Category Archives: Cell Medicine

SAN DIEGO, Calif., Oct. 2, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc., a leader in adult allogeneic stem cell manufacturing, research and development, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its application for an Investigational New Drug (IND) to assess the clinical effects of Stemedyne-MSC (Stemedica's human bone marrow-derived ischemia tolerant mesenchymal cells) in subjects with a myocardial infarct. The Phase IIa double-blinded randomized clinical trial will study approximately forty (40) patients. All patients will initially receive standard care including percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and stenting and, upon completion, will be randomized to receive Stemedyne-MSC intravenously or placebo. The clinical trial will address the prevalence of cardiovascular disease estimated to carry a global disease burden in excess of $400 billion each year. More than one million patients undergo PTCA and stenting in the Untied States annually; another 800,000 have the procedures each year in Europe. Nabil Dib, M.D., MSc., F.A.C.C., Director of Cardiovascular Research at Mercy Gilbert and Chandler Regional Medical Centers, and an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Clinical Cardiovascular Cell Therapy at the University of California, San Diego, will serve as the principal investigator of the FDA-approved … Continue reading →

April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online Columbia University ophthalmologists and stem cell researchers have developed an experimental treatment for blindness using the patients skin cells, which has improved the vision of blind mice in testing. The findings of this research, published online in the journal Molecular Medicine, suggest that induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) could soon be used to improve vision in people with macular degeneration and other eye retina diseases. iPS cells are derived from adult human skin cells but have embryonic qualities. With eye diseases, I think were getting close to a scenario where a patients own skin cells are used to replace retina cells destroyed by disease or degeneration, says Stephen Tsang, MD, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology and pathology & cell biology. Its often said that iPS transplantation will be important in the practice of medicine in some distant future, but our paper suggests the future is almost here. Scientists were very excited by the advent of human iPS cells when they were discovered in 2007, as they provide a way to avoid the ethical complications of embryonic stem cells. Another advantage is that the iPS cells are created from the patients own skin, eliminating … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2012) Diseases that progressively destroy nerve cells in the brain or spinal cord, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), are devastating conditions with no cures. Now, a team that includes a University of Iowa researcher has identified a new class of small molecules, called the P7C3 series, which block cell death in animal models of these forms of neurodegenerative disease. The P7C3 series could be a starting point for developing drugs that might help treat patients with these diseases. These findings are reported in two new studies published the week of Oct. 1 in PNAS Early Edition. "We believe that our strategy for identifying and testing these molecules in animal models of disease gives us a rational way to develop a new class of neuroprotective drugs, for which there is a great, unmet need," says Andrew Pieper, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at the UI Carver College of Medicine, and senior author of the two studies. About six years ago, Pieper, then at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and his colleagues screened thousands of compounds in living mice in search of small, drug-like molecules that could boost production of neurons … Continue reading →

A beautiful, fresh face, Sabrina Cohen can stun you with her charm. But she is far more. This 24-year-old, who has spent 10 years in a wheelchair as a result of a car accident, is battling to raise money for research and therapies that may eventually reverse paralysis and treat central nervous system impairments. A native of Miami Beach, she is one of five leaders being honored by the Palm Beach-based Genetic Policy Institute at its eighth annual World Stem Cell Summit Dec. 4 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach. She is receiving the Inspirational Award. This award brings a lot of meaning to my life and the path I have chosen to follow, she says of her founding of the nonprofit Sabrina Cohen Foundation. This provides a platform for my foundation to inspire others and to share my hope for (stem cell) regeneration. Other honorees include CBS 60 Minutes for its hard-hitting programs on unproven stem cell treatments; Susan Solomon, CEO of the New York Stem Cell Foundation; Alliance for Regenerative Medicine; and the Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures. We recognize the dedicated individuals and organizations that positively impact the cause of stem-cell advancement … Continue reading →

Public release date: 1-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: David Eve cellmedicinect@gmail.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair Tampa, Fla. (Oct. 1, 2012) In a study to investigate the detection by MRI of six kinds of positively-charged magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles designed to help monitor transplanted islet cells, a team of Japanese researchers found that the charged nanoparticles they developed transduced into cells and could be visualized by MRI while three kinds of commercially available nanoparticles used for controls could not. The study is published in a recent special issue of Cell Medicine [3(1)], now freely available on-line at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/cm. "Our data suggests that novel, positively-charged nanoparticles can be useful MRI contrast agents to monitor islet mass after transplantation," said study co-author Hirofumi Noguchi, MD, PhD, of the Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, transplant and Surgical Oncology at the Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences. "Significant graft loss immediately after islet transplantation occurs due to immunological and non-immunological events. With MRI an attractive potential tool for monitoring islet mass in vivo, efficient uptake of MRI contrast agent is required for cell labeling." The researchers note that recent techniques of labeling islet … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Translational Regenerative Medicine: Market Prospects 2012-2022 http://www.reportlinker.com/p0595030/Translational-Regenerative-Medicine-Market-Prospects-2012-2022.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Blood_Supply,_Tissue_Banking_and_Transplantation Report Details New study shows you commercial potential of regenerative treatments See what the future holds for translational regenerative medicine. Visiongain's updated report lets you assess forecasted sales at overall world market, submarket, product and regional level to 2022. There you investigate the most lucrative areas in that research field, industry and market. Discover prospects for tissue-engineered products, stem cell treatments and gene therapy. We pack our study with information and analysis to help your work and save you time: Access to present and predicted trends, with commercial opportunities and prospects revealed Data and discussions - including our revenue forecasts to 2022 - for your research, analyses and decision making Continue reading here: Translational Regenerative Medicine: Market Prospects 2012-2022 … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Medistem Inc (Pink Sheets:MEDS) announced today the initiation of a collaboration with Superview Biotechnology Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Yinhuan Holding Co from Yixing, China. The joint work will be aimed at using proprietary stem cell lines developed by Medistem for screening of monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic activity in the area of regenerative medicine. As part of the collaboration, the two companies will evaluate various candidates jointly, as well as apply for grants and share research data. To date, the majority of stem cell companies are focusing on the stem cell itself being a product. By collaborating with Superview Biotechnology, we aim to assess the feasibility of developing antibodies that can modulate the activity of stem cells that already exist in the body, said Thomas Ichim, CEO of Medistem. This approach not only provides methods of activating stem cells but also allows for the development of stem cell adjuvant therapies that could be used to resurrect stem cell candidates that failed in clinical trials. Superview Biotechnology has developed proprietary methods of rapidly generating monoclonal antibodies to esoteric protein targets. Medistem has a history of success in the area of stem cells, being the only company to take … Continue reading →

Key cards are needed to enter the area where cadavers are dissected and kept at Penn State College of Medicine. Cell phones arent allowed. A few years ago, a student at one New York medical school posted a photo on Facebook showing a student giving a thumbs up while posing with a cadaver, and a student at another posted a photo involving a brain. At the Derry Twp.-based medical school, no such ethical violations have occurred, according to Michelle Lazarus, an anatomy instructor. Lazarus is also the intermediary between the school and the Humanity Gifts Registry, which oversees bodies donated for medical research in Pennsylvania. Lazarus says the school has long taken a strong ethical approach to use of cadavers. For example, through a collaboration with the humanities department, first-year medical students probe their feelings about the cadavers in writing assignments. They also are responsible for conducting a public memorial service following completion of their work on cadavers. Lazarus says, We tell them all the time this is your first patient. We feel really grateful to people who donate, and to their families. Its really important to us. We dont just think of it as a lab, says Michelle Matzko, … Continue reading →

Public release date: 27-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Julia Evangelou Strait straitj@wustl.edu 314-286-0141 Washington University School of Medicine Studying leukemia in mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have reduced a life-threatening complication of stem cell transplants, the only curative treatment when leukemia returns. About 50 percent of leukemia patients who receive stem cells from another person develop graft-versus-host disease, a condition where donor immune cells attack the patient's own body. The main organs affected are the skin, liver and gut. Now, the scientists have shown they can redirect donor immune cells away from these vital organs. Steering immune cells away from healthy tissue also leaves more of them available for their intended purpose killing cancer cells. "This is the first example of reducing graft-versus-host disease not by killing the T- cells, but simply by altering how they circulate and traffic," says John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, the Virginia E. and Sam J. Golman Professor of Medicine. "Donor T-cells do good things in terms of eliminating the recipient's leukemia, but they can also attack normal tissues leading to death in a number of patients. The goal is to minimize graft-versus-host disease, while maintaining … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Celprogen Inc., a leader in the Stem Cell Research and Therapeutics industry for the development of stem cell technologies for regenerative medicine, today announced that they obtained a Patent for Treating Lactose Intolerance Utilizing Genetically Engineered Bacteria US8,236,297B2. Acquired lactase deficiency is the most common disorder of complex carbohydrate absorption throughout the world, affecting 75% of world population. In the United States 15% of Caucasians, over 50% of Hispanics and over 80% of African-Americans suffer from lactose intolerance. The present invention relates to genetically engineered bacteria that are able to colonize the mammalian intestine and actively produce mammalian lactase. This lactose-digesting enzyme is stable and active under the conditions normally found in the mammalian small intestine. Experimental subjects colonized with the genetically engineered bacteria show improved ability to digest lactose in dairy foods. About Celprogen Inc. Celprogen Inc. is a global Stem Cell Research & Therapeutics company which is developing a proprietary portfolio of unique therapeutics products and life science research tools that includes genetic engineering technologies, stem cell technologies for regenerative medicine, as well as bio-engineering products for tissue & organ transplants. Headquartered in San Pedro, California, Celprogen is committed to the research, development, and manufacture … Continue reading →