Archive for the ‘Skin Stem Cells’ Category

It doesnt take long for seemingly outlandish ideas to become normalized. Today, Stanford University professor Hank Greelys assertion that Americans will stop having sex to procreate sounds absurd. But in a couple of decades, he predicts, that will be the accepted reality.

Greely, director of Stanford Law Schools Center for Law and the Biosciences, believes that were 20 to 30 years away from a time when most American procreation will begin by selecting from a range of embryos created with the parents DNA in a lab. This already happens on a limited basis for disease prevention and occasionally sex selection, but he argues it will become far cheaper and widely available thanks to stem cell technology that will allow couples to make eggs and sperm out of stem cells from their skin.

Prospective parents will start by screening those embryos for genetic diseases such as Huntingtons, but quickly expand to other traits, he predicts. Perhaps theyll weed out the BRAC1 gene for breast cancer, predispositions for Alzheimers, or theyll be able to select cosmetic features such as hair and eye color, and even more complex traits such as intelligence.

I dont think were going to be able to say this embryo will get a 1550 on its two-part SAT, Greely said this week at Aspen Ideas Festival. But, this embryo has a 60% chance of being in the top half, this embryo has a 13% chance of being in the top 10%I think thats really possible.

And, though he recognizes that there are ethical issues, Greely views this scenario as far from dystopian. People say, How can we let this happen? I think we will, he said.

At times, he sounded flippant about the prospect. I think one of the hardest things about this will be all the divorces that come about when she wants embryo number 15 and he wants embryo number 64, he said. I think the decision making will be a real challenge for people. How do you weigh a slightly higher chance of diabetes with slightly lower risk of schizophrenia against better musical ability and a much lower risk of colon cancer? Good luck.

Greely brushed aside the concern that what hes describing meddles too much with nature. This is not designer babies or super babies, he said. This is selecting embryos. You take two people, all you can get out of a baby is what those two people have.

There are already concerns that CRISPR, the tool that scientists use to edit DNA, will be put to use to create perfect embryos. But Greely dismisses this as unlikely. He argues that the embryo selection process will simply begin as an infertility treatment before expanding. People, particularly where I live in Silicon Valley, will want to do it to get their perfect egg, he added.

Greely acknowledges that ethical issues will likely arise around safety, coercion, fairness, and family structure, but does not see any of these as obstacles that will halt the development of this practice.

And what of a world where the elites have perfectly selected children while those less well off are left to deal with the diseases and imperfections that no longer affect the wealthy? Greely has the answer: The whole thing will be free. The parents wont be charged.

The key is the health care cost savings, he said, pointing out that, should it cost $10,000 to make a baby this way, then 100 babies would cost $1 million dollars. Meanwhile, the cost of caring for a truly sick baby is so great, Greely said the births of just 0.3 sick babies would need to be avoided to save $1 million.

Greelys scenario could well prove overly optimistic in the US, and it certainly doesnt apply internationally. I think different cultures will pick it up at different rates. I think the US will be relatively accepting, Germany with its history is very anti any genetic interventions and I think theyre going to be slow, said Greely.

Should his vision come to pass, wealthy nations such as the US and China could begin this practice long before Somalia, for example. And so it seems almost inevitable that the world would become genetically divided between those who can breed out the flaws, and those who cannot.

Greely foresees a scenario where future generations will be much healthier, and possibly a little taller and smarter. From his telling, this unnerving prophesy sounds almost normalwhich is the most terrifying prospect of all.

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In the future, we won't have sex to procreate - Quartz

Dr. Efraim Jaul, director of geriatric skilled nursing at Herzog Hospital in Jerusalem, noticed that many patients with dementia and especially those with Alzheimers disease seemed more prone to developing pressure ulcers (bedsores).

It occurred to him that perhaps the significantly higher incidence of bedsores was not simply a result of the immobility of advanced dementia patients, as is commonly assumed.

I wondered if they were really distinct diseases or if there could be any connection between them, he tells ISRAEL21c.

Quantifying the phenomenon in his own hospital, Jaul found that 76 percent of geriatric patients with pressure ulcers had dementia, whereas only 32% of patients without pressure ulcers had dementia.

He has published three research papers over the past few years showing a clear link between dementia and pressure ulcers.

Jaul says that his groundbreaking discovery is unique.

Thats because we looked at advanced dementia, while almost all research is focused on early dementia and how to prevent its progression, he explains.

Its in the skin

Jaul was the lead author of papers about the dementia-pressure ulcers link that appeared in International Wound Journal in 2013 and in the Journal of Experimental Aging Research in 2016.

Earlier this year, Jaul and Oded Meiron a cognitive neuroscientist who heads the Electrophysiology and Neuro-cognition Lab in Herzogs Clinical Research Center for Brain Sciences published an article in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease outlining their theory about why the two seemingly unrelated conditions are related.

They suspected that the abnormal changes in the brain that lead to dementia are not localized but actually occur at the same time in other body systems. And thats exactly what some neurodiagnostic teams have found.

Working with NeuroDiagnostics in Baltimore, which is developing a test to identify a biomarker for abnormal cell density in the skin of dementia patients, Meiron and Jaul suggest that changes in the skin of dementia patients likely make them more susceptible to wounds.

We expect to see these changes happening even with mild cognitive impairment, Meiron tells ISRAEL21c.

This makes sense, he explains, because skin tissue and brain tissue derive from the same embryonic stem cells.

Jaul presented the theory at a recent conference of the Israel Gerontological Society. We got a lot of interest from other clinicians, he reports.

Two ways to use this information

The practical implications of Jaul and Meirons theory are two-fold.

For caregivers of mild or moderate dementia patients, understanding the heightened danger of developing bedsores will encourage a more aggressive preventative approach while dementia is still mild or moderate. Frequent changes of position and other measures can be taken to keep sores from forming.

From a research point of view, Meiron hopes to advance clinical studies of NeuroDiagnostics skin test for the purpose of pinpointing an individuals type and stage of dementia and noninvasively (and inexpensively) suppressing its progression using novel safe neuromodulation interventions.

If we look at peripheral biomarkers instead of inside the brain, we can identity or have a good idea of what is happening in the brain as well, on the cellular level, he says.

The biomarkers significantly differentiate between elderly controls and Alzheimers patients. There are also biomarkers for other types of dementia but that needs to be further validated.

If validated by clinical trials, the skin test could be a powerful tool for early detection and specific diagnosis since not all forms of dementia require the same treatment.

Having this information will help clinicians prescribe appropriate therapies to slow or stop dementia from advancing to the stage where pressure ulcers and debilitating cognitive impairments can have deadly consequences.

If we identify these early stages we can intervene and delay accelerated cognitive decline. The skin markers are important but the goal is increased quality of life, says Meiron, who also is involved in a few clinical studies that introduce this idea in the field of aging and pre-dementia research.

Link:
Israeli doctors find link between Alzheimer's and bedsores - ISRAEL21c

In the future, when a couple wants to reproduce, they will not make a baby in a bed or in the backseat or a car, or under a Keep Off the Grass sign, says Henry Greely, the director of the Center for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford Law School.

Instead, they will go to a clinic. Using stem cells from the couples skin or other non-reproductive organs, scientists will be able to make eggs and sperm, which will be combined into embryos. Each of those embryos will have its own gene sequence, Greely says. The parents will be asked: What do you want to know about these embryos? And theyll be told.

Twenty or 30 years from now, parents will be able to screen their potential kids for genetic abnormalities, pre-disposal to disease, sex, and even cosmetic features like hair, eye, and skin color, Greely claims. The new way of baby-making will save women the pain of going through fertility treatments, he says, and it will prevent disease, save health-care costs, and give non-traditional families more chances to have children. If this reproductive future comes to pass, it will also come with a tangle of moral, legal, and medical questionsones that wont be easy to resolve, despite what Greely may think.

When Greely tells people about his theorywhich is the subject of his 2016 book, The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproductionthey tend to say, This is Gattica, or this is Brave New World, he said during an interview with the New York Times reporter Carl Zimmer on Monday at the Aspen Ideas Festival, which is co-hosted by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic. Greely is skeptical of this argument. This is not designer babies. This is not super babies. This is selecting embryos, he said.

Greely gets some of his confidence from the limits of science. Geneticists likely wont be able to predict kids behavioral traits, he said, like their aptitude for math or agility on a sports field. But they may be able to anticipate some traits, like intelligence, in broad strokes. Being able to tell parents that this embryo has a 60 percent chance of being in the top half [of their school class], this embryo has a 13 percent chance of being in the top 10 percentI think thats really possible, he said.

Scientists have been screening embryos using a process called preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, for two and half decades, Greely said. This allows for the detection of some genetic diseases, as well as determining the sex of the embryo. Up until now, it has been expensive and arduous, but with new technologyincluding the expanded use of stem cellsit will become easy, he said. The people most likely to lead the way on easy PGD are those with fertility trouble, he argues, or those who cant have their own biological kids, including same-sex couples. For these people, the process seems to be a clear potential win: Once hopeless, they may soon be able to have biological children of their own.

But if the process does indeed advance in the way Greely predicts, it will come with big ethical challenges. Safety is a big issue, he said. Coercion is a big issue: Will you be forced to do this? No matter how easy PGD becomes, it will always be expensive, meaning that babies from rich families would gain even more advantages over other people before they leave the womb. The procedure also challenges the disability-rights movement, Greely pointed out: It implicitly suggests that some traits, and thus some people, are preferable to others.

Theres very little about our modern lives that a God from 3000 years ago would have expected.

Some critics may also claim this process is against Gods will, Greely added. I dont have a lot of confidence in the intellectual strength of that argument, but I think it has a lot of visceral support.

Despite Greelys skepticism, this seems to be the greatest potential objection to a world of skin-cell babies and intensive genetic screening: It assumes that the creation of life is a matter of pipettes and petri dishes, not something greater. While the widespread use of contraceptives has largely divorced sex from procreation, this process would represent the final severing. As Greely pointed out, the very meaning of sex would change. Most people have sex and it doesnt result in a baby, he said. They do it because they like it. They do it as a token of love. They do it because theyre forced to. They do it to make money. Pleasure, ultimately, will be a main driver of sex, he added.

For the many peoplereligious or notwho believe that life is not ultimately a matter of science, the world of easy PGD may seem disorienting, even morally disturbing. But Greely didnt think religious or moral arguments could persuade someone like him, or society more broadly, that easy PGD isnt a good idea.

If you, coming from a Catholic background, try to convince me, coming from a non-Catholic background ... that wouldnt work for me, he said. I need a more intellectual argument than one based on my faith or the tablets brought down from the mountain for me say this. Theres very little about our modern lives thats natural or what a God from 3000 years ago would have expected or wanted, including all of modern medicine.

As head-spinning as these theoretical ethical challenges are, perhaps easy PGD wont be as common as Greely thinks. After all, he joked, were never going to get rid of teenagers in the back seat of a car.

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Making Babies, No Sex Necessary - The Atlantic

June 27, 2017 Just a few days old embryonic cell clusters: with functional Pramel7 (left), without the protein (right) the development of the stem cells remains stuck and the embyos die. Credit: Paolo Cinelli, USZ

Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich have discovered the protein that enables natural embryonic stem cells to form all body cells. In the case of embryonic stem cells maintained in cell cultures, this allrounder potential is limited. Scientists want to use this knowledge to treat large bone fractures with stem cells.

Stem cells are considered biological allrounders because they have the potential to develop into the various body cell types. For the majority of stem cells, however, this designation is too far-reaching. Adult stem cells, for example, can replace cells in their own tissue in case of injury, but a fat stem cell will never generate a nerve or liver cell. Scientists therefore distinguish between multipotent adult stem cells and the actual allrounders - the pluripotent embryonic stem cells.

Epigenetic marks determine potential for development

Differences exist even among the true allrounders, however. Embryonic stem cells that grow in laboratory cell cultures are in a different state than the pluripotent cells found inside the embryos in the first days of development. In a study in the journal Nature Cell Biology, researchers led by Paolo Cinelli of the University Hospital Zurich and Raffaella Santoro of the University of Zurich have now demonstrated the mechanism by which natural allrounders differ from embryonic stem cells in cultures.

