Stem Cell Clinic

Patients endorse key stem cell research

By Stem Cell Medicine

Despite some ethical concerns, most patients are now broadly endorsing stem cell research.

In the case of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are stem cells made from skin or other tissues, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University found patients were largely in favour of participating in iPSC research even if personal benefit was unlikely.

The patients, however, raised concerns about consent, privacy and transparency.

"Bioethicists as well as stem cell researchers and policy-makers have discussed ethical issues at length but till date, we didn't have any systematic information about what patients think about these issues," said Jeremy Sugarman, the Harvey M. Meyerhoff professor of bioethics and medicine at Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.

Unlike human embryonic stem cells, iPSCs are derived without destroying a human embryo. Research with human iPSCs is valuable for developing new drugs, studying disease, and perhaps developing medical treatments, said the study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

According to the study, consent was highly important for patients. Some patients even suggested that proper informed consent could compensate for other concerns they had about privacy, the "immortalisation" of cells and the commercialisation of stem cells.

There was a "strong desire among participants to have full disclosure of the anticipated uses, with some participants wanting to be able to veto certain uses of their cells", the study added.

"The idea that donated cells would potentially live forever was unnerving to some participants," the report stated.

"This study is a first step in getting crucial information about what values are factored into a decision to participate in iPSC research, and what those participants expect from the experience," said Sugarman.

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Patients endorse key stem cell research

Patients now endorsing key stem cell research

By Stem Cell Medicine

New York, Jan 6 : Despite some ethical concerns, most patients are now broadly endorsing stem cell research.

In the case of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are stem cells made from skin or other tissues, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University found patients were largely in favour of participating in iPSC research even if personal benefit was unlikely.

The patients, however, raised concerns about consent, privacy and transparency.

"Bioethicists as well as stem cell researchers and policy-makers have discussed ethical issues at length but till date, we didn't have any systematic information about what patients think about these issues," said Jeremy Sugarman, the Harvey M. Meyerhoff professor of bioethics and medicine at Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.

Unlike human embryonic stem cells, iPSCs are derived without destroying a human embryo. Research with human iPSCs is valuable for developing new drugs, studying disease, and perhaps developing medical treatments, said the study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

According to the study, consent was highly important for patients. Some patients even suggested that proper informed consent could compensate for other concerns they had about privacy, the "immortalisation" of cells and the commercialisation of stem cells.

There was a "strong desire among participants to have full disclosure of the anticipated uses, with some participants wanting to be able to veto certain uses of their cells", the study added.

"The idea that donated cells would potentially live forever was unnerving to some participants," the report stated.

"This study is a first step in getting crucial information about what values are factored into a decision to participate in iPSC research, and what those participants expect from the experience," said Sugarman.

--IANS (Posted on 06-01-2014)

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Patients now endorsing key stem cell research

Stanford gets $90 million cancer study grant

By Stem Cell Medicine

By Lisa M. Krieger lkrieger@mercurynews.com

Stanford has received a vast sum of money to study a tiny population of deadly cancer cells, a gift that could help combat the heartbreak of phoenixlike disease recurrence.

The $90 million from the New York City-based Ludwig Fund will boost research at the Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research and Medicine at Stanford's School of Medicine, where scientists are studying cancer stem cells for ways to tear out the roots of tumors.

Stanford is one of six institutions to share in Ludwig's $540 million contribution to the field of cancer research, announced Monday. Endowed by the late billionaire Daniel K. Ludwig, a self-made American shipping and real estate magnate who died in 1992, the fund supports cancer research that might be otherwise dependent on the whims of government or corporate support.

"This extraordinary gift will spur innovation well into the future," said Stanford president John Hennessy, calling it "a tremendous vote of confidence."

Billions of dollars have been spent on cancer research since President Richard M. Nixon declared war on the disease in 1971. Yet the fight is going slower than most had hoped, with small changes in the death rate over the decades since.

Part of the problem, scientists think, it that some cancers are driven by hidden cancer stem cells -- which remain tenacious even after treatment, reasserting themselves and continuing to grow. Their discovery by Canadian scientist John Dick in 1994 profoundly altered our concept of cancer biology.

If such cells are proven to be the determinant of relapse, the implication for cancer therapy is enormous. Any treatment that leaves behind residual cancer stem cells would inevitably lead to a relapse.

"These are the subset of cells that self-renew -- they're the dangerous one," said Dr. Irving Weissman, who directs Stanford's Ludwig Center, the only cancer stem cell center of its kind.

Weissman and Dr. Michael Clarke have isolated these cells in many different types of cancers and identified ways they might be vulnerable.

