Freeport, The Bahamas (PRWEB) February 21, 2014

Okyanos Heart Institute, whose mission it is to bring a new standard of care and a better quality of life to patients with coronary artery disease using adult stem cell therapy, announces CEO Matt Feshbach will present at the STEMSO Conference. He will join a panel to discuss the opportunities available through the new stem cell research and Therapy Act. The conference will be held at the Grand Lucayan Resort in Freeport, Grand Bahamas, February 19-22, 2014. The panel discussion will be Friday, February 21 from 8:45 9:45 a.m.

The conference, titled Bridging the Gap: Research to Point of Care, brings together medical scientists, clinicians, regulatory experts, and investors to discuss progress in the field of research and clinical protocols and the process of taking promising therapies to fight chronic disease to market in a responsible manner.

Friday opening remarks will be delivered by Ian Rolle, President of Grand Bahama Port Authority from 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. followed by the panel presentation until 9:45 a.m. which, in addition to Rolle will include Feshbach, Mitchell Fuerst, Esq., managing partner, Fuerst, Ittleman, David and Joseph. The panel will be moderated by Arthur K. Parris, Jr. of Parris Whittaker.

"With the passing of the Bahamas Stem Cell Research and Therapy Act, which requires high standards of patient safety and care, we believe the Bahamas is an ideal location to bring internationally-approved, adult stem cell technology to patients with unmet medical needs such as chronic coronary artery disease (CAD), says Feshbach. I am pleased to discuss the opportunities available in the Bahamas with investors, doctors and other stakeholders interested in making the Bahamas a world-class destination for adult stem cell therapy."

The STEMSO 2014 Conference in Freeport, Grand Bahama poses a unique opportunity for medical organizations which focus on adult stem cell-based medical treatments, states Douglas Hammond, president of STEMSO. This conference will provide companies looking to expand their research or clinical practices to offshore locations many good reasons to choose the Bahamas. Those attending will be able to network and view the most advanced research and clinical protocols utilizing autologous and allogeneic stem cells in the world today.

The complete agenda can be found on the organizations website at http://www.stemso.org. Other speakers include stem cell researchers, scientists and practitioners from around the world with leading discoveries in the field, and investors in the healthcare space.

Registration is open for attending and exhibiting on STEMSOs website.

ABOUT OKYANOS HEART INSTITUTE: (Oh key AH nos) Based in Freeport, The Bahamas, Okyanos Heart Institutes mission is to bring a new standard of care and a better quality of life to patients with coronary artery disease using cardiac stem cell therapy. Okyanos adheres to U.S. surgical center standards and is led by Chief Medical Officer Howard T. Walpole Jr., M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I. Okyanos Treatment utilizes a unique blend of stem and regenerative cells derived from ones own adipose (fat) tissue. The cells, when placed into the heart via a minimally-invasive procedure, can stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, a process known as angiogenesis. Angiogenesis facilitates blood flow in the heart, which supports intake and use of oxygen (as demonstrated in rigorous clinical trials such as the PRECISE trial). The literary name Okyanos, the Greek god of rivers, symbolizes restoration of blood flow. For more information, go to http://www.okyanos.com/.

NEW MEDIA CONTENT: Okyanos LinkedIn Page: http://www.linkedin.com/company/okyanos-heart-institute Okyanos Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/OKYANOS Okyanos Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/#!/OkyanosHeart Okyanos Google+ Page: https://plus.google.com/+Okyanos/posts Okyanos You Tube Physician Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/okyanosforphysicians

Go here to see the original:
Okyanos Heart Institute CEO Matt Feshbach to Speak on Panel at International Stem Cell Society Global Conference

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

20-Feb-2014

Contact: Henry French henry.french@icr.ac.uk 020-715-35380 Institute of Cancer Research

Screening men with a family history of prostate cancer for a range of gene mutations can identify those who are at high risk of aggressive forms of the disease and in need of lifelong monitoring, a new study has shown.

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, found screening of men who had multiple relatives with prostate cancer was able to pick up 14 mutations in known cancer genes that predicted the development of the disease.

The research was mainly funded by Prostate Cancer UK with additional support from Cancer Research UK, and is published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Friday).

The findings are important because they demonstrate not only that some men have a genetic profile that puts them at higher risk of prostate cancer, but that particular genetic profiles match to a higher risk of advanced, invasive disease. A big challenge facing prostate cancer researchers is to find ways of predicting which men will have life-threatening forms of the disease, to allow treatment to be tailored more effectively.