At the center of their discovery is a protein called Pramel7 (for "preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma"-like 7) found in the cells of embryonic cell clusters that are just a few days old. This protein guarantees that the genetic material is freed from epigenetic marks consisting of chemical DNA tags in the form of methyl groups. "The more methyl groups are removed, the more open the Book of Life becomes," Cinelli says. Since any cell of the human body can develop from an embryonic stem cell, all genes have to be freely accessible at the beginning. The more a cell develops or differentiates, the stronger its genetic material is methylated and "sealed closed" again. In a bone cell, for example, only those genes are active that the cell requires for its function, the biochemist explains.

Protein is responsible for perfect pluripotency

Despite its short action period of just a few days, Pramel7 seems to play a vital role: When the researchers headed up by Cinelli and Santoro switched off the gene for this protein using genetic tricks, development remained stuck in the embryonic cell cluster stage. In the cultivated stem cells, on the other hand, Pramel7 is rarely found. This circumstance could also explain why the genetic material of these cells contains more methyl groups than that of natural embryonic cells - the perfect allrounders, as Cinelli calls them.

Using the stem cell function to regenerate bone tissue

His interest in stem cells lies in the hope of one day being able to help people with complex bone fractures. "Bones are great at regenerating and they are the only tissue that does not build scars," Paolo Cinelli says. The bone stumps must be touching, however, in order to grow together. When a bone breaks in multiple places and even through the skin, for example, in a motorcycle accident, the sections of bone in between are often no longer usable. For such cases, a bone replacement is required. His team is studying carrier materials that they want to populate with the body's own stem cells in the future. "For this reason, we have to know how stem cells work," Cinelli adds.

Explore further: New tools to study the origin of embryonic stem cells

More information: Urs Graf et al, Pramel7 mediates ground-state pluripotency through proteasomalepigenetic combined pathways, Nature Cell Biology (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncb3554

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What makes stem cells into perfect allrounders - Phys.org - Phys.Org

The times, they are a-changing.

Since Gregor Mendel unwittingly became the father of genetics by writing down his botanical observations, we have been progressing along swimmingly in our understanding and application of biology.

In the past few years, we ourselves have made some measured leaps forward in the field of biotechnology, some small someless so. Yet with the monumental achievements we have made thus-far from the advent of vaccines to our understanding of how our bodies age and degenerate, we have yet to make that quantum leap forward. That quantum leap may itself not be that far off and if anything is a good indicator of that its observable in the nature of the biotech we are currently developing.

With any huge leap forward, however, come new challenges and a slew of new questions that desperately need to be answered.

This next step in our journey isnt quite like when we eradicated major diseases or began transplanting organs because it isnt about extending human life a mere few additional years. We are taking about a doubling in the years a human may live. Thats right, double.

Now, before you write this off as sci-fi or wishful thinking, let me walk you through exactly what breakthroughs are currently occurring. It all has to do with CRISPR gene-line editing and 3-dimensional printing.

We are at the point where we can take normal somatic cells like the ones from your skin, coax them back into stem cells then re-engineer them into just about any type of cells we want. This means shortly we will be able to take skin cells and make them into heart tissue, or liver, or pancreatic or any number of different ones.

Next, the advances in 3-dimensional printing may shortly be able to take your newly minted cells and print them onto a blank scaffolding in the shape of just about any organ you may need.

Think of that: if you need a new heart it could be as simple as scratching some skin from your arm, reprogramming the cells and then printing you a whole new organ. Not a transplant from a donor, your own cells. This means no rejection and no waitlists. When an organ fails we replace it, again and again and again.

What is to become of a human race that is capable of living seemingly without end? This brings up some serious questions that would have to be answered quickly.

For starters, we see that the current population growth of our species is unsupportable as we resist green energies and advanced farming methods. If humans were to begin to live twice as long or longer we must figure out what we are going to do.

Now the radicals would suggest we simply control the populations but I dont believe that is necessary or even morally right. All we must do is increase our carrying capacity. I must admit that was not my own musing but one my father suggested to me.

If we are able to increase how much food and energy we produce without damaging the planet there is virtually no limit to how many humans can live at once. But the question is, will we resist it as we are now? Will the prospect of living healthily well over a century spur us to begin to accept scientific consensus? Or will we continue down our current path of selfishness and greed? Only time will tell.

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Is doubling our life span desirable? - Price Sun Advocate

Important pieces of the puzzle to understand what drives diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are still missing today. One crucial obstacle for researchers is that it is impossible to examine a living brain cell in someone who is affected by the disease. With the help of a new method for cell conversion, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have found a way to produce diseased, aging brain cells on a large scale in a cell culture dish.

After performing a biopsy on the patient, the skin cells are transformed into brain cells that effectively imitate the disease and the age of the patient. The fact that the cells can now be produced in large quantities enables researchers to carry out a series of experiments that were previously not possible.

A few years ago, Malin Parmar's research team was one of the first in the world to convert human skin cells directly into brain cells without passing the stem cell state. The discovery shocked the researchers and was perceived as almost impossible. The team is now approaching a point where the discovery is about to bear fruit on a wide scale. By following a new method that involves slightly changing the genetic code that triggers cell conversion, the researchers were able to multiply the production of disease-specific brain cells.

"Primarily, we inhibited a protein, REST, involved in establishing identity in cells that are not nerve cells. After limiting this protein's impact in the cells during the conversion process, we've seen completely different results. Since then, we've been playing around with changing the dosage of the other components in the previous method, which also proved effective. Overall, the efficiency is remarkable. We can now generate almost unlimited amounts of neurons from one skin biopsy", says Malin Parmar, professor of developmental and regenerative neurobiology at Lund University.

The increase in production will have far-reaching effects. The new volumes enable research projects that were simply not viable before. Among other things, it opens up research areas linked to new drug testing, the establishment of more accurate disease models and the development of diagnostics to detect the diseases at an earlier stage.

The new cells are not only able to imitate the disease but also the patient's age. By studying the cell in the culture dish, the researchers can now monitor the mechanisms of the disease in an "old" brain cell over time. Neurodegenerative diseases are commonly referred to as "aging brain diseases" and in order to understand them, we must better appreciate how the age specifically affects the course of the disease. The Lund researchers' discovery can hopefully contribute a crucial piece to the puzzle with regard to the connection between the onset of disease and cell aging, something which previous research based on animal experiments and stem cells has failed to provide.

"This takes us one step closer to reality, as we can now look inside the human neurons and see what goes on inside the cell in these diseases. If all goes well, this could fundamentally change the field of research, as it helps us better understand the real mechanisms of the disease. We believe that many laboratories around the world would like to start testing on these cells to get closer to the diseases", says Johan Jakobsson, leader of the molecular neurogenetics research group at Lund University.

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Large-scale Production of Living Brain Cells Enables Entirely New Research - Laboratory Equipment

If youve ever been concerned about hair loss in the past, this could be your lucky day. A new experiment carried out by Michael Rosenblum, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of California has proved just how useful regulatory T cells (tregs) are when it comes to hair loss. Previously scientists were led to believe that these cells single task was to inform other cells when to attack. However, what Rosenblum discovered when he shaved the mouse he was experimenting on, he noticed that the hair never grew back.

From the study, Rosenblum and team discovered that tregs in the skin had high levels of Jagged 1 (Jag1) which has the duty of calling in the stem cells through a process called Notch signaling. Removing the tregs reduced the notch signaling and when Jag1 was added the stem cells were called which then activated the process of follicle regeneration.

This study will be of particular interest to one type of hair loss sufferer: those with alopecia areata. This is an autoimmune disease that impedes hair follicle regeneration and affects as many as 1.7 percents of the U.S. population. Until now, very little has been known about what causes hair loss, but this research will give doctors and scientists everywhere new direction and a potential cure.

As well as hair regeneration, this process could be used to correct other skin related problems such as wound repair. What we found here is that stem cells, and immune cells have to work together to make regeneration possible, says Rosenblum. So dont despair if youre losing your hair, help is on the way!

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Say Goodbye to Hair Loss and Hello to Body Regeneration - TrendinTech

When Shannon DeAndrea saw a knot on her 18-month-old sons head last July, she thought he had just fallen.

But more popped up and wouldnt go away. He also began feeling sick.

I finally decided he needed to see a pediatrician, said DeAndrea, who lives in Blairs.

She was told he had ear infections and her son, Nathan, was put on rounds of antibiotics. The knots were normal, she was told.

Another medical provider said he looked anemic. Blood work revealed his hemoglobin was dangerously low.

We ended up in the ER, DeAndrea said. They couldnt figure out why he was anemic.

Shannon and Nathan were sent to Roanoke, where he was diagnosed with a stage 4 neuroblastoma on Aug. 23. He had a tumor in his abdomen that spread to his bone marrow. He had spots on his skull, ribs and spine.

Neuroblastomas are cancers that begin in early nerve cells of the sympathetic nervous system, according to the American Cancer Society.

Since his diagnosis, her son now 2 has had several rounds of chemotherapy and two stem cell transplants and is doing well.

Now hes just like a normal 2-year-old, DeAndrea said. Hes running around with his sister. Hes eating well.

Dr. William Clark is associate professor of medicine and attending physician at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center Stem Cell Transplantation Program. Clark said the procedure is used for conditions including multiple myeloma, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and leukemia.

Stem cell transplants are used to replace bone marrow that has been destroyed by cancer or destroyed by the chemo and/or radiation used to treat the cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

High doses of chemo (sometimes along with radiation), work better than standard doses to kill cancer cells. However, high doses can also kill the stem cells and cause the bone marrow to stop making blood cells, which are needed for life. The transplanted stem cells replace the bodys stem cells after the bone marrow and its stem cells have been destroyed by treatment, according to the American Cancer Society.

Two types of stem cell transplants include autologous, which uses stem cells from the patients own body, and allogeneic using stem cells from another person, Clark said.

For leukemia patients, most of the time, we give them stem cells from someone else, Clark said. Chemotherapy helps lower the leukemia disease burden, but the new immune system provided by the new stem cells can fight against the cancer cells and get rid of them, he said.

Virginia Commonwealth Universitys cancer center performs an average of about 160-195 stem cell transplants per year, Clark said. Slightly more than half are autologous procedures, and the rest are allogeneic, he said.

Whitt Clement, former delegate who represented the Danville area in the General Assembly, underwent a stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukemia in September 2015.

The most important aspect for patients is being self-aware and their own best advocates, Clement said.

My experience was that the patient has to ask a lot of questions throughout the process, he said.

He suspected something was wrong when he noticed his platelet count declining over seven years. He went to a hematologist and had a bone marrow biopsy that revealed his condition.

If I had not taken the initiative myself and gone to see a hematologist, matters would have progressed to the point where I would have been symptomatic, Clement said.

Finding the perfect match in a donor is also important, Clement said. Fortunately, he had a sibling who met all the criteria and donated stem cells.

A person can get great matches from unrelated donors, but its preferable for a donor to be a sibling, said Clement, partner at Hunton & Williams law firm in Richmond.

Your body has an easier time tolerating the new stem cells, he said.

Clement served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1988-2002, and as Virginias secretary of transportation from 2002-2005 under Gov. Mark Warner.

For someone with multiple myeloma, the transplant does not cure the disease but delays the time it returns by up to seven and a half years, Clark said.

Lymphoma, leukemia and sickle cell anemia can be cured with the procedure, Clark said. Lymphoma can be cured in about 50 to 80 percent of cases, depending on the lymphoma, Clark said.

The first 30 days after the transplant are the most critical, Clement said. During that time, different organs can have varying reactions to the new cells. It can affect the kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and cause other side effects.

The idea is that the closer the match, the less likely youll have those adverse reactions, he said.

The process includes being put on an immunosuppressant to prevent the immune system from attacking the new cells, Clement said.

He credits the quality of his recovery to asking lots of questions and being his own advocate tape recording conversations with medical providers, coming in with written questions.

