Stem Cell Clinic

Cell therapy using patient's own bone marrow may present option for heart disease

By Stem Cell Treatment

Public release date: 24-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kristin Wincek kwincek@mhif.org 612-863-0249 Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation

CHICAGO Cell therapy may present an option for patients with ischemic heart disease to use their own bone marrow cells to repair the damaged areas of their hearts, and may pave the way for future treatment options, according to the FOCUS trial, which will be presented as a late-breaking clinical trial March 24 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session.

This is the largest study to date to look at stem cell therapy, using a patient's own stem cells, to repair damaged areas of the heart in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction. Researchers found that left ventricular ejection fraction (the percentage of blood leaving the heart's main pumping chamber) increased by a small but significant amount (2.7 percent) in patients who received stem cell therapy. The study also revealed that the improvement in ejection fraction correlated with the number of progenitor cells (CD34+ and CD133+) in the bone marrow; and this information will help in evaluating and designing future therapies and trials.

"FOCUS is an incredibly important trial, as it has informed the cell therapy community how to better treat this high-risk patient population, and allows us to enter into an exciting, next generation of stem cell therapy armed with more data," said study investigator Timothy D. Henry, MD, an interventional cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute (MHI) at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis and director of research with the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.

This multicenter study was conducted by the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN), which is supported through a research grant from the National Institutes of Health's National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), with the goal to evaluate novel stem cell-based treatment strategies for individuals with cardiovascular disease.

FOCUS will be presented at ACC.12 by its lead investigator Emerson C. Perin, MD, PhD, director of clinical research for cardiovascular medicine at the Texas Heart Institute, one of the five sites in the CCTRN. The Minneapolis Heart Institute is another site of the five in the network, and a large number of CCTRN patients were enrolled in Minnesota.

For this study, which took place between April 2009 and April 2011, the five sites randomly selected 92 patients to receive stem cell treatment or placebo. The symptomatic patients, with an average age 63, all had chronic ischemic heart disease and an ejection fraction of less than 45 percent (baseline 34 percent) along with heart failure and/or angina and were no longer candidates for revascularization. "These patients had no other options, as medical management failed to improve their symptoms," explained the study's co-investigator Jay Traverse, MD, an interventionalist cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and physician researcher with the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.

Bone marrow was aspirated from the patients and processed to obtain just the mononuclear fraction of the marrow. In patients randomly selected to receive stem cell therapy, physicians inserted a catheter into the heart's left ventricle to inject 100 million stem cells in more than 15 sites that showed damage on the electromechanical mapping image of the heart.

"Studies such as these are able to be completed much faster because of the team approach of the network" said Sonia I. Skarlatos, PhD, NHBLI's deputy director of the division of cardiovascular sciences and program director of CCTRN.

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Cell therapy using patient's own bone marrow may present option for heart disease

Chevy Hockenberry, Mercersburg, gets stem cell transplant at Hershey

By Stem Cell Treatment

A local toddler with a very rare disease has begun a long recovery in Penn State Hershey Childrens Hospital after chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.

Chevy Hockenberry, the 23-month-old son of Lance Hockenberry and Melissa Johnson of Mercersburg, suffers from Hurlers syndrome, a rare inherited genetic disorder that if left untreated, causes death within five years.

People with Hurlers syndrome do not produce lysosomal alpha-L-iduronidase, an enzyme that helps break down long chains of sugar molecules. The long sugar chains build up in the body, damage internal organs and eventually lead to death.

The transplant

Chevy was diagnosed with Hurlers in January, but his symptoms started showing up long before that.

He was always sick, Johnson said by phone from Hershey. Chevy was always in and out of the hospital and had developed pneumonia and mild scoliosis.

Once he was diagnosed, the only treatment option for was a stem cell transplant.

Its not curable, Johnson said. But the stem cell transplant stops the progression.

The stem cells came from donated umbilical cords and Chevys parents because they are both carriers of Hurlers.

Chevy had multiple weeks of enzymes infusion followed by nine days of chemotherapy before the stem cell transplant.

