Category Archives: Mesenchymal Stem Cells

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (OSIR), the leading stem cell company focused on developing and marketing products to treat medical conditions in inflammatory, cardiovascular, orthopedic and wound healing markets, announced today its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012. Highlights and Recent Developments This past quarter was not only memorable, but monumental, for Osiris, stated C. Randal Mills, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Osiris Therapeutics. We have set a new benchmark to measure our success, and remain as committed as ever to extending the reach of this remarkable technology. Whether through our Biosurgery or Therapeutics units, we will continue to develop innovative cell therapy solutions for patients in need. Second Quarter Financial Results Biosurgery product revenue rose 43% from the previous quarter to $1.63 million. As of June 30, 2012, Osiris had $40.1 million of cash, receivables and short-term investments. Research and development expenses for the second quarter of 2012 were $4.1 million, compared to $5.2 million incurred in the second quarter of 2011. General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $1.4 million for the second quarter of 2012 compared to $3.3 million for the same period of the prior year. The 2011 G&A expense included … Continue reading →

Imagine a man with a recent severe heart attack who has the muscle repaired with stem cells or a child with a severe bladder defect repaired with stem cells grown on a biodegradable scaffold. Sounds like science fiction but these are actual clinical studies in progress today. Stem cell therapies promise to be one of those scientific breakthroughs that will have an enormous impact on health care in the future. Stem cells will bring us closer to the goal of personalized medicine, just as genomics is doing. The course of a disease will change once we have the technology to develop and then insert stem cells into the human body to actually create a tissue. For example, a person with a heart attack will not go on to live the rest of his or her life with damaged heart muscle and resultant heart failure. Instead, stem cells will repopulate the heart muscle and make it whole again. Similarly, a person with Parkinsons disease will recover full faculties thanks to the ability of stem cells to regenerate the damaged area of the brain. The person with type I diabetes will be free of the disease because of the formation of new … Continue reading →

Details Published on Friday, 27 July 2012 00:00 STEM cell therapy is being eyed to cure the neck and back pains and other illnesses of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, alternative medicine doctor Antonia Park said yesterday. Arroyo went to Parks Green and Young Health and Wellness Center in Tagaytay City yesterday morning for cleansing and alternative healing. A guard at the La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City, who requested anonymity, said Arroyo left the subdivision at around 7:30 a.m., accompanied by a few staff and a personal nurse. She rode a white Nissan Patrol and her convoy included a gray Toyota Land Cruiser and a police escort. Arroyo was granted bail Wednesday by a Pasay City court after finding that the electoral sabotage case against her was weak. She posted a P1-million cash bond. Stem cell treatment involves the introduction of new adult stem cells into the damaged tissue in order to treat a disease or injury. The ability of new cells to regenerate is seen as having significant potential to replace diseased areas of the body, with minimal risk of rejection and side effects. Park, in a statement distributed to the media, said Arroyo complained … Continue reading →

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo might undergo stem cell therapy to improve her health, according to the alternative medicine facility in Tagaytay City that the Pampanga lawmaker visited Thursday. Arroyo came to the facility complaining of difficulty in swallowing because of a bulge in her throat, according to a statement from the Green 8 Young Health & Wellness Center. Her voice has also changed and she is losing weight because she can't swallow solid food. She also has angina, the center said. Arroyo also complained of continuing neck and back pain. "Our center is accepting her for possible stem cell therapy," the alternative medicine facility said. "The stem cell therapy is... strongly considered." It said the Arroyo can undergo such therapy in the Tagaytay center while her physical therapy will continue at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center 4 times a week. The Pampanga lawmaker is seeking treatment at the center through her sister, Cielo Macapagal-Salgado. The center said Salgado was previously diagnosed with a cancerous lump in her breast. "She consulted several doctors and was subsequently subjected to a myrad of treatment procedures. These, however, did not produce the desired results. When she came to our center she … Continue reading →

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Physicians and scientists at the Texas Heart Institute (THI) at St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital, working collaboratively with the University of Houston (UH), Texas A&M Health Science Center in Houston and Baylor College of Medicine, have shown a new way to convert human skin cells into beating heart cells, according to an article being published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). Researchers believe this is to be an important new and unique step toward being able to repair damage from heart attacks in human hearts, which on their own have very little regenerative capabilities. The team, led by Robert J. Schwartz, PhD, director of Stem Cell Engineering at THI and director of UHs Center for Molecular Medicine and Experimental Therapeutics, used human skin cells called fibroblasts, and treated them with ETS2 and MESP1, two human genetic transcription factors that play important roles in the genetic network that produces cardiovascular tissues. The skin cells were converted into progenitors of cardiomyocytes - beating heart muscle cells - within a period of weeks. Progenitors can differentiate to form one or more kinds of cells. Dr. Schwartz explains: "Our study showed that … Continue reading →

