Stem Cell Therapy - Lilli Donovan
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By: Lilli Donovan

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Stem Cell Therapy - Lilli Donovan - Video

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COMPARE CORD BLOOD BANKS

Choosing the right stem cell bank for your family is rarely a quick decision. But when you review the facts, you may find it much easier than you expected. Keep Reading >

1. The collection of cord blood can only take place at the time of delivery, and advanced arrangements must be made.

Cord blood is collected from the umbilical cord immediately after a babys birth, but generally before the placenta has been delivered. The moment of delivery is the only opportunity to harvest a newborns stem cells.

2. There is no risk and no pain for the mother or the baby.

The cord blood is taken from the cord once it has been clamped and cut. Collection is safe for both vaginal and cesarean deliveries. 3. The body often accepts cord blood stem cells better than those from bone marrow.

Cord blood stem cells have a high rate of engraftment, are more tolerant of HLA mismatches, result in a reduced rate of graft-versus-host disease, and are rarely contaminated with latent viruses.

4. Banked cord blood is readily accessible, and there when you need it.

Matched stem cells, which are necessary for transplant, are difficult to obtain due to strict matching requirements. If your childs cord blood is banked, no time is wasted in the search and matching process required when a transplant is needed. 5. Cells taken from your newborn are collected just once, and last for his or her lifetime.

For example, in the event your child contracts a disease, which must be treated with chemotherapy or radiation, there is a probability of a negative impact on the immune system. While an autologous (self) transplant may not be appropriate for every disease, there could be a benefit in using the preserved stem cells to bolster and repopulate your childs blood and immune system as a result of complications from other treatments.

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Stem Cell Research - Stem Cell Treatments - Treatments ...

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BETHESDA, MD. (March, 24, 2015) - The newest gene editing tool - called CRISPR-Cas9 - is leading to new research possibilities in cell biology and neuroscience. This includes the ability to make transgenic animal models more quickly, which helps researchers better study diseases that affect thousands of people each year. Using CRISPR-Cas 9 technology, transgenic mouse models- which are models that contain DNA isolated from one organism transferred into a different organism- are created in a matter of three weeks versus six months. This means the study of gene mutations and potential therapies happens much more rapidly.

A leading researcher in this field of study is Feng Zhang, Ph.D., of the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Zhang is the 2015 recipient of the American Association of Anatomists (AAA) C.J. Herrick Award in Neuroanatomy for his work with the CRISPR-Cas9 genome manipulation technology. On Monday March 30th 2015, Dr. Zhang will lead a lecture, "Development and Applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for Genome Manipulations," at the AAA annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2015.

"One of my long-term goals is to develop CRISPR-Cas9 as a therapeutic strategy, and to do that, we must first concentrate on deploying and refining the technique in vivo. This will help us create better models of disease, identify mechanisms and causal mutations, and make definitive diagnoses," said Dr. Zhang.

Dr. Zhang's talk will focus on the latest developments in CRISPR-Cas9 technology, including applications to study gene function in vivo as well as high throughput screening assays to help speed the level of development is basic science trials. Dr. Zhang's plans to use this technology to study disorders such as Huntington's disease, autism and schizophrenia.

Dr. Zhang will present the findings during the AAA annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2015 meeting on Monday, March 30 from 5:30 - 6:15 p.m. at the Neurobiology Award Hybrid Symposia in room 104AB, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

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About AAA: The American Association of Anatomists (AAA) was founded by Joseph Leidy in Washington, D.C. in 1888 for the "advancement of anatomical science." Today, via research, education and professional development activities, AAA serves as the professional home for an international community of biomedical researchers and educators focusing on the structural foundation of health and disease.

About Experimental Biology (EB): EB is an annual meeting comprised of over 14,000 scientists representing six sponsoring societies and multiple guest societies. Primary focus areas include anatomy, physiology, pathology, biochemistry, nutrition and pharmacology. EB is open to all members of the sponsoring and guest societies and nonmembers interested in the latest research impacting life sciences. Attendees represent scientists, academic institutions, government agencies, non-profit organizations and private corporations.