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Chevy Hockenberry, Mercersburg, gets stem cell transplant at Hershey

Stem cell treatment could repair heart damage

By Stem Cell Treatment

CHICAGO - Patients with advanced heart disease who received an experimental stem cell therapy showed slightly improved heart function, researchers said at a major U.S. cardiology conference on Saturday.

The clinical trial involved 92 patients, with an average age of 63, who were picked at random to get either a placebo or a series of injections of their own stem cells, taken from their bone marrow, into damaged areas of their hearts.

The patients all had chronic heart disease, along with either heart failure or angina, and their left ventricles were pumping at less than 45 per cent of capacity.

All the participants in the study were ineligible for revascularization surgery, such as coronary bypass to restore blood flow, because their heart disease was so advanced.

Those who received the stem cell therapy saw a small but significant boost in the heart's ability to pump blood, measuring the increase from the heart's main pumping chamber at 2.7 per cent more than placebo patients.

Study authors described the trial as the largest to date to examine stem cell therapy as a route to repairing the heart in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction.

"This is the kind of information we need in order to move forward with the clinical use of stem cell therapy," said lead investigator Emerson Perin, director of clinical research for cardiovascular medicine at the Texas Heart Institute.

Perin's research, which was conducted between 2009 and 2011 across five U.S sites, was presented at the annual American College of Cardiology Conference in Chicago.

The technique involved taking bone marrow samples from the patients and processing the marrow to extract stem cells. Doctors then injected the cells via catheter into the heart's left ventricle.

The injections, comprising some 100 million stem cells in all, were specifically targeted at damaged areas, identified by real-time electromechanical mapping of the heart.

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Stem cell treatment could repair heart damage

Naperville Residents Protest Plans For Fertility Clinic

By Stem Cell Clinic

Embryologist Ric Ross holds a dish with human embryos at the La Jolla IVF Clinic February 28, 2007 in La Jolla, California. The clinic accepts donated embryos from around the country through The Stem Cell resource which are then given to stem cell research labs for research. (Credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (CBS) Controversy has erupted over a plan for a fertility clinic in downtown Naperville.

As WBBM Newsradios Lisa Fielding reports, Naperville city Councilman Bob Feesler says has already heard from several residents about the proposed facility to be built at the northwest corner of Washington and Benton streets.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradios Lisa Fielding reports

Ive already gotten a dozen e-mails, all supportive of my position that this is a bad use of that property, Feesler said.

A local doctor, Randy Morris, wants the clinic to provide medications, insemination, in-vitro fertilization and surgical procedures. Some residents are concerned about some of those services, saying they devalue and objectify the sanctity of human life.

Feesler says zoning laws do allow for such a clinic, but that doesnt necessarily mean it should get an automatic green light.

For me the question is, is that the best use? Is that what we want? Is that the right thing? Feesler said.

Feesler says hes concerned about potential protests, similar to those at the Planned Parenthood facility in Aurora. The issue will be up for a final vote on April 3.

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Naperville Residents Protest Plans For Fertility Clinic

Somatic stem cells obtained from skin cells for first time ever

By Stem Cell Medicine

"Our research shows that reprogramming somatic cells does not require passing through a pluripotent stage," explains Schler. "Thanks to this new approach, tissue regeneration is becoming a more streamlined - and safer - process."

Up until now, pluripotent stem cells were considered the 'be-all and end-all' of stem cell science. Historically, researchers have obtained these 'jack-of-all-trades' cells from fully differentiated somatic cells. Given the proper environmental cues, pluripotent stem cells are capable of differentiating into every type of cell in the body, but their pluripotency also holds certain disadvantages, which preclude their widespread application in medicine. According to Schler, "pluripotent stem cells exhibit such a high degree of plasticity that under the wrong circumstances they may form tumours instead of regenerating a tissue or an organ." Schler's somatic stem cells offer a way out of this dilemma: they are 'only' multipotent, which means that they cannot give rise to all cell types but merely to a select subset of them - in this case, a type of cell found in neural tissue - a property, which affords them an edge in terms of their therapeutic potential.

