Stem Cell Clinic

Academic social network ResearchGate aids debunking of stem cell study

By Stem Cell Medicine

5 hours ago Mar. 14, 2014 - 3:36 AM PDT

ResearchGate, the 4-million-strong academic social network, has just scored a major victory in its quest to turn the research process upside-down its platform proved instrumental in the debunking of a major stem cell study, which on Friday resulted in a very apologetic roll-back from the Japanese institute that put out the original study.

The original study came out in Nature, the peer-reviewed scientific journal, earlier this year. It purported to show that it was possible to turn normal blood cells into master stem cells by dipping them in a mild acid solution. Stem cells hold great promise for the future of medicine, but theres a lot of controversy around current harvesting techniques, particularly when embryos are involved, and this would have provided a terrific workaround.

Unfortunately, while the Riken institutes research promised great things, other researchers found themselves unable to reproduce the results. One, a Hong Kong professor of regenerative medicine named Kenneth Lee, used his ResearchGate profile to publish his and his students findings, demonstrating a failure to get this technique to work.

There had been a good deal of grumbling about the Nature paper, but Lees ResearchGate publication provided the final straw and Riken admitted the original Nature papers contained errors. One of the key researchers there has now had her research suspended, and investigations are underway at both Riken and Nature.

This is what I was dreaming of, ResearchGate CEO Ijad Madisch told me. Indeed, Madisch has long advocated the advantages of post-review over pre-peer review.

Rather than the traditional system, where a paper is submitted to a journal like Nature and pored over for months by a couple of reviewers, he wants to see a system where all research is published openly and immediately not only does this bring more eyes to the research, but it also means that unsuccessful results get as good an airing as the successful ones. Thats something that should save other researchers an awful lot of time.

Bill Gates likes this approach, which is why he has poured millions into ResearchGate. And, although the discussion around it occurred in more places than just ResearchGate, the stem cell episode provides a good deal of validation.

According to Madisch, researchers who have found it difficult to reproduce the results of published papers have generally had trouble getting as much attention as those behind the published paper the press, certainly, are keener to trumpet a study that has been peer-reviewed than something that may come from a hater and that journalists feel unable to evaluate themselves.

The excitement around Lees activities on ResearchGate led the startup to speed up the completion of a new feature called Open Review, which is designed to make it easier for users to give open feedback to papers published on the network. The feature combines a structured feedback mechanism with commenting facilities.

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Academic social network ResearchGate aids debunking of stem cell study

New cell line should accelerate embryonic stem cell research

By Stem Cell Medicine

1 hour ago by Michael Mccarthy Dr. Carol Ware at work in her laboratory at the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. Credit: Bryan Donohue

Researchers at the University of Washington have successfully created a line of human embryonic stem cells that have the ability to develop into a far broader range of tissues than most existing cell lines.

"These cells will allow us to gain a much greater understanding of normal embryonic development and have the real potential for use in developing ways to grow new tissues and organs for transplantation," said Carol Ware, a professor in the UW Department of Comparative Medicine and lead author of a paper describing the new cell line appearing in the March 10 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The cells, called nave embryonic stem cells, normally appear at the earliest stages of embryonic development and so retain the ability to differentiate in all the different types of cells of the human bodya capacity called pluripotency.

Researchers had been able to develop naive cells using mouse embryonic stem cells but to create naive human embryonic stem cells has required inserting a set of genes that force the cells to behave like naive cells.

While these "transgenic" cells are valuable research tools, the presence of the artificially introduced genes meant the cells will not develop as normal embryonic cells would nor could they be safely used to create tissues and organs for transplantation.

In an article, Ware and her colleagues from the UW Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine describe how they successfully created a line of naive human embryonic stem cells without introducing an artificial set of genes.

They first took embryonic stem cells that are slightly more developed, called primed stem cells, and grew them in a medium that contained factors that switched them backor "reverse toggled" themto the naive state.

They then used the reverse toggled cells to develop a culture medium that would keep them in the naive state and create a stable cell line for study and research.

Then having worked out how to maintain the cells in the naive state, Ware and her colleagues harvested naive cells directly from donated human embryos and cultured them in the maintenance medium to see if they could create a stable cell line that had not undergone reverse toggling. After many tries, they succeeded.

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New cell line should accelerate embryonic stem cell research

Riken Apologizes for Errors in Two Stem Cell Studies

By Stem Cell Medical Center

Japans Riken center apologized for errors in a pair of studies that had outlined a simpler, quicker way of making stem cells and said the institute is considering urging the scientists to retract it.

