Stem Cell Clinic

They are expensive, unregulated and potentially dangerous . . . Are stem cell facials REALLY worth the $20,000 price …

By Catherine Townsend

PUBLISHED: 17:14 EST, 4 April 2013 | UPDATED: 17:25 EST, 4 April 2013

First it was the liquid facelift; then the vampire facelift. In recent years, nonsurgical options to turn back the clock have multiplied as quickly as the catchy nicknames.

Now, as women pay up to $20,000 for stem cell facelifts, the treatment is being hailed as the new Botox.

But according to The New York Times, the technology may not be that cutting-edge.

Miracle treatment? Stem cell facelifts have been hailed as the new Botox, but some experts question whether they are worth the five-figure price tag (posed by model)

While embryonic skin cells can transform into any type of cell, adult stem cells can only regenerate the types of the organ from which they originate.

So in a stem cell facelift - not to be confused with the stem cell facial that uses sheep placenta - doctors take stem cell-enriched tissue from fatty areas like the stomach or inner thigh and inject it back into the face. They may also use a centrifuge to separate the cells and add them back into the fat before grafting.

Practitioners claim that this process produces better results. Since there are already stem cells present in fatty tissue, however, some experts claim that this is just another name for fat grafting - a technique that has been around for years.

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They are expensive, unregulated and potentially dangerous . . . Are stem cell facials REALLY worth the $20,000 price ...

OncoMed to Present New Data in Six Anti-Cancer Stem Cell Programs at AACR

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage company developing novel therapeutics that target cancer stem cells (CSCs), or tumor-initiating cells, today announced an oral presentation and five posters that will highlight the progress of OncoMeds pipeline of anti-cancer biologics at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research in Washington D.C., April 7 9, 2013.

Oral Presentation, Sunday, April 7, 1:30 1:55 pm ET, Room 207, Washington Convention Center

As part of the New Drugs on the Horizon Special Session, Timothy Hoey, PhD, OncoMeds Senior Vice President of Cancer Biology, will discuss, Development of FZD8-Fc (OMP-54F28), a Wnt signaling antagonist that inhibits tumor growth and reduces tumor initiating cell frequency.

Poster #218, Sunday, April 7, 1 5 pm ET, Hall A-C, Poster Section 13

R-Spondin (RSPO) signaling drives the growth of multiple human tumor types will be presented by Austin Gurney, PhD, Senior Vice President of Molecular and Cellular Biology at OncoMed, in the Tumor Biology 2 Poster Session.

Poster #3725, Tuesday, April 9, 1 5 pm ET, Hall A-C, Poster Section 12

Anti-DLL4 (demcizumab) Inhibits tumor growth and reduces cancer stem cell frequency in patient-derived ovarian cancer xenografts will be presented by Wan-Ching Yen, PhD, Senior Scientist at OncoMed, in the Tumor Biology 35 Poster Session.

Poster #213, Sunday, April 7, 1- 5 pm ET, Hall A-C, Poster Section 13

Novel NOTCH3 activating mutations identified in tumors sensitive to OMP-59R5, a monoclonal antibody targeting the Notch2 and Notch3 receptors will be presented by Breanna Wallace, PhD, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at OncoMed, in the Cancer Stem Targeting Therapies Poster Session.

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OncoMed to Present New Data in Six Anti-Cancer Stem Cell Programs at AACR

Dr. Doohi Lee introduces Stem Cell Therapy at Advanced Surgical Arts

Dr. Lee is one of the first in Texas to use adipose stem cell treatment to care for patients.

Plano, TX (PRWEB) April 03, 2013

Adipose tissue is fat inside the body. Fat is the richest source of adult stem cells in the human body. Stem cells help fight disease or injury by repairing or rejuvenating affected tissue in the body. Medical researchers believe that stem cell treatments have the potential to change the face of human disease.