Ive been able to recover better because of that, he said.

Its a long journey and so a person confronted with the transplant situation has got to prepare himself for a long journey that requires a lot of questions along the way, Clement said.

There are about 20 million potential stem cell/bone marrow donors in the BeTheMatch Registry in the United States, Clark said.

Stem cell transplants began in the late 50s/early 60s with the first successful procedure done in an identical twin, Clark said. However, stem cell transplants were limited until medicines that prevent rejections became available.

The number of procedures increased in the 1980s, Clark said.

Danville resident Susan Mathena, cancer patient navigator at Danville Regional Medical Center, became a donor about 20 years ago because she wanted to help people. Mathena has also been an organ donor since she got her drivers license.

I see patients all the time that need stem cell transplants, Mathena said. We always need a source of bone marrow donation.

Though she will age out of the stem cell donor list soon, she could still be contacted if she is the only match for someone in need, she said.

Clark will speak next month on stem cell/bone marrow transplants at Ballou Recreation Center at an event held by the Cancer Research and Resource Center of Southern Virginia in Danville.

Thousands of patients with blood cancers like leukemia or other diseases like sickle cell anemia need a bone marrow/stem cell transplant to survive, including some of our own community members, said Kate Stokely Powell, coordinator at the center.

Clarks presentation offers an opportunity in Southside for people battling illness, medical students and professionals and the public to learn from an expert in the field of stem cell transplants, Powell said.

Doctors, hospitals and families affected by a blood cancer disease have done a great job of building a massive database of blood types for potential donor matches, Clement said.

For DeAndrea and her son, Nathan, the first transplant included four or five days of chemo. The new stem cells following the chemo that killed off his old stem cells from the transplant were like a rescue, she said.

Its wiping you out and then giving you your cells back to restart your immune system, DeAndrea said.

A second round of heavy chemo was to try to kill what was left of the cancer and replenish cells, she said.

It was rough, it was a nightmare, DeAndrea said. It was by far the worst phase of his treatment, but I believe, in the long run, its worth it.

She said the procedures should increase Nathans chances for survival and prevent a relapse.

Nathan just finished radiation Tuesday and will go in for a biopsy of his bone marrow this week, DeAndrea said.

Well find out next week where we stand as far as the cancer goes, she said.

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After two stem cell transplants and several rounds of chemo, 'now he's just like a normal 2-year-old' - GoDanRiver.com

Photo of Jonathan Pitre and his mother, Tina Boileau, taken in Minnesota. Tina Boileau / -

Doctors in a Minnesota hospital continue to search for answers to a mysterious infection that has left Jonathan Pitre feverish, nauseated and short of breath.

Pitre, 17, of Russell, has been in the University of Minnesota Masonic Childrens Hospital for the past two weeks, suffering from an array of complications more two months after his stem cell transplant. Doctors are also trying to adjust his medications to better deal with his increased pain levels.

Hes having a tough run, said his mother, Tina Boileau, and I really dont know when it will get better.

The teenager suffers from a severe form of epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a painful and progressive skin disease that has left deep, open wounds on his body.

Last week, Pitres face and neck became swollen in response to what doctors believed was some kind of viral infection. That swelling has been brought under control, but a battery of tests has yet to reveal the source of the infection, which continues to cause problems.

Pitres breathing is laboured and hes running a high-grade fever of about 104 F (40 C); he has also developed bleeding and painful sores in his mouth.

We still have no idea what were dealing with, said Boileau. Its frustrating because Im at the point where it would be nice to see that all that Jonathan has gone through has been worth it.

Doctors are monitoring Pitre for graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), but all of his tests have so far been inconclusive.Anyone who receives stem cells from another person is at risk of developing GVHD, a condition in which the donors white blood cells turn on the patients own tissues and attack them as foreign. It can range from mild to life-threatening.

About one-third of the almost 50 EB patients who have had a stem cell transplant at the Masonic Childrens Hospital have experienced the condition.

Pitre checked back into hospital earlier this month just three days after being released following a stem cell transplant that had successfully taken root in his bone marrow. Bone marrow stem cells produce most of the bodys blood cells, and are responsible for arming its immune system.

Pitre has been in Minnesota since mid-February to undergo the transplant, his second. The first ended in disappointment on Thanksgiving Day last year.

Tests show Pitres latest transplant remains fully engrafted, and there are signs that it has started to improve the condition of his skin.

See the article here:
Jonathan Pitre still ailing as doctors search for answers - Ottawa Citizen

Start eating grapes daily, as a research has revealed that the compounds, found in the skin and seeds of grapes, may help in killing colon cancer stem cells. The compounds, resveratrol, which are found in grape skins and seeds, could also eventually lead to treatments to help prevent colon cancer, said Jairam K.P. Vanamala from Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute.

The combination of resveratrol and grape seed extract is very effective at killing colon cancer cells, Vanamala added. The researchers suggest that the findings could pave the way for clinical testing of the compounds on human colon cancer, which is the second most common cancer in women and the third in men.

If successful, the compounds could then be used in a pill to help prevent colon cancer and lessen the recurrence of the disease in colon cancer survivors.

Vanamala noted that according to cancer stem-cell theory, cancerous tumors are driven by cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are capable of self-renewal, cellular differentiation and maintain their stem cell-like characteristics even after invasion and metastasis.

When taken separately in low doses, resveratrol and grape seed extract are not as effective against cancer stem-cell suppression as when they are combined together, according to the researchers.

Grape compounds could now be used in a pill to help prevent colon cancer and lessen the recurrence of the disease in survivors. (HTFile photo )

This also connects well with a plant-based diet that is structured so that the person is getting a little bit of different types of plants, of different parts of the plant and different colors of the plant, said Vanamala.

For the animal study, they separated 52 mice with colon cancer tumors into three groups, including a control group and groups that were fed either the grape compounds or sulindac, an anti-inflammatory drug, which was chosen because a previous study showed it significantly reduced the number of tumors in humans.

The incidence of tumors was suppressed in the mice consuming the grape compounds alone by 50 percent, similar to the rate in the group consuming the diet with sulindac.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.

The rest is here:
Grape skin and seeds may help fight against colon cancer, says study - Hindustan Times

The Hindu

Hyderabad team grows miniature eyes using stem cells The Hindu The iPS cells are produced by genetically manipulating human skin cells to produce embryonic-like stem cells that are capable of forming any cell types of the body. Small portions of the corneal tissue were separated from the miniature eyes and used ...

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Hyderabad team grows miniature eyes using stem cells - The Hindu

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Frequency Therapeutics, a company spearheading the movement to restore hearing by harnessing the regenerative potential of progenitor cells in the body, today announced a presentation delineating the companys proprietary platform, Progenitor Cell Activation (PCA), was presented at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2017 Annual Meeting which took place in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 14-17. The presentation, Small molecule activation of progenitor cells as a means of in situ tissue regeneration, described a process that may provide a novel means of addressing cellular deficiencies or malfunctions in many diseases including hearing loss, dermatology, muscle and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. The presentation was conducted on Friday, June 16 at 7:00pm ET by Chris Loose, Ph.D., Co-founder and CSO of Frequency Therapeutics.

Scientists have worked for decades pushing targeted cells to regenerate. The applicability of tissue regeneration is limited by the complexities of cell therapy, including cell delivery, gene expression and functionality. Unlike previous approaches which resulted in forced conversion of Lgr5+ cells into the desired cell type, Frequencys PCA technology uses a precise and controlled application of small molecules to activate dormant progenitor cells within the body, causing them to divide and differentiate into their designated target cells. Frequencys presentation highlighted the Companys PCA Platform, initially targeting cochlear hair cell regeneration for noise-induced hearing loss, as a viable approach to develop a whole new category of disease-modifying therapeutics for a wide range of degenerative conditions.

Progenitor Cell Activation is a system where the local delivery of small molecules to dormant Lgr5 progenitor cells could produce profound therapeutic opportunities across a vast number of disease areas that exhibit high, unmet medical needs, said Dr. Loose. We believe PCA technology could be used to modulate cells in situ to address a number of diseases with minimal safety risk. Our first indication in hearing loss has produced positive results in preclinical studies, and we look forward to presenting further information as we move our lead program ahead.

Our PCA platform presents a robust opportunity to address many debilitating issues, and expand to therapeutic areas where there are few or no options currently available, added David Lucchino, President, Co-Founder and CEO of Frequency. The body has an innate, but sometimes dormant ability to heal itself. Activating the bodys own resources could overcome biological barriers that still exist within the overall drug development space to address medical needs like hearing impairment, skin disorders, gastrointestinal diseases and muscle regeneration.

A team led by Frequencys scientific co-founders published research highlighting the PCA approach to regenerate inner ear sensory hair cells in early 2017. The paper titled, Clonal Expansion of Lgr5-Positive Cells from Mammalian Cochlea and High-Purity Generation of Sensory Hair Cells, was a February cover feature in the journal Cell Reports, and can be accessed in the current online edition.

ABOUT PROGENITOR CELL ACTIVATION (PCA)

Frequencys precise and controlled approach transiently causes Lgr5+ progenitor cells to divide and differentiate, much like what is seen in naturally regenerating tissues such as the skin and intestine. Frequency activates stemness through mimicking signals provided by neighboring cells (the stem cell niche) with small molecules, and this proprietary approach is known as the Progenitor Cell Activation (PCA) platform. Frequency believes that PCA has the potential to yield a whole new category of disease-modifying therapeutics for a wide range of degenerative conditions. To fuel its drug discovery programs, Frequency is leveraging a PCA screening platform using primary human cells. Frequencys initial focus is on chronic noise induced hearing loss. Other potential applications include skin disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, and diabetes.

ABOUT FREQUENCY THERAPEUTICS

Frequency Therapeutics develops small molecule drugs that activate progenitor cells within the body to restore healthy tissue. Through the transitory activation of these progenitor cells, Frequency enables disease modification without the complexity of genetic engineering. Our lead program re-creates sensory cells in the inner ear to treat chronic noise induced hearing loss, which affects over 30 million people in the U.S. alone. http://www.frequencytx.com.

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Frequency Therapeutics Presented Data at the International Society for Stem Cell Research Supporting Progenitor Cell ... - Business Wire (press...

Dr. Jacob Hanna believes stem-cell treatments hold promise for restoring fertility to cancer survivors whose chemotherapy has rendered them infertile. (Weizmann Institute)

This article issponsoredby theIsrael Cancer Research Fund.

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States, responsible for 22.5 percent of American fatalities. Only heart disease is more deadly.

In Israel, cancer is the No. 1 killer. Thats partly why Israel has become a research leader in the fight against the disease.

Many of the worlds most effective cancer treatments have roots in Israeli research, sometimes going back decades. The work taking place in Israeli labs today may lead to lifesaving treatments years in the future.

Here are five promising areas Israeli researchers are studying in their quest for better cancer detection and treatment. Together they provide a glimpse into the remarkable scope of cancer research being conducted by internationally renowned scientists across Israeli institutions.

Mutant reeducation camp and the fight against ovarian cancer

Mutant reeducation may sound like the plot of the next X-Men movie, but for a team of Israeli researchers it could be central to finding new treatments for ovarian cancer, an especially deadly disease because of the difficulties of early detection. This year, 22,440 women in America will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 14,080 will die from it, according to American Cancer Society estimates.

In a program at Israels Weizmann Institute of Science financed in part by the Israel Cancer Research Fund, Dr. Varda Rotter is looking for ways to fight the disease on the molecular level using a protein known as the king of tumor suppressors.

The protein, p53, stops the formation of tumors. But when p53 mutates, it makes cancer cells more malignant and boosts their resistance to drugs.

Rotter and her team have identified a small number of molecules that are able to reeducate mutant p53 and restore it to its role scanning for damaged DNA and stopping the development of tumors. They are also looking for methods to reeducate the mutant p53 to fight and eradicate mutant cells.

We are trying to find a way to convert or reeducate the mutant p53 to its role as the guardian of the genome, Rotter said. It will reeducate the p53 into the right type of p53 and will show that under such circumstances there is a reduction of cell death in treated cells.

