Category Archives: Cell Medicine

AMSTERDAM, March 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- First issue of Health Policy and Technology launched in March Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announces that it will publish the new journal of the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine (FPM), Health Policy and Technology. In March FPM will launch the first issue of the cross-disciplinary journal focusing on past, present and future health policy and the role of technology in clinical and non-clinical national and international health environments. The journal will publish relevant, timely and accessible articles and commentaries to support policy-makers, health professionals, health technology providers, patient groups and academia interested in health policy and technology. Topics covered will include: health technology, including drug discovery, diagnostics, medicines, devices, therapeutic delivery and eHealth systems; cross-national comparisons on health policy using evidence-based approaches; health technology assessment (HTA) methods and tools for evaluating the effectiveness of clinical and non-clinical health technologies; stakeholder engagement with health technologies (clinical and patient/citizen buy-in), Regulation and health economics (full aims & scope available online). "We are delighted to be launching Health Policy and Technology in collaboration with Elsevier," Professor Donald Singer, President of the FPM and Chairman of the Advisory Board said … Continue reading →

A new type of stem cell-seeded patch has shown promising results in promoting healing after a heart attack, according to a study released today in the journal STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. Durham, NC (PRWEB) March 07, 2012 Ischemic heart disease, caused by vessel blockage, is a leading cause of death in many western countries. Studies have shown the potential of stem cells in regenerating heart tissue damaged during an attack. But even as the list of candidate cells for cardiac regeneration has expanded, none has emerged as the obvious choice, possibly because several cell types are needed to regenerate both the hearts muscles and its vascular components. Aside from the choice of the right cell source for tissue regeneration, the best way to deliver the stem cells is up for debate, too, as intravenous delivery and injections can be inefficient and possibly harmful. While embryonic stem cells have shown great promise for heart repairs due to their ability to differentiate into virtually any cell type, less than 10 percent of injected cells typically survive the engraftment and of that number generally only 2 percent actually colonize the heart. In order for this type of treatment is to be clinically effective, … Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- The genetic makeup of cancer cells differs significantly from region to region within a single tumor, according to new research that raises questions about the true potential of personalized cancer medicine. With this treatment approach, doctors study a tumor's genetic makeup to determine which drugs would work best in a particular patient. But if the genetic mutations driving the cancer cells vary widely, a single tissue sample won't necessarily give the full picture. This "targeted therapy" involves "sticking a needle into the primary tumor site and taking a small sliver of a tumor, doing a gene analysis, and creating a genetic profile of the tumor to predict how the tumor will behave," explained Dr. Dan Longo, an oncologist and deputy editor at the New England Journal of Medicine. "What this paper tells us is that is an oversimplification of the complexity of tumors and their heterogeneity," he said. "If you look at different sites of the very same tumor and the very same person, one site might tell you a gene profile associated with a good prognosis and the other site will tell you a gene profile associated with a bad prognosis." Longo wrote … Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- The genetic makeup of cancer cells differs significantly from region to region within a single tumor, according to new research that raises questions about the true potential of personalized cancer medicine. With this treatment approach, doctors study a tumor's genetic makeup to determine which drugs would work best in a particular patient. But if the genetic mutations driving the cancer cells vary widely, a single tissue sample won't necessarily give the full picture. This "targeted therapy" involves "sticking a needle into the primary tumor site and taking a small sliver of a tumor, doing a gene analysis, and creating a genetic profile of the tumor to predict how the tumor will behave," explained Dr. Dan Longo, an oncologist and deputy editor at the New England Journal of Medicine. "What this paper tells us is that is an oversimplification of the complexity of tumors and their heterogeneity," he said. "If you look at different sites of the very same tumor and the very same person, one site might tell you a gene profile associated with a good prognosis and the other site will tell you a gene profile associated with a bad prognosis." Longo wrote … Continue reading →

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., one of the worlds premier leukemia and stem cell transplant researchers and clinicians, has been named the new director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Nimer, the Alfred P. Sloan Chair in Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, will assume the key University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and UHealth-University of Miami Health System post this spring, bringing 30 years of pioneering research and clinical experience and an unquenchable passion for improving the lives of patients with cancer, and their families. The focus will not be solely on taking care of the cancer, it will be on taking care of the patient, said Nimer, whose patient-centered philosophy has won him as much acclaim as his clinical and laboratory accomplishments. That means trying to understand as fully as possible each patients cancer the biology driving the cancer, and the impact of the cancer on the patients life in order to develop a personalized therapeutic approach suited to each individual. Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Miller School, and CEO of UHealth, said Nimer, who headed the Division of Hematologic Oncology at Sloan-Kettering for a dozen … Continue reading →

