Archive for the ‘Bone Marrow Stem Cells’ Category

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) --

It's something Jon Galvan experienced five years ago after he almost died from a hemorrhagic stroke while atSubmit work.

"I was typing away and I felt a pop in my head," Galvan told Ivanhoe.

He was able to recover, but Abba Zubair, MD, PhD, Medical Director of Transfusion Medicine and Stem Cell Therapy at Mayo Clinic, Florida says not everyone is as fortunate.

"If it happens, you either recover completely or die," Dr. Zubair told Ivanhoe. "That's what killed my mother."

SubmitDr. Zubair wants to send bone marrow derived stem cells to the international space station.

"Based on our experience with bone marrow transplant you need about 200 to 500 million cells," Dr. Zubair said.

But conventionally grown stem cells take a month. Experiments on earth have shown that stem cells will grow faster in less gravity.

"Five to ten times faster, but it could be more," Dr. Zubair said.

Specifically he hopes to expand the number of stem cells that will help regeneration of neurons and blood vessels in hemorrhagic stroke patients.

The rest is here:
Growing Stem Cells in Space: Medicine's Next Big Thing?

When patients have to undergo a bone marrow transplant, the procedure weakens their immune system. Viruses that are usually kept in check in a healthy immune system may then cause potentially fatal infections. Scientists at Technische Universitt Mnchen (TUM), together with colleagues from Frankfurt, Wrzburg and Gttingen, have now developed a method which could offer patients conservative protection against such infections after a transplant. The method has already been used to treat several patients successfully.

The cells of the human immune system are created from special stem cells in the bone marrow. In diseases affecting the bone marrow, such as leukemia, the degenerate cells must be destroyed using radiation or chemotherapy. Subsequently, the hematopoietic system has to be replaced with stem cells from the blood of a healthy donor. Because of the resulting temporary weakening of the immune system, patients are more exposed to viruses that would normally be warded off.

The cytomegalovirus (CMV), which can cause serious damage to lungs or liver in persons with a weakened defense, poses a major clinical problem. In healthy human beings, a CMV infection will usually not produce any symptoms, since the virus is kept at bay by specific immune cells. In their work, the scientists were able to demonstrate that the transfer of just a few specific immune cells is sufficient to protect the recipient with the weakened immune system against infections. To do this, they used T cells that can recognize and kill specific pathogens.

Tested in an animal model

Dr. Christian Stemberger, first author of the study, and his colleagues, first isolated T cells from the blood of healthy donor mice. These immune cells were directed against molecular elements of a bacterial species which normally causes severe infections in animals. The T cells were then transferred to recipient mice that, due to a genetic modification, could no longer produce immune cells of their own -- similarly to patients suffering from leukemia.

Following the T cell transfer, the researchers infected the treated recipient mice with the bacteria. The results showed that the animals now have effective immune protection against the pathogens, preventing them from becoming ill. "The most astonishing result was that the offspring cells of just one transferred donor cell were enough to completely protect the animals," Christian Stemberger explains.

Successfully used in patients

Finally, the scientists used virus-specific T cells to treat two critically ill patients. Due to a congenital immunodeficiency and leukemia, respectively, stem cell transplants had to be performed on the two patients. Weakened by the procedure, both patients developed CMV infections.

Using a new method, the scientists therefore isolated T cells specifically programmed to target the CMV virus from the blood of the donor and transferred small numbers of these cells to the patients. After only a few weeks, the virus-specific cells proliferated. At the same time, the number of viruses in the blood dropped. "It is a great advantage that even just a few cells can provide protection. This means that the cells can be used for preventive treatment in low doses that are gentler on the organism," Dr. Michael Neuenhahn, last author of the study, explains.

The potential of the identified T cells will now be examined in a clinical study. In addition to an innovative method for cell purification, scientists also have at their disposal a new TUM facility for the sterile manufacture of cell products. In TUMCells, cells can be produced in highly-pure conditions, in so-called clean rooms. In the future, the scientists want to use recent results and TUMCells to develop innovative cell therapies.

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Promising T cell therapy to protect from infections after transplant

June 17, 2014

Image Caption: ImStem Biotechnologys Xiaofang Wang, seated, and Ren-He Xu. Credit: Tina Encarnacion/UConn

University of Connecticut

Scientists in the University of Connecticuts Technology Incubation Program have identified a novel approach to treating multiple sclerosis (MS) using human embryonic stem cells, offering a promising new therapy for more than 2.3 million people suffering from the debilitating disease.

