Stem Cell Clinic

Stem cells used in study to regenerate heart tissue

By Stem Cell Doctors

Medical investigators are embarking on a study that involves infusing 10 million stem cells directly into a coronary artery of heart attack patients in an effort to regenerate tissue that otherwise would be forever damaged.

Regeneration has been an ongoing theme in science fiction and a goal of real-life scientists.

Dr. Luis Gruberg, of the Stony Brook Heart Institute, and Dr. Allen Jeremias, director of the intensive care unit, led a team late last month in a novel case, which they describe as a clinical trial designed to harvest, and then inject, a patient's own stem cells into the blocked artery responsible for the attack.

"This is a post-heart attack procedure and it is for patients who have had a large heart attack," said Gruberg, director of interventional cardiology research.

In patients whose attacks are severe, vast portions of the heart are irreparably damaged, resulting in cardiac tissue that no longer performs efficiently.

Every year about 715,000 Americans have a heart attack. Of those, 525,000 are a first heart attack and 190,000 are repeat episodes. Every 44 seconds someone in the United States dies of a heart attack, according to federal data.

If stem cells can aid in the remodeling of the heart, regenerating healthy tissue, then medicine can offer patients a new lease on life, the doctors said.

Arriving at a point when such a treatment can be offered, Gruberg added, requires research. The gold standard of clinical study in Western medicine is the placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial, which means some of the Stony Brook heart patients will receive a stem cell transplant, others, a placebo.

Doctors began their study, part of a larger national investigation, abruptly late last month because they had been awaiting the perfect patient.

That person, a 66-year-old man who had been visiting Long Island from the Midwest, arrived at Stony Brook University Hospital as a transfer from Southampton Hospital.

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Stem cells used in study to regenerate heart tissue

stem cell therapy treatment for head injury by dr alok sharma, mumbai, india – Video

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stem cell therapy treatment for head injury by dr alok sharma, mumbai, india
improvement seen after stem cell therapy treatment for head injury by dr alok sharma, mumbai, india. Stem Cell Therapy done date 16 Nov 2010 After Stem Cell ...

By: Neurogen Brain and Spine Institute

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stem cell therapy treatment for head injury by dr alok sharma, mumbai, india - Video

Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine – University of Rochester …

By Stem Cell Medical Center

The University of Rochester Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute was founded in 2008 in recognition of the tremendous promise that the discipline of stem cell biology offers for our understanding of development, disease and discovery of new treatments for a wide range of afflictions. Much as the discoveries of antibiotics and vaccination revolutionized our abilities to treat disease and reduce suffering, the discoveries of stem cell biology are poised to provide similar benefits

The University of Rochester is home to a rich and diverse stem cell faculty, with more than 40 faculty from 15 different departments, and more than 35 research track faculty and senior research fellows. These laboratories are collectively home to over 200 staff, including multiple Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows, M.D./Ph.D. students and technical fellows. Currently committed research awards, center grants, training grants and industry sponsored programs generated by this faculty represent over $60 million in direct cost commitments. Several of the programs at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) are among the top programs both nationally and internationally. For example, there is particular strength in the field of neuromedicine, particularly in the context of the stem and progenitor cells giving rise to the glial cells of the central nervous system, with the faculty at URMC including several of the international leaders in such research. The Center for Musculoskeletal Research is rated as the No. 1 orthopaedics group in the United States in NIH funding. In the newly evolving field of cancer stem cell biology, a team of leading individuals also has been assembled, with drugs discovered through this effort already entering clinical trials. This intellectual environment is associated with large numbers of patent applications and with multiple opportunities for translating discoveries into therapies.

The research interests of faculty associated with University of Rochesters Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute range from model organisms to treatment of neurological disease, from investigations on the origins of red blood cells to the developing approaches to the treatment of fractures and osteroporosis, from studies on how to protect the body from the toxic effects of current cancer treatments to the development of new treatments that target cancer cells while sparing the normal cells of the body.

The following are recent news and events from our Institute:

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Dormant Adult Stem Cells Suppress Cancer

By Uncategorized

A release from the University of California-Los Angleles written by Shaun Mason reports that researchers at UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have discovered a mechanism by which certain adult stem cells suppress their ability to initiate skin cancer during their dormant phase an understanding that could be exploited for better cancer-prevention strategies. The study, led by Andrew White and William Lowry, was published online Decemeber 15th 2013 in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

The release notes that hfollicle stem cells, the tissue-specific adult stem cells that generate the hair follicles, are also the cells of origin for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, a common skin cancer. These stem cells cycle between periods of activation during which they can grow and quiescence (when they remain dormant).