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Stanford gets $90 million cancer study grant

Cedars-Sinai researchers target cancer stem cells in malignant brain tumors

By Stem Cell Medical Center

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

6-Jan-2014

Contact: Sandy Van sandy@prpacific.com 808-526-1708 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 6, 2014) Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and Department of Neurosurgery identified immune system targets on cancer stem cells cells from which malignant brain tumors are believed to originate and regenerate and created an experimental vaccine to attack them.

Results of laboratory and animal studies are published in the online edition of Stem Cells Translational Medicine, and will appear in the March 2014 print edition. A Phase I safety study in human volunteers with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and aggressive brain tumor in adults, is underway.

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.

The researchers identified certain fragments of a protein CD133 that is found on cancer stem cells of some brain tumors and other cancers. In the laboratory, they cultured the proteins with dendritic cells, the immune system's most powerful antigen-presenting cells, which are responsible for helping the immune system recognize and attack invaders.

Studies in lab mice showed that the resulting vaccine was able to stimulate an immune response against the CD133 proteins without causing side effects such as an autoimmune reaction against normal cells or organs.

"CD133 is one of several proteins made at high levels in the cancer stem cells of glioblastoma multiforme. Because this protein appears to be associated with resistance of the cancer stem cells to treatment with radiation or chemotherapy or both, we see it as an ideal target for immunotherapy. We have found at least two fragments of the protein that can be targeted to trigger an immune response to kill tumor cells. We don't know yet if the response would be strong enough to prevent a tumor from coming back, but we now have a human clinical trial underway to assess safety for further study," said John Yu, MD, vice chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, director of surgical neuro-oncology, medical director of the Brain Tumor Center and neurosurgical director of the Gamma Knife Program at Cedars-Sinai. He is senior author of the journal article.

With standard care, which includes surgery, radiation treatment and chemotherapy, median length of survival is 15 months for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme. Cedars-Sinai researchers have studied dendritic cell immunotherapy since 1997, with the first patient human clinical trial launched in 1998.

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Cedars-Sinai researchers target cancer stem cells in malignant brain tumors

Stanford shares in $540 million gift from Ludwig Cancer Research

By Stem Cell Medical Center

Stanford Report, January 6, 2014

Irving Weissman, director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research and Medicine at Stanford.

The Stanford University School of Medicine has received $90 million from Ludwig Cancer Research on behalf of its founder, Daniel K. Ludwig, to support the school's innovative work in cancer stem cells, which are believed to drive the growth of many cancers.

Stanford is one of six institutions to share in Ludwig's $540 million contribution to the field of cancer research. Announced today, the gift is one of the largest ever made to the field from an individual donor.

The funding will augment the existing endowment for the Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research and Medicine at Stanford, established in 2006, where scientists already have discovered some promising therapies that are moving into clinical trials.

"The gift from Ludwig Cancer Research is truly historic," said Stanford President John Hennessy. "Over the years, Ludwig has been a generous supporter of cancer research, and through its support changed the course of cancer treatment. But this extraordinary gift will spur innovation well into the future.Stanford is distinguished for its cancer research and has assembled a 'dream team' of dedicated scientists at the Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research and Medicine at Stanford. This gift is a tremendous vote of confidence in the work they and their colleagues at other Ludwig Centers are doing and will provide essential support as they pioneer new treatments and therapies."

The Ludwig gift will complement Stanford's Cancer Initiative, a $250 million effort to advance research and improve patient care, said Lloyd Minor, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine.

"We are very grateful to Ludwig Cancer Research for this exceptional gift, which will provide momentum for further discoveries in cancer stem cells and spur the development of new therapies," Minor said. "Together with our Cancer Initiative, it represents an opportunity to truly transform cancer research and treatment."

With his latest gift, Ludwig has now committed $150 million to Stanford. The university's Ludwig Center, the only cancer stem cell center of its kind, is directed by Irving Weissman, the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor for Clinical Investigation in Cancer Research at Stanford.

The first evidence of cancer stem cells was found in acute myeloid leukemia in 1994 by Canadian scientist John Dick. Weissman and his colleagues purified human blood-forming stem cells in 1992 and human leukemia stem cells in 2000 and later identified potential therapeutic targets on them. Since then, Michael Clarke, professor of medicine at Stanford and a Ludwig Center deputy director, isolated cancer stem cells in breast cancer, pancreatic cancers and colorectal cancer, and with Weissman head and neck cancers, bladder cancer, myelomas and other cancers.

