Stem Cell Clinic

Stem cell hope for hip replacement procedure

By Stem Cell Clinic

Hip replacements for some patients could be a thing of the past after surgeons pioneered a new stem cell procedure to tackle a bone disease that leads to arthritis.

Doctors at Southampton General Hospital are extracting stem cells from the bone marrow of patients in need of hip repair due to osteonecrosis - a condition where poor blood supply causes significant bone damage leading to severe arthritis.

These cells are mixed with cleaned, crushed bone from another patient who has had their own hip replaced and used to fill the hole made by surgeons after dead and damaged tissue has been removed from the joint.

The procedure has been developed by Doug Dunlop, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Southampton General Hospital, and Professor Richard Oreffo, a specialist in musculoskeletal science at the University of Southampton.

"Although this work is still ongoing, several patients who have had the procedure have reacted very well and, if we get the results we are hoping for, these patients won't need to have their hip joints replaced - they should be fixed completely," said Mr Dunlop.

Professor Oreffo added: "By using stem cells to send out chemical signals to blood vessels, we hope the body will continue to create new vessels in the hip which supply enough nutrients to maintain bone strength."

Osteonecrosis is on the rise in the UK with around 4,000 cases a year but it is much more widespread in Asia where it is the most common form of arthritis of the hip, the hospital said.

It can also be treated with drugs to help avoid arthritis and usually strikes between 30 and 50 years of age.

Osteonecrosis is one of the three main causes of arthritis alongside osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Arthritis in general affects one in five people in the UK.

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Stem cell hope for hip replacement procedure

Princess opens stem cell centre

By Uncategorized

28 May 2012 Last updated at 09:14 ET

A 54m cutting-edge stem cell research centre in Edinburgh has been officially opened by the Princess Royal.

The Royal opened the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine as well as the 24m bio-incubator facility, Nine, in the Edinburgh BioQuarter.

Research into conditions such as multiple sclerosis and heart and liver disease will benefit from the new facilities in Little France.

The Princess Royal unveiled plaques at the centres.

Edinburgh University's Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine is the first large-scale, purpose-built facility of its kind and provides accommodation for up to 250 stem cell scientists.

The centre, funded by Edinburgh University, Scottish Enterprise, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the British Heart Foundation through its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, is being opened by the Princess Royal in her role as Chancellor of Edinburgh University.

It includes the most up-to-date facilities in the UK, which meet the highest guidelines, to manufacture stem cell lines that could be used for patient therapies.

Nine, which has been jointly funded by Scottish Enterprise and the UK government's department for business, innovation and skills, has 85,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space for both established biotechnology companies and start-up ventures.

The Edinburgh BioQuarter is in the city's Little France area and includes the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Edinburgh University's Queen's Medical Research Institute and Chancellor's Building.

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Princess opens stem cell centre

Makati Medical Center now offering stem cell therapy

By Stem Cell Treatment

THE MAKATI Medical Centers Cancer Center celebrated its first year anniversary and marked the occasion with the launch of its Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory. Present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Dr. Eric Flores, head, Spine Clinic and Stem Cell Lab; Rosalie Montenegro, Makati Medical Center president and CEO; Dr. ManuelO. Fernandez Jr., executive vice president and director, Professional Services; Dr. Remedios G. Suntay, director and treasurer, MDI Board; Dr. Benjamin N. Alimurung, medical director; Dr. Francis Chung, scientific officer, Stem Cell Lab; and Augusto P. Palisoc Jr., executive director, president and CEO, MPIC Hospital Group.

MAKATIMEDS Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory is managed by experienced scientists with extensive training and is affiliated with the International Society for Cellular Therapy.

Stem cell therapy is now being offered at Makati Medical Center (MMC) as potential cure for a wide range of illnesses, from various types of cancer and heart ailments to incurable diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons and Alzheimers.

Stem cell therapy is believed to be effective in bone marrow transplant for leukemia patients, and with early intervention, yields desirable results among renal and prostate cancer patients.

