Category Archives: Mesenchymal Stem Cells

HIROSHIMA In a world first, a team at Hiroshima University Hospital on Friday conducted regenerative knee surgery using a technique that employs magnets to concentrate iron-laced stem cells around damaged cartilage, it said. The endoscopic surgery is less arduous for the patient, said the team led by Mitsuo Ochi, a professor at the hospital. Conventional treatment requires two operations to repair cartilage. It will take at least a year to determine the effectiveness of the regenerative technique, though previous tests on animals have proven successful, it said. The team plans to conduct further operations to reaffirm the regenerative surgerys safety in clinical research. In the operation, the team extracted mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow of an 18-year-old female high school student and cultivated them with a dash of iron powder to create magnetic stem cells that can develop into various tissues. The team injected the iron-laced stem cells into the patients right knee joint and used the magnet to concentrate them in areas where cartilage was lost. The stem cells are expected to develop into cartilage. Cartilage absorbs shock and reduces friction between bones so everything moves smoothly, but its regenerative abilities are limited. Read more here: Hospital pioneers … Continue reading →

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are multipotent stem cells with the capacity to differentiate into a variety of somatic cells, mainly the ones of the skeletal tissue.MSCs have long thin cell bodies with a large and roundnucleus. Their are multipotent in nature and are thus categorised as adult stem cells. They are also known as multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells They were first described in 1924 by Alexander Maximow, a Russian-American scientist who identified a precursor cell in the mesenchyme that differentiates into many blood cell types. MSCs research and clinical applications Many researchers believe that MSCs are promising candidates in the following fields: Bone cartilage repair and regeneration MSCs mainly differentiate into osteoblasts and chondrocytes, so the first obvious application is the treatment of skeletal and chondral (cartilage) defects. This is especially true for cartilage defects which are one of the most difficult problems doctors have yet to solve. Even a small and asymptomatic cartilage defect has the potential to lead intodebilitating arthritis. Some major breakthroughs in this field are: Heart and blood vessel repair Inflammatory and autoimmune diseases MSCs had also shown some early success for inflammatory diseases (e.g. inflammatory bowel disease), but later findings revealed that other methods like … Continue reading →

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult stem cells traditionally found in the bone marrow. However, mesenchymal stem cells can also be isolated from other tissues including cord blood, peripheral blood, fallopian tube, and fetal liver and lung. Multipotent stem cells, MSCs differentiate to form adipocytes, cartilage, bone, tendons, muscle, and skin. Mesenchymal stem cells are a distinct entity to the mesenchyme, embryonic connective tissue which is derived from the mesoderm and differentiates to form hematopoietic stem cells. Morphologically, mesenchymal stem cells have long thin cell bodies with a large nucleus. As with other stem cell types, MSCs have a high capacity for self renewal while maintaining multipotency. Thus, mesenchymal stem cells have enormous therapeutic potential for tissue repair. MSCs have been shown to be capable of differentiating into multiple cell types including adipocytes, chondrocytes, osteocytes, and cardiomyocytes. R&D Systems offers products designed to identify the progression of MSCs into osteogenic, adipogenic, muscular, and chondrogenic lineages. Read the rest here: Mesenchymal Stem Cells - R&D Systems - Tools for Cell ... … Continue reading →

Nicholasville, KY (PRWEB) February 04, 2015 Rescued when he was only 4 weeks old, Nakiia, a 15-year-old Panther, has been living in severe pain after a jumping incident. Jan Hall, Nakiias owner has dedicated her life to rescuing animals. Nakiia, the namesake of her rescue foundation The Nakiia Foundation is the love of her life. Witnessing this fabulous animal in such pain was too much for Jan to bear. The Doctors treating Nakiia decided to undertake a revolutionary medical procedure, which centers on regenerative medicine. Newman Veterinary Center in DeLand Florida performed MediVets Adipose (fat)-derived stem cell therapy. The male Florida panther underwent this procedure, more commonly performed on domestic animal such as dogs, cats and horses. The procedure is an effort to ease the pain from severe arthritis in his joints. This was a last stage effort for the panther that can no longer continue to live in such pain. Though stem cell treatments have been performed in exotic animals before, it is still a rare and exciting undertaking. Utilizing MediVet Biologics procedure, Dr. Ted Oliver was able to ensure the process will produce the best possible results. MediVets procedure is completed in one day and in-clinic. Stem Cell … Continue reading →

Complex circuitry and limited regenerative power make central nervous system (CNS) disorders the most challenging and difficult for functional repair. With elusive disease mechanisms, traditional surgical and medical interventions merely slow down the progression of the neurodegenerative diseases. However, the number of neurons still diminishes in many patients. Recently, stem cell therapy has been proposed as a viable option. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a widely-studied human adult stem cell population, have been discovered for more than 20 years. MSCs have been found all over the body and can be conveniently obtained from different accessible tissues: bone marrow, blood, and adipose and dental tissue. MSCs have high proliferative and differentiation abilities, providing an inexhaustible source of neurons and glia for cell replacement therapy. Moreover, MSCs also show neuroprotective effects without any genetic modification or reprogramming. In addition, the extraordinary immunomodulatory properties of MSCs enable autologous and heterologous transplantation. These qualities heighten the clinical applicability of MSCs when dealing with the pathologies of CNS disorders. Here, we summarize the latest progress of MSC experimental research as well as human clinical trials for neural and retinal diseases. This review article will focus on multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, autism, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa and … Continue reading →

