Stem Cell Clinic

Malaya Business News Online – Philippine Business News | Online News Philippines

Details Published on Wednesday, 09 January 2013 23:00 Written by GERARD NAVAL

The Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM) yesterday warned the public that stem cell treatment, an emerging medical procedure, poses risks that could be fatal.

Dr. Leo Olarte, PSSCM spokesman, said stem cell treatment has been found to carry a whole range of risky complications with some being fatal.

He said these include graft-versus-host disease (allogeneic transplant only), stem cell (graft) failure, organ injury, infections, cataracts, infertility, new cancers, and death.

In particular, Olarte explained that the graft-versus-host disease can occur soon immediately after the transplant or months to years later.

This condition occurs when a donors transplanted stem cells attack your body, said Olarte.

He said it may arise from factors such as the type of blood disorder, the type of transplant, and the age and health of the person.

Olarte also noted that graft-versus-host disease can affect any organ, but is commonly seen in the skin (rash, often like sunburn), gut (mouth sores, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting), liver (jaundice or yellowing of the skin), lungs (blocked airways) or eyes (irritation and light sensitivity).

Last October, the Department of Health (DOH) issued an advisory saying stem cell therapy is a procedure that is not yet an adopted standard way of treatment and remains under clinical evaluation.

Stem cell therapy is a type of intervention strategy that introduces new adult stem cells into damaged tissue in order to treat disease or injury.

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Forward for Stem Cell Funding

The US Supreme Court has declined to review Sherley v. Sebelius US Court of Appeals ruling, ending the legal effort to block federally funded research on human embryonic stem cells, reports ScienceInsider.

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins says he was "very pleased" with the decision. "[It] allows the ruling to stand, and enables NIH to continue conducting and funding stem cell research, following the strict ethical guidelines put in place in 2009," he says in a statement. "Patients and their families who look forward to new therapies to replace cells lost by disease or injury, or who may benefit from new drugs identified by screening using stem cells, should be reassured that NIH will continue supporting this promising research."

The suit was brought by James Sherley and Theresa Deishe, both adult stem cell researchers, after the Obama administration issued an executive order in 2009 expanding the human stem cell lines that are eligible for federal funding. Sherley and Deishe argued that NIH violated the Dickey-Wicker amendment that bars it from funding research that destroys embryos, Donald Zuhn at Patent Docs adds.

They received a preliminary injunction in 2010, but that was then vacated by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Zuhn says. The Supreme Court then denied their petition for appeal.

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Forward for Stem Cell Funding

Stem cell materials could boost research into key diseases

Jan. 8, 2013 Stem cell manufacturing for drug screening and treatments for diseases such as Huntington's and Parkinson's could be boosted by a new method of generating stem cells, a study suggests.

Scientists have developed a family of compounds that can support the growth of human embryonic stem cells on a large scale for use in drug testing or treatments.

The new materials, which are water-based gels, act as a tiny scaffold to which cells can cling as they grow. Normally cells must be grown on expensive biological surfaces that can carry pathogens and contaminate cells.

Once cells have multiplied sufficiently for their intended purpose, the gels can be cooled, enabling the stem cells to drop off the scaffold without becoming damaged.

The new approach surpasses existing techniques of separating cells by mechanical or chemical means, which carry a greater risk of damage to cells.

Scientists say the materials could offer a means of enabling the stem cells to be produced in large numbers efficiently and without the risk of inadvertent contamination, facilitating research, drug screening programmes and clinical applications that call for large numbers of cells.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh developed the new materials by screening hundreds of potential compounds for their ability to support stem cell growth. From a shortlist of four, one has been found to be effective, and researchers say the remaining three show similar potential.

Stem cells provide a powerful tool for screening drugs as they can be used to show the effects of drugs on cells and systems within the body.

The study, published in Nature Communications, was supported by the European Union Framework 7 Grant Funding. The gels are being developed under licence by technology company Ilika.

Dr Paul de Sousa, of the University of Edinburgh's Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine, said: "This development could greatly enhance automated production of embryonic stem cells, which would improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of stem cell manufacturing. We are also looking into whether this work could help develop pluripotent stem cells induced from adult cells."

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Stem cell materials could boost research into key diseases

America Stem Cell, Inc. Awarded a Phase I SBIR to Explore the Therapeutic Potential of Its Platform Technology (ASC …

SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

America Stem Cell, Inc. (ASC) today announced that it has been awarded an Advanced Technology Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. This grant will be led by Dr. Leonard Miller, VP Preclinical Research at ASC, in collaboration with Dr. Larry Sherman at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Dr. Shermans lab has over 15 years of extensive experience in multiple models of demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), and in the application of these models to identify novel therapeutic approaches. Furthermore, the first-ever transplants of human NSCs into human patients for Batten Disease, a demyelinating disease that affects children, were at Dr. Shermans Institute (OHSU).

