Stem Cell Clinic

Cedars-Sinai Medical Tipsheet for Dec. 2013

By Stem Cell Medical Center

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Scientists Design and Test New Approach for Corneal Stem Cell Treatments Researchers in the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute have designed and tested a novel, minute-long procedure to prepare human amniotic membrane for use as a scaffold for specialized stem cells that may be used to treat some corneal diseases. This membrane serves as a foundation that supports the growth of stem cells in order to graft them onto the cornea. This new method, explained in a paper published in the journal PLOS ONE, may accelerate research and clinical applications for stem cell corneal transplantation. CONTACT: Cara Martinez, 310-423-7798; Email cara.martinez@cshs.org; Twitter @CedarsSinaiCara

Cancer Science Evolves, One Consent Form at a Time Tucked away in freezers chilled to minus 80 degrees Celsius are blood and tissue samples from Cedars-Sinai patients. The freezers that hold these samples also contain the hopes of investigators determined to uncover new treatments for cancer patients across the globe. As cancer research continues to evolve, scientists rely on specimen samples, such as tissue, blood or urine, from generous patients to advance discoveries and personalize care. Biobanks, like the state-of-the-art biobank at the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, allow patients to make invaluable contributions to medical research and treatment advances that may ultimately be the solution to their own diagnosis or disease down the road. CONTACT: Cara Martinez, 310-423-7798; Email cara.martinez@cshs.org; Twitter @CedarsSinaiCara

Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health System and Select Medical Announce Partnership to Open Medical Rehabilitation Hospital Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health System and Select Medical announced today a partnership to create a 138-bed acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital located in the former Century City Hospital. With an expected opening in late 2015, the rehabilitation hospital will serve the growing needs in the community for inpatient rehabilitation, and is also expected to serve as a center for treating complex rehabilitation cases from throughout the nation. The joint venture is an LLC partnership among Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health System and Select Medical. The vision of the partnership is to develop a world-class regional rehabilitation center providing highly specialized care, advanced treatment, and leading-edge technologies to treat individuals with spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, stroke, amputation, neurological disorders, and musculoskeletal and orthopedic conditions. CONTACT: Sally Stewart, 310-248-6566; Email sally.stewart@cshs.org

Cedars-Sinai Receives Fourth Straight Magnet Recognition for Nursing Excellence from American Nurses Credentialing Center For the fourth time in a row, the American Nurses Credentialing Center has granted Cedars-Sinai the Magnet recognition, the most prestigious designation a healthcare organization can receive for excellence in nursing and patient outcomes. Cedars-Sinai in 2000 became the first Southern California hospital to earn the Magnet honor; it is the only hospital in the state to be granted the designation four times. Cedars-Sinai joins a select list of only 12 hospitals worldwide that have earned Magnet recognition four times. CONTACT: Sally Stewart, 310-248-6566; Email sally.stewart@cshs.org

Ovarian Cancer Discovery Deepens Knowledge of Survival Outcomes Researchers in the Womens Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinais Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute have identified a series of 10 genes that may signify a trifecta of benefits for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer and ultimately reflect improved survival outcomes. The research found that the 10-gene biomarker panel may identify the aggressiveness of a patients disease, help predict survival outcomes and result in novel therapeutic strategies tailored to patients with the most adverse survival outcomes. CONTACT: Cara Martinez, 310-423-7798; Email cara.martinez@cshs.org; Twitter @CedarsSinaiCara

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Tipsheet for Dec. 2013

Parkinson’s stem cell project aims for 2014 approval

By Stem Cell Treatment

Parkinson's patient Ed Fitzpatrick speaks about stem cell research for his disease. Fitzpatrick talked on a Dec. 7 panel at the World Stem Cell Summit in San Diego. Bradley J. Fikes

Parkinson's patient Ed Fitzpatrick speaks about stem cell research for his disease. Fitzpatrick talked on a Dec. 7 panel at the World Stem Cell Summit in San Diego.

For eight local Parkinsons patients seeking treatment with stem cell technology, 2014 could bring the milestone theyve been anticipating.

