Category Archives: Cell Medicine

14-02-2012 08:13 STEM CELLS The dance of life Recent developments in regenerative medicine and modern biology are going to have an enormous impact on our lives. Also the way itself we face the problem of sickness, aging and death changes as the hope (or the illusion?) grows that we always can fight and delay them. Stem cell research is in fact changing our knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms of life and feeding the idea that we can increasingly contrast the cruel natural selection rules which make us fall ill, grow old and die. A new frontier opens and unpredictable changes in our culture are taking place. People's hopes and fears grow at the same time. The general properties of the stem cells is presented, namely the ability to proliferate and, under certain conditions, to differentiate in other types of cells. In this way they can generate a new tissue replacing a damaged one, and also a new organ (like blood, thrachea, liver, heart, skin, cornea and very recently retina). A stamp is shown, which was emitted by the Japanese government to celebrate the discovery of a university team, which was able to regenerate a cornea and giving the opportunity to … Continue reading →

To: EDUCATION, MEDICAL AND NATIONAL EDITORS Line is first from U-M accepted to the U.S. National Institutes of Health registry, now available for federally-funded research ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Michigan's first human embryonic stem cell line will be placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research. It is the first of the stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan to be placed on the registry. The line, known as UM4-6, is a genetically normal line, derived in October 2010 from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That embryo was created for reproduction but was no longer needed for that purpose and was therefore about to be discarded. "This is significant, because acceptance of these cells on the registry demonstrates our attention to details of proper oversight, consenting, and following of NIH guidelines established in 2009," says Gary Smith, Ph.D., who derived the line and also is co-director of the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies, part of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute. "It … Continue reading →

Public release date: 14-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Mary F. Masson mfmasson@umich.edu 734-764-2220 University of Michigan Health System ANN ARBOR, Mich. ? The University of Michigan's first human embryonic stem cell line will be placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research. It is the first of the stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan to be placed on the registry. The line, known as UM4-6, is a genetically normal line, derived in October 2010 from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That embryo was created for reproduction but was no longer needed for that purpose and was therefore about to be discarded. "This is significant, because acceptance of these cells on the registry demonstrates our attention to details of proper oversight, consenting, and following of NIH guidelines established in 2009," says Gary Smith, Ph.D., who derived the line and also is co-director of the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies, part of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute. "It now makes the line available to researchers who … Continue reading →

SUNRISE, Fla., Feb. 14, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bioheart, Inc. (BHRT.OB) announced today that it has acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to Ageless Regenerative Institute's adipose (fat) derived therapeutic cell technology for use in the cardiac field. "The Ageless adipose stem cell technology will allow us to broaden our portfolio of product candidates for cardiac patients," said Mike Tomas, President and CEO of Bioheart. "We have successfully treated patients in Mexico and now we are ready to expand into the US." Adipose tissue is readily available and has been shown to be rich in microvascular, myogenic and angiogenic cells. Bioheart has recently applied to the FDA to begin trials using adipose derived stem cells or LipiCell(TM) in patients with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy. Transplantation of LipiCell(TM) will be accomplished through endocardial implantations with the MyoStar(TM) Injection Catheter under the guidance of the NOGA(R) cardiac navigation system by Biosense Webster, Inc. -- A Johnson & Johnson Company. Under the terms of the agreement, Bioheart will have a worldwide exclusive license to all of Ageless technology for use in the heart attack and heart failure markets. The agreement provides for upfront and milestone equity payments to Ageless. Ageless' President and Chief Executive Officer, … Continue reading →

SUNRISE, Fla., Feb. 14, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bioheart, Inc. (BHRT.OB) announced today that it has acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to Ageless Regenerative Institute's adipose (fat) derived therapeutic cell technology for use in the cardiac field. "The Ageless adipose stem cell technology will allow us to broaden our portfolio of product candidates for cardiac patients," said Mike Tomas, President and CEO of Bioheart. "We have successfully treated patients in Mexico and now we are ready to expand into the US." Adipose tissue is readily available and has been shown to be rich in microvascular, myogenic and angiogenic cells. Bioheart has recently applied to the FDA to begin trials using adipose derived stem cells or LipiCell(TM) in patients with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy. Transplantation of LipiCell(TM) will be accomplished through endocardial implantations with the MyoStar(TM) Injection Catheter under the guidance of the NOGA(R) cardiac navigation system by Biosense Webster, Inc. -- A Johnson & Johnson Company. Under the terms of the agreement, Bioheart will have a worldwide exclusive license to all of Ageless technology for use in the heart attack and heart failure markets. The agreement provides for upfront and milestone equity payments to Ageless. Ageless' President and Chief Executive Officer, … Continue reading →

