Category Archives: Mesenchymal Stem Cells

The federal government is pledging up to $67.5 million for research into "personalized medicine," which tailors treatment to a patient's genetics and environment. The funds will flow through Genome Canada, the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the federal government's health research agency. Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and Minister of State for Science Gary Goodyear made the announcement at the University of Ottawa's health campus Tuesday. The field of personalized medicine is touted as having the potential to transform the way patients are treated. It looks at the genetic makeup of a person, the patient's environment and the exact course of a particular disease so that an appropriate and effective treatment can be tailored for that individual. The idea is to move from a one-size-fits-all approach to one that is designed for a specific person and relies on the genetic signatures, or biomarkers, of both the patient and the disease. Proponents of personalized medicine say it is likely to change the way drugs are developed, how medicines are prescribed and generally how illnesses are managed. They say it will shift the focus in health care from reaction to prevention, improve health outcomes, make drugs … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Stem Cell Research Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;  Biology / Biochemistry Article Date: 31 Jan 2012 - 2:00 PST email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions   Current Article Ratings: Patient / Public: 5 (1 votes) Healthcare Prof: Bypassing the stem cell stage, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California converted mouse skin cells directly into neural precursor cells, the cells that go on to form the three main types of cell in the brain and nervous system. They write about their findings in the 30 January early online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The findings of this and an earlier study question the idea that pluripotency (the ability to become virtually any other cell in the body, a key characteristic of stem cells) is a necessary stage in the conversion of one cell type to another. In the earlier study, the same team transformed mouse and human skin cells directly into functional neurons. But this study is a substantial advance on the earlier one for two reasons. First, neural precursor cells can not only differentiate into neurons, they can also become either of … Continue reading →

Public release date: 30-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Krista Conger kristac@stanford.edu 650-725-5371 Stanford University Medical Center STANFORD, Calif. ? Mouse skin cells can be converted directly into cells that become the three main parts of the nervous system, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding is an extension of a previous study by the same group showing that mouse and human skin cells can be directly converted into functional neurons. The multiple successes of the direct conversion method could refute the idea that pluripotency (a term that describes the ability of stem cells to become nearly any cell in the body) is necessary for a cell to transform from one cell type to another. Together, the results raise the possibility that embryonic stem cell research and another technique called "induced pluripotency" could be supplanted by a more direct way of generating specific types of cells for therapy or research. This new study, which will be published online Jan. 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is a substantial advance over the previous paper in that it transforms the skin cells into neural precursor cells, as opposed to neurons. While … Continue reading →

12-12-2009 13:45 What are stem cells? - An short educational film by the Irish Stem Cell Foundation Stem cells are master cells of the body — want to learn more? Visit http://www.irishstemcellfoundation.org ISCF is an independent not-for-profit organisation whose primary objective is to educate about stem cells, their basic biology and the research and therapies using them. The Foundation will initially focus on education outreach programs, hoping to address the growing problem of bogus stem cell scams being offered to Irish patients over the internet. The Foundation will also assist the development of Irish policy and legislature in this area of medicine and science, ensuring Ireland is informed. The Foundation consists of a broad range of people including Irish doctors, scientists, patient advocates, educators, bioethicists and other associated parties seeking to expand and develop the Irish public's understanding of stem cells. Read the rest here: What are stem cells? How can they be used for medical benefit? - Video … Continue reading →

Celebrated adult stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka will deliver a lecture, ‘New era of medicine with iPS cells', here on Monday as part of a three-city lecture series. Prof. Yamanaka's scientific breakthrough was the creation of embryonic-like stem cells from adult skin cells. The lecture by this Japanese physician is the third edition of The Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series. He will also deliver it in Chennai on February 1 and New Delhi on February 3. The lecture series is co-sponsored by Cell Press and TNQ Books and Journals. Quantum leap The stated goal of Prof. Yamanaka's laboratory has been to generate pluripotent stem cells from human somatic cells. The ability to re-programme adult cells back into an earlier, undifferentiated state has helped to reshape the ethical debate over stem cell research by providing an approach to obtain pluripotent stem cells that need not be harvested from an embryo. Prof. Yamanaka, who was awarded the Albert Lasker Prize in 2009 and the Wolf Prize in 2011, is the director of the Centre for iPS Cell Research and Application and professor at the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences at Kyoto University. He is also a senior investigator at the UCSF-affiliated … Continue reading →