If all goes well, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will approve an attempt to replace the brain cells destroyed in Parkinsons. The new cells, grown from each patients own skin cells, are expected to restore normal movement in the patients.

Because the new brain cells are made from the patients own cells, immunosuppressive drugs shouldnt be needed. Ideally, patients could stop taking their medications and resume normal activities for many years, or even the rest of their lives.

The project, Summit4StemCell.org, is a collaboration between three nonprofits. The Scripps Research Institute handles the science; Scripps Clinic takes care of the medical side; and the Parkinsons Association of San Diego helps to raise money for the self-funded project.

Since 2011, the focus has been at the institute, where scientists led by Jeanne Loring have made the artificial embryonic stem cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells, and turned them into the needed brain cells. Now Scripps Clinic is assuming a more prominent role to prepare for treating the patients.

A study in rats began in early December; results are expected by April. The animal study is meant to assess safety, although researchers will also look for signs of effectiveness.

In January, scientists will visit the FDA to lay the groundwork for a formal application, said Scripps Clinic neurologist Melissa Houser, who treats all eight patients.

Success in the animal study will likely result in a go-ahead, Houser said. If the animal trial fails, its back to the drawing board.

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Award Winning Arizona Pain Center, Arizona Pain Specialists, Now Offering Over 20 Effective Arthritis Treatments

By Stem Cell Treatment

Phoenix, Arizona (PRWEB) December 14, 2013

The top pain management clinics in Phoenix and throughout the Valley, Arizona Pain Specialists, are now offering over twenty effective treatments for joint and spinal arthritis. The treatment options include medication management, interventional pain management, stem cell injections, physical therapy, spinal decompression therapy, acupuncture and chiropractic treatment. Over 50 insurances are accepted at the 5 Phoenix pain clinics, call (602) 507-6550 for scheduling.

The Arizona pain management doctors at the Phoenix pain clinics offer the treatments in an outpatient setting. Joint injections are performed with cortisone, PRP therapy, stem cells and viscosupplementation. These treatments have the potential to provide excellent pain relief that lasts for weeks to over a year.

For spinal arthritis in the neck or back, spinal decompression therapy has been shown in published studies to provide excellent relief for facet arthritis, degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis. Acupuncture for arthritic joints also is usually effective as well.

Chiropractic and physical therapy help strengthen up the tissues around arthritic joints, relieving pressure on the joint itself. TENS units help alter the way the brain perceives pain signals from arthritic joints.

Along with joint injections, radiofrequency ablation is a cutting edge interventional procedure for spinal arthritis. The treatment often provides over a year of pain relief for arthritis, and a repeat procedure typically renews the relief again.

Stem cell therapies offered at Arizona Pain include bone marrow or fat derived, or amniotic stem cell injections. PRP therapy is offered as well, where published studies have shown significant benefit for joint arthritis.

With all of the potential available arthritis treatment options, therapies are individualized to each patient. Impressive success rates are achieved at helping patients avoid or delay the need for joint replacements.

Arizona Pain Specialists accept over 50 insurances at 5 locations. For more information and scheduling with the top pain management clinics in Phoenix and surrounding areas, call (602) 507-6550.

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Award Winning Arizona Pain Center, Arizona Pain Specialists, Now Offering Over 20 Effective Arthritis Treatments

UCLA stem cell scientists first to track joint cartilage development in humans

By Uncategorized

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

12-Dec-2013

Contact: Shaun Mason smason@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles

Stem cell researchers from UCLA have published the first study to identify the origin cells and track the early development of human articular cartilage, providing what could be a new cell source and biological roadmap for therapies to repair cartilage defects and damage from osteoarthritis.

Such transformative therapies could reach clinical trials within three years, said the scientists from UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research.

The study, led by Dr. Denis Evseenko, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and head of UCLA's Laboratory of Connective Tissue Regeneration, was published online Dec. 12 in the journal Stem Cell Reports and will appear in a forthcoming print edition.