Riken will impose a penalty if misconduct is proven, President Ryoji Noyori said in news conference today. Haruko Obokata, who led the research, and two other Riken researchers in a separate statement on the centers website said they are in talks with co-writers to discuss a retraction.

Government-funded Riken on March 11 said is investigating the two studies that were published in journal Nature in January and said ordinary cells taken from newborn mice could be transformed into stem cells without adding genes. The institute today said it was investigating six images and methods in the research after claims that they looked unnatural or were plagiarized from other studies.

We are communicating with other authors and considering the possibility of retracting the studies, Obokata and the two other researchers, Yoshiki Sasai and Hitoshi Niwa, said in a joint statement on Rikens website today.

Two areas were handled inappropriately, though researchers didnt have intent to falsify data, the institute said on its website. The center is still investigating the rest, it said.

Images used in the studies to show the establishment of the method resemble photos from Obokatas previous studies, Kyodo News reported this week. Another scientist, Teruhiko Wakayama at the University of Yamanashi in Japan who worked on the research said he was no longer sure of the premise of the data he used to establish the experiments and that the studies should be withdrawn for review, public broadcaster NHK reported on March 10.

The probe is a setback for Japan as it tries to push into stem-cell science following Shinya Yamanakas 2012 Nobel Prize. Japan aims to cement its leadership in the field of research, and has pushed through bills that fast-track regulatory approval for cell-based products.

Researchers led by Obokata at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology shocked the cells with a dose of sublethal stress such as mechanical force to trigger a transformation. Obokata worked with institutions including Charles Vacantis laboratory at Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

In an embryos early stages, stem cells are pluripotent, meaning they can become any type of tissue in the body. As the embryo develops, the cells begin to specialize, or differentiate, into units for the bodys different structures.

There are several ways to regenerate pluripotent stem cells, including one that uses embryos and one that reprograms matured cells by inserting genes. Last year, Japans Health Ministry cleared the way for the worlds first clinical trial with stem cells made using a separate technique established by Yamanaka, the Nobel Prize winner from Kyoto University.

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Riken Apologizes for Errors in Two Stem Cell Studies

Harrison County Man Seeking Stem Cell Treatment to Restore Vision

By Stem Cell Treatment

For some people battling illness, stem cell research has proven to make all the difference in their treatment, and a Harrison County man is hoping to join the ranks of those success stories.

Bobby Swiger works at the YMCA in Clarksburg as a personal trainer and goes to school full time for massage therapy. But for Swiger, life is a little more challenging than one would envision.

"I don't want to be the outsider anymore," said Swiger.

As a child, Swiger was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, or RP, a degenerative disease he inherited from his mother.

"I was always forced to carry large books to school, large print. So I was always kind of noticed more than I wanted to be. At one point, I actually had a large screen monitor which I had to use to read my books with," said Swiger.

"I learned little tricks to get around it, and I've learned how to trick people to thinking I was normal," said Swiger.

Like others suffering from RP, Swiger is legally blind. During the day, he can see blurred images, but in the dark, everything goes black - literally.

"I'm not really a bar person, but I would like the opportunity to go to a bar and get a drink if I want, but I can't, because if I go into a bar, I'm gonna run into people, probably cause a bar fight 'cause I can't see the guy in front of me," said Swiger.

When it comes to his classes, Swiger says he relies heavily on the help of his teachers at the Clarksburg Beauty Academy, and at home, his girlfriend.But he's ready to be more independent with the help of stem cell treatment.

"They'll take the stem cells out of my hip and inject it into my eye itself. One individual who has had this treatment before me, at the same level I am currently, he was increased to 20/80, which is enormous," said Swiger.

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Harrison County Man Seeking Stem Cell Treatment to Restore Vision

Man hoping for third stem cell match after first 2 donors back out

By Stem Cell Doctors

Watch the video above:Leukemia patient Chris Taylor loses 2nd bone marrow transplant donor. Angie Seth reports.

TORONTO A 36-year-old leukemia patient is searching for a bone marrow donor for the third time, after his first two donors backed out for medical or unknown reasons.

Chris Taylor was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012. He originally went to Mount Sinai hospital with chest pains and spent several days in the ICU though doctors couldnt figure out what was wrong with him, he said.

But several weeks later, Princess Margaret Hospital found his cancer at the chromosomal level. HE immediately started chemotherapy and it went into remission.

It came back after ten months, he said. I was starting to feel better and the side effects were starting to wear off and then the cancer came back.

They found a match around Christmas of 2013, he said. They started preliminary testing and even got a proposed date but two days before, the donor pulled out.

