Archive for February, 2012

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com)—

A simple test could cure a child with blood cancer or sickle cell anemia, yet some people are just too scared to do it.

'I mean you could save someone`s life,' explained Denise Mosley, with 'Be The Match', the National Marrow Donor Program. 'You just never know if you could be that one person that could possibly save someone`s life. Unless you join the registry you`ll just never know.'

'And we need as many people on the registry as possible,' she added.

Saturday morning inside Harris Stowe State University in Midtown St. Louis, Dr. Rohan Ahluwalia added his name to the registry. By giving a simple tissue sample, he was giving hope.

He registered to be a donor of bone marrow, or blood stem cells, which can treat or even cure many blood cancers and diseases. Mosley said some people are afraid of signing up to be a donor, because of myths. They believe the donor process is painful.

'It`s very similar to giving platelets or plasma,' she said. 75 percent of the time, donors give cells through their veins. Only a quarter of the time is surgery required, and patients are under anesthesia for that.

Donating doesn`t have to be painful, she said. It is joyful.

'I recently met a lady, she`d been on the registry more than 20 years and then she matched someone and you just never know,' she explained. 'There was also a student at SLU who donated over winter break and she said it changed her life. She wasn`t thinking of the patient. Of course, it changed them, but it changed the donor`s life tremendously.'

Registering is only a four step process that takes 15 minutes or less. There are no needles and no blood. It`s just paperwork, and a swab of the cheek. Tissue samples are analyzed, kept in a bank, and if they ever match a patient in need of a transplant, that donor is contacted.

The registry was held on the campus of Harris Stowe, a traditionally black college, for a good reason.

'Bone marrow recipients are most likely to receive a donation from someone of their same race or ethnicity,' explained Dr. Muyabit Adelani, one of the organizing residents. 'Unfortunately, there aren`t enough minority donors on the list.'

Mosley added startling numbers. 'We are desperate to get more minorities on the registry. We have about 9 million people on the registry currently, 6.5 million of those are Caucasian.'

Ahluwalia is one of the residents who helped organize the drive. He registered himself because he`s planning a career in oncology. Perhaps his own cells could cure one of his own patients.

'What`s drawn me in is having seen the difficult scenarios a lot of cancer patients go through, and the impact physicians can have on their lives by helping treat their sometimes incurable diseases. Or sometimes helping them cure their disease,' he said. 'I think one step would be to volunteer my own stem cells to help somebody.'

'I think it`s a process any citizen should participate in,' he said. 'Imagine down the line being able to help someone survive. Five, ten, 20, or even 30 years added onto their lives.'

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Harris Stowe State University Hosts Successful Bone Marrow Drive

The Hindu Prof. Shinya Yamanaka of Centre for iPS Cell Research and Application, Japan, delivering a lecture in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: R.V.Moorthy

Renowned Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, who achieved a major breakthrough in the emerging area of stem cell research by creating a possible alternative to embryonic stem cells in 2007, expressed confidence here on Friday that drugs would be available soon for diseases for which therapies are yet to be found.

Delivering a lecture on “New Era of Medicine with iPS Cells” organised jointly by Cell Press and TNQ Books and Journals, Prof. Yamanaka said the cells -- “induced pluripotent stem cells [iPS Cells]'' -- developed by him and his team would not only help overcome the ethical issues surrounding use of embryonic stem cells for treatment of diseases like spinal cord injuries, Type I diabetes or macular diseases but also help in development of drugs for conditions like motor neuron disease.

Embryonic stem cell therapy is considered important as it offers immense possibilities for treatment of a wide range of diseases and conditions since the cells proliferaterapidly and are pluripotent or possess the capability to differentiate into any type of cell, said Prof. Yamanaka. But it suffers from a major ethical issue as it involves use of live human embryos, Prof. Yamanaka pointed out. He said if there was a post-transplant rejection, they cannot be used from the patient's own cell.The iPS cells, on the other hand, are created from adult skin cells and do not have these two problems, while at the same time they provide for rapid proliferation and the possibility to differentiate into any type of cell, he said. Prof. Yamanaka and his team generated iPS mouse cells in 2006 and followed up with iPS cells developed from human skin cells in 2007.

Speaking about the potentials of iPS cells, he said studies using the cells for treatment of spinal cord injuries have already shown good results in mouse and monkey specimens and in two to three years scientists would be ready to go in for clinical trials. He, however, admitted that there are several challenges before the new technology. Its safety is yet to be proved completely and the process of deriving patient-specific iPS cells is time-consuming and expensive.

He expressed hope that scientists who are working on itwould overcome the challenges and a new era in medical treatment would emerge soon.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, who introduced him, said his Ministry along with the Ministries of Health and Science & Technology would take steps for Indian scientists to collaborate with him.

TNQ Books and Journals Managing Director Mariam Ram and Cell Press Executive Editor Emilie Marcus also spoke.

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New era of medicine in the offing, says scientist

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Academic Journal
Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Also Included In: Stem Cell Research;  Rehabilitation / Physical Therapy
Article Date: 04 Feb 2012 - 10:00 PST

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The February edition of Neurosurgery reports that animal experiments in brain-injured rats have shown that stem cells injected via the carotid artery travel directly to the brain, greatly enhancing functional recovery. The study demonstrates, according to leading researcher Dr Toshiya Osanai, of Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine in Sapporo, Japan, that the carotid artery injection technique could, together with some form of in-vivo optical imaging to track the stem cells after transplantation, potentially be part of a new approach for stem cell transplantation in human brain trauma injuries (TBI).

Dr. Osanai and team assessed a new "intra-arterial" technique of stem cell transplantation in rats, with the aim of delivering the stem cells directly to the brain without having to go through the general circulation. They induced TBI in the animals before injecting stem cells into the carotid artery seven days later.

The stem cells were obtained from the rats' bone marrow and were labeled with "quantum dots" prior to being injected. Quantom dots are a biocompatible, fluorescent semiconductor created with nanotechnology that emit near-infrared light with much longer wavelengths that penetrate bone and skin, enabling a non-invasive method of monitoring the stem cells for a period of four weeks following transplantation.

This in vivo optical imaging technique enabled the scientists to observe that the injected stem cells entered the brain on the first attempt, without entering the general circulation. They observed that the stem cells started migrating from the capillaries into the injured part of the brain within three hours.

At week 4, the researchers noted that the rats in the stem cell transplant group achieved a substantial recovery of motor function, compared with the untreated animals that had no signs of recovery.

The team learnt, after examining the treated brains, that the stem cells had transformed into different brain cell types and aided in healing the injured brain area.

Over the last few years, the potential of stem cell therapy for curing and treating illnesses and conditions has been growing rapidly. Below is a list of some of its possible uses.

