Sheryl Ubelacker, The Canadian Press Published Thursday, January 29, 2015 6:49AM EST

TORONTO -- Gordie Howe's son says the hockey legend's stroke symptoms have improved since his treatment with stem cells at a Mexican clinic in early December and he wants him to repeat the procedure.

But regenerative medicine experts say there's no scientific evidence such therapies work, and in some cases they can be seriously harmful or even deadly.

The 86-year-old Howe suffered two disabling strokes late last year. In December, the family took him to a Tijuana clinic where he received stem cell injections as part of a clinical trial being run under a licensing agreement with Stemedica Cell Technologies of San Diego, Calif.

The experimental treatment involved injecting neural stem cells into Howe's spinal canal, along with intravenous infusions of mesenchymal stem cells, which are found in bone marrow, fat and umbilical cord blood.

Marty Howe said his father can walk again, his speech is improving and he is regaining some of the weight he lost following the strokes.

"After his stem cell treatment, the doctor told us it was kind of an awakening of the body, and it was all that," he told The Canadian Press while in Calgary for a hockey promotion event Tuesday. "They call it the miracle of stem cells and it was nothing less than a miracle."

However, experts in the field question whether stem cells are responsible for Howe's improvement and caution that most so-called stem cell therapies have not gone through rigorous scientific trials, nor have they been approved as treatments by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Mick Bhatia, director of McMaster University's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, said there are many unknowns in Howe's case, such as how many stem cells were administered, were tests done to see whether they migrated to the targeted area of the body, and did they take up residence where they might have some effect or simply disappear?

"Is this a transient effect, or is it really a perceived or somewhat of a placebo effect and is there something really happening? Scientifically and biologically that is important," Bhatia said Wednesday from Hamilton.

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Gordie Howe's stem cell therapy raises concerns among medical experts

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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2jkkx2/nucleic_acid) has announced the addition of the "Nucleic Acid Therapies in Oncology Drug Pipeline Update 2015" report to their offering.

Nucleic acid therapies in oncology includes: Gene Therapy, DNA vaccine, Other DNA technologies, RNA Interference (RNAi), Small interfering RNA (siRNA), Antisense RNA and Ribozymes.

There are today 238 companies plus partners developing 274 nucleic acid therapy drugs in 648 developmental projects in cancer. In addition, there are 9 suspended drugs and the accumulated number of ceased drugs over the last years amount to another 201 drugs.

Nucleic Acid Therapies In Oncology Drug Pipeline Update lists all drugs and gives you a progress analysis on each one of them. Identified drugs are linked to 210 different targets. All included targets have been cross-referenced for the presence of mutations associated with human cancer. To date 179 out of the 179 studied drug targets so far have been recorded with somatic mutations.

The software application lets you narrow in on these mutations and links out to the mutational analysis for each of the drug targets for detailed information. All drug targets are further categorized in the software application by 60 classifications of molecular function and with pathway referrals to BioCarta, KEGG, NCI-Nature and NetPath.

Pipeline Breakdown According to Number of Drugs

Delivery Format: Desktop App plus Online Access to Updates (One Year)

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2jkkx2/nucleic_acid

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Research and Markets: Nucleic Acid Therapies in Oncology Drug Pipeline Report 2015

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Irvine, CA (PRWEB) January 29, 2015

In the State of the Union address last week, President Obama announced the launch of a new Precision Medicine Initiative - a measure proposed to give the American public wider access to each individuals personal genetic information.

21st century businesses will rely on American science, technology, research and development, President Obama said. I want the country that eliminated polio and mapped the human genome to lead a new era of medicine -- one that delivers the right treatment at the right time.[...]Tonight, I'm launching a new Precision Medicine Initiative to bring us closer to curing diseases like cancer and diabetes -- and to give all of us access to the personalized information we need to keep ourselves and our families healthier.

As a leader in the personalized medicine industry, Proove is hopeful about the upcoming Precision Medicine Initiative, stated Brian Meshkin, founder and CEO of Proove Biosciences. Personalized medicine is the future of healthcare and our greatest wish is for everyone to have access to such informative and powerful information. With the impact we are already having with our award-winning research and clinical adoption of our tests, Proove looks forward to playing an important role in this effort.

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 Welcomes Focus of New Precision Medicine Initiative

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Perfect Genetics Challenge - Finale! Farewell to the King household
Open for info links -- Thumbs up if you enjoyed this part and Subscribe for more! We finally reached the last part/episode of this challenge and we will...

