Stem Cell Clinic

Fund-raising gives hope for Georgia

By Stem Cell Doctors

Buy photos Katie Mander, customer advisor, with Paul Ballantyne, manager, Hayley Jepson, business manager and Natalie Naughton with Georgia Almquest. Picture by Neville Collins. 40012037ncb1 http://www.buyphotos247.com

MORE THAN 8,000 has already been raised for the Hope for Georgia campaign which is aimed at sending Bromsgrove girl Georgia Almquest to America for revolutionary stem cell treatment.

Georgia, who is two-years-old next Saturday (October 13), has cerebral palsy, which means she is unable to hold her head up, sit or crawl. The stem cell procedure, which will cost 20,000, will improve her quality of life and, doctors have said, is her only chance of walking.

Almost 4,000 of the total was raised at a funday at The Sugarbrook pub in Charford, which took place on Saturday (September 29). That had a variety of activities, including a tombola, raffle and people doing sponsored events, such as waxes.

Georgia's mum Natalie said: "It was an amazing event - everyone was giving really generously and getting into the spirit of the day.

"There were even adults having their faces painted.

"I can't believe how much has been raised so far in a matter of weeks."

She thanked everyone who has contributed so far and the Bromsgrove branch of the Halifax bank which has collected more than 400 for the appeal. That cash was raised from a quiz and Irish bingo which took place at the Hanbury Turn. Prizes, included a signed Leicester Tigers rugby shirt, donated by Jordan Crane, a luxury fruit and wine hamper and an M&S gift voucher. The event raised 203.13, but with the bank matching the funding, the total will be 406.26.

Katie Mander, from the Bromsgrove branch of Halifax, organised the event.

She said: "I am very pleased that this money can go to such a good cause - Georgia will get to her 20,000 target with the help of everyone in Bromsgrove."

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Fund-raising gives hope for Georgia

Church raising funds for pastor's cancer treatment

By Stem Cell Treatment

When modern medicine is unsuccessful in curing diseases, some seek alternative treatments. For Pastor Charles Daugherty, that time has come.

After a year-long battle with multiple myeloma, during which time he has undergone chemotherapy, radiation and stem cell treatment, and then diagnosed with a second type of cancer, liposarcoma, he has decided to try something different.

I dont have anything to lose from trying, he said.

According to the American Cancer Society, normal plasma cells are found in the blood marrow and are a part of the bodys immune system, which is made up of several types of cells, working to fight off infections. One of these types of cells, B cells, transform into plasma in response to infections. When they grow out of control, a tumor is formed. When more than one tumor grows, it is called multiple myeloma.

While the outcomes for those with multiple myeloma have gotten better in recent years, the reality, according to the American Cancer Society, is that the disease never really goes away for most patients.

Its considered terminal. Its considered fatal, Daugherty said.

Since February 2011, the pastor has undergone cancer and radiation treatments. Daugherty also had a stem cell transplant, which he said helped slow the progression of the disease. However, while undergoing chemo, the doctors discovered the liposarcoma, this time in the chest walls. He is now on radiation treatment to shrink it.

It has made it shrink a little bit, but its still there, Daugherty said.

One of his doctors told him about an alternative treatment clinic in Colorado called Eden Valley Lifestyle Center. The center focuses on a holistic approach, using plant-based diets and more natural methods of healing.

Im a firm believer in healing, he said. The problem is that treatment at the center will cost around $10,000, including transportation to and from Colorado.

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Church raising funds for pastor's cancer treatment

Mouse stem cells yield viable eggs

By Stem Cell Medical Center

Experimental approach might provide insights to support human fertility

Web edition : Thursday, October 4th, 2012

Some baby mice born in Japan are living proof that mouse stem cells taken from embryos or created by reprogramming fetal tissue can be used to make viable egg cells.

Researchers had already created functional sperm from stem cells, and some groups have reported making eggs, or oocytes, but those had never been shown to produce offspring. Now, Mitinori Saitou of Kyoto University in Japan and colleagues have coaxed mouse stem cell to make eggs that produce normal, fertile offspring, the researchers report online October 4 in Science.

