“Latest Stem Cells News”

A procedure using stem cells may provide a more thorough regeneration of periodontal tissue around dental implants, according to a new report published in the Journal of Oral Implantology.

Dental implants closely resemble natural teeth, but an implant’s ability to react to patient growth, pressure from chewing, and future orthodontic work is diminished if it is not surrounded by sufficient periodontal tissue.

In this study, the authors engineered this periodontal tissue in a fresh socket of a goat animal model. Each of five goats was fitted with two titanium implants immediately after tooth removal. A poly DL-Lactide-co-Glycolide scaffold was fitted around each implant, but the control received only the scaffolding.

The experimental implant received scaffolding seeded with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMDSCs). All implant sites showed some level of tissue development at 10 days after the operation.

At one month after, the control side showed no signs of tissue development, whereas the experimental side had developed cementum, bone, and periodontal ligament, the three tissues required for regeneration of periodontal tissue.

Past studies have demonstrated positive results with BMDSCs in periodontal defects around natural teeth. Others have shown promising results without BMDSCs, using progenitor cells from the remaining ligament in certain limited situations. But unlike past studies, this report demonstrates that using BMDSCs can ensure a more thorough, adaptable regeneration of periodontal tissue with titanium implants.

To read the entire article: “Experimental Formation of Periodontal Structure Around Titanium Implants Utilizing Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells: A Pilot Study”

original post from RDH Magazine

A DRUG said to cure diabetes could mean that sufferers will no longer need to take daily insulin injections.
The treatment uses stem cells made from human bone marrow and has been tested on patients suffering from Type 1 diabetes – which affects about 900,000 people in Britain.

Diabetes causes the immune system to attack the pancreas, the organ that makes insulin, which then controls blood-sugar levels.
Sufferers must take insulin injections to stay alive because if blood-sugar levels are allowed to rise too high or get too low, they could fall into a coma and die.
But early trials by American scientists have shown that the drug Prochymal can stop the immune system destroying the pancreas.
It is hoped the drug could be on the market in less than two years.

Professor Aaron Vinik, a hormone specialist in Norfolk, Virginia, said the cure could change diabetes sufferers’ lives.
He said: “This is a very exciting discovery.
Shock “When people get told they have diabetes, it comes as a tremendous shock.
“They have to live with having to take insulin injections for the rest of their lives.

“In future, we will have a cure that will stop the disease in its tracks.”
Prochymal has proved effective because stem cells in the drug form a barrier to protect the pancreas from attack. This allows the organ to recover and to continue making insulin.
The stem cells are taken from volunteers and then multiplied in the lab to produce hundreds of millions of cells.
In early tests, patients have been given three infusions of the cells into their bloodstream over 60 days.

It has been tested on 60 patients with early diabetes.
Those already on insulin were able to reduce the amount as the stem cells started saving the pancreas.
Prof Vinik said most patients would still need insulin at first but would probably be off it “in a matter of months”.

from Daily record

Stem Cell Research for COPD and Emphysema

Dr. Roberto Fernandez Vina will present his stem cell study on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Emphysema next week at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) annual meeting in Barcelona, Spain.

Dr. Fernandez Vina who is also the chairman of the Repair Stem Cell Institute’s Science Advisory Board was the first stem cell doctor in the world to treat lung diseases such as COPD and Emphysema, starting in 2006.

Last Week Stem Cells For Diabetes Type 2, This Week – Lungs

I posted Dr. Vina’s amazing results for stem cell therapy for Diabetes Type 2 last week, so this week, as a little tribute to Dr. Fernandez Vina, I wanted to let you in on the basics of his stem cell treatment for the lungs (COPD and Emphysema). It is simple and effective- and of course since it is using the patient’s own adult stem cells, it is safe as well.