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) analysed blood samples from 191 men with prostate cancer at several different UK centres. They were able to use new 'second generation' DNA sequencing technologies to assess mutations in 22 different known cancer genes at once opening up for the first time the prospect of rapid genetic screening for prostate cancer for a wide range of mutations.

The researchers looked at men with a history of three or more cases of prostate cancer in their close family, in order to mirror use of family history as a criterion for existing gene testing programmes in breast cancer.

The researchers found 13 'loss of function' mutations which prevent the genes from producing a properly working protein in eight DNA repair genes. The genes tested for were BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are already routinely tested for in women with a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer, plus ATM, CHEK2, BRIP1, MUTYH, PALB2 and PMS2.

Continue reading here:
Genetic screening can identify men with advanced prostate cancer

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

20-Feb-2014

Contact: Rhiannon Bugno Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu 214-648-0880 Elsevier

Philadelphia, PA, February 20, 2014 Schizophrenia has long been known to be highly heritable and is present in approximately 1% of the population. Researchers have been following two paths in their pursuit of identifying schizophrenia risk genes.

Initially, they studied common gene variants that, individually, only increase the risk for schizophrenia by a few percent, perhaps increasing the likelihood of developing schizophrenia from a 10 out of a 1000 chance to an 11 or 12 out of a 1000 chance.

More recently, research has identified gene variants that are rare in the population but, when present, more substantially increase the risk for developing schizophrenia. For example, in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry, a large collaborating group of international scientists, led by Dr. Jennifer Mulle, an Assistant Professor at Emory, report a 1.4 megabase duplication on chromosome 7 (7q11.23) that increases the risk for schizophrenia over 10 times, i.e., to 100 out of a 1000 chance (10%).

"We also found it interesting that three different disorders (schizophrenia, autism, and intellectual development) that strike at different times and present in different ways, have genetic links to this same region on chromosome 7," commented Mulle. "Our findings support the notion of a neuro-developmental link between these disorders."

In this same issue, Dr. George Kirov at Cardiff University and colleagues scanned the genome for copy number gene variants, i.e., where abnormal numbers of gene copies exist. They studied 70 of these variants, all previously implicated in schizophrenia and/or early-onset developmental disorders, such as developmental delay, intellectual deficit and autism spectrum disorders (DD/ID/ASD). They then compared the risk for carriers of these variants to develop one or more of these disorders, i.e. their genetic penetrance.

"The result might be unexpected for many: the penetrance for schizophrenia is several times lower than for the group of DD/ID/ASD. The total penetrance for any of these disorders is quite high, ranging from 10% for duplications at 16p13.11 to nearly 100% for the velocardiofacial syndrome region on chromosome 22. These findings will have implications for genetic counselling of carriers," said Kirov.

"It seems that we are at a critical point in the genetics of schizophrenia the identification of rare gene variants that substantially increase the risk for schizophrenia," said Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. "However, we have a very limited understanding of how these genes alter brain development to produce schizophrenia and other disorders. This knowledge would seem to hold clues about mechanisms of prevention and treatment."

Go here to read the rest:
Gathering the clues to rare gene variants contributing to schizophrenia

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

20-Feb-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, February 20, 2014Children exhibit a range of responses to traumatic events such as natural disasters, with some suffering acute traumatic reactions that resolve over time and others experiencing long-term symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Identifying factors that may help predict which youths are at greater risk of more serious disorders and which are likely to be more resilient following a traumatic event can help determine the care and services needed, according to an article in Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology (JCAP), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is part of a special issue on pediatric traumatic stress that is available on the JCAP website.

In the article "Resilience and Trajectories of Post-traumatic Stress Among Youth Exposed to Disaster," Carl Weems, PhD and Rebecca Graham, University of New Orleans, LA, compare post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms among children exposed to both hurricanes Katrina and Gustav and describe the different risk factors and coping styles associated with resiliency to PTS.

Guest Editors Judith Cohen, MD, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, and Michael Scheeringa, MD, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, emphasize the importance of recognizing the similarities and differences in how children and adults react to traumatic events, and the effect that family dynamics and caregivers can have on treatment strategies and their outcomes in the Journal's Editorial.

In another article, authors Richard Meiser-Stedman, PhD, et al., MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, U.K., and King's College and King's College Hospital, London, caution against using certain cognitive strategies aimed at blocking trauma-related memories in adults and adolescents in the article entitled "Thought Control Strategies and Rumination in Youth with Acute Stress Disorder and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Following Single-Event Trauma."