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

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Gene editing technology investigator honored for groundbreaking research

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Irvine, CA (PRWEB) March 25, 2015

Proove Biosciences, a commercial and research leader in Personalized Medicine, is excited to announce the success of their commercially supported symposium, Personalized Medicine: Incorporating Genetic Testing to Optimize the Management of Pain, at the 31st Annual American Academy of Pain Medicine conference in National Harbor, Maryland on Thursday, March 19th, 2015.

The symposiums faculty, which consisted of former AAPM President Lynn Webster, M.D., former Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians President Sanford Silverman, M.D., and local D.C. pain physician Abraham Cherrick, M.D. presented supporting data for Prooves proprietary genetic tests; tests that are designed to objectively guide clinical decisions in screening for opioid contraindications, improve medication efficacy, and avoid adverse drug events.

Most people don't realize the tremendous variability people have to the same painful stimulus. This is why some people hurt while other don't seem to be bothered by the same type of trauma. states Lynn Webster, M.D. It is now clear that pain sensitivity is significantly influenced by our genes. Scientist are able to identify pain reducing genes and pain elaboration genes.

Webster, M.D. continues, Although it is only an emerging field it is exciting because genotyping may allow us to identify people who are more likely to respond to one drug than another. Even more importantly, genotyping offers potential to identify individuals who may have side effects or toxicity to certain drugs. This means genetic testing can lead to safer and more effective therapy. Personalized medicine uses genetic testing to optimize pain management and many other areas in medicine.

About Proove Biosciences Our Mission is to Change the Future of Medicine. Proove is the proof to improve healthcare decisions. We seek to realize a future when clinicians look back and wonder how they couldve ever prescribed medications without knowing how a patient would respond. With offices in Southern California and the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, the Company is the research leader investigating and publishing data on the genetics of personalized pain medicine with clinical research sites across the United States. Physicians use Proove Biosciences testing to improve outcomes both safety and efficacy of medical treatment. From a simple cheek swab collected in the office, Proove performs proprietary genetic tests in its CLIA-certified laboratory to identify patients at risk for misuse of prescription pain medications and evaluate their metabolism of medications. For more information, please visit http://www.proove.com or call toll free 855-PROOVE-BIO (855-776-6832).

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Proove Biosciences Hosts Symposium on Incorporating Genetic Testing to Optimize the Management of Pain

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Media Coverage for International Medical Genetics Conference 2014
International Medical Genetic Conference 2014.

By: Knowledge Management

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Media Coverage for International Medical Genetics Conference 2014 - Video

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Genetics: How you past can impact your present
Genetics are often discussed as one potential cause for developing depression and anxiety. Elisa shares how her childhood experiences within her family impacted her family, and how God is bringing.

By: Healthy Hearts Healthy Minds

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Genetics: How you past can impact your present - Video

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Amy Kritzer, M.D., of Boston Children's Hospital and Ronit Marom, M.D., Ph.D., of Baylor College of Medicine receive the 2015-2016 Genzyme/ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine Medical Genetics Training Award in Clinical Biochemical Genetics

Amy Kritzer, MD of Boston Children's Hospital and Ronit Marom, MD PhD of Baylor College of Medicine were honored as the 2015-2016 recipients of the Genzyme/ACMG Foundation Medical Genetics Training Award in Clinical Biochemical Genetics at the ACMG 2015 Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The objective of the two Genzyme/ACMG Foundation Awards is to support training programs that advance education, research and standards of practice in medical genetics, to develop and expand clinical and laboratory expertise in medical genetics, and to initiate and develop a broad-based infrastructure for industry funding of high quality projects in the fields of medical genetics. Two awardees are given the opportunity to participate in an in-depth clinical and research experience at a premier medical center with expertise and significant clinical volume in the area of biochemical genetics.

The Award grants $75,000 per year to each of two recipients' institutions selected by the ACMG Foundation through a competitive process and will provide for the sponsorship of one year of the trainees' clinical genetics subspecialty in biochemical genetics following residency.

Dr. Kritzer received her MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine; completed her Pediatrics Residency at Floating Hospital for Children in Boston, MA and her clinical genetics fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital. Her research during the award period will focus on direct detection of glycophospholipids in lysosomal disease using advanced spectroscopy. "I am so honored to be given this wonderful award. It will allow me to continue my Biochemical Genetics Training while also giving me an opportunity to conduct translational research. The goal of my research is to provide patients with lysosomal disease and their families with better information about the disease process, prognosis and effect of therapeutic interventions."