The researchers demonstrated that the embryonic stem cell therapy significantly reduced MS disease severity in animal models, and offered better treatment results than stem cells derived from human adult bone marrow.

The study was led by ImStem Biotechnology Inc. of Farmington, Conn., in conjunction with UConn Health Professor Joel Pachter, Assistant Professor Stephen Crocker, and Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) Inc. of Massachusetts. ImStem was founded in 2012 by UConn doctors Xiaofang Wang and Ren-He Xu, along with Yale University doctor Xinghua Pan and investor Michael Men.

The cutting-edge work by ImStem, our first spinoff company, demonstrates the success of Connecticuts Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine funding program in moving stem cells from bench to bedside, says Professor Marc Lalande, director of the UConns Stem Cell Institute.

The research was supported by a $1.13 million group grant from the state of Connecticuts Stem Cell Research Program that was awarded to ImStem and Professor Pachters lab.

Connecticuts investment in stem cells, especially human embryonic stem cells, continues to position our state as a leader in biomedical research, says Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. This new study moves us one step closer to a stem cell-based clinical product that could improve peoples lives.

The researchers compared eight lines of adult bone marrow stem cells to four lines of human embryonic stem cells. All of the bone marrow-related stem cells expressed high levels of a protein molecule called a cytokine that stimulates autoimmunity and can worsen the disease. All of the human embryonic stem cell-related lines expressed little of the inflammatory cytokine.

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Embryonic Stem Cells Offer Promising Treatment For Multiple Sclerosis

It's possible to alter genetic material of stem cells to provide HIV resistance A DNA sequence can be removed from the cells and replaced with another The replacements can be taken from people with natural HIV resistance These altered stem cells can then be used to create HIV-resistant white blood cells

By Emma Innes

Published: 07:57 EST, 11 June 2014 | Updated: 12:03 EST, 11 June 2014

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HIV could be cured by genetically editing stem cells, researchers believe.

U.S. scientists say they have already demonstrated that it is possible to alter the genetic material of some stem cells.

This in turn provides HIV resistance, they report.

A new 'genome editing' technique could be the key to curing HIV. Image shows HIV in human tissue

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Could 'editing' genes be the key to curing HIV? Giving patients altered blood cells could make them resistant to the ...

By Ian Dipple Wednesday 18 June 2014 Updated: 18/06 11:28

REDDITCH residents have been urged to join the bone marrow register to help the fight against blood cancer.

Anthony Nolan and Redditch MP Karen Lumley have joined forces for the appeal. For the first time the charity has mapped the bone marrow register across the UK by local area.

In Redditch there are more than 562 people willing to donate their stem cells or bone marrow to save the life of a stranger.

However it is well below the average of 796 per Parliamentary constituency and is ranked 467th out of 650.

Two thirds of UK patients in need of a transplant will not find a matching donor from their family. Anthony Nolan helps them find an unrelated donor but can currently only match half of all requests.

Mrs Lumley said: "I want to see many more of my constituents join this fight. Im hunting for more crusaders to sign up today, so we can fight blood cancer together. It is something truly heroic to give a stranger a second chance at life. This is why Im proud to champion this cause to my constituents."

Ann OLeary, head of register development at Anthony Nolan, added: "Donating is an incredibly selfless thing to do and will give someone with blood cancer their best chance at survival."

Anyone aged 16 to 30 and in good health can join the bone marrow register. It involves filling out a simple online form and spitting into a tube.

Visit http://www.anthonynolan.org/superhero for more information.

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MP calls for bone marrow champions

16.06.2014 - (idw) Universitt Basel

T cells use a novel mechanism to fight leukemia. They may recognize unique lipids produced by cancer cells and kill tumor cells expressing these lipid molecules. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Basel shows that a tumor-associated lipid stimulates specific T cells, which efficiently kill leukemia cells both in vitro and in animal models. The results have been published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Leukemias are cancer diseases affecting blood cells . Acute leukemias prevent development of normal bold cells and thereby are severe life-threatening diseases. Current therapy for acute leukemias is based on chemotherapy that eradicates tumor cells followed by bone-marrow stem cell transplantation that reconstitutes the patient with healthy blood cells. In some cases, leukemia cells survive this treatment and start to re-grow. A major aim of many studies is finding novel and efficient ways to detect and eradicate leukemia cells before a second outbreak of the disease.

