Stem Cell Clinic

Hormone Dramatically Increases Insulin Production, Possible Diabetes Breakthrough

Editor's Choice Main Category: Diabetes Article Date: 26 Apr 2013 - 9:00 PDT

Current ratings for: Hormone Dramatically Increases Insulin Production, Possible Diabetes Breakthrough

3.8 (10 votes)

3 (2 votes)

The authors wrote that betatrophin might also help patients with type 1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes when they are first diagnosed.

In animal experiments the researchers found that betatrophin caused laboratory mice to produce beta cells at up to 30 times the normal rate. Beta cells are the insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas - put simply, beta cells produce insulin.

These new beta cells only produce insulin when the body requires it. The scientists explained that this breakthrough could mean that type 2 diabetes patients may have a natural regulation of insulin, plus a considerable reduction in diabetes-related complications. Diabetes is a major cause of amputations and non-genetic loss of vision.

HSCI Co-Director Doug Melton and postdoctoral fellow Peng Yi, who both discovered betatrophin, stressed that a great deal of work remains to be done before trying the hormone out on humans. They added that their work so far, which was mainly funded by a federal research grant, has already attracted the attention of pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Doug Melton, who is Harvard's Xander University Professor and co-chair of the University's Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, said:

Type 2 diabetes prevalence in the USA has increased considerably over the last thirty years, in parallel with rising obesity rates, the authors explained. The illness causes patients to gradually lose beta cells, as well as the ability to produce enough insulin.

Read more from the original source:
Hormone Dramatically Increases Insulin Production, Possible Diabetes Breakthrough

Many Kids Who Undergo Stem Cell Transplants Must Return to Hospital

WEDNESDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly two-thirds of children who received stem cell transplants were readmitted to the hospital within six months for treatment of problems such as infections and unexplained fevers, a new study finds.

Children who were given stem cells donated by other people were twice as likely to be readmitted as those who received their own stem cells, said the researchers at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center in Boston.

"No one had ever looked at these data in children," Dr. Leslie Lehmann, clinical director of pediatric stem cell transplantation, said in a cancer center news release. "This is very important information and will allow us to counsel families appropriately, as well as try to devise interventions that reduce the rate of readmissions."

Lehmann and Harvard Medical School student David Shulman analyzed the medical records of 129 children who had stem cell transplants from 2008 to 2011 and found that 64 percent of them had at least one hospital readmission within 180 days after their transplant.

Fever without a known cause accounted for 39 percent of readmissions, infections for 24 percent, and gastrointestinal problems for 15 percent, the study found.

"Most of the patients went on to be successfully treated and ultimately did very well," Lehmann said.

The researchers also found that 79 percent of children who received stem cells from a related or unrelated donor were readmitted, compared with 38 percent of those who received their own stem cells.

The findings are scheduled for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology Oncology, taking place this week in Miami. Study data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

"We hope these findings can eventually lead to identifying a group of low-risk children who could be managed at local hospitals rather than transplant centers, reducing costs and inconvenience to families," Lehmann said.

The goal is to identify which patients could be safely treated without requiring hospital admission, she said.

Originally posted here:
Many Kids Who Undergo Stem Cell Transplants Must Return to Hospital

Bubba bounces back! Stem cell treatment for dogs

BACKGROUND: The use of stem cells to treat various health problems in pets first came about in 2003 for the treatment of horses. A few years later, stem cell treatments for household pets, such as dogs and cats, started to become available as an alternative to surgery or more serious procedures. While veterinarians continue to research different applications, so far stem cells are often used in regenerative therapy for dogs in order to help with arthritis and other joint issues. For this purpose, stem cells are taken from the dogs own fat tissue and injected directly into the diseased joints. (Source: http://www.harvardpress.com)

