Stem Cell Therapy - Studies That Support Regenerative Therapy (Regenexx)
Dr Robert Wagner of Stem Cell ARTS discusses the research and science behind advanced regenerative medicine therapies and the track record of treating knee, ...
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Stem Cell Therapy - Studies That Support Regenerative Therapy (Regenexx) - Video
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The largest ever trial of adult stem cell therapy in heart attack patients has begun at The London Chest Hospital in the UK.
Heart disease is the world's leading cause of death. Globally, more than 17 million people died from heart disease last year. In the US, over 1 million people suffer a heart attack each year, and about half of them die.
Heart attacks are usually caused by a clot in the coronary artery, which stops the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. If the blockage is not treated within a few hours, then it causes the heart muscle to die.
The stem cell trial - titled "The effect of intracoronary reinfusion of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BM-MNC) on allcause mortality in acute myocardial infarction," or "BAMI" for short - has been made possible due to a 5.9 million ($8.1 million) award from the European Commission.
The full study involves 19 partners across France, Germany, Italy, Finland, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and the UK.
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'Largest ever' trial of adult stem cells in heart attack patients begins
Canada.com Health takes a look at a few stories you may have missed this week.
A new study may suggest a re-think is in order in the way we treat prostate cancer. Dr. Julia Hayes, at the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, led a study that has found observation to be a reasonable alternative to initial treatment for the 70 percent of men who are diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer.
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At the same time, research continues at Dana-Farber to identify additional biomarkers that can aid in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, as well as to find genetic abnormalities in prostate cancer cells that might indicate how they would respond to certain treatments.
More information on the study can be found here.
PHOTO: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images A scientist conducts research on stem cells at a laboratory in Bangalore, India.
A new study shows it may be possible to reverse aging in muscles.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered a possible explanation for why muscles take longer to heal in older bodies: the stem cells within muscle tissues that are supposed to repair damage become less able over time to generate new fibres and self-renew.
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But the research team, led by Dr. Helen Blau, also claim to have discovered a way to rejuvenate these older muscle stem cells so that they function like younger cells. The results of their study has been published in Nature Medicine.
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This week in health: Prostate cancer and stem cell breakthroughs, snoozing and headaches
Durham, NC (PRWEB) February 21, 2014
A new study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine shows that many patients with defects to the skull, face or jaw bone might benefit from reconstructive surgery combining stem cells taken from adipose (fat) tissue seeded on resorbable scaffolds.
These defects can be due to congenital malformations, such as cleft lip and palate, or to traumatic injuries or surgery to remove a tumor. The use of a patients own bone is still considered the gold standard for reconstructing these defects, but this requires yet another surgery to harvest the bone for the reconstructive procedure. The STEM CELLS Translational Medicine study tracked the case of 13 patients undergoing regenerative medicine procedures.
To our knowledge, this study represents the first GMP-compliant application for autologous adipose-derived stem cells in the treatment of defects at various sites of the cranio-maxillofacial skeleton, said the studys lead investigator, George K. Sndor, M.D., DDS, Ph.D., of the University of Tampere (UT), Tampere, Finland. He and Susanna Miettinen, Ph.D., were lead investigators on the study conducted by scientists and clinicians who, in addition to UT, came from the University of Oulu (Oulu, Finland) and Central Hospital (Jyvskyl, Finland).
Isolated reports of hard tissue (bone) reconstruction in the skull, face or jaw (cranio-maxillofacial skeleton) exist, but multi-patient case series are lacking. This study aimed to review the experience of 13 people with hard tissue defects at four anatomically different sites: the frontal sinus (three cases), cranial bone (five cases), the jaw (three cases) and the nasal septum (two cases).
Stem cells were harvested from adipose tissue in each patients abdomen, treated in the lab and then seeded onto resorbable scaffold materials for implantation back into the patient. The scaffolds were constructed with either bioactive glass or -TCP (a bone graft substitute). In some cases a protein called rhBMP-2, which plays an important role in the development of bone and cartilage, was added, too.
The results were promising. All three of the frontal sinus cases and three of the five cranial defect cases were successfully treated. (The other two cranial cases in which non-rigid resorbable containment meshes were used sustained bone resorption to the point that they required a redo procedure.) One of the two septal perforations failed after a year due to an infection resulting from the patients own actions, but the other healed successfully.