More punch against tumor cells

T lymphocytes are major contributors to fight against leukemias. T cells may recognize and become activated by tumor-specific protein antigens in some instances produced in large amounts only by tumor cells. These protein antigens are also called tumor-associated antigens (TAA) and stimulate specific T cells, which in turn kill leukemia cells. However, protein TAA accumulation can be drastically reduced by variant leukemia cells and some TAA may change their structure, thus preventing recognition by T cells and facilitating tumor immune evasion.

Prof. Gennaro De Libero and his team from the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel has identified a new approach that might help to make the immune system more efficient in recognizing leukemia cells. His research team is studying T cells that specifically recognize lipid antigens since several years. Together with colleagues in Italy, China and Singapore, the Swiss team has identified a new lipid that accumulates in leukemia cells and that stimulates specific T cell responses. The new lipid methyl-lysophosphatidic acid (mLPA) is very abundant in several forms of human leukemias and is the first example of a lipid TAA.

The published study also shows that it is possible to isolate human T cells that specifically recognize and kill mLPA-expressing leukemia cells in in vitro tests. When these T cells were transplanted into mice, they also displayed great in vivo therapeutic efficacy against leukemia cells.

An important feature of mLPA is that differently from protein TAA, it does not change its structure, and remains abundant in leukemia cells. The Swiss team is now investigating, whether mLPA can be used to target leukemia cells in addition to protein TAA. This type of immunotherapy may be extremely beneficial in preventing relapses of the disease after chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. It opens new avenues to novel non-invasive cancer immunotherapies.

Original source Marco Lepore, Claudia de Lalla, S. Ramanjaneyulu Gundimeda, Heiko Gsellinger, Michela Consonni, Claudio Garavaglia, Sebastiano Sansano, Francesco Piccolo, Andrea Scelfo, Daniel Hussinger, Daniela Montagna, Franco Locatelli, Chiara Bonini, Attilio Bondanza, Alessandra Forcina, Zhiyuan Li, Guanghui Ni, Fabio Ciceri, Paul Jen, Chengfeng Xia, Lucia Mori, Paolo Dellabona, Giulia Casorati, and Gennaro De Libero

Further information Prof. Gennaro De Libero, University of Basel, Department of Biomedicine, phone: +41 61 265 23 65, email: gennaro.delibero@unibas.ch Dr. Lucia Mori, University of Basel, Department of Biomedicine, phone: +41 61 265 23 27, email: lucia.mori@unibas.ch Weitere Informationen:http://www.jem.org/cgi/doi/10.1084/jem.20140410 - Abstract

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Lipids Help to Fight Leukemia

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BOSTON (CBS) Behaylu Barry is on the mend at home in Stratham, New Hampshire, after 34 days at Boston Childrens Hospital.

Behaylu, 13, received a bone marrow transplant in an effort to rebuild his immune system, compromised by a rare blood disorder.

I didnt feel like I had anything at all until I started doing something, said Behaylu of his aplastic anemia, diagnosed in February.

The star athlete scored seven goals in a January soccer game but a week later, felt exhausted and out of breath. Nose bleeds and infected cuts led his parents to believe something was seriously wrong. When doctors told Midori and Aidan Barry that Behaylu would need a bone marrow transplant, it was terrifying to hear.

The reality is we havent had time to think about it. Youre a parent. You go into campaign mode, said Aidan. That campaign lead the Barrys back to a village in Ethiopia where they first met Behaylu in 2007. Then 6-years-old, his biological parents couldnt afford to care for Behaylu so they put him up for adoption. Though the Barrys had three grown children of their own, they brought Behaylu home and eventually began assisting his other siblings still in Africa.

We thought we were helping them. We never thought theyd help us, said Aidan of the familys quick response to the Barrys request for cheek swabs, in an attempt to find a bone marrow donor for Behaylu. Two of his five siblings were perfect matches. Rediat, 16, and Eden, 10, quickly came to the United States.

The trio had two weeks to reconnect, even attending a New England Revolution game when the team was gracious enough to donate box seats. Behaylus compromised immune system makes it dangerous for him to be exposed to crowds.

During the visit, doctors decided Rediat should be the bone marrow donor. The two brothers underwent the painful procedure in May. Behaylu also received chemotherapy. Now his body is building a new immune system with the help of stem cells from Rediat.

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NH Teen In Recovery After International Search For Bone Marrow Donor

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 cord blood from multiple donors. They've found this increases the number of stem cells and provides faster recovery. Amanda's transfusion was from a baby whose mother donated six years earlier. The procedure completely cured her cancer and blood disorder.