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Genetics Testing Arrhythmia
Cardiovascular Genetics Clinic - http://uvahealth.com/ Dr. Pamela Mason, an electrophysiologist at the University of Virginia Cardiovascular Genetics clinic, discusses the importance of getting...

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Bringing Genetics and Epigenetics to the Fetal-Adult Hemoglobin Switch
Bringing Genetics and Epigenetics to the Fetal-Adult Hemoglobin Switch Air date: Wednesday, January 21, 2015, 3:00:00 PM Category: WALS - Wednesday Afternoon...

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Genetics (MC Degs)

By: Degs MC - Biology

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5000w, 7 strain genetics run, ep4-4, NO Co2, T5 veg
Episode 4-4 5000w, 7 strain genetics run, top feed and flood, NO Co2, T5 veg, Golden Oldie, Pinkman Goo, Walter White Og, Diablo Og, Blue Cheese, Nevilles Ha...

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Can You Make it in Bodybuilding Without Genetics?
SUPPORT MARC LOBLINER #39;S COMPANY AND SHOP AT TIGERFITNESS.COM! http://www.tigerfitness.com For Coaching Email marc@mtsnutrition.com Sign Up For AWESOME OFFERS and DEALS!

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Quick Medical Genetics - Cystinuria
This is a lecture about the genetic disease cystinuria for trainees and medical professionals. Lecture by Philip M. Boone, MD, PhD. References: Saravakos, et al. Cystinura: current diagnosis...

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Perfect Genetics - C-A-S Option 4
Leaving a like on this video really helps guys, thanks Leave a comment below with name suggestions for these two ladies please!! First Name and Surname - Love you guys x I am a social...

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Newswise BETHESDA, MD The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is pleased to announce that Brian Charlesworth, PhD (University of Edinburgh) has been awarded the Society's Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal for lifetime achievement in the field of genetics. The award, whose namesake was a Nobel laureate and geneticist, recognizes Dr. Charlesworth's profound impact on our understanding of population genetics and evolutionary biology. Dr. Charlesworth will receive the award at the 56th Annual Drosophila Research Conference, organized by GSA, March 48, 2015 in Chicago, IL.

"For over 40 years, Dr. Charlesworth has been a leader in evolutionary genetics research, both theoretical and empirical," said Charles Langley, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Genetics at the University of California, Davis. "Our understanding of the genetic basis of evolution from the molecular to the population level is deeper and richer as a result of his many contributions to the field."

Brian Charlesworth, PhD

Senior Honorary Professorial Fellow

University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Dr. Charlesworth is respected for his influence on the science of genetics, in particular his seminal achievements in population genetics and evolutionary biology. His work has helped to improve our understanding of how evolution acts on genetic variation between individuals in populations. Dr. Charlesworth's research has centered around theoretical and experimental population genetics, molecular and genome evolution, and life-history evolution. In particular, he has studied sequence evolution using the fruit fly Drosophila as a model system, and provided key insights into the evolution of sex chromosomes and transposable elements. One of his most influential contributions in the area of selection was his theory of background selection, whereby the elimination of selectively deleterious mutations affects variation at tightly linked sites, which helped to clarify the relationship between DNA sequence variation and recombination rates. His work is widely appreciated in the research community for its generality, strong empirical grounding, and the solid foundation it has provided for genetic studies of evolution.

Dr. Charlesworth has published over 250 scientific papers and three widely read books. He has led many strong departments during his career, taught genetics and evolution at elementary and advanced undergraduate and graduate levels, and served on editorial boards of various scientific journals. Dr. Charlesworth is a member of numerous scientific societies, having served as President of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Genetics Society (UK), and the European Society for Evolutionary Biology. He has also received several Society awards throughout his career, including the Darwin Medal of the Royal Society in 2000, and the Darwin-Wallace Medal of the Linnean Society in 2010. He is a Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh, Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was more recently elected as a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences and as a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

"The Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal is intended to pay tribute to such influential geneticists as Dr. Charlesworth and to his superb achievements on behalf of the entire genetics community," said Jasper Rine, PhD, 2015 GSA President and Professor of Genetics, Genomics and Development at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Anna David, Prenatal Cell and Gene Therapy
Anna David, Prenatal Cell and Gene Therapy (Research Department of Maternal and Fetal Medicine, UCL EGA Institute for Women #39;s Health) talks about her group #39;s...