The second award recipient, Dr. Marom, is currently in her second year of residency in Medical Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. She said, "It is an honor, and I am grateful to be one of the recipients of the Genzyme/ACMG Foundation award. The Biochemical Genetics fellowship will broaden my knowledge and understanding of a wide range of metabolic disorders, and will allow me to become actively involved in the care of patients with inborn errors of metabolism. The outstanding research and academic environment at Baylor College of Medicine will provide me with the clinical and research training necessary to achieve my goal of becoming a physician-scientist in the area of biochemical genetics." Dr. Marom completed her MD and PhD at Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel; she then completed her Pediatrics Residency at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel and her Fellowship in Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Her research will focus on nitric oxide supplementation as a therapy in argininosuccinate lyase deficiency.

"The Genzyme/ACMG Foundation Clinical Genetics Award in Clinical Biochemical Genetics is critical to the development of the genetics workforce. This fellowship allows Dr. Kritzer and Dr. Marom the chance to receive advanced clinical and research training in biochemical genetics, which is a field that is rapidly changing ," said Bruce R. Korf, MD, PhD, FACMG, president of the ACMG Foundation.

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Since 2005, the Genzyme Corporation has generously sponsored this prestigious award, and in 2012 they doubled their commitment for the 2012 through 2016 Fellowships. The ACMG Foundation is honored to have the Genzyme Corporation as a member of its Corporate Partners Program. For more information about the Corporate Partners Program and other ways to support the work of the ACMG Foundation, please visit http://www.acmgfoundation.org.

Note to editors: To arrange interviews with experts in medical genetics, contact Kathy Beal, MBA, ACMG Director of Public Relations at kbeal@acmg.net or 301-238-4582.

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Genzyme/ACMG Foundation Medical Genetics Training Award in Clinical Biochemical Genetics

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Patricia L. Hall, Ph.D., FACMG of Emory University is the recipient of the 2015 Richard King Trainee Award for the best publication in ACMG's academic journal, Genetics in Medicine

Patricia L. Hall, PhD, FACMG of Emory University is the recipient of the 2015 Richard King Trainee Award. This award was instituted by the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine to encourage ABMGG, international equivalents or genetic counseling trainees in their careers and to foster the publication of the highest quality research in ACMG's peer-reviewed journal, Genetics in Medicine (GIM).

Each year the editorial board reviews all articles published in GIM by an ABMGG or genetic counseling trainee who was either a first or corresponding author during that year. The manuscript considered to have the most merit is selected by the editorial board and a cash prize, along with meeting expenses, is awarded at the 2015 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Hall was given the award for her manuscript titled, "Postanalytical tools improve performance of newborn screening by tandem mass spectrometry" which was published in the December 2014 issue of Genetics in Medicine. The corresponding author was Piero Rinaldo, MD, PhD, FACMG of the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Hall is currently a Director in the Biochemical Genetics Laboratory at Emory University, "It is an honor to have the hard work and dedication of everyone involved with our newborn screening paper recognized with the Richard King Trainee Award for best publication."

The award is given by the ACMG Foundation and is named for Dr. Richard King in recognition of his instrumental role in creating Genetics in Medicine and serving as the first and founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal.

Eligible trainees include those in the following programs: Clinical Biochemical Genetics; Clinical Cytogenetics; Clinical Molecular Genetics Combined Internal Medicine/Genetics; Combined Pediatrics/Genetics; PhD Medical Genetics and Genetic Counseling.

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The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a community of supporters and contributors who understand the importance of medical genetics and genomics and genetic counseling in healthcare. Established in 1992, the ACMG Foundation supports the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics' mission to "translate genes into health" by raising funds to promote the profession of medical genetics and genomics to medical students, to fund the training of future medical geneticists, to support best-practices and tools for practicing physicians and laboratory directors, to promote awareness and understanding of our work in the general public, and much more.