Process of Stem Cell Therapy for Lung Disease

The procedure to implant the patient’s own Adult Stem Cells into the lungs was conceived by Dr. Fernandez Vina and it consists of the following:

1. Using a special needle designed by Dr. Vina, the needle is injected into the crest of the patient’s iliac bone and bone marrow is drawn out
2. The aspirated bone marrow is then taken next door into the lab and put into a centrifuge.  The stem cells are separated, filtered (to remove some bone remains)
3. 2-3 hours later, the stem cells are injected into the veins and go directly to the lungs.

What Do The Adult Stem Cells Do In the Lungs?

The lungs grab and keep the stem cells and the alveolus starts regenerating. What happens here is that dead cells in the alveolus of the lungs leave empty spaces or niches or little caves, into which the stem cells settle down and start growing, reproducing and rebuilding the alveolus.

The stem cells go to the lungs directly as all blood passes through the lungs before going to the heart, lungs are a sort of a trap and the stem cells stay there. Recovery does not happen immediately for obvious reasons, but it takes from 3 to 6 months, though the patient starts reducing his oxygen consumption as from the 4th week onwards. How much he can reduce his oxygen consumption depends on his actual condition, how his body may react and many other factors.

Sometimes, quite rare, a second implant is required about 6 to 12 months later, for reinforcement. If this would be the case, the Doctor does not charge any additional medical fees, just the out of pocket expenses coming with it, such as hospital, hotel accommodation, ground transportation and airfares.

That doesn’t sound like a bad deal at all.  In other words, if it doesn’t work, a patient can try again at minimal expense.

More On The Stem Cell Treatment For COPD and Emphysema

The patient is requested to arrive at one of the Treatment Centers which are controlled and supervised by Dr. Fernández Viña (Either Argentina or in El Salvador), one day prior treatment, for pre-treatment tests. The next day, the patient gets his stem cell treatment done and it is very probable he will be discharged from hospital on the same day or next morning, but he is requested to stay at a hotel nearby for observation purposes for 2 more days at least.

No Pain, No Gain With Adult Stem Cells

The patient normally does not have any pain during or after treatment, though if necessary he will get some analgesic, such as an Aspirin or Advil pill, that is all he will need. He will be at least in the same condition for traveling back as he was when he arrived. Afterwards, the patient will get his follow up by his regular attending physician, but the patient will always be able to keep in touch with Dr. Fernández Viña.

No Rejection, No Side Effects From Your Own Stem Cells

There is no rejection as the patient gets his own cells and there are no side effects, collateral effects nor consequences of the treatment. If some of the injected Stem Cells would escape from the lungs and go to some other organs, there is no harm, just the opposite- benefits for that organ!

If you are further interested in this Adult Stem Cell treatment, please go to our Repair Stem Cell Institute website and fill out this stem cell treatment request form and we will assist you in receiving more stem cell therapy information regarding Dr. Fernandez Vina.

Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi

Following the success of Iranian scientists in using stem cells to treat vascular occlusion and critical limb ischemia in the lower extremities, Press TV has conducted an interview with research team leader Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi.

Dr. Zafarghandi is a professor of vascular surgery in Tehran University of medical Sciences and the head of the vascular surgery and trauma department of Sina Hospital.

Press TV: According to news reports, you have successfully treated 12 patients suffering from vascular occlusion using stem cells. Could you tell us more about it?

Zafarghandi: Critical limb ischemia (CLI) results from severe occlusive disease that impairs distal limb perfusion to the point where oxygen delivery is no longer adequate to meet the metabolic needs of the tissue, even under resting conditions.

In order to treat CLI sufferers, several medications are prescribed to reduce the progression of the disease, its risk factors, and the associating pain. The patient is also urged to stop smoking. The definite treatment, however, is made through inserting a stent in the affected site or performing a bypass graft in the more serious cases.

These treatments depend on the severity of the disease; in cases with total occlusion of the terminal arteries, however, none of the abovementioned methods are effective.