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GENETIC TESTING TIME TOOLA Resource from the American College of Preventive Medicine

CLINICAL REFERENCEThe following Clinical Reference Document provides the evidence to support the Genetic Testing Time Tool. The following bookmarks are available to move around the Clinical Reference Document. You may also download a printable version for future reference.

Human genomics, the study of structure, function, and interactions of all genes in the human genome, promises to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. The proliferation of genetic tests has been greatly accelerated by the Human Genome Project over the last decade. [1]

Meanwhile, practicing physicians and health professionals need to be trained in the principles, applications, and the limitations of genomics and genomic medicine. [2]

Over 1,500 genetic tests are now available clinically, with nearly 300 more available on a research basis only. The number of genetic tests is predicted to increase by 25% annually. [3] There is a boom in the development of genetic tests using the scanning technology from the Genome Project, but questions remain regarding the validity and usefulness of these newer tests.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of the individual; the characterization of the genes. [6]

Phenotype: The observable properties of an individual that are the product of interactions between the genotype and the environment. [6] Nucleotides: The monomeric units from which DNA or RNA polymers are constructed. They consist of a purine or pyrimidine base, a pentose sugar, and a phosphate group. [6]

Oligonucleotide: A relatively short single-stranded nucleic-acid chain usually consisting of 2 to 20 nucleotides that is synthesized to match a region where a mutation is known to occur, and then used as a probe. [6]

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP): A single nucleotide variation in a genetic sequence that occurs at appreciable frequency in the population. [6]

Penetrance: The probability of developing the disease in those who have the mutation. [6]

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Dr. Theodore Friedmann is a longtime faculty member at UC San Diego and a pioneer in gene therapy.

Dr. Theodore Friedmann, a pioneer in the booming field of gene therapy, has been named a 2015 winner of the prestigious Japan Prize.

A pediatrician-turned-researcher at UC San Diego, Friedmann is renowned for demonstrating in the lab that it is possible to correct a genetic defect by adding a functional gene to defective cells, a feat he and colleagues accomplished in 1968. Since then, Friedmann has been guiding the young science through controversies, ethical challenges and setbacks.

Friedmann shares the prize in "medical science and medicinal science" with Dr. Alain Fischer of the Necker Hospital in Paris, France. Fischer helped demonstrate gene therapy's clinical ability to treat a genetic immune deficiency that makes patients extremely vulnerable to infections.

Along with the recognition, Friedmann and Fischer will split a $416,600 award, a certificate and gold medal. There's also the prospect of future recognition: several Japan Prize winners have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.

Friedmann is known not only as a scientist who demonstrated gene therapy is possible, but as a thinker who has dampened the waves of excessive exuberance and despondency that often accompanies the passage of research discoveries into therapies. He has also cautioned his fellow scientists to approach gene therapy with great caution.

In 1972, Friedmann co-authored an influential article in the journal Science, "Gene therapy for human genetic disease?" proposing a program of research advancement and safety precautions with an eye to eventual therapy. In February, 2010, he coauthored an article in Science about the potential use of performance-enhancing "gene doping" in sports.

Those who didn't heed Friedmann's warnings ran into trouble. For example, in 1999 gene therapy patient Jesse Gelsinger, 18, died due to an immune reaction. Gelsinger had a mild form of a genetically caused liver disease, controlled with drugs and diet. He was enrolled to test a treatment to be used in babies with a fatal form of the disease. But Gelsinger himself had little to gain.

A mountain of bad publicity threatened to sink the field. The New York Times wrote about "The Biotech Death of Jesse Gelsinger." As a consequence, other new forms of therapy, such as stem cell treatments, have progressed more slowly to avoid a repeat.

The Gelsinger disaster has receded into the background, as safer forms of gene therapy edge closer to becoming an accepted part of medicine. Forms of gene therapy are now being tested in clinical trials to treat such different diseases as cancer, sickle cell anemia and HIV, with impressive results.

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Newswise Theodore Friedmann, MD, professor in the Department of Pediatrics at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine was named today one of three recipients of the 2015 Japan Prize, a prestigious international award honoring laureates whose original and outstanding achievements in science and technology have advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind.