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Cord blood infusion saves woman's life

When she was 18 months old, Maddie Weimer broke out in red spots all over her belly and back.

We werent really worried, said Maddies mom, Stacey Weimer, a 29-year-old bank teller supervisor who lives in Phoenix. She had never been sick and had no sign of illness.

Still, Weimer took Maddie to the doctor to be sure. Blood tests revealed that her platelet and neutrophil counts were low, but doctors at Phoenix Childrens Hospital ruled out leukemia.

A huge weight was lifted off shoulders, said Weimer. But that was short-lived.

Weeks later in April 2012, additional blood tests and a biopsy led to a frightening diagnosis -- Maddie had myelodysplastic syndrome or MDS, the same rare blood disorder that struck ABCs Robin Roberts.

MDS, which can lead to leukemia, is even rarer in children, according to the American Cancer Society.

Weimer was told the only option for Maddies survival was a bone marrow transplant, she said. But unlike Roberts, whose sister Sally-Ann was a perfect match, Maddie had no siblings and none of her relatives were compatible.

Robin Roberts' Journey: Inside Her Courageous Fight Against MDS

Why is Bailey Personette a hometown hero?

Now 3 years old, Maddie is in remission thanks to Bailey Personette, who in 2011 volunteered to be a bone marrow donor at a fair held at Purdue University in Indiana.

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Toddler Meets Life-Saving Bone Marrow Donor

A deep dive analysis of erythropoietin market
Erythropoietin is a glycoprotein hormone produced in the kidney that stimulates the production of red blood cells by bone marrow stem cells. http://www.bigma...

By: Big Market Research

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A deep dive analysis of erythropoietin market - Video

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Thursday 12 Jun 2014 11:35 AM

Written byJORDAN DAY

Leukaemia survivor, Bill Evans, pictured with his family.

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A grandfather whose life was saved by an anonymous bone marrow donor is urging others to consider donating theirs.

It was in January 2008 that Bill Evans was diagnosed with Leukaemia, aged 62, at Addenbrookes Hospital.

But thanks to the blood cancer charity, Anthony Nolan, and a generous man who still to this day Bill does not know, the father-of-two and grandfather-of-four was able to fight the cancer.

Bill, now aged 69 and who lives in Ely, said: Last weekend I celebrated my five years post transplant. There are no words to express my gratitude.

Because of Anthony Nolan and the wonderful man who donated his stem cells to me, Ive been able to see my four lovely grandchildren growing up, my wife and I have celebrated our Ruby wedding anniversary and next year I will be 70.

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Leukaemia survivor Bill Evans urges more people to donate bone marrow

More people in the capital have signed up to donate their stem cells than residents in any other part of Britain - d espite Londoners having an unfriendly reputation .

Blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan has mapped its bone marrow register for the first time, showing the proportion of people in each region who are signed up to the bone marrow register.

The charity said that more than 80,000 people in the capital are now signed up to the register - 0.97% of London's population.

A spokeswoman said that other "selfless hotspots" are the East Midlands, where 0.91% of the population has signed up, Scotland where 0.89% of people are on the register and in the south east where 0.87% of people have pledged to donate their stem cells.

Places with the lowest rates of sign-ups are the West Midlands and the south west, where just 0.66% and 0.65% of people, respectively, have signed up to the register.

The register was set up 40 years ago to help find lifesaving matches for people with blood cancer who desperately need a stem cell, or bone marrow, transplant.

Ann O'Leary, head of register development at Anthony Nolan, said: "Donating stem cells to save the life of a stranger is a remarkably selfless act so it's great to see so many Londoners challenging the city's stereotype and signing up to our register.

"Two thirds of patients will not find a matching donor from within their families; instead they turn to Anthony Nolan to find them an unrelated donor.

"Even though London has the highest proportion of donors of any region, it's still less than one per cent of the overall population of London, which shows us that we urgently need to recruit donors from all over the UK so we can give people with blood cancer the best possible hope of a cure."

Ms O'Leary added: "Mapping the register in this way will help us to target our efforts in order to grow the register and save more lives.

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UK & World

The company which has an annual turnover of 4m, pulls in 32pc of its revenue from the domestic market, 30pc from southern Europe, 28pc from the Middle East and Gulf and 10pc from Hong Kong.

As most NHS hospitals will not allow midwives to collect cord blood on the request of the parents, Smart Cells sends a phlebotomist to the labour ward to drain tissue after the baby is born, as the placenta comes away, and a courier then transports it back to the Smart Cells laboratory, via a temperature-controlled kit, where it is then frozen for up to 25 years. The process costs 2,500 per child.