This is really pioneering research, says Charles Easley, a reproductive stem cell biologist at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

The researchers have gone a step beyond making cells that merely look like eggs in a lab dish. This paper produces something that looks like oocytes, smells like oocytes and tastes like oocytes in a way no one has done before, says David Albertini, a reproductive scientist at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City.

While the evidence that the Japanese researchers have transformed mouse stem cells into functional female gametes is compelling, Albertini doesnt think the feat will be repeated with human stem cells because they are far less flexible than their mouse counterparts. The new technology might provide a way to test the effect that chemicals in the environment may have on fertility and give scientists new information about how eggs age, possibly leading to fertility-extending treatments, he says.

In the new study, Saitou and colleagues started with stem cells from very early mouse embryos as well as stem cells reprogrammed from fetal cells, known as induced pluripotent stem cells. Saitous team manipulated the activity of a few genes in the stem cells to turn them into cells that resemble precursors of gametes, as eggs and sperm are sometimes known.

These primordial germ celllike cells, as they are called, were mixed with support cells from an embryonic ovary and then transplanted into adult mice. Once the precursor cells had developed into oocytes, the researchers pulled them out and fertilized them in the lab before implanting the resulting embryos in female mice.

The oocytes made from either type of stem cell produced mouse pups 3.9 percent of the time. That rate is lower than for primordial germ cells taken directly from mouse embryos, which the researchers found produced pups 17.3 percent of the time. Oocytes taken from the ovaries of 3-week-old mice generated offspring 12.7 percent of the time. Female pups resulting from stem cellderived eggs grew up to become fertile adults, the researchers report.

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Mouse stem cells yield viable eggs

Japan team offers fertility hope with stem cell eggs

By Uncategorized

Hopes of a cure for infertility in humans were raised Friday after Japanese stem cell researchers announced they had created viable eggs using normal cells from adult mice.

The breakthrough raises the possibility that women who are unable to produce eggs naturally could have them created in a test tube from their own cells and then planted back into their body.

A team at Kyoto University harvested stem cells from mice and altered a number of genes to create cells very similar to the primordial germ cells that generate sperm in men and oocytes -- or eggs -- in women.

They then nurtured these with cells that would become ovaries and transplanted the mixture into living mice, where the cells matured into fully-grown oocytes.

They extracted the matured oocytes, fertilised them in vitro -- in a test tube -- and implanted them into surrogate mother mice.

The resulting mice pups were born healthy and were even able to reproduce once they matured.

Writing in the US journal Science, which published the findings, research leader professor Michinori Saito said the work provided a promising basis for hope in reproductive medicine.

"Our system serves as a robust foundation to investigate and further reconstitute female germline development in vitro, not only in mice, but also in other mammals, including humans," he said.

Saito cautioned that this was not a ready-made cure for people with fertility problems, adding that a lot of work remained.

"This achievement is expected to help us understand further the egg-producing mechanism and contribute to clarifying the causes of infertility," he told reporters.

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Japan team offers fertility hope with stem cell eggs

Fertility hope in stem cell eggs

By Uncategorized

Hopes of a cure for infertility in humans were raised Friday after Japanese stem cell researchers announced they had created viable eggs using normal cells from adult mice.

The breakthrough raises the possibility that women who are unable to produce eggs naturally could have them created in a test tube from their own cells and then planted back into their body.

A team at Kyoto University harvested stem cells from mice and altered a number of genes to create cells very similar to the primordial germ cells that generate sperm in men and oocytes -- or eggs -- in women.

They then nurtured these with cells that would become ovaries and transplanted the mixture into living mice, where the cells matured into fully-grown oocytes.

They extracted the matured oocytes, fertilised them in vitro -- in a test tube -- and implanted them into surrogate mother mice.

The resulting mice pups were born healthy and were even able to reproduce once they matured.

Writing in the US journal Science, which published the findings, research leader professor Michinori Saito said the work provided a promising basis for hope in reproductive medicine.

"Our system serves as a robust foundation to investigate and further reconstitute female germline development in vitro, not only in mice, but also in other mammals, including humans," he said.

Saito cautioned that this was not a ready-made cure for people with fertility problems, adding that a lot of work remained.