Articular cartilage, a highly specialized tissue formed from cells called chondrocytes, protects the bones of joints from forces associated with load-bearing and impact and allows nearly frictionless motion between the articular surfaces the areas where bone connects with other bones in a joint.

Cartilage injury and a lack of cartilage regeneration often lead to osteoarthritis, which involves the degradation of joints, including cartilage and bone. Osteoarthritis currently affects more than 20 million people in the U.S., making joint-surface restoration a major priority in modern medicine.

While scientists have studied the ability of different cell types to generate articular cartilage, none of the current cell-based repair strategies including expanded articular chondrocytes or mesenchymal stromal cells from adult bone marrow, adipose tissue, sinovium or amniotic fluid have generated long-lasting articular cartilage tissue in the laboratory.

For the current study, Evseenko and his colleagues used complex molecular biology techniques to determine which cells grown from embryonic stem cells, which can become any cell type in the body, were the progenitors of cartilage cells, or chondrocytes. They then tested and confirmed the growth of these progenitor cells into cartilage cells and monitored their growth progress, observing and recording important genetic features, or landmarks, that indicated the growth stages of these cells as they developed into the cartilage cells.

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UCLA stem cell scientists first to track joint cartilage development in humans

San Diego Canine Overcomes Pain to Achieve Championship with the Help of Paradise Veterinary Hospital and Vet-Stem, Inc.

By Uncategorized

Poway, California (PRWEB) December 13, 2013

Noni is a ten-year-old released Canine Companion for Independence dog who just achieved her Master Agility Champion status after the pain from arthritis tried to slow her down. Nonis owner, Dr. Kim Dembinski, a veterinarian at Paradise Veterinary Hospital in San Diego turned to stem cell therapy by Vet-Stem, Inc. and fellow colleague Dr. Jennipher Harris to help Noni.

When Dr. Dembinski noticed weakness and discomfort in her aging agility dog she was proactive in keeping Noni happy and comfortable, The main thought was that she gives so much between therapy work, being my best friend, and as the clinic mascot that giving her relief from pain and her being more comfortable was the least I could do for her.

Nonis stem cell therapy involved a small fat sample collection, which was brought to Vet-Stems lab in Poway, California. There, highly trained lab technicians processed Nonis fat tissue to isolate the stem cells into doses that could be injected into the arthritic joints that were causing her pain. Normally the tissue is shipped overnight to Vet-Stem and the cells are shipped overnight back to the veterinarian making doses available within 48 hours, but because Paradise Veterinary Hospital is located near Vet-Stem Nonis stem cell doses were available for injection the same day the fat sample was collected.

Noni did very well post procedure; she regained muscle strength and flexibility, Dr. Dembinski reported, Noni did four weeks of rehab then went right back to competing in agility. Six months after the procedure she earned her MACH (Master Agility Champion), AKC (American Kennel Club) title. Because of her stem cell therapy she is still comfortable and playing agility!

Dr. Dembinski is a general practitioner for pets including dogs, cats, small mammals, birds and exotics. She is currently owner and primary veterinarian at Paradise Veterinary Hospital and sits on the board of the San Diego County Veterinary Medical Association. Caring for animals is not just a job for Dr. Dembinski, it is a passion. In her free time she and Noni compete in dog agility trials with AKC, North American Dog Agility Council and Canine Performance Events.

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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San Diego Canine Overcomes Pain to Achieve Championship with the Help of Paradise Veterinary Hospital and Vet-Stem, Inc.

Pakistani finds stem cell cure in City hospital

By Stem Cell Doctors

Bangalore, Dec 12, 2013, DHNS:

Pakistani national Imran Qureshi, 31, had never thought that he would find a cure for his ailment across the border. Thanks to the doctors of a private hospital in Bangalore, he is now almost on the path of recovery, ready to reunite with his family.

The Karachi-based businessman was treated successfully for advanced avascular necrosis for the hip through stem cell therapy recently. Having gone around the globe to various countries including the United States in a bid to avoid the surgical procedure, Qureshi landed in Bangalore about a month ago.

Avascular necrosis is a medical condition wherein there is cellular death of bone components due to interruption of blood supply. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and the bone collapses.The condition leads to severe pain in the hip joints, often leading to difficulty in walking in acute cases. He had developed pain in his hip two years ago.

I was devastated when I found out about my medical condition. The sad part was that the most common causes which lead to avascular necrosis of hip are alcoholism, steroid usage and chemotherapy. I had none of these and yet was diagnosed with this, he told reporters here on Thursday. Usually you tend to believe that such conditions only occur to people who are old.

But then this just made me realise that it can happen to anyone. I never considered India as an option. After months of rigorous research, I also had discussions with people who underwent treatment in India. I definitely made more sense to go for a stem cell therapy rather than getting my bones removed or replaced, he added.

The idea is to give much more importance to ones own stem cells than other treatments. The patient needs to be admitted only for one day for each injection. With proper treatment, most people with avascular necrosis can lead productive lives, said Dr Nagaraj, Chairman and Managing Director, LIVE 100 Hospital where Qureshi was treated.

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HIV Returns in Two Men Thought Cured After Stem Cell Transplant

By Stem Cell Doctors

Two HIV-infected men who were thought to be clear of the virus after having stem cell transplants have had the AIDS-causing pathogen return, their doctors said, scuppering hopes their cases might lead to a cure.

The two Boston men, who were also suffering from lymphoma, had no trace of the virus eight months after the transplants, researchers led by Timothy Henrich at Brigham and Womens Hospital said in July, though they said it was too early to say the men had been cured. The virus reappeared in one of the men in August and in the other in November, Henrich said in a statement after presenting the results at an AIDS meeting in Florida yesterday.

The setback leaves just two people known to have been cured of HIV infection: Timothy Ray Brown, a San Francisco man who has been clear of the virus since having a bone marrow transplant for leukemia in 2007, and an infant born with HIV in Mississippi in 2010 who was considered cured after intensive treatment shortly after birth.

The new findings are disappointing, but scientifically significant, Henrich said in a statement. We have discovered the HIV reservoir is deeper and more persistent than previously known and that our current standards of probing for HIV may not be sufficient to inform us if long-term HIV remission is possible if antiretroviral therapy is stopped.

While AIDS drugs such as Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD)s Atripla reduce HIV to undetectable levels in the body, making it a chronic disease, they dont completely clear it. The virus hides in so-called reservoirs, where it switches off the normal process of replication, enabling it to avoid detection by the medicines.

Studies have shown that when patients who have the virus under control stop treatment, the latent HIV reactivates and comes roaring back, forcing victims to resume daily pill therapy.

The two Boston men had stopped treatment following their transplants without the virus rebounding immediately, suggesting they may have been cured. In one man, the virus reappeared 12 weeks after he stopped treatment, and after 32 weeks in the other man. Both have resumed therapy and are in good health, Henrich said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simeon Bennett in Geneva at sbennett9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net

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HIV Returns in Two Men Thought Cured After Stem Cell Transplant

Stem cell science: Can two girls help change the face of medicine?

By Stem Cell Medicine

Dec. 8, 2013 at 2:49 PM ET

Jeff Swensen / for NBC News

The Mogul family at The Children's Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where parents Stephen and Robyn have taken their daughter, Bari, 9 and Hayley, 15, to undergoing extensive therapy to help with their rare genetic disorders.

At 15, Hayley Mogul lacks the fine motor skills needed to write. Her sister Bari is 9 and still eating baby food.

There's no cure for their rare disorders, caused by unique genetic mutations. But for once, there's an advantage to having conditions so rare that drug companies cannot even think of looking for a cure. The sisters are taking part in a whole new kind of experiment in which scientists are literally turning back the clock on their cells.

Theyre using an experimental technique to transform the cells into embryonic form, and then growing these baby cells in lab dishes.

The goal is the get the cells to misfire in the lab in just the same way they are in Hayleys and Baris bodies. Its a new marriage of genetics and stem cell research, and represents one of the most promising applications of so-called pluripotent stem cells.