The three patients with reconstructed jaw defects also had good results; in fact, two of them chose to have dental implants placed directly into the stem cell-seeded grafts after healing, allowing these patients to once again enjoy a normal diet.
While the resorption of some of the constructs in the cranial defects was more than expected, Nevertheless, Dr. Sndor said, the majority of these challenging defects 10 of 13 were successfully treated with integration of the stem cell-seeded constructs to the surrounding skeleton at the defect sites. Dr. Miettinen added that the next steps should involve more animal studies and tracking of long-term results in humans.
This case series, involving various sites of defect, illustrates the potential promise of engineering replacement bone in the lab to avoid harvesting bone from the patient, commented Anthony Atala, M.D., editor of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
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Stem Cells from Fat Tissue Show Promise in Reconstructive Surgeries for Face and Skull
Paul Herron and Anne Hodgkinson wake up every day knowing their daughter could die.
Their 4-year-old, Katie, has cancer, and for the second time in her young life she is fighting to stay alive.
Shes scared. Shes terrified, Herron told the Star from Torontos Ronald McDonald House, where the Cambridge family is currently staying so Katie can get treatment at the Hospital for Sick Children.
For Anne and I, its been a parents worst nightmare.
When Katie was just 15 months old, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. But after 25 months of intensive treatment, including lumbar punctures, bone marrow aspirations, chemotherapy and steroids, Katie fought the cancer into remission.
Finally, the family thought, they could say goodbye to hospital beds and the hours spent pacing hallways waiting for results. Finally, they could be normal.
But last November, the life they had built for themselves crumbled once again. The cancer was back, and this time Katie would need a stem cell donor.
The first time, we never made it public. We kept to ourselves, said Herron. But because this time she needs a stem cell donation, we had to get the word out.
No one in the family is a match, and the national registry has yet to turn up a name. This Saturday, Katies supporters will host a stem cell donor clinic at the Cambridge Sports Park from 1 to 5 p.m. All thats required for testing is a cheek swab.
(Stem cells are collected from a matching donors bone marrow or blood after the donor has given informed consent and undergone medical tests to encourage good health and compatibility.)
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Stem cell donor clinic planned for 4-year-old battling leukemia again
The biggest ever stem cell trial involving heart attack patients has got under way in London. The study, which will involve 3,000 patients in 11 European countries, should show whether the treatment can cut death rates and repair damaged tissue after a heart attack.
All the patients will have standard treatment to widen their narrowed arteries, which involves inserting a small tube called a stent. In addition, half the patients will have stem cells taken from their bone marrow and injected into their heart.
This will happen within days of them suffering a heart attack.
"It's fantastic to be part of this," said Neal Grainger, 54, from Essex, who was the first patient in the UK to be treated.
UK's biggest killer
He had an infusion of his bone marrow stem cells at the London Chest Hospital just days after his heart attack last month.
"It's strange having something taken out of you and then put back, but I hope it helps me and a lot of others."
Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer in the UK.
During a heart attack, a fatty plaque causes a blood clot inside an artery, starving heart muscle of oxygen and leaving scar tissue.
Although more and more patients are surviving heart attacks, they can be left considerably weaker because heart muscle has been permanently damaged.
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A stem cell donor clinic for four-year-old Katie Herron will be held Feb. 22, 2014 at the Cambridge Sports Centre. FACEBOOK/Katie's Kure
Four-year-old Katie Herron needs a stem cell donation to save her life. Her family hopes to find that donor at a clinic being held this Saturday.
Katie is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia and no one in her family or the national stem cell registry has been a match so far.
Her parents Anne Hodgkinson and Paul Herron, along with an army of volunteers, are hosting a donor clinic at the Cambridge Sports Park, located at 1001 Franklin Blvd., from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday.
Click here for the Facebook page with more information.
Men and women between the ages of 17-35 can qualify to donate stem cells. The test is a simple cheek swab, and, if its a match, a blood or bone marrow sample will later be extracted.
Anyone over 35 wishing to contribute is encouraged to donate blood, as patients waiting for transplants require frequent blood transfusions, according to the events Facebook page.
This is the little girls second time dealing with a battery of tests, treatments and hospital stays. She was first diagnosed at fifteen months, but Katie fought the cancer into remission.
Then last November, just after starting junior kindergarten, the cancer returned.
Though the type of cancer young Katie is facing often responds well to standard treatment, Katie is one of the unlucky children for whom that is not the case.