By Jason Napodano, CFA Last month we published a NOTE outlining the pioneering efforts of Neuralstem (NYSE MKT:CUR) in the use ofhuman neural stem cells ("hNSC") for the treatment of central nervous system diseases and neurodegenerative disorders.Neuralstems lead development program is for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrigs disease, named after the famous New York Yankee first baseman who was diagnosed with the disease in 1939, and passed in 1941 at the age of only 37. The hippocampus is critically important to the control of memory and is severely impacted by the pathology of AD.Specifically, hippocampal synaptic density is reduced in AD and correlates with memory loss.Cam/Tet-DT mice mimic the substantial loss of hippocampal neurons that occur in advanced AD. StemCells Inc's data shows that one month after transplantation, HcCNS-SC engraft, migrate locally, and have begun to differentiate into neuronal and glial lineages in both models. This resulted in observed increased synaptic density and improved memory post transplantation. Importantly, these results did not require reduction in beta amyloid or tau that accumulate in the brains of patients with AD and account for the pathological hallmarks of the disease, suggesting a new mechanism of action for the treatment … Continue reading →

AVENTURA, July 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Dr.Burton Feinerman of StemCell RegenMed announces the recruitment of patients diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, Age related Macular Degeneration and Stargardt Macular Degeneration. Patients with these diseases face the development of blindness at varying age levels. Burton Feinerman, M.D., a graduate of New York Medical College and a post Fellow at the Mayo Clinic, is the lead scientist who has developed this innovative combined stem cell and gene therapy. In addition, Gregg Kokame, M.D., who trained at the famous Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, Florida and Jose Fernando Rocha, M.D. who trained at the Stein Eye Institute in L.A.,California, both retina eye specialists, will be involved with insertion of stem cells and gene agents in the subretina space of the affected patients. The first patients include an eleven year old girl; a nineteen year old woman, both with Stargardt disease (juvenile macular degeneration) and a man who is sixty years old with blindness due to Retinitis Pigmentosa. Retinitis Pigmentosa is the most common inherited disease of the retina. There is initially night vision loss, followed by peripheral vision loss then tunnel vision and later central vision loss. The genes most commonly … Continue reading →

Background Stem-cell-based, tissue engineered transplants might offer new therapeutic options for patients, including children, with failing organs. The reported replacement of an adult airway using stem cells on a biological scaffold with good results at 6 months supports this view. We describe the case of a child who received a stem-cell-based tracheal replacement and report findings after 2 years of follow-up. A 12-year-old boy was born with long-segment congenital tracheal stenosis and pulmonary sling. His airway had been maintained by metal stents, but, after failure, a cadaveric donor tracheal scaffold was decellularised. After a short course of granulocyte colony stimulating factor, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were retrieved preoperatively and seeded onto the scaffold, with patches of autologous epithelium. Topical human recombinant erythropoietin was applied to encourage angiogenesis, and transforming growth factor to support chondrogenesis. Intravenous human recombinant erythropoietin was continued postoperatively. Outcomes were survival, morbidity, endoscopic appearance, cytology and proteomics of brushings, and peripheral blood counts. The graft revascularised within 1 week after surgery. A strong neutrophil response was noted locally for the first 8 weeks after surgery, which generated luminal DNA neutrophil extracellular traps. Cytological evidence of restoration of the epithelium was not evident until 1 year. The … Continue reading →

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (OSIR) today announced that it will report its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012, on Monday, July 30, 2012. C. Randal Mills, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, and Philip R. Jacoby, Jr., Chief Financial Officer, will provide a company update and discuss results via a webcast and conference call on Monday, July 30, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. ET. To access the webcast, visit the Investor Relations section of the company's website at http://investor.osiris.com/events.cfm. Alternatively, callers may participate in the conference call by dialing (877) 303-6133 (U.S. participants) or (970) 315-0493 (international participants). A replay of the conference call will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the call through August 05, 2012. Callers can access the replay by dialing (855) 859-2056 (U.S. participants) or (404) 537-3406 (international participants). The audio replay passcode is 99408506. To access a replay of the webcast, visit the Investor Relations section of the company's website at http://investor.osiris.com/events.cfm. About Osiris Therapeutics Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. is the leading stem cell company, having developed the worlds first approved stem cell drug, Prochymal. The company is focused on developing and marketing products to treat medical conditions … Continue reading →

Public release date: 18-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: David Eve cellmedicinect@gmail.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair Tampa, Fla. (July. 18 , 2012) Two studies published in a recent issue of Cell Medicine [2(2)] report on the therapeutic efficacy of stem cell transplantation in animal models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal cord injury (SCI). Cell Medicine is freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/cm. Mensenchymal stem cell transplantation in spinal cord injured rats promotes functional recovery Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), multipotent stem cells with the ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types with renewal capacities, has been found to enhance laboratory animal function after induced spinal cord injury. However, the biological mechanism of the functional enhancement has not been clearly defined. In an attempt to gain a clearer picture of the mechanism, a team of Korean researchers transplanted MSCs derived from human umbilical cord blood into the tail veins of laboratory rats immediately after spinal cord injury. The intravenous route was selected because the researchers felt that injection into the damaged site could further traumatize the injured spinal cord, although intravenously injected MSCs risk being eliminated by the host … Continue reading →