Details Published on Friday, 27 July 2012 00:00 STEM cell therapy is being eyed to cure the neck and back pains and other illnesses of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, alternative medicine doctor Antonia Park said yesterday. Arroyo went to Parks Green and Young Health and Wellness Center in Tagaytay City yesterday morning for cleansing and alternative healing. A guard at the La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City, who requested anonymity, said Arroyo left the subdivision at around 7:30 a.m., accompanied by a few staff and a personal nurse. She rode a white Nissan Patrol and her convoy included a gray Toyota Land Cruiser and a police escort. Arroyo was granted bail Wednesday by a Pasay City court after finding that the electoral sabotage case against her was weak. She posted a P1-million cash bond. Stem cell treatment involves the introduction of new adult stem cells into the damaged tissue in order to treat a disease or injury. The ability of new cells to regenerate is seen as having significant potential to replace diseased areas of the body, with minimal risk of rejection and side effects. Park, in a statement distributed to the media, said Arroyo complained … Continue reading →

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo might undergo stem cell therapy to improve her health, according to the alternative medicine facility in Tagaytay City that the Pampanga lawmaker visited Thursday. Arroyo came to the facility complaining of difficulty in swallowing because of a bulge in her throat, according to a statement from the Green 8 Young Health & Wellness Center. Her voice has also changed and she is losing weight because she can't swallow solid food. She also has angina, the center said. Arroyo also complained of continuing neck and back pain. "Our center is accepting her for possible stem cell therapy," the alternative medicine facility said. "The stem cell therapy is... strongly considered." It said the Arroyo can undergo such therapy in the Tagaytay center while her physical therapy will continue at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center 4 times a week. The Pampanga lawmaker is seeking treatment at the center through her sister, Cielo Macapagal-Salgado. The center said Salgado was previously diagnosed with a cancerous lump in her breast. "She consulted several doctors and was subsequently subjected to a myrad of treatment procedures. These, however, did not produce the desired results. When she came to our center she … Continue reading →

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Physicians and scientists at the Texas Heart Institute (THI) at St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital, working collaboratively with the University of Houston (UH), Texas A&M Health Science Center in Houston and Baylor College of Medicine, have shown a new way to convert human skin cells into beating heart cells, according to an article being published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). Researchers believe this is to be an important new and unique step toward being able to repair damage from heart attacks in human hearts, which on their own have very little regenerative capabilities. The team, led by Robert J. Schwartz, PhD, director of Stem Cell Engineering at THI and director of UHs Center for Molecular Medicine and Experimental Therapeutics, used human skin cells called fibroblasts, and treated them with ETS2 and MESP1, two human genetic transcription factors that play important roles in the genetic network that produces cardiovascular tissues. The skin cells were converted into progenitors of cardiomyocytes - beating heart muscle cells - within a period of weeks. Progenitors can differentiate to form one or more kinds of cells. Dr. Schwartz explains: "Our study showed that … Continue reading →

By Jason Napodano, CFA Last month we published a NOTE outlining the pioneering efforts of Neuralstem (NYSE MKT:CUR) in the use ofhuman neural stem cells ("hNSC") for the treatment of central nervous system diseases and neurodegenerative disorders.Neuralstems lead development program is for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrigs disease, named after the famous New York Yankee first baseman who was diagnosed with the disease in 1939, and passed in 1941 at the age of only 37. The hippocampus is critically important to the control of memory and is severely impacted by the pathology of AD.Specifically, hippocampal synaptic density is reduced in AD and correlates with memory loss.Cam/Tet-DT mice mimic the substantial loss of hippocampal neurons that occur in advanced AD. StemCells Inc's data shows that one month after transplantation, HcCNS-SC engraft, migrate locally, and have begun to differentiate into neuronal and glial lineages in both models. This resulted in observed increased synaptic density and improved memory post transplantation. Importantly, these results did not require reduction in beta amyloid or tau that accumulate in the brains of patients with AD and account for the pathological hallmarks of the disease, suggesting a new mechanism of action for the treatment … Continue reading →