In "Perceived Parenting Change and Child Posttraumatic Stress Following a Natural Disaster," Vanessa Cobham, PhD and Brett McDermott, MD, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, identify a link between specific parenting practices and increased risk for PTS symptoms among the children in a household following a natural disaster.

Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, Editor-in-Chief of JCAP, and President, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, states that there is a "palpable shift in the profession towards considering even sub-threshold PTS symptoms a worthy target of intervention in kids who have experienced a possible traumatic event, such as natural disaster or violence. Even children who do not meet specific criteria in terms of how they response to trauma may warrant careand this care can be helpful. This work is of particular importance in light of recent school shootings and natural disasters."

###

Read more from the original source:
Why are some children more resilient to post-traumatic stress?

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Let #39;s Play The Sims 3 - Perfect Genetics Challenge - Episode 5
VampireClan #VampireClan4Life.

By: vampiregirl101101101

Read this article:
Let's Play The Sims 3 - Perfect Genetics Challenge - Episode 5 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Lot 4 Warner Beef Genetics

By: Chris Mitchell

Read more from the original source:
Lot 4 Warner Beef Genetics - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Lot 21 Warner Beef Genetics

By: Chris Mitchell

See the original post:
Lot 21 Warner Beef Genetics - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Lot 27 Warner Beef Genetics

By: Chris Mitchell

Read the rest here:
Lot 27 Warner Beef Genetics - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Minecraft Mod Reviews! | Advanced Genetics - Cool Abilities! Part 1/2
Open Our Website: http://yngmain20.wix.com/yngnetwork Today #39;s mod is called Advanced Genetics by Team Gene, it #39;s a REALLY cool mod that allows you to extra...

By: Youtube Newbs Gaming

Originally posted here:
Minecraft Mod Reviews! | Advanced Genetics - Cool Abilities! Part 1/2 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise WASHINGTON (Feb. 20, 2014) After a heart attack, there is often permanent damage to a portion of the heart. This happens, in part, because cardiac muscle cells are terminally differentiated and cannot proliferate after blood flow is blocked off to the heart. This partial healing can be attributed to heart disease being one of the leading causes of death. What if the cells could be stimulated to divide and the heart could be induced to repair itself? This was the question posed by George Washington University (GW) researcher Scott Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D., and his co-authors, who found that cardiac regeneration may be a possibility with gene therapy.

The research, published yesterday in Science Translational Medicine, found that gene therapy can elicit a regenerative response in pig hearts. Shapiro and his research team first looked to small animals such as the zebrafish, which are able to regenerate heart tissue after a heart attack. This animal has a key protein at play, Cyclin A2 (Ccna2).

After seeing the effects of CCna2 in small animals, we began looking at the effects of the gene in larger animals, such as pigs, said Shapiro, assistant professor of medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. We delivered Ccna2 directly into the heart and found that pigs not only had improved cardiac function, but also found evidence of cellular regeneration.

Ccna2 is a prenatal gene normally turned off in humans after birth. Shapiro believes using gene therapy as a tool for cardiac regeneration, optimized for humans, could lead to a viable treatment option for patients who suffer from myocardial infarction, or heart attack.

The study, titled Cyclin A2 Induces Cardiac Regeneration After Myocardial Infarction Through Cytokinesis of Adult Cardiomyocytes, is available at http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/224/224ra27.short.

Additional authors of the study include researchers from the Cardiovascular Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares at the Hospital Universitario La Paz, and the Division of Cardiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Media: To interview Dr. Shapiro about this study, please contact Lisa Anderson at lisama2@gwu.edu or 202-994-3121.

###

Read the rest here:
Researcher Finds Gene Therapy a Promising Tool for Cardiac Regeneration

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

20-Feb-2014

Contact: Lisa Anderson lisama2@gwu.edu 202-994-3121 George Washington University

WASHINGTON (Feb. 20, 2014) After a heart attack, there is often permanent damage to a portion of the heart. This happens, in part, because cardiac muscle cells are terminally differentiated and cannot proliferate after blood flow is blocked off to the heart. This partial healing can be attributed to heart disease being one of the leading causes of death. What if the cells could be stimulated to divide and the heart could be induced to repair itself? This was the question posed by George Washington University (GW) researcher Scott Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D., and his co-authors, who found that cardiac regeneration may be a possibility with gene therapy.

The research, published yesterday in Science Translational Medicine, found that gene therapy can elicit a regenerative response in pig hearts. Shapiro and his research team first looked to small animals such as the zebrafish, which are able to regenerate heart tissue after a heart attack. This animal has a key protein at play, Cyclin A2 (Ccna2).