Stem cells represent a potential, new important method of treatment for those who suffered brain injuries, TBI and stroke. But even though bone marrow stem cells, similar to the ones used in the new study, are a promising source of donor cells, many questions remain open regarding the optimal timing, dose and route of stem cell delivery.

In the new animal study, the rats were injected with the stem cells one week after TBI. This is a "clinically relevant" time, given that this is the minimum time it takes to develop stem cells from bone marrow.

Transplanting the stem cells into the carotid artery is a fairly simple procedure that delivers the cells directly to the brain.

The experiments have also provided key evidence that stem cell treatment can promote healing after TBI with a substantial recovery of function.

Dr. Osanai and team write that by using in vivo optical imaging:

"The present study was the first to successfully track donor cells that were intra-arterially transplanted into the brain of living animals over four weeks."

A similar form of imaging technology could also prove beneficial for monitoring the effects of stem cell transplantation in humans, although the tracking will pose challenges, due to the human skull and scalp being much thicker than in rats.

The researchers conclude:

"Further studies are warranted to apply in vivo
optical imaging clinically."

Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our neurology / neuroscience section for the latest news on this subject. "Therapeutic Effects of Intra-Arterial Delivery of Bone Marrow Stromal Cells in Traumatic Brain Injury of Rats—In Vivo Cell Tracking Study by Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging"
Osanai, Toshiya; Kuroda, Satoshi; Sugiyama, Taku; Kawabori, Masahito; Ito, Masaki; Shichinohe, Hideo; Kuge, Yuji; Houkin, Kiyohiro; Tamaki, Nagara; Iwasaki, Yoshinobu
Neurosurgery. 70(2):435-444, February 2012. doi: 10.1227/NEU.0b013e318230a795 Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Petra Rattue. "Treating Brain Injuries With Stem Cell Transplants - Promising Results." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 4 Feb. 2012. Web.
4 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241215.php&gt;

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Treating Brain Injuries With Stem Cell Transplants - Promising Results

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Please replace the release dated January 23, 2012 with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.

The corrected release reads:

LEADING GLOBAL CELL THERAPY ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE APPEAL OF RULING ON DONOR COMPENSATION

Coalition says PBSC donor compensation poses health risks to patients and donors

A coalition of eight leading international health organizations today issued a statement supporting the U.S. Department of Justice’s appeal of the Ninth Circuit Court ruling that allows certain marrow donors to be compensated. Filed Jan. 17, the Justice Department’s appeal cites the potential for serious health risks to patients and donors if the ruling stands.

Approximately 5,000 patients each year in the United States receive marrow transplants from unrelated donors to treat leukemia, lymphoma and a number of other diseases. The marrow is a source of stem cells that are critical to restoring the immune system for these patients. Two techniques are used to extract these stem cells. The first draws marrow directly from the donor’s hip bone and the second moves the stem cells out of the bone marrow and into the bloodstream using a stimulating hormone, and then collects peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) in a procedure similar to the collection of platelets from blood donors.

Since 1984, the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) has banned payment for all marrow stem cell donations. However, a Dec. 1, 2011, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling legalized compensation for PBSC donations, but upheld the ban on compensation for marrow donation through aspiration.

“The world’s leading cell therapy organizations oppose compensating people who sell their stem cells, however collected, and believe the Ninth Circuit made an erroneous distinction between marrow stem cells extracted directly from bone or from blood,” said Jeffrey W. Chell, M.D., chief executive officer of the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP), a coalition member that operates the Be The Match Registry®, the world’s largest listing of volunteer marrow donors. “We fully support the Justice Department’s decision to protect patients and their donors by challenging the ruling. Those motivated by self-gain are more likely to withhold health information that would make them unsafe donors. The blood banking experience in the United States shows that this results in donations that are unacceptable from a clinical standpoint.”

The coalition includes the nonprofit NMDP, the World Marrow Donor Association, America’s Blood Centers, AABB, the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, International Society of Cellular Therapy and The Transplantation Society. Those seeking to overturn the ban against selling stem cells argue that payment for donors might increase patients’ access to bone marrow; however, the coalition asserts the opposite is true.

Paying for stem cells also would mean the U.S. no longer follows standards recognized throughout developed countries in Europe and Asia, which use volunteer donors in cell therapies. As a result, patients may not be able to use the worldwide search process. These international partnerships are vital to helping increase patients’ access to potential donors. In 2011, nearly half of the transplants facilitated by the NMDP involved either an international donor or patient.

The coalition cites the following reasons in its position against donor compensation:

Protecting Recipient and Donor Safety
A complete and truthful health history is critical to ensure that individuals are eligible to donate and that donated cells are free from infectious diseases. There is substantial scientific evidence that people wanting to sell their blood or body parts are more likely to withhold medical details and information that could harm patients. Ensuring Physicians’ Ability to Provide Quality Care
The decision of whether the donation occurs through the traditional method of bone marrow extraction or PBSC donation should be based on the best clinical judgment of the patient’s physician and will vary from patient to patient. While the donor always has the last say on whether and how to donate, PBSCs may not be in the best interests of the patient in many cases. Paying for PBSCs may cause donors to choose this method instead of a marrow extraction recommended by the recipient’s physician. Maintaining Altruistic Motivations
Compensating donors could deter those who are willing to donate for purely altruistic reasons. The more than 9.5 million members of the Be The Match Registry, as well as an additional 9 million potential donors available on international registries, are proof positive that people do not need financial incentive to save a life. Avoiding the Creation of Markets in Marrow Donation
Patients may promote donor drives with the promise of compensation, appealing to those with financial need, and not fully disclose the risks associated with the donation. For profit organizations also have an incentive to exploit their donors over a patient’s unique needs. In addition, markets put physicians in the morally dubious position of carrying out medical procedures solely for monetary profit.

For these reasons, the members of the coalition remain opposed to the selling of stem cells.

About the Coalition
The coalition includes the NMDP, America’s Blood Centers, AABB, the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, International Society of Cellular Therapy, The Transplantation Society, and the World Marrow Donor Association.

About the National Marrow Donor Program®(NMDP)
The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is the global leader in providing marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants to patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other diseases. The nonprofit organization matches patients with donors, educates health care professionals and conducts research so more lives can be saved. The NMDP also operates Be The Match®, which provides support for patients, and enlists others in the community to join the Be The Match Registry® – the world’s largest listing of potential marrow donors and donated cord blood units – contribute financially and volunteer. For more information, visit marrow.org or call 1 (800) MARROW-2.

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CORRECTING and REPLACING Leading Global Cell Therapy Organizations Support U.S. Department of Justice Appeal of Ruling ...