When we first started there was a lot of controversy surrounding stem cell storage people felt it was a waste of time and we were scaremongering but 30,000 transplants have now been completed worldwide, he says.

Stored stem cells have been used in transplants to treat more than 70 different diseases including lymphoma, sickle-cell disease, and some metabolic disorders. Unlike marrow, which is obtained through a painful medical procedure and replenished by the body, this method of collection is simple and not directly from the child.

But access to this service can come down to one individual despite the mothers wishes. Most of the reasons why we are not allowed to collect full stop is based on the views of the head of department. For example at Princess Alexandra the head of midwifery was against cord blood collectiond via a private company, she moved to Queens Hospital in Romford and changed their policy too.

In certain hospitals, there is a stem cell collection procedure and public bank for ill children but this doesnt give the parents the choice to store for their own family.

In many cases such as leukaemia the stem cells of one healthy child can help save the life of his or her sibling. The health alert last week over babies who were poisoned in neonatal care units via nutritional drips, used to feed premature newborns, could also trigger a concern around external services and procurement. The contaminated batch killed one baby in Londons St Thomass.

In this case there was no liability on the part of the hospital and such a situation could have regretfully also occurred with something like outside catering, said Ahmed. But given the way the NHS do behave and at times get into panic, it may have a further impact on other companies being allowed in.

Smart Cells, which once stored blood for Darcey Bussell, the ballerina and Strictly Come Dancing judge, encountererd its fair share of setbacks with the global economic downturn.The science was popular in southern Europe until the eurozone crisis put in a dent in demand for its service.

The rise of the internet also bred more competition, with a series of digital-only services springing up. A handful of cowboy outfits sprang up but have fallen by the wayside, said Ahmed. And of course reputable organisations have set up in competition as well, such as Virgins Health Bank.

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A baby's gift that keeps giving

Ryan White, CTV Calgary Published Saturday, June 7, 2014 4:38PM MDT Last Updated Saturday, June 7, 2014 6:30PM MDT

Dozens of men stepped forward to offer their cheek cells for testing in the hope of assisting patients in need of stem cell or bone marrow transplants.

On Saturday, the Village Brewery offered beer tastings and tours to those who took part in the swab-a-thon.

The event was created by Steve Carpenter, the operator of a local micro-brewery, whose brother Al was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in November. Al, married and the father of two, was in desperate need of stem cell treatment and Canadian Blood Services was unable to locate a suitable match through its stem cell and bone marrow donor program.

Steve and his friends organized a swab-a-thon in the hopes of locating a suitable donor, and Jim Button, a childhood friend of Als and the owner of Village Brewery, offered the use of his brewery.

Miraculously, in the days before the swab-a-thon was to be held, a suitable stem cell match was located for Al and he underwent treatment in an Ottawa hospital. Doctors say Al is responding well to the treatment.

Despite the fact a donor had been located for his brother, Steve made the decision to continue with his plans for Saturdays event.

We are here to tell people it is a very easy program, said Steve. We really appreciate anybody coming out to sign up on registry, be it for my brother or any other people in need.

Mike Carron was the first volunteer to step up to register and offer up a saliva sample. He says he wanted to help the cause after stem cell treatment extended the life of a close family member.

I thought it would be good to pay it forward, explains Carron. I had an uncle who needed stem cell treatment three years ago and it gave him an extra three years.

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It takes a Village; local brewery hosts swab-a-thon

Human embryonic stem cells the bodys powerful master cells might be useful for treating multiple sclerosis, researchers reported Thursday.

A team has used cells taken from frozen human embryos and transformed them into a type of cell that scientists have hoped might help treat patients with MS, a debilitating nerve disease.

Mice with an induced version of MS that paralyzed them were able to walk freely after the treatment, the teams at Advanced Cell Technology and ImStem Biotechnology in Farmington, Connecticut, reported.

The cells appeared to travel to the damaged tissues in the mice, toning down the mistaken immune system response that strips the fatty protective layer off of nerve calls. Its that damage that causes symptoms ranging from tremors and loss of balance to blurry vision and paralysis.

These embryonic stem cells were carefully nurtured to make them form a type of immature cell called a mesenchymal stem cell. These cells worked better to treat the mice than naturally developed mesenchymal stem cells taken directly from bone marrow, the team wrote in the journal Stem Cell Reports, published by the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

The top mouse is paralyzed, while the mouse on the bottom was treated with human embryonic stem cells and is able to run around.