Researchers can use the method, called nanocombinatorics, to build enormous libraries of physical structures varying in size from a few nanometers to many micrometers for addressing problems within and outside biology. Those in the fields of chemistry, materials engineering and nanotechnology could use this invaluable tool to assess which chemical and physical structures -- including size, shape and composition -- work best for a desired process or function. Nanocombinatorics holds promise for screening catalysts for energy conversion, understanding properties conferred by nanostructures, identifying active molecules for drug discovery or even optimizing materials for tissue regeneration, among other applications. Details of the method and proof of concept is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "With further development, researchers might be able to use this approach to prepare cells of any lineage on command," said Chad A. Mirkin, who led the work. "Insight into such a process is important for understanding cancer development and for developing novel cancer treatment methodologies." Mirkin is the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and professor of medicine, chemical and biological engineering, biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering. He also is the director of … Continue reading →

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/e8a0ce/evolutionary_biolo) has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new book "Evolutionary Biology: Cell-Cell Communication and Complex Disease" to their offering. An Integrative View of the Evolution of Genetics and the Natural World: Even in this advanced age of genomics, the evolutionary process of unicellular and multicellular organisms is continually in debate. Evolutionary Biology, Cell-Cell Communication, and Complex Disease challenges current wisdom by using physiology to present an integrative view of the nature, origins, and evolution of fundamental biological systems. Providing a deeper understanding of the way genes relate to the traits of living organisms, this book offers useful information applying evolutionary biology, functional genomics, and cell communication studies to complex disease. Examining the 4.5 billion-year evolution process from environment adaptations to cell-cell communication to communication of genetic information for reproduction, Evolutionary Biology hones in on the "why and how" of evolution by uniquely focusing on the cell as the smallest unit of biologic structure and function. Based on Empirically Derived Data Rather Than Association Studies, Evolutionary Biology Covers: Ambitious and game-changing Evolutionary Biology suggests that biology began as a mechanism for reducing energy within the cell, defying the Second Law of Thermodynamics. … Continue reading →

Public release date: 6-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Megan Fellman fellman@northwestern.edu 847-491-3115 Northwestern University Northwestern University scientists have developed a powerful analytical method that they have used to direct stem cell differentiation. Out of millions of possibilities, they rapidly identified the chemical and physical structures that can cue stem cells to become osteocytes, cells found in mature bone. Researchers can use the method, called nanocombinatorics, to build enormous libraries of physical structures varying in size from a few nanometers to many micrometers for addressing problems within and outside biology. Those in the fields of chemistry, materials engineering and nanotechnology could use this invaluable tool to assess which chemical and physical structures -- including size, shape and composition -- work best for a desired process or function. Nanocombinatorics holds promise for screening catalysts for energy conversion, understanding properties conferred by nanostructures, identifying active molecules for drug discovery or even optimizing materials for tissue regeneration, among other applications. Details of the method and proof of concept is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "With further development, researchers might be able to use this approach to prepare cells of any lineage on command," said Chad A. … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2012) Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report this month in Cancer Research a universal approach to personalized cancer therapy based on T cells. It is the first time a system for making an adaptable, engineered T-cell to attack specific tumor types has been proposed, depending on which abnormal proteins, called antigens, are expressed by individual patients' tumor cells. For now, the system is being refined in experiments using healthy donor T cells and animal models of human cancer, with the aim to introduce the personalized cells into patients in the future, explains senior author Daniel J. Powell Jr., Ph.D., a research assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine with Penn's Ovarian Cancer Research Center. Tumor antigens are potential targets of an immune response, and identifying which antigens a patient's tumor cells express would be helpful in designing cancer therapy for that individual. Any mutated protein produced in a tumor cell can act as a tumor antigen. Many tumor cells have surface proteins that are inappropriately expressed for the cell type, or are only normally present during embryonic development. Still other tumor cells display cell surface proteins that are rare or … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -03/05/12)- February was a challenging month for stem cell stocks. TickerSpy's Stem Cell Stocks Index (RXSTM) has slipped nearly 13 percent over the last month -- underperforming the S&P 500 by close to 17 percent over that time frame. Despite the drop in investor optimism, new research continues to propel the industry forward. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Biotechnology industry and provides equity research on Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (OTC.BB: ACTC.OB - News) and NeoStem, Inc. (AMEX: NBS - News). Access to the full company reports can be found at: http://www.fivestarequities.com/ACTC http://www.fivestarequities.com/NBS A new study at Johns Hopkins University has shown that stem cells from patients' own cardiac tissue can be used to heal scarred tissue after a heart attack. "This has never been accomplished before, despite a decade of cell therapy trials for patients with heart attacks. Now we have done it," Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and one of the study's co-authors, said in a statement. "The effects are substantial." In another study, researchers led by Jonathan Tilly, director of the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital, argue they've discovered the ovaries of young … Continue reading →