13-02-2012 12:31 Sridhar Ramaswamy, MD, Tucker Gosnell Investigator and Associate Professor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and Harvard Stem Cell Institute, discusses ongoing research into drug tolerance and resistance, specifically the roll of dormant cancer cells. If a tumor goes into remission as a result of a cancer drug and then recurs it is likely that the tumor will still respond to the initial treatment. In the dormant state the cells are resistance, in the original they are sensitive. The exact mechanism behind this has yet to be discovered. In some cases giving a course, stopping, and then continuing later on can create an additive effect, an idea that Ramaswamy calls a drug holiday. A comparison is underway between drug and non-drug induced dormant cells in order to find the mechanism that causes resistance. The ultimate goal of the research is to be able to predict and stop drug resistance. Read more: Dr. Ramaswamy on Dormant Tumor Cells and Resistance - Video … Continue reading →

By a GenomeWeb staff reporter NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Researchers from Foundation Medicine and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute have demonstrated that Foundation's sequencing-based assay, which it is developing for cancer diagnostics, can identify clinically actionable mutations from tumor samples. Reporting in Nature Medicine this week, the team tested the assay on 40 colorectal cancer and 24 non-small cell lung cancer formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded biopsy samples and identified at least one potentially clinically actionable alteration in 59 percent of the samples. Additionally, the test identified two novel gene fusions. "These findings in aggregate show the potentially large clinical impact of a single multiplex test that requires minimal DNA from FFPE tumor biopsies," the authors wrote in the paper. The company recently received CLIA certification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for its genomic sequencing lab in Cambridge, Mass., and plans to commercialize its test this year. The test analyzed 2,574 exons from 145 genes that are associated with cancer-related pathways, targeted therapy, or prognosis, plus 37 introns from 14 genes that are frequently rearranged in cancer. Sequencing was done on the Illumina platform to an average 229-fold coverage. In the 40 colorectal cancer samples, 125 alterations were identified … Continue reading →

Public release date: 13-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Julie O'Connor julie.oconnor@wayne.edu 313-577-8845 Wayne State University - Office of the Vice President for Research DETROIT ? The National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's largest medical library, announced recently the acquisition of the papers of Charles F. Whitten, M.D., distinguished professor of pediatrics and associate dean of medicine emeritus at Wayne State University. Whitten passed away in 2008. Whitten, an expert on sickle cell disease, spearheaded the National Association for Sickle Cell Disease, now known as the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. As a major organizer of sickle cell programs, Whitten developed educational materials and approaches to problems stemming from the disease, particularly the psychosocial support that afflicted patients needed. "This is a wonderful recognition of the great life's work of Dr. Whitten," said Joseph Dunbar, Ph.D., associate vice president for research at WSU. "Dr. Whitten's contributions have helped physicians and the research community take steps in understanding as well as managing the disease. Because of his efforts to spearhead national programs, patients with the disease and the community are better-informed." Whitten served as chief of pediatrics at Detroit Receiving Hospital, … Continue reading →

Public release date: 13-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Julie O'Connor julie.oconnor@wayne.edu 313-577-8845 Wayne State University - Office of the Vice President for Research DETROIT ? The National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's largest medical library, announced recently the acquisition of the papers of Charles F. Whitten, M.D., distinguished professor of pediatrics and associate dean of medicine emeritus at Wayne State University. Whitten passed away in 2008. Whitten, an expert on sickle cell disease, spearheaded the National Association for Sickle Cell Disease, now known as the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. As a major organizer of sickle cell programs, Whitten developed educational materials and approaches to problems stemming from the disease, particularly the psychosocial support that afflicted patients needed. "This is a wonderful recognition of the great life's work of Dr. Whitten," said Joseph Dunbar, Ph.D., associate vice president for research at WSU. "Dr. Whitten's contributions have helped physicians and the research community take steps in understanding as well as managing the disease. Because of his efforts to spearhead national programs, patients with the disease and the community are better-informed." Whitten served as chief of pediatrics at Detroit Receiving Hospital, … Continue reading →

The National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine has acquired the papers of the late Charles F. Whitten, a respected Detroit pediatrician known for his expertise and work related to Sickle Cell Disease. Whitten, who passed away in 2008 at the age of 86, served as chief of pediatrics at Detroit Receiving Hospital and was the first African-American to head a hospital department in the city. He was also a distinguished professor of pediatrics at Wayne State University. The doctor played an instrumental role in the formation of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America and Detroit's Sickle Cell Detection and Information Center. Sickle Cell Disease is a inherited disorder. An affected person's body makes blood cells shaped like a crescent, or sickle, instead of the more common round blood cells. Sickle-shaped blood cells restrict blood flow and can cause pain, serious infections, and organ damage, according to the NIH. It is the most common inherited blood disease in the U.S. and is especially prevalent among African Americans -- one out of 500 African Americans are born with the condition. Joseph Dunbar, Ph.D., associate vice president for research at WSU, said the acquisition of Whitten's papers by the National … Continue reading →