"This achievement is expected to help us understand further the egg-producing mechanism and contribute to clarifying the causes of infertility," he told reporters.

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Fertility hope in stem cell eggs

Multiple miRNA Markers Associated with Angiogenesis and Tissue Injury Repair Expressed in Cytori’s Cell Therapy

By Uncategorized

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Cytori Therapeutics (CYTX) announced that three oral presentations related to its cell therapy are being presented today at the 10th annual International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Sciences meeting. The findings provide insights into the mechanisms-of-action for Cytoris cell therapy. One study identified high levels of micro-RNA (miRNA) markers in human tissue thought to play a role in the repair of tissue injury resulting from ischemia, or lack of blood flow. Two additional characterization and comparative analysis studies on human tissue reaffirmed cellular characteristics of Cytoris cell therapy and distinguished the safety, viability and cell make-up as compared to cell outputs derived from alternate approaches.

Results from all three studies have important implications for how the cells repair injured tissue and on the safety and viability of cell-based treatments derived from adipose tissue, said John Fraser, Ph.D., Chief Scientist of Cytori Therapeutics. Mechanisms identified in our miRNA analysis are consistent with our prior clinical and preclinical data, which suggest these mechanisms include angiogenesis, immune-modulation, and remodeling and wound repair. The miRNA study provides baseline data, which we can apply to our U.S. ATHENA clinical trial in refractory heart failure patients and other activities including our recently announced contract with BARDA for thermal burns.

In one study, miRNA profiles were assessed in adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells (ADRCs) derived from human tissue samples. The purpose was to determine which miRNA markers are expressed, miRNA variability from patient to patient, cellular functions of miRNA, and to establish a baseline miRNA population on healthy patients to compare against patients with a specific disease. Specifically, miRNA markers associated with angiogenesis, tissue remodeling and wound repair, and modulation of the immune response were found to be highly represented in ADRCs.

Our two additional characterization and comparative analysis studies evaluated alternate processing techniques and reaffirmed our proprietary enzyme-based process using Celution is the clear gold standard, added Dr. Fraser. If the composition of a cell population extracted from adipose tissue by an alternative process is not equivalent to Cytoris ADRC population, one cannot claim equivalence to ADRCs in terms of safety or efficacy in preclinical or clinical outcomes.

The characterization and comparative analysis studies reaffirmed the high cell yield and viability as well as the heterogeneity in Cytoris cell therapy approach. Cytoris cells are derived with a proprietary formulation of clinical grade enzymes which break up the connective tissue and which are removed at the end of the process. Cytoris cell mixture includes adipose-derived stem cells, based on the measure of colony forming units, and a high yield of CD34+ cells. By contrast, data in these studies showed that alternate approaches such as ultrasound or emulsification, contained little to no adipose-derived stem cells, a high concentration of red and white blood cells, and did not meet the key criteria for safe clinical use.

About Cytori

Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. is developing cell therapies based on autologous adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs) to treat cardiovascular disease and repair soft tissue defects. Our scientific data suggest ADRCs improve blood flow, moderate the immune response and keep tissue at risk of dying alive. As a result, we believe these cells can be applied across multiple "ischemic" conditions. These therapies are made available to the physician and patient at the point-of-care by Cytori's proprietary technologies and products, including the Celution system product family. http://www.cytori.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding events, trends and business prospects, which may affect our future operating results and financial position. Such statements including our ability to apply this data to our ATHENA study and other projects are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results and financial position to differ materially. Some of these risks and uncertainties include our history of operating losses, the need for further financing, inherent risk and uncertainty in the protection of intellectual property rights, regulatory uncertainties regarding the collection and results of, clinical data, dependence on third party performance, and other risks and uncertainties described under the "Risk Factors" in Cytori's Securities and Exchange Commission Filings, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Cytori assumes no responsibility to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect events, trends or circumstances after the date of this press release.

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Multiple miRNA Markers Associated with Angiogenesis and Tissue Injury Repair Expressed in Cytori’s Cell Therapy

Stem Cell Transplant May Spur Heart Disease Risk: Study

By Stem Cell Treatment

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 3 (HealthDay News) -- People who undergo the transplantation of stem cells taken from bone marrow, circulating blood or umbilical cord blood are more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol, a new study contends.

