“Latest Stem Cells News”

Howie Lindeman was facing the loss of his career and Neim Malo wasn’t supposed to see 2011. They were each treated for heart disease years ago using their own stem cells to repair their damaged heart tissue. Several years following treatment, both men continue to see improvement in their condition and quality of life.

Howie Lindeman, 60, had a heart attack at 39 years old that severely damaged his heart. He went through several procedures including having stents placed in his arteries and his physicians were considering open heart surgery for a quintuple bypass. He was in constant pain and struggled to walk just 25 feet, but when Zannos G. Grekos, MD, MAAC, FACC, chief medical officer of Regenocyte and a Florida-based pioneer in the field of adult stem cell therapy suggested he have the Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell procedure, he jumped at the opportunity. A normal ejection fraction (EF) is over 50 percent and Lindeman’s was down to a dangerous 22 percent before the adult stem cell procedure. Shortly after receiving treatment, his EF improved to a near-normal 47 percent, and is now at a stable 54 percent.

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Understanding the genetic underpinnings of the biology of stem cells is crucial for their use in disease research and treatment. Scientists have identified a variety of genetic factors that maintain self renewal properties in embryonic, fetal, and adult stem cells. But whether these cell types are controlled by the same or different molecules is a persisting question.

Recent work from HSCI Principal Faculty Konrad Hochedlinger, PhD, begins to crack that mystery. Sox2 is a gene whose expression is required for maintaining pluripotency in early embryonic cells and regulating tissue development in the fetal stage. But until now, Sox2 expression had only been observed fleetingly in a few adult stem cells.

Hochedlinger and his team have shown that Sox2 is nearly pervasive among adult stem cells, absent in only a few tissue types such as muscle, blood, and heart. The work, which establishes Sox2 as the only known factor to control self renewal across all three stem cell types, provides fertile ground for a variety of investigations.

In particular, since Sox2 expression can be seen as a marker for adult stem cells, it may provide an easier way to isolate and manipulate the otherwise difficult cellular population. Additionally, manipulating Sox2 expression could help generate particular adult stem cell types from embryonic stem cells, as well as particular desired tissue types from adult stem cells.

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A study published this week reinforces the potential value of stem cells in repairing major injuries involving the loss of bone structure.
The study shows that delivering stem cells on a polymer scaffold to treat large areas of missing bone leads to improved bone formation and better mechanical properties compared to treatment with the scaffold alone. This type of therapeutic treatment could be a potential alternative to bone grafting operations.

“Massive bone injuries are among the most challenging problems that orthopedic surgeons face, and they are commonly seen as a result of accidents as well as in soldiers returning from war,” said the study’s lead author Robert Guldberg, a professor in Georgia Tech‘s Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. “This study shows that there is promise in treating these injuries by delivering stem cells to the injury site. These are injuries that would not heal without significant medical intervention.” (…)

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Hematologists are not typical “first responders,” and many feel ill-equipped to act in an emergency situation. Dr. Nelson Chao of Duke University hopes that those who attend the Emergency Preparedness Education Program Session this morning at 7:30 in La Nouvelle Ballroom C will feel more prepared to respond in times of crisis. Dr. Chao explains, “Preparation is an area that we don’t stress or think about enough, and we probably should. Our preparation would help both our patients and our staff in an emergency.” The session will include discussion of two recent crises and one hypothetical disaster that we will hopefully never face.

This year, the annual ASH meeting returns to New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. The effects of Hurricane Katrina were felt throughout the United States, but only those who lived through the natural disaster can truly understand its impact. Dr. Cindy Leissinger of Tulane University School of Medicine experienced the disaster first-hand and will share her unique perspective. She hopes that attendees will learn that the unimaginable can happen and that preparation can help in the recovery.

She will focus on the state of the medical community prior to Hurricane Katrina and what was learned from the disaster. One of her lessons involves the importance of communication. As she explains, “After Katrina, all of us were displaced — more than a million people were displaced — and that continued for many months for most of us. The most essential thing during that period for us as professionals and for our patients was the ability to communicate with each other. We had to scramble to put communication systems in place after Katrina — hopefully we learned some lessons that will help us to do a better job if another Katrina happens.” The lessons that Dr. Leissinger will present can be applied to other situations and are essential knowledge for all medical providers.

Questions about the H1N1 influenza outbreak from patients, families, and other providers are common for many hematologists this season. Some of these questions are relatively straightforward, including inquiries about the safety of vaccination and indications for prophylaxis. Other questions are more challenging, including how to vaccinate large patient populations efficiently, what to do when a staff member who has been at work becomes ill, and how to handle a worst-case scenario like an outbreak on a stem cell transplant unit. Dr. Richard Hatchett from the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Disease will update the audience on the international H1N1 outbreak. He will address the current state of readiness and review public health measures. Dr. Hatchett’s expertise will be invaluable for hematologists and oncologists who care for populations vulnerable to influenza and other pathogens.

The session will conclude with Dr. Chao’s discussion of international preparedness for a potential radiological attack. Hematologists, oncologists, and experts in stem cell transplantation are uniquely qualified to care for survivors of a nuclear disaster and would be called on in such an emergency. International collaboration and preparation is necessary for the response to be effective. Dr. Chao will examine the nature of radiation injury and describe current international strategies for emergency response. In the event of a nuclear attack the response must be swift; preparation is essential. The unifying theme of preparedness promises to stimulate thought and discussion.

from http://www.hematology.org/Publications/ASH-News-Daily/2009/4627.aspx

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New Technology to Increase Efficacy of Adult Stem Cells in COPD Treatment

Entest BioMedical announced today it has filed a second patent application in the area of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This new patent application builds upon the Company’s previously filed COPD patent application and involves the use of photoceutical devices to target stem cells toward areas impacted by COPD in the lungs.

Steve Josephs, PhD, a Scientific Advisor to the Company stated “that by using photoceutical devices in treating COPD, it is believed stem cells can be focused on areas of the lungs where there is damage. Furthermore, being able to target specific areas and draw stem cells to those areas should produce greater efficacy in patient treatment outcomes. ”

David Koos, Chairman and CEO of Entest stated, “This new patent application we filed covers methods of enhancing our previously disclosed adult stem cell technologies in the treatment of COPD. It is our belief the use of photoceuticals devices coupled with adult stem cell therapy is a treatment model completely new and unique to addressing this terrible disease.”

Entest’s treatment approach for COPD is based on the development of easy-toimplement therapies involving the use of stem cells, and other cells found in the fat tissue of the patient. By incorporating photoceutical devices currently in use for other clinical treatments, this invention discloses methods of increasing the rate of cell homing, retention, and growth factor production in the lung.

from http://www.entestbio.com/latest-news/entest-biomedical-files-patent-application-for-selective-targeting-of-stem-cells-to-lung-using-photoceutical-devices.html

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Adult stem cells tested for defects before being implanted in the injured spinal cords of mice helped the animals recover with no cancerous side effects, according to new research. In recent years, scientists found that some experimental stem cell therapies can cause cancerous tumors. Pre-screened cells could result in potentially life- saving treatments without such side effects.

These new findings were presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. “We tried to identify induced pluripotent stem cells from adult tissue that would be safe when applied to cell therapy for central nervous system disorders,” said Masaya Nakamura, MD, PhD, at Keio University School of Medicine, a co-author of the study. “These results suggest that properly pre-evaluated cells may be a promising source for future transplantation therapy.”

Here, the authors investigated the possibility of making transplantation therapies safer and more efficient by examining different types of stem cells. They generated 36 induced pluripotent stem cell clones, which differed in their origins and other characteristics. They found that the cell’s origin was a crucial indicator of whether the cells would result in tumors.

Results showed that immature (undifferentiated) stem cells are more likely to form tumors than mature ones. The transplantation of “safe” cells into mice with spinal cord injuries resulted in the formation of new neurons, while “unsafe” cells sped recovery for a short period but ultimately formed tumors.

“This study confirms that before human clinical trials go forward involving treatment of central nervous system disorders with induced pluripotent stem cells, pre-evaluating each cell clone carefully is essential,” Nakamura said.

from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022115618.htm

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