Lets play the sims3 Perfect Genetics challenge pt 8 Birthdays
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Lets play the sims3 Perfect Genetics challenge pt 8 Birthdays - Video

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Structure of DNA | Molecular Genetics | Biology
Structure of DNA Topic: Molecular Genetics Class XII - Biology Board - CBSE Visit http://www.toptrigger.com.

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Structure of DNA | Molecular Genetics | Biology - Video

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Sultans of Swing - Gene Therapy and the Chromosomes
Cover of Dire Straits #39; classic #39;Sultans of Swing #39;, performed by Gene Therapy and the Chromosomes at Hayfield Con Club on Saturday 28th Dec, 2013.

By: Josh Cooper

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Sultans of Swing - Gene Therapy and the Chromosomes - Video

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A new biotech company with formidable founders and funding has joined a lawsuit that accuses the University of Pennsylvania of misappropriating key technology behind its breakthrough therapy for leukemia.

The company, Juno Therapeutics Inc., was launched early last month by three major cancer institutes - including Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center - with a massive $120 million investment from leading venture capital firms.

Juno's debut ups the ante in the high-stakes race to commercialize novel therapies that use the patient's immune "T cells" to fight cancer. While the approach is still highly experimental - it has worked primarily against certain blood malignancies - results of early clinical testing at Penn and other leading centers have electrified researchers, the biopharma industry, and patients.

Indeed, Penn entered a much-publicized partnership with the global pharmaceutical giant Novartis in 2012, based on results from just the first three leukemia patients.

Penn's T-cell therapy and its development deal are at the heart of the lawsuit that Juno Therapeutics has joined.

Juno, based in Seattle, is a partnership of Sloan-Kettering, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Seattle Children's Research Institute. Last month, Juno signed a licensing agreement to commercialize T-cell technology patented by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, according to legal papers.

The technology involves a "chimeric antigen receptor," or CAR - a synthetic genetic structure that programs the patient's T cells to target and attack cancer.

St. Jude is suing Penn, accusing the university of breaching an agreement to share St. Jude's CAR and infringing on St. Jude's patent.

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Biotech firm joins suit against Penn's cancer therapy

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Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell Therapy - Ron O #39;Leary

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Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell Therapy - Ron O'Leary - Video

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Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell Therapy - Vince Cincinelli

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Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell Therapy - Vince Cincinelli - Video

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Bill Bradley, MD on Personalized Medicine
Cristen Bolan, Executive Editor, Applied Radiology speaks with Dr. William Bradley on some of the latest advances in molecular imaging and it #39;s relationship ...

By: Kieran Anderson

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Bill Bradley, MD on Personalized Medicine - Video

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MF3 Placenta Extracts Softgels Swiss Cell Therapy made by MFIII Switzerland Labdom
For more information visit: http://mf3shop.com AUTHORIZED WEBSITE MF3 (MFIII) of Switzerland is the leader in Swiss cell therapy for over 20 years and has th...

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MF3 Placenta Extracts Softgels Swiss Cell Therapy made by MFIII Switzerland Labdom - Video

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Among the many stents, surgical clamps, pumps and other medical devices that have recently come before the Food and Drug Administration for clearance, none has excited the widespread hopes of physicians and researchers like a machine called the Illumina MiSeqDx.

This compact DNA sequencer has the potential to change the way doctors care for patients by making personalized medicine a reality, experts say.

"It's about time," said Michael Snyder, director of the Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine.

Physicians who rely on genetic tests to guide their patients' treatment have had to order scans that reveal only small parts of a patient's genome, as if peeking through a keyhole, Snyder said: "Why would you study just a few genes when you can see the whole thing?"

Back in 2000, when the Human Genome Project completed its first draft of the 3 billion base pairs that make up a person's DNA, the effort took a full decade and cost close to $100 million. The Illumina MiSeqDx can pull off the same feat in about a day for less than $5,000 and the results will be more accurate, two of the nation's top physicians gushed in the New England Journal of Medicine.

That confluence of "faster, cheaper and better" is likely to accelerate the use of genetic information in everyday medical care, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the FDA, wrote last month. DNA sequencing should guide physicians in choosing the best drug to treat a specific patient for a specific disease while risking the fewest side effects.

The Illumina MiSeqDx platform works by breaking down, rebuilding and recording the entire sequence of a person's DNA in a massively parallel fashion, completing the job in a matter of hours. The company intends to market the machine to diagnostic labs, medical centers and private practices, at a price slightly more than $125,000.