TREATMENT: Stem cell therapy is just one of several alternative treatment options now available for pets. Other alternative veterinary medicine includes acupuncture, traditional Chinese herbal medicine, and chiropractic and aquatic therapies. Acupuncture is the application of small-gauge needles to various points on the body for the purpose of eliciting physiological responses in the treatment of almost any disease or condition. Chinese herbal medicine is mainly used with dogs because it is difficult to administer to cats. The herbs come in powder, capsule, and biscuit form. Powder is the least expensive, but most difficult to give. They are used to treat the same conditions as Western Medicine except for surgical conditions. (Source: http://www.holistic-pet-vet.com/chinese-herbal-medicine-for-pets) These treatments have gained popularity as pet owners have become more and more willing to do whatever it takes to keep their animals healthy. In fact, in 2008 the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society reported that the number of veterinarians who have completed their 156 hour long training course in animal acupuncture has quadrupled over the past decade. (Source: http://www.time.com)

NEW TECHNOLOGY: Veterinarian Ashraf Gomaa from Abbott Animal Hospital in Rehoboth, MA used stem cell therapy to help improve Bubba the bulldogs hip dysplasia. The adipose-derived stem cell procedure performed on Bubba is the first one to be done in the state Massachusetts. Dr. Gomaa extracted fat cells from Bubba and then put them through a machine which breaks the cells down to the healthy stem cells. The stem cells were then injected directly into Bubbas hip. An added benefit to the procedure is that since the animals own fat cells are used, there are no serious side effects associated with the injections. Although stem cell regenerative therapy does not cure hip dysplasia, it can greatly reduce symptoms and improve the animals ability to function. Currently, Dr. Gomaa is the only veterinarian in the area certified to perform this particular procedure. (Source: http://www.abbottanimalhospital.com)

More:
Bubba bounces back! Stem cell treatment for dogs

Health Beat: Stem cell treatment for dogs, cats

From repairing torn ligaments to rebuilding bones, stem cell procedures are helping mankind in many ways. Now, mans best friend is getting in on the action, too.

Bubba, a 2-1/2-year-old English bulldog, was born with severe hip dysplasia that made it difficult and painful for him to walk.

"He's had to be injected once a month the last two years to ease the pain in his joints and the hip bone," said Bob Cook, Bubba's owner.

So when Cook heard about a new stem cell procedure that could relieve Bubbas pain, he jumped at the chance.

Dr. Ashraf Gomaa, veterinarian at Abbott Animal Hospital, extracted fat from Bubba's shoulder. Enzymes were added to the fat. Then, a machine separated the stem cells. Finally, the stem cells were injected back into Bubba to help decrease his painful inflammation.

"You want to inject it as closely as possible to the joint that is affected. Those stem cells react to inflammation and they have an affinity to inflammation so they go to any area of the body that has any type of trauma," Gomaa said.

On average, the doctor said the treatment lasts one to two years and can be repeated as needed.

Cook said it's put the bounce back in Bubbas step and probably saved his life.

"If it wasn't for this, he would probably have been on some serious pain meds and probably wouldnt have lived much longer," said Cook.

The stem cell procedure is approved for dogs and cats. The doctor said dogs or cats with joint, cartilage, tendon or ligament pain are good candidates for the procedure.

See the rest here:
Health Beat: Stem cell treatment for dogs, cats

Diabetes Type 1 Stem Cell Treatment by NoMoreVitamins com – Video

Diabetes Type 1 Stem Cell Treatment by NoMoreVitamins com
http://NoMoreVitamins.com - Don #39;t let yourself take pain pills for the rest of your life, please! There #39;s another way no one has told you about, the holistic...

By: jose matana

Continued here:
Diabetes Type 1 Stem Cell Treatment by NoMoreVitamins com - Video

CBCP advises Kris on stem cell treatment

Published on 24 April 2013 Hits: 242 Written by Johanna M. Sampan

An official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Wednesday advised actress Kristina Bernadette Kris Aquino to select the best ethical stem cell treatment for her eldest son, Joshua.

Kris Aquino is the youngest sister of President Benigno Aquino 3rd. She made waves recently when it was revealed that she was the countrys number one taxpayer.

CBCPEpiscopal Commission on Bioethics Chairman Bishop Jose Oliveros said the Catholic Church doesnt oppose the idea of the treatment providing it is done morally.

It depends on what kind of stem cells will be used and for what purpose. Morally speaking, only adult stem cells are allowed for therapeutic reasons, the prelate expressed.

On Tuesday, Aquino said she is willing to let Joshua, whom she described as a special child, to undergo stem cell treatment in Singapore.