Researchers from the American Society of Hematology noted that patients who were treated with chemotherapy or radiation before such a transplant -- called a "hematopoietic cell transplant," or HCT -- had a significantly higher risk for heart disease later in life.

"While we know that heart disease is a real concern for long-term HCT survivors, small sample sizes and a lack of long-term follow-up in previous studies have only allowed us to look at a small piece of the puzzle of how this chronic condition develops in these patients," the study's first author, Dr. Saro Armenian, medical director of the Pediatric Survivorship Clinic in the Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program at City of Hope in Duarte, Calif., said in a society news release.

"Our study sought to better determine the specific factors before and after transplant that can lead to heart disease in a large group of transplant recipients," Armenian explained.

In conducting the study, the researchers examined the medical records of nearly 1,900 hematopoietic cell transplant recipients to identify factors that could affect their development of risk factors for heart disease. The transplants occurred between 1995 and 2004, and the patients survived for at least one year after the treatment.

The investigators considered the patients' exposure to chemotherapy or radiation before the transplant, the type of hematopoietic cell transplant and whether they were treated for a serious transplant complication known as graft-versus-host disease.

Using the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the researchers also projected heart disease risk factor rates for the general population.

The study found that high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol were more common among long-term survivors of the blood-forming stem cell transplants.

The risk for developing diabetes was 1.5 times higher for hematopoietic cell transplant survivors who underwent total body radiation. Their risk for high cholesterol was 1.4 times higher. The researchers noted this was true regardless of the type of blood-forming stem cell transplant the patient received.

Although it's unclear why total body radiation increased these patients' risk for diabetes and high cholesterol, previous studies have shown that abdominal radiation may contribute to insulin resistance and an increase in belly fat among cancer patients.

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Stem Cell Transplant May Spur Heart Disease Risk: Study

Mouse stem cells used to produce eggs, Japanese scientists say

By Stem Cell Doctors

Reaching a long-sought milestone, Japanese researchers have demonstrated in mice that eggs and sperm can be grown from stem cells and combined to produce healthy offspring, pointing the new treatments for infertility.

If the achievement can be repeated in humans and experts said they are optimistic that such efforts will ultimately succeed the technique could make it easier for women in their 30s or 40s to become mothers. It could also help men and women whose reproductive organs have been damaged by cancer treatments or other causes.

About one in 10 American women of childbearing age have trouble becoming or staying pregnant, and more than one-third of infertile couples must contend with a medical problem related to the prospective father, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Using current technology, only about one-third of attempts at assisted reproduction result in live births, CDC data show. Scientists, doctors and patients would like to boost that percentage.

"These studies provide that next level of evidence that in the future fertility could be managed with stem cell intervention," said Teresa Woodruff, chief of fertility preservation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

The prospect of using stem cells to grow new eggs is particularly tantalizing, since women are born with a set number and don't make more once they are gone. In a sense, the therapy would allow them to turn back their biological clocks, said Stanford stem cell researcher Renee A. Reijo Pera, who studies reproduction.

"This is a get-them-back strategy," she said.

Dr. Mitinori Saitou and colleagues at Kyoto University detailed how they generated the functional mouse eggs in a report published online Thursday by the journal Science. Last year, the researchers reported in the journal Cell that they had done the same thing with mouse sperm.

In both cases, the team started with embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to develop into all of the different types of cells in the body.

The scientists exposed the embryonic stem cells to stimuli that coaxed them to become egg and sperm precursors.

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Mouse stem cells used to produce eggs, Japanese scientists say

Stem cells could lead to future fertility treatments, study says

By Stem Cell Doctors

In a long-sought achievement, Japanese researchers have demonstrated in mice that both eggs and sperm can be grown from stem cells and combined to produce healthy offspring, pointing the way to a new avenue for fertility treatments.

If the milestone accomplishment can be repeated in humans -- and experts said they are optimistic that such efforts will ultimately succeed -- the technique could make it easier for women in their 30s or 40s to become mothers. It could also help men and women whose reproductive organs have been damaged by cancer treatments or other causes.

