Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

Health and Medicine for Seniors Aging Immune System May Get Kick-Start from Discovery of Molecular Defect Old stem cells are not just sitting there with damaged DNA ready to develop cancer, as it has long been postulated "The decline of stem-cell function is a big part of age-related problems. Achieving longer lives relies in part on achieving a better understanding of why stem cells are not able to maintain optimal functioning." Emmanuelle Passegu, PhD July 31, 2014 - There's a good reason seniors over 60 are not donor candidates for bone marrow transplantation. The immune system ages and weakens with time, making the elderly prone to life-threatening infection and other maladies, and a UC San Francisco research team now has discovered a reason why. "We have found the cellular mechanism responsible for the inability of blood-forming cells to maintain blood production over time in an old organism, and have identified molecular defects that could be restored for rejuvenation therapies," said Emmanuelle Passegu, PhD, a professor of medicine and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF. Passegu, an expert on the stem cells that give rise to the blood and … Continue reading →

Video will begin in 5 seconds. While stem cells have many applications in treating bone tumors and early leukaemia and lymphoma cases Dr Tony Bartone says patients undergoing unproven treatments are taking "life into a Tatts Lotto" situation. Authorities are warning of the risks of unproven stem cell treatments available in Australia and overseas after the death of an Australian woman in Russia. Brisbane mother-of-two Kellie van Meurs travelled to Moscow for treatment for a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome but died from a heart attack while undergoing the controversial treatment on July 19. Her death - and the continued marketing of stem cell tourism by groups including Adult Stem Cell Foundation - prompted warnings that manyof the therapies on offer are untested and not acceptedby mainstream science. Stem Cells Australia's head of education, ethics, law and community awareness Megan Munsie said a proliferation of private clinics combined with a growing consumer base was a potentially dangerous mix. Advertisement ''This sad case illustrates that some people are prepared to take the risk,'' she said. ''But people should balance their high hopes with the acknowledgement that there is a risk.'' She also cautioned that treatment decisions should be based … Continue reading →

Video will begin in 5 seconds. While stem cells have many applications in treating bone tumors and early leukaemia and lymphoma cases Dr Tony Bartone says patients undergoing unproven treatments are taking "life into a Tatts Lotto" situation. Authorities are warning of the risks of unproven stem cell treatments available in Australia and overseas after the death of an Australian woman in Russia. Brisbane mother-of-two Kellie van Meurs travelled to Moscow for treatment for a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome but died from a heart attack while undergoing the controversial treatment on July 19. Her death - and the continued marketing of stem cell tourism by groups including Adult Stem Cell Foundation - prompted warnings that manyof the therapies on offer are untested and not acceptedby mainstream science. Stem Cells Australia's head of education, ethics, law and community awareness Megan Munsie said a proliferation of private clinics combined with a growing consumer base was a potentially dangerous mix. Advertisement ''This sad case illustrates that some people are prepared to take the risk,'' she said. ''But people should balance their high hopes with the acknowledgement that there is a risk.'' She also cautioned that treatment decisions should be based … Continue reading →

The Hindu Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Mayur Abhaya of LifeCell launch the public stem cell bank. Photo : M.Vedhan Its a no brainer, said Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, when asked why shed decided to bank her umbilical cord blood after her baby was born. Its a simple but very precious gift we can give to our children. Medical progress is growing and will continue to grow. We already know how helpful stem cells extracted from cord blood can be; so it was very natural and easy for us to make that choice, she said. Speaking at a press meet to launch a public stem cell banking venture by LifeCell, a stem cell bank, Ms. Bachchan lauded this initiative, saying it would have a large social impact and address the dearth of stem cells in the country. Under this initiative, said Mayur Abhaya, CEO and managing director of LifeCell, parents will be encouraged to donate their cord blood after their baby is born. The blood will be collected, stem cells extracted and stored by LifeCell. A public cord blood inventory will be created and when needed, patients and their families can find a match in it, and the stem cells can be … Continue reading →

Scientists at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute are one step closer to creating a viable cell replacement therapy for multiple sclerosis from a patient's own cells. For the first time, NYSCF scientists generated induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells lines from skin samples of patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis and further, they developed an accelerated protocol to induce these stem cells into becoming oligodendrocytes, the myelin-forming cells of the central nervous system implicated in multiple sclerosis and many other diseases. Existing protocols for producing oligodendrocytes had taken almost half a year to produce, limiting the ability of researchers to conduct their research. This study has cut that time approximately in half, making the ability to utilize these cells in research much more feasible. Stem cell lines and oligodendrocytes allow researchers to "turn back the clock" and observe how multiple sclerosis develops and progresses, potentially revealing the onset of the disease at a cellular level long before any symptoms are displayed. The improved protocol for deriving oligodendrocyte cells will also provide a platform for disease modeling, drug screening, and for replacing the damaged cells in the brain with healthy cells generated using this method. "We are so … Continue reading →

stepping away from embryotic stem cells stem cell research. By: minh hoang … Continue reading →