09-09-2011 23:32 http://www.infowars.com Pandora's Box has surely been opened. A dangerous genetic experiment has come out of the shadows, and the human-animal hybrids, chimeras and other transgenic clones it has yielded now threaten to endanger and irrevocably alter life as we know it. The controllers of elite-funded science and R

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Genetic Armageddon: Humanity's Greatest Threat - Video

Public release date: 3-Feb-2012
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Contact: Sara LaJeunesse
SDL13@psu.edu
814-863-4325
Penn State

A preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, according to researchers, who discovered that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene.

The results help explain why some people struggle when placed on a low-fat diet and may one day assist people in selecting diets that are easier for them to follow. The results also may help food developers create new low-fat foods that taste better.

"Fat is universally palatable to humans," said Kathleen Keller, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, Penn State. "Yet we have demonstrated for the first time that people who have particular forms of the CD36 gene tend to like higher fat foods more and may be at greater risk for obesity compared to those who do not have this form of the gene. In animals, CD36 is a necessary gene for the ability to both detect and develop preferences for fat. Our study is one of the first to show this relationship in humans."

Keller and a tem of scientists from Penn State, Columbia University, Cornell University and Rutgers University examined 317 African-American males and females because individuals in this ethnic group are highly vulnerable to obesity and thus are at greatest risk for obesity-related diseases.

The team gave the participants Italian salad dressings prepared with varying amounts of canola oil, which is rich in long-chain fatty acids. The participants were then asked to rate their perceptions of the dressings' oiliness, fat content and creaminess on a scale anchored on the ends with "extremely low" and "extremely high."

The team also gave participants questionnaires aimed at understanding their food preferences. Participants rated how much they liked each food on a scale anchored with "dislike extremely" and "like extremely." Foods included on the questionnaire were associated with poor dietary intake and health outcomes, such as half-and-half, sour cream, mayonnaise, bacon, fried chicken, hot dogs, French fries, cheese, chips, cake, cookies and doughnuts. The researchers collected saliva samples from the participants to determine which forms of CD36 they had. From the saliva samples, they extracted DNA fragments and examined differences in the CD36 gene contained within the fragments.

They found that participants who had the "AA" form of the gene -- present in 21 percent of the population -- rated the salad dressings as creamier than individuals who had other forms of the gene. These individuals reported that the salad dressings were creamier regardless of how much fat was actually in them. The researchers also found that "AA" individuals liked salad dressings, half-and-half, olive oil and other cooking oils more than those who had other forms of the gene. The results are published in a recent issue of the journal Obesity.

"It is possible that the CD36 gene is associated with fat intake and therefore obesity through a mechanism of oral fat perception and preference," said Keller. "In other words, our results suggest that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may find fat creamier and more enjoyable than others. This may increase their risk for obesity and other health problems."

According to Keller, having certain forms of a gene that help in the perception and enjoyment of fats in foods might once have been an advantage.

"Fats are essential in our diets," she said. "In our evolutionary history, people who were better able to recognize fats in foods were more likely to survive. Such forms of the gene, however, are less useful to us today as most of us no longer have to worry about getting enough fats in our diets."

In fact, she added, having such forms of a gene can be detrimental in today's world of fat-laden convenience foods.

"Our results may help explain why some people have more difficulty adhering to a low-fat diet than other people and why these same people often do better when they adopt high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins diet," said Keller. "We hope these results will one day help people select diets that are easier for them to follow. We also think the results could help food developers create better tasting low-fat foods that appeal to a broader range of the population."

In the future, the team plans to expand the population they examine to include children.

"By the time we are adults it is very hard for us to change our eating behaviors," said Keller. "So if we can determine which children have forms of the CD36 gene, as well as other genes that are associated with greater liking of fats, we can help them develop healthier eating behaviors at a young age."

Keller also plans to incorporate novel techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to better understand why certain forms of the CD36 gene are linked to higher fat preferences.

"We plan to scan children while they are tasting high-fat foods and beverages so that we can see how their brains react to fats," she said. "By doing this, we may be able to develop foods that are perceived by the brain as palatable high-fat treats, even though in reality, they are low-fat and healthy."

###

Kathleen Keller was an assistant professor and research associate at Columbia University and the New York Nutrition Obesity Research Center when she conducted the research. Other authors on the paper include Columbia University graduate students Lisa Liang, Johannah Sakimura, Daniel May and Christopher van Belle; Cornell University undergraduate students Cameron Breen and Elissa Driggin; and Beverly Tepper, professor, Rutgers University. Also at Columbia were Patricia Lanzano, research coordinator; Liyong Deng, research technician; and Wendy Chung, assistant professor.

The National Institutes of Health funded this research.

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Gene related to fat preferences in humans found

28-07-2009 18:23 Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have reversed Alzheimers-like symptoms in mouse models of the disease with injections of neural stem cells. The first author, Mathew Blurton-Jones, has a Training grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The lead author, Frank LaFerla, has a SEED grant and an Early Translational grant from CIRM.

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Neural Stem Cells Reverse Alzheimer's-Like Symptoms - Video

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) - Experts from UC Davis Health System will share the latest research about regenerative medicine, with a focus on chronic pain and the promise of stem cell therapies, during a community forum on the university's Sacramento campus. The discussion takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 7, from 6- 7:30 p.m. at the UC Davis Education Building, 4610 X Street, in Sacramento.

The event features Jan Nolta, director of the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures; Scott Fishman, chief of the UC Davis Division of Pain Medicine; and Kee Kim, chief of spinal neurosurgery at UC Davis Medical Center. The three specialists will discuss the challenges of treating chronic pain, especially back and neck pain, and the clinical research now under way to use stem cell therapies to overcome it.

The forum is free and open to the public. It is part of "Stem Cell Dialogues," UC Davis Health System's discussion series about regenerative medicine and the goal of turning stem cells into cures. Each speaker will provide a short presentation followed by a panel discussion and question and answer period. The event will be moderated by Fred Meyers, professor of medicine and pathology, and executive associate dean of UC Davis School of Medicine.

Seating is limited. Those interested in attending must reserve a seat by contacting Kate Rodrigues at 916-734-9404 or e-mail kathleen.rodrigues@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.  Free parking will be available in Lots 12 and 14, just south of the Education Building, near 45th Street and 2nd Avenue.

UC Davis is playing a leading role in regenerative medicine, with nearly 150 scientists working on a variety of stem cell-related research projects at campus locations in both Davis and Sacramento. The UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures, a facility supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), opened in 2010 on the Sacramento campus. This $62 million facility is the university's hub for stem cell science. It includes Northern California's largest academic Good Manufacturing Practice laboratory, with state-of-the-art equipment and manufacturing rooms for cellular and gene therapies. UC Davis also has a Translational Human Embryonic Stem Cell Shared Research Facility in Davis and a collaborative partnership with the Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine at Shriners Hospital for Children Northern California. All of the programs and facilities complement the university's Clinical and Translational Science Center, and focus on turning stem cells into cures. For more information, visit http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/stemcellresearch.