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

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Patricia Hall, Ph.D., earns 2015 King Trainee Award for best publication, Genetics in Medicine

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Anne O'Donnell Luria, M.D., Ph.D., Boston Children's Hospital; Mari Mori, M.D., Duke University; Laurie Robak M.D., Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine receive Pfizer/ACMG Foundation Clinical Genetics Combined Residency for Translational Genomic Scholars Aw

Anne O'Donnell Luria, MD, PhD, of Boston Children's Hospital, Mari Mori, MD of Duke University, and Laurie Robak MD, PhD of Baylor College of Medicine were honored as the 2015-2016 recipients of the Pfizer/ACMG Foundation Clinical Genetics Combined Residency for Translational Genomic Scholars Fellowship Award at the ACMG 2015 Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The objective of this fellowship is to provide an in-depth clinical research training experience at a premier medical center with expertise and significant clinical volume in the area of biochemical genetics, including lysosomal storage diseases, as well as in therapeutics and clinical trials involving patients with these and other metabolic diseases and, thereby, to increase the number of medical geneticists with interest, knowledge, and expertise in this area.

This Award grants $75,000 per year to the three recipients selected by the ACMG Foundation through a competitive process and will provide for the sponsorship of one year of the trainee's clinical genetics subspecialty in translational genomics following residency.

Dr. O'Donnell Luria received her MD and PhD at Columbia University, New York, and is currently completing a combined residency in Pediatrics and Medical Genetics at Boston Children's Hospital, Boston MA. "I am honored to receive the Pfizer/ACMG Foundation Translational Genomics Scholars Fellowship Award. I appreciate the support from Pfizer and the ACMG Foundation to gain additional training in biochemical genetics. I am grateful for the excellent training environment provided by wonderful clinicians, staff, and families that I have had the pleasure to work and train with at Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital. This fellowship supports my efforts to begin a research program looking at transcriptional and epigenetic variation in lysosomal storage disease, with an aim of identifying new biomarkers of disease and potential therapeutic targets." Her research during the award period will focus on diagnosis and management of infants, children and adults with inborn errors of metabolism and the impact of epigenetic alterations.

Dr. Mori received her MD at Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Nagasaki, Japan, and MS in Biomedical Informatics at University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA. She is currently completing her Medical Biochemical Genetics Fellowship at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, after completing a General Genetics Residency at Nationwide Children's Hospital/Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Her research during the award period will focus on the identification of modifier genes from carefully phenotyped patients with Pompe disease at Duke University Medical Center. "I am deeply honored to be one of the recipients of the Pfizer/ACMG Foundation award. The award allows me to extend my biochemical genetics training to investigate factors that affect variable phenotypes of Pompe disease, under the guidance of Dr. Priya Kishnani, Professor of Pediatrics Division Chief, Medical Genetics at Duke University. The research would lead to a better understanding of prognostication of rare Mendelian diseases, and would have clinical impacts, especially for asymptomatic patients with a lysosomal disease detected by newborn screening."

Dr. Robak received her MD and PhD at University of Rochester, Rochester NY, and is currently completing her combined residency in Pediatrics and Medical Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. Her research during the award period will focus on exploring the links between Lysosomal Storage Disorders and Parkinson 's disease at Baylor College of Medicine. "I am honored to be a recipient of the 2015 Pfizer/ACMG Foundation Fellowship Award. This June, I will be completing my combined Pediatrics/Medical Genetics residency at Baylor College of Medicine. This prestigious award will allow me to continue my research investigating potential links between lysosomal storage disorders and adult-onset neurodegenerative disorders. My project will be under the guidance of Dr. Joshua Shulman, Assistant Professor of Neurology and Molecular & Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. By providing critical support during my transition from residency to junior faculty, this fellowship will promote my successful career development as a physician-scientist."

"With all of the advances in genomics, the Pfizer/ACMG Foundation Clinical Genetics Combined Residency for Translational Genomic Scholars presents an important opportunity to develop new approaches to diagnosis and treatment of genetic disorders. This fellowship is therefore a key component of our initiative to train physician scientists to be leaders in translational research in medical genomics," said Bruce R. Korf, MD, PhD, FACMG, president of the ACMG Foundation.

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Note to editors: To arrange interviews with experts in medical genetics, contact Kathy Beal, MBA, ACMG Director of Public Relations at kbeal@acmg.net or 301-238-4582.