"After seeing the effects of CCna2 in small animals, we began looking at the effects of the gene in larger animals, such as pigs," said Shapiro, assistant professor of medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. "We delivered Ccna2 directly into the heart and found that pigs not only had improved cardiac function, but also found evidence of cellular regeneration."

Ccna2 is a prenatal gene normally turned off in humans after birth. Shapiro believes using gene therapy as a tool for cardiac regeneration, optimized for humans, could lead to a viable treatment option for patients who suffer from myocardial infarction, or heart attack.

###

The study, titled "Cyclin A2 Induces Cardiac Regeneration After Myocardial Infarction Through Cytokinesis of Adult Cardiomyocytes," is available at http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/224/224ra27.short.

Additional authors of the study include researchers from the Cardiovascular Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares at the Hospital Universitario La Paz, and the Division of Cardiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

View original post here:
GW researcher finds gene therapy a promising tool for cardiac regeneration

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Biophysics of Personalized Medicine - 2014 BPS Meeting Symposium
Biophysical Society TV covers one of the most important topics at the Annual Meeting the Monday, February 17, 2014 Symposium on the Biophysics of Personali...

By: WebsEdgeEducation

Read the original here:
Biophysics of Personalized Medicine - 2014 BPS Meeting Symposium - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Local woman says #39;game changing #39; cancer treatment helped her beat the odds
It is being a called a potential game changer in cancer treatment. A local woman is sharing her story after beating the odds, thanks to a treatment that is b...

By: ABC 10News

Read more from the original source:
Local woman says 'game changing' cancer treatment helped her beat the odds - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Michael Neely, MD, Director, Laboratory Applied Pharmocokinetics
Michael Neely, MD, researches personalized medicine, specifically optimized drug dosing.

By: childrensLA

Link:
Michael Neely, MD, Director, Laboratory Applied Pharmocokinetics - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Spinal Cord Injury
Davion came to Under Pressure Inc. Hyperbaric Treatment Centre in December 2013 after he suffered a L1 spinal cord injury. This video is showcasing his heali...

By: UnderPressureHBOT

See the original post:
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy & Spinal Cord Injury - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Duke University Health SystemDr. Victor J. Dzau, the current president and CEO of Duke University Health System

Dr. Victor J. Dzau, the current president and CEO of Duke University Health System and chancellor for health affairs at Duke University, has been appointed to a six-year term as the next president of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), effective July 1, 2014. Dr. Dzau will take over the lead role from Dr. Harvey Fineberg, who served in the position for twelve years.

Dr. Dzau began his career in medicine as a cardiologist, having previously taught at Harvard Medical School and served as chair of the department of medicine. He also worked at Brigham and Womens Hospital as the director of research. His ongoing award-winning research has been key in the development of cardiovascular drugs, as well as techniques to repair tissue damage from heart attacks and heart disease using stem cell therapies.

Dr. Eugene Braunwald, often called the father of modern cardiology and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, has known Dr. Dzau for more than 40 years and worked with him at many different stages of his career at Brigham and Womens Hospital and Partners Healthcare. In an interview Wednesday he called the upcoming IOM president a force of nature.

He is what I would call a talented, quadruple threat. A great physician, inspiring teacher, and a very creative scientist, said Dr. Braunwald, who trained Dzau when he was a resident at Brigham and Womens and continued to work with him on cardiovascular research when Dr. Dzau became chief resident, and then faculty at Harvard Medical School. The quadruple threat is that he also sees the larger picture. Hes interested in areas of medicine that most academic physicians have stayed away from. His work and ideas in global and community-based medicine have left an important heritage at each institution where hes worked.

After nearly a decade at Duke, Dr. Dzaus leadership has been credited with the launch of a number of innovative and global-focused medical institutions, including the Duke-National University of Signapore Graduate Medical School, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke Institute for Health Innovation, Duke Cancer Institute, as well as the Duke Translational Medicine Institute.

Im deeply honored to become the next president of the IOM and recognize the critically important role that the IOM will have in improving the health of the nation at a time of extraordinary evolution in biomedical research and health care delivery, Dzau said in a press release from Duke University Health System. The explosion of new data resources, novel technologies and breathtaking research advances make this the most promising time in history for driving innovations that will improve health care delivery, outcomes and quality.

