“Latest Stem Cells News”

Stem Cell Research using the patient’s own Adult Stem Cells has brought us another great discovery- Stem Cell Contact Lens. In Australia, a group of doctors in a research study treated 3 patients who had some form of cornea problems and they all were able to see after the stem cell treatment in which their own stem cells healed damage to their cornea

The Process of Stem Cells for the Cornea

1. The doctors removed Adult Stem Cells from the patient’s good eye
2. The stem cells were grown on a contact lens for 10 days
3. The contact lens was placed on the damaged eye for 3 weeks
4. The stem cells “blend” into the eye and repair the damage in the cornea

From the stem cell article:

The researchers, led by Dr Nick di Girolamo, said each person’s sight improved significantly within weeks of the procedure, and that it was a simple inexpensive technique which required a minimal hospital stay

Stem Cell Research Abstract

Also, here is the  stem cell research abstract for the cornea study.  Here are some of the actual results:

Results. A stable transparent corneal epithelium was restored in each patient. There was no recurrence of conjunctivalization or corneal vascularization, and a significant improvement in symptom score occurred in all patients. Best-corrected visual acuity was increased in all eyes after the procedure.

This technique is simple, non invasive, and uses the patient’s own stem cells– so the patient has nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying something like this.  What can be easier than popping in a contact lens?

Covering Old Stem Cell Ground?

However, it seems like they have doing something similar in India for a number of years. Notice in the story, that the doctors removed stem cells from the good eye of the patient. What happens if the patient has two bad eyes? Well there are  doctors in India are getting the stem cells from under the lip of the patient. This stem cell story didn’t get any run when it came out in October of 2008- but it probably should have. Read more about what this group of stem cell doctors in India have for stem cells for the cornea here

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Stem Cell Research Study Reveals Stroke Patients Helped by Own Stem Cells

A new stem cell research study/trial recently completed shows that implanting a person’s own Adult Stem Cells helps stroke patients overcome partial paralysis. Dr. Kameshwar Prasad of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will present his stem cell study at the European Stroke Research Conference in May, 2009.

Stroke Victims Own Adult Stem Cells Used

In the stem cell study that took place in New Delhi, India, 12 stroke victims had their own stem cells implanted within 1 month after a stroke. Also, 3 stroke patients were used as a control group and were not given any stem cells.

Process of Stem Cells for Stroke

1. Adult Stem Cells extracted from patient’s bone marrow
2. Stem Cells are then purified
3. Patient’s own stem cells are then reintroduced intravenously into the antecubital vein (in the forearms, near the elbow)
4. Stem Cells migrate to area of injury (in this case- the brain)
5. Adult Stem Cells enhance repair process and reduce brain damage

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Ten years ago, Leah Potts was a patient at Craig Hospital, after a skiing accident that broke her neck and damaged her spinal cord. The first doctors she saw warned her she might never walk again.

Today, Potts teaches Spinning, the popular and intense indoor group bicycling class. The Aspen resident can walk (with a cane). She skis again (with outriggers). And she blogs about her progress at leahpotts.com.

“I remember lying there in bed at the beginning,” she said. “I remember lying there thinking, ‘OK, this doesn’t sound too good. I have two choices: Lie here and cry about it, or get up and do something about it.’ I was 23 years old. I’d just graduated from college. I felt like my life was just beginning.”

When she left Craig Hospital after three months, Potts relied on a walker or a wheelchair to get around. Using the walker was exhausting. It took all her energy to move from the front door to her living-room sofa. She had to rest before getting up again to go to the next room.

Reclaiming her body became Potts’ full-time job. She spent at least three hours a day in rehabilitation treatment, sticking to a grueling schedule that later cost her her short marriage to Dan Roland.

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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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