Stem Cell Clinic

Neuralstem CEO, Richard Garr, Named To "Top 50 Global Stem Cell Influencers"

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CUR) announced that CEO and President, Richard Garr, was listed as the 15th most influential person in the stem field in the "Top 50 Global Stem Cell Influencers," published by Total BioPharma, a division of Terrapinn, in advance of the World Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine Congress 2013, in May.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061221/DCTH007LOGO)

The list is the result of a global stem cell community survey to determine the most influential individuals in the field, including researchers, and business and government leaders.

About Neuralstem

Neuralstem's patented technology enables the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells constitutively into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. Neuralstem completed an FDA-approved Phase I safety clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, in February 2013, and has submitted recommended Phase II trial protocol to the FDA. Neuralstem has been awarded orphan status designation by the FDA for its ALS cell therapy.

In addition to ALS, the company is also targeting major central nervous system conditions with its NSI-566 cell therapy platform, including spinal cord injury, ischemic stroke and glioblastoma (brain cancer). The company received approval to commence a Phase I safety trial in chronic spinal cord injury in January 2013.

Neuralstem also has the ability to generate stable human neural stem cell lines suitable for the systematic screening of large chemical libraries. Through this proprietary screening technology, Neuralstem has discovered and patented compounds that may stimulate the brain's capacity to generate new neurons, possibly reversing the pathologies of some central nervous system conditions. The company is in a Phase Ib safety trial evaluating NSI-189, its first neurogenic small molecule compound, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).Additional indications could include chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Alzheimer's disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

For more information, please visit http://www.neuralstem.com or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements in this press release regarding potential applications of Neuralstem's technologies constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, uncertainty of clinical trial results or regulatory approvals or clearances, need for future capital, dependence upon collaborators and maintenance of our intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in Neuralstem's periodic reports, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.

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Neuralstem CEO, Richard Garr, Named To "Top 50 Global Stem Cell Influencers"

Painkillers Could Prove Helpful in Stem – Cell Transplants

Inhibition of a prostaglandin with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen and naproxen) has been found to cause stem cells to leave marrow, where they could be harvested for patients with blood disorders

By Thea Cunningham and Nature magazine

Bone marrow such as this being prepared for a transplant might be easier to extract with the help of aspirin-like drugs. Image: Tino Soriano/National Geographic Society/Corbis

Aspirin-like drugs could improve the success of stem-cell transplants for patients with blood or bone-marrow disorders, a study suggests. The compounds coax stem cells from bone marrow into the bloodstream where they can be harvested for use in transplantation and they do so with fewer side effects than drugs now in use.

For patients with blood disorders such as leukemia, multiple myeloma or non-Hodgkins lymphoma, transplantation of haematopoietic stem cells precursor cells that reside in the bone marrow and give rise to all types of blood cell can be an effective treatment.

Previous work has shown that prostaglandin E2, or PGE2, a lipid known to regulate multiple bodily reactions including pain, fever and inflammation, also has a role in keeping stem cells in the bone marrow. In the latest study, researchers show that in mice, humans and baboons, inhibition of PGE2 with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) causes stem cells to leave the bone marrow.

Releasing the stem cells The team gave baboons and humans an NSAID called meloxicam. They saw a subsequent increase in the numbers of haematopoietic stem cells in the bloodstream.

The researchers think that the departure of stem cells is caused by the disturbance of a group of bone-forming cells called osteoblasts. These cells secrete a protein called osteopontin that hooks the stem cells to the bone marrow. Inhibiting PGE2 would disrupt the production of osteopontin.

At present, doctors use a drug called filgrastim to mobilize haematopoietic stem cells in donors or in patients undergoing autotransplantation (in which they receive their own stem cells). In patients with multiple myeloma or non-Hodgkins lymphoma, however, and in some donors, stem cells dont mobilize well with filgrastim and other drugs in its class. Using NSAIDs such as meloxicam could enhance filgrastims efficacy, says lead author Louis Pelus of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. The study appears in Nature.

Meloxicam also has comparatively few side effects, says Pelus. He and his colleagues found that other NSAIDs, including aspirin and ibuprofen, can also mobilize haematopoietic stem cells, but these drugs can cause gastrointestinal upset in patients. PGE2 controls the secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, and when you block that youve reduced your ability to control acid secretion. Meloxicam doesnt do that as badly as many of the other [drugs] do, he says.

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Painkillers Could Prove Helpful in Stem - Cell Transplants

Advanced Cell Technology Receives Approval from Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) to Initiate Treatment of Third …

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. ("ACT"; OTCBB: ACTC), a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) overseeing the Companys three ongoing stem cell clinical trials in the United States and Europe has authorized the Company to move forward with enrolling and treating the patients in the next cohort of each of the trials. Per each trials protocol, the first patient of cohort 3 will be injected with 150,000 human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. This represents a fifty percent increase in the dose of RPE cells as compared to the previously treated cohort of patients. The first patients treated at this escalated dose will be evaluated, with interim DSMB review after six weeks, at which time the determination to continue treating additional patients at this dosage will be made.

