PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Jan-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, January 22, 2014Metastatic melanoma has a poor prognosis, but treatment with high-dose interleukin-2 (IL2) can extend survival. Now, a combination of IL2 therapy and activation of patients' immune systems using personalized vaccines made from their own tumor cells has been shown to improve survival rates even more than IL2 alone, according to a new article in Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals website.

"High-Dose IL2 in Metastatic Melanoma: Better Survival in Patients Immunized with Antigens from Autologous Tumor Cell Lines" describes a statistically significant improvement in survival for patients who received IL2 plus tumor cell-based immunotherapy. Authors Robert Dillman, Carol DePriest and Stephanie McClure, Hoag Institute for Research and Education, Hoag Family Cancer Institute, and Cancer Biotherapy Research Group, Newport Beach, CA, found that administration of immunotherapy after IL2 treatment resulted in longer patient survival than if individuals were vaccinated before receiving IL2.

"This is an important addition to the literature on IL2 treatment for metastatic melanoma demonstrating that personalized vaccine therapy contributed to an increased survival rate," says Co-Editor-in-Chief Donald J. Buchsbaum, PhD, Division of Radiation Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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About the Journal

Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, published 10 times a year in print and online, is under the editorial leadership of Editors Donald J. Buchsbaum, PhD and Robert K. Oldham, MD, Lower Keys Cancer Center, Key West, FL. Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals is the only journal with a specific focus on cancer biotherapy, including monoclonal antibodies, cytokine therapy, cancer gene therapy, cell-based therapies, and other forms of immunotherapy. The Journal includes extensive reporting on advancements in radioimmunotherapy and the use of radiopharmaceuticals and radiolabeled peptides for the development of new cancer treatments. Topics include antibody drug conjugates, fusion toxins and immunotoxins, nanoparticle therapy, vascular therapy, and inhibitors of proliferation signaling pathways. Tables of content and a sample issue are available on the Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals website.

About the Publisher

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Can personalized tumor vaccines improve interleukin-2 treated metastatic melanoma?

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Jan-2014

Contact: Sophie Mohin smohin@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2254 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, January 21, 2014 Too much information can be overwhelming, but when it comes to certain types of data that are used to build predictive models to guide decision making there is no such thing as too much data, according to an article in Big Data, the highly innovative, peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Big Data website.

To determine whether more data is really better for predictive modeling, Enric Junqu de Fortuny and David Martens, University of Antwerp, Belgium, and Foster Provost, New York University, NY, tested nine different applications in which they built models using a particular type of data called fine-grained data, such as observing an individual's behavior in a certain setting. In the article "Predictive Modeling with Big Data: Is Bigger Really Better?" the authors state that "certain telling behaviors may not be observed in sufficient numbers without massive data."

"The power of any analytic tool is in using it appropriately," says Founding Editor, Edd Dumbill. "Sweeping assumptions such as 'bigger is better' can be dangerous. This paper significantly advances our knowledge of when massive datasets improve decision-making ability."

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About the Journal

Big Data, published quarterly in print and online, facilitates and supports the efforts of researchers, analysts, statisticians, business leaders, and policymakers to improve operations, profitability, and communications within their organizations. Spanning a broad array of disciplines focusing on novel big data technologies, policies, and innovations, the Journal brings together the community to address the challenges and discover new breakthroughs and trends living within this information.

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AP/January 22, 2014

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) New Hampshires House killed a bill Wednesday that would have required genetically modified foods to be labeled.

The House voted 185-162 to kill the bill, despite supporters arguments it is time for states like New Hampshire to lead on the issue regardless of the federal governments position.

Supporters argued New Hampshire residents have a right to know whether their food is produced with genetic engineering, but critics said the federal Food and Drug Administration has not mandated the labeling because it determined the foods are safe.

The reality is most of us are living every day with the benefits of genetic engineering, said Rep. Linda Lauer, D-Bath. She said insulin has been genetically engineered since 1982. Prior to that insulin was taken from the pancreas of farm animals, she said.

Lauer said the labeling required under the bill would not tell consumers what was in the food, only that it had been genetically engineered. She said the label wouldnt provide accurate information about the foods. For example, genetically engineered beets are used to produce sugar, which is a pure chemical compound. Despite its purity, any foods containing the sugar would have to be labeled, she said.

But Rep. Peter Bixby, D-Dover, said people have a right to know if genetic engineering modified the foods.