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Stanford shares in $540 million gift from Ludwig Cancer Research

2014 30 Under 30: Science & Healthcare

By Uncategorized

Cofounder of Stem Cell Theranostics and StartX Med Divya Nag is attacking one of medicine's biggest problems: the fact that most types of human cellslike those in the heart or liverdie when you keep them in a petri dish. This makes testing new drugs a risky, costly and time-consuming business: 90% of medicines that start clinical trials turn out to be too unsafe or ineffective to market. But a new technology, the induced pluripotent stem cell, may help. Nag's company, Stem Cell Theranostics, was created from technology funded by a $20 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine and is closing a venture round. It turns cellsusually from a piece of skininto embryonic-like stem cells, then uses them to create heart cells. These cells can live in petri dishes and be used to test new drugs. Someday they might even replace heart tissue that dies during a heart attack. Three large pharmaceutical companies are customers, though revenues are small. Nag, who was already publishing in prestigious scientific journals when she was an undergraduate, dropped out of Stanford to pursue her dream. No regrets: "Our technology was so promising and I was so passionate about it that nothing else made sense to me," she says. "It was very clear this was what I wanted to do."

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2014 30 Under 30: Science & Healthcare

Beverly Hills Institute for Cellular Therapy Now Offering Revolutionary Stem Cell Face Lift Procedure at Special New …

By Uncategorized

Beverly Hills, California (PRWEB) January 06, 2014

The top stem cell clinic in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, Beverly Hills Institute of Cellular Therapy, is now offering revolutionary stem cell facelift procedures with a New Years pricing special. The procedure involves a nonoperative technique with amniotic stem cells performed by licensed providers. No incisions are necessary, and the outpatient procedures are being offered at 20% off regular price. Call (424) 253-5577 for more information and scheduling.

Traditional facelift procedures involve anesthesia, incisions and significant healing time. A stem cell facelift procedure is performed as an outpatient with no incisions or systemic anesthesia necessary. The Beverly Hills Institute utilizes amniotic stem cells, which are processed at an FDA regulated lab and have been used over 10,000 times without adverse events.

Stem cells have the capability to eliminate wrinkles and provide the skin with a more youthful, glowing appearance. The procedure allows patients to avoid the risks of infection and no stitches are necessary. It costs considerably less than a traditional facelift and now at 20% off is a great option for those desiring to look younger without going through separate procedures for each facial area.

As individuals age, the skin tone in the facial area and texture begin to decline. Stem cells are able to rejuvenate collagen deficient areas and have the capability to change into all types of cells in a procedure that is natural, affordable and safe.

Amniotic fluid is extremely rich in stem cells, growth factors, hyaluronic acid and anti-inflammatory cells. The combination works extremely well for the stem cell facial procedure, with results that are often noticeable quickly and long lasting.

This new technology is performed by licensed aestheticians, nurses and Double Board Certified physicians at the Institute. The procedure takes less than an hour to complete. In addition to the stem cell facelift, the Institute also offers stem cell injections for numerous musculoskeletal conditions including tendon and ligament injury along with degenerative arthritis. This includes stem cell therapy for knees, shoulders and hips.

For more information and scheduling to discuss options with stem cell procedures for looking and feeling younger while avoiding surgery, call the Beverly Hills Institue for Cellular Therapy at (424) 253-5577.

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Beverly Hills Institute for Cellular Therapy Now Offering Revolutionary Stem Cell Face Lift Procedure at Special New ...

Stem cell transplant complication gains attention at UW Health

By Stem Cell Treatment

After Susan Derse Phillips had chemotherapy for leukemia, she received a stem cell transplant, getting blood-forming cells from a donor to restore her immune system and attack any remaining leukemia cells.

The procedure apparently cured her leukemia, a type of blood cancer. But her skin turned red, her mouth and eyes became dry and she developed diarrhea, fatigue, bronchitis and pneumonia.

She had graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD, a life-threatening complication of the transplant. Her donors cells the graft werent attacking just her leukemia. They were attacking her skin, her gut, her lungs and other organs essentially, her body, the host.

It got pretty scary pretty quickly, said Phillips, 66, of Madison, who continues to struggle with the condition two years after the transplant.

More than half of patients who get donor stem cell transplants develop GVHD, and at least 20 percent of them die from it, said Dr. Mark Juckett, a hematologist at UW Health. But the complication, which likely is under-reported, receives relatively little attention.

Phillips, former president and CEO of Agrace HospiceCare in Fitchburg, set out to change that in Wisconsin. With $500,000 from two donors as seed money, she persuaded UW Health to launch a program to focus on the condition.

UW Carbone Cancer Centers new GVHD program aims to provide better treatment for the 250 or so UW Health patients with the condition and up to 1,000 such patients in Wisconsin and parts of neighboring states, said Juckett, one of the programs two leaders. The program will also study ways to prevent GVHD.

Too often, when doctors give donor stem cell transplants, were trading one disease for another, said Juckett, Phillips doctor. Theres been a lot of focus on how best to do the transplant ... but theres never been a real recognition of dealing with GHVD as a real problem.

Nationwide, about 18,500 stem cell or bone marrow transplants were performed in 2011, according to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research in Milwaukee.

At UW Hospital, about 150 patients receive the transplants each year. Roughly 100 of them get infusions of their own stem cells, after high-dose chemotherapy or radiation, for conditions such as multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkins lymphoma. They are not at risk for GVHD.