Friedmann is being recognized for his pioneering research and contributions to the development of gene therapy, a new field of medicine which in significant ways originated at UC San Diego. The sponsoring Japan Prize Foundation describes Friedmann as the father of gene therapy.

Sharing the 2015 Japan Prize in the field of medical science and medicinal science with Friedman is Alain Fischer, MD, PhD, director of immunology at the Necker Hospital in Paris, France. Fischer is credited with demonstrating the clinical efficacy of gene therapy by successfully treating children suffering from a severe genetic disorder that renders them extremely vulnerable to infections.

The third 2015 Japan Prize laureate is Yutaka Takahasi, PhD, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, who is being honored in the field of resources, energy and social infrastructure for his contributions to river basin management and reducing water-related disasters.

Each laureate will receive a certificate of recognition and commemorative gold medal. A cash award of approximately $416,600 will also be given to each prize field. Since its inception in 1985, 83 laureates from 13 countries have received the Japan Prize in a variety of fields and disciplines. Several have subsequently become Nobel Prize laureates as well.

In 1972, Friedmann, then a visiting scientist at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences in La Jolla, and Richard Roblin, also at the Salk Institute, published a foundational article in the field, a paper in the journal Science under the heading Gene therapy for human genetic disease?

The idea of gene therapy, which quickly captured the public imagination, was fueled by its appealingly straightforward approach and what Friedmann has described as its obvious correctness: Disarm a potentially pathogenic virus to make it benign. Stuff these viral particles with normal DNA. Then inject them into patients carrying abnormal genes where they will deliver their therapeutic cargoes inside the defective target cells. In theory, the good DNA replaces or corrects the abnormal function of the defective genes, rendering previously impaired cells whole, normal and healthy. End of disease.

Its not quite that simple, of course, something Friedmann and Roblin cautioned in their 1972 paper. Despite progress in the understanding of cellular functions, the roles of DNA and a series of experimental and clinical advances, the history of gene therapy has been marked by distinct highs and lows.

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Spinal Cord Injury Treatment - Call +65 9652 6095 for Trial Price - Super Lutein Testimonial
Spinal Cord Injury Treatment - Call +65 9652 6095- Super Lutein Testimonial Due to an accident, Mr Onodera was told he would be confined to wheel chair for life 12 months after consuming...

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Tribute to Clyde Robertson: I Lived by OneRepublic
I TAKE NO OWNERSHIP OF THIS SONG OR LYRICS** Song/Album iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-lived/id854739054?i=854739269 ign-mpt=uo%3D4 Song: "I Lived" by OneRepublic ...

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C5 Quadriplegic - Spinal Cord Injury - My Road To Recovery - #2
It #39;s been one year and 5 months since my accident. Just an update on how things are going in the gym during my leg day. I #39;ve been working my ass off and woul...

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Power Talk: Our Life More Abundant: "The Wonder Of Regenerative Medicine"
Power Talk: Our Life More Abundant: "The Wonder Of Regenerative Medicine" With Dr. Masayuki Sakagami - CEO Of Bio Regenerations Co., Ltd., Japan Tue, January 27th, 2015 15.00 - 17.00 WIB.

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Power Talk: Our Life More Abundant: "The Wonder Of Regenerative Medicine" - Video

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MIAMI (PRWEB) January 29, 2015

Regenestem Network, the worlds largest membership network of regenerative medicine practitioners, has announced the launch of a new stem cell clinic in Oaxaca, Mexico. The new facility, offering the most advanced cellular medicine protocols and techniques available is in partnership with Ulises Cervera, M.D. a neurologist coming from the Children's Hospital of Morelia, Mexico.

The new Oaxaca facility will offer the most advanced protocols and techniques available in stem cell medicine to patients from across Mexico and around the world.

Global Stem Cells Group and Regenestem Network are expanding the companys clinical presence worldwide by partnering with experienced and qualified regenerative medicine physicians to open new clinics licensed and developed under the Regenestem banner.

In 2014, Global Stem Cells Group expanded the Regenestem Networks global presence to 20 countries.

Regenestem offers stem cell treatments to help treat a variety of diseases and conditions including arthritis, autism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and pain due to injuries at various facilities worldwide. Regenestem Oaxaca will have an international staff experienced in administering the latest in cellular therapies.

Regenestem is certified for the medical tourism market, and staff physicians are board-certified or board-eligible. Regenestem clinics provide services in more than 10 specialties, attracting patients from the United States and around the world.

