Category Archives: Mesenchymal Stem Cells

By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED: 07:22 EST, 11 June 2012 | UPDATED: 07:53 EST, 11 June 2012 Hope: The technique of growing new bones could one day be used to replace serious breaks and treat degenerative illnesses Scientists have successfully grown living bones in a laboratory using stem cells, in a technique that could in future be used to replace shattered limbs, treat osteoporosis and arthritis and fix defects such as cleft palate. The researchers took around a month to transform stem cells originally taken from fat tissue into sections of fully-formed bone up to several centimetres long. Standard bone grafts involve two procedures, to cut bone from elsewhere in the patient's body before transplanting it into the damaged area, which carry the risk of infection and complications. Bone can also be obtained from donations, but this brings the chance of rejection. The new method would allow bones to be custom made to shape outside the body, using the patients own stem cells, removing the need for a potentially traumatic operation and reducing the likelihood of rejection. So far the research has been carried out only on animals but a patient trial is planned for later this year. The Israeli … Continue reading →

In Early Study, Procedure Helps Teens Halt Insulin Injections June 11, 2012 (Philadelphia) -- In an early study, an experimental stem cell procedure helped 15 teens with type 1 diabetes stay off of insulin injections for about 1.5 years, on average. The study was very small, and the procedure is not ready for widespread use. "We now have a unique approach with some positive findings, but it's still early. We need to better understand the biology behind the treatment and follow patients for long-term side effects," Robert E. Ratner, MD, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association, tells WebMD. This is the latest of several stem cell studies to show promising results for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, Ratner notes. In the new study, 15 of 28 teens with type 1 diabetes who got an experimental treatment using their own stem cells went into remission and did not need insulin injections for an average of about 1.5 years. The "cocktail treatment" combines stem cell therapy with drugs that suppress the body's immune system. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells within the pancreas. The experimental treatment is called autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic … Continue reading →

Public release date: 11-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Susan Martonik smartonik@snm.org 703-652-6773 Society of Nuclear Medicine Miami Beach, Fla.Finding a way to restore hair growth after substantial hair loss is something of an obsession worldwide. Investigators at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 2012 Annual Meeting presented how stem cell research for the development of new hair follicles can be monitored with an optical imaging technique that uses bioluminescence, the same process that allows fireflies to light up. There is a host of treatments available for hair loss, including creams and drugs, but these have not shown to be very effective for hair growth. Hair stem cells signal the actual regeneration of hair follicles and natural hair. A molecular imaging technique called bioluminescence is used to display processes at the cellular level. Bioluminescent signal is generated in specific chemical substances called substrates. These signals are easily recognized with very sensitive optical imaging systems that can see what is happening in the smallest placesin this case in hair stem cells. "Hair regeneration using hair stem cells is a promising therapeutic option emerging for hair loss, and molecular imaging can speed up the development of this therapy," saysByeong-Cheol Ahn, M.D., … Continue reading →

Public release date: 11-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Krista Conger kristac@stanford.edu 650-725-5371 Stanford University Medical Center STANFORD, Calif. When most groups of mammalian cells are faced with a shortage of nutrients or oxygen, the phrase "every man for himself" is more apt than "all for one, one for all." Unlike colonies of bacteria, which often cooperate to thrive as a group, mammalian cells have never been observed to help one another out. But a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine has shown that certain human embryonic stem cells, in times of stress, produce molecules that not only benefit themselves, but also help nearby cells survive. "Altruism has been reported among bacterial populations and among humans and other animals, like monkeys and elephants," said Stanford postdoctoral scholar Bikul Das, MBBS, PhD. "But in mammalian cells at the cellular level the idea of altruism has never been described before." Das is the lead author of a paper, to be published online June 11 in Stem Cells, documenting altruistic behavior by human embryonic stem cells, or hESCs. While altruism is generally thought of as a virtue, it can have a downside for hESCs: … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (June 11, 2012) When most groups of mammalian cells are faced with a shortage of nutrients or oxygen, the phrase "every man for himself" is more apt than "all for one, one for all." Unlike colonies of bacteria, which often cooperate to thrive as a group, mammalian cells have never been observed to help one another out. But a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine has shown that certain human embryonic stem cells, in times of stress, produce molecules that not only benefit themselves, but also help nearby cells survive. "Altruism has been reported among bacterial populations and among humans and other animals, like monkeys and elephants," said Stanford postdoctoral scholar Bikul Das, MBBS, PhD. "But in mammalian cells -- at the cellular level -- the idea of altruism has never been described before." Das is the lead author of a paper, published online June 11 in Stem Cells, documenting altruistic behavior by human embryonic stem cells, or hESCs. While altruism is generally thought of as a virtue, it can have a downside for hESCs: The altruistic cells appear to be more prone to accumulating mutations, a sign that they could lead … Continue reading →