In the procedure performed by Dr. Lee, fat will be extracted from the body, purified and re-injected into specific areas that need stem cells. Dr. Lee uses an automated machine called the Adivive Lipokit to perform the fat transplantation. The Adivive Lipokit is an all-in-one, FDA-approved device that collects, filters and transfers fat for use in cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries. The Lipokit is able to keep transferred fat cells alive throughout the process.

Procedures that will use adipose stem cell therapy include breast augmentation, facelift surgery, liposuction and fat transfer.

Besides cosmetic purposes, Dr. Lee will also use the Lipokit stem cell therapy for rejuvenation to help relieve chronic pain, whether from aging or due to injuries.

About the company

Advanced Surgical Arts was established in Plano, Texas in 2003. With three board certifications, Dr. Doohi Lee is able to offer his patients a multi-faceted approach to health and well-being. Continuing education is a priority for Dr. Lee, and he regularly attends seminars and conferences to expand his knowledge on cosmetic procedures and anti-aging. Dr. Lee constantly strives to investigate the latest and most minimally invasive procedures in cosmetic and laser vein surgery. His unified approach with artistry and technology provide patients at Advanced Surgical Arts with optimum results. For more information, please visit their website at http://advsurgicalartsdallas.com.

Maggie Gordon Advanced Surgical Arts Dallas 469-666-1075 Email Information

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Dr. Doohi Lee introduces Stem Cell Therapy at Advanced Surgical Arts

Scientists develop new protocol to ready induced pluripotent stem cell clinical application

Apr. 3, 2013 A team of New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute scientists led by David Kahler, PhD, NYSCF Director of Laboratory Automation, have developed a new way to generate induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines from human fibroblasts, acquired from both healthy and diseased donors. Reported in PLOS ONE, this cell-sorting method consistently selects the highest quality, standardized iPS cells, representing a major step forward for drug discovery and the development of cell therapies.

Employing a breakthrough method developed by 2012 Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, adult cells are "reprogrammed" or reverted to an embryonic-like state, commonly through viral infection. Reprogramming is a dynamic process, resulting in a mixture of fully reprogrammed iPS cells, partially reprogrammed cells, and residual adult cells. Previous protocols to select promising fully reprogrammed cells rely primarily on judging stem cell colonies by eye through a microscope.

Cell colonies selected by qualitative measures could include partially reprogrammed cells, a major concern for clinical applications of cell therapies because these cells could become any other cell type in a patient following transplantation. Additionally for drug efficacy assays and toxicity investigations on iPS cells, heterogeneous cell populations can mar the response of representative iPS cell lines.

The NYSCF scientists developed a quantitative protocol, optimized over three and a half years, in order to consistently harvest early-reprogrammed cells. Using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), fully reprogrammed cells were identified by two specific proteins, or pluripotency markers. The group then looked at third marker that is expressed by partially reprogrammed or adult cells, and they then negatively selected against these cells to obtain only fully reprogrammed cells.

"To date, this protocol has enabled our group to derive (and characterize over) 228 individual iPS cell lines, representing one of the largest collections derived in a single lab," said Dr. Kahler. "This standardized method means that these iPS cells can be compared to one another, an essential step for the use in drug screens and the development of cell therapies."

This process of selecting stem cell colonies provides the basis for a new technology developed by NYSCF, The NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array (Array), a fully automated, robotic platform to generate cell lines in parallel. Currently underway at the NYSCF Laboratory, the Array reprograms thousands of healthy donors' and diseased patients' skin and/or blood samples into iPS cell lines. Sorting and characterizing cells at an early stage of reprogramming allows efficient development of iPS cell clones and derivation of adult cell types.

"We are enthusiastic about the promise this protocol holds to the field. As stem cells move towards the clinic, Dr. Kahler's work is a critical step to ensure safe, effective treatments for everyone," said Susan L. Solomon, CEO of NYSCF.

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Part 19, after stem cell treatment, climbing up again and that’s good, 31march2013 – Video

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Part 19, after stem cell treatment, climbing up again and that's good, 31march2013 - Video