Additionally, the DSMB has authorized the Company to proceed with treating patients in the two U.S. trials as part of additional cohorts recently approved by the FDA. In particular, the FDA approved the addition of two new cohorts of four patients each one cohort for each of the Stargardts Macular Dystrophy (SMD) and dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD) trials which can include patients with better vision. The specific protocol for these cohort 2a patients establishes eligibility for enrollment based on visual acuity as good as 20/100. Previous patients enrolled in the trials have visual acuity no better than 20/400 and ranging to patients whose visual acuity had deteriorated to hand-motion only sight. In addition to establishing the safety of the transplanted RPE cells, the opportunity to treat patients earlier in the course of progression of these diseases improves the likelihood of enrolling patients having a greater number of photoreceptors that, while inactive due to loss of the native RPE layer, are dormant but able to be rescued by the reestablishment of a functional RPE layer from the transplanted cells. Enrollment of the additional patients as part of cohort 2a will be simultaneous with enrollment of patients in the 150,000 cell dose cohort 3 patients.

With DSMB approval now secured, we look forward to proceeding with the third, higher-dosage cohort in all three trials in coming weeks, as well as initiating a separate cohort, 2a, of patients who represent earlier stages of these degenerative diseases, commented Gary Rabin, chairman and CEO of ACT. Moreover, we anticipate that the added cohort 2a patients may not only shed additional light on the safety and tolerability of our RPE cells, but offer us the opportunity to gather anatomical and functional data that can be used to help in the design and selection of endpoints for our eventual phase II studies.

The three clinical trials in the U.S. and Europe investigate hESC-derived RPE cells for the treatment of dry AMD and SMD, both forms of macular degeneration. These trials are prospective, open-label studies, designed to determine the safety and tolerability of hESC-derived RPE cells following sub-retinal transplantation into patients with dry AMD or SMD at 12 months, the studys primary endpoint. With the addition of the new cohort 2a patients, each of the U.S. trials will now enroll a total of 16 patients across the ascending dosage format of 50,000 to 200,000 RPE cells.

We are pleased to receive the unanimous recommendation of the DSMB to initiate the third, higher-dosage patient treatments in the US and EU trials for Stargardts disease and dry AMD, said Robert Lanza, M.D., chief scientific officer of ACT. In addition, we are excited by the prospects of being able to work with better vision patients being enrolled in the 2a cohort. We think this provides a unique opportunity to gain preliminary data and insight from the treatment of patients that begin to resemble the early and intermediate stage dry AMD and SMD patients we hope to be able to treat in the next phase of these trials.

Preliminary results from the U.S. Stargardts and dry AMD trials werereportedinThe Lancetlast year.

Further information about patient eligibility for ACTs dry AMD study and the concurrent studies in the U.S. and the E.U. for SMD is available at http://www.clinicaltrials.govwith the following Identifiers: NCT01344993 (dry AMD), NCT01345006 (U.S. SMD) and NCT01469832 (E.U. SMD).

About Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. is a biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the field of regenerative medicine. For more information, visit http://www.advancedcell.com.

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Stem Cell Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama – Daniel Campbell – Video

Stem Cell Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama - Daniel Campbell
After stem cell therapy at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama, Daniel Campbell describes how his condition has improved since his first treatment. Daniel is in Panama for his second treatment. "...The trajectory of my recovery drastically took an upward turn. I got grip back, got a lot stronger and my blood pressure issue sort of went out the window. My lower back started firing so when I lean back in my chair, I don #39;t just fall. Most recently my hip flexors started firing in certain positions so I can assist the therapist while crawling. Bowel and bladder sensation has gotten better. I have hot and cold sensation in my hands now. Incontinence is a thing of the past. More information about stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury: http://www.cellmedicine.com Spinal cord injury patient stories: http://www.cellmedicine.com Patient application: http://www.cellmedicine.com

By: cellmedicine

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Stem Cell Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama - Daniel Campbell - Video

DoH vs imported stem cells

Manila, Philippines The Department of Health (DOH) will soon ban the importation of imported stem cell preparations that were gathered from animals and even from fetal embryo.

The Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM) said these stem cell preparations are usually shipped from Germany and were gathered from sheep, rabbits and other animals but are sold as human stem cells. Dr. Rey Melchor Santos, PSSCM said the draft on the guidelines for the use of stem cell medicine in the country will soon be nalized by the DoH and this will include a ban on the use of imported stem cells including stem cells taken from aborted fetuses.

There are some preparations from other countries derived from fetal embryo which is unethical and is totally not allowed in the country, Melchor told reporters in a forum in Quezon City yesterday.

According to Melchor, administering stem cell treatment is a delicate matter as complications also occur. He said there are reports of stem cells causing cancer to patients who received it.

We have to be really careful where the stem cell is coming from because we dont know its complications. Incompatibility or rejections can kill the patient, the doctor warned.

The DoH allows the use of adult autologous stem cells or those that were sourced from the patient himself. Stem cells can be harvested from the bone marrow or from the adipose tissues (body fat). Incoming President of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) Dr. Leo Olarte said the guidelines would also limit the use of stem cell treatment among licensed facilities and trained medical personnel. (Jenny F. Manongdo)

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DoH vs imported stem cells