Now that MiSeqDx has been approved, several other whole-genome sequencers are likely to seek the FDA's blessing in the coming months, agency officials say.

Right away, the technology is poised to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cystic fibrosis. Two new assays for the chronic lung condition both developed by Illumina for use on the MiSeqDx were approved in November by the FDA. Instead of checking for the six mutations most commonly linked to the disease, the new tests are able to discern a total of 139 genetic variations that give rise to cystic fibrosis. They will also tell doctors whether a patient is among the 4% who has a mutation that's targeted by a specific, costly drug.

Whole-genome sequencing has begun to reshape the way physicians diagnose and treat cancer as well. For a growing number of patients, treatment is guided by a DNA scan that reveals which mutation gave rise to the malignancy, not the organ in which the cancer manifests itself.

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DNA sequencer raises doctors' hopes for personalized medicine

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January 3, 2014

Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Early reports indicate that lay opinions regarding stem cell research with stem cells made from skin or other tissues, known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), are generally positive, despite several ethical concerns.

Regardless of personal benefit, most patients indicated during focus group discussions that they would be will to participate in iPSC. When considering donating tissue, patients raised concern regarding consent, privacy and transparency. Jeremy Sugarman, senior author and the Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor of Bioethics and Medicine at the John Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, said, Bioethicists, as well as stem cell researchers and policy-makers, have discussed the ethical issues of induced pluripotent stem cells at length, but we didnt have any systematic information about what patients think about these issues, and that is a huge part of the equation if the potential of this research is to be fully realized.

Somewhat taking the edge off of the controversy is the fact that iPSCs do not require the destruction of a human embryo. Using iPSCs in research is extremely valuable in the development of new drugs, disease study and may help develop medical treatments. Although still far off, Sugarman explained that there is hope that iPSCs could eventually be used in the development of organs for transplantation that the bodys immune system will not attack since they can be formed from the persons own cells.

In all five of the focus groups, consent for iPSC research by the patient was highly important. Several of the patients believed that properly informed consent could alleviate other concerns about privacy, the immortalization of cells, and the commercialization of stem cells.

The report noted a strong desire among participants to have full disclosure of the anticipated uses. Some of the participants expressed a desire to be able to veto some of the uses of their cells. Although the authors recognize the practical difficulties of this request, they hope their study will help to prompt investigation into creative approaches to meeting these desires.

The study exposed an additional side to some patients selfless motivations in research participation in relation to eventual commercialization. One participant from the report is quoted as saying, It wont be just taken to become a money maker and the very people who need it the most will no longer be able to benefit from it and another, it was a donation. Its a humanitarian effort.

Unique characteristics of the small study that could influence results were noted by the authors. For example, since the study was conducted in Baltimore, Maryland with patients who have received care at Johns Hopkins, which is home to the first immortal cell line produced from tumor cells that were taken from cancer patient Henrietta Lacks in 1951, related stem cell issues are at the forefront of various focus groups. The report stated, The idea that donated cells would potentially liveforever was unnerving to some participants. In particular, the story about the creation of the HeLa cell line from Henrietta Lacks cervical cancer tissue, taken without consent, was raised in four out of the five focus groups.

In addition, the report suggested that a patients opinion may be affected by their own health and whether they had any personal experience with a debilitating illness. It seems fair to say that everyone experiences serious illness in their lives, whether themselves or through someone they know and care about, and this influences their opinions of healthcare and research, Sugarman says. This study is a first step in getting crucial information about what values are factored into a decision to participate in iPSC research, and what those participants expect from the experience. This study was reported in the journal Stem Cells.

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Public Opinion Generally Supports Stem Cell Research

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Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell Therapy - LouAnn Rest
Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell Therapy an interview with patient LouAnn Rest.

By: RegenocyteStemCells

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Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell Therapy - LouAnn Rest - Video

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Efficient Data Mining for Personalized Medicine
Increasingly, patient care will rely on integration of highly complex and multifaceted clinical and molecular data, such as clinical genomics and other OMICS...

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Efficient Data Mining for Personalized Medicine - Video

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Berlin, Jan 3 : German scientists have developed a prototype of artificial bone marrow, which can simplify the treatment of leukemia in a few years, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) announced Friday.

Scientists from KIT, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart and the University of Tubingen have artificially recreated basic properties of the natural bone marrow in a laboratory, Xinhua reported.