In this method, we stimulated the formation of true new blood vessels (angiogenesis) and the development of collateral vessels from preexisting blood vessels (arteriogenesis), themost important processes in the pathophysiology of vascular disease, aiming to provide an alternative treatment strategy for patients with lower limb ischemia.

Previous studies had reported the role of bone-marrow mononuclear cells (BM-MNC) in increasing collateral vessel formation in both ischemic limb models and patients with limb ischemia.

Considering the fact that the proliferation and migration of progenitor endothelial cells (EPC) located in bone marrow and peripheral blood are responsible for neovascularization occurring in response to tissue injury and remodeling, we used mononuclear cells extracted from the patient’s bone marrow to induce neovascularization.

Our findings revealed promising results in 12 out of 15 patients awaiting leg amputation due to CLI secondary to buerger’s disease and diabetic foot. None of these 12 cases needed amputation after they were treated with our innovative method.

Press TV: Does this method prevent from amputation in every patient suffering from critical limb ischemia regardless of the underlying cause?

Zafarghandi: The patients suffering from peripheral artery diseases (PAD) such as buerger’s disease and diabetic foot, in whom different attempts to revascularize the affected site have failed, seem to be the best candidates for this method.

Further studies, however, are required to identify the patients who benefit from this method as the present research is still in its primary stages.

Press TV: How do you see the future advancements in this field?

Zafarghandi: This method can help save the lower extremities in PAD patients, accounting for 15% of all adults older than 55 years. More over, it lowers the heavy burden caring for disabled patients imposes on their families and the society.

from Press TV

Fiona May is going to preserve her second daughter’s umbilical cord stem cells. “When Larissa was born (her first daughter, editor’s note), in the hospital they asked me if I wanted to do this and I very happily accepted.
Now I want to do it again, and I will do it in a public hospital,” she said to Nostrofiglio.it, Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori’s website for parents, managed by Sarah Pozzoli. “In my opinion, donating is an important act,” said the ex-athlete turned actress who will give birth to her second child in June, “because I believe that it is fair and it is a duty to contribute to scientific research, for my children and for all children”.

She also spoke about racism in Italy in the interview: “Often this term is used to describe attitudes that are born out of fear, prejudice, and ignorance. We all have preconceived notions,” she underlined, “but we have to try to understand where they come from.”
“Fear about what is different from us often makes us defensive, but you can’t make indiscriminate generalizations.”
Finally, Fiona May commented on the recent reports of violence against women: “Unfortunately, women have always been victims of violence in and outside of the home. Today, perhaps women’s attitudes are changing, because now we have less tolerance for violence and are gaining the courage necessary to report these episodes.”

Mesenchymal stem cells are present in placental blood and could represent the new frontier for tissue and organ regeneration. The cells were identified at the cell factory at Milan’s Policlinico Hospital and will be the subject of a meeting on mesenchymal stem cells organized by the Milan hospital.

Isolated and preserved in the Milan biobank for the first time for use in future treatments, the cells come from blood that is collected at birth. Plasma that has been used for transplants in patients with serious diseases like leukemia and lymphoma and represent a potential reserve of mesenchymal stem cells, which are the foundation of regenerative medicine.
The purification procedure, developed by researchers from the research and development lab of the ‘Franco Calori’ Cell Factory at the Policlinico Hospital, led by Lorenza Lazzari, requires placental blood donations to be processed within hours of collection. Purified and cultivated mesenchymal stem cells are then tested further with various animal tissue regeneration models.

These cells have been used experimentally on acute kidney damage in collaboration with Giuseppe Remuzzi’s group of the Mario Negri Institute in Bergamo. “With placental blood,” says Lazzari, “we hope to be able to repair bone, regenerate livers and kidneys, and operate in complex repair processes for other important organs and systems like the heart and nervous system.”
At the meeting, FIRST (the forum of Italian researchers on mesenchymal and stromal stem cells), the Italian group on mesenchymal stem cells, chaired by Lazzari with Massimo Dominici of the University of Modena as Vice-President, will be presented.