The company released a video to show the benefits. Untreated mice were suffering. They are paralyzed. They on their backs. They are dragging their limbs. They are in really sad shape, ACTs chief scientific officer, Dr. Bob Lanza, told NBC News.

Treated animals, they are walking and jumping around just like normal mice.

Lanza says human trials are many months away, but he thinks it will not be necessary to use controversial cloning technology to make perfectly matched human embryonic stem cells to treat patients.

We can use an off-the-shelf source and itll work for everyone, he said. So you can use them and not worry about rejection.

Link:
Stem cells work on MS in mice

REXBURG One Rexburg teen is uniting both the local community and university campus in the search for a bone marrow donor.

In February, 13-year-old Britton Pugh was diagnosed with rare primary T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. Britton is the only known pediatric case of this type of cancer in the country.

Brittons cancer, like leukemia, takes the form of a liquid, said Mark Pugh, Brittons father and faculty member of the chemistry department at Brigham Young University-Idaho.

Doctors believe the disease attacks the central nervous system in Brittons brain and spine.

Since February, Britton has undergone chemotherapy, which doctors believe has decreased the cancer and sent it into remission. Britton is also receiving radiation for the next couple weeks.

But to provide the best hope of a cure, doctors have suggested a bone marrow transplant.

The source could be coming from the bone marrow, thats why we need the transplant. Pugh said. For the highest percent of a cure, they want to do a bone marrow transplant to make sure (the cancer) doesnt come back.

Around the end of April, Pugh said the family first looked toward Brittons siblings for a possible match.

Pugh told the Standard Journal Friday that siblings have a 25 percent chance of being the right DNA match. Pugh had his sons tested through the routine cheek swab test, including a son serving an LDS mission in Spain.

A DNA match is determined by a simple test done by swabbing the inside of a donors cheek.

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No One Fights Alone

Human embryonic stem cells the bodys powerful master cells might be useful for treating multiple sclerosis, researchers reported Thursday.

A team has used cells taken from frozen human embryos and transformed them into a type of cell that scientists have hoped might help treat patients with MS, a debilitating nerve disease.

Mice with an induced version of MS that paralyzed them were able to walk freely after the treatment, the teams at Advanced Cell Technology and ImStem Biotechnology in Farmington, Connecticut, reported.

The cells appeared to travel to the damaged tissues in the mice, toning down the mistaken immune system response that strips the fatty protective layer off of nerve calls. Its that damage that causes symptoms ranging from tremors and loss of balance to blurry vision and paralysis.

These embryonic stem cells were carefully nurtured to make them form a type of immature cell called a mesenchymal stem cell. These cells worked better to treat the mice than naturally developed mesenchymal stem cells taken directly from bone marrow, the team wrote in the journal Stem Cell Reports, published by the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

The top mouse is paralyzed, while the mouse on the bottom was treated with human embryonic stem cells and is able to run around.

The company released a video to show the benefits. Untreated mice were suffering. They are paralyzed. They on their backs. They are dragging their limbs. They are in really sad shape, ACTs chief scientific officer, Dr. Bob Lanza, told NBC News.

Treated animals, they are walking and jumping around just like normal mice.

Lanza says human trials are many months away, but he thinks it will not be necessary to use controversial cloning technology to make perfectly matched human embryonic stem cells to treat patients.

We can use an off-the-shelf source and itll work for everyone, he said. So you can use them and not worry about rejection.

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Stem Cells Treat Multiple Sclerosis in Mice

A pre-clinical biotech startup that was awarded more than $1 million in state money last year said it has demonstrated that a certain type of abundant stem cells significantly reduce the severity of multiple sclerosis in mice.

Farmington's ImStem Biotechnology Inc., which is a member of UConn's technology incubator, said it worked with UConn Health Center scientists and Massachusetts company Advanced Cell Technology Inc. to determine that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from human embryonic stem cells are more effective at treating MS in mice than MSCs from the bone marrow of adult donors.

In fact, the researchers said they found unexpectedly that the use of adult bone marrow stem cells to treat MS is highly variable and may carry a previously unrecognized risk of poor outcome.

The work is published in the June 5 online edition of Stem Cell Reports.

ImStem is seeking approvals and investment for Phase 1 clinical trials.

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Farmington startup treats MS in mice with stem cells

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 marrow or stem cell donor, you can visit http://www.bethematch.org.

