“Latest Stem Cells News”

Ning Zhang, PhD

An injectable hydrogel could aid recovery from brain injury by helping stimulate tissue growth at the site of the wound, researchers say.
Research on rats suggests the gel, made from synthetic and natural sources, may spur growth of stem cells in the brain (…)

Researchers say the advantage of the new gel, which is injected into the injury in liquid form, is that it can be loaded with different chemicals to stimulate various biological processes.

First, Dr Zhang used it to help re-establish a full blood supply at the site of a brain injury in rats, potentially providing a much more friendly environment for donor cells to thrive.
Then, in follow-up work, she loaded it with immature human stem cells and the chemicals they need to develop into fully fledged adult brain cells (…)

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8233209.stm

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Dr. Feng Lin, Director of Research at Bio-Matrix Scientific Group Inc. (OTCBulletinBoard: BMSN) and Entest BioMedical Inc., today stated that he believes that an effective new therapy for “traumatic brain injury” (TBI) using autologous “adipose-derived” stem cells represents a potential cure for TBI. According to Dr. Lin, both Bio-Matrix and Entest BioMedical are now studying the “therapeutic effect of fat stem cells on traumatic brain injury-associated brain ischemia and inflammation and replacement of damaged neurons with neuron cells differentiated from fat cells.” Bio-Matrix Scientific Group Inc. and Entest BioMedical Inc. recently submitted a research summary proposal to the U.S. Army with a goal of funding traumatic brain injury treatment research. BMSN is a San Diego-based biotechnology research and development company. Entest BioMedical Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMSN. Entest is focusing on stem cell research applications, as well as testing procedures for diabetes.

“Currently there is no effective therapeutic approach to reverse the initial brain damage caused by trauma,” stated Dr. Lin. “Brain cells or neurons have limited ability for self-repair and spontaneous axonal regeneration. Extensive studies have been focusing on novel therapeutic strategies for traumatic brain injury. In my opinion, adipose-derived stem cells could possess the capacity for self-renewal and differentiation into diverse cell types such as neural cells. We could be looking at an exciting and potential cure for traumatic brain injury patients.”

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when an external force injures the brain. TBI is a major cause of disability and death worldwide, but especially in young people. Causes include vehicle accidents, falls, violence, as well as explosive blasts in battle fields. In the U.S., approximately 1.5 million new TBI cases occur each year, adding to the almost 6.5 million cases that are permanently affected by the irreversible physical, cognitive, and psychological defects associated with TBI. The total annual economic impact of TBI is approximately $60 billion.

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Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston announced this morning it has done the nation’s first stem cell transplant to successfully treat a stroke patient.

The patient came to the hospital last Wednesday, too late to receive clot-busting drugs to treat the stroke, according to a news release about the procedure. So doctors decided to try a therapy they are investigating as part of a clinical trial with the University of Texas Medical School at Houston: using stem cells from the patient’s own bone marrow. The adult stem cells — not controversial embryonic stem cells — came from marrow in the patient’s leg. The theory of how they work is that the stem cells migrate to the area of injury in the brain to do repairs, according to the release.
“The patient is recovering remarkably well and has not shown any signs of paralysis,” the release says. “He remains in the hospital under observation, but will be discharged later this week.”

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New hope in treating Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, an incurable neurological disease, which is particularly frequent in former soccer players, may come from stem cells. Nicholas Maragakis and his colleagues from the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine in Baltimore in the United States, have successfully conducted an important experiment in mice. In a study published in the online edition of ‘Nature Neuroscience’, the American researchers transplanted precursor cells called astrocytes, which function as support cells for neurons, into the mice with ALS. This allow the mice to survive for much longer.

ALS, pointed out the authors, is caused by the degeneration and death of so-called motor neurons, which are nervous cells that send signals to muscles to move. Recent research has demonstrated that astrocytes, belonging to the family of glial support cells, could be struck by the disease. Based on this concept, Maragakis’ team tried to treat an animal with ALS by transplanting early astrocytes.

The cells managed to survive in the spinal cord and the mice, although they did not heal completely, were able to survive much longer than normal. The beneficial effects, specified the scientists, require the presence of a particular transport protein in the precursor astrocytes: a scavenger protein able to remove excess glutamated neurotransmitters, a substance that is involved in the development of ALS, from motor neurons tied to astrocytes.

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Following up on eight acute and chronic spinal cord injury patients who were injected with bone marrow stem cells two years ago, researchers say that the therapy proved safe and effective in improving their quality of life.

DaVinci Biosciences undertook the study in Ecuador and have now issued a follow-up report claiming that MRIs have revealed “noticeable morphological changes within the spinal cord after administration of autologous bone marrow derived stem cells.” There was no tumor formation, increased pain or deterioration of function following administration of the stem cell treatment.

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Giancarlo Comi

A biopolymer could aid in the regrowing of nerves induced by the use of stem cells according to a new research project that gives hope to people who have been in an accident and have lost the use of one or more limbs. The procedure will enter into clinical testing in January after animal testing has been completed.

The Experimental Neurological Institute (INSPE), founded in 2005 at San Raffaele Hospital of Milan became operational with the inauguration of more than 1,200 square meters of lab space entirely dedicated to general and clinical research therapies for serious neurological diseases, like multiple sclerosis, strokes, spinal trauma, and peripheral neuropathy.

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