About 10% of American women of childbearing age have trouble becoming or staying pregnant, and more than one-third of infertile couples must contend with a medical problem related to the prospective father, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Using current technology, only about one-third of attempts at assisted reproduction result in live births, CDC data show. Scientists, doctors and patients would like to boost that percentage.

"These studies provide that next level of evidence that in the future fertility could be managed with stem cell intervention," said Teresa Woodruff, chief of fertility preservation at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

The prospect of using stem cells to grow new eggs is particularly tantalizing, because women are born with a set amount and don't make more once they are lost. In a sense, the therapy would allow them to turn back their biological clocks, said Stanford stem cell researcher Renee A. Reijo Pera, who studies reproduction.

"This is a get-them-back strategy," she said.

Using stem cells to create sperm and eggs in mice is a feat researchers have attempted, without much success, for more than a decade, said Dr. George Q. Daley, a leading stem cell researcher at Children's Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Mitinori Saitou and colleagues at Kyoto University detailed how they generated the functional mouse eggs in a report published online Thursday by the journal Science. Last year, the researchers reported in the journal Cell that they had done the same thing with mouse sperm.

In both cases, the team started with embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to develop into all of the different types of cells in the body. The scientists exposed the embryonic stem cells to stimuli that coaxed them to become egg and sperm precursors.

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Stem cells could lead to future fertility treatments, study says

Bernard Siegel to Deliver Keynote Addresses at Midwest Conference on Stem Cell Biology and Therapy and BioFlorida …

By Uncategorized

PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Genetics Policy Institute (GPI) announced today that Bernard Siegel, Executive Director of GPI, will make two keynote presentations this month at regional conferences: Midwest Conference on Stem Cell Biology and Therapy October 5-7 in Rochester, Michigan and BioFlorida Conference 2012 October 7-9 in Miami, Florida.

Siegel will present a keynote address titled The Power of Advocacy at the Midwest Conference on Stem Cell Biology and Therapy. The Genetics Policy Institute joined with the Oakland University William Beaumont Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) as a collaborating partner for the event. Researchers from hospitals, medical organizations, academic institutions and the business community throughout the Midwest will discuss not only the latest advances in this rapidly expanding field of medical science, but the ethical and moral issues that surround it.

"I am pleased to participate in these important conferences, which showcase the latest scientific developments in their respective regions and beyond. ISCRM and the World Stem Cell Summit have a strong connection, as the Institute was officially launched at our 2010 Summit in Detroit, said Bernard Siegel, GPI's Executive Director and founder of the annual World Stem Cell Summit.

BioFloridas 15th annual Conference is the premier event for Floridas bioscience community. This years meeting will bring together more than 500 professionals from across Florida, the Southeast and the nation to discuss major trends and issues, including topics related to product development, scientific research, business development, financing and public policy.

Siegels keynote address at BioFlorida is titled: The Mandate to Deliver Cures: Aligning Patient Advocacy, Industry and Science. Former Governor Jeb Bush will deliver the second keynote at BioFloridas annual Conference.

The 2012 World Stem Cell Summit is in West Palm Beach, Florida this December, so we have been working closely with the biotechnology community here. I am delighted to partner with BioFlorida as they advance Floridas bioscience industry," said Siegel, who also serves on the Executive Committee of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine and Board of the Coalition for Advancement of Medical Research. He serves as spokesperson for the Stem Cell Action Coalition.

ABOUT GPI:The Genetics Policy Institute (GPI) supports stem cell research to develop therapeutics and cures. GPI pursues its mission by honoring leadership through the Stem Cell Action Awards, producing the World Stem Cell Summit, publishing theWorld Stem Cell Report, organizing educational initiatives and fostering strategic collaborations. For more information, visitwww.genpol.org.

ABOUT THE WORLD STEM CELL SUMMIT:The 2012 World Stem Cell Summit is presented by GPI and is co-organized by the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Diabetes Research Institute, Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope, Karolinska Institute (home of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine), International Translational Regenerative Medicine Center (ITRC) and the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) at Kyoto University. The Summit is the flagship meeting of the world stem cell community. The 2012 Summit will be held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, December 3-5, 2012. For more information, visit http://www.worldstemcellsummit.com.

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