The Global Stem Cells Group and Regenestem are committed to the highest of standards in service and technology, expert and compassionate care, and a philosophy of exceeding the expectations of their international patients.

For more information, visit the Regenestem Network website, email info(at)regenstem(dot)com, or call 305-224-1858.

About Regenestem: Regenestem Network, a division of the Global Stem Cells Group, Inc., is an international medical practice association committed to researching and producing comprehensive stem cell treatments for patients worldwide. Having assembled a highly qualified staff of medical specialistsprofessionals trained in the latest cutting-edge techniques in cellular medicineRegenestem continues to be a leader in delivering the latest protocols in the adult stem cell arena.

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Boston, MA (PRWEB) January 29, 2015

Dr. James Sherley, Director of the new biotech start-up Asymmetrex, LLC (formerly known as The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC) is looking forward to four upcoming opportunities in 2015 to continue to impress both academic and industry audiences with his companys very frank take on what is needed to accelerate progress in stem cell medicine.

Asymmetrex has set the focus for its efforts on adult stem cells that are found in the organs and tissues of children and adults. Unlike human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), adult stem cells are free of induced mutations, are not tumor-forming, and have the essential ability to continuously regenerate mature human tissue cells like those in children and adults. To date, hESCs and iPSCs have only been able to regenerate immature cells, and even those not continuously.

Previously, the two main challenges hindering wider use of adult stem cells for drug development and medical therapies have been difficulty producing them and difficulty counting them. Asymmetrex has reported, and in many cases secured patents for, new technologies that reduce or eliminate both of these challenges. At the coming conferences, Dr. Sherley will describe the companys most recent technological advances in this regard and discuss the science that led to them.

In particular, he will highlight the companys newest technology developed with partner AlphaSTAR Corporation for estimating adult stem cell number in any human tissue. The two companies are developing the new technology as an assay to detect drug candidates that will fail in expensive pre-clinical animal studies and clinical trials because of intolerable toxicity against tissue stem cells. By screening-out such drugs earlier in the drug development process, Asymmetrex and AlphaSTAR estimate that together they could save the U.S. pharmaceutical industry $4-5 billion each year.

The four scheduled conferences include the 7th Annual Predictive Toxicology Summit, February 16-18, in London; the 5th World Congress on Cell and Stem Cell Research, March 23-25, in Chicago; the 2015 Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology, March 28-April 1, in Boston; and the Inaugural 3D Cellular Models Conference, June 11-12, also in Boston.

The breadth of conference topics reflects the many important roles that adult tissue stem cells play in human biology and cellular medicine. Dr. Sherley offers that, Because of the importance of adult stem cells in normal body function, it is not surprising that Asymmetrexs technologies impact so many different facets of stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, and drug development.

About Asymmetrex

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 Scheduled to Present Unique Perspectives in Stem Cell Biology and Recent Advances in Technologies for Adult ...

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Sheryl Ubelacker, The Canadian Press Published Thursday, January 29, 2015 6:49AM EST

TORONTO -- Gordie Howe's son says the hockey legend's stroke symptoms have improved since his treatment with stem cells at a Mexican clinic in early December and he wants him to repeat the procedure.

But regenerative medicine experts say there's no scientific evidence such therapies work, and in some cases they can be seriously harmful or even deadly.

The 86-year-old Howe suffered two disabling strokes late last year. In December, the family took him to a Tijuana clinic where he received stem cell injections as part of a clinical trial being run under a licensing agreement with Stemedica Cell Technologies of San Diego, Calif.

The experimental treatment involved injecting neural stem cells into Howe's spinal canal, along with intravenous infusions of mesenchymal stem cells, which are found in bone marrow, fat and umbilical cord blood.

Marty Howe said his father can walk again, his speech is improving and he is regaining some of the weight he lost following the strokes.

"After his stem cell treatment, the doctor told us it was kind of an awakening of the body, and it was all that," he told The Canadian Press while in Calgary for a hockey promotion event Tuesday. "They call it the miracle of stem cells and it was nothing less than a miracle."

However, experts in the field question whether stem cells are responsible for Howe's improvement and caution that most so-called stem cell therapies have not gone through rigorous scientific trials, nor have they been approved as treatments by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Mick Bhatia, director of McMaster University's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, said there are many unknowns in Howe's case, such as how many stem cells were administered, were tests done to see whether they migrated to the targeted area of the body, and did they take up residence where they might have some effect or simply disappear?