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Stem cell donor sought for 4-year-old cancer patient
Supporters of Californias multibillion-dollar stem cell program plan to ask for $5 billion more to bring the fruits of research to patients.
Robert Klein, a leader of the 2004 initiative campaign that established the program, said Thursday hes going to be talking with California voters about the proposal. If the public seems receptive, backers will work to get an initiative on the 2016 ballot to extend funding for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Klein outlined the proposal Thursday at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, during a symposium on how to speed research to patient care.
Since cancer cells and stem cells share some underlying characteristics, CIRM has funded research into those similarities, including the work of Moores Cancer Center researchers David Cheresh and Catriona Jamieson.
Klein said supporters, including researchers, patients and patient advocates need to educate the public about the benefits of funding stem cell research, and the results to date. A former chairman of CIRM, Klein is no longer formally affiliated with the agency but continues to support its work.
No stem cell treatments funded by CIRM have been approved, but patients have benefited in other ways. CIRM-funded research into cancer stem cells led to a clinical trial of a drug that caused remission of a bone marrow cancer in Sandra Dillon, a patient of Jamiesons. Moreover, California has vaulted into prominence in regenerative medicine, and the field has also provided a new growth engine for the states large biotech industry.
Though CIRM has been praised for advancing quality research, it has been criticized for being slow to fund commercialization by life science companies.
In addition, CIRM has been criticized for a lack of transparency and conflicts of interest in how it awards grants. The agency revamped its policies last year to forbid members of its governing oversight committee from voting on proposals to fund research at their own institutions.
California voters set aside $3 billion in bond money for CIRM in 2004 under Proposition 71. The money is expected to run out around 2017, so Klein and other supporters have been preparing to go back to the public. The amount paid back will be $6 billion, including interest over the life of the bonds, Klein noted. So the $5 billion for CIRM would require a $10 billion bond measure.
Can it be done again? Klein asked. If we continue to have the extraordinary results the scientists and research institutes are presenting, as well as the biotech sector.
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$5B initiative proposed for stem cell research
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Newswise Following is a tipsheet of story ideas from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. To arrange interviews, please contact the individual listed.
Cedars-Sinai Clinical Trial Studies Vaccine Targeting Cancer Stem Cells in Brain Cancers An early-phase clinical trial of an experimental vaccine that targets cancer stem cells in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and aggressive malignant brain tumor, has been launched by researchers at Cedars-Sinai. Like normal stem cells, cancer stem cells have the ability to self-renew and generate new cells, but instead of producing healthy cells, they create cancer cells. In theory, if the cancer stem cells can be destroyed, a tumor may not be able to sustain itself, but if the cancer originators are not removed or destroyed, a tumor will continue to return despite the use of existing cancer-killing therapies. CONTACT: Sandy Van, 808-526-1708; Email sandy@prpacific.com
Dormant Prostate Cancer Cells May be Reawakened by Factors Commonly Produced in Inflammatory Cells Researchers in the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute discovered in pre-clinical models that dormant prostate cancer cells found in bone tissue can be reawakened, causing metastasis to other parts of the body. Understanding this mechanism of action may allow researchers to intervene prior to disease progression. CONTACT: Cara Martinez, 310-423-7798; Email cara.martinez@cshs.org
Can a Protein Controlling Blood Pressure Enhance Immune Responses and Prevent Alzheimers? Many people with high blood pressure are familiar with ACE inhibitors, drugs that widen blood vessels by limiting activity of ACE angiotensin-converting enzyme a naturally occurring protein found in tissues throughout the body. But high activity of the enzyme in the right context, place and time may be a good thing. A study conducted by Cedars-Sinai scientists found that genetically targeting certain immune blood cells to overproduce the enzyme broke down defective proteins in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease and prevented cognitive decline in laboratory mice bred to model the disease. CONTACT: Sandy Van, 808-526-1708; Email sandy@prpacific.com
Cedars-Sinai Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion Awarded LEED Gold Certification The new home of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, neurosciences programs and stem cell research, the Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion, has been awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification, established by the U.S. Green Building Council, for its highly sustainable, energy-efficient design, construction and operation. The building, which opened in the summer of 2013, is one of only a handful of healthcare facilities nationwide to receive the LEED Gold level of certification. It was achieved by meeting or exceeding five strategic elements of sustainability, including energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, water efficiency, indoor environment quality and overall sustainability that minimizes the impact on ecosystems and natural resources. CONTACT: Sally Stewart, 310-248-6566; Email sally.stewart@cshs.org