Aquinos son with actor Philip Salvador is set to have a physical examination on Wednesday to test if he is suitable to undertake the procedure. Oliveros said the Church is not against the use of adult stem cells since the source is not subjected to any harm.

Embryonic stem cells are taken from human embryos. Its tantamount to killing an already living human being, hence immoral, the Malolos bishop explained.

Stem cell therapy is a type of intervention strategy that introduces new stem cells into damaged tissue to treat disease and injury and also for cosmetic enhancements.

See the article here:
CBCP advises Kris on stem cell treatment

Stem cell treatment now available in Philippines, Kris Aquino told

The World News (WN) Network, has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to user privacy. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for wn.com, as well as e-mail newsletters.

We do not collect personally identifiable information about you, except when you provide it to us. For example, if you submit an inquiry to us or sign up for our newsletter, you may be asked to provide certain information such as your contact details (name, e-mail address, mailing address, etc.).

When you submit your personally identifiable information through wn.com, you are giving your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as set forth in this Privacy Policy. If you would prefer that we not collect any personally identifiable information from you, please do not provide us with any such information. We will not sell or rent your personally identifiable information to third parties without your consent, except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy.

Except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy, we will use the information you provide us only for the purpose of responding to your inquiry or in connection with the service for which you provided such information. We may forward your contact information and inquiry to our affiliates and other divisions of our company that we feel can best address your inquiry or provide you with the requested service. We may also use the information you provide in aggregate form for internal business purposes, such as generating statistics and developing marketing plans. We may share or transfer such non-personally identifiable information with or to our affiliates, licensees, agents and partners.

We may retain other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Such third parties may be provided with access to personally identifiable information needed to perform their functions, but may not use such information for any other purpose.

In addition, we may disclose any information, including personally identifiable information, we deem necessary, in our sole discretion, to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal proceeding or governmental request.

We do not want you to receive unwanted e-mail from us. We try to make it easy to opt-out of any service you have asked to receive. If you sign-up to our e-mail newsletters we do not sell, exchange or give your e-mail address to a third party.

E-mail addresses are collected via the wn.com web site. Users have to physically opt-in to receive the wn.com newsletter and a verification e-mail is sent. wn.com is clearly and conspicuously named at the point of

If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional communications, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each newsletter or communication or by e-mailing us at michaelw(at)wn.com

The security of your personal information is important to us. We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during registration and once we receive it. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100 percent secure, however. Therefore, though we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

More here:
Stem cell treatment now available in Philippines, Kris Aquino told

Majority of children readmitted to hospital following stem cell transplant

Apr. 24, 2013 Nearly two-thirds of children receiving stem cell transplants returned to the hospital within six months for treatment of unexplained fevers, infections or other problems, according to a study performed at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center in Boston. Children who received donor cells were twice as likely to be readmitted as children who received their own stem cells.

"No one had ever looked at these data in children," said Leslie E. Lehmann, MD, clinical director of pediatric stem cell transplantation at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC). "This is very important information and will allow us to counsel families appropriately, as well as try to devise interventions that reduce the rate of readmissions."

The study by Lehmann and Harvard Medical School student David Shulman is being presented at the 26th annual meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology Oncology in Miami, April 24-27.

A record review of 129 children from 2008 to 2011 revealed that 64 percent had at least one hospital readmission within 180 days of transplant. The source of the donor cells was a key predictor: 79 percent of patients receiving transplants from a related or unrelated donor were readmitted compared to 38 percent who received their own cells (autologous transplant). The mean number of readmissions was 2.4, indicating that for some children, discharge after transplant is just the beginning of a long process characterized by repeated hospital stays.

Fever without a documented source of infection accounted for 39 percent of the readmissions; 24 percent were for infections and 15 percent for gastrointestinal problems.

"Most of the patients went on to be successfully treated and ultimately did very well," commented Lehmann.

"We hope these findings can eventually lead to identifying a group of low-risk children who could be managed at local hospitals rather than transplant centers, reducing costs and inconvenience to families."

Lehmann said the goal is to identify which patients could be safely treated without requiring an admission to the hospital.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

More here:
Majority of children readmitted to hospital following stem cell transplant