Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise When federal funding regulations created limitations on human embryonic stem cell research, several states created their own funding programs. A new study analyzed stem cell funding programs in four states that provided their own funding and found that in both California and Connecticut, state programs have contributed to an increase in the share of publications in the field produced in these states. The study provides early evidence that the distribution of stem-cell-related publications in the United States differs from the distribution of publications in fields not targeted by specific state funding policies. The study comes at a time when some of these state programs are nearing the final years of their initial funding commitments, so understanding the programs influence on scientific research is important for policy makers and voters. These state programs have led to more stem cell papers in some cases by a dramatic amount coming out of these states, said Aaron Levine, an associate professor in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Thats important for people to know as they are thinking about whether these programs were a good investment. The study was started as … Continue reading →

Human neural stem cell treatments are showing promise for reversing learning and memory deficits after chemotherapy, according to UC Irvine researchers. In preclinical studies using rodents, they found that stem cells transplanted one week after the completion of a series of chemotherapy sessions restored a range of cognitive functions, as measured one month later using a comprehensive platform of behavioral testing. In contrast, rats not treated with stem cells showed significant learning and memory impairment. The frequent use of chemotherapy to combat multiple cancers can produce severe cognitive dysfunction, often referred to as "chemobrain," which can persist and manifest in many ways long after the end of treatments in as many as 75 percent of survivors -- a problem of particular concern with pediatric patients. "Our findings provide the first solid evidence that transplantation of human neural stem cells can be used to reverse chemotherapeutic-induced damage of healthy tissue in the brain," said Charles Limoli, a UCI professor of radiation oncology. Study results appear in the Feb. 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Many chemotherapeutic agents used to treat disparate cancer types trigger inflammation in the hippocampus, a cerebral region responsible for … Continue reading →

Scientists have found that reducing the size of tiny hair like structures on stem cells stops them turning into fat. The discovery could be used to develop a way of preventing obesity. The research, conducted at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), found that a slight regulation in the length of primary cilia, small hair-like projections found on most cells, prevented the production of fat cells from human stem cells taken from adult bone marrow. Part of the process by which calories are turned into fat involves adipogenesis, the differentiation of stem cells into fat cells. The researchers showed that during this process of adipogenesis, the length of primary cilia increases associated with movement of specific proteins onto the cilia. Furthermore, by genetically restricting this cilia elongation in stem cells the researchers were able to stop the formation of new fat cells. Recent research has found that many conditions including kidney disease, blindness, problems with bones and obesity can be caused by defects in primary cilia. Melis Dalbay, co-author of the research from the School of Engineering and Materials Science at QMUL, said: This is the first time that it has been shown that subtle changes in primary cilia structure … Continue reading →

Stem Cell Advances Bring Hope to Fibromyalgia Treatments With new advances in stem cell research, patients suffering from Fibromyalgia and other ailments may soon be able to see drastic improvements in their conditions. These advances in new Fibromyalgia ... By: Mississippi Stem Cell Treatment Center … Continue reading →

In the bone marrow, blood stem cells give rise to a large variety of mature blood cells via progenitor cells at various stages of maturation. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed a way to equip mouse blood stem cells with a fluorescent marker that can be switched on from the outside. Using this tool, they were able to observe, for the first time, how stem cells mature into blood cells under normal conditions in a living organism. With these data, they developed a mathematical model of the dynamics of hematopoiesis. The researchers have now reported in the journal Nature that the normal process of blood formation differs from what scientists had previously assumed when using data from stem cell transplantations. Since ancient times, humankind has been aware of how important blood is to life. Naturalists speculated for thousands of years on the source of the body's blood supply. For several centuries, the liver was believed to be the site where blood forms. In 1868, however, the German pathologist Ernst Neumann discovered immature precursor cells in bone marrow, which turned out to be the actual site of blood cell formation, also known as hematopoiesis. Blood formation was … Continue reading →