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The promise of stem cell therapies forum

01-02-2012 11:34 http://www.pressingontx.org - Pressing On client Billy N. on our Hammer Strength Incline Chest Press machine. Great job!

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WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Histogenics Corporation, a privately held, regenerative medicine company, today announced that President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick O’Donnell will present at the upcoming Canaccord Genuity Musculoskeletal Conference on February 7th at 3:30pm PT at the Parc 55 Wyndham in San Francisco. Mr. O’Donnell will discuss the Company’s lead product candidates, including NeoCart®, an autologous bioengineered neocartilage grown outside the body using the patient’s own cells for the regeneration of cartilage lesions and VeriCart™, a three-dimensional cartilage matrix to stimulate cartilage repair in a simple, one-step procedure. NeoCart recently entered a Phase 3 clinical trial and will be the subject of an oral presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), which is also taking place in San Francisco from February 7th-11th.

About Histogenics

Histogenics is a leading regenerative medicine company that combines cell therapy and tissue engineering technologies to develop highly innovative products for tissue repair and regeneration. In May of 2011, Histogenics acquired Israeli cell-therapy company Prochon BioTech. Histogenics’ flagship products focus on the treatment of active patients suffering from articular cartilage derived pain and immobility. The Company takes an interdisciplinary approach to engineering neocartilage that looks, acts and lasts like hyaline cartilage. It is developing new treatments for sports injuries and other orthopaedic conditions, where demand is growing for long-term alternatives to joint replacement. Histogenics has successfully completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials of its NeoCart autologous tissue implant and is currently in a Phase 3 IND clinical study. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, the company is privately held. For more information, visit http://www.histogenics.com.

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Histogenics Corporation to Present at Canaccord Genuity Musculoskeletal Conference

By McClatchy-Tribune

STAMFORD — Justin Wexler, 12, a seventh-grader at Scofield Magnet Middle School, is asking Stamford residents to "be a super hero on Super Bowl Sunday" by registering to be a bone marrow donor.

Justin is hosting a donor drive at the Jewish Community Center, at 1035 Newfield Ave., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday for his mitzvah project, a contribution to the community before his bar mitzvah.

"Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time to do this early in the day and get back home in time to watch the game," said Justin, who will be rooting for the Giants on Sunday.

The donor drive will take about six minutes for each participant from start to finish, he said, calmly spelling out the detailed process step-by-step as he sat at the head of his family’s dining room table Tuesday afternoon, his bright blue eyes shining.

"You walk into the JCC, and first you’ll come to a station and they’ll tell you the eligibility requirements ... then you fill out a basic registration form and go off to the swabbing station," he said. Each donor will then take a swab from the inside of their left and right cheek and wrap their samples up with their information.

"That’s it. It doesn’t take long," he said. "But think about what could come from it."

Justin came up with the idea for a bone marrow drive around Thanksgiving, as he and his mother reflected on his father’s experiences as a bone marrow donor for a woman in Long Island about two years ago. Justin’s grandfather also donated bone marrow before Justin was born. The idea that his family members were able to save others’ lives so easily stuck with him.

There are nearly 3 million potential donors registered with DKMS, the bone marrow donor center through which Justin will run his drive. But with a new diagnosis every four minutes, the donor reserves still aren’t enough; 60 percent of bone cancer patients never receive the transplants they need.

"It’s like finding a needle in a haystack," Justin said. His hope is that his drive will add 180 new names to that registry, and that someone will someday be a match for someone else in need. He chose the number 180 because it is a multiple of 18, a spiritual number in the Jewish faith that has strong ties to "life."

"It’s mitzvah, and trying to give someone else a life, so we thought 180 would be a good goal," he said. Continued...

While Justin said he is hoping to sign up scores of potential donors, he stressed that people should not register if they’re not absolutely certain they will be willing to go through with the transplant. He mentioned a boy around his age in Texas that he met around the holidays, who recently found a non-related donor for his second transplant after a transplant from his brother did not work as well as he and his doctors had anticipated.

"Imagine if they found him a match and then they said no," Justin said.

There are two ways to donate if a match is found. About 80 percent of the time, a donor’s blood is removed from one arm with a needle, blood stem cells are filtered out and the remaining blood is pumped back into the other arm. In the other method, marrow cells are collected from a donor using a special syringe.

The first option can often take two days, while the second takes about one or two hours in outpatient surgery. While flu-like side effects can occur for about 48 hours after the first option, donors usually experience some pain, bruising and stiffness for up to two weeks after the second option, according to DKMS.

"I think most people when they find out someone has cancer, they feel helpless, but this could be an opportunity to save someone’s life," said Justin’s mother, Robin Wexler.

Justin’s not old enough to swab his own cheeks for the cause — donors have to be between the ages of 18 and 55 — but he said he is glad to be helping by spreading the word.

"Maybe someone will show up on Sunday, someone who’s never even thought about doing this before, and maybe that person will be a match; maybe they’ll save a life," he said. "Imagine that."

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Stamford seventh-grader hosting bone marrow donor drive Super Bowl Sunday

23-11-2011 02:11 For instance, neural cells in the brain and spinal cord that have been damaged can be replaced by stem cells. In the treatment of cancer, cells partially damaged by radiation or chemotherapy can be replaced with new healthy stem cells that adapt to the affected area, whether it be part of the brain, heart, liver, lungs, or wherever. Dead cells of almost any kind, no matter the type of injury or disease, can be replaced with new healthy cells thanks to the amazing flexibility of stem cells.

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stem cell therapy mexico, Successfully Results - Video

Public release date: 2-Feb-2012
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Contact: Steve Yozwiak
syozwiak@tgen.org
602-343-8704
The Translational Genomics Research Institute

PHOENIX, Ariz. ? Feb. 2, 2012 ? Combination drug therapy may be needed to combat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Van Andel Research Institute (VARI).

The study, "STAT3 is Activated by JAK2 Independent of Key Oncogenic Driver Mutation in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma," was published online today, Feb. 2, 2012, by the Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE.

The study found that in NSCLC ? the most common form of lung cancer ? that the STAT3 gene is activated in some NSCLC cell lines by the JAK2 protein. This signaling can play a crucial role in tumor-cell behavior that may not be effectively inhibited by drugs that selectively target these mutations, the study concluded.

"This suggests that there may be a potential role for combination therapy, so you have a better chance of knocking out select NSCLC tumors driven by STAT3-JAK2, or keeping it at bay," said Dr. Glen Weiss, Co-Unit Head of TGen's Lung Cancer Research Laboratory and Director of Thoracic Oncology at Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center Clinical Trials at Scottsdale Healthcare, a partnership between TGen and Scottsdale Healthcare that treats cancer patients with promising new drugs.