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Dr. Luria, Mori and Robak receive Pfizer/ACMG Foundation Translational Genomic Fellowship Award

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GARM Promo 2
This video outlines the research and treatments being performed at the Global Alliance for Regenerative Medicine "GARM" on the island of Roatan, off the coastline of Honduras. These include...

By: Les Cowie

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GARM Promo 2 - Video

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Kim Solez Bridge Between Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine
Dr. Kim Solez presents the keynote address "Technology, the Future of Medicine, and the Bridge between Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine" at the Alberta Interprofessional Conference...

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Kim Solez Bridge Between Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine - Video

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Newswise LA JOLLA, CA March 23, 2015 Stem cells can generate any type of cell in the body, but they are inactive most of the timeand for good reason. When stem cells become too active and divide too often, they risk acquiring cell damage and mutations. In the case of blood stem cells (also called hematopoietic stem cells or HSCs), this can lead to blood cancers, a loss of blood cells and an impaired ability to fight disease.

Now scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that a particular enzyme in HSCs is key to maintaining healthy periods of inactivity. Their findings, published recently in the journal Blood, show that animal models without this enzyme experience dangerous HSC activation and ultimately succumb to lethal anemia.

These HSCs remain active too long and then disappear, said TSRI Associate Professor Karsten Sauer, senior author of the new study. "As a consequence, the mice lose their red blood cells and die."

With this new understanding of the enzyme, called Inositol trisphosphate 3-kinase B (ItpkB), scientists are closer to improving therapies for diseases such as bone marrow failure syndrome, anemia, leukemia, lymphoma and immunodeficiencies.

Stem Cells Need Rest

HSCs are a type of adult stem cell that live in little niches in the bone marrow. They are normally inactive, or quiescent, and only divide to self-renew about every two months.

However, when mature blood cells are lost, for example through severe bleeding or during infections, HSCs become activated to generate new progenitor cellsthe cells that replenish the blood supply and produce immune cells to fight disease. Once the blood cells have been replenished, the HSCs become quiescent again.

The balance between inactivity and activity is important because HSC activation generates side products that harm HSCs. In addition, every division introduces a risk of mutation, sometimes leading to cancer. Its like a car wearing down its own engine while it is doing its work, said Sauer. "Like people, HSCs need long periods of rest to remain healthy and work well."

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TSRI Team Discovers Enzyme that Keeps Blood Stem Cells Functional to Prevent Anemia

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Boston, MA (PRWEB) March 24, 2015

The opening keynote address presented by Asymmetrex, LLC to an assembled audience of about 100 international experts in stem cell science, medicine, and engineering challenged attendees to consider whether the past 10 years of rapid growth of heterologous stem cell transplantation trials was the best path to achieving effective regenerative medicines. Among the participants there were a number of clinical and industry experts who pursued heterologous stem cell treatments. To a large extent, heterologous stem cell transplantation treatments involve evaluating bone marrow-derived or fat-derived cells as possible therapies for illnesses and disorders in other organs and tissues. Sherley suggested that such clinical trials were motivated primarily by the easier access and greater availability of these types of cell preparations instead of good biological rationale. This intentional provocation got the conference off to energetic discussion that continued throughout the day.

As the co-chair of the conferences first-days focus on stem cell medical engineering, Sherley shared with attendees Asymmetrexs essential technological basis, which is the asymmetric self-renewal of adult tissue stem cells. Sherley related how all Asymmetrexs innovative technologies for advancing stem cell medicine were derivative of the companys superior research position on asymmetric self-renewal, which is the unique property of adult tissue stem cells that defines their function in the body. Adult tissue stem cells multiply to continuously replenish expired mature tissue cells without losing their own stem cell identity. Because embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells do not have asymmetric self-renewal, they are incapable of providing lasting cellular therapies.