To allow them to interconvert somatic cells into somatic stem cells, the Max Planck researchers cleverly combined a number of different growth factors, proteins that guide cellular growth. "One factor in particular, called Brn4, which had never been used before in this type of research, turned out to be a genuine 'captain' who very quickly and efficiently took command of his ship - the skin cell - guiding it in the right direction so that it could be converted into a neuronal somatic stem cell," explains Schler. This interconversion turns out to be even more effective if the cells, stimulated by growth factors and exposed to just the right environmental conditions, divide more frequently. "Gradually, the cells lose their molecular memory that they were once skin cells," explains Schler. It seems that even after only a few cycles of cell division the newly produced neuronal somatic stem cells are practically indistinguishable from stem cells normally found in the tissue.

Schler's findings suggest that these cells hold great long-term medical potential: "The fact that these cells are multipotent dramatically reduces the risk of neoplasm formation, which means that in the not-too-distant future they could be used to regenerate tissues damaged or destroyed by disease or old age; until we get to that point, substantial research efforts will have to be made." So far, insights are based on experiments using murine skin cells; the next steps now are to perform the same experiments using actual human cells. In addition, it is imperative that the stem cells' long-term behaviour is thoroughly characterized to determine whether they retain their stability over long periods of time.

"Our discoveries are a testament to the unparalleled degree of rigor of research conducted here at the Mnster Institute," says Schler. "We should realize that this is our chance to be instrumental in helping shape the future of medicine." At this point, the project is still in its initial, basic science stage although "through systematic, continued development in close collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry, the transition from the basic to the applied sciences could be hugely successful, for this as well as for other, related, future projects," emphasizes Schler. This, then, is the reason why a suitable infrastructure framework must be created now rather than later. "The blueprints for this framework are all prepped and ready to go - all we need now are for the right political measures to be ratified to pave the way towards medical applicability."

More information: Han D.W., Tapia N., Hermann A., Hemmer K., Hing S., Arazo-Bravo M.J., Zaehres H., Frank S., Moritz S., Greber B., Yang J.H., Lee H.T., Schwamborn J.C., Storch A., Schler H.R. (2012) Direct Reprogramming of Fibroblasts into Neural Stem Cells by Defined Factors, Cell Stem Cell, CELL-STEM-CELL-D-11-00679R3

Provided by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (news : web)

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Somatic stem cells obtained from skin cells for first time ever

Stem Cell Transplant Program Offered at UVA Medical Center

By Stem Cell Medical Center

What used to be medical trash is now treating cancer. The University of Virginia's Medical Center is the first place in Virginia to take advantage of stem cells from umbilical cords and they are pleased with the results.

Dr. Mary Laughlin, the director of stem cell transplantation at UVA,said, "These are cells that are routinely thrown away, these cells save lives."

A lab within the UVA Medical Center contains numerous tubes where non-embryonic stem cells reside. They come from umbilical cord blood and give hope topatients suffering leukemia, multiple myeloma and lymphoma.

Dr. Laughlin added, "They can completely replace a patient's bone marrow in the immune system. Oneof 10 cancer patients are able to find those cells through existing adult registries."

Thefive million babies that are born each year will soon solve that problem. The cells that are normally tossed out attack cancer cells.

Denise Mariconda, a nurse within the stem cell transplant program, stated, "It looks like a blood transfusion." Dr. Laughlin added, "It is in many ways like a cancer vaccine."

The first transplants were made in January and the transplant program at the UVA Medical Center admits it takes getting used to.

Mariconda said, "It is a process that's not like having your heart fixed in a one-day setting and you know that it's better."

These cells are not cause for controversy. Dr. Laughlin said, "Use of cord-blood is approved by all religious groups including the Vatican."

Babies' immune systems are not fully educated at the time of birth, making these cells effective. Dr. Laughlin, added, "That allows us to cross transplant barriers."

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Stem Cell Transplant Program Offered at UVA Medical Center

Stem Cell Therapy Used To Treat 9/11 Search And Rescue Dog

By Stem Cell Clinic

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ)One of the last search and rescue dogs from 9/11 lives here in Maryland. She was suffering from a painful condition until her owner took action with breakthrough technology.

Mary Bubala has the story.