Unfortunately that donor was medically unfit to donate, Taylor said.

So they went back to searching. They found another donor.

We began again the process of getting ready to go in for the transplant, he said. Unfortunately for unknown reasons that donor had to opt-out of the procedure.

I was disappointed but I dont hold any ill-will or anything like that.

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Man hoping for third stem cell match after first 2 donors back out

Leukemia patient pins hopes on OneMatch stem cell donor registry

By Stem Cell Doctors

Each day is a gift for Chris Taylor and every phone call could be the one that saves his life.

Thats why the 36-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia keeps his cellphone within reach, waiting to hear that a stem cell donor has been found and hell get the bone marrow transplant he needs.

Taylor, who was diagnosed in July 2012, has already had two false alarms but is confident a match will become available before its too late.

Getting the call is a miracle in itself. It comes after an online search of unrelated people by the Canadian Blood Services OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network. The registry has access to 22 million potential volunteer donors in 71 countries, strangers prepared to help those like Taylor.

Despite popular belief, family members are matches only 25 per cent of the time, said Mary-Lynn Pride, a patient transplant liaison specialist at OneMatch.

More than 800 Canadians currently await transplants. OneMatch has more than 333,000 registered Canadian donors.

Taylor signed up after a second round of chemotherapy last summer, when doctors at Princess Margaret Hospital advised he needed a bone marrow transplant.

Taylor received the first call last November. The timing was perfect because his cancer was in remission, the only time a transplant can be done.

Two days before he was to be admitted to hospital, Taylor got bad news. The procedure was cancelled because the donor had unspecified medical complications, he said. OneMatch does not say why donors decide to abandon the procedure.

The second call came last month, but the donor withdrew for reasons unknown to Taylor.

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Leukemia patient pins hopes on OneMatch stem cell donor registry

Stem Cells | ICMS — Advancing Stem Cell Treatments, Stem …

By Stem Cell Medicine

T he International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS) is an international non-profit dedicated to patient safety through strict evaluation of protocols and rigorous oversight of clinics and facilities engaged in the translation of point-of-care cell-based treatments.As a Professional Medical Association, the ICMS represents Physiciansand Researchersfrom over 35 countries who share a mission to provide Scientifically Credible and Medically Appropriate Treatments to Informed Patients.Join the ICMS.

The ICMS Works Tirelessly for the Clincial Translation of Field of Cell-Based Point-of-Care Treatments through:

Comprehensive Medical Standards and Best Practice Guidelines for Cell Based Medicine,

Strict Evaluation and Rigerous Oversight of Stem Cell Clinics and Facilities through aGlobal Accreditation Process,

Physician Education through daily updates on the latest Research on Stem Cells, the monthly Currents In Stem Cell Medicine and the annual International Congress for Regenerative and Stem Cell Medicine.

Join the ICMSto receive the latest news and research from cell-based medicne, including the bi-monthly publication, Currents in Stem Cell Medicine.

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Stem Cells | ICMS -- Advancing Stem Cell Treatments, Stem ...

Scientist admits mistakes in stem cell 'discovery'

By Stem Cell Medicine

The Japanese scientists who made an apparently groundbreaking discovery in the field of stem cell research earlier this year has called for his research to be withdrawn amid speculations about the validity of the findings.

In January the researcher claimed to have discovered that stem cells could be made quickly and cheaply by simply dipping cells in acid to convert them into the biological building blocks. But the images used in the report were brought into question and other teams of researchers have failed to emulate the results.

The study's author Professor Teruhiko Wakayama said, "It is no longer clear what is right."

Stem cells are set to play a vital role in the future of regenerative medicine as they can transform into any other type of tissue. Teams of scientists are exploring their application in restoring sight to the blind and mending damage caused by heart attacks.

The original study was published in the journal Nature and hit headlines after being branded a

"major scientific discovery" as it suggested stem cells no longer had to be taken from embryos or made with complex and costly genetic manipulation.

While the pioneering findings, which suggested simply shocking cells with acid could cause them to revert to stem cells, has not been discredited it has been called into question.

Wakayama reportedly told Japanese TV, "When conducting the experiment, I believed it was absolutely right. But now that many mistakes have emerged, I think it is best to withdraw the research paper at once and, using correct data and correct pictures, to prove once again the paper is right.

"If it turns out to be wrong, we would need to make it clear why a thing like this happened."