As the health sciences extension of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine is known for its leadership in advancing health sciences and objective medical research nationally as a nonprofit academic research organization. The outgoing IOM president, Dr. Harvey Fineberg (previously Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health) has lead the nonprofit for twelve years. His focus and research have centered around public health policy and an improvement in informed medical decision making.

This leaves the medical community wondering what Dr. Dzau will bring to the Institute.

As a former chairman of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC), Dr. Dzau advocated for the innovative transition of academic medical and health centers into institutions that can survive the rapid transitions in the health care industry. In a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Dzau discusses the uncertain future of academic medical centers. He argues that industry pressures and cost restraints from the Affordable Care Act limit the research and education-based missions of teaching hospitals.

Read the rest here:
Duke Health System CEO appointed to head Institute of Medicine

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Multiple Sclerosis Association of America logo. (PRNewsFoto/Multiple Sclerosis Association of America)

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Feb. 20, 2014 /Emag.co.uk/ The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) is pleased to offer the latest MS Research Update, available as both a printed and online publication. This vital resource provides a comprehensive overview of research findings on the ten FDA-approved disease-modifying therapies for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as the latest study results on many experimental treatments currently under investigation. Directions for future research are also presented.

Included in this edition are updates on the currently approved drugs, such as the recently FDA-approved dosing option for Copaxone and the FDA-labeling changes for Tysabri. In addition to the exciting research aimed at relapsing forms of MS, a number of studies are now looking into the treatment of progressive forms of MS, which are highlighted in this edition of the MS Research Update for easy and quick identification. This update also features studies in areas such as stem-cell research, therapies for myelin repair and protection, biomarkers, genetic studies, and more.

Today, healthcare professionals and patients have numerous and more complex treatment options to consider. The need for patient education and awareness is crucial. This update and other MSAA resources are valuable tools for anyone looking for treatment information. Read or download the MS Research Update for free or order a printed copy at mymsaa.org.

For more information about MS and treatment options, please contact MSAA at (800) 532-7667, or visit mymsaa.org.

About MSAA

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) is a national nonprofit organization and leading resource for the entire MS community, improving lives today through vital services and support. MSAA provides free programs and services, such as: a Helpline with professional consultants; award-winning publications, including MSAAs magazine, The Motivator; MSAAs nationally recognized website (at http://www.mymsaa.org), featuring award-winning educational videos and research updates; S.E.A.R.C.H. program to assist the MS community with learning about different treatment choices; a mobile phone app, My MS Manager (named one of the best multiple sclerosis iPhone & Android apps by Healthline.com); a resource database, My MS Resource Locator; safety and mobility equipment distribution; cooling accessories for heat-sensitive individuals; educational events held across the country; MRI funding; and more. For additional information, please visit http://www.mymsaa.org or call (800) 532-7667.

(Logo: http://www.mymsaa.org

Go here to read the rest:
The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America Publishes 2014 MS Research Update

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) February 20, 2014

A study published in the journal Theranostics and reported by the Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Center finds that a class of drugs that stimulate stem cell production in patients and donors is safe to use.

The drugs are biologically similar to granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), a human glycoprotein that stimulates the bone marrow to produce granulocytes (a type of white blood cell) and stem cells and release them into the bloodstream. The drugs can be given to patients with diseases like Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma to stimulate the release of their own stem cells, or to donors for transplantation into sick patients.

Since the patent on G-CSF expired, several companies have begun producing these drugs. Referred to as biosimilars in Europe and follow-on biologics in the US, several have been approved for use, although their safety and efficacy is still being debated.

The new study examines published reports on more than 900 patients with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma or another blood cancer and healthy stem cell donors treated with the G-CSF biosimilar compounds Ratiograstim, Tevagrastim or Zarzio. The researchers report that the drugs produced good mobilization of CD34+ stem cells and produced side effects similar to the original G-CSF. Once the collected stem cells were grafted into a new host, they behaved comparably to stem cells stimulated by G-CSF.