White and Lowry applied known cancer-causing genes to hair follicle stem cells of laboratory mice and found that during the cells dormant phase, they could not initiate skin cancer. Once the cells were in their active period, however, they began growing cancer.

The release quotes White as saying, "We found that this tumor suppression via adult stem cell quiescence was mediated by PTEN, a gene important in regulating the cell's response to signaling pathways. Therefore, stem cell quiescence is a novel form of tumor suppression in hair follicle stem cells, and PTEN must be present for the suppression to work."

The team believes that understanding cancer suppression through quiescence could better inform preventative strategies for certain patients, such as organ transplant recipients, who are particularly susceptible to squamous cell carcinoma, and for those taking the drug vemurafenib for melanoma, another type of skin cancer. The study also may reveal parallels between squamous cell carcinoma and other cancers in which stem cells have a quiescent phase.

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Dormant Adult Stem Cells Suppress Cancer

Give the Gift of Quality of Life to Your Pet This Holiday Season

By Uncategorized

Poway, California (PRWEB) December 26, 2013

Vet-Stem, Inc., the leading regenerative veterinary medicine company, out of San Diego County, California offers horse and pet owners the ability to give the gift of Quality of Life this holiday season and in the New Year. Vet-Stems services include banking of small amounts of a pet or horses stem cells, with the ability to grow additional cells as stem cell doses may be needed. Stem cells are commonly used for arthritis, joint issues, and tendon or ligament injury.

The New Year brings an onslaught of puppies, gifted through the holidays, coming in for vaccines and health checks. Most owners are not thinking about a few years down the road when their pet slows with age, or stops enjoying activities due to pain, injury, and inflammation. Injury and arthritis can cause decreased ability and motivation, which can decrease a pets Quality of Life. Stem cells are a natural, non-prescription way to provide relief from the pain of injury, inflammation and arthritis. Owners can enjoy the security of banking stem cells for future use much like new parents invest in banking cord blood for their childs future.

Puppies receiving spay or neuter services can have a small, grape size, amount of fat collected for Vet-Stems StemInsure service. The fat is shipped overnight to Vet-Stems lab and processed, extracting the stem cells for banking and the possibility of future Cell Culture. Puppies are not the only ones that can have a fat collection done during anesthesia services, but pets scheduled for dental cleanings as well as pets receiving orthopedic or arthroscopic surgeries.

All can benefit from Vet-Stems Cell Culture process. This provides a lifetime of therapeutic doses from a small amount of stem cells, by growing them, without having to collect more fat or have additional surgery. For more uses and expected results of Vet-Stem Regenerative Cell Therapies in animals, visit http://www.vet-stem.com/owners.php.

About Vet-Stem, Inc. Vet-Stem, Inc. was formed in 2002 to bring regenerative medicine to the veterinary profession. The privately held company is working to develop therapies in veterinary medicine that apply regenerative technologies while utilizing the natural healing properties inherent in all animals. As the first company in the United States to provide an adipose-derived stem cell service to veterinarians for their patients, Vet-Stem, Inc. pioneered the use of regenerative stem cells in veterinary medicine. The company holds exclusive licenses to over 50 patents including world-wide veterinary rights for use of adipose derived stem cells. In the last decade over 10,000 animals have been treated using Vet-Stem, Inc.s services, and Vet-Stem is actively investigating stem cell therapy for immune-mediated and inflammatory disease, as well as organ disease and failure. For more on Vet-Stem, Inc. and Veterinary Regenerative Medicine visit http://www.vet-stem.com or call 858-748-2004.

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Give the Gift of Quality of Life to Your Pet This Holiday Season

Stem cells tested to repair hearts

By Stem Cell Treatment

Dr. Aidan R. Raney performs a checkup on heart attack patient Mark Athens, 52, on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla. Athens received a stem cell treatment to help his heart recover as part of a clinical trial to determine the treatments safety and effectiveness.

A new stem cell treatment may help heart attack patients do something once thought medically impossible regenerate dead heart muscle.