WENN.com

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Scientist admits mistakes in stem cell 'discovery'

Bioquark Inc. Announces the Appointment of Dr. Luis Martinez, MD, MPH, Regenerative Medicine and Cell Therapy …

By Uncategorized

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) March 13, 2014

Bioquark, Inc., (http://www.bioquark.com) a company focused on the development of combinatorial biologics for regeneration and disease reversion in human organs and tissues, today announces the appointment of Dr. Luis Martinez, MD, MPH, as VP of Global Operations.

We are honored to have someone with Dr. Martinezs experience join us as we execute on a globalized strategy in regenerative medicine, said Ira S. Pastor, CEO, Bioquark Inc. His broad clinical experience in applied regenerative medicine and cellular therapies make him a very valuable addition to the Bioquark team.

Dr. Martinez is a regenerative medicine and cell therapy specialist with over 10 years of experience in the clinical setting. He is currently the President of Elite Regenerative Medicine Group, a premier treatment and research center specializing in cell therapy applications for therapeutic, regenerative and preventive purposes. Dr. Martinez obtained his medical degree, as well as his Master of Public Health, at the Ponce School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and completed his residency at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania. He also completed a fellowship in biosecurity with the UPMC Center for Health Security. He is currently a clinical instructor at the Ponce School of Medicine and Health Sciences and is a board certified physician. Dr. Martinez also serves as vice-president of the XanoGene Anti-Aging Clinic and is President at Xyrion Medical, a biomedical consulting firm. He is a current consultant for multiple biomedical and pharmaceutical companies and conducts clinical research for various clients in the industry. Dr. Martinez is also a renowned international speaker, speaking at multiple venues for professional and academic organizations and he offers training to physicians in multiple applications of regenerative medicine, including Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy, adipose and bone marrow stem cell derived harvesting, preparation and therapeutic administration, as well as cytokine, growth factor and peptide therapies.

I am very excited about the biologic candidates being developed at Bioquark Inc. and their very novel approach to human regeneration and disease reversion, which has broad clinical applicability towards a range of degenerative disorders," said Dr. Martinez. "I'm pleased to be joining the team and am looking forward to playing a more active role in this truly transformational platform."

About Bioquark, Inc.

Bioquark Inc. is focused on the development of biologic based products that have the ability to alter the regulatory state of human tissues and organs, with the goal of curing a wide range of diseases, as well as effecting complex regeneration. Bioquark is developing biological pharmaceutical candidates, as well as products for the global consumer health and wellness market segments.

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Bioquark Inc. Announces the Appointment of Dr. Luis Martinez, MD, MPH, Regenerative Medicine and Cell Therapy ...

Dr. Jeffrey Adler Presents on Use of Stem Cell Therapy at Graham International Implant Symposium

By Stem Cell Treatment

St. Petersburg, Floriday (PRWEB) March 13, 2014

Dr. Jeffrey Adler of Adler Footcare New York is presenting at the 7th Annual Graham International Implant Symposium, a two-day event that brings together foot and ankle specialists to present and attend lectures on the latest in foot and ankle topics. Dr. Adler will be speaking on the use of stem cells in the first MP (metacarpophalangeal) joint surgery.

Stem Cell Replacement Therapy offers an advanced treatment option for problems like plantar fasciitis, Osteoarthritis, Achilles tendonitis and torn soft tissue.

Stem Cell Replacement Therapy is proving to be much more effective and long lasting than traditional treatments.

In the past common foot problems have been treated by physical therapy or orthotic therapy, but the results have often been poor, leaving patients continuing to struggle with the foot pain.

Stem cells are used by many physicians to treat a broad variety of conditions because of their ability to either replicate themselves or change into the cell type that is needed to repair the tissue that has been damaged. The New York podiatrists at Adler Footcare introduce live birth stem cells into the affected area. When a patient comes in for stem cell therapy, the affected area is carefully measured so the stem cells can be delivered directly to the area that needs the treatment.

Stem cell treatment helps patients heal much quicker and allows them to return to their normal activities much sooner, Dr. Adler said. Actual recovery time will depend on each individual patients general health and medical diagnosis, but in the end they will be able to live life without chronic foot pain.

Treatments using stem cells have been used by physicians for over 100 years. Stem Cell Replacement Therapy is covered by commercial insurance and Medicare, and is approved and regulated by the FDA. The product is tested and screened by medical professionals to eliminate the potential of any communicable diseases.

Graham International Implant Institute

The Graham International Implant Institute (GIII) is a global-reaching organization dedicated to research, training, certification and support on implantology for foot physicians worldwide.

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Dr. Jeffrey Adler Presents on Use of Stem Cell Therapy at Graham International Implant Symposium

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