In summary, the efficacy of biosimilar G-CSFs in terms of peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell yield as well as their toxicity profile are equivalent to historical data with reference to G-CSF, the researchers write in the European medical journal Theranostics. (Schmitt, M, et al, Biosimilar G-CSF Based Mobilization of Peripheral Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cells for Autologous and Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation, January 23, 2014, Theranostics, pp. 280-289. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24505236)

Non-Hodgkins Lymphomas include cancers that involve the lymphocytes or white blood cells. They account for about 4 percent of all new cancer cases in the U.S. The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than 500,000 Americans are currently living with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Today, there is more interest on the causes of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

The Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Center is part of the Cancer Monthly organization. The Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Center has been established by Cancer Monthly to provide more comprehensive information on the causes, diagnosis, and treatments for the many different subtypes of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. For over ten years, Cancer Monthly has been the only centralized source of cancer treatment results. Patients can see the actual survival rate, quality-of-life indicators, and other key data for approximately 1,500 different cancer treatments. Cancer Monthly provides timely and ground-breaking news on the causes, diagnoses and treatments of the most common cancers including Bladder, Brain, Breast, Colon, Kidney (Renal), Liver, Lung (NSCLC), Ovarian, Prostate, and Rectal Cancers, Melanoma, Mesothelioma, and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Written for patients and their loved ones, Cancer Monthly helps families make more informed treatment decisions.

View original post here:
Study Finds Biosimilar Compounds Safe and Effective for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, According to the Non-Hodgkins ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

CBS Pittsburgh (con't)

Affordable Care Act Updates: CBSPittsburgh.com/ACA

Health News & Information: CBSPittsburgh.com/Health

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) After injuries from gymnastics and dance when she was younger, Linda Morning-Starpoole was having terrible knee pain.

Sitting and standing up and getting up and moving, Linda said.

The news from her orthopedic surgeon was not encouraging.

I was sent off with a prescription, and basically said, take this, and when it gets so bad, well take out your knees. And that was really upsetting to me. It was such an ugly picture that was painted for my future, Linda said.

Traditional treatment might involve steroid injections, physical therapy, and joint replacement.

But Linda wanted an alternative. When she first heard about using stem cell injections, she was very intrigued.

The thought of me healing me with my own self is what sold me on the procedure, Linda said.

See the rest here:
Stem Cells Being Used To Treat Knee, Joint Pain

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

GOING BEYOND SKIN DEEP IN IDENTIFYING GOOD FAT FROM BAD FAT

A*STAR scientists discover a faster way to tell fat cells apart to get down to the skinny of fat towards healthier outcomes

20 February 2014, Singapore - Scientists from A*STARs Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) led in the discovery that two little-known fat cell markers have huge potential to assist researchers to further their understanding of fats. The discovery was recently published in prestigious science journal, Stem Cell Reports[1].

Adipose or fat cells are essential for proper body function. Yet, being too fat is detrimental to your health and raises risk of developing metabolic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. With worldwide obesity nearly doubling since 1980, there is an urgent need for research into the science of diseases caused by obesity[2].

Fat stem cells are young cells that mature into fully functioning fat cells. The research team looked at two different fat stem cells types: subcutaneous fat found beneath the skin and visceral fat surrounding internal organs. The researchers are able for the first time to tell apart subcutaneous from visceral fat stem cells using specific cell markers.

The researchers looked at 240 different markers present on the surface of fat stem cells and discovered two markers called CD10 and CD200. An imaging technique called High-Content Screening (HCS) was used to spot these markers individually by latching them with florescence tags. What the scientists found was subcutaneous fat contained more CD10 signals while visceral fat exhibited more CD200. By using the different composition of CD10 and CD200 on fat stem cell surface, scientists can use these marking signatures to differentiate subcutaneous from visceral fat.

Original post:
:: 20, Feb 2014 :: GOING BEYOND SKIN DEEP IN IDENTIFYING GOOD FAT FROM BAD FAT

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Current ratings for: Cell therapy to treat leukemia shows more promise

Public / Patient:

0 0 ratings

Health Professionals:

0 0 ratings

New findings on cell therapy to treat leukemia bring more encouraging news of the promise that this experimental area of cancer treatment holds for patients for whom conventional approaches do not work.

In the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, report the results of the largest clinical study yet conducted in patients with advanced leukemia.

These show that 14 of the 16 patients - that is 88% - treated with genetically modified versions of their own immune cells, achieved complete remission - at least in the short term; the long-term effects of the therapy are yet to be tested.

Co-senior author Dr. Michel Sadelain, director of the Center for Cell Engineering at Memorial Sloan Kettering, describes the results as "extraordinary," saying they show how cell therapy might offer hope where other treatments have failed.

"Our initial findings have held up in a larger cohort of patients," he notes, "and we are already looking at new clinical studies to advance this novel therapeutic approach in fighting cancer."