One day these two girls will probably change the face of medicine as we know it, said their father, Steven Mogul.

Steven and Robyn Mogul dont understand why both their daughters ended up with the rare mutations, which cause a range of neurological and metabolic problems.

We have been tested, said Mogul, a 45-year-old wealth manager living in Chicago. We dont have any mutations, and there are no developmental issues. We have no idea how it happened.

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Stem cell science: Can two girls help change the face of medicine?

Definigen raises £1.3m for stem cell advance

By Stem Cell Medicine

Cambridge University spin-out Definigen has raised new funding of 1.3 million to advance its stem cell technology business from a UK platform.

The cash will be used to launch new stem cell products for disease modelling and drug discovery.

The company supplies human liver cells (hepatocytes) for preclinical drug development and disease modelling applications using human induced pluripotent stem cell technology.

This is a trailblazing venture for the business and the university. The company represents one of the first commercial opportunities to arise from the universitys expertise in stem cells and is based on the research of Dr Ludovic Vallier, Dr Tamir Rashid and Professor Roger Pedersen of the universitys Anne McLaren Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine.

Dr Vallier led a team, including Dr Rashid, Dr Nick Hannan and Candy Cho, that developed a method to generate stem cells by reprogramming cells from patients skin.

These cells, known as human induced pluripotent stem cells (hIPSC), can be differentiated into almost any cell type, allowing the opportunity to have a ready source of human cells for testing new therapies.

Definigen has built on this technology to supply hIPSC-derived hepatocytes in a highly reproducible and scalable manner for commercial use.

Through its OptiDIFF platform, Definigen produces validated libraries of disease modelled human liver cells for a range of Inherited Metabolic Diseases. The phenotype and pathology of the diseases has been confirmed in the cells and the resulting products are available for utilisation in drug discovery lead optimisation studies.

Future growth areas for the company include providing hepatocytes for toxicology testing, pancreatic cells for testing new diabetes therapies, and developing a new long-term storage and preservation method for hIPSC cells.

Other investors in this funding round include 24 Haymarket and Jonathan Milner, the CEO of Abcam, chairman of Axol Bioscience and backer of a large number of life science companies in the Cambridge MedTech cluster.

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Definigen raises £1.3m for stem cell advance

Breakthrough in treating leukemia, lymphoma with umbilical cord blood stem cells

By Stem Cell Medical Center

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

9-Dec-2013

Contact: Jim Ritter jritter@lumc.edu 708-216-2445 Loyola University Health System

MAYWOOD, Il. - Donated umbilical cord blood contains stem cells that can save the lives of patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers.

Now a study lead by a Loyola University Medical Center oncologist has found that growing cord blood stem cells in a laboratory before transplanting them into patients significantly improves survival.

The cell-expansion technology potentially could boost the number of patients who could benefit from life-saving transplants of stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood, said Patrick Stiff, MD, lead author of the study. Stiff, director of Loyola's Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, presented findings at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

The ASH meeting is the preeminent annual event for physicians and scientists in hematology. Data from more than 5,300 abstracts were presented, and Stiff's abstract was selected as one of the 2013 meeting's top submissions.

Stem cell transplants can save lives of patients who have no other options. Patients receive high-dose chemotherapy, and in some cases, high-dose radiation as well. The treatment, unfortunately, kills healthy blood cells along with the cancerous cells. To rebuild the stores of healthy cells, the patient subsequently receives a transplant infusion of immature stem cells. Over time, these stem cells develop into new blood cells.

Stem cells are produced in the bone marrow. In many cases, patients receive bone marrow stem cells donated by family members or Good Samaritans who have signed up with a bone marrow registry.

But fewer than 50 percent of eligible patients can find a matching bone marrow donor. In such cases, stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood can be an effective alternative because these cells do not require perfect matches. (The cord blood is donated by parents of newborns, and frozen in a cord blood bank.)

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Breakthrough in treating leukemia, lymphoma with umbilical cord blood stem cells

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