Monthly Archives: March 2012

Expert Alert – Heading for better concussions treatment

Posted: Published on March 12th, 2012

Canadian Institutes of Health Research experts discuss traumatic brain injury OTTAWA, March 12, 2012 /CNW/ - Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the number one killer and disabler of young Canadians under the age of 40. Each year, 50,000 Canadians sustain brain injury due to a blow to the head, a fall from a bike, a car accident or physical violence. In an instant, the victims' lives change and they have to live with memory problems, headaches, attention deficits,mood swings and frustration. Young athletes are particularly susceptible to concussions, one type of TBI, thus the debate over whether violence should be eradicated from sports like hockey in an effort to reduce the number of brain injuries. In light of Brain Awareness Week (March 12-18), CIHR-funded researchers are available to discuss the impact of TBI on people's health. Experts: Giving your head a check: detection, diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury Dr. Anthony Phillips, Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (Vancouver, British Columbia) Concussions in athletes: is this an epidemic? Drs. Maryse Lassonde and Hugo Thoret, CIHR-funded researchers (Montral, Qubec) Single and multiple concussions: the short and long-term consequences Dr. Robin Green, CIHR-funded researcher (Toronto, Ontario) … Continue reading →

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Shulman DuBois LLC Announces That New Technology Will Help Brain Injury Victims Receive Fair Compensation

Posted: Published on March 12th, 2012

The Portland personal injury lawyers at Shulman DuBois LLC are confident that new high-definition fiber tracking brain scans can help traumatic brain injury victims' claims for compensation by providing evidence of brain damage not available in the past. Portland, OR (PRWEB) March 12, 2012 After a car accident where youve hit your head, it can be difficult to prove an injury without medical records indicating the extent of the damage, Shulman said. But these new tests will help us show insurance companies and juries just how significant the head injury really is. Shulman and his partner Sean DuBois are members of the Brain Injury Alliance of Oregon, and their firm recently settled a brain injury case for $500,000 in a premises liability claim. The new test, called high-definition fiber tracking, allows doctors to pinpoint the areas of damage in the brain by using high-powered MRIs that map brain fiber tracts. The map will employ different colors to designate functions and injuries. In the past, brain injuries were not always apparent, as current scans can only show bleeding or swelling. Bleeding and swelling, unfortunately, did not always explain brain injury victims symptoms, making it difficult to show cause and effect after … Continue reading →

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MS Kills Connection

Posted: Published on March 12th, 2012

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 12, 2012 Multiple sclerosis is a life altering disease that affects each person in a unique and different way. MS destroys connections, divides minds from bodies, pulls people from their lives and away from one another. Therefore, its only fitting that connections would be its greatest enemy. As more connections are formed, more knowledge is shared, more questions asked, more resources gathered, and more hope is provided to help people with MS move their lives forward. Connect during MS Awareness Week People impacted by MS are connecting all across the nation during Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week March 12 18 to combine their efforts, knowledge and hope in order to move us closer to a world free of multiple sclerosis. The National MS Society is a prominent force in forging connections among people with MS, friends and colleagues who raise awareness and funds, people who treat those with MS, and people who research ways to stop MS, restore function lost to MS and end MS forever. This has helped move MS in less than two decades from being an untreatable disease to one where there are at least eight treatment options for those with relapsing MS, … Continue reading →

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MS Kills Connection > < Connection Kills MS MS Awareness Week March 12 – 18, 2012 Connect To End MS

Posted: Published on March 12th, 2012

Give What You Know At MSconnection.org New York, NY (PRWEB) March 12, 2012 Connect during MS Awareness Week People impacted by MS are connecting all across the nation during Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week March 12 18 to combine their efforts, knowledge and hope in order to move us closer to a world free of multiple sclerosis. The National MS Society is a prominent force in forging connections among people with MS, friends and colleagues who raise awareness and funds, people who treat those with MS, and people who research ways to stop MS, restore function lost to MS and end MS forever. This has helped move MS in less than two decades from being an untreatable disease to one where there are at least eight treatment options for those with relapsing MS, the most common form of the disease. And there are now even more new therapies speeding through the pipeline offering hope to people with all forms of the disease. This MS Awareness Week and beyond, find the power of connection and visit http://www.MSconnection.org. Just some of the opportunities you will find are: MS Connection a new community all about making meaningful connections when, where and how you want. … Continue reading →

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BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Expands Pipeline with the Initiation of a Study for Multiple Sclerosis

Posted: Published on March 12th, 2012

NEW YORK & PETACH TIKVAH, ISRAEL--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB: BCLI.OB - News), a developer of adult stem cell technologies and CNS therapeutics, announces plans to initiate a preclinical study assessing the efficacy of its NurOwn stem cell technology in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Positive proof-of-concept results for MS have been confirmed in a set of in-vitro and in-vivo experiments, and the Company is working to advance MS into preclinical development in Q2 2012. Based on initial promising pre-clinical data published by the Company's Chief Scientist, Prof. Daniel Offen of Tel Aviv University, BrainStorm has decided to explore MS as an additional indication for its NurOwn technology. The Company will draw plans to initiate pre-clinical safety trials, after which it will seek a leading medical center specializing in MS for clinical trials. We have been focused on growing our pipeline of indications using our NurOwn stem-cell technology, commented Dr. Adrian Harel, Acting CEO of BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics. As we continue our ongoing trials to evaluate the safety, tolerability and therapeutic effects of NurOwn in ALS patients, we have determined through positive preliminary animal data that MS will be the next indication to pursue using our technology. About … Continue reading →

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Biostem U.S., Corporation Appoints Heart Surgeon, Thomas W. Prendergast, M.D. to Its Scientific and Medical Board of …

Posted: Published on March 12th, 2012

CLEARWATER, FL--(Marketwire -03/12/12)- Biostem U.S., Corporation (OTCQB: BOSM.PK - News) (Pinksheets: BOSM.PK - News) (Biostem, the Company), a fully reporting public company in the stem cell regenerative medicine sciences sector, announced today the addition of cardiothoracic surgeon Thomas W. Prendergast, M.D. to its Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors (SAMBA). Biostem CEO, Dwight Brunoehler stated, "The Company is now positioned for growth and international expansion. Adding a world class team of clinical, laboratory, and regulatory experts for our Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors to guide our pursuits is essential. Dr. Prendergast brings a wealth of experience not only in the scientific aspects of stem cell use in regenerative medicine, but also in forging research and international economic development opportunities." Dr. Prendergast is a busy clinical cardiothoracic surgeon, who performs 200-250 open-heart operations and 5 to 15 heart transplants each year. He is deeply involved in numerous clinical and research activities associated with stem cells and heart repair. He is presently Director of Cardiac Transplantation at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey where he holds an Associate Professorship of Surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. In addition to being an active … Continue reading →

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UCLA scientists find insulin, nutrition prevent blood stem cell differentiation in fruit flies

Posted: Published on March 12th, 2012

Public release date: 11-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences UCLA stem cell researchers have shown that insulin and nutrition keep blood stem cells from differentiating into mature blood cells in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, a finding that has implications for studying inflammatory response and blood development in response to dietary changes in humans. Keeping blood stem cells, or progenitor cells, from differentiating into blood cells is important as they are needed to create the blood supply for the adult fruit fly. The study found that the blood stem cells are receiving systemic signals from insulin and nutritional factors, in this case essential amino acids, that helped them to maintain their "stemness," said study senior author Utpal Banerjee, professor and chairman of the molecular, cell and developmental biology department in Life Sciences and a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine at UCLA. "We expect that this study will promote further investigation of possible direct signal sensing mechanisms by mammalian blood stem cells," Banerjee said. "Such studies will probably yield insights into chronic inflammation and the myeloid cell accumulation seen in patients … Continue reading →

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Insulin, Nutrition Prevent Blood Stem Cell Differentiation in Fruit Flies

Posted: Published on March 12th, 2012

Newswise UCLA stem cell researchers have shown that insulin and nutrition keep blood stem cells from differentiating into mature blood cells in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, a finding that has implications for studying inflammatory response and blood development in response to dietary changes in humans. Keeping blood stem cells, or progenitor cells, from differentiating into blood cells is important as they are needed to create the blood supply for the adult fruit fly. The study found that the blood stem cells are receiving systemic signals from insulin and nutritional factors, in this case essential amino acids, that helped them to maintain their stemness, said study senior author Utpal Banerjee, professor and chairman of the molecular, cell and developmental biology department in Life Sciences and a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine at UCLA. We expect that this study will promote further investigation of possible direct signal sensing mechanisms by mammalian blood stem cells, Banerjee said. Such studies will probably yield insights into chronic inflammation and the myeloid cell accumulation seen in patients with type II diabetes and other metabolic disorders. The study appears March 11, 2012 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Cell Biology. In … Continue reading →

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International Stem Cell Corporation Completes $5 Million Financing and Elects Jim Berglund to the Board of Directors

Posted: Published on March 12th, 2012

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB:ISCO.OB - News) http://www.internationalstemcell.com, a California-based biotechnology company focused on therapeutic, cosmetic and research products, announced today that it had obtained new capital financing and made important changes in the composition of its Board of Directors to ensure that Independent Directors hold the majority of Board seats. The financing consists of $5 million in newly issued Series G Convertible Preferred Stock (without warrants), convertible into Common Stock at a conversion price of $0.40/share, the market price of the Companys Common Stock on the date the offer to purchase was made. This financing was made by AR Partners LLC, a healthcare investment firm owned by Dr. Andrey Semechkin, ISCOs CEO and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors. Concurrently with the closing of this financing, the Company elected to its Board of Directors Dr. James Berglund, co-founder of Enterprise Partners Venture Capital - one of the premier venture capital firms in the field of healthcare technology founded in 1985. Dr. Berglund, with his extensive professional experience, continues as an active participant in the biotech and healthcare industries. Dr. Berglund will replace Kenneth C. Aldrich, co-founder and former CEO of the Company during the period 2008-2009, … Continue reading →

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Global Personalized Medicine Diagnostics Market Analyzed in New Study Now Available at MarketPublishers.com

Posted: Published on March 12th, 2012

LONDON--(BUSINESSWIRE)-- The world is currently witnessing a growing interest in both cost savings and greater safety and efficacy associated with a personalized medicine approach to drug therapies. Considerable gains will be realized if the right drug can be given to the right patient at the right dose, within any therapeutic area. Though the reimbursement, pricing, coding, and regulatory systems that will support this scientific and clinical paradigm shift are still evolving, slowly but there are real revenues being made and real potential for earnings. Forecasts say the market will approach USD37,480 million by 2016 globally. New research study World Market for Personalized Medicine Diagnostics (Biomarkers, Pharmacodiagnostics, Tumor Assays, Cardiac Risk and Other Testing) worked out by Kalorama Information highlights the current opportunity and a realistic future potential for personalized medicine in clinical testing. Besides analyzing tests currently on the market and in development, it profiles key competitors and discusses trends important for understanding this growth area of the diagnostic industry. A special focus of the report is the bustle of activity with collaborations between IVD and pharmaceutical companies, as well as IVD companies and CLIA labs. Biomarkers discussed in the report include: Cytochrome P450 and Drug Metabolism, Estrogen Receptor and … Continue reading →

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