The haematopoietic stem cells provide replenishment of red blood cells or immune cells, so they can be used for the treatment of leukemia, in a way that the diseased cells of the patient are replaced with healthy haematopoietic stem cells from a matched donor.

However, at present not every leukemia patient can find a matchable donor, so a simple solution to this problem would be to increase hematopoietic stem cells.

As the hematopoietic stem cells retain their stem cell properties only in their natural environment, the scientists need to create an environment that resembles the stem cell niche in the bone marrow.

To accomplish this goal, the German scientists created with synthetic polymer a porous structure that mimics the structure of the spongy bone in the area of the hematopoietic bone marrow.

In the artificial bone marrow, the researchers directed isolated hematopoietic stem cells freshly from umbilical cord blood and incubated them for several days.

Analyses with different methods showed that the cells actually proliferate in the newly developed artificial bone marrow.

Now the scientists can study the interactions between materials and stem cells in detail in the laboratory to find out how the behaviour of stem cell is influenced and controlled by synthetic materials.

This knowledge could help to realise an artificial stem cell niche for the targeted increase of stem cells to treat leukemia patients in 10 to 15 years.

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German scientists develop artificial bone marrow

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London (PRWEB UK) 3 January 2014

Research on how to harness the potential use of stem cells for common conditions is a worldwide subject of scientific discovery spanning over 3 decades. Incredible results in laboratory experiments have been recorded in 2013 for areas such as tissue regeneration for coronary disease, diabetes, cancer, Parkinsons and Alzheimers disease. All stem cells, whether gathered from an early embryo, a foetus or an adult, have two key properties.

Stem cells have the ability to replicate themselves as needed and can generate any specialised cells that make up the tissues and organs of the body with proper direction. This opens up an exciting potential for the generation of therapies for repair and replacement of damaged and diseased tissues and organs, as models for the testing of new drugs and helping us to understand at a cellular level what goes wrong in many conditions. 1

Stem cells derived from bone marrow or fat has been found to improve recovery from stroke in experiments using rats. This study was published in BioMed Central's open access journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy early last year. Treatment with stem cells improved the amount of brain and nerve repair and the ability of the animals to complete behavioural tasks. Using stem cell therapy holds promise for patients but there are still many questions which need to be answered, regarding treatment protocols and which cell types to use. 2

Other areas in which stem cell transplants are already being successfully used in the clinic trials are for treatment for spinal lesions and the regeneration of epidermal surfaces and in leukaemia, where stem cells are replaced during stem cell-containing bone marrow transplants. 3 These treatments demonstrate the potential of stem cells and intensive research is being performed all over the world to improve our understanding of stem cells and how these can be used therapeutically for PD.

Recently published research by a team of scientists in Wales has shown early signs of being able to regenerate damaged heart tissue. By experimenting at Cardiff and Swansea university laboratories, a team of scientists working in the private sector hopes to develop new treatments for heart failure over the next five years.

In a statement for the research team Ajan Reginald said, "We've identified what we think is a very potent type of stem cell which is heart specific. The interim analysis looks very positive and very fortunately the study does show some signs of early regeneration. What the therapy does is reproduce more cells in large numbers to regenerate the part of the heart that is damaged. The first stage of clinical trial is now completed which was focused on safety. 4

Further research during the next five years will produce more alternative solutions to diseases which currently have treatment but no permanent cures for. 5

References

1.http://www.hta.gov.uk/_db/_documents/stem_cell_pack_200806170144.pdf 2.http://www.parkinsonsnsw.org.au/assets/attachments/research/Stem-Cells.pdf 3.http://stemcellres.com/content/4/1/11 4.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25560547 5.http://www.cell.com/stem-cell-reports/abstract/S2213-6711(13)00126-4#Summary

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Chemist Direct reports continued benefits of stem cell research for potential tissue regeneration

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Ed Schwartz has been an ecological crusader for most of his life, striving for years to preach the benefits of Mother Nature and preserve a clean and natural environment for everyone. His fight, indeed, has been everyone's fight.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ED SCHWARTZ

Ed Schwartz gets a helping hand and a haircut from his son, Kyle. A registry drive is being held Sunday to find a donor for Ed Schwartz, who is battling a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia.

But Schwartz is now facing a new, personal battle, one that he and those close to him hope will rally community support. Known fondly to many throughout the metropolitan area as Eco Ed and the Eco-Warrior, Schwartz was diagnosed in November with a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a fast-multiplying cancer that invades the blood and bone marrow.