Sherley described how each of Asymmetrexs patented technologies for stem cell medicine was based on asymmetric self-renewal. Asymmetrex holds patents for the only method described for routine production of natural human tissue stem cells that retain their normal function. The company also holds patents for biomarkers that can be used to count tissue stem cells for the first time. The companys most recently developed technology was invented with computer-simulation leader, AlphaSTAR Corporation. In partnership, the two companies created a first-of-its-kind method for monitoring adult tissue stem cell number and function for any human tissue that can be cultured. This advance is the basis for the two companies AlphaSTEM technology for detecting adult tissue stem cell-toxic drug candidates before conventional preclinical testing in animals or clinical trials. Asymmetrex and AlphaSTAR plan to market the new technology to pharmaceutical companies. The implementation of AlphaSTEM technology would accelerate drug development and reduce adverse drug events for volunteers and patients. At full capacity use, AlphaSTEM could reduce U.S. drug development costs by $4-5 billion each year.

About Asymmetrex (http://asymmetrex.com/)

Asymmetrex, LLC is a Massachusetts life sciences company with a focus on developing technologies to advance stem cell medicine. Asymmetrexs founder and director, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D. is an internationally recognized expert on the unique properties of adult tissue stem cells. The companys patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the two main technical problems production and quantification that have stood in the way of successful commercialization of human adult tissue stem cells for regenerative medicine and drug development. In addition, the portfolio includes novel technologies for isolating cancer stem cells and producing induced pluripotent stem cells for disease research purposes. Currently, Asymmetrexs focus is employing its technological advantages to develop facile methods for monitoring adult stem cell number and function in clinically important human tissues.

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Asymmetrex Opens Up 5th World Congress on Cell and Stem Cell Research in Chicago with a Focus on Its New Technologies ...

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Immune system response isn't as crucial as activity of the infected cells themselves

DURHAM, N.C. -- For people infected with the human papilloma virus (HPV), the likelihood of clearing the infection and avoiding HPV-related cancer may depend less on the body's disease-fighting arsenal than has been generally assumed.

A new study finds that the body's ability to defeat the virus may be largely due to unpredictable division patterns in HPV-infected stem cells, rather than the strength of the person's immune response.

If the mathematical model behind the findings holds up, it could point to ways of tweaking the way infected cells divide in order to make HPV infections go away faster and hence lower the risk of developing cancer, said co-author Marc Ryser of Duke University.

The results appear online in the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

More than six million people in the U.S. become infected with HPV every year. Most people clear the virus on their own in one to two years with little or no symptoms. But in some people the infection persists. The longer HPV persists the more likely it is to lead to cancer, including cancers of the cervix, penis, anus, mouth and throat.

To better understand why some HPV infections go away and others progress, Duke mathematicians Marc Ryser and Rick Durrett developed a model of HPV infection at the level of the infected tissue.

HPV spreads through intimate skin-to-skin contact during sex with an infected person, and takes advantage of the tissue's natural internal repair system to reproduce and spread.

The invading virus breaks through the layers of cells that line the cervix and other tissues and infects the stem cells in the innermost layer, called the basal layer.

Usually, when an infected stem cell divides into two, one of the new cells stays in the basal layer and the other cell is pushed outward into the upper layers where it dies and is sloughed off, releasing virus particles that can then infect another person.

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Why some HPV infections go away and others become cancer

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4C HAIR OVATION CELL THERAPY TREATMENT UPDATE
I definitely would rate this product a 70% because I #39;ve seen a reduction in my hair breakage. However this product leave my hair feeling very hard and dry.:( *****************************************

By: CarlytheDreamer

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4C HAIR OVATION CELL THERAPY TREATMENT UPDATE - Video

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Investigational Therapies and Stem Cell Research in PAH
From PHA #39;s 2014 International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions. Panelists: Raymond Benza, MD, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Chair) Vallerie McLaughlin, MD, University of...

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Investigational Therapies and Stem Cell Research in PAH - Video

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VANCOUVER -- University of B.C. scientists appear to be one step closer to reversing diabetes using stem cell therapy.

The latest study, published last week in the journal Stem Cell Reports, found that Type 2 diabetes can be eliminated in mice using a combination of conventional diabetes drugs and specially cultured stem cells. Similar methods have already been used to reverse Type 1 diabetes, which usually begins in childhood.

The team simulated Type 2 diabetes in mice by feeding them a high-fat, high-calorie diet for several weeks. In humans, Type 2 usually begins in adulthood and can be a result of obesity, poor diet and lack of exercise.

Like diabetic humans, the diabetic mice treated only with drugs experienced spikes in their blood sugar levels after eating sugary meals.

