Category Archives: Stem Cell Transplant

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Amanda Canale doesn't take time with her daughter and niece for granted. She's just happy to feel good. "I've been in the hospital, and I've been sick my whole life," Amanda said. Amanda was born with a rare blood disorder that required daily shots. "Basically, I have no white blood cells," Amanda said. "I have no immune system at all." At 23, she developed leukemia and was given two weeks to live. She desperately needed a bone marrow transplant, but family members weren't matches. Her doctor suggested an umbilical cord blood transplant. "The cord was a perfect match and it was available, so it was the right solution for her," Edward Agura, MD, Medical Director of Bone Marrow Transplantation, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, said. Cord blood contains stem cells that regenerate. Mothers of newborns can save their child's own blood or donate it. More than 30,000 transplants have been performed worldwide. However, because the blood comes from a tiny newborn, there's not much of it. "The cord blood is rare, precious and few, and yet is more potent in its ability to grow," Dr. Agura said. Now, doctors at Baylor are treating patients by combining … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Amanda Canale doesn't take time with her daughter and niece for granted. She's just happy to feel good. "I've been in the hospital, and I've been sick my whole life," Amanda said. Amanda was born with a rare blood disorder that required daily shots. "Basically, I have no white blood cells," Amanda said. "I have no immune system at all." At 23, she developed leukemia and was given two weeks to live. She desperately needed a bone marrow transplant, but family members weren't matches. Her doctor suggested an umbilical cord blood transplant. "The cord was a perfect match and it was available, so it was the right solution for her," Edward Agura, MD, Medical Director of Bone Marrow Transplantation, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, said. Cord blood contains stem cells that regenerate. Mothers of newborns can save their child's own blood or donate it. More than 30,000 transplants have been performed worldwide. However, because the blood comes from a tiny newborn, there's not much of it. "The cord blood is rare, precious and few, and yet is more potent in its ability to grow," Dr. Agura said. Now, doctors at Baylor are treating patients by combining … Continue reading →

Scientists have successfully managed to transfer human stem cells into pigs that have been especially genetically modified for the purpose. The cells thrived following the transplant and researchers believe they are now one step closer to finding treatments for a number of human disease. The rejection of transplanted cells by the host body is one of the major hurdles in stem cell research. By managing to ensure pigs will accept human cells is a huge leap forward in stem cell therapy research, and could lead to treatments for patients with severe immune deficiency. The past research into regenerative medicine has relied on rodent testing, but significant differences in the immune system of mice and people has put limits on the application of the findings. One of the study's authors, Randall Prather, says: "Many medical researchers prefer conducting studies with pigs because they are more anatomically similar to humans than other animals such as mice or rodents. Physically, pigs are much close to the size and scale of humans than other animals, and they respond to health threats similarly. "This means that research in pigs is more likely to have results similar to those in humans for many different tests and … Continue reading →

New line of pigs do not reject transplants Will allow for future research on stem cell therapies Pigs are much closer to humans than many other test animals By Mark Prigg Published: 12:12 EST, 6 June 2014 | Updated: 15:33 EST, 6 June 2014 234 shares 37 View comments Scientists have successfully transplanted human stem cells into pigs that were genetically modified not to reject them. The cells were able to thrive, raising hopes of potential stem cells treatments for debilitating diseases. The breakthrough could also aid in developing treatments for patients suffering from severe immune deficiency. Scientists have successfully transplanted human stem cells into pigs that were genetically modified not to reject them in am major breakthrough for stem cells treatments See more here: Transplant breakthrough as scientists implant stem cells into pigs genetically modified to accept them … Continue reading →

Leukaemia Lymphoma Research: stem cell transplantee takes on'triathlon' Help save lives! http://bit.ly/annatriathlon Leukaemia and stem cell transplant patient George takes on his own'triathlon', explaining why you should suppor... By: giorgissimouk … Continue reading →

Home > News > health-news New York, June 7 : Liver is known to regenerate itself, but can liver cells be reverted to a stem-cell like state? Yes, researchers say. The finding can pave the way for liver cells transplant to cure genetic liver disorders. Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, led by Fernando Camargo, stumbled upon this fact while investigating whether a biochemical cascade called "Hippo", which controls how big the liver grows, also affects the cell's fate. "I think this study highlights the tremendous plasticity of mature liver cells," said Camargo, an associate professor at Harvard University's department of stem cell and regenerative biology. The researchers found that switching off the Hippo-signalling pathway in mature liver cells generates very high rates of dedifferentiation. This means the cells turn back the clock to become stem-cell like again, thus allowing them to give rise to functional progenitor cells that can regenerate a diseased liver. Even if three-quarters of a liver is surgically removed, duplication alone could return the organ to its normal functioning mass. This new research indicates that there is a second mode of regeneration that may be repairing constant liver damage. "It is not that you have … Continue reading →

COLLEGE STATION - There are more than 18,000 people waiting for a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, something that could save their lives. Despite the fact that there are 11-million people on the registry as available donors, only 40% of those in need will find a match. That's because it's extremely difficult to match someone perfectly, and since it's done by DNA markers, the best chances come from someone in your same race and ethnicity group. So while the odds are slim to begin with, the chance of finding a match for a minority is even smaller. Fewer minorities are signed up to be potential donors. Lindsey Crawford, a local recruiter for the "Be the Match" foundation says, " African Americans make up about 10 percent of our registry, Hispanics about 6 percent and multi-racial only about 4 percent." Most of the time, you won't have to actually donate bone marrow, it'll just be stem cells, which is a painless process similar to giving plasma. 20% of the time, actual bone marrow is needed, and that does require surgery, but you're given an anesthetic to ease the pain. If you'd like to sign up to be a potential bone … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 5-Jun-2014 Contact: Jenna Brown jbrown66@partners.org 617-855-2110 McLean Hospital BELMONT, MA -- Researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital have found that fetal dopamine cells transplanted into the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease were able to remain healthy and functional for up to 14 years, a finding that could lead to new and better therapies for the illness. The discovery, reported in the June 5, 2014 issue of the journal Cell Reports, could pave the way for researchers to begin transplanting dopamine neurons taken from stem cells grown in laboratories, a way to get treatments to many more patients in an easier fashion. "We have shown in this paper that the transplanted cells connect and live well and do all the required functions of nerve cells for a very long time," said Ole Isacson, MD (DR MED SCI), director of the Neuroregeneration Research Institute at McLean and a professor of neurology and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. The researchers looked at the brains of five patients who got fetal cell transplants over a period of 14 years and found that their dopamine transporters (DAT), proteins that pump the neurotransmitter dopamine, and mitochondria, the power plants of cells, were still … Continue reading →

Tony's Bone Marrow Transplant Story Hear how a Bone Marrow Transplant with Inova Fairfax Hospital Stem Cell Transplant program saved Tony's life. Learn more about Inova Fairfax Hospital Stem Ce... By: Inova Health System … Continue reading →

Stem cell Transplant+AMT with voice June 2014 Case of 360 degrees stem cell deficiency due to chemical burns (old). Autologous stem cell transplant taken from patient's other eye (unaffected) and sutured... By: Quresh Maskati … Continue reading →