Red is a search and rescue dog from Annapolis, but has traveled across the country. Her missions include Hurricane Katrina, the La Plata tornadoes and the Pentagon after 9/11.

They credit them with finding 70 percent of the human remains so that helped a whole lot of those families actually get closure, said Heather Roche, Reds owner.

Sept. 11 was Reds first search. Today shes one of the last 9/11 search and rescue dogs still alive.

She retired last summer due to severe arthritis.

It would be nice if her arthritis, if she felt better, that she could do those kinds of things that she misses, Reds owner said while fighting back tears. Alright I am going to cry.

Roche did some research and found an animal hospital in northern Virginia that uses breakthrough stem cell therapy to treat arthritis in dogs.

The Burke Animal Clinic is one of just a few across the country that use stem cell therapy.

The vet harvests 1 to 2 ounces of the dogs fatty tissue, activates the stem cells and then injects them back into the troubled areas.

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Stem Cell Therapy Used To Treat 9/11 Search And Rescue Dog

Vet-Stem Announces StemInsure(R): A Small Fat Sample Now, a Lifetime of Stem Cells Later

By Uncategorized

POWAY, CA--(Marketwire -03/22/12)- Vet-Stem announced today the introduction of StemInsure. The StemInsure service provides banked stem cells that can be grown to supply a lifetime of stem cell therapy for dogs. One fat collection, in conjunction with another anesthetized procedure, gives access to a lifetime of stem cells.

Vet-Stem has trained over 3,500 veterinarians, provided stem cells for over 8,000 animals in the US and Canada and currently banks more than 25,000 doses for future therapeutic use. Many veterinarians and their clients have requested a method to collect and store stem cells when a dog is young, before it needs the regenerative cells for therapy. StemInsure was designed to meet this need.

A Vet-Stem credentialed veterinarian can collect as little as 5 grams of fat (about the size of a grape) from a dog or puppy during an anesthetized procedure. Many veterinarians and owners are electing to do this fat collection in conjunction with a spay or neuter. This small amount of fat is processed and stem cells are cryopreserved in Vet-Stem's state-of-the-art facility. The cells can be cultured in the future to provide enough stem cells to last for the lifetime of the dog. More information can be found at http://www.vet-stem.com/steminsure.php.

"Vet-Stem is pleased to provide StemInsure as a solution to the thousands of veterinarians and dog owners who recognize the value of Vet-Stem cell therapy. The ability to store the cells in conjunction with another procedure is a great way to ensure that the dog will have access to a lifetime of cell therapy while reducing the number of anesthetic events," said Dr. Bob Harman, DVM, MPVM, and CEO of Vet-Stem. Dr. Harman continued, "Currently, Vet-Stem Regenerative Cell Therapy is widely used to treat osteoarthritis, and tendon/ligament injuries. It is our expectation that the therapeutic use of adipose derived stem cells will continue to expand and add to the value of a lifetime supply of stem cells for dogs."

About Vet-Stem:In January of 2004, Vet-Stem introduced the first veterinary stem cell service in the United States. Since that time there has been rapid adoption of this technology for treatment of tendon, ligament, and joint injuries by the veterinary community. Studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells can dramatically improve the healing of injuries and diseases that have had very few treatment options in the past.

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Vet-Stem Announces StemInsure(R): A Small Fat Sample Now, a Lifetime of Stem Cells Later

Research and Markets: Progenitor and Stem Cell Technologies and Therapies Reviews the Range Of Progenitor and Stem …

By Uncategorized

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2fee68d4/progenitor_and_ste) has announced the addition of Woodhead Publishing Ltd's new book "Progenitor and Stem Cell Technologies and Therapies" to their offering.

Progenitor and stem cells have the ability to renew themselves and change into a variety of specialised types, making them ideal materials for therapy and regenerative medicine. "Progenitor and stem cell technologies and therapies" reviews the range of progenitor and stem cells available and their therapeutic application.