But the mice that were surgically implanted with pancreatic-like cells grown from human stem cells didnt have those drastic swings and were able to regulate their blood sugar like healthy animals.

Being able to reduce spikes in blood sugar levels is important because evidence suggests its those spikes that do a lot of the damage increasing risks for blindness, heart attack, and kidney failure, said Timothy Kieffer, a professor in UBCs department of cellular and physiological sciences.

So far, the researchers have followed the mice for up to seven months, and theyve remained healthy.

When we removed the transplanted devices and analyzed the cells within, they still appear very healthy so we believe they will function much longer. Ultimately the duration of cell function will need to be assessed in humans, Kieffer said in an email.

Human trials are already underway for stem cell therapy on Type 1 diabetes; the first patient was implanted with cells in October.

The treatment also had a surprising side-effect: weight loss. The mice all returned to the same, healthy weight as the animals in the control group.

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Stem cell therapy could reverse Type 2 diabetes, UBC study finds

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

A melanoma under the microscope. Photo: supplied

Queensland scientists have identified gene defects making people roughly 50 times more likely to suffer a cancer responsible for killing about 1500 Australians a year.

By comparison, having either fair skin, red hair or freckles on their own make people only twice as likely to develop melanoma, a potentially deadly skin cancer.

QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute researcher Professor Nick Hayward said about 80 to 90 per cent of people with specific defects recently discovered in any of three different genes were likely to develop melanoma.

QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute researcher Professor Nick Hayward. Photo: supplied

"These mutations affect anyone regardless of their skin colour and they're ethnic background because it's a major fault that gives a very high probability of developing melanoma during your lifetime," he said.

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"Whereas having lighter skin, red hair, freckles, those are considered considered to be lower penetrance predisposition traits for melanoma.

"They only increase the risk by a small amount, let's say two-fold is about the average for each of those I mentioned, whereas the mutation in one of the genes we've identified potentially increases the risk 50 fold."

In 2011, 1,544 Australians died from melanoma of the skin.

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Gene defects increase risk of melanoma by 50 times research finds

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - March 24, 2015 - Kidney transplantation outcomes from deceased African-American donors may improve through rapid testing for apolipoprotein L1 gene (APOL1) renal risk variants at the time of organ recovery, according to a new study led by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Variation in the APOL1 gene is associated with up to 40 percent of all kidney diseases in African-Americans who undergo dialysis or kidney transplantation, and APOL1 kidney disease risk variants are only present on the chromosomes of individuals who possess recent African ancestry, such as African-Americans, according to the researchers.

The study, published in the March 24 issue of the American Journal of Transplantation, found that renal risk variants in the APOL1 gene in deceased African-American kidney donors were linked with shorter survival of transplanted kidneys.

"Our findings may assist physicians in decisions on which patients should receive higher-risk-for-failure donor kidneys," said Barry Freedman, M.D., professor of nephrology at Wake Forest Baptist and senior author of the study. "This research again demonstrates that APOL1 high-genetic-risk kidneys failed more quickly after transplantation than did low-risk kidneys without two APOL1 gene renal risk variants."

The research team analyzed a total of 675 kidney transplantations from deceased African-American organ donors. Outcomes were assessed in subsequent kidney transplants that were performed at 55 U.S. centers, adjusting for factors known to influence the outcomes of kidney transplantation.

The survival analysis revealed that kidneys from donors with two APOL1 gene renal risk variants failed more rapidly than did those from donors with fewer than two risk variants. The majority of these kidney transplant failures occurred early, many within two to three years after transplantation, the study reported.

Results from the study confirmed that two APOL1 gene variants in donor kidneys were associated with more than a two-fold increased risk of organ failure after transplantation.

"These results warrant consideration of rapidly genotyping deceased African-American kidney donors for APOL1 renal risk variants at the time of organ recovery," Freedman said. "APOL1 genotype data should be incorporated in the organ allocation and informed-consent processes for deceased donor transplantation."

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The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health R01 DK070941, R01 DK084149, R01 MD009055 and 5U19-A1070119.

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Rapid testing for gene variants in kidney donors may optimize transplant outcomes

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Designer babies are on their way, said experts in genetic engineering as they called for a global ban on the practice.