Original post:
Cell therapy to treat leukemia shows more promise

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

19-Feb-2014

Contact: Andrea Baird bairda@mskcc.org 212-639-3573 Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

NEW YORK, February 19, 2014 Investigators from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have reported more encouraging news about one of the most exciting methods of cancer treatment today. The largest clinical study ever conducted to date of patients with advanced leukemia found that 88 percent achieved complete remissions after being treated with genetically modified versions of their own immune cells. The results were published today in Science Translational Medicine.

"These extraordinary results demonstrate that cell therapy is a powerful treatment for patients who have exhausted all conventional therapies," said Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD, Director of the Center for Cell Engineering at Memorial Sloan Kettering and one of the study's senior authors. "Our initial findings have held up in a larger cohort of patients, and we are already looking at new clinical studies to advance this novel therapeutic approach in fighting cancer."

Adult B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), a type of blood cancer that develops in B cells, is difficult to treat because the majority of patients relapse. Patients with relapsed B-ALL have few treatment options; only 30 percent respond to salvage chemotherapy. Without a successful bone marrow transplant, few have any hope of long-term survival.

In the current study, 16 patients with relapsed B-ALL were given an infusion of their own genetically modified immune cells, called T cells. The cells were "reeducated" to recognize and destroy cancer cells that contain the protein CD19. While the overall complete response rate for all patients was 88 percent, even those with detectable disease prior to treatment had a complete response rate of 78 percent, far exceeding the complete response rate of salvage chemotherapy alone.

Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R, of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, was one of the first patients to receive this treatment more than two years ago. He was able to successfully undergo a bone marrow transplant and has been cancer-free and back at work teaching theology since 2011. Paolo Cavalli, a restaurant owner from Oxford, Connecticut, remains in complete remission eight months after receiving his personalized T cell treatment.

A History of Scientific Achievements for Cell-Based Therapies

Cell-based, targeted immunotherapy is a new approach to treating cancer that harnesses the body's own immune system to attack and kill cancerous cells. Unlike with a common virus such as the flu, our immune system does not recognize cancer cells as foreign and is therefore at a disadvantage in eradicating the disease. For more than a decade, researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering have been exploring ways to reengineer the body's own T cells to recognize and attack cancer. In 2003, they were the first to report that T cells engineered to recognize the protein CD19, which is found on B cells, could be used to treat B cell cancers in mice.

The rest is here:
Cell therapy shows remarkable ability to eradicate cancer in clinical study

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

19-Feb-2014

Contact: Raymond MacDougall macdougallr@mail.nih.gov 301-443-3523 NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute

National Institutes of Health researchers have identified gene variants that cause a rare syndrome of sporadic fevers, skin rashes and recurring strokes, beginning early in childhood. The team's discovery coincides with findings by an Israeli research group that identified an overlapping set of variants of the same gene in patients with a similar type of blood vessel inflammation.

The NIH group first encountered a patient with the syndrome approximately 10 years ago. The patient, then 3 years old, experienced fevers, skin rash and strokes that left her severely disabled. Because there was no history of a similar illness in the family, the NIH group did not at first suspect a genetic cause, and treated the patient with immunosuppressive medication. However, when the NIH team evaluated a second patient with similar symptoms two years agoa child who had experienced recurrent fevers and six strokes by her sixth birthdaythey began to suspect a common genetic cause and embarked on a medical odyssey that has led not only to a diagnosis, but to fundamental new insights into blood vessel disease.

In their study, which appears in the Feb. 19, 2014, advance online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers describe how next-generation genome sequencing, only recently available, facilitated a molecular diagnosis for patients in their study. The researchers found that harmful variants in the CECR1 gene impede production of a protein vital to the integrity of healthy blood vessel walls.

"This discovery is another example of genome sequencing playing a central role in revealing the genomic basis for an important rare disease," said Eric D. Green, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), where the lead members of the research team are based. "Such studies illustrate how genomics is paving the way to improved human health."

The researchers showed that faulty variants in their patients' DNA that encode the CECR1 gene cause a loss of function of the gene's ability to produce of an enzyme called adenosine deaminase 2 (ADA2). Without it, abnormalities and inflammation in blood vessel walls result. The researchers call the new syndrome, deficiency of ADA2, or DADA2. The enzyme ADA2 is chemically similar to the enzyme ADA1, whose deficiency results in severe combined immunodeficiency disease.

NHGRI Scientific Director Daniel Kastner, M.D., Ph.D., led the team of collaborators from NIH and beyond in mounting the study of nine patients. "It has been incredibly fantastic to see this kind of progress being made within the last decade," he said. "Our study raises the possibility that the ADA2 pathway may contribute to susceptibility to stroke in the more general population."

For children, as with adults, stroke can affect physical, cognitive and emotional functioning. Some outcomes, such as blindness and deafness, can be lasting; others, such as the ability to walk, can be relearned.

Read this article:
NIH team discovers genetic disorder causing strokes and vascular inflammation in children

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Babies who develop leukemia during the first year of life appear to inherit an unfortunate combination of genetic variations that can make the infants highly susceptible to the disease, according to a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Minnesota.

The research is available online in the journal Leukemia.

Doctors have long puzzled over why it is that babies just a few months old sometimes develop cancer. As infants, they have not lived long enough to accumulate a critical number of cancer-causing mutations.

Parents always ask why their child has developed leukemia, and unfortunately we have had few answers, said senior author Todd Druley, MD, PhD, a Washington University pediatric oncologist who treats patients at St. Louis Childrens Hospital. Our study suggests that babies with leukemia inherit a strong genetic predisposition to the disease.

The babies appear to have inherited rare genetic variants from both parents that by themselves would not cause problems, but in combination put the infants at high risk of leukemia. These variants most often occurred in genes known to be linked to leukemia in children, said Druley, an assistant professor of pediatrics.

Leukemia occurs rarely in infants, with only about 160 cases diagnosed annually in the United States. But unlike leukemia in children, which most often can be cured, about half of infants who develop leukemia die of the disease.

The researchers sequenced all the genes in the DNA of healthy cells from 23 infants with leukemia and their mothers. Looking at genes in the healthy cells helped the researchers understand which genetic variations were passed from a mother to her child, and by process of elimination, the scientists could determine the fathers contribution to a babys DNA.

Among the families studied, there was no history of pediatric cancers. The scientists also sequenced the DNA of 25 healthy children as a comparison.

Originally posted here:
Infants with Leukemia Inherit Susceptibility

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Genetic testing can help doctors choose the most effective and economical drugs to prevent blood clots in the half a million patients in the U.S. who receive coronary stents each year, according to a new study led by a UC San Francisco researcher.

The work, reported in the February 18, 2014 Annals of Internal Medicine, demonstrates that genetically guided personalized medicine, often perceived as pricier than traditional approaches, can both lower costs and increase the quality of health care.

Dhruv Kazi, MD, MSc, MS

Our results counter the general perception that personalized medicine is expensive, said Dhruv Kazi, MD, MSc, MS, assistant professor of medicine at UCSF and first author of the new study. What we have shown is that individualizing care based on genotype may in fact be very cost-effective in some settings, because it allows us to target the use of newer, more expensive drugs to the patients who are most likely to benefit from them.

According to the American Heart Association, about 500,000 patients per year in the U.S. receive stents to open up coronary arteries after experiencing unstable angina or a heart attack. These patients routinely begin a one-year regimen of aspirin taken daily in combination with a prescription antiplatelet medication, a dual therapy that can significantly reduce the risk of stent-clogging clots by preventing blood cells known as platelets from sticking together.

Historically, most patients have taken aspirin in combination with clopidogrel (trade name Plavix), but the effectiveness of that drug in preventing clotting and recurrent cardiovascular problems varies considerably among patients. One cause of this variability is that clopidogrel is a pro-drug: to work it must first be activated by a liver enzyme known as CYP2C19, and it is therefore less effective in patients who carry genetic variations that reduce the activity of the CYP2C19 gene. Approximately 28 percent of the population carries these genetic variations, which are known as loss-of-function alleles.

Two newer drugs, prasugrel (Effient) and ticagrelor (Brilinta), prevent clotting more reliably than clopidogrel in most patients, but they are considerably more expensive, and they can have troublesome side effects. Prasugrel can cause fatal bleeding in some patients, and ticagrelor can cause uncomfortable shortness of breath.

Juggling these variables of effectiveness, expense, side effects, and genetic factors has made it challenging for doctors to choose the right drug for their patients, particularly since neither the benefit of genetic testing for CYP2C19 variants nor the relative advantages of prasugrel versus ticagrelor have been tested in randomized clinical trials.

In the new research, Kazi and colleagues built a computer simulation based on 100,000 hypothetical 65-year-old patients receiving stents for heart problems. The model incorporated more than 100 quantitative parameters that might affect the choice of anti-platelet therapy, including clinical data from the medical literature and Medicare claims, procedure and hospitalization costs from national datasets, as well as actuarial information from published life tables.

Link:
Personalized Medicine a Cost-Effective Way to Tailor Drug Therapy After Stents

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith