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A medical model developed for regenerating bladders by using stem cells

Researchers in the United States have developed a medical model for regenerating bladders using stem cells harvested from a patient’s own bone marrow. The research, published in STEM CELLS, is especially relevant for paediatric patients suffering from abnormally developed bladders, but also represents another step towards new organ replacement therapies.

The research, led by Dr Arun Sharma and Earl Cheng from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University and Children’s Memorial Research Center, focused on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) taken from the patient. Previously studies into the regenerative capacity of cells in bladders have focused on animal models, but these have translated poorly in clinical settings.

“Advances in the use of bone marrow stem cells taken from the patient opens up new opportunities for exploring organ replacement therapies, especially for bladder regeneration”, said senior author Sharma. “Several findings from our study have demonstrated the plasticity of stem cells derived from bone marrow which make them ideal for this type of work.”

The team discovered that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have phenotypic and physiological similarities with bladder smooth muscle cells (bSMCs) implying that MSCs can serve as an alternative cell source for potentially damaged bSMCs.

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A new research has suggested that cardiac stem cells - even in elderly and sick patients – could generate new heart muscle and vessel tissue and be used to treat heart failure.

Scientists surgically removed tissue from the muscular wall of the heart’s chambers in 21 patients.

They then isolated and multiplied the cardiac stem cells (CSCs) found there.

Most of the patients had ischemic cardiomyopathy (enlarged and weakened muscle due to coronary artery disease). Eleven also had diabetes. The average age of patients was about 65.

“Regardless of the gender or age of the patient, or of diabetes, we were able to isolate in all of them a pool of functional cardiac stem cells that we can potentially use to rescue the decompensated human heart,” said Domenico D’Amario, author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Harvard, Boston, Mass.

The study has been presented at the American Heart Association‘s Scientific Sessions 2010. (ANI)

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The first patient in the landmark Pilot Investigation of Stem Cells in Stroke (PISCES) trial has been treated with neural stem cells. The study is the first fully regulated clinical trial of neural stem cell therapy for stroke. Investigators will evaluate the safety of ReNeuron cells in disabled ischemic stroke patients.

“This is a first in man safety study,” lead investigator Keith Muir, MD, from the University of Glasgow‘s Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology in Scotland, explained to Medscape Medical News. “We are looking at neurological effects — clinical and imaging — only as secondary goals.”

The stem cells are from a genetically modified immortalized cell line derived from a tissue sample from 12-week fetal cortex.

“Critics of stem cell development generally have various reasons for their ethical objections,” Dr. Muir said. “For most, it relates to embryo use — not relevant in this case,” he argues. “Others might object to termination of pregnancy, but these cells are derived from material donated to a tissue bank from a single legal termination many years ago, which was done for social reasons and was unrelated to the subsequent use.”

This study was approved by the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. ReNeuron is the first company to receive regulatory approval for any stem cell–based clinical trial in the United Kingdom.

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