Rotter hopes her teams research will result in methods that can be applied along with immunotherapy to give women with ovarian cancer a better chance of beating the disease.

Restoring infertility? Hit the restart button.

For many cancer patients, surviving is just the first part of the battle. They often face serious lifelong problems, such as infertility or the loss of healthy tissue that is highly difficult to regrow.

How do you replace damaged body parts? asked Dr. Jacob Hanna of the Weizmann Institute.

The key, Hanna and many others believe, lies in stem cells.Stem cells are early-stage cells that are capable of dividing into infinitely more cells and have the potential to become different cell types, such as bone, skin or muscle. Stem cells can help repair damaged tissue.

Hanna is using ICRF funding to research ways to take cells from healthy areas of the patients body and turn them back into induced embryonic stem cells the equivalent of the first cells with which each human body begins. Because the stem cells in Hannas model would come directly from the patients DNA rather than from a donor, the tissue would not face rejection.

Reverting the cells to their beginning state would be like hitting the restart button of your computer, Hanna said.

The treatment would be unique. Currently the only proven stem-cell therapy in use is centered on transplanting bone marrow. There are no stem-cell-based treatments for replacing organs or tissue other than blood. But Hanna believes stem-cell treatments are going to become reality in the next 20 years, and restoring fertility to infertile cancer survivors could be one major benefit.

We want to make mature human cells in the Petri dish, Hanna said. If this is successful, it could be a major breakthrough for solving infertility problems in general, not only for women who underwent chemotherapy.

For example, scientists could make an unlimited supply of female eggs by growing stem cells in a dish and freezing them.

This could stop doctors from avoiding doing chemotherapy because theyre worried about damaging the patients fertility, Hanna said. It would allow them to give longer treatment or stronger regiments.

To fight brain cancer, think small. Very, very small.

Glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer, carries a very grim prognosis: Patients have a median survival time of about 15 months from the day of discovery.

Tel Aviv University researcher Dr. Dan Peer is seeking ways to fight brain tumors using a targeted nanoparticle platform to transport drugs directly to the sites that need treatment rather than a more general chemotherapy or surgery. Targeted treatments the size of a nanometer a millionth of a millimeter would minimize the effects on the rest of the body by targeting only the cancer cells and avoiding healthy cells nearby.

The delivery vehicle would be RNA ribonucleic acid, whose main role is to carry instructions from DNA. It is one of the three major biological macromolecules essential for all forms of life, along with DNA and proteins. By binding the RNA to a nanoparticle platform, researchers hope to bypass the hurdles that usually thwart drug delivery by specifically targeting the problem areas of the tumor.

The fact that nanomedicine can get around many of the obstacles that hinder drug delivery could mean a greater quality of life and life expectancy for patients suffering from highly deadly forms of cancer like glioblastoma, Peer said.

He and his colleagues are also using their ICRF research grant to examine ways to design drugs suited to a patients specific genetic profile and then develop appropriate nanoparticle delivery vehicles.

By carrying the drugs specifically to the cancer cells and not to the healthy ones, the treatment will have fewer adverse effects and toxicities for the patient while maximizing the drugs therapeutic effect.

If we can somehow diminish the spreading of the tumor and improve diagnosis and therapeutic effect, Peer said, that will be beneficial for the patient.

Dr. Ruth Scherz-Shouval is studying how tumors metastasize by recruiting non-malignant cells to help them overcome the human immune system. (Weizmann Institute)

Fighting carcinomas: Rehab for non-malignant cells

Weve all had moments in life that spark our survival instincts under stress. Humans arent the only ones that use chemical processes to survive stressful situations.

To survive high fevers, for example, organisms as small as cells deploy the heat-shock response activating proteins called chaperones that help cells maintain their structure and not melt down in the event of high temperatures. Tumors, too, use the heat-shock response to increase their odds of survival and grow ever-more malignant.

For tumors to expand and metastasize, they recruit non-malignant cells in the tumor microenvironment and get them to work for them and help them evade the immune system.Dr. RuthScherz-Shouvalof the Weizmann Institute is studying the tumor microenvironment to determine how the non-cancerous cells get reprogrammed to act against the body and support the tumor rather than defend the body against the tumorous growth.

The cells of the microenvironment dont have the mutation that causes cancer cells to become cancer cells yet they do things they are not supposed to do, she said. We are interested in understanding how this happens.

Scherz-Shouvalcompared treatment in the microenvironment to rehabilitating a nonviolent offender who can still be put on the right path unlike a hardened felon (the tumorous cell) who is too far gone to save. Think rehab for non-malignant cells.

Theresearch is relevant to solid tumorsand specifically to carcinomas a cancer arising in skin tissue or the lining of internal organs. Scherz-Shouval has found a correlation between the heat-shock response and poor patient survival in late-stage breast and lung cancer.

She hopes her research, backed by the ICRF, will lead to a more generalized way to target cells in the microenvironment that will complement current cancer treatments and give patients a better chance at recovery.

Wanted: A better way to fight leukemia

Israel has the fourth-highest per capita rate of leukemia deaths worldwide. In America, leukemia kills more than 24,000 people per year.

Most leukemia treatments today focus on chemotherapy, steroid drugs and stem-cell transplants.But Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researcher RoiGazitis on the hunt for more effective, targeted treatments.

Immune therapies and stem-cells treatments offer great advantages but too many options to choose from, Gazit said. Our models will help to better specify which treatment may suit a specific type, and even sub-type, of the disease. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all treatment for leukemia. Thats why we need tailor-made models to fit the treatment to the disease.

Gazit is focusing on how to develop targeted treatment of cancer cells using hematopoietic stem cells stem cells used in cancer treatment because of their ability to divide and form new and different kinds of blood cells.

The research involvestaking primary cells cells cultured directly from a subject and turning them into malignant leukemia growth inside mice. By examining how the leukemia develops, Gazit is exploring ways that hematopoietic stem cells may be deployed to arrest the leukemia.

The research models his lab is using, part of a project supported by the Israel Cancer Research Fund, could help scientists develop more types of immunotherapy and more ways to use stem cells to combat leukemia.

With any new information we can gain better understanding, which translates into better treatment, Gazit said.

(This article wassponsoredby and produced in partnership with theIsrael Cancer Research Fund, whose ongoing support of these and other Israeli scientists work goes a long way toward ensuring that their efforts will have important and lasting impact in the global fight against cancer. This article was produced by JTAs native content team.)

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These 5 Israeli advances could transform cancer treatment - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

BURR RIDGE, Ill., June 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Win L. Chiou, a world-renowned authority in pharmacokinetics, an expert in dermatology and a former FDA consultant, has recently published a commentary questioning some widely accepted aging and anti-aging theories in the last century and postulated his new aging theories and anti-aging strategies in The Scientific Pages of Dermatology (TSPD). Chiou said this may have many very important implications and applications in future aging and anti-aging research. This and his other recent breakthroughs are disclosed.

Classical Cumulative Oxidative Stress/Accelerated Aging Theories QuestionedSurprisingly, these important classical theories were not supported by results from his critical analyses of reported aging data of human hearts and skin from a large number of normal subjects over many decades of lifespan. Some implications are: Generally, our skin and heart actually don't age faster as we get older as predicted from these accelerated aging theories. Also, we may have over-emphasized the use of purified anti-oxidants in dietary supplements to combat aging. This is because oxidative stress has been traditionally regarded as the culprit of our aging.

Classical Photoaging Theory Questioned: Intrinsic Aging as Root CauseThe photoaging theory claims that exposure to sunlight contributes about 80% of our skin aging. Chiou astoundingly found that sun exposure had no noticeable effects on the aging of skin collagen and superficial capillaries in their lifetime. Furthermore, age spots, commonly assumed to result from photoaging, were frequently found to occur on thighs, forearms and backs in seniors that were rarely exposed to sunlight. Chiou asked: Do we need to re-evaluate general recommendations that we should wear sunscreens as a daily ritual when we go outdoors? How much SPF number do we really need? This is especially significant because exposure to sunlight has many important health benefits such as reducing blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, and increasing the immune system and vitamin D synthesis. These benefits are known to far outweigh the risks such as skin cancer.

New Cardiac-Output-Reduction Aging Theory: Utmost Importance of Cellular Nutrients in Determining Cellular/Tissue Aging

Chiou postulated a new theory that since our heart pumps nutrient-carrying blood to various organs/tissues to sustain their vitality, therefore, cardiac output should be closely related to our life expectancy and general health. Chiou said that we age mainly because our cardiac output decreases and cellular levels of nutrients in peripheral tissues also decrease with age. Cardiac output peaks at about age 12. By age 40 and 80, it can decrease very significantly by 30% and 49% respectively. Hence, Chiou postulated that one effective approach to combat body aging and to increase longevity is to increase cardiac output through stem-cell rejuvenation and to increase tissue nutrients. In other words, aging is reversible!!

New Theories for Formation of Wrinkles and Age Spots: Intrinsic Aging as Root CausesFor the first time, Chiou theorized that formation of wrinkles in aged adults results from body's defense mechanism in order to reduce effective surface area for minimizing environmental assaults. And the formation of age spots mainly results from birth defects and later acquired injuries in superficial capillaries that nourish the skin. Hence these disorders are generally first initiated by intrinsic aging. Sunlight may hasten the above problems. Chiou noted that young children and youths with healthy skin may stay outdoors unprotected daily for months or years without developing age spots or wrinkles.

New Strategy to Combat and Reverse Skin Aging: Stem-Cell RejuvenationJust as water can revitalize a dry wilted flower, an aging-reversing phenomenon, Chiou has developed a unique proprietary body-natural (ingredients being natural in our body) nutritional serum, Eternal Spring Serum (ESS), to be topically applied daily to rejuvenate our skin. Surprisingly, the firming and tightening effects are almost universally observed in all users. A stunning example is shown in his wife, Linda Chiou, who has used the product for more than 10 years and rarely used sunscreens. At age 75, her skin seems much better than many others 25 to 35 years younger (Figure 1). Many friends noticed her skin-age-reversing phenomenon. It is reasoned that the ESS must work via rejuvenation of stem or progenitor cells in the skin. Currently, skin reversal is considered by dermatologists as impossible to achieve. Therefore, the ESS represents a historical breakthrough in combating skin aging.

Growth Acceleration and Regeneration of Human Nails: Stem-Cell RejuvenationLiquid preparations containing body-natural nutrients have been shown to quickly accelerate nail growth or to regenerate new nails after nail injury in numerous subjects. This may be the first of its kind ever reported (patent pending). Such effects are also postulated to be due to stem-cell/progenitor cell rejuvenation. Interestingly, this approach also helps grow new hair on Dr. Chiou's decades-old baldhead.

Dr. Chiou is an editor for TSPD, and is organizing a Special Issue on "Aging and Anti-Aging". He was a former university professor for 36 years. Dr. Chiou is currently President of Winlind Skincare LLC and Chiou Consulting Inc. His detailed biography is available at the TSPD website. For inquiries or licensing, Dr. Chiou can be reached at 163879@email4pr.com.

Media Contact: Win Chiou163879@email4pr.com 630-861-0433

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/major-breakthroughs-in-aging-theories-and-anti-aging-strategies-via-stem-cell-rejuvenation-in-humans-300472905.html

SOURCE Dr. Win L. Chiou

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Major Breakthroughs in Aging Theories and Anti-Aging Strategies via Stem-Cell Rejuvenation in Humans - PR Newswire (press release)

Oper Technology, a Hong Kong biotechnology start-up, has pioneered what it claims is a world first in stem cell treatment that it says could potentially help millions of patients suffering from Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases.

The business was co-founded by Hong Kong Baptist Universitys Professor Ken Yung, who specialises in neurobiology and neurological diseases in the universitys biology department.

He and his team has now developed a method of harvesting neural stem cells from the brains of live subjects using specially developed nanoparticles.

