“Latest Stem Cells News”

British team pioneers reconstruction technique using enriched tissue

A remarkable reconstruction technique is being trialled by British surgeons, who are harvesting stem-cell-enriched fat from women’s bodies to plug the dip often left by breast cancer operations.
The procedure appears to restore the softness and suppleness of breast tissues, undoing the damage frequently caused by lumpectomy and radiotherapy. Early signs indicate that it also eases the considerable pain with which patients are often left after treatment.

More than 31,000 women a year in Britain with early-stage breast cancer undergo operations in which just the lump and a healthy margin of tissue around it are removed. The cavity left in the breast following surgery can vary from a dimple to a mini-crater, but the dip invariably becomes more pronounced following radiotherapy, which most patients need. Irradiation damages the blood supply to the breast and shrinks and toughens overlying skin so that it sticks to the chest wall. Nerves can get trapped in the resulting scar tissue, causing constant discomfort. Although some surgeons have had short-term success with simple fat transfers – liposuctioning fat from elsewhere and injecting it into the breast hollow – the blob of fat struggles to get a decent blood supply.

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Stem cells that could restore sight and hearing have been discovered in an experiment that has been performed successfully in animals. But according to two teams of scientists, it is an important step which will lead to future applications in humans.
A team from the Chonnam National University of South Korea was able to restore hearing in guinea pigs whose hearing was destroyed by chemical substances, using mesenchymal stem cells taken from human bone marrow. Other researchers at SUNY Upstate Medical University of Syracuse in the United States were able to restore sight in frogs using skin stem cells implanted into embryos.

Both groups of scientists revealed how “at the moment it is not possible to translate the results that they have achieved using animals into humans.
But the experiments were useful in shedding light on biological mechanisms that control sight and hearing, indicating new possibilities in regenerative medicine.” Anand Swaroop, a stem cell expert from the National Institute of Health in the United States also commented positively on the research saying that “the results are proof of the enormous potential offered by stem cells to cure mortal or debilitating diseases.”

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Expectant parents must make several important medical decisions. Among them: whether to have prenatal genetic testing, request pain medication during labor, strive for a natural birth or circumcise a male baby?
Perhaps one of the most overlooked parts of childbirth preparation is whether to save or donate the infant’s umbilical cord blood.

Umbilical cords are usually discarded as medical waste. But the potential uses for cord blood are growing, making it imperative that families understand their options, including whether to pay to have the blood stored for possible use in the event of their child’s illness or to donate it to a public bank so it’s available to any child who may need it.
“I think every couple who is pregnant should look into this and make a decision for themselves about what to do,” says Dr. Charles Sims, co-founder of the California Cryobank, which offers private storage. “Every doctor treating them should also be informed.”

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While interferon gamma sounds like an outer space weapon, it’s actually a hormone produced by our own bodies, and it holds great promise to repair bones affected by osteoporosis. In a new study published in the journal Stem Cells, researchers from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre explain that tweaking a certain group of multipotent stem cells (called mesenchymal stem cells) with interferon (IFN) gamma may promote bone growth.

“We have identified a new pathway, centered on IFN gamma, that controls the bone remodelling process both in-vivo and in-vitro,” explains Dr. Kremer, the study’s lead author and co-director of the Musculoskeletal Axis of the McGill University Health Centre. “More studies are required to describe it more precisely, but we are hopeful that it could lead to a better understanding of the underlying causes of osteoporosis, as well as to innovative treatments.”

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CRYO-SAVE Group, the Netherlands-based stem cell company with a large Indian presence, plans to increase the number of stem cell donors
in the country by opening more representative offices. The company expects this would increase the number of clients and also extend its reach beyond the current five cities, group CEO Rob Koremans told ET.

Cryo-Save Group plans to invest e 2 million (about Rs 13 crore) in its Bangalore-based subsidiary for over three years.

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The Brown-Darrell Clinic is advertising for a medic — but it does not seem any closer to opening its stem cell facility.

It would appear likely the new recruit, a family physician with a wide range of clinical experience, will work in the medical facility on the first floor of the Winterhaven clinic, although the people behind the project have refused to confirm this will be the case.
Premier Ewart Brown, wife Wanda and California-based Stemedica, who are teaming up for a stem cell treatment and research project on the second floor, have failed to respond to any questions about the launch of the controversial practice which is now several months behind schedule.

Last month, Bermuda was dropped from a list of research centres on Stemedica’s website, with company vice president Dave McGuigan explaining that the Island’s name had been placed alongside Switzerland, Korea, Mexico and Russia as an “oversight”. Brown-Darrell had initially said work would begin in late autumn last year.
In countries such as the US, UK and Canada, stem cell research is heavily monitored and legislated. George Daley, president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, says he is very sceptical of anyone running experimental treatment in jurisdictions where there is no regulatory oversight, such as Bermuda. He has warned desperately sick patients who could be heading to the Island not to be misled into believing the treatment is a miracle cure.

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