Part one reviews basic principles for the culture of stem cells before discussing technologies for particular cell types. These include human embryonic, induced pluripotent, amniotic and placental, cord and multipotent stem cells. Part two discusses wider issues such as intellectual property, regulation and commercialisation of stem cell technologies and therapies. The final part of the book considers the therapeutic use of stem and progenitor cells. Chapters review the use of adipose tissue-derived stem cells, umbilical cord blood (UCB) stem cells, bone marrow, auditory and oral cavity stem cells. Other chapters cover the use of stem cells in therapies in various clinical areas, including lung, cartilage, urologic, nerve and cardiac repair.

With its distinguished editor and international team of contributors, "Progenitor and stem cell technologies and therapies" is a standard reference for both those researching in cell and tissue biology and engineering as well as medical practitioners investigating the therapeutic use of this important technology.

Key Features:

- Reviews the range of progenitor and stem cells available and outlines their therapeutic application

- Examines the basic principles for the culture of stem cells before discussing technologies for particular cell types, including human embryonic, induced pluripotent, amniotic and placental, cord and multipotent stem cells

- Includes a discussion of wider issues such as intellectual property, regulation and commercialisation of stem cell technologies and therapies

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2fee68d4/progenitor_and_ste

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Research and Markets: Progenitor and Stem Cell Technologies and Therapies Reviews the Range Of Progenitor and Stem ...

Bioheart Labs and Stemlogix Veterinary Products Featured in Media

By Uncategorized

SUNRISE, Fla., March 22, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bioheart, Inc. (OTCBB:BHRT.OB - News), a company focused on developing stem cell therapies for heart disease, previously announced that they entered into an agreement with Stemlogix, LLC, a veterinary regenerative medicine company, to provide additional cellular products and services to the veterinary market. Under this agreement, the companies are offering stem cell banking for veterinary patients (pets). WPLG, channel 10 featured this exciting technology in a news segment which aired in the South Florida area. A small sample of tissue can be obtained from the animals during a routine procedure such as a spay or neuter. The stem cells are isolated and cryopreserved for future use as needed.

"We are excited to bring our expertise in stem cell therapy to the veterinary community," said Mike Tomas, Bioheart's President and CEO. "Stem cell therapies represent new opportunities for various types of patients and the ability to bank a pet's cells when they are young and healthy could be very valuable for future use."

WPLG, Channel 10 in Miami/South Florida featured this new technology in a news segment which aired March 15, 2012. Please see the link below:

http://www.local10.com/thats-life/health/Pet-stem-cells-frozen-banked-for-future-use/-/1717022/9285894/-/apcx9rz/-/index.html

About Bioheart, Inc.

Bioheart is committed to maintaining its leading position within the cardiovascular sector of the cell technology industry delivering cell therapies and biologics that help address congestive heart failure, lower limb ischemia, chronic heart ischemia, acute myocardial infarctions and other issues. Bioheart's goals are to cause damaged tissue to be regenerated, when possible, and to improve a patient's quality of life and reduce health care costs and hospitalizations.

Specific to biotechnology, Bioheart is focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage and peripheral vascular disease. Its leading product, MyoCell, is a clinical muscle-derived cell therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. For more information on Bioheart, visit http://www.bioheartinc.com.

About Stemlogix, LLC

Stemlogix is an innovative veterinary regenerative medicine company committed to providing veterinarians with the ability to deliver the best possible stem cell therapy to dogs, cats and horses at the point-of-care. Stemlogix provides veterinarians with the ability to isolate regenerative stem cells from a patient's own adipose (fat) tissue directly on-site within their own clinic or where a patient is located. Regenerative stem cells isolated from adipose tissue have been shown in studies to be effective in treating animal's suffering from osteoarthritis, joint diseases, tendon injuries, heart disorders, among other conditions. Stemlogix has a highly experienced management team with experience in setting up full scale cGMP stem cell manufacturing facilities, stem cell product development & enhancement, developing point-of-care cell production systems, developing culture expanded stem cell production systems, FDA compliance, directing clinical & preclinical studies with multiple cell types for multiple indications, and more. For more information about veterinary regenerative medicine please visit http://www.stemlogix.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical matters contained herein, statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may," "will," "to," "plan," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," or "continue" or the negative other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

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Bioheart Labs and Stemlogix Veterinary Products Featured in Media

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