The JAK2 protein can activate the gene called STAT3, part of a family of genes that provide instructions for making proteins that are part of the essential chemical signaling pathways that control growth and development in cells. STAT3 has been found to be overactive in cases of several types of cancer, including breast, prostate, pancreas, leukemia and lymphoma.

In laboratory tests involving seven NSCLC cell lines, the TGen-VARI study found that STAT3 was activated in some cell lines by JAK2, independent of key oncogenic, or potentially cancer-causing, genes.

"JAK2-STAT3 signaling plays crucial roles in tumor-cell behavior that may not be effectively inhibited by drugs that selectively target these mutations," said Dr. Jeff MacKeigan, Head of VARI's Laboratory of Systems Biology. VARI is TGen's affiliate in Grand Rapids, Mich.

This study, funded by a TGen-VARI integration grant, should benefit future lung cancer research because of the study's clinically annotated tissue microarray, MacKeigan said.

###

About Van Andel Institute

Established by Jay and Betty Van Andel in 1996, Van Andel Institute (VAI) is an independent research and educational organization based in Grand Rapids, Mich., dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding the frontiers of medical science, and to achieving excellence in education by probing fundamental issues of education and the learning process. Van Andel Education Institute (VAEI) is dedicated to strengthening science education and preparing and motivating individuals to pursue science or science-related professions. Van Andel Research Institute (VARI), the research arm of VAI, is dedicated to probing the genetic, cellular and molecular origins of cancer, Parkinson's and other diseases and working to translate those findings into effective therapies. This is accomplished through the work of over 200 researchers in 18 on-site laboratories and in collaborative partnerships that span the globe. VARI is affiliated with the Translational Genomics Research Institute, (TGen), of Phoenix, Arizona. For more information, visit: http://www.vai.org.

Media Contact:
Joe Gavan
Vice President, Communications and External Relations
(616) 234-5390
joe.gavan@vai.org

About TGen

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of translational research where investigators are able to unravel the genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. TGen is affiliated with the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For more information, visit: http://www.tgen.org.

Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
syozwiak@tgen.org

About The Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare

The Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare in Scottsdale, Ariz. offers comprehensive cancer care and research through Phase I clinical trials, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and support services in collaboration with leading scientific researchers and community oncologists. Scottsdale Healthcare is the nonprofit parent organization of the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare, Scottsdale Healthcare Research Institute, Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center and Scottsdale Healthcare Thompson Peak Hospital. For more information, visit http://www.shc.org.

Press Contact:
Keith Jones
Public Relations Director, Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center
480-323-1383
kjones@shc.org

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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Combination drug therapy urged to battle lung cancer

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* Shire (Stuttgart: A0MMAG - news) to pay $13 mln upfront, plus milestones

* Sangamo shares rise more than 25 percent (Adds analyst comment, share price)

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical company Shire said on Wednesday it would collaborate with Sangamo BioSciences (Hamburg: GBY.HM - news) to develop treatments for hemophilia and other inherited diseases based on Sangamo's gene regulation and modification technology.

The news, seen as a vote of confidence in Sangamo's experimental gene-disrupting technique, sent shares of the Richmond (NZSE: RHD.NZ - news) , California-based company up more than 25 percent.

Shire is buying the rights to the U.S. company's proprietary technology to target four genes, which the company said it hoped could lead to therapies for haemophilia A and B. Shire also acquired the right to designate three additional gene targets.

Sylvie Grégoire, president of Shire's Human Genetic Therapies business, said: "While still early in the clinical development process, this DNA-binding protein technology is aligned with our focus of developing new treatments."

The British company is paying Sangamo $13 million in an upfront payment, followed by development and commercial payments and royalties on product sales.

After the deal was announced, Piper Jaffray (Berlin: PJR.BE - news) upgraded Sangamo to "neutral" from "underweight," and raised its price target on the shares to $4 from $2.

Shares of Sangamo were up 92 cents at $4.37 in midday trading on Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^NDX - news) .

Genetic disease are an important therapeutic area for Shire, and the group has found success with drugs to treat the rare Gaucher's and Fabry's diseases. (Reporting by Paul Sandle and Deena Beasley. Editing by Gunna Dickson)

Read more from the original source:
UPDATE 2-Shire partners Sangamo in gene therapy for hemophilia

14-10-2011 11:58 Moving America Forward's Doug Llewelyn interviews Dr. Ed Park about the revolutionary technology of Telomerase Activation, which was the subject of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2009. Using natural nutraceuticals, telomerase can be safely activated, allowing stem cells to prevent and reverse aging's harmful effects. http://www.rechargebiomedical.com

See more here:
Moving America Forward with William Shatner honors Dr. Ed Park of Recharge Biomedical - Video

Morning After The Morning's Trash

In my last post, I focused on flaws in the medical device approval process. The Union of Concerned Scientists’ “FDA at a Crossroads” meeting also covered problems with drug approval. This is perhaps no better illustrated than by the disappointing decision by Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius’ to deny the emergency contraceptive, Plan B, over-the-counter status for women under the age of 17. This was a particular disappointment to many because President Obama had promised that decisions at the FDA would be made based on science, rather than politics. Some of us, naively, hoped that “change we can believe in” was real, having forgotten that the Tooth Fairy wasn’t.

Two of the speakers at the recent FDA at a Crossroads meeting were formerly at the FDA; both left because of political pressures. Dr. David Ross, was an FDA reviewer for Ketek (an antibiotic). In a Congressional hearing, Dr. Ross testified that he had been pressured to soften his findings about liver toxicity due to the drug and threatened by FDA Commissioner von Eschenbach, who said, “If you don’t follow the team, if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, the first time you’ll be spoken to, the second time you’ll be benched, and the third time, you’ll be traded,” according to Ross.

The other was Dr. Susan Wood, former assistant FDA commissioner for women’s health and director of the Office of Women’s Health, who resigned from the FDA after Plan B’s approval was initially denied.

The Tradition of Politics at the FDA

Before we delve into the specific discussion of Plan B, let’s look at the context of the politicization of the FDA, under the recent Bush administration in particular, which led to the characterization of the “broken FDA.” During that period access to healthcare information, health services, and medical research became limited by two growing trends: the infusion of increasingly restrictive religious doctrines and the implementation of ideology-driven—rather than scientific, evidence-based—public policies. Initially, access to science-based information was limited through censorship and even distortion in government sources (e.g., data regarding the efficacy of condoms in preventing HIV infections and STDs were removed from the CDC’s Web site). This neither helped reduce the teen birthrate nor STDs. They used the same misinformation tactic with the now discredited breast cancer-abortion link.