People are responsible for their own decisions, but to make those decisions they need information, he said.

But opponents said wary consumers could buy organic foods or foods labeled as not being genetically modified. They said the industry is beginning to respond to consumers wishes for genetically engineered foods to be labeled,

The market will solve this problem. It moves a little slow, but it will solve the problem, said Rep. Robert Haefner, R-Hudson.

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Newswise A new study conservatively estimates that one in five women with ovarian cancer has inherited genetic mutations that increase the risk of the disease, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Most women in the study would have been unaware of a genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer because they didnt have strong family histories that suggested it.

The research, published Jan. 22 in Nature Communications, is the first large-scale analysis of the combined contributions of inherited and acquired mutations in a major cancer type. The inherited mutations by themselves are unlikely to cause ovarian cancer but may conspire with other genetic changes acquired over a womans lifetime to tip the balance toward cancer, the researchers said.

Earlier studies that have looked at inherited susceptibility to ovarian cancer have focused on women with known family histories of the disease. For the current study, however, the researchers studied 429 women with ovarian cancer that appeared to develop sporadically, meaning the women did not have known family histories of the disease.

Using advanced genomic analysis, we found that 20 percent of women with ovarian cancer had inherited mutations in a gene pathway known to be important in inherited breast and ovarian cancer. That number seems pretty high, explained senior author Li Ding, PhD, assistant director at The Genome Institute at the School of Medicine and a research member of Siteman Cancer Center. This tells us that we need to find better ways to screen women for ovarian cancer, even if they dont have family histories of the disease.

Ovarian cancer strikes an estimated 22,000 women annually. Its symptoms are nonspecific and include bloating, pelvic pain and frequently feeling the need to urinate. Most women arent diagnosed until the cancer has spread, leading to a poor five-year survival rate of 43 percent.

Women with ovarian cancer in the study did not have known family histories of breast or ovarian cancer or rare cancer syndromes, all of which can increase the odds of developing ovarian tumors. The women ranged in age from 26 to 89, and 90 percent were Caucasian.

The researchers, including Washington University first authors Krishna Kanchi, Kimberly Johnson, PhD, and Charles Lu, PhD, performed a genetic analysis of each womans tumor and her own DNA, taken from a skin sample. By comparing the genetic sequences side-by-side, they identified the acquired mutations in individual tumor samples. In addition, by comparing the patients DNA samples with the DNA of 557 women who did not have ovarian cancer and served as controls, the researchers found inherited mutations.

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Study Shows 1 in 5 Women with Ovarian Cancer Has Inherited Predisposition

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Population genetics, Cystic Fibrosis - problem solving
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and causes nutritional deficiencies. It is caused by a defective recessive gene. This means you ...

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-21- Let #39;s Play Xcom Enemy Within - Genetics Vs MEC #39;s
Xcom Enemy Within Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jge6hongP4 list=PLJzQm-qJ_UmCdL_KTCT25syHKw_3jTw9n Feel free to like comment and subscribe for ...

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RussoBioClass Basic Genetics

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Jan-2014

Contact: Kathy Ridgely Beal kbeal@acmg.net 301-238-4582 American College of Medical Genetics

Do you cover genetics, genomics, healthcare or medicine? The media are invited to register now for the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting, March 25-29, 2014 at the Nashville Convention Center.

From Incidental Findings to Whole Genome/Exome Sequencing to Cancer Genetics, the focus of the ACMG Meeting is on the actual practice of genetics and genomics in healthcare, showcasing the latest breakthroughs in genetics research and its practical applications to medical practice. The ACMG Annual Meeting attracts medical and scientific leaders from around the world working to apply research in the human genome to the diagnosis, management, treatment and prevention of genetic conditions and rare and common diseases.

Reporters will hear about the latest medical genetics research; have the opportunity to interact with doctors, laboratory professionals and genetic counselors about what is happening right now in genetics and genomics; and view the latest products available in the extensive exhibit hall.

Topics range from common conditions to rare diseases. Sessions include information of interest to the general public, to health professionals and to the industry/trade.

The ACMG Meeting is the genetics meeting most focused on the practical applications of genetic discoveries in the clinical setting. And the 2014 Meeting is already shattering records with a record number of abstracts submitted and attendee registration to date is at an all-time high.

Two Genetics Short Courses on Tuesday, March 25:

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Complimentary press registration now open for ACMG 2014 Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting

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Clare McLean

Gene therapy researcher Martin K. Childers with his family dog, Bella, who carries the gene for the disorder he studies.

Preclinical studies show that gene therapy can improve muscle strength in small- and large-animal models of a fatal congenital childhood disease know as X-linked myotubular myopathy.

The findings, appearing in the January 22, 2014 issue of Science Translational Medicine, also demonstrate the feasibility of future clinical trials of gene therapy for this devastating disease.

Watch a video by Brian Donohue on this study.

Researchers at the University of Washington, Gnthon in France, Boston Childrens Hospital, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va., conducted the study.

The study was based on seminal work on local and systemic administration in a mouse model of the disease performed by Anna Buj-Bello, at Gnthon since 2009. The UWs Martin K. Childers, working with Buj-Bello and Beggs groups, tested gene therapy using an engineered adenovirus vector, created by Gnthon. The vector carries a replacement MTM1 gene.

They used two animal models: mice with an engineered MTM1 mutation and dogs carrying a naturally occurring MTM1 gene mutation. These mutant animals appear very weak with shortened lifespans, similar to patients with myotubular myopathy.

The scientists found that both mice and dogs responded to a single intravascular injection of an adenovirus vector engineered for gene replacement therapy, produced at Gnthon. The treated animals had robust improvement in muscle strength, corrected muscle structure at the microscopic level, and prolonged life. No toxic or immune response was observed in the dogs.

These results demonstrate the efficacy of gene replacement therapy for myotubular myopathy in animal models and pave the way to a clinical trial in patients.

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explore

Explore the what's and why's of gene therapy research, includingan in-depth look at the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis and how gene therapy could potentially be used to treat it.

interactive explore

Explore the methods for delivering genes into cells.

interactive explore

You are the doctor! Design and test gene therapy treatments with ailing aliens.

Supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) Grant No. R25RR016291 from the National Center for Research Resources, a component of the NIH. The contents provided here are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIH.

APA format: Genetic Science Learning Center (2014, January 14) Gene Therapy. Learn.Genetics. Retrieved January 22, 2014, from http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/genetherapy MLA format: Genetic Science Learning Center. "Gene Therapy." Learn.Genetics 22 January 2014 <http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/genetherapy> Chicago format: Genetic Science Learning Center, "Gene Therapy," Learn.Genetics, 14 January 2014, <http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/genetherapy> (22 January 2014)

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Learn Genetics - Gene Therapy

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SCIENTISTS in Florida, USA, are studying gene therapy to cure genetic eye diseases.

Prof. Galileo Encabo, senior biological scientist at the Department of Opthalmology of the University of Florida, said they have conducted successful human clinical trials, but it would take years before the technology can be made available to the public.

From clinical trials, it takes a few years to make it available for public use. We will have to find a pharmaceutical firm willing to produce (the technology), then we have to get approval from the different bureaucrats, Encabo told reporters.

Gene therapy is the introduction of new genes into human cells to treat a disease. It involves replacing, correcting or removing an abnormal gene.

Encabo held a seminar at the University of the Philippines Cebu yesterday. He was a graduate and a former professor of the university.

The two-hour seminar, held at the UP Cebu Union building, was organized by the UP Cebu Central Visayas Studies Center in partnership with the universitys Sciences Cluster.

It aims to inspire students to pursue studies on molecular genetics.

The University of Florida is collaborating with 65 other institutions in its research on gene therapy.

Encabo said the persons who were subjected to the clinical trials improved their vision, with some increasing their visual ability 10,000 times.

The success of the human clinical trials, he said, will attract more private organizations to support the experiments and validate the whole concept of human gene therapy.

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Jan-2014

Contact: Kim Blakely krb13@uw.edu 206-685-1323 University of Washington

Preclinical studies show that gene therapy can improve muscle strength in small- and large-animal models of a fatal congenital pediatric disease known as X-linked myotubular myopathy. The results, appearing in the Jan. 22 issue of Science Translational Medicine, also demonstrate the feasibility of future clinical trials of gene therapy for this devastating disease.

Researchers, based at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, Gnthon, France, Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia, conducted the study. The scientists found that both mice and dogs responded from a single intravascular injection of AAV, produced at Gnthon, with robust improvement in muscle strength, corrected muscle structure at the microscopic level, and prolonged life. No toxic or immune response was observed in the dogs.

These results demonstrate the efficacy of gene replacement therapy for myotubular myopathy in animal models and pave the way to a clinical trial in patients.

Children born with X-linked myotubular myopathy, which affects about 1 in 50,000 male births, have very weak skeletal muscles, causing them to appear floppy, with severe respiratory difficulties. Survival beyond birth requires intensive support, often including tube feeding and mechanical ventilation, but effective therapy is not available for patients, and most die in childhood.

Alan H. Beggs of Boston Children's Hospital, co-senior author on the paper, has studied the mutated gene, known as MTM1, for many years and previously showed that replacing missing myotubularin protein effectively improved MTM muscles' ability to contract.

Based on seminal work on local and systemic administration in a mouse model of the disease performed by Anna Buj-Bello at Gnthon since 2009, Martin K. Childers, a professor of rehabilitation medicine and a regenerative medicine researcher at the University of Washington, worked with the Buj-Bello and Beggs groups.

They tested gene therapy using an engineered adenovirus vector, created by Gnthon. The vector is a vehicle for delivering a replacement MTM1 gene into cells. The researchers used two animal models: mice with an engineered MTM1 mutation and dogs carrying a naturally occurring MTM1 gene mutation. These mutant animals appear very weak with shortened lifespans, similar to patients with myotubular myopathy.

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Newswise DALLAS Jan. 22, 2014 Scientists have known for years that stem cells in male and female sexual organs are regulated differently by their respective hormones. In a surprising discovery, researchers at the Childrens Medical Center Research Institute at UTSouthwestern (CRI) and Baylor College of Medicine have found that stem cells in the blood-forming system which is similar in both sexes also are regulated differently by hormones, with estrogen proving to be an especially prolific promoter of stem cell self-renewal.

The research, published in Nature, raises several intriguing possibilities for further investigation that might lead to improved treatments for blood cancers and increased safety and effectiveness of chemotherapy.

Before the finding, blood-forming stem cells were thought to be regulated similarly in both males and females, according to the papers senior author, Dr. Sean Morrison, Director of CRI, Professor of Pediatrics, and the Mary McDermott Cook Chair in Pediatric Genetics at UTSouthwestern Medical Center.

However, while working in Dr. Morrisons laboratory as postdoctoral fellows, Dr. Daisuke Nakada, the first and co-corresponding author of the study, and Dr. Hideyuki Oguro discovered that blood-forming stem cells divide more frequently in females than in males due to higher estrogen levels. The research, conducted using mice, demonstrated that the activity of blood-forming stem cells was regulated by systemic hormonal signals in addition to being regulated by local changes within the blood-forming system.

This discovery explains how red blood cell production is augmented during pregnancy, said Dr. Morrison. In female mice, estrogen increases the proliferation of blood-forming stem cells in preparation for pregnancy. Elevated estrogen levels that are sustained during pregnancy induce stem cell mobilization and red cell production in the spleen, which serves as a reserve site for additional red blood cell production.

The study involved treating male and female mice over a period of several days with amounts of estrogen needed to achieve a level consistent with pregnancy. When an estrogen receptor that is present within blood-forming stem cells was deleted from those cells, they were no longer able to respond to estrogen, nor were they able to increase red blood cell production. The results demonstrate that estrogen acts directly on the stem cells to increase their proliferation and the number of red blood cells they generate.

If estrogen has the same effect on stem cells in humans as in mice, then this effect raises a number of possibilities that could change the way we treat people with diseases of blood cell-formation, said Dr. Morrison. Can we promote regeneration in the blood-forming system by administering estrogen? Can we reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy to the blood-forming system by taking into account estrogen levels in female patients? Does estrogen promote the growth of some blood cancers? There are numerous clinical opportunities to pursue.

Research support for Dr. Morrison came from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT); the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and donors to Childrens Medical Center Foundation. Dr. Nakada is now a CPRIT Scholar and Assistant Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. The research was initiated in the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan and completed at Baylor College of Medicine and CRI.

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Professor Forest Rohwer - "Personalized Medicine: From Coral Reefs to Humans", ASM2013
Presented by Professor Forest Rohwer, San Diego State University, at the Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM) 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting in Adelaide...

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Personalized Medicine in Colorectal Cancer
Panelists discuss the next-steps for personalized medicine in colorectal cancer, with a growing emphasis on next-generation sequencing and targeted therapies...

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Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury Part 2 2014

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Regenerative Medicine "Extending Life and Limb" Workshop - Panel Discussion
Crystal Research Associates #39; Co-Founder and CEO, Jeffrey Kraws, was among leading stock analysts and experts discussing the most important developments in th...

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SmartChoice Adult Stem Cell Procedures - Lower Back Pain Relief
Patient Testimonial: Felix, a resident of Jacksonville, FL, discusses his experience with lower back pain and the amazing relief he felt after his SmartChoic...

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SmartChoice Adult Stem Cell Procedures - Upper and Lower Back Pain Relief
SmartChoice Adult Stem Cell Procedures can help relieve your back pain. Hear first hand what our patient has to say, then to learn more about SmartChoice S...

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By Gu Yang

According to statistics, up to August 1st, 2013, clinical trials on stem cell research publicly registered on the website of Clinical Trial have reached 4704, among which 213 were from China. Though it is far from 2805 of the US, Xu Xiaochun, the director of INCOSC and founder of Boya Life, insists that gap between China and developed countries in stem cell research field is not big -- "we are almost starting at the same time, since the key technology of stem cell has just got breakthrough in recent two or three years, and the development history of the whole industry is just 20 years."

"This is an original contribution in science which is most likely to be accomplished by China!" Xu Xiaochun stated briefly. The next few years will be the critical period for the development of global stem cell industry, and China is not to miss this valuable but fleeting opportunity.

A "gold mine" of USD400 billion is to be discovered

Who will be the next Microsoft? Even Gates himself admits that this company will surely come from the field of biological medicine, and it has been a consensus in the industry that stem cell industry is one of the cores and the most promising modules in the field of biological medicine.

In global market, stem cell technology and its development has been crazily pursued by international capital market in recent years, and relevant market value of stem cell concept stocks listed in NASDAQ only has exceeded USD30 billion. It is predicted by experts that the potential market of global stem cell industry will be about USD80 billion within the next two years, and reach up to USD400 billion around 2020.

In China, the stem cell industry also has bright prospects. According to the research reports from the institution named First Capital, the stem cell industry of China has formed a complete industry chain from the upstream storage to the downstream clinical application, and it is predicted that the income of stem cell industry in the coming 5 years will increase to RMB 30 billion from the current RMB 2 billion, at the average annual growth rate of 170 percent.

For many people, the stem cell, with the ability to repair and generate all human cells, has not been a strange concept. However, there are still some widespread misunderstandings in society about the cognition of stem cells in clinical application.

"Stem cell application doesn't only mean the storage of stem cells, but it has many downstream applications. Moreover, stem cells can also be used as a tool for new medicine research and development as well as other personalized medicine." Xu Xiaochun told the journalist that, Boya Life, founded by him, is such a group starting from stem cell research, turns the view to the whole field of biological economy while constantly extending upstream and downstream on the industry chain.

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Yorkshire (PRWEB UK) 21 January 2014

Ongoing worldwide research is consistently proving that stem cells will be a cornerstone of medical treatments in the future. Already, literally thousands of stem cell therapies for a host of dangerous and life-threatening conditions have already been successfully performed, and specialists agree that many newly discovered treatments are just around the corner.

Stem cells are biological cell types found in multicellular organisms like mammals, and that, of course, includes us. The incredible thing about stem cells is that they are able to divide and change into other types of cell, and this is what gives them their unique ability to repair, or even replace, cells that have been damaged by disease or injury.

The potential for the health of younger and future generations is enormous.

Although stem cells are found in many different parts of our body, it is the stem cells found in our childrens teeth that are most precious in terms of their potential to safeguard health. While an inevitable crystallisation process makes adult teeth useless for stem cell therapies, first teeth and young wisdom teeth contain tooth pulp in perfect condition to provide useable stem cells. Whats more, children naturally lose 12 milk teeth over a 5-year period, and this means plenty of chances to collect the teeth most likely to be suitable for harvesting stem cells. The other big advantage of childrens teeth is that they fall out naturally, and that makes recovering the teeth a pain-free, risk-free and non-invasive process.

Today, scientists have the expertise and technologies to safely extract and store stem cells taken from baby teeth and wisdom teeth. Crucially, storing a persons stem cells for possible use in their own future medical treatment means that compatibility or finding the right match wont ever be an issue. This is one of the key factors that has given rise to people storing their own childrens cells as a way of protecting them against a future illnesses or conditions. Having access to a childs stem cells makes any future treatment far more likely to succeed, an extremely encouraging situation given that scientists are regularly discovering more and more conditions they can treat using stem cells.

So, what about the specific illnesses and conditions that tooth stem cells can be used to treat?

Scientists already know that stem cells within tooth pulp have the ability to develop into a wide range of tissues, including skin, nerve, muscle, fat, cartilage and tendon. This amazing versatility has huge and positive implications for medical uses of tooth stem cells, and thats why almost everyone has a vested interest in this medical breakthrough, from young adults, parents and expectant parents right through to those who might one day want a family.

Stem cell therapy has already enabled practitioners to grow skin, tracheas and corneas, as well as repair human hearts. Even more excitingly, it is now widely agreed that future stem cell therapies will allow medical practitioners to tackle a host of injuries, illnesses and heredity conditions. Among them, these are likely to include Type 1 diabetes; neuronal degenerative disorders like Alzheimers, Parkinsons and Huntingtons disease; cardiovascular disease; paralysis due to spinal cord injury; liver disease, strokes; heart attacks and joint repair. Stem cells can also help to repair the bodys immune system and, under the right conditions, can even be used to form organs, bone and other tissue.

BioEden have a UK team that has been right at the very heart of the science surrounding the extraction and storage of tooth cells in fact they are one of the worlds leading authorities on it.

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Newswise NEW YORK, NY (January 21, 2014) Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a blood cancer, but for many patients the cancer may originate from an unusual source: a mutation in their bone cells.

In a study published today in the online edition of Nature, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) found that a mutation in the bone cells called osteoblasts, which build new bone, causes AML in mice. The mutation was found in nearly 40 percent of patients with AML or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a precursor condition, who were examined as part of the study.

The researchers were able to stop production of leukemic blood cells in the mice with a drug that blocked the effects of the osteoblast mutation, suggesting that a similar drug may benefit a large portion of AML and MDS patients.

If the mutation works the same way in humans, our study suggests practical ways that we may be able to intervene with a drug or an antibody. It may give us a tool for a disease that is rarely curable, said the studys lead investigator Stavroula Kousteni, PhD, associate professor of medical sciences in medicine and physiology & cellular biophysics at CUMC.

This paper goes to the heart of bi-directional translational research, as it represents collaboration between institutions, as well as between clinicians and basic scientists, said Azra Raza, MD, director of CUMCs MDS Center and a co-author of the study. The Kousteni Lab made the observation that a mutation affecting b-catenin in the bone marrow microenvironment cells of mice can cause leukemia. Clinicians from Memorial Sloan-Kettering and CUMC then extracted bone marrow samples of patients with MDS and AML from their tissue repositories, to confirm a similar pathway in a subset of patients. This incredibly important observation opens the possibilities of novel therapies for these dreaded diseases using non-chemotherapeutic approaches.

AML is one of the most common types of leukemia in adults, with about 15,000 cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year. The disease progresses rapidly, and only about 25 percent survive three years after diagnosis. MDS is a group of blood disorders diagnosed in about 10,000 people in the U.S. each year. Many people with MDS eventually develop AML.

Mutation of beta-catenin gene in osteoblasts causes AML in mice

In the current study, Dr. Kousteni and colleagues investigated a mouse strain that dies soon after birth from severe blood abnormalities. They found that the disease, which was the same as AML, was caused by a mutation in the beta-catenin gene in the animals osteoblasts.

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Common Blood Cancer May Be Initiated by Single Mutation in Bone Cells

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Cell Therapy: 1-year Results CADUCEUS
CSWN talks with Eduardo Marban, MD, PhD, of the Cedars Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, about the 1-year CADUCEUS results. This interview was conducted ...

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Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (PSTI), the Israeli developer of stem-cell therapies, rose the most in more than 17 months after an experimental treatment showed promise in a study of 20 patients with muscle injuries.

The stock surged 22 percent to 16.18 shekels ($4.63) at 11:04 a.m. in Tel Aviv. Earlier it gained as much as 27 percent, the biggest increase since Aug. 6, 2012. The shares fell 15 percent yesterday ahead of the study results.

The early-stage clinical trial assessing Pluristems placental-expanded, or PLX-PAD, cells in people who had a buttock muscle injured during hip-replacement surgery found the treatment was safe, the company said in a statement today. Patients getting the injection also fared better in a muscle-contraction exercise six months later.

These are remarkable results that signal advances in the cell-therapy industry, Jason Kolbert, an analyst with Maxim Group LLC in New York, said at a press conference organized by Pluristem in Tel Aviv.

The study results suggest the stem-cell therapy could help treat a broader range of muscle and tendon injuries, according to the Haifa-based company. We intend to move forward with implementing our strategy towards using PLX cells in orthopedic indications and muscle trauma, Chief Executive Officer Zami Aberman said in the statement.

The results come after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June placed one of Pluristems most advanced studies on hold after a patient suffered an allergic reaction. The hold was lifted in September.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Wainer in Tel Aviv at dwainer3@bloomberg.net

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Pluristem Gains Most in 17 Months on Stem-Cell Study

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Monsantos new veggies are sweeter, crunchier, and more nutritiouswith none of the Frankenfoods ick factor.

In a windowless basement room decorated with photographs of farmers clutching freshly harvested vegetables, three polo-shirt-and-slacks-clad Monsanto executives, all men, wait for a special lunch. A server arrives and sets in front of each a caprese-like saladtomatoes, mozzarella, basil, lettuceand one of the execs, David Stark, rolls his desk chair forward, raises a fork dramatically, and skewers a leaf. He takes a big, showy bite. The other two men, Robb Fraley and Kenny Avery, also tuck in. The room fills with loud, intent, wet chewing sounds.

Eventually, Stark looks up. Nice crisp texture, which people like, and a pretty good taste, he says.

Its probably better than what I get out of Schnucks, Fraley responds. Hes talking about a grocery chain local to St. Louis, where Monsanto is headquartered. Avery seems happy; he just keeps eating.

The men poke, prod, and chew the next course with even more vigor: salmon with a relish of red, yellow, and orange bell pepper and a side of broccoli. The lettuce is my favorite, Stark says afterward. Fraley concludes that the pepper changes the game if you think about fresh produce.

Changing the agricultural game is what Monsanto does. The company whose nameis synonymous with Big Ag has revolutionized the way we grow foodfor better or worse. Activists revile it for such mustache-twirling practices as suing farmers who regrow licensed seeds or filling the world with Roundup-resistant superweeds. Then theres Monsantos reputationscorned by some, celebrated by othersas the foremost purveyor of genetically modified commodity crops like corn and soybeans with DNA edited in from elsewhere, designed to have qualities nature didnt quite think of.

So its not particularly surprising that the company is introducing novel strains of familiar food crops, invented at Monsanto and endowed by their creators with powers and abilities far beyond what you usually see in the produce section. The lettuce is sweeter and crunchier than romaine and has the stay-fresh quality of iceberg. The peppers come in miniature, single-serving sizes to reduce leftovers. The broccoli has three times the usual amount of glucoraphanin, acompound that helps boost antioxidant levels. Starks department, the global trade division, came up with all of them.

Grocery stores are looking in the produce aisle for something that pops, that feels different, Avery says. And consumers are looking for the same thing. If the team is right, theyll know soon enough. Frescada lettuce, BellaFina peppers, and Benefort broccolicheery brand names trademarked to an all-but-anonymous Monsanto subsidiary called Seminisare rolling out at supermarkets across the US.

But heres the twist: The lettuce, peppers, and broccoliplus a melon and an onion, with a watermelon soon to followarent genetically modified at all. Monsanto created all these veggies using good old-fashioned crossbreeding, the same technology that farmers have been using to optimize crops for millennia. That doesnt mean they are low tech, exactly. Starks division is drawing on Monsantos accumulated scientific know-how to create vegetables that have all the advantages of genetically modified organisms without any of the Frankenfoods ick factor.

And thats a serious business advantage. Despite a gaping lack of evidence that genetically modified food crops harm human health, consumers have shown a marked resistance to purchasing GM produce (even as they happily consume products derived from genetically modified commodity crops). Stores like Whole Foods are planning to add GMO disclosures to their labels in a few years. State laws may mandate it even sooner.

Continue reading here:
What Happens When Monsanto, the Master of Genetic Modification, Decides to Take Nature’s Path?

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith