wanted to reproduce functional characteristics of the retina, but when we began this work, we didn't think stem cells would be able to build up a retina almost on their own. In our system, somehow the cells knew what to do, Canto-Soler said in a statement.

The experiment may ultimately lead to technologies that restore vision in people with retinal diseases, she added.

Tests showed the cells responded to light, the team reported in the journal Nature Communications. "Is our lab retina capable of producing a visual signal that the brain can interpret into an image? Probably not, but this is a good start," Canto-Soler said.

Other teams have used iPS cells to make a piece of human liver and are using them to study a range of human diseases.

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Eye in a Dish: Researchers Make Retina From Stem Cells

Light-sensitive 3D retina created in lab

By adminJune 11, 2014Stem Cell Medicine

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New York, June 11 : Using a type of human stem cell, researchers have now created a three-dimensional (3D) functional human retinal tissue in the laboratory for the first time.

"We have basically created a miniature human retina in a dish that not only has the architectural organisation of the retina but also has the ability to sense light," claimed M. Valeria Canto-Soler, an assistant professor at John Hopkins University's school of medicine.

The retinal tissue created in the laboratory - using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) - includes functioning photoreceptor cells capable of responding to light, the first step in the process of converting it into visual images.

"The work advances opportunities for vision-saving research and may ultimately lead to technologies that restore vision in people with retinal diseases," she noted.

Using a simple, straightforward technique they developed to foster the growth of the retinal progenitors, the researchers saw retinal cells and then tissues growing in petri dishes.

The growth corresponded in timing and duration to retinal development in a human foetus in the womb.

Moreover, the photoreceptors were mature enough to develop outer segments - a structure essential for photoreceptors to function.

However, Canto-Soler cautioned that photoreceptors are only part of the story in the complex eye-brain process of vision, and her lab has not yet recreated all of the functions of the human eye and its links to the visual cortex of the brain.

The achievement could eventually enable genetically engineered retinal cell transplants that halt or even reverse a patient's march toward blindness.

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Light-sensitive 3D retina created in lab