Scripps Health in La Jolla is one of three centers testing the therapy from Capricor, a Los Angeles biotech company. The cardiac stem cells are meant to boost the hearts natural ability to perform minor repairs. If it works, scars should shrink and functional heart muscle should grow.

Capricor gets the cells from donor hearts, grows them into the amount needed for treatment, then sends them to doctors taking part in what is called the Allstar trial. Doctors inject the cells into the coronary artery, where they are expected to migrate to the heart and encourage muscle regrowth.

The trial has successfully completed Phase 1, which mainly evaluates safety. On Dec. 17, Capricor said it had received permission to begin Phase 2, which will examine efficacy in about 300 patients who will get the treatment or a placebo. More information can be found at clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier NCT01458405.

The Allstar trial is funded with a $19.7 million disease team grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM, the states stem cell agency.

This is a highly significant announcement for us at CIRM as its the first time weve funded a therapy into a Phase 2 clinical trial, Chairman Jonathan Thomas said in a Dec. 23 statement.

About 600,000 Americans die of heart disease annually, making it the leading cause of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Even those surviving may be left permanently impaired, if the heart is severely damaged. These are the patients Capricor seeks to help.

Mark Athens received Capricors treatment on Sept. 25, about a month after having a moderate heart attack. The Encinitas resident was the last treated under Phase 1, said Scripps cardiologist Richard Schatz, who performed the procedure. It will take about six months to know whether the treatment worked, Schatz said.

Unlike many trials, Phase 1 was not placebo-controlled, so Athens knows he got the therapy. He appeared cheerful, smiling and bantering with his examining doctor during a Dec. 17 checkup at Scripps Green Hospital.

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Stem cells tested to repair hearts

Stem cells tested to repair damaged hearts

By Stem Cell Treatment

Dr. Aidan R. Raney performs a checkup on heart attack patient Mark Athens, 52, on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla. Athens received a stem cell treatment to help his heart recover as part of a clinical trial to determine the treatments safety and effectiveness.

A new stem cell treatment may help heart attack patients do something once thought medically impossible regenerate dead heart muscle.

Scripps Health in La Jolla is one of three centers testing the therapy from Capricor, a Los Angeles biotech company. The cardiac stem cells are meant to boost the hearts natural ability to perform minor repairs. If it works, scars should shrink and functional heart muscle should grow.

Capricor gets the cells from donor hearts, grows them into the amount needed for treatment, then sends them to doctors taking part in what is called the Allstar trial. Doctors inject the cells into the coronary artery, where they are expected to migrate to the heart and encourage muscle regrowth.

The trial has successfully completed Phase 1, which mainly evaluates safety. On Dec. 17, Capricor said it had received permission to begin Phase 2, which will examine efficacy in about 300 patients who will get the treatment or a placebo. More information can be found at clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier NCT01458405.

The Allstar trial is funded with a $19.7 million disease team grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM, the states stem cell agency.

This is a highly significant announcement for us at CIRM as its the first time weve funded a therapy into a Phase 2 clinical trial, Chairman Jonathan Thomas said in a Dec. 23 statement.

About 600,000 Americans die of heart disease annually, making it the leading cause of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Even those surviving may be left permanently impaired, if the heart is severely damaged. These are the patients Capricor seeks to help.

Mark Athens received Capricors treatment on Sept. 25, about a month after having a moderate heart attack. The Encinitas resident was the last treated under Phase 1, said Scripps cardiologist Richard Schatz, who performed the procedure. It will take about six months to know whether the treatment worked, Schatz said.

Unlike many trials, Phase 1 was not placebo-controlled, so Athens knows he got the therapy. He appeared cheerful, smiling and bantering with his examining doctor during a Dec. 17 checkup at Scripps Green Hospital.

See the article here:
Stem cells tested to repair damaged hearts

Stem cell gene therapy shows promise for treating ‘devastating’ skin diseases

By Stem Cell Treatment

Washington, Dec 27 : Researchers evaluated a patient with a genetic skin disorder known as epidermolysis bullosa (EB) nearly seven years after he had undergone a gene therapy procedure as part of a clinical trial.

They found that a small number of skin stem cells transplanted into the patient's legs were sufficient to restore normal skin function, without causing any adverse side effects.

To evaluate stem cell-based gene therapy as a potential treatment, Senior study author Michele De Luca of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and his colleagues previously launched a phase I/II clinical trial at the University of Modena and recruited an EB patient named Claudio.

The researchers took skin stem cells from Claudio's palm, corrected the genetic defect in these cells, and then transplanted them into Claudio's upper legs.

In the new study, De Luca and his team found that this treatment resulted in long-term restoration of normal skin function. Nearly seven years later, Claudio's upper legs looked normal and did not show signs of blisters, and there was no evidence of tumour development. Remarkably, a small number of transplanted stem cells was sufficient for long-lasting skin regeneration. Even though Claudio's skin had undergone about 80 cycles of renewal during this time period, the transplanted stem cells still retained molecular features of palm skin cells and did not adopt features of leg skin cells.

The study is published in journal Stem Cell Reports.

--ANI (Posted on 27-12-2013)

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Stem cell gene therapy shows promise for treating 'devastating' skin diseases

Gene therapy for human skin disease produces long-term benefits

By Stem Cell Treatment

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

26-Dec-2013

Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary moleary@cell.com 617-397-2802 Cell Press

Stem cell-based gene therapy holds promise for the treatment of devastating genetic skin diseases, but the long-term clinical outcomes of this approach have been unclear. In a study online December 26th in the ISSCR's journal Stem Cell Reports, published by Cell Press, researchers evaluated a patient with a genetic skin disorder known as epidermolysis bullosa (EB) nearly seven years after he had undergone a gene therapy procedure as part of a clinical trial. The study revealed that a small number of skin stem cells transplanted into the patient's legs were sufficient to restore normal skin function, without causing any adverse side effects.

"These findings pave the way for the future safe use of epidermal stem cells for combined cell and gene therapy of epidermolysis bullosa and other genetic skin diseases," says senior study author Michele De Luca of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

EB is a painful condition that causes the skin to be very fragile and to blister easily, and it can also cause life-threatening infections. Because there is no cure for the disease, current treatment strategies focus on relieving symptoms. To evaluate stem cell-based gene therapy as a potential treatment, De Luca and his colleagues previously launched a phase I/II clinical trial at the University of Modena and recruited an EB patient named Claudio. The researchers took skin stem cells from Claudio's palm, corrected the genetic defect in these cells, and then transplanted them into Claudio's upper legs.

In the new study, De Luca and his team found that this treatment resulted in long-term restoration of normal skin function. Nearly seven years later, Claudio's upper legs looked normal and did not show signs of blisters, and there was no evidence of tumor development. Remarkably, a small number of transplanted stem cells was sufficient for long-lasting skin regeneration.

Even though Claudio's skin had undergone about 80 cycles of renewal during this time period, the transplanted stem cells still retained molecular features of palm skin cells and did not adopt features of leg skin cells. "This finding suggests that adult stem cells primarily regenerate the tissue in which they normally reside, with little plasticity to regenerate other tissues," De Luca says. "This calls into question the supposed plasticity of adult stem cells and highlights the need to carefully chose the right type of stem cell for therapeutic tissue regeneration."

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Stem Cell Reports, De Rosa et al.: "LONG-TERM STABILITY AND SAFETY OF TRANSGENIC CULTURED EPIDERMAL STEM CELLS IN GENE THERAPY OF JUNCTIONAL EPIDERMOLYSIS BULLOSA."

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Gene therapy for human skin disease produces long-term benefits

Stem Cells Converted into Lung Cells | Worldhealth.net Anti …

By Stem Cell Medicine

With a number of research teams reporting that human stem cells are converted into heart cells, pancreatic beta cells, intestinal cells, liver cells, nerve cells, Hans-Willem Snoeck, from the Columbia Center for Translational Immunology (New York, USA), and colleagues have discovered that new factors can complete the transformation of human stem cells into functional lung epithelial cells. The resultant cells were found to express markers of at least six types of long and airway epithelial cells, particularly markers of type 2 alveolar epithelial cells important because they produce a surfactant that maintains the lung alveoli, and participate in the lung repair after injury or damage. The findings have implications ultimately for the potential to produce an autologous lung graft generating lung tissue sufficient for transplantation from a patient's own stem cells.

Huang SX, Islam MN, O'Neill J, Hu Z, Yang YG, Snoeck HW, et al. Efficient generation of lung and airway epithelial cells from human pluripotent stem cells. Nat Biotechnol. 2013 Dec 1.

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