Peek, a 20-year-old American Black Bear living at the Topeka Zoo, is undergoing treatment, including a CT scan, for a back condition, zoo director Brendan Wiley said Monday. Peek came out of her den two weeks ago and her keeper noticed the bears hind legs were wobbly. Peek was given pain medication. However, the condition quickly worsened, Wiley said in a news release. Within the next seven days, Peek continued to lose control of her rear legs. One of the unique things about this scenario is that Peek hasnt acted like anything is hurting her, said Shanna Simpson, animal care supervisor. It is like the front half of her body can no longer communicate with the back half. Peeks illness required the use of a CT scan, which used equipment the zoo doesnt have, Wiley said. Zoo veterinarian Shirley Llizo brought in Larry Snyder and Travis Gratton, of University Bird and Small Animal Hospital, to help harvest fat cells from Peek. This would allow the fat cells to be converted to stem cells to be injected. Peek was tranquilized Jan. 22 and transported to the zoos hospital so the fat cells could be harvested. After the harvest, Peek was transported … Continue reading →

13 ABC: Advancements in stem cell therapy - 1/27/15 ProMedica Physician Roger Kruse, MD, discusses use of stem cell therapy in orthopedic care. By: ProMedica In The News … Continue reading →

Biological Industries (BI), a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of life science products for the biopharmaceutical industry, has launched innovative hMSC differentiation kits for research and stem cell based therapies. This is a unique line of serum-free and xeno-free differentiation kits, providing the ability to efficiently differentiate hMSC from various sources into adipocytes, chondrocytes and osteoblasts, said David Fiorentini, Director of Research & Development. All three kits are serum free and xeno free: MSC Go Osteogenic XF - Rapid differentiation of osteogenic (Complete, ready-to-use) MSC Go Adipogenic XF -Basal medium and supplements mix MSC Go Chondrogenic XF -Basal medium and supplement mix The Differentiation media contain all the growth factors and supplements necessary for the direct differentiation of hMSC, Fiorentini said. The kits are designed to be user friendly with all necessary ingredients included. They offer a complete system for multipotency evaluation of hMSCs and reliable induction of hMSCs into adipocytes, chondrocytes and osteoblasts/osteocytes. No adaptation is required from cell expansion cultures using MSC NutriStem XF Medium. The kits were validated for hMSC from various tissues including BM-hMSC, AT-hMSC, and UCT-hMSC. BIs previous release was the MSC NutriStem XF Medium, a gold standard serum-free, xeno-free medium developed for … Continue reading →

TORONTO - Two Canadian research centres are gearing up for a clinical trial to determine if a type of stem cell can help alleviate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Researchers at the Ottawa Hospital and Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre will each recruit 20 MS patients for the trial that will test whether mesenchymal stem cells can reduce inflammation and even help repair damage already caused by the disease. MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease that creates inflammation in the central nervous system, resulting in injury to myelin, the protective sheath that covers nerves. This damage can create a host of symptoms, leading to varying degrees of physical disability and cognitive impairment. Mesenchymal stem cells, which are found in bone marrow, fat, skin tissue and umbilical cord blood, have the ability to modify the immune system and reduce inflammation, said neurologist Dr. Mark Freedman of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, who is leading the clinical trial. Freedman said researchers want to determine if these stem cells can demonstrate anti-inflammatory properties in patients with MS. "But that's not why we're doing it," he said of the study, called MESCAMS ("MEsenchymal Stem cell therapy for CAnadian MS patients"). "We have lots … Continue reading →

MIAMI (PRWEB) January 29, 2015 Regenestem Network, the worlds largest membership network of regenerative medicine practitioners, has announced the launch of a new stem cell clinic in Oaxaca, Mexico. The new facility, offering the most advanced cellular medicine protocols and techniques available is in partnership with Ulises Cervera, M.D. a neurologist coming from the Children's Hospital of Morelia, Mexico. The new Oaxaca facility will offer the most advanced protocols and techniques available in stem cell medicine to patients from across Mexico and around the world. Global Stem Cells Group and Regenestem Network are expanding the companys clinical presence worldwide by partnering with experienced and qualified regenerative medicine physicians to open new clinics licensed and developed under the Regenestem banner. In 2014, Global Stem Cells Group expanded the Regenestem Networks global presence to 20 countries. Regenestem offers stem cell treatments to help treat a variety of diseases and conditions including arthritis, autism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and pain due to injuries at various facilities worldwide. Regenestem Oaxaca will have an international staff experienced in administering the latest in cellular therapies. Regenestem is certified for the medical tourism market, and staff physicians are board-certified or board-eligible. Regenestem clinics provide services … Continue reading →