Monthly Archives: February 2012

14-02-2012 08:13 STEM CELLS The dance of life Recent developments in regenerative medicine and modern biology are going to have an enormous impact on our lives. Also the way itself we face the problem of sickness, aging and death changes as the hope (or the illusion?) grows that we always can fight and delay them. Stem cell research is in fact changing our knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms of life and feeding the idea that we can increasingly contrast the cruel natural selection rules which make us fall ill, grow old and die. A new frontier opens and unpredictable changes in our culture are taking place. People's hopes and fears grow at the same time. The general properties of the stem cells is presented, namely the ability to proliferate and, under certain conditions, to differentiate in other types of cells. In this way they can generate a new tissue replacing a damaged one, and also a new organ (like blood, thrachea, liver, heart, skin, cornea and very recently retina). A stamp is shown, which was emitted by the Japanese government to celebrate the discovery of a university team, which was able to regenerate a cornea and giving the opportunity to … Continue reading →

SUNRISE, Fla., Feb. 14, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bioheart, Inc. (BHRT.OB) announced today that it has acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to Ageless Regenerative Institute's adipose (fat) derived therapeutic cell technology for use in the cardiac field. "The Ageless adipose stem cell technology will allow us to broaden our portfolio of product candidates for cardiac patients," said Mike Tomas, President and CEO of Bioheart. "We have successfully treated patients in Mexico and now we are ready to expand into the US." Adipose tissue is readily available and has been shown to be rich in microvascular, myogenic and angiogenic cells. Bioheart has recently applied to the FDA to begin trials using adipose derived stem cells or LipiCell(TM) in patients with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy. Transplantation of LipiCell(TM) will be accomplished through endocardial implantations with the MyoStar(TM) Injection Catheter under the guidance of the NOGA(R) cardiac navigation system by Biosense Webster, Inc. -- A Johnson & Johnson Company. Under the terms of the agreement, Bioheart will have a worldwide exclusive license to all of Ageless technology for use in the heart attack and heart failure markets. The agreement provides for upfront and milestone equity payments to Ageless. Ageless' President and Chief Executive Officer, … Continue reading →

February 14, 2012, 3:17 PM EST By Ryan Flinn (Adds comment from researcher in 13th paragraph.) Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Stem cells grown from patients’ own cardiac tissue can heal damage once thought to be permanent after a heart attack, according to a study that suggests the experimental approach may one day help stave off heart failure. In a trial of 25 heart-attack patients, 17 who got the stem cell treatment showed a 50 percent reduction in cardiac scar tissue compared with no improvement for the eight who received standard care. The results, from the first of three sets of clinical trials generally needed for regulatory approval, were published today in the medical journal Lancet. “The findings in this paper are encouraging,” Deepak Srivastava, director of the San Francisco-based Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, said in an interview. “There’s a dire need for new therapies for people with heart failure, it’s still the No. 1 cause of death in men and women.” The study, by researchers from Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, tested the approach in patients who recently suffered a heart attack, with the goal that repairing the damage might help stave … Continue reading →

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An 11-year-old yellow Labrador suffering from severe arthritis underwent stem cell therapy on Valentine’s Day. It’s the first time a dog has received in-clinic adult stem cell therapy in Kansas City. According to Stanley Veterinary Clinic where Jake the dog is being treated, adult animal stem cell technology uses the body`s own regenerative healing power to help cure dogs, cats and horses suffering from arthritis, hip dysplasia and tendon, ligament and cartilage injuries and other ailments. Fat tissue is removed from the animal, the stem cells are separated from the fat and activated, and then injected into the affected areas. Within two months of the procedure, Jake should be moving well, with little or no pain. Severe arthritis affects up to 40 percent of the 164 million dogs and cats in the United States. As for Jake, FOX 4’s Kim Byrnes will have an update on his condition tonight on FOX 4 News at 5 and 6. Go here to see the original: Dog Receives First-Ever Stem Cell Therapy in Kansas City … Continue reading →

WALKER, Mich. (WOOD) - Dogs who received the first in-clinic stem cell therapy in West Michigan returned to the vets who treated them Monday morning. Boris and Natasha returned to Kelley's Animal Clinic for their 60-day checkup after receiving stem cell treatment in December 2011. Dr. James Kelley and his staff of vets removed fat tissue from the dogs and activated it with an enzyme before injecting it into their back legs. This adult animal stem cell technology is different from the controversial embryonic stem cell therapy. Kelley said both dogs are doing amazingly well and that the procedure has done more than just help their arthritis. "We're finding that not only the joints are affected, the rest of the animal is affected as well," said Kelley. "The skin is better. The attitude in these dogs is much improved." Kelley and his staff have done 16 stem cell treatments since the first on Boris and Natasha, and he said all the dogs are showing signs of improvement after a short period of time. See the rest here: Dogs who got stem cell therapy are well … Continue reading →

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire -02/14/12)- VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC.BB: VSTA.OB - News) (OTCQB: VSTA.OB - News), a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy, has identified its initial Top 10 drug rescue candidates and plans to launch two formal drug rescue programs by the end of next quarter. VistaGen's goal for each of its stem cell technology-based drug rescue programs is to generate and license a new, safer variant of a once-promising large market drug candidate previously discontinued by a pharmaceutical company no earlier than late-preclinical development. "We are now at an advanced stage in our business model," said Shawn Singh, VistaGen's Chief Executive Officer. "After more than a decade of focused investment in pluripotent stem cell research and development, we are now at the threshold where game-changing science becomes therapeutically relevant to patients and commercially relevant to our shareholders. We have positioned our company and our stem cell technology platform to pursue multiple large market opportunities. We plan to launch two drug rescue programs by the end of the next quarter." Over the past year, VistaGen, working with its network of strategic partners, identified over 525 once-promising new drug candidates that meet the Company's … Continue reading →

MONDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Stem cell therapy's promise for healing damaged tissues may have gotten a bit closer to reality. In a small, early study, heart damage was reversed in heart-attack patients treated with their own cardiac stem cells, researchers report. The cells, called cardiosphere-derived stem cells, regrew damaged heart muscle and reversed scarring one year later, the authors say. Up until now, heart specialists' best tool to help minimize damage following a heart attack has been to surgically clear blocked arteries. "In our treatment, we dissolved scar and replaced it with living heart muscle. Such 'therapeutic regeneration' has long been the holy grail of cell therapy, but had never been accomplished before; we now seem to have done it," said study author Dr. Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles. However, outside experts cautioned that the findings are preliminary and the treatment is far from ready for widespread use among heart-attack survivors. The study, published online Feb. 14 in The Lancet, involved 25 middle-aged patients (average age 53) who had suffered a heart attack. Seventeen underwent stem cell infusions while eight received standard post-heart attack care, including medication and exercise therapy. The stem … Continue reading →

In Modern Pathology, researchers from Shimane University School of Medicine, in Izumo, Japan, examine whether ARID1A mutations, which are common in ovarian clear cell carcinoma, are of prognostic value. From their study of 77 formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded ovarian cancer samples — 60 clear cell carcinomas and 17 high-grade serous adenocarcinomas — the researchers found that ARID1A expression is more frequently lost in ovarian clear cell carcinomas than serous adenocarcinomas. Further, the "loss of ARID1A in ovarian clear cell carcinomas predicted a shorter progression-free interval," the researchers say, as those tumors did not respond as well to chemotherapy. Rafael Fonseca from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., and his colleagues report on their genomic analysis of marginal zone lymphomas and lymphoplasmacytic lymphomas, two cancers that can be difficult to distinguish from other non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. "Although the entities share a common set of genomic abnormalities they are also characterized by the presence of genes and cellular pathways differentially affected," the authors write. "Elucidation of the genetic alterations contributing to the pathogenesis of the analyzed non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes may guide design of specific therapeutic approaches." Researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School report in the online early edition of Modern Pathology that … Continue reading →