Launched in the first year anniversary of the hospitals cancer center, MMCs Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory is equipped with technology touted to be totally unmatched in our country, says Dr. Francis Chung, scientific officer of the lab. No system exists elsewhere.

Employing the strictest sterility standards at par with that of the US Food and Drug Administration, the lab has state-of-the-art facilities. The Clinimacs CD34 Reagent System is a machine that isolates specific cells needed for the procedure, while the Flow Cytomer ensures the purity of cultured cells.

Transplantation

Sourcing the stem cells, however, is what truly sets the Philippines premier health institution apart from chi-chi spas that also push stem cell therapy for beauty and anti-aging procedures.

At MMC, healthy stem cells are acquired from the patients themselves, a process known as autologous transplantation. For those suffering from an ailment, a parent, sibling or other close relative could be the donor. The hospital strives for utmost compatibility between patient and donor through a 10-point DNA matching system.

If a battery of tests finds a patient to be up to it, medication is given to prepare him for stem cell harvest.

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Makati Medical Center now offering stem cell therapy

Americans flocking to India for stem cell therapy

By Stem Cell Treatment

Washington: A growing number of Americans are travelling to India to seek treatment for rare diseases through India's experimental embryonic stem cell therapy, according to an investigative report.

Among them Cash Burnaman, a 6-year-old South Carolina boy, who travelled with his parents to India seeking treatment for a rare genetic condition that has left him developmentally disabled, CNN reported.

"Cash is mute. He walks with the aid of braces. To battle his incurable condition, which is so rare it doesn't have a name, Cash has had to take an artificial growth hormone for most of his life," it said.

A growing number of Americans are travelling to India to seek treatment for rare diseases through experimental embryonic stem cell therapy.

His divorced parents, Josh Burnaman and Stephanie Krolick, have paid tens of thousands of dollars to have Cash undergo experimental injections of human embryonic stem cells at New Delhi's NuTech Mediworld run by Dr Geeta Shroff, a retired obstetrician and self-taught embryonic stem cell practitioner.

Shroff first treated Cash -- who presents symptoms similar to Down Syndrome -- in 2010. "I am helping improve their quality of life," she told CNN.

After five weeks of treatment, Cash and his parents returned home to the US. That's when Cash began walking with the aid of braces for the first time.

For four or five weeks of treatment, Shroff says she has charged her 87 American patients an average of $25,000.

But doctors cited by CNN said all that work and hope and money Cash's supporters have funnelled into his experimental therapy likely will have no medical benefits.

"There is zero evidence for what she (Shroff ) is doing being effective," Rutgers University's Dr Wise Young, a leading US neuroscientist, was quoted as saying.

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Americans flocking to India for stem cell therapy

Stem cell treatment regrows Whitfield man’s foot

By Stem Cell Treatment

By the time Dr. Spencer Misner had carved away the dead and diseased flesh from Bobby Rices right foot last year, little remained other than bones and tendons.

I couldnt believe it. It didnt look real. It looked like something out of a movie, recalled Rice, a Whitfield County resident.

Today, the ankle has almost completely healed. It looks like Rice had simply scraped it. And Rices foot has largely healed, too. Misner credits cutting-edge stem cell treatments for saving Rices foot and leg.

Rice, who has diabetes, stepped on a piece of glass last fall and his foot quickly became infected. After trying a home remedy, Rice eventually went to Daltons Hamilton Medical Center emergency room, where doctors found he had a rapidly spreading necrotizing fasciitis, or in laymans terms, flesh-eating bacteria.

Physicians treated the infection with antibiotics. However, Rice had one toe amputated. Doctors had to strip away much of the flesh from Rices foot and a great deal of flesh along his ankle.

We did what we had to do, Misner said. We got the infection out. We saved his life. But what do you do next? Wed normally say all you can do now is cut of his leg so he can get on with his life.

But Misner had another idea. He contacted Ed Fickey, a sales representative for Osiris Therapeutics and asked about using the companys new stem cell technologies to rebuild the foot and ankle.