The exploration of using stem cells to repair damaged neural cells is not a new concept. Scientists in the US and elsewhere have experimented using stem cells from fat and skin, developing them into neural cells.

But Yung claims his team is the first to successfully harvest stem cells directly from the brain and re-inject the developed neural cells back into a live subject, thereby artificially regenerating any cells which have died off, due to neurological diseases from neural stem cells themselves.

Stem cells have the potential to develop into different types of cells with specialised functions.

The nanoparticles which are made of a type of iron oxide work like magnets to attract the stem cells within the brain.

Yung said these can then be developed into more specific neural cells and re-injected into the brain to replace damaged cells caused by diseases such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons, where neurons in the patients brains progressively die off with time.

He suggests the treatment could benefit almost 100 million patients around the world, who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases, including strokes.

China alone has the largest population of people with dementia, with an estimated 23.3 million now projected to suffer from the condition by 2030, according to the World Health Organisation.

Yung co-founded Oper Technology and serves as its chairman.

The company is being developed under Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Incu-Bio programme, which provides select biotechnology start-ups with laboratory and support services, and ultimately it aims to commercialise its medical technology.

If you put the [developed] cells in a different environment from where the [stem cells are harvested], there might be [misdirected] growth in an uncontrolled environment, said Yung.

We want to use neural cells to repair neural cells, and since the stem cells and re-injected neural cells are from the same micro-environment, there will not be uncontrollable growth.

The method has proven to be very successful when tested on rats, especially in cases of Parkinsons, according to Yung, who suggested the method could eventually become an ultimate treatment for the disease.

Furthermore, the risks of this treatment are similar to what is currently on the market today, he added.

The treatment could also help to treat early-stage Alzheimers patients, slowing down or even halting the degeneration process, although Yung acknowledged that its effectiveness in treating terminal stage patients may be limited since it would be difficult to regenerate enough neural cells when patients brains have shrunk due to the condition.

While animals subjected to the treatment displayed an improvement in neural function following the re-injection, the team has yet to start on clinical trials as such cell therapy is still nascent and largely unregulated in Hong Kong.

Oper Technology is currently seeking investment and often sets up booths at conferences such as last weeks EmTech Hong Kong conference, which focuses on innovation and emerging technologies.

Yung hopes to raise enough funds to begin clinical trials in Australia in the near future, where autologous cell therapies are legal and thus provides an ideal environment for clinical trials.

Read more:
Hong Kong biotech start-up claims world first in stem cell treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases - South China Morning Post

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Like I have consistently mentioned on many of my previous articles, the unlimited capacities of autologous stem cells and platelets never ceases to amaze me.

While at our StemCell Miami Institute (one of the few in the world) we specialize in treating orthopedic related illnesses like: osteoarthritis of the knee, hip, shoulder and issues related to the spine, there are times when we also try to help patients in need of treatments that are outside of the true realm of our medical specialty. Such is the case with Denisse, a close family friend and owner of a busy Nicaraguan restaurant in the city of Doral, where she unfortunately poured (by accident) a pot of hot oil all over the back of her legs, causing her a painful second degree type burn.

Two weeks ago, Denisse called us to see if we could do something to help her with her burn, since she had heard about the tremendous success of many of our stem cell procedures. While she was well aware that we specialized in orthopedic related problems, she hoped that we could help her to expedite the healing process, since the treatment that she initially received at the hospital emergency room (with sulfadiazine), had done little to improve her serious burn and she was also suffering from a severe pain in the affected area.

While this was theoretically in no way our specialty, we knew that cells have a great capacity to heal skin related issues. In addition, platelets have shown tremendous success in accelerating the scarring/curative process in healing wounds, ulcers and also burns. As a matter of fact, I treated a paralytic patient several years ago who was living in a nursing home in order to try and help with an ulcer she had developed in her leg and amazingly, her ulcer/wound completely healed in only one month after the treatment we conducted on her!

So after we discussed the recommended treatment with Denisse and she agreed to move forward with our procedure we created a gelatin like substance from her own plasma and combined it with growth factors (also from her same blood). We then covered the wounded skin area (about the size of a basketball behind her knees) and we initially planned to cover her wound with this gelatin substance every 72 hours.

On the second treatment, we were truly astonished on how well the wound/burn had healed (almost 50 percent improvement) and Denisse mentioned that ever since the first application her pain had subsided tremendously. By the third treatment, we were stunned by how her wound had healed almost 100 percent and we consequently decided to stop the treatment altogether, since her burn had basically already disappeared.

This is another classic example of the unlimited power of Regenerative Medicine. In this particular case, being successful at healing a severe second degree type burn by using the patients own PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma). Consequently, this type of treatment should be considered/implemented at hospital ERs and burn centers around the globe. Note that we would love the opportunity to teach doctors and nurses, hopefully in the future, this innovative treatment/technique, so they can in turn help other patients, just like we helped our friend Denisse. Furthermore, we are very happy to report that Denisse has been able to return to work at her busy restaurant and her burn has almost completely diminished!

So if you, a friend or any family members are interested in receiving one of these innovative stem cell or PRP procedures, please call us at 305-598-7777. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.stemcellmia.com(available in both English & Spanish) and you can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and on our YouTube channel. Dr. Castellanos would be happy to address any of your specific questions or concerns via his email: stemdoc305@gmail.com.

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Using Stem Cells to Heal Burns - Miami's Community Newspapers

The researchers constructed mouse models for WNT10A-associated HED by deleting the Wnt10a gene. The mutant mice displayed the same symptoms as HED patients with severe loss-of-function mutations in the WNT10A gene. Long-term absence of WNT10A leads to miniaturization of hair follicle structures and enlargement of the associated sebaceous glands, a phenomenon that is also observed in male pattern baldness.

We showed "that -catenin pathway activity and adult epithelial progenitor proliferation are reduced in the absence of WNT10A, and identify Wnt-active self-renewing stem cells in affected tissues including hair follicles, sebaceous glands, taste buds, nails, and sweat ducts, the authors wrote. Human and mouse WNT10A mutant palmoplantar and tongue epithelia also display specific differentiation defects that are mimicked by the loss of the transcription factor KLF4. We found that -catenin interacts directly with region-specific LEF/TCF [lymphoid enhancer factor/T-cell factor] factors, and with KLF4 in differentiating, but not proliferating, cells to promote expression of specialized keratins required for normal tissue structure and integrity.

Interestingly, the UPenn team also discovered that cracking and scaling of palm and foot sole skin in WNT10A patients is due to decreased expression of a structural protein called keratin 9, which is specifically expressed in these regions of skin and contributes to its mechanical integrity.

"Our studies took us back and forth between human patients and our mouse model," said Dr. Millar. "Our goal was to find what happened to cellular components affected by the WNT10A mutation to make better treatments."

Dr. Millar and her colleagues showed that decreased proliferation and keratin 9 expression in the absence of WNT10A resulted from the failure of signaling through a well-characterized pathway that stabilizes -catenin, allowing it to enter the cell nucleus and activate gene transcription. These findings indicate that small-molecule drugs that activate the -catenin pathway downstream of WNT10A could potentially be used to treat hair thinning and palm and sole skin defects in WNT10A patients. These agents may also be useful for preventing hair loss in a subgroup of people with male-pattern baldness.

Read more:
Potential Baldness Pathway Uncovered while Studying Rare Skin ... - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

PRP Skin Regeneration Therapy, a type of regenerative medicine with the patients own blood, uses components called platelets in the blood to rejuvenate the skin.

Based on an innate wound-healing ability, the therapy is performed by injecting components collected from the blood and is associated with no risk of allergy or infections. The safe therapy has been studied and applied in a variety of fields. It is indicated for a wide variety of conditions; it is used for the treatment of trauma and burn in the department of plastic surgery and also used as an adjunct to implant therapy in the department of dentistry.

Our clinics have introduced a new technology for extraction of platelet-rich plasma containing autologous white blood cells that has a PRP enrichment rate of about 6- to 10-fold (about three to five times higher than that for conventional one). It also contains white blood cells, which are not contained in conventional PRP. The therapy is found to have much greater efficacy in rejuvenating the skin, eliminating wrinkles, and reducing irregularities from acne marks compared with conventional therapy.

Indications: Expected Effects in Cosmetic Medicine

PRP is particularly effective for crepy skin under the eyes (fine wrinkles) that are difficult to treat by conventional Rejuvenation Therapy. Inducing skin regeneration, the therapy is also effective in treating wrinkles, acne marks, sags and wrinkles on the neck.

Features of the Process Include:

1. Allowing the extraction of White Blood Cells not found in conventional PRP

2. The interaction between PRP and white blood cells results in the release of growth factors that potentiate the natural healing power and tissue reorganization potential at injection sites and subsequent regeneration of the skin.

3. In conventional therapy, it takes about two months for any benefit to be seen, although the time varies among individuals. New-PRP Skin Regeneration Therapy produces noticeable symptomatic improvement in a short period of about two weeks.

Comparison with Conventional Procedures

The PRP enrichment rate is three to five times higher than that for conventional procedures, and the time to benefit is reduced to one-fourth.

Mechanism of New-PRP Skin Regeneration Therapy

PRP Skin Regeneration Therapy uses components called platelets contained in the blood. Platelets play a role in stopping bleeding and repairing damaged blood vessels and cells in the body. Platelets contain substances called growth factors that activate and rejuvenate cells in the body. The growth factors, when released, induce the production of collagen and generation of new capillaries to rejuvenate the skin.

Precautions on How to Choose PRP Therapy

Many clinics now use what they call autologous platelets to eliminate wrinkles and treat acne marks. All those clinics claim skin regeneration therapy with autologous platelets. However, the efficacy of therapy differs substantially.

Important factors for greater efficacy include the concentration and component of platelets for injection. As described previously, skin regeneration with PRP is based on the mechanism that platelets release a variety of growth factors to promote tissue repair, angiogenesis, and collagen production for skin rejuvenation.

The efficacy is enhanced by improving the quality of platelets. Our clinics use a method of injecting platelet-rich plasma containing autologous white blood cells that is prepared by mixing enriched platelets (6 to 10 fold) collected from blood and an appropriate amount of white blood cells, which are rarely contained in common PRP. Our method is found to be highly effective in a range of symptoms.

Skin Rejuvenation with PRP

1. Injection of Platelet Component (PRP):The aged skin has less collagen, low elasticity, reduced amount of hyaluronic acid, and low ability to retain moisture.

2. Release of Growth Factors From Platelet Component (PRP) cell growth is activated, and collagen is produced.

3. Regeneration and Rejuvenation of Skin Tissue:Here Collagen is produced, and skin elasticity is improved. The ability to retain moisture is restored.

For separation of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a dedicated kit called Fibrinet AGF is used. The use of a specific filter and a centrifuge achieves a high platelet recovery rate of 97% or more and allows preparation of plasma containing six to ten times as many platelets as the common one. This is a three step process:

Step 1: Collection of Blood

Step 2:Separation of Platelet Component A specific filter and a centrifuge are used to prepare platelet-rich plasma (PRP) containing autologous white blood cells.

Step 3. Injection of Platelet Component The platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with autologous white blood cells is injected into the area of concern. It takes about 30 to 40 minutes from blood collection to injection.

Platelets and white blood cells exert a synergistic effect, resulting in the release of a variety of growth factors at the injection sites. This promotes the production of collagen and hyaluronic acid and wound healing, leading to improvement of symptoms such as wrinkles and irregularities from acne marks.

Comparison of Conventional Anti-Aging Therapy

PRP Skin Regeneration Therapy is expected to provide great benefit for crepy skin under the eyes, which are difficult to treat with conventional rejuvenating injections and laser therapy. The therapy uses the patients own blood for rejuvenation and thus poses no risk of infection or allergy. It has the advantage of a longer duration of efficacy compared with injection of hyaluronic acid and collagen that are absorbed into the body. Other features such as no need for skin incision and short downtime (swelling usually resolves in two to three hours) make this therapy a safe treatment.

NOTE: When injection is performed under the eyes, redness may persist for two to three days but resolve over time.