Ideologic shifts were also demonstrated by resource allocations. For example, HIV prevention programs at the CDC were reduced by $4 million while funding for abstinence-only programs rose from $20 million to $167 million, despite the lack of evidence of effectiveness, in contrast to the previous peer-review, scientific-merit-based process of NIH grant funding. No federal money is spent on comprehensive sex education. Even worse, since 1982, “Over $1 billion in government funding has been granted to abstinence-only programs…[which] are expressly forbidden from discussing contraception…and often contain factually inaccurate and distorted information. Those who design and operate these programs are often inexperienced, religiously-motivated and frequently have close ties to the anti-abortion movement.”

The trend away from evidence-based medicine affects healthcare practitioners in numerous areas, ranging from patient education and disturbingly eroding standards of medical care to selection of research topics, grant writing, and the research funding process. Upon her dismissal from the President’s Council on Bioethics in 2004 for disagreeing with the administration’s stance on stem cell research, Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, a prominent cancer researcher and one of only three full-time biomedical researchers on the council, wrote, “When prominent scientists must fear that descriptions of their research will be misrepresented and misused by their government to advance political ends, something is deeply wrong.” Among her many honors, incidentally, is the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

A brief history of the FDA commissioners and other key persons over the past 20 years illustrates politics at work in the FDA.

David Kessler (commissioner,1990–1997) took a great deal of heat for trying to have the FDA regulate tobacco products and for trying to gain approval for RU-486 (mifepristone).(He lost on both counts.) He was also notable for being appointed by President George H. W. Bush and retained by President Clinton.

Jane Henney (commissioner, 1998–2001), also appointed by Clinton, authorized FDA approval of RU-486. She was, not surprisingly, ousted when George W. Bush took office. She also tried to change business as usual by filling positions with career appointees rather than political ones, actively demonstrating her goal of “leading policy and making enforcement decisions based on science, not on political whims.”

An infamous nominee for chairing Bush’s FDA advisory panel on women’s health policy was Dr. W. David Hager, an obstetrician-gynecologist. He had helped prepare a “citizens’ petition” calling for the FDA to reverse its approval of RU-486. He was perhaps more widely known for his reported refusal to prescribe contraceptives to married women and as author of a book that “recommends specific Scripture readings and prayers for such ailments as headaches and premenstrual syndrome.” After the outcry of critics, he was not appointed chair of the advisory panel but did serve on it in 2002–2005, despite bipartisan opposition.

Mark McClellan (commissioner, 2002–2004) was an economist appointed by George W. Bush. McClellan reportedly had decided against approving Plan B for emergency contraception even before his staff completed its analysis.

Lester Crawford (commissioner, July–September 2005) was a veterinarian also appointed by George W. Bush. His term is perhaps best remembered for three features: the audacity of a veterinarian making decisions about women’s health and reproduction, his vehement opposition to Plan B’s approval, and the criminal charges against him for false reporting about holdings relevant to his appointment (that he and his wife owned stocks in food, beverage, and medical device companies that he was in charge of regulating). He got off with probation and a fine.

Susan F. Wood was another casualty of Crawford’s brief and divisive tenure at the FDA. As noted, she resigned because of the politicization of the agency—specifically, having the approval of Plan B emergency contraception denied, despite scientific evidence of the pill’s safety and recommendations from the FDA’s own advisory committee.

Andrew C. von Eschenbach (commissioner, 2005–2009) had been the head of the National Cancer Institute before being appointed as FDA commissioner. He was also tied to the decision of the FDA to deny emergency contraceptives over-the-counter status, despite the recommendation of the FDA’s advisory group and its own staff members, as well as that of many medical organizations.17 The FDA had followed advisory committee recommendations in every other case in the past decade. He is also known for reportedly threatening FDA reviewers who disagreed with him. Von Eschenbach’s ideologic, rather than evidence- based, decisions were so egregious that on March 23, 2009, the U.S. District Court (Tummino v. Torti) ordered the FDA to reconsider its decision blocking access to Plan B. It also ordered the FDA to act within 30 days to extend over-the-counter access to 17-year-olds. The court’s conclusions about the FDA’s behavior were damning.

The FDA’s ability to function and its reputation have been seriously hurt in the past decade. In a 2006 survey of FDA scientists, about 18 percent responded that they had been asked to exclude or alter information or their report’s conclusions for nonscientific reasons. A further 60 percent were aware of cases where industry “inappropriately induced or attempted to induce the reversal, withdrawal or modification of FDA determinations or actions.” One-fifth (20 percent) said they had been “asked explicitly by FDA decision makers to provide incomplete, inaccurate or misleading information to the public, regulated industry, media, or elected/senior government officials.” Lest you think this survey was markedly biased, even Senator Chuck Grassley, a staunch Republican, commented on the survey report, “The responses of these scientists reinforce the findings of the independent Government Accountability Office, which said the process for reviewing drugs on the market is deeply flawed.”

As a result of the politicization, the FDA staff has reportedly become greatly demoralized, interfering with its ability to function and protect the public. FDA whistle-blowers have testified that the agency considers the drug companies its clients, and its decision-making furthers the interests of those clients.

Many experienced and valuable clinicians have left the agency, leaving a void. Equally importantly, the FDA has lost considerable respect and authority in the eyes of both the public and important members of Congress.

From 2001 to 2009, the most obvious politicization at the FDA was related to women’s health issues, and especially access to contraception.

In March 2009, President Obama issued a memorandum on scientific integrity. A further encouraging sign of change was the May 2009 appointment of two well-respected physicians to lead the FDA, Drs. Margaret Hamburg and Joshua Sharfstein. Dr. Sharfstein has since left. Dr. Hamburg, the opening speaker at the UCS conference, noted that it was imperative to build trust in FDA’s integrity, and that it is science-based. Dr. Hamburg concluded that “I agree with the Center [for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)] that there is adequate and reasonable, well-supported, and science-based evidence that Plan B One-Step is safe and effective and should be approved for nonprescription use for all females of child-bearing potential.”

Unfortunately, Dr. Hamburg—and all women—just had the rug pulled out from them by Sebelius’ overtly political, evidence-be-damned stance.

Plan B Perspective

The irrational decision to overrule the recommendation of numerous experts appears based on the idea that young girls would be buying the pill without parental consent, and that such girls could not do so safely. They ignore that kids can readily buy Tylenol, which has significant liver toxicity and is often a component of deadly drug overdoses. Plan B is far safer—and also unlikely to be used routinely because, at ~$50, it is relatively expensive.

Even the conservative American Academy of Pediatrics urged approval of the morning-after pill for young teens, recognizing Plan B as being a safer alternative to abortions or unwanted pregnancies.

Plan B has the same hormone found in birth control pills, progestin, but in a larger dose. It works primarily by preventing ovulation. In contrast, mifepristone, or RU-486, is used to induce a medical abortion in a process similar to a miscarriage.