The studies outlined within the presently approved grant will examine the effect of ASCs lead technology, ASC-101, in combination with neural stem cells in an experimental mouse model of MS. MS is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). MS is caused by damage to the myelin sheaths that cover nerve fibers. Degradation of these sheaths causes signals along the nerve fiber to slow down or even stop. Over 400,000 people in the United States have been diagnosed with MS, and the number worldwide is 2.1 million. Presently there is no cure for MS.

America Stem Cell has demonstrated that ASC-101 enhances the ability of stem cells to migrate to their target tissue. While most companies are concerned with the type of cells used for cell therapy (i.e. the hardware), America Stem Cell addresses how to get the cells to go where they are needed most (i.e. the software). With this award, America Stem Cell will expand the potential for therapeutic application of ASC-101 with neural stem cells. According to Dr. Leonard Miller, the Co-Principal Investigator on the grant, The successful combination of ASC-101 with neural stem cells would allow the treatment of not only MS but also potentially a number of other neurological disorders, such as traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease).

America Stem Cell, Inc. is a clinical stage company that is in clinical trials at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for improving clinical outcomes for cancer patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This award enables America Stem Cell to expand the development of ASC-101 to yet another cell type. Lynnet Koh, CEO of America Stem Cell, noted, The combination of ASC-101 with neural stem cells could synergistically enhance the therapeutic and regenerative capacity of these cells and most importantly provide an off-the-shelf, effective solution for nerve damage due to multiple types of injuries or diseases. ASC-101 is a transformative technology with the potential to improve clinical outcomes for patients undergoing a wide variety of cell therapies for the treatment of diseases such as graft versus host disease, diabetic complications, neurological disorders, and ischemic diseases such as myocardial infarctions, retinopathy and critical limb ischemia. America Stem Cell has established a number of collaborations examining the potential of ASC-101 to improve cell therapies for multiple clinical conditions using a wide variety of cell types.

About America Stem Cell, Inc.

America Stem Cell is a privately held biotechnology company based in San Antonio, TX, with offices in San Diego, CA, and is dedicated to the development and commercialization of enabling technologies to enhance and expand the therapeutic potential of cell therapies. The key technology platforms (ASC-101 and ASC-102) are designed to improve the homing and engraftment of cells to target organs. ASC-101 is currently in clinical trials to improve the therapeutic potential of hematopoietic stem cells for patients in need of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Additionally, these technologies have the potential to enhance the efficacy of cell therapies for the treatment of inflammation from chemotherapy/radiation, autoimmune diseases, neurological diseases, and ischemic diseases including myocardial infarction and stroke. America Stem Cell has partnerships and collaborations with Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Spectrum Medical Innvoations, Florida Biologix, and various medical research institutions including the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, Sanford-Burnham Institute, Indiana University, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, as well as corporate partnerships. For additional information, please contact Lynnet Koh at 760-612-6277, or view http://www.americastemcell.com.

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America Stem Cell, Inc. Awarded a Phase I SBIR to Explore the Therapeutic Potential of Its Platform Technology (ASC ...

Study Shows Promising Results Using Cord Blood Stem Cells to Treat Cerebral Palsy

OLDSMAR, Fla., Jan. 8, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (CCEL) Cryo-Cell International Chief Scientific Officer Linda L. Kelley, PhD, expressed optimism that an effective treatment for cerebral palsy (CP) using cord blood stem cells may be on the horizon now that the first results of a Phase 2 study have been published. The paper by Dr. Min Young Kim and colleagues is the first to demonstrate efficacy using umbilical cord blood as therapy in a large, placebo-controlled, double-blind study in South Korea.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a devastating disability acquired in early childhood which affects approximately 10,000 babies per year and results in lifelong motor and cognitive functional deficits. Dr. Kim's team treated 96 children between the ages of 10 months and 10 years. Patients were divided into three groups:

EPO was included in the study because of its previously demonstrated neural repair properties. In addition, all patients experienced an intensive one month in-patient rehabilitation program.

Dr. Kelley noted, "The study results are of profound importance and provide optimism for parents of thousands of children suffering with CP and for unborn children at risk of acquiring CP. Since there are few, if any, early warning signs predicting who will be affected by CP, these results should encourage all families to consider storing umbilical cord blood when the option is available to them."

The study results seem to indicate that patients receiving autologous cord blood may have even better outcomes. Several clinical trials using autologous cord blood to treat cerebral palsy are on-going in the United States. Dr. Kelley commented, "Results from those studies should greatly extend our knowledge of the usefulness of cord blood for the treatment of a devastating condition for which there is currently no known treatment."

Motor function and cognitive development changes were measured using an extensive group of well-established tests. The tests were performed at the initiation of the study and again at 1, 3 and 6 months. The data consistently revealed superior outcomes in the group that received cord blood compared to the other two groups. The differences were significant starting from 1 month or 3 months post-treatment and continued to 6 months post-treatment.

Some adverse events requiring hospitalization were noted; however, the incidence was the same regardless of the treatment group. Pneumonia and irritability were more frequent in the group that received cord blood than in the other two groups. Considering the overall frequency and severity of the adverse events, the authors concluded that the risks were not prohibitive to continued investigation of this new therapy for cerebral palsy.

