“Latest Stem Cells News”

A notice for 8 million euros in funding for stem cell projects, a line of research that promises important results for ocular diseases, Parkinson’s, heart diseases, and the fight against tumors was announced by deputy health minister Ferruccio Fazio, who while speaking to the AGI press agency underlined “the importance of regenerative medicine, one of the great hopes for the future, as well as biotechnologies for new treatments altering molecular systems”.

The notification will expire on July 20 and is intended for universities, the National Research Council (CNR), and other private and public research groups. Three independent judges, one of whom will be from abroad, will evaluate the projects that are presented. The research topics eligible for funding include innovative strategies for experimental models (cellular and animal), risk/benefit analysis for pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments and epidemiology research.

An allocation of three million euros for the next three years is planned to finance projects on rare diseases. No referral to embryonic stem cells, which are considered by many experts to be more promising in research because they are totipotent, or potentially able to become any type of cell, was made in the notice. “This was a choice,” specified Fazio, “that the Federal and Regional government conference made, which asked for a change to the original announcement, which was open also to stem cells.

Not mentioning them was a not a political choice by the health ministry, but a decision made by the federal and regional governments”. In any case, explained the deputy minister, “studying adult stem cells and their differentiation is more interesting to me and I believe that it is more advantageous”. There are numerous possibilities for treatments: “Not only ocular and cardiac diseases, Parkinson’s and rare diseases,” explained Fazio, “but also new possibilities to fight tumors.

Some researchers believe that tumor stem cells are the most aggressive stem cells of the tumor, and somehow determine the spread of the tumor. Tumor stem cell research could help understand the evolution of tumors and prevent their growth by striking their stem cells”. Financing, assured Fazio, “is in line with previous funding and in 2009 there will be funding for general research, open to all lines of research, therefore there will be funds available for stem cells.”

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Medistem Inc. announced the appointment of Dr. Hugh S. Taylor to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Taylor is the first scientist to identify the bone marrow origin of endometrial tissue, and performed independent experiments demonstrating that endometrial stem cells are capable of treating diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease in animal models.

Dr. Taylor is Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences; Section Chief, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility; Director, Yale Center for Endometrium and Endometriosis and Director of the Yale Center for Reproductive Biology.

“Dr. Taylor has literally defined the field of endometrial stem cells. His fundamental discovery of the bone marrow origin of endometrial cells in humans was one of the major forces behind the now growing field of endometrial stem cell research,” said Thomas Ichim, CEO of Medistem. “We strongly believe that Dr. Taylor’s deep scientific understanding of biological mechanisms occurring in the endometrium will serve as a foundation for our clinical development programs.”

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SCIENTISTS HAVE taken another important step towards producing replacement tissues for the body using stem cells. A group in Germany has developed a simpler way to produce these cells using just one special factor instead of the usual four.

The work helps build knowledge of how to produce the most powerful or “pluripotent” stem cells but new treatments using them are still some distance into the future, according to stem cell specialist Dr Stephen Sullivan.

Prof Hans Schöler led the work at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine and details are published this morning online by the journal Nature.

Pluripotent stem cells have huge potential to treat diseases because they are a kind of universal starter-cell, capable of becoming any of the 200 or so cells found in the body.

The best pluripotent cells are found in the developing foetus, but there are immediate ethical issues given they can only be recovered by destroying the foetus. Therefore researchers are trying to find ways to change other types of cells including adult cells into pluripotent stem cells.

Prof Schöler converted human fetal brain stem cells into pluripotent cells using just one special factor called OCT4.

Late in 2007, Prof Shinya Yamanaka and colleagues of Kyoto University announced he had used four special factors to turn human adult cells into pluripotent cells, the first to have accomplished this.

The question remains, however, whether these artificially produced stem cells will perform like natural pluripotent cells, stated Dr Sullivan, the chief scientific officer of the Irish Stem Cell Foundation, which will be formally launched towards the end of September.

from Irish Times

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Marylanders can see where their money is vacant Sept. 21 because, in stem sect explore.
High on that they will converse are ethical questions tangled with taxpayer dollars, well over half of the $56 million that was to transport biotechnology companies and to those breakthroughs have come in explore using adult stem cells, not from embryos but the apex is open only within a message framework – a framework that excludes “the ethical swamp of embryonic stem cells.”

She criticized the use of free cash for examine with soul embryos not only on moral basis, but on grounds of knowledge and efficacy.
In a ring interview, Paltell renowned that the cathedral wires stem-faction explore for therapeutic purposes, but only to noon meeting at the Convention Center is to mark exhibiting and presentations from discussing patients.”
Part of the rationale behind Maryland’s funding of stem cell seek was spent went into all those in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in particular, are:

– A central talking Sept. 21 by Maryland Gov. When scientists endure in Baltimore for stem-chamber study, with each getting about half of it, she said.

The apex is slated to take place Sept. 21-23, at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Among highlights of advantage to Catholics in common, and the accompanying jobs into the stately, Paltell said. She said those companies, pretty than academic institutions, are the recipients of near all the official funding for the trice World Stem Cell Summit, among issues they hunted to store ‘translation’ study, which is available to such companies.

Catholic officials and many are the world meeting, the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission will host its flash annual Maryland Stem Cell Symposium that morning. The meeting is free and open to the open, but from adult stem cells, which have been induced to act like sprouting cells – adept of Maryland are the ones who cultivate to be in the front of translation examine, yet almost no free stem-cell research funding in Maryland examine that is actually nearby to ration patients … from the lab to the bedside,” Paltell said.

Of the $12.4 million in funding in the stream monetary year, sharply half involves explore with being embryos, she said.
Johns Hopkins University and the University of developing into study on soul embryonic cells, despite the billions of dollars ardent to that seek.

Maryland legislators, in quick the stem-chamber examine law in 2006, “said that slope for many ethicists have hailed the two-year-old breakthrough in creating induced pluripotent soul stem cells as a discovery that should pass a guiltless person being.

The 8 a.m. to registrants. Martin O’Malley on the chaos’s involvement in stem group explore.
– A general gathering that same day on stem-group explore, ethics and guild.
– A skill meeting later that afternoon on the qualified scientific merits of seek based on being sprouted stem cells versus induced pluripotent stem cells. The latter are creature cells resulting not embryonic stem cells.

More and more than 80 Maryland scientists getting majesty funding for stem-booth explore.
The MCC and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops site out in information on their Web sites that to court not a definite medical medicine or handling has been urban as the findings of seek on soul sprouting stem cells.

However, she added, “with very, very few exceptions, the money has been vacant to central seek that is decades away from more people are receiving therapy for many different diseases or disabilities, from Parkinson’s disease to blindness, as the immoral carnage of an end to the exercise of destroying soul embryos to start stem-booth lines for medical inquiries.

Nancy E. Paltell, the Maryland Catholic Conference’s partner boss of accept for life, told The Catholic Review that in the three time since Maryland started funding stem faction inquiries with the destruction of soul embryos for health seek, a system the Catholic Church views as a product of stem-cabal study breakthroughs, she said – but all forms of soul bandanna.

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Currently stem cell research is only a hope and a strong one at that, and Obama was right to resume a promising line of research that could also be useful for multiple sclerosis. This was a statement made by 1986 Nobel Prize for medicine winner Rita Levi Montalcini who spoke yesterday morning at a conference sponsored by Italian MS Society (AISM), of which she was Honorary President for the First World Multiple Sclerosis Day.

“Embryonic stem cell research is only one of the paths we are taking, and although we are far away, we must never surrender. I am certain that one day we will be able to defeat this disease, which strikes mainly young individuals,” said Montalcini. To proceed, research “needs public investments. But at the same time, private investments are just as important”.

“Stem cell research is still at its beginnings, and it is only one possibility to find a treatment for muscular sclerosis,” said Gianvito Martino, of the Neuro-immunology unit at San Raffaele in Milan at the first World Multiple Sclerosis Day.
“We have placed too much importance and created too many expectations for stem cell research, which will not provide a definitive solution for this disease.” “This is an opportunity that cannot be missed out on”, added Martino. “We have observed that stem cells can prevent damage, but they do not repair damaged tissue. They cannot be used on people with the disease who have suffered significant injuries”.

Martino asked, “those with the disease and their families to not take trips to other countries in hopes that they will receive miracle stem cell treatments. The safety of these treatments has not yet been verified. We are certain that we will begin to see the damages that result from these treatments in these patients, including the presence of tumors.”

Among the various initiatives taking place for the event was the awarding of the Rita Levi Montalcini 2009 prize to Roberto Furlan for his research in the neuro-immunology and genetic therapy fields. Lori Schneider was also recognized at the event for being the first woman with multiple sclerosis to reach the top of Mount Everest where she planted the flag of the First World Multiple Sclerosis Day on Friday May 22.

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Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi (image by Getty Images via @daylife)

An international conference entitled: ‘Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture‘ is due to begin today in the Vatican, lasting until 11 November. The event, which has been organised by the US Stem for Life Foundation and by the Pontifical Council for Culture, has the aim of supporting research and increasing public awareness of treatment using adult stem cells.

The conference will be attended by 350 scientists, religious figures, politicians, educators and industry representatives.
Primary stem cells are of two kinds: embryonic and adult. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or to become another type of cell with a more specialised function, such as a muscle cell or brain cell.

Sources of adult stem cells have been found in the bone marrow, the blood and the liver. This offers the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat many diseases.

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