Stem cells can grow and differentiate into many different types of cells. Stem cell treatments introduce these cells into damaged or diseased organs to repair them.

The problem is that Bobby is an indigent patient and didnt have the financial resources. Ed spoke to the company, and they agreed to donate the products for free, Misner said.

Osiris provided two products called Grafix and Ovation. Fickey said they are made from adult stem cells derived from donated placenta and do not come from embryos.

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Stem cell treatment regrows Whitfield man’s foot

Di'Anno Wants Former Iron Maiden Bandmate To Undergo Stem Cell Therapy Recap

By Uncategorized

Burr, the drummer with Maiden from 1979 until 1982, has been in a wheelchair as a result of multiple sclerosis, which has been attacking his nervous system since before he was diagnosed in 2002.

MS reduces the ability of the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other, resulting in a wide range of potentially severe symptoms. The cause is unknown and there is no cure; but in 2009 researchers made the first breakthrough in reversing symptoms through stem cell therapy.

Di'Anno tells Talking Metal Pirate Radio Burr's condition is "not very good at all." - He had a lot to say, read it here.

Classic Rock Magazine is an official news provider for antiMusic.com. Copyright Classic Rock Magazine- Excerpted here with permission.

antiMUSIC News featured on RockNews.info and Yahoo News

...end

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Di'Anno Wants Former Iron Maiden Bandmate To Undergo Stem Cell Therapy Recap

Calgary scientists claim they’ve made breakthrough with stem cell production

By Stem Cell Medicine

CALGARY Calgary scientists say they have revolutionized stem cell production and have found a way to create the super cells without the risk of cancer.

Two researchers at the University of Calgary have created a device that allows them to produce millions of cells that can then be reprogrammed to make stem cells.

Dr. Derrick Rancourt and Dr. Roman Krawetz say they have perfected a new bioreactor technology that allows them to make millions of pluripotent stem cells much more quickly than ever before.

Pluripotent stem cells come from two main sources; embryos and adult cells that have been reprogrammed by scientists.

Scientists turn on four specific genes to reprogram the cells into stem cells which results in pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells.

Pluripotent stem cells have the potential to differentiate into almost any cell in the body.

The even better news is, we made these stem cells without introducing the cancer gene at all, says Rancourt, coauthor of the research, published in the May issue of the prestigious journal Nature Methods. These stem cells are an outstanding alternative to embryonic stem cells.

Up until now, scientists were limited in their research because it usually takes one million adult cells to make a single stem cell and the resulting stem cells are much more likely to cause cancer.

Scientists can make a whole mouse from iPS cells, says Krawetz. The challenge they face is, within two years, the mouse gets cancer.

The U of C team has found a way around those limitations.

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Calgary scientists claim they’ve made breakthrough with stem cell production

Calgary scientists make stem cell breakthrough

By Stem Cell Medicine

Date: Friday May. 25, 2012 9:27 AM ET

CALGARY Calgary scientists say they have revolutionized stem cell production and have found a way to create the super cells without the risk of cancer.

A pair of researchers at the University of Calgary have created a device that allows them to produce millions of cells which can then be reprogrammed to make stem cells.

Dr. Derrick Rancourt and Dr. Roman Krawetz say they have perfected a new bioreactor technology that allows them to make millions of pluripotent stem cells much more quickly than ever before.

Pluripotent stem cells come from two main sources; embryos and adult cells that have been reprogrammed by scientists.

Scientists turn on four specific genes to reprogram the cells into stem cells which results in pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells.

Pluripotent stem cells have the potential to differentiate into almost any cell in the body.

"The even better news is, we made these stem cells without introducing the cancer gene at all," says Rancourt, co-author of the research, published in the May issue of the prestigious journal Nature Methods. "These stem cells are an outstanding alternative to embryonic stem cells."

Up until now, scientists were limited in their research because it usually takes one million adult cells to make a single stem cell and the resulting stem cells are much more likely to cause cancer.