It is thought that studies involving the use of genome-editing tools to modify the DNA of human embryos will be published shortly, said the authors of a paper in Nature.

The articles lead author, Professor Jennifer Doudna of the University of California at Berkeley, led the team that developed the gene-editing technique that she now wants restricted.

She and her colleagues have now warned of the ethical and safety implications of research that could lead to the birth of what laymen might term super humans.

In our view, genome editing in human embryos using current technologies could have unpredictable effects on future generations, they said. This makes it dangerous and ethically unacceptable. Such research could be exploited for non-therapeutic modifications.

DNA can be edited far more precisely than ever before using Crispr-Cas9 (Credit: Mehmet Pinarci/Sendercorp)

It is possible, for example, for the technology to make unintended changes to DNA, The New York Times reported.

But they are also worried that a public backlash could halt work on disease fighting techniques in somatic (non-reproductive) cells.

Genome-editing technologies may offer a powerful approach to treat many human diseases, including HIV/Aids, haemophilia, sickle-cell anaemia and several forms of cancer, they said.

Scientists at the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands reported in Cell Stem Cell two years ago that the technique could repair the cystic fibrosis mutation.

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Cloud processing of DNA sequence data promises to speed up discovery of disease-linked gene variants.

The dream for tomorrows medicine is to understand the links between DNA and disease and to tailor therapies accordingly. But scientists working to realize such personalized or precision medicine have a problem: how to keep genetic data and medical records secure while still enabling the massive, cloud-based analyses needed to make meaningful associations. Now, tests of an emerging form of data encryption suggest that the dilemma can be solved.

At a workshop on 16 March hosted by the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), cryptographers analysed test genetic data. Working with small data sets, and using a method known as homomorphic encryption, they could find disease-associated gene variants in about ten minutes. Despite the fact that computers were still kept bogged down for hours by more-realistic tasks such as finding a disease-linked variant in a stretch of DNA a few hundred-thousandths the size of the whole genome experts in cryptography were encouraged.

This is a promising result, says Xiaoqian Jiang, a computer scientist at UCSD who helped to set up the workshop. But challenges still exist in scaling it up.

Physicians and researchers think that understanding how genes influence disease will require genetic and health data to be collected from millions of people. They have already started planning projects, such as US President Barack Obamas Precision Medicine Initiative and Britains 100,000 Genomes Project. Such a massive task will probably require harnessing the processing power of networked cloud computers, but online security breaches in the past few years illustrate the dangers of entrusting huge, sensitive data sets to the cloud. Administrators at the US National Institutes of Healths database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP), a catalogue of genetic and medical data, are so concerned about security that they forbid users of the data from storing it on computers that are directly connected to the Internet.

Homomorphic encryption could address those fears by allowing researchers to deposit only a mathematically scrambled, or encrypted, form of data in the cloud. It involves encrypting data on a local computer, then uploading that scrambled data to the cloud. Computations on the encrypted data are performed in the cloud and an encrypted result is then sent back to a local computer, which decrypts the answer. If would-be thieves were to intercept the encrypted data at any point along the way, the underlying data would remain safe.

If we can show that these techniques work, then it will give increased reassurance that this high-volume data will be computed on and stored in a way that protects individual privacy, says Lucila Ohno-Machado, a computer scientist at UCSD and a workshop organizer.

Homomorphic data encryption, first proposed in 1978, differs from other types of encryption in that it would allow the cloud to manipulate scrambled data in essence, the cloud would never actually see the numbers it was working with. And, unlike other encryption schemes, it would give the same result as calculations on unencrypted data.

But it remained largely a theoretical concept until 2009, when cryptographer Craig Gentry at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, proved that it was possible to carry out almost any type of computation on homomorphically encrypted data. This was done by transforming each data point into a piece of encrypted information, or ciphertext, that was larger and more complex than the original bit of data. A single bit of unencrypted data would become encrypted into a ciphertext of a few megabytes the size of a digital photograph. It was a breakthrough, but calculations could take 14 orders of magnitude as long as working on unencrypted data. Gentry had rendered the approach possible, but it remained impractical.

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Extreme cryptography paves way to personalized medicine

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