What were the arguments against Plan B this time? President Obama expressed his concern as a parent, that his daughters must not have access to such a medicine without adult guidance. His personal preferences are not “evidence-based science”. And he is deluding himself. We can guide our children, but we cannot control their behavior. My hope has been to educate my kids and offer them counsel knowing that, for better or worse, they will make many mistakes along the way. Prevention of pregnancy through ready access to contraceptives is far safer than an abortion or unwanted pregnancy. . .which may doom a teen to a lifetime of poverty and misery. There is a superb cartoon capturing the debate, Matt Davies,’ “Which of these responsibilities is a 15 year old too young to be handed?”—a screaming baby or Plan B pill.

Even the digital world seems to be biased, as now even Siri is getting into the act. Siri conveniently can direct you where to buy Viagra, but feigns ignorance when asked to direct to a reproductive health center offering abortion counseling or services.

The Plan B Decision has been characterized as “Sacrificing ‘Change We Can Believe In’ for Expediency?” “Only half of the nation’s teen moms ever earn a diploma; more than half go on welfare; and more than half of the families started by teens live in poverty.” The Ft. Wayne paper has it right stating, “Plan B politics ignore human toll.” I have never understood how many conservatives can demand censorship, restriction of contraceptives, and control of women’s bodies, all in the name of being “pro-life.” Fetal rights trump a woman’s…but then these people take no responsibility for the care, feeding, and education of these unwanted children. The sanctity of life ends at the womb. A life sentence is a huge price for a moment’s mistake.

Mechai Viravaidya

Even Thailand, which many US citizens likely would (erroneously) consider to be a third-world country, is more enlightened in some health-related ways. For example, Mechai Viravaidya, a former Thai senator and founder of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), and enormously successful family planning NGO, made a brilliant educational campaign focused on reducing both the birthrate and the AIDS epidemic, by making sex education fun and promoting condoms to be as readily available as cabbages. He even has a restaurant and resort known as “Cabbages and Condoms.” It was a wonderful place to visit. (insert pic)

So why did Obama and Sebelius kill OTC Plan B—the first time that the Health and Human Services Commission has ever overruled the FDA? Only two reasons come to mind. The first is that Obama is overtly campaigning for the conservative vote. The second is similar, but a bit less overt—that OTC Plan B was sacrificed to take a firmer stance on having contraceptive coverage as part of all insurance plans.

And Plan B’s got it right, too, in their ad: “I chose a condom but it broke. Now I Have A Second Chance.”