JUPITER, Fla., Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- BioRestorative Therapies, Inc. (OTCQB: BRTX.PK - News) ("BRT") today announced that it will be presenting at the Seventh International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease. The event, being held at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, is a two-and-a-half-day conference dedicated to the evolving field of cell-based therapies for the repair and regeneration of cardiac and vascular disease. Dr. Amit Patel, Director of Clinical Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering at the University of Utah and a member of the BRT Scientific Advisory Board, will be presenting his findings relating to brown fat stem cells and metabolic disorders (one of BRT's stem cell initiatives). His talk, entitled "Metabolic Syndrome: A Role For Cell Therapy," will be on Wednesday, January 25th at 1:50 PM. Mark Weinreb, Chairman and CEO of BRT, has also been selected to serve on an industry panel and will discuss BRT's ThermoStem™ Program and the use of brown fat stem cells as potential therapeutics.  The session will be held on Thursday, January 26th from 3:15-4:15 PM. BRT is involved in a research initiative focusing on the use of Brown Fat stem cells to potentially treat metabolic disorders and obesity that … Continue reading →

LA JOLLA, Calif., Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Interest in adult stem cell therapies and their clinical applicability in treating and helping patients is growing, while accurate information remains difficult to access.  Cell Society International[1], a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to advancing the clinical applications of adult stem cell therapies worldwide through education and the collaboration of world thought leaders. According to Emerson C. Perin, MD, PhD, Director, Clinical Research for Cardiovascular Medicine and Medical Director, Stem Cell Institute, Texas Heart Institute, Houston, TX and member of the Board of Directors of Cell Society, "We obtained remarkable results from our study in which we injected stem cells derived from the bone marrow of a healthy donor into patients with heart failure. Heart function and exercise capacity improved in some cell-treated patients. Most importantly, cell therapy significantly reduced cardiac adverse events, including death. Three of 15 (20%) control patients died of cardiac causes, whereas only 1 of 45 (2%) cell-treated patients had a cardiac-related death. Despite the small numbers, our findings showed that cell therapy significantly improved cardiac mortality."  The 2nd Annual Clinical Meeting of Cell Society will be held at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort in San Diego, California on February 17 … Continue reading →

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Officials at the Texas Heart Institute (THI) at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital (St. Luke’s) announced today that Doris Taylor, PhD, FAHA, FACC, one of the world’s leading cell therapy and cardiac regeneration scientists, will join THI beginning March 1, 2012. Dr. Taylor’s research includes: Cell and gene therapy for treatment of cardiovascular disease; tissue engineering of bioartificial organs and vasculature; cell-based prevention of disease; stem cells and cancer; and holistic approaches to using cell therapy for treating chronic disease. Most recently, Dr. Taylor and her team garnered international recognition for work involving “whole organ decellularization” by showing they were able to remove existing cells from hearts of laboratory animals and even humans leaving a framework to build new organs. They repopulated the framework with other adult stem cells then provided a blood supply, and the heart regenerated with the characteristics and functions of a revitalized beating heart. The hope is that this research is an early step toward being able to grow a fully functional human heart in the laboratory. Dr. Taylor has demonstrated that the process works for other organs as well – opening a door in the field of organ transplantation. It is significant in that … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NeoStem, Inc.[1] (NYSE Amex: NBS) ("NeoStem" or the "Company"), an international biopharmaceutical company with a focus on cell-based therapeutic development, today announced that its Chief Medical Officer, the lead investigator for its PreSERVE Phase 2 clinical trial[2] for AMR-001 for preservation of heart function in post acute myocardial infarction patients, and the President of its subsidiary, Progenitor Cell Therapy, LLC[3], have been invited to present at the Seventh International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease held from January 25-27, 2012 in New York City. The event is being organized by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and will be held at the Myrna L. Daniels Auditorium in the Vivien and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center at NYPH/Columbia University Medical Center. According to the conference, the program will be dedicated to the evolving field of cell-based therapies being developed for the repair and regeneration of cardiac and vascular disease, as well as related diseases such as diabetes and stroke. This year's conference will focus on preclinical and clinical studies on the path to commercialization, highlighting the status of molecular, cell, and tissue products in addition to delivery systems. Leaders from the international community will convene to … Continue reading →

ALLENDALE, N.J., Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NeoStem's cell therapy manufacturing division, Progenitor Cell Therapy ("PCT"), a NeoStem, Inc. company (NYSE Amex: NBS) ("NeoStem" or the "Company"), announced today an agreement whereby PCT will provide contract manufacturing and regulatory services related to the development of Islet Sciences – PTM, which will be an injectable suspension of microencapsulated insulin-producing, pancreatic islet cells which are harvested from designated pathogen free pigs. As part of this arrangement, PCT will perform microencapsulation for parsing beta pancreatic islets for xenotransplantation using piglet pancreata. Islet Sciences, Inc. ("Islet") is a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of patented technologies in the field of transplantation therapy for patients with diabetes and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of One E-Commerce Corporation (OTCBB: ONCE.OB[1] - News[2]).  A 2010 study by the CDC found that approximately 25.8 million Americans, more than 8% of the population, were affected by diabetes. 5% of this number, approximately 1.3 million, have type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is estimated to cost the US $14.4 billion total annually. "Given the robust market opportunity and the potential for cell therapy to alter the disease paradigm, NeoStem has agreed to this novel arrangement whereby PCT … Continue reading →