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Critical Need for Bone Marrow Donors

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5-Jun-2014

Contact: Robert Miranda cogcomm@aol.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair

Putnam Valley, NY. (June 5, 2014) Scientists in Taiwan have found that intravenous injections of stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous tooth pulp (SHED) have a protective effect against brain damage from heat stroke in mice. Their finding was safe and effective and so may be a candidate for successfully treating human patients by preventing the neurological damage caused by heat stroke.

The study is published in a future issue of Cell Transplantation and is currently freely available on-line as an unedited early e-pub at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-CT1100Tseng.

"Heat stroke deaths are increasing worldwide and heat stroke-induced brain injury is the third largest cause of mortality after cardiovascular disease and traumatic brain injury," said study lead author Dr. Ying-Chu Lin of the Kaohsiung Medical University School of Dentistry, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. "Heat stroke is characterized by hyperthermia, systemic inflammatory response, multiple organ failure and brain dysfunction."

To investigate the beneficial and potentially therapeutic effects afforded by the protective activities of self-renewing stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth, the scientists transplanted SHED into mice that had suffered experimental heat stroke.

According to the research team, these cells have "significantly higher proliferation rates" than stem cells from bone marrow and have the added advantages of being easy to harvest and express several growth factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and they can promote the migration and differentiation of neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs).

"We observed that the intravenous administration of SHED immediately post-heat stroke exhibited several therapeutic benefits," said Dr. Lin. "These included the inhibition of neurological deficits and a reduction in oxidative damage to the brain. We suspect that the protective effect of SHED may be related to a decreased inflammatory response, decreased oxidative stress and an increase in hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis activity following the heat stroke injury."

There are currently some drawbacks to the experimental therapy, said the researchers. First, there is a limited supply of SHED. Also, SHED transplantation has been associated with cancer and immune rejection.

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Future heat stroke treatment found in dental pulp stem cells

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Jun-2014

Contact: Robert Miranda cogcomm@aol.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair

Putnam Valley, NY. (June 5, 2014) A study by a Korean team of neuroscientists has concluded that when mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs; multipotent structural stem cells capable of differentiation into a variety of cell types) are transplanted into the brains of mice modeled with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the cells stimulate neural cell growth and repair in the hippocampus, a key brain area damaged by AD. The finding could lead to improved AD therapies.

The study will be published in a future issue of Cell Transplantation and is currently freely available on-line as an unedited early e-pub at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-CT1059Oh.

Neuroscientists know that Alzheimer's disease is caused by the presence of amyloid-B (AB) "plaques" and "tangles" in the brain's network of neurons. Recently, a protein signaling pathway called "Wnt" (Wingless-type mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) related integration site family) which plays a role in embryonic development as well as the development of some diseases, such as cancer, has been linked to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers speculate that an interruption in the Wnt pathway signaling process caused by the AB plaque buildup may have an impact on potential brain cell renewal processes, called neurogenesis. Evidence has indicated that the Wnt signaling pathway plays an important role in the pathogenesis of AD.

This study was carried out to determine if MSCs benefitted neurogenesis in the hippocampus by "modulating" the Wnt pathway in such a way that that the MSCs are able to differentiate into neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs) that could help rebuild the affected areas of the brain.

"Recent studies have shown that MSCs express various proteins related to the Wnt pathway," said study co-author Dr. Phil Hyu Lee, Department of Neurology, Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea. "It has also been determined that MSCs derived from bone marrow produce biologically active Wnt proteins that may counteract the negative influence of AB on neuronic activity."

The authors report that MSC treatment of AD in cellular and animal models significantly increased hippocampal neurogenesis and enhanced neuronal differentiation of NPCs.

"Our data suggest that the modulation of adult neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation to repair the damaged AD brain using MSCs could have a significant impact on future strategies for AD treatment," the researchers concluded.

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Stem cells found to play restorative role when affecting brain signaling process

A NEW method of helping bone marrow stem cells "mature" is pushing science closer to being able to treat brain injuries by creating specific cells capable of repairing damaged areas.

By modifying the surface of these cells and ensuring the proper environment, these otherwise easy-to-obtain marrow cells could drive brain regeneration.

Although this is only a small step forward, the hope is that these techniques could one day help treat those who have suffered brain damage, including those resulting from a stroke.

Nationally, there are 420,000 Australians living with the effects of stroke in Australia.

There are about 50,000 new and recurrent strokes each year, about 29,000 of those in Queensland and New South Wales.