Grant Supports Cedars-Sinai Study of Possible Links Between Air Pollution and Brain Cancer Researchers at the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai will conduct a study to determine if several potentially toxic compounds that exist in polluted air are capable of entering the brain from the bloodstream and causing brain cancer. The research is funded by a $1 million grant from the Brain & Lung Tumor and Air Pollution Foundation for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. CONTACT: Sandy Van, 808-526-1708; Email sandy@prpacific.com
Kidney Cancer Care Improves With Vaccine-Based Approach The Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute has opened a novel Phase III, vaccine-based clinical trial aimed at providing kidney cancer patients long-term control of their disease. Survival outcomes for patients with renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer, have improved significantly over the past decade due to research advances in personalized or targeted therapies designed to target an individuals genetic makeup. To expedite these benefits, investigators are now looking to couple targeted therapies with vaccine-based approaches, which use a patients own immune system to fight disease and may have the potential to improve survival outcomes and overall quality of life. CONTACT: Cara Martinez, 310-423-7798; Email cara.martinez@cshs.org
Director of Womens Guild Lung Institute Awarded Stem Cell Grant to Study Treatment for Lung Disease A Cedars-Sinai research team led by Paul W. Noble, MD, has been awarded $628,816 by Californias stem cell agency to develop a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a deadly disease that destroys the lungs and damages other vital organs. The illness, which has no cure and few effective treatments, thickens and hardens lung tissue, leaving the organs badly scarred. Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis have great difficulty breathing and the chronic reduction in oxygen damages vital organs. The cause of the disease is not clearly understood and many people live only three to five years after diagnosis. CONTACT: Laura Coverson, 310-423-5215; Email laura.coverson@cshs.org
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Feb. Medical Tipsheet from Cedars-Sinai: MS and Depression, Kidney Cancer Immunotherapy, More
Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) February 20, 2014
A study published in the journal Theranostics and reported by the Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Center finds that a class of drugs that stimulate stem cell production in patients and donors is safe to use.
The drugs are biologically similar to granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), a human glycoprotein that stimulates the bone marrow to produce granulocytes (a type of white blood cell) and stem cells and release them into the bloodstream. The drugs can be given to patients with diseases like Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma to stimulate the release of their own stem cells, or to donors for transplantation into sick patients.
Since the patent on G-CSF expired, several companies have begun producing these drugs. Referred to as biosimilars in Europe and follow-on biologics in the US, several have been approved for use, although their safety and efficacy is still being debated.
The new study examines published reports on more than 900 patients with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma or another blood cancer and healthy stem cell donors treated with the G-CSF biosimilar compounds Ratiograstim, Tevagrastim or Zarzio. The researchers report that the drugs produced good mobilization of CD34+ stem cells and produced side effects similar to the original G-CSF. Once the collected stem cells were grafted into a new host, they behaved comparably to stem cells stimulated by G-CSF.
In summary, the efficacy of biosimilar G-CSFs in terms of peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell yield as well as their toxicity profile are equivalent to historical data with reference to G-CSF, the researchers write in the European medical journal Theranostics. (Schmitt, M, et al, Biosimilar G-CSF Based Mobilization of Peripheral Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cells for Autologous and Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation, January 23, 2014, Theranostics, pp. 280-289. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24505236)
Non-Hodgkins Lymphomas include cancers that involve the lymphocytes or white blood cells. They account for about 4 percent of all new cancer cases in the U.S. The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than 500,000 Americans are currently living with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Today, there is more interest on the causes of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.
The Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Center is part of the Cancer Monthly organization. The Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Center has been established by Cancer Monthly to provide more comprehensive information on the causes, diagnosis, and treatments for the many different subtypes of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. For over ten years, Cancer Monthly has been the only centralized source of cancer treatment results. Patients can see the actual survival rate, quality-of-life indicators, and other key data for approximately 1,500 different cancer treatments. Cancer Monthly provides timely and ground-breaking news on the causes, diagnoses and treatments of the most common cancers including Bladder, Brain, Breast, Colon, Kidney (Renal), Liver, Lung (NSCLC), Ovarian, Prostate, and Rectal Cancers, Melanoma, Mesothelioma, and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Written for patients and their loved ones, Cancer Monthly helps families make more informed treatment decisions.
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Study Finds Biosimilar Compounds Safe and Effective for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, According to the Non-Hodgkins ...