Why don’t the politicians get it?

~~~

Images: Morning After The Morning’s Trash, from waltarrrrr on Flickr; pictures of condom bouqets and t-shirt by the author; Mechai Viravaidya holding a t-shirt, from Gates Foundation on Flickr;

Previously in this series:

Molecules to Medicine: Clinical Trials for Beginners
Molecules to Medicine: From Test-Tube to Medicine Chest
Lilly’s Shocker, or the Post-Marketing Blues
Molecules to Medicine: Pharma Trumps HIPAA?
Molecules to Medicine: Should pepper spray be put on (clinical) trial?
Molecules to Medicine: FDA at a Crossroads—a Tough Place to Be

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Molecules to Medicine: Plan B: The Tradition of Politics at the FDA

23-11-2011 02:11 For instance, neural cells in the brain and spinal cord that have been damaged can be replaced by stem cells. In the treatment of cancer, cells partially damaged by radiation or chemotherapy can be replaced with new healthy stem cells that adapt to the affected area, whether it be part of the brain, heart, liver, lungs, or wherever. Dead cells of almost any kind, no matter the type of injury or disease, can be replaced with new healthy cells thanks to the amazing flexibility of stem cells.

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stem cell therapy mexico, Successfully Results - Video

18-01-2012 12:44 http://www.ucsf.edu Dogs with spinal cord injuries may soon benefit from an experimental drug being tested by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Texas A

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Saving Dogs with Spinal Cord Injuries - No Audio - Video

2 February 2012 Last updated at 08:31 ET

More than 100 police officers in Cornwall have signed up to become bone marrow donors.

Insp Dave Meredith, of Devon and Cornwall Police, had appealed to staff to register for the medical procedure.

So far, 110 officers in Cornwall have signed up to the register in three weeks, with a call to Devon officers due to follow.

Insp Meridith said: "I'm very impressed but I think this reflects on the goodwill of the officers and staff."

'Saving someone's life'

Insp Meredith said he decided to encourage registration after the donation method changed.

Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

The bigger the pool, the bigger the chance”

End Quote Karen Archer Anthony Nolan charity

Donors register by providing a sample of saliva, and then 80% of those asked to donate, do so by giving blood, from which their stem cells are retrieved.

Insp Meredith said: "In light of those changes I thought I've really got to take one step forward.

"People were a little apprehensive at first but once they thought about it and realised the implication and that they were potentially saving someone's life they readily agreed."

Simon Wilcock, an officer in Newquay who had Hodgkin's Lymphoma ten years ago, said: "I was on chemotherapy at the time and it had worked to a point.

"But it had got to the stage where without a transplant there's no doubt that in a few months I probably wouldn't have survived."

The appeal to the force was issued three weeks ago with the volunteers required to be aged between 18 and 40, although those on the register remain on it until they turn 60.

Karen Archer from the charity, Anthony Nolan, said: "It takes one person to save a life so if we've got 110 people joining the register then that's amazing news.

"People can be waiting years for that one right person to join the register, but there are 1000s of people waiting at any one time.

"The bigger the pool, the bigger the chance."

The rest is here:
Police officers offer bone marrow

NEW YORK & PETACH TIKVAH, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB: BCLI.OB - News), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, announced today that the prestigious Experimental Neurology Journal, published an article indicating that preclinical studies using cells that underwent treatment with Brainstorm’s NurOwn™ technology show promise in an animal model of Huntington’s disease. The article was published by leading scientists including Professor Melamed and Professor Offen of the Tel Aviv University.

In these studies, bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells secreting neurotrophic factors (MSC-NTF), from patients with Huntington’s disease, were transplanted into the animal model of this disease and showed therapeutic improvement.

“The findings from this study demonstrate that stem cells derived from patients with a neurodegenerative disease, which are processed using BrainStorm’s NurOwn™ technology, may alleviate neurotoxic signs, in a similar way to cells derived from healthy donors. This is an important development for the company, as it confirms that autologous transplantation may be beneficial for such additional therapeutic indications,” said Dr. Adrian Harel, BrainStorm’s CEO.

"These findings provide support once again that BrainStorm’s MSC-NTF secreting cells have the potential to become a platform that in the future will provide treatment for various neuro-degenerative diseases," says Chaim Lebovits, President of BrainStorm. "This study follows previously published pre-clinical studies that demonstrated improvement in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and neural damage such as optic nerve transection and sciatic nerve injury. Therefore, BrainStorm will consider focusing on a new indication in the near future, in addition to the ongoing Clinical Trials in ALS.”

BrainStrom is currently conducting a Phase I/II Human Clinical Trial for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease at the Hadassah Medical center. Initial results from the clinical trial (which is designed mainly to test the safety of the treatment), that were announced last week, have shown that the Brainstorm’s NurOwn™ therapy is safe and does not show any significant treatment-related adverse events and have also shown certain signs of beneficial clinical effects.

To read the Article entitled ‘Mesenchymal stem cells induced to secrete neurotrophic factors attenuate quinolinic acid toxicity: A potential therapy for Huntington's disease’ by Sadan et al. please go to:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014488612000295

About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Inc.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is a biotech company developing adult stem cell therapeutic products, derived from autologous (self) bone marrow cells, for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Ltd., holds rights to develop and commercialize the technology through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd., the technology transfer company of Tel-Aviv University. The technology is currently in a Phase I/II clinical trials for ALS in Israel.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute "forward-looking statements" and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.'s actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, inter alia, regarding safety and efficacy in its human clinical trials and thereafter; the Company's ability to progress any product candidates in pre-clinical or clinical trials; the scope, rate and progress of its pre-clinical trials and other research and development activities; the scope, rate and progress of clinical trials we commence; clinical trial results; safety and efficacy of the product even if the data from pre-clinical or clinical trials is positive; uncertainties relating to clinical trials; risks relating to the commercialization, if any, of our proposed product candidates; dependence on the efforts of third parties; failure by us to secure and maintain relationships with collaborators; dependence on intellectual property; competition for clinical resources and patient enrollment from drug candidates in development by other companies with greater resources and visibility, and risks that we may lack the financial resources and access to capital to fund our operations. The potential risks and uncertainties include risks associated with BrainStorm's limited operating history, history of losses; minimal working capital, dependence on its license to Ramot's technology; ability to adequately protect its technology; dependence on key executives and on its scientific consultants; ability to obtain required regulatory approvals; and other factors detailed in BrainStorm's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q available at http://www.sec.gov. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made by us.

Read the original post:
Experimental Neurology Journal: BrainStorm's NurOwn™ Stem Cell Technology Shows Promise for Treating Huntington's ...

By Maureen Salamon
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Treating stroke patients with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow appears to safely help them regain some of their lost abilities, two small new studies suggest.

Indian researchers observed mixed results in the extent of stroke patients' improvements, with one study showing marked gains in daily activities, such as feeding, dressing and movement, and the other study noting these improvements to be statistically insignificant. But patients seemed to safely tolerate the treatments in both experiments with no ill effects, study authors said.

"The results are encouraging to know but we need a larger, randomized study for more definitive conclusions," said Dr. Rohit Bhatia, a professor of neurology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, and author of one of the studies. "Many questions -- like timing of transplantation, type of cells, mode of transplantation, dosage [and] long-term safety -- need answers before it can be taken from bench to bedside."

The studies are scheduled to be presented Wednesday and Thursday at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting in New Orleans.

Stem cells -- unspecialized cells from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood or human embryos that can change into cells with specific functions -- have been explored as potential therapies for a host of diseases and conditions, including cancer and strokes.

In one of the current studies, 120 moderately affected stroke patients ranging from 18 to 75 years old were split into two groups, with half infused intravenously with stem cells harvested from their hip bones and half serving as controls. About 73 percent of the stem cell group achieved "assisted independence" after six months, compared with 61 percent of the control group, but the difference wasn't considered statistically significant.

In the other study, presented by Bhatia, 40 patients whose stroke occurred between three and 12 months prior were also split into two groups, with half receiving stem cells, which were dissolved in saline and infused over several hours. When compared to controls, stroke patients receiving stem cell therapy showed statistically significant improvements in feeding, dressing and mobility, according to the study. On functional MRI scans, the stem cell recipients also demonstrated an increase in brain activity in regions that control movement planning and motor function.

Neither study yielded adverse effects on patients, which could include tumor development.

But Dr. Matthew Fink, chief of the division of stroke and critical care neurology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, said that the therapy's safety is the only thing the two studies seemed to demonstrate.

"The thing to keep in mind is that these are really phase one trials," said Fink, also a professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College. "I'm concerned that people get the idea that now stem cell treatment is available for stroke, and that's not the case."

Fink noted that the cells taken from study participants' hip bones can only be characterized as "bone marrow aspirates" since the authors didn't prove that actual stem cells were extracted.

"They haven't really analyzed if they're stem cells and what they turn into when they go into circulation," he added. "The best way to look at this is, it's very preliminary . . . when patients come to me to talk about it, I'm going to tell them it's years away before we know if this is going to work."

Studies presented at scientific conferences should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more information on stem cells.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Continued here:
Stem cell therapy shows promise for stroke

SAN FRANCISCO, CA ( Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Stem cells, they could hold the key to the treatment and cure of more than 70 major diseases and conditions. A science  lab is taking stem cell technology another step into the future.

From broken hearts.

"One artery was completely blocked," Elmer Goodman, a heart disease patient, told Ivanhoe.

To severed spines.

"It was just like somebody took a tarp from the bottom of my neck and just peeled it back and took all the feeling from me," John Miksa, who is paralyzed, said.

To damaged brains.

"I was going to be drooling on a bib, in a wheelchair for the rest of my life," Erwin Velbis, a stroke survivor, said.

The answer to heal them all may be found inside a lab.

"We had a major breakthrough," Deepak Srivastava, M.D., from the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, said.

Doctor Deepak Srivastava and doctor Sheng Ding are two of the many  minds at Gladstone Institute using not adult stem cells or embryonic stem cells, but your own skin cells to repair bodies from the inside out.

"It means in the future one might be able to create new heart cells, new lung cells, new spinal cord cells, starting with your own cells from your skin," Dr. Srivastava said.

Doctor Srivastava is taking adult skin cells, and turning them into beating heart cells.  It's called direct reprogramming.

"We've been able to create a beating heart cells that used to be on someone's skinwhich is really like science fiction," Dr. Srivastava said.

The same approach could be used to repair spinal cord injuries and practically any other part of the body.

"We've been working on new methods that can convert cells from the skin to brain cells," Sheng Ding, Ph.D., at the Gladstone institute, said.

Doctor Ding has transformed the adult skin cells into neurons that are capable of transmitting brain signals. They hope this could reverse the effects of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and stroke.

"It's the ultimate in personalized medicine," Dr. Srivastava said.

Doctors say because they're using a patient's own skin cells, there's little to no chance of rejection. These skin cells could also be used to test new drugs and each patient's possible response to those drugs.  Allowing doctors to better personalize medicine. MORE

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Skin Cells as Stem Cells! Medicine's Next Big Thing