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Stem cell transplant complication gains attention at UW Health

Gene Patent Case Fuels U.S. Court Test of Stem Cell Right

By Stem Cell Treatment

As scientists get closer to using embryonic stem cells in new treatments for blindness, spinal cord injuries and heart disease, a U.S. legal debate could determine who profits from that research.

Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit advocacy group, wants an appeals court to invalidate a University of Wisconsin-Madisons patentfor stem cells derived from human embryos, saying its too similar to earlier research. The Santa Monica, California, group also says the U.S. Supreme Courts June ruling limiting ownership rights of human genes should apply to stem cells, a potentially lucrative field for medical breakthroughs.

The challenge to Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the universitys licensing arm, is about whether patents help or hinder U.S. stem-cell research, which has been stymied by political debate. The consumer group says it drives up the cost of research by requiring companies and some academics to pay a licensing fee to the university.

What were asking the government to do is say WARF has no right to the patent, said Dan Ravicher, executive director Public Patent Foundation in New York, which is handling the challenge for Consumer Watchdog. Its like the government sent a check to WARF they didnt deserve.

Consumer Watchdog lost a challenge at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in January 2013. It wants the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington to review that decision and consider new arguments based on the Supreme Courts finding that genes -- like stem cells -- are a natural material that cant be patented. Beyond the science question, the case has become a flashpoint over how far members of the public can go to invalidate patents on policy grounds.

While the patent expires in April 2015 and the university has other stem-cell-related patents, Consumer Watchdog is continuing a six-year battle to invalidate it because stem-cell research is starting to get some traction into therapeutic uses, Ravicher said.

The promise of embryonic stem cells is to create or repair tissues and organs using material taken from eggs fertilized in the laboratory. The cells created can be replicated indefinitely, and with the right biological cues, may aid in treating damaged heart tissue and spinal cords, or generate therapies for diabetes and cancer. Companies like StemCells Inc. (STEM) and Advanced Cell Technology Inc. are testing therapies to treat macular degeneration, a cause of blindness.

The next paradigm shift in medicine will be advances in cell therapy -- its under way, said Jason Kolbert, senior biotechnology analyst with Maxim Group LLC in New York. He said pharmaceutical makers such as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) of Petach Tikva, Israel, and Pfizer (PFE) Inc. of New York are working with stem-cell researchers on new therapies.

Stem-cell science in the U.S. was curbed in 2001 when then-President George W. Bush issued an executive order limiting research to existing cell lines amid controversy over human embryo destruction, even though they were never in a womans uterus. President Barack Obama reversed that order in 2009.

Some scientists have avoided the public debate by using adult cells to find the unlimited potential they have in embryonic cells.

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Gene Patent Case Fuels U.S. Court Test of Stem Cell Right

West Coast Stem Cell Clinic, TeleHealth, Now Offering Stem Cell Injections for Ligament Sprains

By Stem Cell Treatment

Orange County, CA (PRWEB) January 06, 2014

Top West Coast Stem Cell Clinic, TeleHealth, is now offering stem cell injections for ligament sprains. This includes injuries of the ankle, knee, wrist and other extremity joints. Board Certified doctors administer the outpatient injections which can help patients heal quicker than conventional treatments. For more information and scheduling, call (888) 828-4575.

In adults, ligament sprains can take months to heal due to limited blood supply and healing potential. This can keep athletes off the field and inhibit the ability of even recreational athletes to walk and run without pain.

Conventional pain relief treatments are able to provide pain relief. This may include steroid injections or anti-inflammatories by mouth. However, these treatments do not alter the course of the healing.

With the advent of regenerative medicine treatments, the potential exists for quicker healing. These treatments include fat or bone marrow derived stem cell injections along with platelet rich plasma therapy.

Platelet rich plasma therapy, known as PRP therapy, involves a simple blood draw from the patient. The blood is spun in a centrifuge, which concentrates the platelets and growth factors. These are then injected into the area of ligament injury.

With the fat or bone marrow derived stem cells, the material is harvested in an outpatient procedure from the patient. It is processed immediately to concentrate the patient's stem cells and then injected right away into the injured region.

Small published studies have shown the treatment to be very effective for healing the injuries faster than with conventional treatments. There is low risk involved, the treatments are outpatient and performed by highly experienced Board Certified doctors who have over twenty years combined experience in regenerative medicine treatments.

Along with the injections for ligament injury, stem cell injections are also offered for degenerative arthritis, rotator cuff injury, back and neck pain, achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and more.

TeleHealth has two offices for treatment, one in Orange and a second in Upland, CA. Call (888) 828-4575 for more information and scheduling.

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West Coast Stem Cell Clinic, TeleHealth, Now Offering Stem Cell Injections for Ligament Sprains

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