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Human stem cells engineered to produce renewable sources of mature, liver-like cells can be grown and infected with malaria to test potentially life-saving new drugs, according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The advance comes at a time when the parasitic mosquito-borne disease, which kills nearly 600,000 people every year, is showing increased resistance to current treatment, especially in Southeast Asia, according to the World Health Organization. The liver-like cells, or hepatocytes, in the MIT study were manufactured from stem cells derived from donated skin and blood samples. The resulting cells provide a potentially replenishable platform for testing drugs that target the early stage of malaria, when parasites may linger and multiply in the liver for weeks before spreading into the bloodstream. Sangeeta Bhatia, a biomedical engineer and senior author of the MIT report, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the breakthrough study not only showed that these liver-like cells could host a malaria infection but also described a way to mature the young cells so that an adult-like metabolism, necessary for drug development, could be established. The study is published in the Feb. 5 online issue of Stem Cell Reports. Stem … Continue reading →

Stem-cell advocates pin their hopes on an artificial pancreas to treat diabetes. Fourteen years ago, during the darkest moments of the stem-cell wars pitting American scientists against the White House of George W. Bush, one group of advocates could be counted on to urge research using cells from human embryos: parents of children with type 1 diabetes. Motivated by scientists who told them these cells would lead to amazing cures, they spent millions on TV ads, lobbying, and countless phone calls to Congress. Now the first test of a type 1 diabetes treatment using stem cells has finally begun. In October, a San Diego man had two pouches of lab-grown pancreas cells, derived from human embryonic stem cells, inserted into his body through incisions in his back. Two other patients have since received the stand-in pancreas, engineered by a small San Diego company called ViaCyte. Its a significant step, partly because the ViaCyte study is only the third in the United States of any treatment based on embryonic stem cells. These cells, once removed from early-stage human embryos, can be grown in a lab dish and retain the ability to differentiate into any of the cells and tissue types in … Continue reading →

Four Japanese biologists have been disciplined for their roles in a scandal that gripped Japan and the international stem-cell science community last year. The harshest punishments, however, went to two researchers who have since left the jobs in question. The case involves two papers, published in Nature in January 2014 and later retracted, which detailed a process for creating embryonic-like stem cells, called stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency, or STAP. The four researchers three of whom were co-authors of the papers all worked at the Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) in Kobe, and were disciplined by RIKEN, the research institution that oversees the CDB. Haruko Obokata, the first author on the two papers and the key person in carrying out and coordinating the experiments, received the harshest punishment in RIKENs rulings she was dismissed from her position. That action, however, is moot because she had already resigned in December, after failing to reproduce the results. Teruhiko Wakayama, the famed mouse cloner who supervised Obokata when she first came to RIKEN in 2011, received a lesser penalty, suspension from work. Because he moved to the University of Yamanashi in 2012, that action is likewise moot. However, according to a press statement, Wakayama … Continue reading →

Portland, Oregon and Miami, Fla. (PRWEB) February 10, 2015 Global Stem Cells Group and the Regenerative Technology Alliance (RTA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate and promote stem cell training programs. RTA, a global provider of standards and certification for the emerging fields of regenerative medicine and science, will work with the Global Stem Cells Group to evaluate the regenerative medicine companys training programs and assess GSCGs participating physicians against the RTAs established international standards for the practice of regenerative and cell-based medicine. Our new alliance with the RTA is a natural step toward establishing GSCGs recognition as a global leader in stem cell medicine, says Global Stem Cells Group CEO Benito Novas. This is a perfect fit for us, as Global Stem Cells Group shares the RTAs focus on high standards and transparency, especially when it comes to patient safety and advancing the field of stem cell medicine. We are very pleased to have this alliance, says David Audley, General Secretary and Chair of the RTA. Our goal is to provide the highest level of transparency and oversight for the industry. Working with Global will allow us to have a direct and dramatic impact on physician training. … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise A University of California, San Diego School of Medicine project involving the creation of miniature models of the human brain developed with stem cells to study neurological disorders caused by HIV and methamphetamine use has been named one of five recipients of the 2015 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The project, headed by Tariq M. Rana, PhD, professor of pediatrics, will receive $500,000 per year for five years. The human cerebral cortex has evolved strikingly compared to those of other species, and no animal model accurately captures human-specific brain functions, said Rana. The creation of mini-brains, or organoids, will permit, for the first time, study of the toxic effects of addiction and HIV on the human brain in a dish. This offers us the exciting opportunity to design patient-specific model systems, which could potentially revolutionize drug discovery and precision medicine for central nervous system disorders. The Avant-Garde Awards are granted to scientists who propose high-impact research that could open new avenues for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS among drug abusers. The term avant-garde is used to describe highly innovative approaches that have the potential … Continue reading →