"Scientists can make a whole mouse from iPS cells," says Krawetz. "The challenge they face is, within two years, the mouse gets cancer."

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Calgary scientists make stem cell breakthrough

Why banking on cord blood isn't necessarily a good idea

By Stem Cell Clinic

CARLY WEEKS From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published Saturday, May. 26, 2012 6:00AM EDT

Its a straightforward pitch to expecting parents: Pay a private clinic to store your babys stem-cell-rich umbilical-cord blood, and rest assured that he or she has protection for life. Multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, diabetes, traumatic brain injury, stroke, brain tumours and even Alzheimers disease are just a few of the ailments stem cells may be able to treat or cure in the future.

The optimism is contagious. Tens of thousands of Canadian families have made the decision to pay thousands of dollars to bank cord blood. But beyond the websites and brochures featuring photos of smiling babies and testimonials from families, a different picture is emerging of an industry that uses inflated arguments, aggressive marketing and misleading information to convince parents to buy in.

I dont know if the families are walking away with an entirely honest picture of what theyre buying, says John Doyle, former head of blood and marrow transplants at Torontos Hospital for Sick Children. I dont think that parents truthfully understand the limits.

Theres a long-standing history of overinflated promises by the cord-blood banks, agrees Donna Wall, director of the blood and marrow transplant program at CancerCare Manitoba. I could have retired many times over if I had gotten into the business. Its just not the right thing to do.

Full of promise

The stem cells found in umbilical-cord blood have the ability to turn into red or white blood cells or blood-clotting cells. For that reason, they offer promising treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell disease and other blood, bone, immune and metabolic disorders.

Adults also carry these stem cells, which is why Canadian Blood Services has a campaign to recruit people to join OneMatch, its network to connect stem-cell and bone-marrow donors to patients. But finding a suitable donor is much more difficult than simply matching blood types. Patient and donor cells must match 10 out of 10 human leukocyte antigens or proteins found on the surface of cells. Donor registries are limited and seldom diverse enough to serve patients of all ethnicities.

Hence the excitement over umbilical-cord-blood stem cells: Not only are they young and less likely to lead to complications, they need not match as precisely as adult cells.

This has just opened up so many more possibilities to patients in need, says Sue Smith, executive director for stem cells at Canadian Blood Services.

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Why banking on cord blood isn't necessarily a good idea

UC San Diego Scientists Net $12 Million For Stem Cell Research

By Uncategorized

Five UC San Diego scientists have received almost $12 million combined from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to pay for stem cell-based research, the university announced today.

A team led by Lawrence Goldstein, of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell Program, was given $1.8 million to continue looking for new methods to find and test possible medications for Alzheimer's disease, according to UCSD. They use reprogrammed stem cells in their work.

Dr. Mark Tuszynski, professor of neurosciences and director of the Center for Neural Repair, received $4.6 million to develop more potent stem cell-based treatments for spinal cord injuries.

Gene Yeo, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, was awarded $1.6 million to continue research into treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. His research hopes to take advantage of recent discoveries about ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, which center on mutations in RNA-binding proteins that cause dysfunction and death in neurons.

Dr. Eric David Adler, an associate clinical professor of medicine and cardiologist, was granted $1.7 million to screen potential drugs for Danon disease, a type of inherited heart failure that frequently kills patients by their 20s.

Yang Xu, a professor in the Division of Biological Sciences, was given $1.8 million to research the use of human embryonic stem cells to produce a renewable source of heart muscle cells that replace cells damaged or destroyed by disease, while overcoming biological resistance to new cells.

"With these new awards, the (institute) now has 52 projects in 33 diseases at varying stages of working toward clinical trials,'' said Jonathan Thomas, chairman of the CIRM governing board. "Californians should take pride in being at the center of this worldwide research leading toward new cures.''

CIRM was established in November 2004 with voter passage of the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. UC San Diego has received $112 million since CIRM began providing grants six years ago.

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UC San Diego Scientists Net $12 Million For Stem Cell Research

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