Consult a physician about the best procedure, depending on the sites and conditions of your wrinkles and others symptoms.

Before and After

Another feature of the therapy is that the patient will experience a natural change in the operative site, as well as minimal discomfort as the beneficial effects gradually occur after about two weeks of therapy.

As simple as giving a tube of blood, this nonsurgical treatment utilises patients own platelets and stem cells to promote wound healing. PRP can effectively improve the bodys natural collagen production, resulting in a more youthful appearance.

Neocel PRP kits are the only FDA approved stem cells harvesting kit in the world. The Wembley MediSpa in Cape Town is amongst the few clinics in South Africa to offer this world class treatment with a world class Doctor (90 120 mins).

More:
Stem Cells PRP, Acne & Skin Rejuvenation Cape Town

While the search for possible cures for cancer continue in laboratories around the world, exciting new research turns our attention to a commonly available, inexpensive vitamin. Thats because a humble vitamin has been found to seek out and destroy cancer stem cells, which are cells that are believed to drive the creation of new cancer cells and cancer tumors.

The study, published in the medical journal Oncotarget, found that vitamin C can actually seek out and destroy cancer stem cells, thereby preventing the spread of the disease. Vitamin C was found by researchers to be up to 10 times more effective at killing cancer stem cells than experimental drugs. Thats good news considering the toll that cancer is currently taking. Cancer is currently the second leading cause of death and killed almost 9 million people in 2015 alone.

Lead study author Dr. Michael P. Lisanti, professor of translational medicine at the University of Salford said in an interview with Medical News Today: We have been looking at how to target cancer stem cells with a range of natural substancesbut by far the most exciting are the results with vitamin C. Vitamin C is cheap, natural, nontoxic and readily available, so to have it as a potential weapon in the fight against cancer would be a significant step.

Vitamin C is found in most fruits and vegetables, but especially in red bell peppers, strawberries, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, pomegranates, black currants, spinach, beet greens, tomatoes and sprouts. Eating a plant-based or largely plant-based diet high in vitamin C-rich foods may be helpful in preventing or treating cancer, but supplementation may be necessary to achieve the study results. Vitamin C is available in a variety of forms, with ascorbic acid being the primary one, along with other buffered options such as calcium ascorbate. The Oncotarget study found that ascorbic acid effectively sought out and destroyed cancer stem cells.

It is not clear how much vitamin C is necessary to create the anti-cancer results. More research may help to determine the ideal dosage. The recommended dietary intake is 90 milligrams of vitamin C, but many natural health experts believe that this amount is extremely low and doesnt take stress or diseases like cancer into account. Stress causes the rapid depletion of vitamin C. Our stress glands, the adrenal glands, which are two small, triangular-shaped glands that sit atop the kidneys in the abdominal region, use high amounts of vitamin C, particularly when they are dealing with acute or chronic stress. Many natural health experts recommend 2000 milligrams of vitamin C daily, and sometimes even more than that if it is part of a therapeutic protocol.

Nobel Prize winner Dr. Linus Pauling first discovered vitamin C and its role in fighting cancer. This new Oncotarget study builds on Dr. Paulings research, showing that vitamin C also targets cancer stem cells, an important advancement in our knowledge of cancer and vitamin C. Other research published in the medical journal Science found that high doses of vitamin C may help in the treatment of colorectal cancer. It is a good idea to work with a naturally-minded health professional if you intend to take high doses of vitamin C, divided throughout the day.

Because vitamin C is water soluble, it is not stored in our body and must therefore be ingested on a daily basis to avoid a deficiency. Some of the symptoms of a vitamin C deficiency include: excessive hair loss, becoming exhausted easily, fragile bones, frequent nosebleeds, gums that bleed easily, skin that bruises easily, and sores or wounds that heal slowly.

Vitamin C is also crucial to the formation of bones and teeth, digestion, blood cell formation, wound healing and the production of collagen, which is involved in maintaining the skins youthful elasticity.

Related:Dont Believe in Herbal Medicine? 10 Things to Change Your MindThe 5 Best Herbs to Soothe Your NervesShould You Actually Starve a Fever?

Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD, DNM is the publisher of the free e-news Worlds Healthiest News, president of PureFood BC, and an international best-selling and 20-time published book author whose works include: The Life Force Diet: 3 Weeks to Supercharge Your Health and Get Slim with Enzyme-Rich Foods.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Read the rest here:
The Vitamin That Targets and Kills Cancer Stem Cells - Care2.com

June 6, 2017 ISkin (three-dimensional cultured skin) derived from human iPSCs. Immunohistochemical analysis with antibodies to KERATIN 14 (KRT14), p63, cytokeratins (Pan-CK), involucrin, laminin 5, loricrin, KRT10, and filaggrin. The multilayered epidermis expressed KRT14, involucrin, laminin 5, Pan-CK, loricrin, KRT10, and filaggrin in iSkin, indicating that iPSC-keratinocytes terminally differentiate in the skin equivalents. Scale bar is 100 m. Credit: Kazuhiro Kajiwara.

Myelomeningocele is a severe congenital defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth, putting those affected at risk of lifelong neurological problems. In a preclinical study published June 6th in Stem Cell Reports, researchers developed a stem cell-based therapy for generating skin grafts to cover myelomeningocele defects before birth. They first generated artificial skin from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and then successfully transplanted the skin grafts into rat fetuses with myelomeningocele.

"We provide preclinical proof of concept for a fetal therapy that could improve outcomes and prevent lifelong complications associated with myelomeningoceleone of the most severe birth defects," says senior study author Akihiro Umezawa of Japan's National Research Institute for Child Health and Development. "Since our fetal cell treatment is minimally invasive, it has the potential to become a much-needed novel treatment for myelomeningocele."

Myelomeningocele, which is the most serious and common form of spina bifida, is a neural tube defect in which the bones of the spine do not completely form. As a result, parts of the spinal cord and nerves come through the open part of the spine. A baby born with this disorder typically has an open area or a fluid-filled sac on the mid to lower back. Most children with this condition are at risk of brain damage because too much fluid builds up in their brains. They also often experience symptoms such as loss of bladder or bowel control, loss of feeling in the legs or feet, and paralysis of the legs.

Babies born with myelomeningocele usually undergo surgery to repair the defect within the first few days of life. Some highly specialized centers also offer intrauterine surgery to close the defect before the baby is born. Although prenatal surgery can improve later neurological outcomes compared with postnatal surgery, it is also associated with higher rates of preterm birth and other serious complications, underscoring the need for safe and effective fetal therapies.

To address this problem, Umezawa and his team set out to develop a minimally invasive approach for generating and transplanting skin grafts that could cover large myelomeningocele defects earlier during pregnancy, potentially improving long-term outcomes while reducing surgical risks. In particular, they were interested in using iPSC technology, which involves genetically reprogramming patients' cells to an embryonic stem cell-like state and then converting these immature cells into specialized cell types found in different parts of the body. This approach avoids ethical concerns while offering the advantages of a potentially unlimited source of various cell types for transplantation, as well as minimal risk of graft rejection by the immune system.

In the new study, the researchers first generated human iPSCs from fetal cells taken from amniotic fluid from two pregnancies with severe fetal disease (Down syndrome and twin-twin3 transfusion syndrome). They then used a chemical cocktail in a novel protocol to turn the iPSCs into skin cells and treated these cells with additional compounds such as epidermal growth factor to promote their growth into multi-layered skin. In total, it took approximately 14 weeks from amniotic fluid preparation to 3D skin generation, which would allow for transplantation to be performed in humans during the therapeutic window of 28-29 weeks of gestation.

Next, the researchers transplanted the 3D skin grafts into 20 rat fetuses through a small incision in the uterine wall. The artificial skin partially covered the myelomeningocele defects in eight of the newborn rats and completely covered the defects in four of the newborn rats, protecting the spinal cord from direct exposure to harmful chemicals in the external environment. Moreover, the engrafted 3D skin regenerated with the growth of the fetus and accelerated skin coverage throughout the pregnancy period. Notably, the transplanted skin cells did not lead to tumor formation, but the treatment significantly decreased birth weight and body length.

"We are encouraged by our results and believe that our fetal stem cell therapy has great potential to become a novel treatment for myelomeningocele," Umezawa says. "However, additional studies in larger animals are needed to demonstrate that our fetal stem cell therapy safely promotes long-term skin regeneration and neurological improvement."

Explore further: Prenatal stem cell treatment improves mobility issues caused by spina bifida

More information: Stem Cell Reports, Kajiwara et al.: "Fetal therapy model of myelomeningocele with three-dimensional skin using amniotic fluid cell-derived induced pluripotent stem cells" http://www.cell.com/stem-cell-reports/fulltext/S2213-6711(17)30220-5 , DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.05.013

Journal reference: Stem Cell Reports

Provided by: Cell Press

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Myelomeningocele is a severe congenital defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth, putting those affected at risk of lifelong neurological problems. In a preclinical study published June 6th ...

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3-D skin made of stem cells treats backbone birth defect in rodents - Medical Xpress

New skin begins to regenerate as soon as 4 days after this has been sprayed on patients, compared to skin grafting surgery which may take weeks of pain and possible infections.

Patients who suffer from burn wounds and scars that cant heal on their own only have 1 option: skin graft surgery. This can be very painful, and usually leads to several other complications, and it takes forever to actually heal.

However, RenovaCare has developed a new breakthrough piece of tech: CellMist, a gun that sprays stem cells into a patients burn wound, effectively allowing healthy skin to grow out of it.

It works literally like we described it as. Within 90 minutes of a patient being brought to the emergency room, they stem cells are isolated, processed, put in a liquid suspension, and then loaded into the CellMist gun. CellMist then gently sprays the stem cells onto the patients burn wound.

Tests conducted in Europe and the US have shown that new skin begins to regenerate as soon as 4 days after its been sprayed on patients, compared to skin grafting surgery which may take weeks of pain and possible infections.

Source: Next Big Future

So far, CellMist has only been used to treat second degree burns. However, evidence has shown that it can be used for other skin wounds and skin disorders. They dont think itll work for third degree burns though, as this kind of burn wound has damaged the entire epidermis and dermis levels. CellMist isnt advanced enough to heal such a deep burn wound, and victims would unfortunately have to stick to more traditional methods of treatment. First degree burn wounds on the other hand only barely touch the epidermis, meaning it can still heal on its own, thus not needing such an expensive piece of technology.

It is good to note that even though there is evidence that it might be able to heal things other than burns, CellMist wasnt built to regenerate skin lost from other kinds of injuries or diseases. Its also pretty limited, because as we stated earlier, it should be used immediately after the burn incident has occurred, or else it wont work.

Its still a pretty handy invention. The reason why skin grafting is so risky is because it involves cutting the skin open and leaving it open for 3-4 weeks. This means that nasty bacteria and fungi can easily get into the open wound within that time, causing several infections and complications.

Source: Next Big Future

With CellMist, however, simply involves extracting a thin layer of the patients healthy skin and stem cells and turning it into a spray, and then distributing the stem cells into the burn wound evenly, without damaging other healthy skin cells. The healing time only takes a few days, so there is little chance for an infection to occur if treated properly. And since the patients own skin cells are used in the process, the regenerated skin looks much more natural, with only little scarring. The stem cells grow into fully functioning layers of skin, from the dermis, to the epidermis, to even blood vessels.

Hopefully, this cool new invention will make way for other forms of stem cell treatments for the reconstruction of other organs, like ones heart and kidneys.

Article Sources:

Deccan Chronicle

Next Big Future

Read more Got Peanut Allergies? Theres a Patch to Lessen Your Bodys Reaction

Continued here:
This Stem Cell Gun Helps Burn Victims Grow New Skin Faster - GineersNow (press release) (registration) (blog)

Baldness is an accepted part of the aging process for some, and a source of distress for others. Hair loss affects millions of men and women, yet despite decades of research, a cure is still not available. Just how close are we to finding a magic bullet for baldness? Medical News Today take a look at the evidence.

Androgenetic alopecia - which is more commonly known as male pattern baldness and female pattern baldness - is the most common type of hair loss, affecting around 30 million women and 50 million men across the United States.

In men, hair loss begins above both temples and recedes over time to form an "M" shape. Hair also tends to thin at the crown and may progress to partial or complete baldness. In women, the hairline does not recede and rarely results in total baldness, but the hair does usually become thinner all over the head.

Male pattern baldness is hereditary and may be linked to male sex hormones. Male hair loss can start as early as during adolescence. It affects two thirds of men by age 35, and around 85 percent of men by the age of 50.

The causes of female pattern baldness are unclear. However, hair loss happens most frequently in women after menopause, which indicates that the condition may be associated with decreasing female hormones.

With androgenetic alopecia affecting so many people, a permanent cure would not only lessen anxiety for a significant percentage of the population, but it would also prove financially advantageous to the pharmaceutical company responsible for the discovery.

Hair is made up of the hair follicle (a pocket in the skin that anchors each hair) and the shaft (the visible fiber above the scalp). In the hair bulb, located at the base of the follicle, cells divide and grow to produce the hair shaft, which is made from a protein called keratin. Papilla that surround the bulb contain tiny blood vessels that nourish the hair follicles and deliver hormones to regulate the growth and structure of the hair.

Hair follicles, much like all cells, have cycles. A natural part of the cycle involves shedding around 50 to 100 hairs per day.

Each follicle produces hair for 2 to 6 years and then takes a break for several months. While the hair follicle is in its rest phase, the hair falls out. There are around 100,000 follicles on the scalp, but because each follicle rests at a different time and others produce hairs, hair loss is usually unnoticeable. More noticeable hair loss occurs when there is a disruption to the growth and shedding cycle, or if the hair follicle is obliterated and replaced with scar tissue.

Scientists now understand that pattern baldness occurs through a phenomenon known as miniaturization. Some hair follicles appear to be genetically oversensitive to the actions of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is a hormone that is converted from testosterone with the help of an enzyme held in the follicle's oil glands.

DHT binds to receptors in the hair follicles and shrinks them, making them progressively smaller. Over time, the follicles produce thinner hairs, and they grow for a shorter time than normal. Eventually, the follicle no longer produces hair, leaving the area bald.

Currently, there are few available treatment options to halt or reverse miniaturization. Most hair loss treatments only manage hair loss, rather than being a permanent solution.

The only two drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat hair loss are minoxidil (Rogaine) and finasteride (Propecia).

Minoxidil's use for pattern baldness was discovered by accident. Minoxidil was widely used to treat high blood pressure, but researchers found that one of drug's side effects was hair growth in unexpected areas.

Minoxidil lotion is applied to the scalp and may work by increasing blood flow, and therefore nourishment, to the hair follicles. The American Hair Loss Association say that most experts agree that Minoxidil is "a relatively marginally effective drug in the fight against hair loss."

The treatment has zero effect on the hormonal process of hair loss, and its benefits are temporary. Hair loss continues if usage is discontinued.

Finasteride's side effects of hair growth were stumbled upon during the development of a drug to treat enlarged prostate glands.

Finasteride inhibits type II 5-alpha-reductase, which is the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone into the more potent androgen DHT. DHT levels are reported to be reduced by 60 percent when the drug is taken, which prevents the susceptible follicles from being affected by the hormone and returning their normal size.

This treatment does not work in women, and its effect only remains for as long as it is taken.

Dutasteride (Avodart) is used to treat prostatic enlargement. While the FDA has not approved the drug to treat hair loss, physicians sometimes prescribe dutasteride off-label for male pattern baldness.

Dutasteride works similarly to finasteride, but it may be more effective. Like finasteride, dutasteride inhibits the activity of type II 5-alpha reductase. However, dutasteride additionally inhibits type I of the enzyme. Blocking both types of the enzyme lowers DHT even more and reduces the risk of damage to hair follicles.

This drug faces the same limitations as finasteride, meaning that it only works if taken daily and might become less effective over time.

These therapies may slow down or prevent further hair loss, and they could stimulate regrowth from follicles that have been dormant but still viable. However, they can do little for follicles that have already become inactive. Using them at an earlier stage of hair loss will see more favorable results.

Hair transplantation involves harvesting follicles from the back of the head that are DHT resistant and transplanting them to bald areas. A surgeon will remove minuscule plugs of skin that contain a few hairs and implant the plugs where the follicles are inactive. Around 15 percent of hairs emerge from the follicle as a single hair, and 15 percent grow in groups of four or five hairs.

At the end of the procedure, the person will still have the same amount of hair - it will just be distributed more evenly around the scalp. Treating hair loss through surgical procedure can be painful and expensive. There is also a risk of scarring and infection.

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a form of light and heat treatment. LLLT has been shown to stimulate hair growth in both men and women. Researchers hypothesize that the main mechanisms involved in the process is the stimulation of epidermal stem cells in the follicle and shifting the follicle back into the growth phase of the cycle.

Existing medicines for treating hair loss have limited effectiveness and require ongoing use for the benefits of the treatment to continue.

Researchers continue to strive for the holy grail of hair loss cures by trying to gain a better understanding of how the hair growth cycle is controlled. Rather than treating the symptoms of hair loss, scientists aim to target the cause, which, in turn, may yield fewer side effects. Recently, there have been numerous discoveries in the hair loss arena that may lead to new promising treatments.

Researchers from University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas have identified a protein called KROX20, which switches on cells in the skin and tells them to become hair. Furthermore, these hair precursor cells then go on to produce a protein called stem cell factor (SCF), which plays a critical role in hair pigmentation.

When the SCF gene was deleted in the hair precursor cells in mice, they grew gray hair that turned white with age. Moreover, when the KROX20-producing cells were removed, the hair ceased growing, and the mice became bald.

"With this knowledge, we hope in the future to create a topical compound or to safely deliver the necessary gene to hair follicles to correct these cosmetic problems," said Dr. Lu Le, associate professor of dermatology at UT Southwestern.

Future work by the team will focus on finding out whether KROX20 and the SCF gene stop functioning properly and lead to male pattern baldness.

A study led by the University Edinburgh in the United Kingdom discovered 287 genetic regions involved in male pattern baldness. Many of the genes that the researchers identified were linked with hair structure and development.

"We identified hundreds of new genetic signals," said Saskia Hagenaars, a Ph.D. student from the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology. "It was interesting to find that many of the genetics signals for male pattern baldness came from the X chromosome, which men inherit from their mothers."

Not only could the team's findings help to predict a man's likelihood of experiencing severe hair loss, but they could also provide new targets for drug developments to treat baldness.

University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) researchers reported that defects in a type of immune cell called Tregs - which are usually associated with controlling inflammation - might be responsible for a different kind of hair loss: alopecia areata. They say that Tregs may also play a role in male pattern baldness.

In a mouse model, Michael Rosenblum, Ph.D., an assistant professor of dermatology at UCSF, and colleagues found that Tregs trigger stem cells in the skin, which promote healthy hair. Without partnering up with Tregs, the stem cells are unable to regenerate hair follicles, and this leads to hair loss.

"It's as if the skin stem cells and Tregs have co-evolved, so that the Tregs not only guard the stem cells against inflammation but also take part in their regenerative work," explained Prof. Rosenblum. "Now the stem cells rely on the Tregs completely to know when it's time to start regenerating."

Hair growth can be restored by inhibiting the Janus kinase (JAK) family of enzymes that are located in hair follicles, according to investigators from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) in New York City, NY.

Tests with mouse and human hair follicles showed that applying JAK inhibitors directly to the skin promoted "rapid and robust hair growth." Two JAK inhibitors that are approved by the FDA include ruxolitinib (for the treatment of blood diseases), and tofacitini (for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis).

In a small clinical trial, Angela M. Christiano, Ph.D. - the Richard and Mildred Rhodebeck Professor of Dermatology and professor of genetics and development at CUMC - reported that treating moderate to severe alopecia areata with ruxolitinib triggered an average hair regrowth of 92 percent.

Prof. Christiano and team plan to expand their studies to include testing JAK inhibitors in other conditions and pattern baldness. "We expect JAK inhibitors to have widespread utility across many forms of hair loss based on their mechanism of action in both the hair follicle and immune cells," she added.

Researchers from the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in San Diego, CA, developed a technique to generate new hair using pluripotent stem cells. This method would provide an unlimited source of cells without being limited to transplanting follicles from one part of the head to another.

Alexey Terskikh, Ph.D., associate professor in the Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program at Sanford-Burnham, and collaborators coaxed human pluripotent stem cells to become dermal papilla cells.

"We developed a protocol to drive human pluripotent stem cells to differentiate into dermal papilla cells and confirmed their ability to induce hair growth when transplanted into mice," said Prof. Terskikh. The next step in their research is "to transplant human dermal papilla cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells back into human subjects."

Although giant strides to cure baldness are being made in laboratories globally, research is ongoing and the wait for a permanent solution continues.

Excerpt from:
Baldness: How close are we to a cure? - Medical News Today

RenovaCare is developing breakthrough technologies to address Americas $45 billion wound and burn treatment market. Our flagship CellMist System makes use of a patients own stem cells, which are sprayed onto wounds using our novel SkinGun device.

For patients suffering severe burns and other wounds, the prospect of a quick-healing, gentle spray containing their own stem cells will be a promising alternative to conventional skin graft surgery, which can be painful, prone to complications, and slow-to-heal. Based on preliminary case studies, CellMist System patients can be treated within 90 minutes of arriving in an emergency room; a patients stem cells are isolated, processed, and sprayed on to wound sites for rapid healing.

Preliminary investigational use in Europe and the United States indicate the potential efficacy and safety of RenovaCares technologies. Clinical observations point to the potential for regeneration of new skin in as little as four days, rather than the many weeks of painful and risky recovery required by traditional skin graft techniques. These technologies are the result of nearly a decade of ongoing research and development dedicated to finding the most effective way to access the regenerative properties of a patients own skin stem cells, and the most efficient way to deliver these potent cells to heal moderate to severe skin wounds. We believe that RenovaCares CellMist System and SkinGun spray device are the worlds most advanced technologies of their kind.

This device system requires further clinical evaluation and data collection prior to submission of a premarketing application to the US FDA. At this time it is an investigational system and is not available for general use or sales in the United States.

The CellMist System RenovaCares CellMist System is comprised of two components:

Wikipedia indicates that so far the skin gun treatment has been used exclusively with second degree burns, though there is strong evidence that the treatment will be successful in treating a variety of skin wounds and skin disorders. Patients with infected wounds or with delay in wound healing are suitable for cell grafting treatment. Third-degree burns, however, completely deprive victims of both their epidermis and dermis skin levels, which exposes the tissue surrounding the muscles. The skin gun has not progressed to the point where it can be used for such advanced wounds, and these patients must seek more traditional treatment methods. The skin gun is generally not used for burn victims with anything less than a second-degree burn either. First degree-burns still maintain portions of the epidermis and can readily heal on their own, thus they do not need this expensive technology.

Currently, the skin guns applications have not been extended to include the regeneration of skin lost due to other injuries or skin diseases. It is also limited in that it is only effective immediately following the burn incident.

The average healing time for patients with second degree burns is three to four weeks. This is reduced to a matter of days with skin gun treatment

Traditional skin grafting can be risky, in that chances for infection are relatively high. The skin gun alleviates this concern because the increased speed in which the wound heals directly correlates to the decreased time the wound can be vulnerable to infection. Because of the rapid re-epithelialization associated with skin gun treatment, harmful side effects that can result from an open wound are significantly reduced. Applying the skin cells is quick and doesnt harm the patient because only a thin layer of the patients healthy skin is extracted from the body into the aqueous spray. The electronic spray distributes the skin cells uniformly without damaging the skin cells, and patients feel as if they are sprayed with salt water.

Because the skin cells are actually the patients own cells, the skin that is regenerated looks more natural than skin grown from traditional methods. During recovery, the skin cells grow into fully functional layers of the skin, including the dermis, epidermis, and blood vessels.[17] The regenerated skin leaves little scarring. The basic idea of optimizing regenerative healing techniques to damaged biological structures demonstrated by the skin gun in the future may also be applied to engineering reconstruction of vital organs, such as the heart and kidneys.

There are major limitations: the method will not work on deep burns that go through bone and muscle, specifically below the dermis. As of 2011, only several dozen patients have been treated; it remains an experimental, not a proven, method. As of 2011, the skin gun was still in its prototyping stage, since it has only treated a dozen patients in Germany and the US, compared to over 50,000 treated with Dermagraft bioengineered skin substitute. There is thus a lack of published peer reviewed clinical evidence, and no knowledge of long-term stability of the newly generated skin

Skingun Procedure

There is a seven page review of the skingun at the International Journal of Pharmacometrics and Integrated Biosciences (IJPIB)

Skingun Procedure Initially stamp-sized healthy skin of the injured patient is taken and stem cells were collected from it. Then they are harvested by using suitable enzymes. The prepared cell suspension is injected into sterile syringe and inserted into the gun. This gun helps in uniform spreading of the cells on wound. These cells will migrate, multiple, and differentiate forming a new tissue. The complete process occurs with in 2 hr. Full regeneration of skin occurs in 2 weeks and complete formation of texture tools 2-3 months

Stage 1

The CellMist Solution is a liquid suspension containing a patients own regenerative skin stem cells. A small sample (as little as a square inch) of the patients skin is quickly processed to liberate the stem cells from surrounding tissue. The resulting product is referred to as the CellMist Solution. The CellMist Solution is placed in the SkinGun for spray application onto the patients wound.

The CellMist Solution, containing the patients stem cells, is transferred to the SkinGun. The SkinGun sprays the cells onto wound sites to begin healing. Unlike conventional aerosol and pump systems, our next-generation fluid sprayer does not expose fragile cells to strong forces that can tear them apart. Instead our SkinGun gently delivers the CellMist Solution directly to the wound site using a positive-pressure air stream.

SOURCES RenovaCare, Wikipedia, International Journal of Pharmacometrics and Integrated Biosciences (IJPIB)

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Stem cells delivered via Skin gun can reduce second degree ...

In experiments in mice, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered that regulatory T cells (Tregs; pronounced tee-regs), a type of immune cell generally associated with controlling inflammation,directly trigger stem cells in the skin to promote healthy hair growth. Without these immune cells as partners, the researchers found, the stem cells cannot regenerate hair follicles, leading to baldness.

Our hair follicles are constantly recycling: when a hair falls out, a portion of the hair follicle has to grow back, saidMichael Rosenblum, M.D., an assistant professor of dermatology at UCSF and senior author on the new paper. This has been thought to be an entirely stem cell-dependent process, but it turns out Tregs are essential. If you knock out this one immune cell type, hair just doesnt grow.

The new study published online May 26 inCell suggests that defects in Tregs could be responsible for alopecia areata, a common autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss, and could potentially play a role in other forms of baldness, including male pattern baldness, Rosenblum said. Since the same stem cells are responsible for helping heal the skin after injury, the study raises the possibility that Tregs may play a key role in wound repair as well.

Normally Tregs act as peacekeepers and diplomats, informing the rest of the immune system of the difference between friend and foe. When Tregs dont function properly, we may develop allergies to harmless substances like peanut protein or cat dander, or suffer from autoimmune disorders in which the immune system turns on the bodys own tissues.

Like other immune cells, most Tregs reside in the bodys lymph nodes, but some live permanently in other tissues, where they seem to have evolved to assist with local metabolic functions as well as playing their normal anti-inflammatory role. In the skin, for example, Rosenblum and colleagues have previously shown that Tregs help establish immune tolerance to healthy skin microbes in newborn mice, and these cells also secrete molecules that help with wound healing into adulthood.

Rosenblum, who is both an immunologist and a dermatologist, wanted to better understand the role of these resident immune cells in skin health. To do this, he and his team developed a technique for temporarily removing Tregs from the skin. But when they shaved patches of hair from these mice to make observations of the affected skin, they made a surprising discovery. We quickly noticed that the shaved patches of hair never grew back, and we thought, Hmm, now thats interesting, Rosenblum said. We realized we had to delve into this further.

In the new research, led by UCSF postdoctoral fellow and first authorNiwa Ali,several lines of evidence suggested that Tregs play a role in triggering hair follicle regeneration.

First, imaging experiments revealed that Tregs have a close relationship with the stem cells that reside within hair follicles and allow them to regenerate: the number of active Tregs clustering around follicle stem cells typically swells by three-fold as follicles enter the growth phase of their regular cycle of rest and regeneration. Also, removing Tregs from the skin blocked hair regrowth only if this was done within the first three days after shaving a patch of skin, when follicle regeneration would normally be activated. Getting rid of Tregs later on, once the regeneration had already begun, had no effect on hair regrowth.

Tregs role in triggering hair growth did not appear related to their normal ability to tamp down tissue inflammation, the researchers found. Instead, they discovered that Tregs trigger stem cell activation directly through a common cell-cell communication system known as the Notch pathway. First, the team demonstrated that Tregs in the skin express unusually high levels of a Notch signaling protein called Jagged 1 (Jag1), compared to Tregs elsewhere in the body. They then showed that removing Tregs from the skin significantly reduced Notch signaling in follicle stem cells, and that replacing Tregs with microscopic beads covered in Jag1 protein restored Notch signaling in the stem cells and successfully activated follicle regeneration.

Its as if the skin stem cells and Tregs have co-evolved, so that the Tregs not only guard the stem cells against inflammation but also take part in their regenerative work, Rosenblum said. Now the stem cells rely on the Tregs completely to know when its time to start regenerating.

Rosenblum said the findings may have implications for alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that interferes with hair follicle regeneration and causes patients to lose hair in patches from their scalp, eyebrows, and faces. Alopecia is among the most common human autoimmune diseases its as common as rheumatoid arthritis, and more common than type 1 diabetes but scientists have little idea what causes it.

After his team first observed hair loss in Treg-deficient mice, Rosenblum learned that the genes associated with alopecia in previous studies are almost all related to Tregs, and treatments that boost Treg function have been shown to be an effective treatment for the disease. Rosenblum speculates that better understanding Tregs critical role in hair growth could lead to improved treatments for hair loss more generally.

The study also adds to a growing sense that immune cells play much broader roles in tissue biology than had previously been appreciated, said Rosenblum, who plans to explore whether Tregs in the skin also play a role in wound healing, since the same follicle stem cells are involved in regenerating skin following injury.

We think of immune cells as coming into a tissue to fight infection, while stem cells are there to regenerate the tissue after its damaged, he said. But what we found here is that stem cells and immune cells have to work together to make regeneration possible.

Niwa Aliof UCSF was the lead author on the new study. Additional authors were Bahar Zirak,Robert Sanchez Rodriguez, Mariela L. Pauli,Hong-An Truong, Kevin Lai,Richard Ahn, Kaitlin Corbin, Margaret M. Lowe, PharmD,Tiffany C. Scharschmidt, M.D., Keyon Taravati, Madeleine R. Tan,Roberto R. Ricardo-Gonzalez, M.D., Audrey Nosbaum, M.D.,Wilson Liao, M.D., andAbul K. Abbas, MBBS, of UCSF; Frank O. Nestle, M.D., of Kings College London; Marta Bertoliniand Ralf Paus, M.D., of the University of Mnster in Germany; and George Cotsarelis, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine.

The work was primarily supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (K08-AR062064, DP2-AR068130, R21-AR066821), the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a Scleroderma Research Foundation grant, the National Psoriasis Foundation and the Dermatology Foundation.

Here is the original post:
A new baldness treatment? | University of California - University of California

Friday November 20 2009

Human embryonic stem cells

Stem cells could create new skin to help burn victims, BBC News reported. It said that French researchers have duplicated the biological steps that occur during skin formation in embryos. This could potentially provide an unlimited source of temporary skin replacements for burn victims while they wait for grafts from their own skin.

The study in mice behind this report used human embryonic stem cells to make keratinocytes (the most common cell types in the skin). These cultured cells were used to create skin equivalents, which grew successfully when they were grafted onto the backs of mice.

This well-conducted research has potentially developed a successful method of culturing tissue in the laboratory that resembles human skin. Only human trials of the technology will show whether such grafts will be accepted (i.e. not rejected by human patients) as permanent transplants or can provide a temporary skin replacement before grafting.

The research was carried out by Dr Hind Guenou and colleagues from the Institute for Stem Cell Therapy and Exploration of Monogenic disease, and BIOalternatives SAS in France along with colleagues in Madrid. The research was funded by the Institut National de la Sant et de la Recherche Mdicale, University Evry Val dEssonne, Association Franaise contre les Myopathies, Fondation Ren Touraine, and Genopole. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest and say that the funders had no role in the studys design, analysis or write-up.

The research was published in thepeer-reviewed medical journal the Lancet.

BBC News has covered this research in a balanced way, pointing out that thiswas animal research and that human studies will follow.

This well-conducted research involved laboratory and animal research which investigated whether epidermal stem cells could be cultured in the laboratory and used in skin grafts.

Burn patients are often treated using autologous skin grafts. These involve a section of healthy skin being removed from another part of the body to harvest the patients own skin cells for culture. A graft for the burn site is produced from this culture. There is a delay of about three weeks between the harvesting of the skin and the graft to allow the cells to grow. During this time, the patient is at risk of dehydration and infection.

Having a ready source of skin cells for temporary grafts while patients are waiting for their autologous grafts would improve the outcome of treatment. With this in mind, the researchers investigated whether keratinocytes (the major cell constituent of the outer layer of the skin, or epidermis) could be derived from human embryonic stem cells.

The researchers began by culturing embryonic stem cells in a specialised medium that encourages cell differentiation (the process whereby cells become specialised). Embryonic stem cells can renew themselves and also have the potential to develop into any type of specialised cell.

Cultures of human embryonic stem cells were then grown on a framework made of fibroblast cells and collagen (a fibrous protein that can form a mesh-like structure) made by fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are the cells that form the underlying structure of tissues and are involved in healing.

The stem cells were manipulated so that they developed into epidermal cells, and monitored throughout their specialisation process to make sure the cells were developing into skin cells. The researchers named the cells keratinocytes derived from human embryonic stem cells (K-hESCs).

After several rounds of subculturing and replication, the cells could be frozen and used in further experiments. Bioengineered skin equivalents were then created by growing the K-hESCs on an artificial matrix. These were then grafted onto the backs of five six-week-old immunodeficient female mice. After 10 to 12 weeks, samples were taken from the implants for analysis.

The researchers confirmed thatthe embryonic stem cells differentiated into keratinocytes, which could be grown in culture medium and which replicated well. These derived skin cells were structurally and functionally similar to normal skin cells in that they could be grown on an artificial matrix using classic techniques.

After 12 weeks of growth on immunodeficient mice, the grafted epidermis had developed into a structure that was consistent with mature human skin.

The researchers concluded that their findings build on previous research and show that K-hESCs can develop into a multi-layer epithelium. This epithelium resembles normal human skin both in cell cultures (in vitro) and following grafting onto live animals (in vivo).

They say that growing human skin from human embryonic stem cells could provide an unlimited resource for temporary skin replacement in patients with large burns who are waiting for autologous skin grafts.

If it can be demonstrated that it works in humans, this technology could improve outcomes for burns patients. The researchers report that the first human trial is currently underway.

At present, skin from deceased donors is used to treat burns patients while they wait for their own skin transplant, but there are often problems with rejection. The researchers highlight several potential benefits of an epidermis reconstructed using K-hESCs, including:

It is important to note that, at present, the researchers are only investigating this technology for providing temporary grafts. They say that whether it can be used for permanent grafts for patients who cant use their own cells needs further investigation. They say that for temporary use, the grafts would only be used for the three-week period while the patients permanent graft is grown.

This is a good study and the findings are exciting in this field, but only human research will tell whether it will have a wider application in the treatment of burns patients.

The rest is here:
Skin grafts from stem cells - NHS