http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/adultstemcells/ en-us Mon, 9 Nov 2009 05:44:40 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381949/posts Induced pluripotent stem cells could be a boon for regenerative medicine.REUTERS/Junying Yu/University of Wisconsin-Madison Given the right conditions, any adult cell can be coaxed into becoming stem-cell like, according to a team of researchers based in the United States. The team, led by Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, were also able to speed up the process, cutting the time required for cells to become stem-cell like by around half. The results are good news for those battling to work out the complex biology of these cells, know as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells... Nature News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381949/posts#comment Mon, 9 Nov 2009 05:44:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2374356/posts It may not surprise parents that the head-banging, string-shredding world of heavy metal can seriously damage your health. But now Tony Iommi, the British guitarist who helped to invent the genre, has revealed that he is undergoing stem-cell treatment to save the hand that inspired a generation. The number of rockers suffering from repetitive strain injuries is on the increase, and medical specialists have warned that their careers will come to an end unless they seek professional help. As a founder member of Black Sabbath, the Birmingham rockers fronted by Ozzy Osbourne, Iommi, 61, hit on the distortion-heavy riffs that... The Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2374356/posts#comment Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:37:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2340777/posts Stem cells have a unique ability: when they divide, they can either give rise to more stem cells, or to a variety of specialised cell types. In both mice and humans, a layer of cells at the base of the skin contains stem cells that can develop into the specialised cells in the layers above. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, in collaboration with colleagues at the Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas (CIEMAT) in Madrid, have discovered two proteins that control when and how these stem cells switch to being skin cells. The findings,... European Molecular Biology Laboratory via biologynews.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2340777/posts#comment Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:50:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334279/posts Researchers are inching ever closer to bringing the latest stem-cell technologies from bench to bedside — and are, in the process, learning more about some diseases that long have remained medical black boxes. This week, scientists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) reported the first success in generating new populations of insulin-producing cells using skin cells of Type 1 diabetes patients. The achievement involved the newer embryo-free technique for generating stem cells, and marked the first step toward building a treatment that could one day replace a patient's faulty insulin-making cells with healthy, functioning ones. (See the top 10... Time http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334279/posts#comment Tue, 8 Sep 2009 00:57:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334172/posts Alternative tissues shown to yield reprogrammed cells aplenty. Fat cells are more easily turned into iPS cells than fibroblasts.Punchstock Fat cells and pigment-producing skin cells can be reprogrammed into stem cells much faster and more efficiently than the skin cells that are usually used — suggesting large bellies and little black moles could provide much-needed material for deriving patient-specific stem cells."More than one type of adult somatic cell can serve as a target for reprogramming to a pluripotent state," says William Lowry, a stem-cell biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who was not involved in the research. "You... Nature News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334172/posts#comment Mon, 7 Sep 2009 21:22:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2317468/posts ONE way for surgeons to repair injured knees is to take cartilage and bone from another part of the knee and transplant it in the damaged area. Now companies are developing potentially simpler knee patches: small, off-the-shelf plugs engineered to mimic the composition of human bone and cartilage. These ready-made cylinders can be inserted in an arthroscopic procedure; they are often used after a sports injury. They are known as osteochondral scaffolds, because they support new bone and cartilage as it grows. Orthomimetics, a company in Cambridge, England, has developed a scaffold approved for use in Europe that resulted from... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2317468/posts#comment Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:13:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2295484/posts An age of medical miracles is dawning. Obama administration federal funding rules for embryonic stem cells, or ES cells, will open wide the money floodgates for "the most remarkable potential of any scientific discovery ever made with respect to human health." It has "the capacity to cure maladies of all sorts,including cancer, heart disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's," and spinal cord injuries. Or so says Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) among others. But paraplegics shouldn’t post their wheelchairs on EBay just yet. If these cures are just around the corner, this corner is far, far away. And that's according to ES cell researchers... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2295484/posts#comment Sat, 18 Jul 2009 13:20:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2301608/posts MUMBAI: For 15 years, Rakesh Singh (name changed) went about his high-pressure job as a senior engineer in a central government firm with a transplanted kidney. Daily, he would pop immuno-suppressant pills to prevent his body from rejecting the donated organ. Then, about 18 months ago, he was struck by an "explosive" form of cancer called multiple myeloma — big cysts erupted across and within his body, impairing his ability to sign and speak. Singh's disease put doctors in the city's Jaslok Hospital in a bind about what line of treatment to follow: reducing the immuno-suppressants to let his body... The Times of India http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2301608/posts#comment Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:19:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2301264/posts Science Daily (July 26, 2009) — Johns Hopkins biomedical engineering students have demonstrated a practical way to embed a patient's own adult stem cells in the surgical thread that doctors use to repair serious orthopedic injuries such as ruptured tendons. The goal, the students said, is to enhance healing and reduce the likelihood of re-injury without changing the surgical procedure itself. The project team -- 10 undergraduates sponsored by Bioactive Surgical Inc., a Maryland medical technology company -- won first place in the recent Design Day 2009 competition conducted by the university's Department of Biomedical Engineering. In collaboration with orthopedic... Science Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2301264/posts#comment Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:17:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2294467/posts Bioethics: The former director of the National Institutes of Health, once an enthusiast for embryonic stem cells, now says their future has "dimmed." So why is the administration bailing out research into such therapies while troubled states like California have committed billions?Aside from creating or saving a few research jobs, the administration's decision to federally fund embryonic stem cell research is, as we've noted, a bailout of bad science. It throws money at an avenue of research that time and adult stem cell progress have passed by. Applauding the administration's move was Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., who echoed the claims... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2294467/posts#comment Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:47:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278793/posts Science: The president's Council on Bioethics is summarily dismissed when it disagrees on the need for more federally funded embryonic stem cell research. The scientific method doesn't include firing those who disagree with you.Inspectors general are apparently not the only ones to pay for annoying the White House by doing their job. The 18-member council existed to provide the president with advice on the moral and ethical implications of the rapid advances in science and medical research. It exists no more. The council existed to ponder whether we should do something just because we can. Apparently President Obama wanted not... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278793/posts#comment Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:16:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2275425/posts Look to the retina as a likely site for the first success in stem-cell therapy. "The eye is the best place to test proof-of-concept for stem cell-based therapies," says Martin Friedlander of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. Friedlander is co-founder of EyeCyte, also in La Jolla, whose investors include industry heavyweight Pfizer. Several laboratories are exploring stem-cell-derived transplants to delay or prevent blindness, and Pfizer recently put up funds for a project nearing human trials at University College London (UCL). Why the eye appeal? As organs go, it is easily accessible, somewhat protected from the immune system's... Nature Reports Stem Cells http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2275425/posts#comment Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:48:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2269052/posts Four patients have had holes in their bones patched up using their own stem cells in a pioneering treatment. Doctors carried out the treatment on patients suffering from bone cysts on their hips, who would normally have the spaces plugged with metal plates. Experts said some of those treated were now able to walk without pain. They say more work is needed to take the procedure to the mass market, but predicted that it could be in clinics within five years. It could eventually also be used for hip replacement revisions, the approximately one in 10 such operations which need... telegraph.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2269052/posts#comment Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:49:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2269012/posts Scientists have been able to reverse the symptoms of multiple sclerosis using stem cells from patients' own body fat. Some have been left free from seizures and better able to walk after the treatment. Researchers said that the results suggest that the "very simple" injection of their own cells can stimulate the regrowth of tissue damaged by the progression of the disease. The preliminary findings add to the growing evidence that stem cells could be used to treat the crippling neurological disease, which affects about 85,000 people in Britain. Last year experts suggested that stem cell therapy could be a... telegraph.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2269012/posts#comment Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:42:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268952/posts British scientists are among the world leaders in stem cell research - and their latest discoveries could transform medicine forever We have been told for almost a decade that stem cells are the future of medicine: that these tiny clumps of tissue could become a biological "repair kit", able to regenerate or heal almost any part of the body. But amid all the prophecies of patches for damaged hearts, new nerve cells for spinal injuries or stroke victims, and insulin-producing cells for diabetics, few people predicted that it would be British-based scientists who would be leading the way in mapping... telegraph.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268952/posts#comment Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:38:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266073/posts In a world-first breakthrough, University of New South Wales (UNSW) medical researchers have used stem cells cultured on a simple contact lens to restore sight to sufferers of blinding corneal disease. Sight was significantly improved within weeks of the procedure, which is simple, inexpensive and requires a minimal hospital stay. The research team from UNSW’s School of Medical Sciences harvested stem cells from patients’ own eyes to rehabilitate the damaged cornea. The stem cells were cultured on a common therapeutic contact lens which was then placed onto the damaged cornea for 10 days, during which the cells were able to... ScienceDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266073/posts#comment Sat, 6 Jun 2009 10:51:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2264570/posts Here's something that people with poor or no vision will be excited about: three patients had their sight restored in less than a month by contact lenses cultured with stem cells. All three patients were blind in one eye. The researchers extracted stem cells from their working eyes, cultured them in contact lenses for 10 days, and gave them to the patients. Within 10 to 14 days of use, the stem cells began recolonizing and repairing the cornea. Of the three patients, two were legally blind but can now read the big letters on an eye chart, while the third,... Gizmodo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2264570/posts#comment Thu, 4 Jun 2009 13:20:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2263304/posts In a world-first breakthrough, University of New South Wales (UNSW) medical researchers have used stem cells cultured on a simple contact lens to restore sight to sufferers of blinding corneal disease. Sight was significantly improved within weeks of the procedure, which is simple, inexpensive and requires a minimal hospital stay. The research team from UNSW’s School of Medical Sciences harvested stem cells from patients’ own eyes to rehabilitate the damaged cornea. The stem cells were cultured on a common therapeutic contact lens which was then placed onto the damaged cornea for 10 days, during which the cells were able to... The University of New South Wales http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2263304/posts#comment Tue, 2 Jun 2009 23:02:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260548/posts Robert Lanza is now reporting that his research group has produced induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) that are safe for use in humans. The website, Red Orbit, has provided a link to the original (.pdf)article. See the Time magazine news article, here. Lanza gives credit to the pioneering work of Shinya Yamanaka: Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), reported today in the journal Cell that his team has created stem cells using human skin cells and four proteins. The innovation builds on the breakthrough discovery in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka, who similarly coaxed human skin... LifeEthics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260548/posts#comment Fri, 29 May 2009 14:49:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260094/posts Research using adult stem cells has saved the life of a Texas boy suffering from sickle cell anemia.   Dallas-area residents Joe and Darlene Davis welcomed the news of a pregnancy and later the birth of their first son. Texas Alliance for Life recorded an interview with the couple. "I was very excited to find that I had a son -- but finding out that he had sickle cell anemia, as a nurse I knew there was going to be a lot of problems associated with that disease," Joe said. "The child can have strokes," Darlene also noted. "It can stunt his growth and... OneNewsNow http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260094/posts#comment Thu, 28 May 2009 20:46:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254470/posts Genetically engineered stem cells from bone marrow showed promise as a potential new way to deliver a cancer-killing protein to tumors, British researchers said on Tuesday. Experiments in cell cultures and in mice showed the adult stem cells — a type known as mesenchymal stem cells — could home in on cancer cells and deliver a lethal protein that attacked only the cancer while sparing normal healthy tissue. “We’ve developed cells which specifically target cancer through the body and deliver an anti-cancer protein to where it is needed in a seek-and-destroy approach,” said Dr. Michael Loebinger of University College London,... msnbc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254470/posts#comment Wed, 20 May 2009 04:36:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254262/posts TUESDAY, (HealthDay News) -- Injecting bone marrow cells into the heart's muscular wall restored blood flow to hearts with blocked arteries for which conventional treatments had proven ineffective, Dutch physicians have reported. "I think this is very good news for patients who are at the end of the line and have no options left," said Dr. Douwe E. Atsma, an interventional cardiologist at Leiden University Medical Center and an author of the study, which appears in the May 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The 50 people in the study, 43 of them men, were experiencing... HealthDay via Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254262/posts#comment Tue, 19 May 2009 23:14:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237174/posts April 24, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A preliminary study on the use of stem cells obtained from a patient's own adipose tissue in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) has shown promising results. The three case studies, described in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Translational Medicine support further clinical evaluation of what are known as stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells in MS and other autoimmune conditions. Thomas Ichim, from Medistem Inc., and Dr. Boris Minev, from the Division of Neurosurgery, University of California San Diego, worked with a team of researchers to demonstrate the possible effectiveness of SVF cells in... LifeSiteNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237174/posts#comment Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:36:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2231065/posts Doctors ... removed the stem cells from the patient's bone marrow in the leg, then separated or purified the stem cells and intravenously returned them to the patient within a few hours. Because they are the patient's own stem cells, rejection was not an issue as is the case with embryonic stem cells. "Research shows that stem cells have an instinctive guidance system and migrate to the area of injury. While the stem cells do not produce new brain cells for this patient, they enhance the repair process in the brain and reduce damage," the doctors said in a press... LifeNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2231065/posts#comment Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:21:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2230739/posts ONDON, April 15 (Reuters) - A stem-cell repair technique that has already been used to fix hundreds of injured race horses is to be tested for the first time in people with damaged Achilles tendons. Privately owned British biotech firm MedCell Bioscience Ltd said on Wednesday it would start clinical tests within 12 months and planned to run a larger confirmatory study at several European hospitals in 2011. Patients will receive injections containing millions of their own stem cells, which have been extracted and multiplied up in a laboratory, and can regenerate new tissue to repair damaged regions. Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2230739/posts#comment Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:07:48 GMT