"Is this a transient effect, or is it really a perceived or somewhat of a placebo effect and is there something really happening? Scientifically and biologically that is important," Bhatia said Wednesday from Hamilton.

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Gordie Howe's stem cell therapy raises concerns among medical experts

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TORONTO - Gordie Howe's son says the hockey legend's stroke symptoms have improved since his treatment with stem cells at a Mexican clinic in early December and he wants him to repeat the procedure.

But regenerative medicine experts say there's no scientific evidence such therapies work, and in some cases they can be seriously harmful or even deadly.

The 86-year-old Howe suffered two disabling strokes late last year. In December, the family took him to a Tijuana clinic where he received stem cell injections as part of a clinical trial being run under a licensing agreement with Stemedica Cell Technologies of San Diego, Calif.

The experimental treatment involved injecting neural stem cells into Howe's spinal canal, along with intravenous infusions of mesenchymal stem cells, which are found in bone marrow, fat and umbilical cord blood.

Marty Howe said his father can walk again, his speech is improving and he is regaining some of the weight he lost following the strokes.

"After his stem cell treatment, the doctor told us it was kind of an awakening of the body, and it was all that," he told The Canadian Press while in Calgary for a hockey promotion event Tuesday. "They call it the miracle of stem cells and it was nothing less than a miracle."

However, experts in the field question whether stem cells are responsible for Howe's improvement and caution that most so-called stem cell therapies have not gone through rigorous scientific trials, nor have they been approved as treatments by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Mick Bhatia, director of McMaster University's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, said there are many unknowns in Howe's case, such as how many stem cells were administered, were tests done to see whether they migrated to the targeted area of the body, and did they take up residence where they might have some effect or simply disappear?

"Is this a transient effect, or is it really a perceived or somewhat of a placebo effect and is there something really happening? Scientifically and biologically that is important," Bhatia said Wednesday from Hamilton.

And because Howe received adult stem cells produced from donor cells, he may have needed to take drugs to prevent an immune reaction as well as anti-inflammatory medications, he said.

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Joanne Schnurr, CTV Ottawa Published Thursday, January 29, 2015 12:57PM EST Last Updated Thursday, January 29, 2015 12:59PM EST

People with Multiple Sclerosis are holding out great hope tonight over clinical trials that will begin right here in Ottawa. It's part of an international study into special stem cells that have the ability to repair damage. There has been much talk before about stem cells and their therapeutic potential. This research goes beyond that, looking at the possibility that these particular mesenchymal stem cells might be able to fix nerves ravaged by MS.

For people like 60-year-old Margo Murchison, it is a ray of hope in a bleak future living with her disease that has now become chronic.

Id like to live a life like everybody else, says Murchison, be free to do whatever I want and help other people instead of relying on them to help me.

Murchison was 27 years old, a French Immersion teacher, when she was first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a disabling disease of the central nervous system. She has since lost the use of her legs, her eyesight on two occasions and now one hand. But her mind is crisp and clear and full of hope for these clinical trials being driven right here in Ottawa.

With the potential of stem cells, it's an exciting time to be dealing with a chronic illness. There is great hope for the future.

Dr. Mark Freedman is the man giving her that hope. The Ottawa neurologist, who is the director of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Unit at the Ottawa Hospital, is leading the first Canadian clinical trial into the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for MS. The trial is called MESCAMS (MEsenchymal Stem Cell therapy for CAnadian MS patients) and will evaluate the safety and potential benefits of MSCs that will be extracted from a patients own bone marrow, expanded in a specialized lab and then infused back into the same patient.

These stems cells have unique properties that help reduce inflammation. Most importantly, they promote repair.

Though this project we are launching is looking primarily at the biological property we know they have which is turning down the inflammation, explains Dr. Freedman, we are also going to be very, very closely monitoring them for repair. If we can pick that up in a way that can be reproduced and measured over time, the next phase is to go after patients with damage and fix it.

Nine countries worldwide are taking part in this research. Dr. Freedman is the lead for the Canadian trial and the co-lead of the international study that will involve 200 patients overall. Dr. A. Uccelli of Genoa, Italy is the other co-lead. Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world.

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Ottawa Hospital leads Canadian clinial trial on stem cell therapy in MS patients

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