Category Archives: Stem Cell Human Trials

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012 PARIS Research in reprogrammed cells, which on Monday earned the 2012 Nobel Prize in medicine, has been hailed as a new dawn for regenerative medicine but remains troubled by several clouds. Kyoto University's Shinya Yamanaka and Britain's John Gurdon were honored with the world's paramount award in medicine for induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). They discovered that a mature, adult cell can be turned back to an infant, versatile state called a stem cell. First theorized in the late 19th century, stem cells are touted as a source of replacement tissue, fixing almost anything from malfunctioning hearts and lungs, damaged spines, Parkinson's disease or even baldness. The first human trials were launched only in 2010, and progress has been dogged by the contested use of stem cells taken from early stage embryos, where the most adaptable, or pluripotent, cells are found. Created by Yamanaka in 2006, iPSCs ease the moral row as they derive from adult cells, not embryos, said University of Oxford ethics professor Julian Savulescu. Ordinary skin cells can be used as the starting material. "Many people objected to the creation of embryos for research, describing it as cannibalizing human beings," Savulescu said. George … Continue reading →

THE Nobel Prize-winning discovery of how to reprogram ordinary cells to behave like embryonic stem cells offers a way to skirt around ethical problems with human embryos, but safety concerns make their future use in treating disease uncertain. While researchers have already applied the scientific breakthroughs of Britain's John Gurdon and Japan's Shinya Yamanaka to study how diseases develop, making such cells into new treatments will involve a lot more checks. Stem cells act as the articlebody's master cells, providing the source material for all other cells. They could transform medicine by regenerating tissue for diseases ranging from blindness to Parkinson's disease. Creating embryo-like stem cells without destroying embryos gets round a key controversy by avoiding the need to process embryos left over at fertility clinics a system that has led to political objections in the United States and elsewhere. Reprogrammed cells known as induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells offer an ethically neutral alternative. They have been a source of intense research since Yamanaka discovered their potential in 2006, building on work that Gurdon did in frogs and tadpoles 40 years earlier. Recently, however, different research groups have noticed problems with iPS cells, suggesting they may not be … Continue reading →

Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka warned patients on Tuesday about unproven "stem cell therapies" offered at clinics and hospitals in a growing number of countries, saying they were highly risky. The Internet is full of advertisements touting stem cell cures for just about any disease -- from diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, eye problems, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's to spinal cord injuries -- in countries such as China, Mexico, India, Turkey and Russia. Yamanaka, who shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine on Monday with John Gurdon of the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, Britain, called for caution. "This type of practice is an enormous problem, it is a threat. Many so-called stem cell therapies are being conducted without any data using animals, preclinical safety checks," said Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan. "Patients should understand that if there are no preclinical data in the efficiency and safety of the procedure that he or she is undergoing ... it could be very dangerous," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. Yamanaka and Gurdon shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery that adult cells can be transformed back into embryo-like stem cells that may one day regrow tissue in damaged brains, hearts or other organs. "I … Continue reading →

GENEVA John B. Gurdon transferred DNA between a tadpole and a frog to cloned the first animal. Shinya Yamanaka used Gurdons concept to turn ordinary skin into potent stem cells. Both won the Nobel Prize for medicine Monday. Gurdon, 79, of Britain, and Yamanaka, 50, of Japan, will share the 8 million-kronor ($1.2 million) prize, the Nobel Assembly said Monday in Stockholm. Their findings have led to remarkable progress in understanding diseases and finding new therapies, the assembly said in a statement. Gurdons work paved the way in 1996 for the cloning of Dolly the sheep and, 10 years later, for Yamanakas research. By adding the right genes to an adult skin cell, Yamanaka developed a technology to create stem cells without destroying human embryos. The discovery was lauded by some politicians and religious figures as a more ethical way to make stem cells because it doesnt destroy human life. John B. Gurdon challenged the dogma that the specialized cell is irreversibly committed to its fate, the assembly said. Shinya Yamanaka discovered more than 40 years later, in 2006, how intact mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed to become immature stem cells. Textbooks have been rewritten, and new research … Continue reading →

Research in reprogrammed cells, which on Monday earned the 2012 Nobel Prize, has been hailed as a new dawn for regenerative medicine but remains troubled by several clouds. Britain's John Gurdon and Japan's Shinya Yamanaka were honoured with the world's paramount award in medicine for induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). They discovered that a mature, adult cell can be turned back to an infant, versatile state called a stem cell. First theorised in the late 19th century, stem cells are touted as a source of replacement tissue, fixing almost anything from malfunctioning hearts and lungs, damaged spines, Parkinson's disease or even baldness. The first human trials were launched only in 2010, and progress has been dogged by the contested use of stem cells taken from early-stage embryos, where the most adaptable, or pluripotent, cells are found. Created by Yamanaka in 2006, iPSCs ease the moral row as they derive from adult cells and not embryos, said University of Oxford ethics professor Julian Savulescu. Ordinary skin cells can be used as the starting material. "Many people objected to the creation of embryos for research, describing it as cannabalizing human beings," he said. George W. Bush "retarded the field for years" by … Continue reading →