National Stroke Foundation spokeswoman Professor Richard Linley said the research had the potential to help stroke patients, but was clearly in the very early stages of development.

Queensland University of Technology researcher Rachel Okolicsanyi said while the capability of these marrow stem cells has been understood for some time, this research into influencing how they mature could create techniques to convert them into brain or neural cells.

Ms Okolicsanyi, with supervisors Dr Larisa Haupt and Professor Lyn Griffiths , will now attempt to nail down a technique that will deliver routine results.

Ms Okolicsanyi's work was published in the journal Developmental Biology.

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New stem cell methods may help brain injuries

GOLTRY, Okla. Armed with stem cells, a Goltry area woman will be heading to Milwaukee next week to join in her brothers cancer fight.

Jeni Sumner was the only match among family members tested to donate stem cells to her younger brother, Ed Dee.

To me, Ive been given a gift. I know everybodys congratulating me and saying its a wonderful thing, and not taking it away from that, but I think Ive been given just a tremendous gift, Sumner said.

Along with helping her brother, Sumner is trying to encourage others to join the bone marrow donor registry.

I think a lot of people are afraid to join because they might get called, because they dont know what its like to be a donor, she said. I want more people to become aware of what its actually like to be a donor.

Sumner set up a Facebook page It Doesnt Hurt - To Save a Life to chronicle everything she will go through, as a donor, during the procedure.

Its an unknown for me, but its nothing compared to what my brothers going through, she said. I know the feeling that I got when I got the call from the doctor saying that I was his donor. The relief and the joy that I felt that our family doesnt have to look anymore. If anything happens, were covered because we have a donor, we have a match. The feeling that I got was incredible, she said.

Dee, of Milwaukee, Wis., was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia last year. Sumner said he went into remission last October.

Unfortunately, the cancer came back. This type of leukemia is a very dangerous and aggressive form. He, every couple of weeks, would go in for a blood test and this March he was informed that his leukemia had come back, she said. His doctors feel that a stem cell transplant would be the best for him, at this time.

Following the return of the cancer, Dee went through five days of rigorous chemotherapy to put him back into remission. He recently finished a lower dose session of chemo, Sumner said.

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Using stem cells, woman joins brothers cancer fight

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

3-Jun-2014

Contact: Sandra Hutchinson s3.hutchinson@qut.edu.au 61-731-389-449 Queensland University of Technology

A QUT scientist is hoping to unlock the potential of stem cells as a way of repairing neural damage to the brain.

Rachel Okolicsanyi, from the Genomics Research Centre at QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, said unlike other cells in the body which were able to divide and replicate, once most types of brain cells died, the damage was deemed irreversible.

Ms Okolicsanyi is manipulating adult stem cells from bone marrow to produce a population of cells that can be used to treat brain damage.

"My research is a step in proving that stem cells taken from the bone marrow can be manipulated into neural cells, or precursor cells that have the potential to replace, repair or treat brain damage," she said.

Ms Okolicsanyi's research has been published in Developmental Biology journal, and outlines the potential stem cells have for brain damage repair.

"What I am looking at is whether or not stem cells from the bone marrow have the potential to differentiate or mature into neural cells," she said.

"Neural cells are those cells from the brain that make everything from the structure of the brain itself, to all the connections that make movement, voice, hearing and sight possible."

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Unlocking the potential of stem cells to repair brain damage

Hundreds join bone marrow register at ACLT in memory of Kevin Kararwa

12:15pm Tuesday 3rd June 2014 in News By Louisa Clarence-Smith, Reporter

Hundreds of people have come forward to join the bone marrow register following the death of leukaemia patient Kevin Kararwa.

The 24-year-old business student launched the #KillLeukaemia4Kevin campaign to save others from the life-threatening cancer after doctors gave him two weeks to live.

ACLT co-founder Beverley De-Gale OBE explains how to join the bone marrow register

His final wishes were to raise 24,000 for the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) and inspire 2,400 people to join the bone marrow register - 100 for every year he lived.

Speaking from his hospital bed four days before his death, Mr Kararwa said: "Most people are not aware that ethnic minorities struggle to find bone marrow transplants.

"I would like to be the catalyst in creating awareness like never before."

To show solidarity to the campaign The Wimbledon Guardian's Nick Hitchens and Louisa Clarence-Smith visited the ACLT centre in Garnett Road, Croydon, to join the register.

Signing up simply involves filling out a form with personal details and taking a cheek swab sample.

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VIDEO: Hundreds join bone marrow register in memory of Kevin Kararwa