HLA-matched allogeneic cord blood units were used in this study due to the unavailability of previously banked autologous cord blood. Complete information on the study is available here.

About Cryo-Cell International

Cryo-Cell International, Inc. was founded in 1989. In 1992, it became the first private cord blood bank in the world to separate and store stem cells. Today, nearly 500,000 parents from 87 countries trust Cryo-Cell to preserve their family members' stem cells. Cryo-Cell's mission is to provide clients with state-of-the-art stem cell cryopreservation services and support the advancement of regenerative medicine. Cryo-Cell operates in a facility that is compliant with Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Tissue Practice (cGMP/cGTP), and is ISO 9001:2008 certified and accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks. Cryo-Cell is a publicly traded company, OTC:QB Markets Group Symbol: CCEL. For more information, visit http://www.cryo-cell.com.

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Study Shows Promising Results Using Cord Blood Stem Cells to Treat Cerebral Palsy

Supreme Court lets embryonic stem cell research proceed

By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

The Supreme Court refused to step into the emotionally charged debate over embryonic stem cell research Monday, declining to hear a case that sought to stop government funding on ethical grounds.

The decision leaves in place President Obama's 2009 executive order expanding research on stem cells taken from human embryos, which many scientists say has the potential to produce breakthroughs in treatment of numerous conditions, particularly spinal cord injuries, diabetes and Parkinson's disease.

Obama reasoned that research on stem cell lines from embryos created through in vitro fertilization was not ethically problematic.Congress banned the creation or destruction of embryos for research purposes in 1996.

A federal court in Washington, D.C., issued an injunction temporarily blocking the order in August 2010 after two scientists opposed to all embryonic stem cell research, James Sherley of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute and Theresa Deisher of Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute, sued on behalf of "plaintiff embryos," contending that Congress had forbidden any research whatsoever on embryonic stem cells.

Since then, federal courts have rejected their contention that the failure of the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services to respond to their arguments rendered Obama's policy illegal.

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The Supreme Court made no comment Monday in its one-sentence order rejecting the scientists' appeal.

Embryonic stem cells have been the focus of fierce debate since the mid-1990s. Many scientists see them as a watershed in the treatment of serious ailments because they have the potential to grow into any of the body's cell types, promising the eventual generation of replacement nerve lines and vital organs, including the brain and the heart.

But anti-abortion activists vigorously oppose the research because the cells come from human embryos and days-old human fetuses, which they contend are fully human.Many of them, including Sherley, want to limit research to stem cells derived from adult tissue, which most researchers contend have less potential to transform into other types of cells.

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Supreme Court lets embryonic stem cell research proceed

Treatment restores sight in mice

Treatment restores sight in mice

7:00pm Tuesday 8th January 2013 in News

REVOLUTIONARY stem cell treatment has given sight back to mice that were formerly completely blind.

Oxford University researchers transplanted cells into the eyes of mice that had lost their sight due to losing the light-sensing photoreceptor cells in their retinas.

They found they could reform the entire light-sensitive layer of the retina.

After the treatment, nocturnal mice that previously did not notice any difference between light and dark ran away from light and preferred to be in the dark, in the same way as mice with normal vision.

Prof Robert MacLaren, of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford University, led the research along with eye surgeon Dr Mandeep Singh, who is from the National University Hospital of Singapore and undertaking PhD studies in Oxford.

Prof MacLaren said: Stem cells have been trialled in patients to replace the pigmented lining of the retina, but this new research shows that the light-sensing layer might also be replaced in a similar way.

He said this could lead towards potential cell treatments for blindness in humans using stem cells generated from patients own cells.

He said: All the steps are there for doing this in patients in the future. Our study shows what we could achieve with a cell-based approach.

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Treatment restores sight in mice

Stem Cell Transplant Studies Raise Hopes Of Treatment For ALS

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Muscular Dystrophy / ALS Also Included In: Stem Cell Research;Neurology / Neuroscience Article Date: 08 Jan 2013 - 3:00 PST

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A summary of all 11 studies, plus the results of the meta-analysis of their pooled data, can be found in a paper published in the 19 December online issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Co-lead author of the paper Yang (Ted) Teng is a Harvard Medical School (HMS) associate professor of surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, in the US. He and his colleagues believe the key to treating ALS lies in targeting new mechanisms uncovered by studies into neural stem cells.

Their review takes in a decade of research from several institutions. As well as Brigham and Women's, it covers results from studies conducted at Johns Hopkins University, the VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston Children's Hospital, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, UMass Medical School, SUNY-Syracuse, and Columbia University.

Teng says in an HMS statement released last week:

"This significant research will help us better understand the mechanisms underlying motor neuron diseases."

Neural stem cells are the precursors of all brain cells. They can self-renew, make more neural stem cells and differentiate into nerve cells or other brain cells. They can also rescue nerve cells that don't work properly and help preserve and regenerate brain tissue.

Teng says:

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Stem Cell Transplant Studies Raise Hopes Of Treatment For ALS