Shinya Yamanaka of Japan and John Gurdon of Britain won the Nobel Prize on Monday for work in cell programming, a frontier that has raised dreams of growing replacement tissue for people crippled by disease. The two scientists were lauded for determining that adult cells can be transformed back to an infant, versatile state called stem cells. "Their findings have revolutionised our understanding of how cells and organisms develop," the Nobel jury declared. By reprogramming human cells, "scientists have created new opportunities to study diseases and develop methods for diagnosis and therapy," it added. Stem cells are precursor cells which differentiate into the various organs of the body. They have stirred huge excitement, with hopes that they can be coaxed into growing into replacement tissue for victims of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases. Gurdon's achievement in 1962 was to discover that the DNA code in the nucleus of an adult frog cell held all the information to develop into every kind of cell. This meant that an adult cell could in essence be reprogrammed. His landmark discovery was initially met with scepticism, as the journey from immature to specialised cell was previously deemed irreversible. But his theory became accepted when … Continue reading →

Research in reprogrammed cells, which on Monday earned the 2012 Nobel Prize, has been hailed as a new dawn for regenerative medicine but remains troubled by several clouds. Britain's John Gurdon and Japan's Shinya Yamanaka were honoured with the world's paramount award in medicine for induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). They discovered that a mature, adult cell can be turned back to an infant, versatile state called a stem cell. First theorised in the late 19th century, stem cells are touted as a source of replacement tissue, fixing almost anything from malfunctioning hearts and lungs, damaged spines, Parkinson's disease or even baldness. The first human trials were launched only in 2010, and progress has been dogged by the contested use of stem cells taken from early-stage embryos, where the most adaptable, or pluripotent, cells are found. Created by Yamanaka in 2006, iPSCs ease the moral row as they derive from adult cells and not embryos, said University of Oxford ethics professor Julian Savulescu. Ordinary skin cells can be used as the starting material. "Many people objected to the creation of embryos for research, describing it as cannabalizing human beings," he said. George W. Bush "retarded the field for years" by … Continue reading →

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Shinya Yamanaka of Japan and John Gurdon of Britain won the Nobel Prize on Monday for work in cell programming, a frontier that has nourished dreams of replacement tissue for people crippled by disease. The two scientists found that adult cells can be transformed back to an infant state called stem cells, the key ingredient in the vision of regenerative medicine. "Their findings have revolutionised our understanding of how cells and organisms develop," the Nobel jury declared. "By reprogramming human cells, scientists have created new opportunities to study diseases and develop methods for diagnosis and therapy." Among those who acclaimed the award were Britain's Royal Society, Ian Wilmut, "father" of Dolly the cloned sheep, and a leading ethicist, who said it eased a storm about the use of embryonic cells. Stem cells are precursor cells which differentiate into the various organs of the body. They have stirred huge excitement, with hopes that they can be coaxed into growing into replacement tissue for victims of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases. Gurdon, 79, said he was grateful but also surprised by the honour, since his main research was done a half-century ago. In 1962, he discovered that the DNA … Continue reading →

GENEVA John B. Gurdon transferred DNA between a tadpole and a frog to cloned the first animal. Shinya Yamanaka used Gurdons concept to turn ordinary skin into potent stem cells. Both won the Nobel Prize for medicine Monday. Gurdon, 79, of Britain, and Yamanaka, 50, of Japan, will share the 8 million-kronor ($1.2 million) prize, the Nobel Assembly said Monday in Stockholm. Their findings have led to remarkable progress in understanding diseases and finding new therapies, the assembly said in a statement. Gurdons work paved the way in 1996 for the cloning of Dolly the sheep and, 10 years later, for Yamanakas research. By adding the right genes to an adult skin cell, Yamanaka developed a technology to create stem cells without destroying human embryos. The discovery was lauded by some politicians and religious figures as a more ethical way to make stem cells because it doesnt destroy human life. John B. Gurdon challenged the dogma that the specialized cell is irreversibly committed to its fate, the assembly said. Shinya Yamanaka discovered more than 40 years later, in 2006, how intact mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed to become immature stem cells. Textbooks have been rewritten, and new research … Continue reading →

Shinya Yamanaka MD, PhD What are induced pluripotent stem cells? Induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, are a type of cell that has been reprogrammed from an adult cell, such as a skin or blood cell. iPS cells are pluripotent cells because, like embryonic stem cells, they can develop into virtually any type of cell. iPS cells are distinct from embryonic stem cells, however, because they are derived from adult tissue, rather than from embryos. iPS cells are also distinct from adult stem cells, which naturally occur in small numbers in thehuman body. In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka developed the method for inducing skin cells from mice into becoming like pluripotent stem cells and called them iPS cells. In 2007, Yamanaka did the same with adult human skin cells. Yamanakas experiments revealed that adult skin cells, when treated with four pieces of DNA (now called the Yamanaka factors), can induce skin cells to revert back to their pluripotent state. His discovery has since led to a variety of methods for reprogramming adult cells into stem cells that can become virtually any cell type such as a beating heart cell or a neuron that can transmit chemical signals in the brain. … Continue reading →