Sen. Nancy Binay. INQUIRER.net PHOTO MANILAHealth Secretary Enrique Ona has expressed disappointment with Sen. Nancy Binay, who questioned the allocation of P70 million under Disbursement Acceleration Program for a stem cell research project of the Lung Center of the Philippines. Binay had said the money could have been better spent on more beds for government hospitals. Im so disappointed with the Senator rather than support the opportunities for our doctors to do all types of research, not just on stem cell Filipinos can jumpstart medical research, comparing it with research capacity of other countriesthats what I would want to hear from her, Ona said Friday on the sidelines of the Department of Healths distribution of awards to the unsung heroes of Typhoon Yolanda. And I also wish to tell her, I hope she increases the funds for various research being conducted by our doctors, he added. Because if not, these doctors may just opt to work in other countries. Speaking at the Senate finance committee hearing on Thursday, Ona confirmed that P70 million from DAP was used to fund a Bio-Regenerative Technology Program or Stem Cell Research aimed at harnessing stem cell research and technology to reconstruct new health cells, … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 24-Jul-2014 Contact: Nicole Giese Rura rura@wi.mit.edu 617-258-6851 Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (July 24, 2014) For years, researchers and patients have hoped that embryonic stem cells (ESCs)capable of forming nearly any cell type in the bodycould provide insight into numerous diseases perhaps even be used to treat them. Yet progress has been hampered by the inability to transfer research and tools from mouse ESC studies to their human counterparts, in part because human ESCs are "primed" and slightly less plastic than the mouse cells. Now Thorold Theunissen, Benjamin Powell, and Haoyi Wang, who are scientists in the lab of Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch, have discovered how to manipulate and maintain human ESCs in a "nave" or base pluripotent state similar to that of mouse ESCs without the use of any reprogramming factors. Their work is described in this week's issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell. Nave mouse ESCs are well-studied, and scientists have a strong understanding of how they function and mature into more specialized cells. But this understanding is of limited use in human ESC research, as the human cells look different, grow differently, and rely on different genes than mouse … Continue reading →

IF THE controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) is meant to fund urgent, high-impact projects, why spend for such things as stem cell research instead of hospital beds? The question was raised by Senator Nancy Binay during the Senate finance committee hearing on the DAP on Friday. Binay questioned the priorities of the administration in its funding allocations, even while it claims that DAP was meant to give priority funding to projects that would have high impact on the public. For example, Binay asked why P70 million was allotted to stem cell research equipment for the Lung Center of the Philippines when so many public hospitals lack basic things such as hospital beds. Health Secretary Enrique Ona responded by saying that the equipment to be purchased would not be used exclusively for stem cell research. However Binay said that if the government really meant DAP to respond to priority needs, then more basic health needs should have been the focus of funding. Hindi ninyo naisip bumili ng hospital beds instead of stem cell research, Binay asked Ona. Priority nga diba, what can help our people? Hindi ko makita ang priority. Ona then said that that while government recognizes these basic health … Continue reading →

Budget Secretary Florencio Butch Abad answers questions during Thursdays Senate hearing on the Disbursement Acceleration Program. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines Senator Nancy Binay on ThursdaygrilledBudget Secretary Florencio Butch Abad over the use of the Disbursement AccelerationProgram (DAP) to buy a car worth P5 million for the Commission on Audit (COA) and P70-million allocation for a stem cell researchproject, among others, of the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCOP). During thehearing of the Senate committee on finance on DAP, Binayconfronted Abad over COA chairpersonGrace Pulido-Tans earlier admission in one of the Senate hearings that a service car of one of the COAs commissioners came from funds under the DAP. Abad confirmedthat a P5-million budget for the car was part of the P143-million allocation given to theCOA under theDAP. Kasama po yun sa requests nila, Mr. Chair (That is included in their requests),he toldthe committee. But Binaywondered why the funding request for thevehicle did not reflect in the DAP recordsfor COA titled: IT infrastructure program andhiring of additional litigation experts. Wala ho akong nakikitang kotse dito (I cant see any car on the list), the senator said. Kasi maliit na lang ho yun , mga P5M yata yung involved (Because it was … Continue reading →