“Latest Stem Cells News”

The first operations have been successfully performed at Seriate Hospital (Bergamo) using autologous stem cell transplants to rebuild a part of the breast after removing a tumor. The technique used in the operation is known as ‘lipofilling’, which calls for some of the patient’s abdominal fat to be removed in a procedure similar to liposuction. The fat is then purified and manipulated in the laboratory to concentrate stem cells as much as possible, then they are transplanted into the portion of the breast that has been removed to eliminate the cancer.

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A STEM cell therapy offering “natural” breast enlargement is to be made available to British women for the first time.
The treatment could boost cup size while reducing stomach fat. It involves extracting stem cells from spare fat on the stomach or thighs and growing them in a woman’s breasts. An increase of one cup size is likely, with the potential for larger gains as the technique improves.

A trial has already started in Britain to use stem cells to repair the breasts of women who have had cancerous lumps removed. A separate project is understood to be the first in Britain to use the new technique on healthy women seeking breast enlargement.
Professor Kefah Mokbel, a consultant breast surgeon at the London Breast Institute at the Princess Grace hospital, who is in charge of the project, will treat 10 patients from May. He predicts private patients will be able to pay for the procedure within six months at a cost of about 6,500 pounds (about 9200 USD).

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The key to eradicating tumors and preventing relapses and metastasis is buried within the tumor itself. The tumor cells themselves contain a sort of needle in the haystack. Just 1% of the total volume of the tumor is responsible for reproduction, and a targeted surgery or drugs could be sufficient enough to “deactivate” the tumor and avoid any possibility of a reoccurrence. This type of treatment could possibly change the therapeutic approach to malignant tumors according to an Italian study at the Superior Health Institute (ISS) by Professor Ruggero De Maria, the Director of the Hematology, Oncology, and Molecular Medicine Department of the ISS in collaboration with professor Vito D’Andrea of the ‘Sapienza’ University in Rome.

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From stem cells comes a ray of light for those who lives in the dark. A new surgical operation anti-blindness is under examimation by a team of Scottish scientists from Edinburgh and Glasgow, ready to start a study about using adult stem cells on 20 patients suffering of cornea blindness: this disease plague over than 80% of the senior citizens.

“We can note 2 or 3 new cases of cornea blindness every month; it’s a big problem” says Bal Dhillow from Princess Alexandra Eye Pavillon of Edinburgh.

The experimental technique contemplate using of adult stem cells taken from a corpse, which will be raised and then transplanted on the patient’s cornea’s surface. Dhillow says he’s proud to be part of the project.

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TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) -  More than 30 million Americans suffer from painful arthritis in their joints, Osteoarthritis.  The most common problem is knee pain caused by cartilage breaking down.  But some remarkable findings at the UA Arthritis Center could change the way doctors treat these patients.

Since our knees carry most of our body weight, it’s no surprise that the joints can wear out.  Too much wear-and-tear on the cartilage covering the bone can cause serious knee pain.  Right now, the only solution is replacing the entire joint with metal and plastic parts, even if the damage is just in one area.  Sometimes, patients lose the nerves in the area, the plastic can break down over time, and movement is limited.

UA Professor of Orthopedic Surgery Dr. John Szivek and his team knew there had to be a better way.  But getting cartilage cells to grow into tissue was tricky, until they discovered stem cells from a patient’s own fat can do the job.  “Those cells are very easy to collect from fat tissue,” says Dr. Szivek.  “We don’t need very much of the fat tissue.  A golf ball size piece of fat from the patient has tens of millions of cells in it.”

The fat is taken out using a procedure similar to liposuction.  The stem cells are then extracted, and put on a special scaffold that Dr. Szivek’s team developed.  It uses the 3D images from a CT Scan to create an exact match of the patient’s bone structure.  “If we place them near a cartilage surface, the cells that are nearby send them signals and those signals turn the stem cells into cartilage cells,” explains Dr. Szivek.

Doctors then put the tiny scaffold in the damaged part of the knee, and within a couple of months, tissue is formed and the cartilage is as good as new.  The recovery time is about the same as a total joint replacement, but the incision is significantly smaller.

It could be several more years before the procedure is available to patients.

from http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13089492

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“The tracheal team at Great Ormond Street Hospital is delighted that Ciaran is going home after his tracheal transplant. He is a wonderful boy who has become a great friend to us all, and he and his infinitely patient family have charmed us all. Ciaran has become our local iPad expert, and we will miss his advice. His recovery has been complicated, as one might expect for a new procedure, and we have kept him under close surveillance, hence the length of time he has been here. It is wonderful to see him active, smiling and breathing normally. We are very proud of him!

“Ciaran will continue to need regular follow up by us. This is so we can both make sure he is ok, and also learn what to expect for the next patient who needs this innovative therapy. The treatment offers hope to many whose major airways were previously considered untreatable or irreplaceable. We will continue to work with our colleagues in regenerative medicine throughout the world to ensure we can continue to improve both the science and treatment options.”

from http://www.ich.ucl.ac.uk/pressoffice/pressrelease_00852

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