Newswise UCLA stem cell scientists purified a subset of stem cells found in fat tissue and made from them bone that was formed faster and was of higher quality than bone grown using traditional methods, a finding that may one day eliminate the need for painful bone grafts that use material taken from the patient during invasive procedures. Adipose, or fat, tissue is thought to be an ideal source of cells called mesenchymal stem cells - capable of developing into bone, cartilage, muscle and other tissues - because they are plentiful and easily attained through procedures such as liposuction, said Dr. Chia Soo, vice chair for research at UCLA Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The co-senior authors on the project, Soo and Bruno Pault, are members of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. Traditionally, cells taken from fat had to be cultured for weeks to isolate the stem cells which could become bone, and their expansion increases risk of infection and genetic instability. A fresh, non-cultured cell composition called stromal vascular fraction (SVF) also is used to grow bone. However, SVF cells taken from adipose tissue are a highly heterogeneous population that … Continue reading →

Public release date: 11-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences UCLA stem cell scientists purified a subset of stem cells found in fat tissue and made from them bone that was formed faster and was of higher quality than bone grown using traditional methods, a finding that may one day eliminate the need for painful bone grafts that use material taken from the patient during invasive procedures. Adipose, or fat, tissue is thought to be an ideal source of cells called mesenchymal stem cells - capable of developing into bone, cartilage, muscle and other tissues - because they are plentiful and easily attained through procedures such as liposuction, said Dr. Chia Soo, vice chair for research at UCLA Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The co-senior authors on the project, Soo and Bruno Pault, are members of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. Traditionally, cells taken from fat had to be cultured for weeks to isolate the stem cells which could become bone, and their expansion increases risk of infection and genetic instability. A fresh, non-cultured cell composition called stromal … Continue reading →

Scientists have paved the way for human bones to be replaced with new ones grown outside the body. Photo: iStockphoto SCIENTISTS have grown human bone from stem cells in a laboratory, paving the way for patients to have broken bones repaired - or even replaced with new ones grown outside the body from their own cells. Researchers started with stem cells taken from fat tissue. It took about a month to grow them into sections of fully formed living bone up to several centimetres long. The first trial in patients is on course for later this year, by an Israeli biotechnology company that has been working with academics on the technology. Advertisement: Story continues below Professor Avinoam Kadouri, head of the scientific advisory board for Bonus BioGroup, said: ''We use three-dimensional structures to fabricate the bone in the right shape and geometry. We can grow these bones outside the body and then transplant them to the patient. ''By scanning the damaged bone area, the implant should fit perfectly and merge with the surrounding tissue. There are no rejection problems as the cells come from the patient.'' The technology, developed with researchers at the Technion Institute of Research in Israel, uses … Continue reading →

"We use three dimensional structures to fabricate the bone in the right shape and geometry. We can grow these bones outside the body and then transplant it to the patient at the right time. "By scanning the damaged bone area, the implant should fit perfectly and merge with the surrounding tissue. There are no problems with rejection as the cells come from the patient's own body." The technology, which has been developed along with researchers at the Technion Institute of Research in Israel, uses three dimensional scans of the damaged bone to build a gel-like scaffold that matches the shape. Stem cells, known as mesenchymal stem cells, which have the capacity to develop into many other types of cell in the body, are obtained from the patient's fat using liposuction. These are then grown into living bone on the scaffold inside a "bioreactor" an automated machine that provides the right conditions to encourage the cells to develop into bone. Already animals have successfully received bone transplants. The scientists were able to insert almost an inch of laboratory-grown human bone into the middle section of a rat's leg bone, where it successfully merged with the remaining animal bone. The technique could … Continue reading →

CLEARWATER, FL--(Marketwire -06/08/12)- Biostem U.S., Corporation, (HAIR) (HAIR) (Biostem, the Company), a fully reporting public company in the stem cell regenerative medicine sciences sector, today reported that it has engaged Acropolis Inc. http://www.acropolisinc.com, a full-service advertising agency located in Orlando, Florida, to lend their expertise in brand building, marketing, and advertising development and placement. Biostem Chief Executive Officer Dwight Brunoehler stated, "After several months of interviewing prospective agencies, we have come to the conclusion that Acropolis is the one to assist us in executing our plans. Their notable work in multiple media areas is impressive, to say the least. Their client list including The University of Florida, Arby's Restaurants, and the City of Orlando, speaks for itself." Acropolis Principal, Scott Major, said, "This is a great fit for Acropolis. Our entire team loves the Biostem business approach in the incredible field of regenerative medicine. The hair re-growth field in which we will be marketing the Biostem technology is enormous. We are pleased to be a part of Biostem's expansion." About Biostem U.S. CorporationBiostem U.S., Corporation is a fully reporting Nevada corporation with offices in Clearwater, Florida. Biostem is a technology licensing company with proprietary technology centered on providing hair re-growth … Continue reading →