A village resident and frequent guest columnist for The Ridgewood News, Schwartz needs a stem cell transplant from a donor unrelated to his family. On Sunday, Jan. 5, residents are encouraged to attend a donor drive to help find Schwartz's match - someone who can donate the needed white blood cells - though thousands of other patients in need of a transplant can also benefit from the program's donors.

This Sunday's drive is similar to one held last month for 19-year-old Anthony Daniels, a Ridgewood High School graduate who was diagnosed in 2011 with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Acute myeloid leukemia begins in bone marrow, specifically in cells that should develop into specialized white blood cells. In AML cases, cell DNA becomes mutated, and that damaged genetic material is passed on during cell reproduction. In addition, those cells fail to fully mature.

Over time, according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the immature cells "take over the bone marrow and displace" regular red and white blood cells and platelets. In many AML cases, the cancer will progress rapidly into the blood and may spread to other body parts, including lymph nodes, liver and brain.

The effects of cancer came on "out of left field," said Schwartz, noting that he never showed any symptoms until they hit all at once in early November. He noted that a trip to the emergency room was followed the next day with the diagnosis and immediate chemotherapy treatments. He hopes to undergo stem cell transplant surgery as soon as a donor is found.

Since then, Schwartz has stopped working at his full-time job and put other projects, such as volunteering on the Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee, on hold as well. His wife also is taking time off from work to care for him.

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Eco-Warrior from Ridgewood seeks support for new fight

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Bohemia, NY (PRWEB) January 03, 2014

Colle Farmers Market, an organic food advocate, responds to an article published by Surfer Magazine on December 18th, which discusses the protests involving genetic engineering on Hawaiian soil.

According to the Surfer Magazine article titled Surfers Say No to GMOs, Hawaiian citizens and organic advocates were protesting against the genetic engineering experiments happening in Hawaii. The article says Kamehameha Schools leased 1000 acres of land to Monsanto, the company that has been performing the genetic modification experiments.

Most developed countries have banned this type of experimentation, mainly because of the potential environmental harm these experiments could have. However, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically engineered foods are still legal in the United States.

The article says, "This push came on the heels of the recently passed Kauai Bill 2491legislation requiring companies to disclose their use of GMOs, pushed through after the city council overturned the mayors veto weeks before the opening of Hawaiis legislature."

A representative from Colle Farmers Market, an organic food advocate, says if more people adopted an organic lifestyle, the amount of GMO foods will decrease. We should be eating food the way nature intended, he says. Organic food is all natural, and free from preservatives, chemicals, and pesticides. Humans were not designed to eat food made in a lab or developed with chemicals. We were made to eat fresh food. GMOs are genetically engineered organisms that are produced in a lab and have the potential to significantly harm our bodies and environment.

The Colle rep says organic food also helps to keep the soil healthy. GMOs and conventional farming can have horrible affects on the ground soil, he says. By advocating and adopting an organic lifestyle, farmers and consumers can ensure help keep the environment healthy. We applaud these Hawaiians and surfers for standing up for what they believe in and raising awareness.

Colle Farmers Market is an E-Commerce enabled farmers market community that is passionate about sustainable consumption and responsible conservation. The Colle movement is dedicated to connecting natural product vendors, organic farmers and all people who are living an organic and natural lifestyle.

#####

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Organic Food Advocate, Colle Farmers Market, Comments on Hawaiian Surfers Protesting Genetic Engineering

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Margaret Smith is a professor of plant breeding and genetics who leads a Cornell University program to help farmers and the public understand plant breeding and genetic engineering. She says the recent move by General Mills to eliminate genetically modified organisms from its Cheerios cereal might please GMO-shy consumers, but it won't alter the iconic cereals make up one bit.

Smith says:

Corn starch and sugar are highly refined products, so they contain no DNA (which is what is introduced into a genetically engineered organism) and no protein (which is what the new DNA would produce in a genetically engineered organism). Because of that, corn starch and sugar from a genetically engineered corn variety are nutritionally and chemically identical to corn starch or sugar from a non-genetically engineered variety.

This means that the new version of Cheerios that is being made without use of genetically engineered varieties will be nutritionally and chemically identical to the previous version. So it will not offer anything new to consumers other than to give them the option to buy a product that does not support planting more acres to genetically engineered crop varieties.

Cornell University has television, ISDN and dedicated Skype/Google+ Hangout studios available for media interviews.

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Plant Genetics Expert - in the Bowl, GMO-Free Cheerios Identical to Current Crop

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Gene therapy introduces or alters genetic material to compensate for a genetic mistake that causes disease. It is hoped that gene therapy can treat or cure diseases for which no other effective treatments are available. However, many unique technical and ethical considerations have been raised by this new form of treatment, and several levels of regulatory committees have been established to review each gene therapy clinical trial prior to its initiation in human subjects. Ethical considerations include deciding which cells should be used, how gene therapy can be safely tested and evaluated in humans, what components are necessary for informed consent, and which diseases and/or traits are eligible for gene therapy research.

Germ Line Versus Somatic Cell Gene Therapy

Virtually all cells in the human body contain genes, making them potential targets for gene therapy. However, these cells can be divided into two major categories: germ line cells (which include sperm and eggs) and somatic cells. There are fundamental differences between these cell types, and these differences have profound ethical implications.

Gene therapy using germ line cells results in permanent changes that are passed down to subsequent generations. If done early in embryologic development, such as during preimplantation diagnosis and in vitro fertilization, the gene transfer could also occur in all cells of the developing embryo. The appeal of germ line gene therapy is its potential for offering a permanent therapeutic effect for all who inherit the target gene. Successful germ line therapies introduce the possibility of eliminating some diseases from a particular family, and ultimately from the population, forever. However, this also raises controversy. Some people view this type of therapy as unnatural, and liken it to "playing God." Others have concerns about the technical aspects. They worry that the genetic change propagated by germ line gene therapy may actually be deleterious and harmful, with the potential for unforeseen negative effects on future generations.

Somatic cells are nonreproductive. Somatic cell therapy is viewed as a more conservative, safer approach because it affects only the targeted cells in the patient, and is not passed on to future generations. In other words, the therapeutic effect ends with the individual who receives the therapy. However, this type of therapy presents unique problems of its own. Often the effects of somatic cell therapy are short-lived. Because the cells of most tissues ultimately die and are replaced by new cells, repeated treatments over the course of the individual's life span are required to maintain the therapeutic effect. Transporting the gene to the target cells or tissue is also problematic. Regardless of these difficulties, however, somatic cell gene therapy is appropriate and acceptable for many disorders, including cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, cancer, and certain infectious diseases. Clinicians can even perform this therapy in utero, potentially correcting or treating a life-threatening disorder that may significantly impair a baby's health or development if not treated before birth.

Research Issues

Scientific and ethical discussions about gene therapy began many years ago, but it was not until 1990 that the first approved human gene therapy clinical trial was initiated. This clinical trial was conducted on a rare autoimmune disorder called severe combined immune deficiency. This therapy was considered successful because it greatly improved the health and well-being of the few individuals who were treated during the trial. However, the success of the therapy was tentative, because along with the gene therapy the patients also continued receiving their traditional drug therapy. This made it difficult to determine the true effectiveness of the gene therapy on its own, as distinct from the effects of the more traditional therapy.

Measuring the success of treatment is just one challenge of gene therapy. Research is fraught with practical and ethical challenges. As with clinical trials for drugs, the purpose of human gene therapy clinical trials is to determine if the therapy is safe, what dose is effective, how the therapy should be administered, and if the therapy works. Diseases are chosen for research based on the severity of the disorder (the more severe the disorder, the more likely it is that it will be a good candidate for experimentation), the feasibility of treatment, and predicted success of treatment based on animal models. This sounds reasonable. However, imagine you or your child has a serious condition for which no other treatment is available. How objective would your decision be about participating in the research?

Informed Consent

A hallmark of ethical medical research is informed consent. The informed consent process educates potential research subjects about the purpose of the gene therapy clinical trial, its risks and benefits, and what is involved in participation. The process should provide enough information for the potential research subjects to decide if they want to participate. It is important both to consider the safety of the experimental treatment and to understand the risks and benefits to the subjects. In utero gene therapy has the added complexity of posing risks not only to the fetus, but also to the pregnant woman. Further, voluntary consent is imperative. Gene therapy may be the only possible treatment, or the treatment of last resort, for some individuals. In such cases, it becomes questionable whether the patient can truly be said to make a voluntary decision to participate in the trial.

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Gene Therapy: Ethical Issues: Information from Answers.com

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

2-Jan-2014

Contact: Leah Ramsay lramsay@jhu.edu 202-642-9640 Johns Hopkins Medicine

In an early indication of lay opinions on research with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are stem cells made from skin or other tissues, a new study by bioethicists at Johns Hopkins University indicates that despite some ethical concerns, patients give the research "broad endorsement".

During focus group discussions patients were largely in favor of participating in iPSC research even if personal benefit was unlikely, though they raised concerns about consent, privacy and transparency when considering donating tissue for this research. The bioethicists report their findings in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

"Bioethicists, as well as stem cell researchers and policy-makers, have discussed the ethical issues of induced pluripotent stem cells at length, but we didn't have any systematic information about what patients think about these issues, and that is a huge part of the equation if the potential of this research is to be fully realized," says Jeremy Sugarman, the senior author of the report and the Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor of Bioethics and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.

Unlike human embryonic stem cells, iPSCs are derived without destroying a human embryo. Research with human iPSCs is valuable for developing new drugs, studying disease, and perhaps developing medical treatments. Sugarman explains that, while far off, scientists are hopeful that iPSCs could someday be used to develop organs for transplantation that the body's immune system will not attack, because they can be created from the person's own cells.

The study reveals the importance of prior informed consent for those asked to participate in it. According to the report, consent was highly important for patients in all five of the focus groups that were convened. Some patients even suggested that proper informed consent could compensate for other concerns they had about privacy, the "immortalization" of cells, and the commercialization of stem cells.

There was a "strong desire among participants to have full disclosure of the anticipated uses," the report notes, with some participants wanting to be able to veto certain uses of their cells. The authors acknowledge the "practical difficulties" of this request but hope that their findings will "prompt investigation into creative approaches to meeting these desires."

The study also revealed another side to some patients' selfless motivations to participate in research as they might relate to eventual commercialization. The report quotes one participant as saying, "It won't be just taken to become a money maker and the very people who need it the most will no longer be able to benefit from it" and another, "it was a donation. It's a humanitarian effort."

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Study finds patients give 'broad endorsement' to stem cell research

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(This is my blog post about the embryonic stem cell study. For my news article about the study, go here.)

Genetically modified human embryonic stem cells can solve one of the toughest problems facing embryonic stem cell therapy, immune rejection of transplanted cells, may have been solved, according to a UC San Diego-led research team.

The cells can be made invisible to the immune system by genetically modifying them to make two immune-suppressing chemicals, according to a study performed in mice given a human immune system. Immune functioning in the rest of the animal remains active. The immune protection also applies to differentiated cells derived from the stem cells.

If the approach works in people, patients receiving transplanted tissue or organs made from embryonic stem cells wouldn't have to take harsh immune-suppressing drugs, said Yang Xu, a UCSD professor of biology. The method also may prevent immune rejection of tissues grown from other types of stem cells.

These arehumanized laboratory mice that contain a functional human immune system. Such mice have been used for years; a UCSD research team developed a model with a stronger immune response to test their immune-suppressing tissues. / Zhili Rong, UCSD

Researchers placed genes in the stem cells to produce the two chemicals, CTLA4-lg and PD-L1, naturally made in the body. The humanized immune systems of the mice accepted transplants of cells engineered to make the chemicals. The researchers transplanted cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts derived from the engineered stem cells. Transplants derived from regular embryonic stem cells were rejected.

The study was published online Thursday in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Its findings will have to be confirmed for safety and effectiveness in more animal studies before human trials can be considered, which will take years. The mouse model itself was "optimized" for the study to more faithfully reflect the human immune system than other immune models, the study said.

Xu said a further study is being considered in monkeys, a large animal model considered to better reflect human biology than mice.

Embryonic stem cells are being tested along with many other kinds of stem cells to replace diseased or destroyed body parts, such as spinal cord segments and insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. All of these cells have advantages and drawbacks. Immune rejection, along with a tendency to form tumors, are two big drawbacks to embryonic stem cells.

San Diego-based ViaCyte is preparing to test a therapy with beta cells within a year. The company encapsulates them in a permeable barrier that allows insulin to diffuse out but prevents the immune system from entering. However, that approach won't worth with transplants that must integrate into the body, such as spinal cord tissue. So a way of turning off the immune system just in those cells is an attractive idea.

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Stem cell transplant problem solved, UCSD-led study says

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Human embryonic stem cells have the capacity to differentiate into a variety of cell types, making them a valuable source of transplantable tissue for the treatment of numerous diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and diabetes.

But theres one major issue: Embryonic stem cells are often rejected by the human immune system.

Now, researchers from the University of California San Diego may have found an effective way to prevent this rejection in humans. Utilizing a novel humanized mouse model, the scientists have revealed a unique combination of immune suppressing molecules that stop the immune system from attacking the injected stem cells without shutting the system down completely.

This discovery could ultimately help resolve some of the major problems currently limiting the use of embryonic stem cells for certain conditions, paving the way for the development of more effective human stem cell therapies.

This is a generic way of immune suppression, so it could potentially be applied not just for stem cells therapies, but for organ transplants as well, Yang Xu, a professor of biology at UC San Diego and lead author of the study, told FoxNews.com. It can be very broad.

Embryonic stem cells are different from the other cells in a patients body, making them allogenic. This means the immune system will recognize them as foreign agents and attack them.

One way of overcoming this rejection problem is to give patients immunosuppressant drugs, which suppress the entire immune system. While short term use of immunosuppressants has been successful for many organ transplants, embryonic stem cell therapies for chronic diseases require long term use of these drugs which can often be very toxic and increase the risk of cancer.

In order for the patient to really use this therapy, they have to decide: Do they want a lifelong use of immunosuppressant drugs, or are they willing to live with the symptoms of their disease, Xu said.

To figure out a way of bypassing this issue, researchers needed a relevant model that could closely mimic the human immune systems response to embryonic stem cell transplantation. To do this, they took immune deficient lab mice and grafted them with human fetal thymus tissues and hematopoietic stem cells derived from the fetal liver.

Essentially, this created a highly specialized mouse model with very robust T cells capable of effectively rejecting foreign embryonic stem cells just like human T cells.

The rest is here:
Stem cell therapy breakthrough

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

One of the toughest problems facing embryonic stem cell therapy, immune rejection of transplanted cells, may have been solved, according to a UC San Diego-led research team.

The cells can be made invisible to the immune system by genetically engineering them to make two immune-suppressing molecules, according to the study. Researchers tested the approach in mice given a human immune system. Immune functioning in the rest of the animal remained active.

If the approach works in people, patients receiving transplanted tissue or organs made from embryonic stem cells wouldnt have to take harsh immune-suppressing drugs, said study leader Yang Xu, a UC San Diego professor of biology.

Human embryonic stem cells. The green markers indicate the presence of a protein expressed only in these cells. / Samantha Zeitlin, 2006 CIRM fellow

Researchers placed genes in the stem cells to produce the two molecules, called CTLA4-lg and PD-L1, naturally made in the body. The mice accepted transplants of heart and skin cells derived from the engineered stem cells. They rejected transplants derived from regular embryonic stem cells.

The study was published online Thursday in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Its findings will have to be confirmed for safety and effectiveness before human trials can be considered, which will take years.

Three scientists given the paper for comment had mixed reactions. While they praised the works scientific prowess, two said genetically engineering the transplanted cells could cause serious side effects that might preclude their use.

The researchers employed a clever strategy to use the immune systems natural regulatory systems, said Mitchell Kronenberg, president of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology.

This is an especially promising approach, because it avoids the toxic side effects of the drugs now used to suppress the rejection response, and therefore this is an important step forward in showing the feasibility of using human embryonic stem cells from unrelated donors, Kronenberg said.

More skeptical were Jeanne Loring, a stem cell researcher at The Scripps Research Institute, and Craig M. Walsh, associate director of the Institute for Immunology at UC Irvine.

Link:
Embryonic stem cell rejection problem fixed, study says

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Poway, CA (PRWEB) January 02, 2014

Phizer is a seven year old black lab belonging to Ohio Task Force 1 that recently had stem cell therapy by Vet-Stem, Inc. Phizer was brought to Cleveland Road Animal Hospital for a limp in his right hind. Dr. Chad Bailey recommended stem cell therapy. Both Vet-Stem and Cleveland Road Animal Hospital value the working dog and offered their services pro-bono in hopes that Phizers stem cell therapy would permit him to continue to provide search and rescue service.

Phizer is one of only five search and rescue canines owned by Ohio Task Force 1, one of 28 Task Forces across the US that make up the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue System. Phizer is trained to find living victims who may be trapped under collapsed buildings. He is unique because he is certified to work with more than one handler meaning that he can be used on more missions. If one of his handlers is not available the other may be. Phizer is trained to cover obstacles and treacherous terrain, climb metal ladders and investigate acres of terrain quickly and efficiently. These skills came in handy when Phizer was assigned to a mission recovering victims from hurricane Sandy.

Handlers Maureen May and Deana Hudgins noticed an intermittent limp in Phizers right rear leg when he first started moving, but got better with exercise. Although the limp was not preventing Phizer from his job, he was started on pain medicine, joint supplements and taken for exams to the local veterinarian. His radiology report showed signs consistent with mild degenerative joint disease in addition to another injury. Deana and Dr. Bailey started Phizer on injectable treatments, laser therapy, and discussed stem cells.

Since Phizers stem cell therapy used his own stem cells, a small portion of fat was collected and sent to Vet-Stems lab in California. Within 48 hrs the doses of stem cells were ready for injection by Dr. Bailey. Stem cells are regenerative cells that can differentiate into many tissue types and reduce pain and inflammation thus helping to restore range of motion and regenerate tendon, ligament and joint tissues (http://www.vet-stem.com/science). For Phizer this means that all of the issues identified in his exams may be helped with one therapy.

About Vet-Stem, Inc. Vet-Stem, Inc. was formed in 2002 to bring regenerative medicine to the veterinary profession. The privately held company is working to develop therapies in veterinary medicine that apply regenerative technologies while utilizing the natural healing properties inherent in all animals. As the first company in the United States to provide an adipose-derived stem cell service to veterinarians for their patients, Vet-Stem, Inc. pioneered the use of regenerative stem cells in veterinary medicine. The company holds exclusive licenses to over 50 patents including world-wide veterinary rights for use of adipose derived stem cells. In the last decade over 10,000 animals have been treated using Vet-Stem, Inc.s services, and Vet-Stem is actively investigating stem cell therapy for immune-mediated and inflammatory disease, as well as organ disease and failure. For more on Vet-Stem, Inc. and Veterinary Regenerative Medicine visit http://www.vet-stem.com or call 858-748-2004.

See the original post here:
FEMA Search and Rescue Canine Receives Stem Cell Therapy So He Can Continue to Save Lives

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Monday, October 11, 2010 - Noon

Stephen Ellis, MD Section Head of Invasive/Interventional Cardiology, Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine

Stem cells are natures own transformers. When the body is injured, stem cells travel to the scene of the accident and help heal damaged tissue. The cells do this by transforming into whatever type of cell has been injured- bone, skin and even heart tissue. Researchers at Cleveland Clinic believe that the efficiency of stem cells for treating heart tissue can be boosted and help the body recover faster and better from heart attacks. Join us in a free online chat with cardiologist Stephen Ellis, MD. Dr. Ellis is leading one of the clinical trials and will be answering your questions about stem cell therapy for heart disease.

Cleveland_Clinic_Host: Welcome to our "Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Disease" online health chat with Stephen Ellis, MD. Dr. Ellis is leading one of the research studies for stem cell therapy and heart disease so he will be answering a variety of questions on the topic. We are very excited to have him here today!

Thank for joining us Dr. Ellis, let's begin with the questions.

Dr__Ellis: Thank you for having me today.

Robert_B: I have a question on Stem Cell and stabilizing a two chamber heart condition.. Could donor adult stem cells help stabilize the heart and repair some of the damage? Patient also suffers from cardiac sclerosis of the liver.

Dr__Ellis: Stem cells are currently being evaluated to see if they may or may not strengthen hearts previously damaged by heart attacks or other conditions. They are considered experimental for this purpose. There are several ongoing clinical trials available in the U.S.

cabbagepatch: I have been going through other tests for heart transplant consideration, & with everything I have been going through would I be a candidate for heart stem cell repair? How would I find out? My cardiologist is Dr. Hsich in Cleveland.

Dr__Ellis: You may be a candidate for the NIH FOCUS trial at the Cleveland Clinic. Please ask Dr. Hsich - she would be able to help you.

More:
Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Disease Webchat - Dr. Ellis

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Keeping in tradition with the Us commitment to advance the fields of medicine and surgery, our physicians are focusing on regenerative medicine as the next frontier in treating cardiovascular disease. Researchers within the Cardiovascular Center estimate cell therapy will be FDA-approved within three years. The goal of this therapy is to give cells back to the heart in order for it to grow stronger, work harder, and function more like a younger heart. Currently, studies include the potentiality of injecting cardiac repair cells into patients hearts to improve function.

This is the first trial of its kind in the United States, providing heart patients who have limited or no other options with a viable treatment. Using some of the best imaging technology, researchers have been able to see improvements in patients within six months after injecting their own cells directly into the left ventricle of the heart during minimally invasive surgery.

To contact us, please use the contact number provided.

Read more here:
Heart Stem Cell Therapy - - - University of Utah Health Care ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith