Category Archives: Cell Therapy

3/25/2012 10:50 AM ET (RTTNews) - An important clinical trial, which evaluated the use of autologous bone-marrow-cell therapy in patients with chronic ischemic heart failure, has failed to meet the prespecified end points of improvement in most measures of heart function, according to the results presented at the American College of Cardiology 2012 Scientific Sessions. The trial dubbed, FOCUS - a phase II study, is the largest study to date to investigate if a patient's own bone marrow cells improved myocardial perfusion, reduced left ventricular end-systolic volume or enhanced maximal oxygen consumption in patients with coronary artery disease or LV dysfunction, and limiting heart failure or angina. The FOCUS trial was undertaken by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-sponsored Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network. Ninety two patients with chronic ischemic heart disease , having a left ventricular ejection fraction of 45% or less, a perfusion defect by single-photon emission tomography, or SPECT, who were no longer candidates for revascularization, were enrolled in the trial. Sixty one patients in the study were administered bone marrow cells through transendocardial injections while thirty one patients were administered placebo. An assessment of primary endpoints at 6 months has revealed that there is no … Continue reading →

Published on Mar 25, 2012 CHICAGO (AFP) - Patients with advanced heart disease who received an experimental stem cell therapy showed slight improvements in blood pumping but no change in most of their symptoms, United States researchers said on Saturday. Study authors described the trial as the largest to date to examine stem cell therapy as a route to repairing the heart in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction. Previous studies have established that the approach is safe in human patients, but none had examined how well it worked on a variety of heart ailments. The clinical trial involved 92 patients, with an average age of 63, who were picked at random to get either a placebo or a series of injections of their own stem cells, taken from their bone marrow, into damaged areas of their hearts. Read the rest here: Stem cell therapy could repair some heart damage: Study … Continue reading →

SATURDAY, March 24 (HealthDay News) -- An innovative approach using patients' own bone marrow cells to treat chronic heart failure came up short in terms of effectiveness, researchers report. Use of stem cell therapy to repair the slow, steady damage done to heart muscle and improve heart function is safe, but has not been shown to improve most measures of heart function, the study authors said. "For the measures we paid most attention to, we saw no effect, there is no question about that," said researcher Dr. Lemuel Moye, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston. "Ultimately, this is going to pay off handsomely for individuals and for public health in general, but it's going to take years of work," Moye said. "We are the vanguard looking for new promising lines of research." While the hoped-for results didn't materialize, there appeared to be a small improvement in some patients, he said. "When we looked at another commonly used measure of heart function called ejection fraction, or the strength of the heart's pumping, that's where all the action was," Moye noted. It's hard to know which measures of heart function to look at, … Continue reading →

CHICAGO - Patients with advanced heart disease who received an experimental stem cell therapy showed slightly improved heart function, researchers said at a major U.S. cardiology conference on Saturday. The clinical trial involved 92 patients, with an average age of 63, who were picked at random to get either a placebo or a series of injections of their own stem cells, taken from their bone marrow, into damaged areas of their hearts. The patients all had chronic heart disease, along with either heart failure or angina, and their left ventricles were pumping at less than 45 per cent of capacity. All the participants in the study were ineligible for revascularization surgery, such as coronary bypass to restore blood flow, because their heart disease was so advanced. Those who received the stem cell therapy saw a small but significant boost in the heart's ability to pump blood, measuring the increase from the heart's main pumping chamber at 2.7 per cent more than placebo patients. Study authors described the trial as the largest to date to examine stem cell therapy as a route to repairing the heart in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction. "This is the kind … Continue reading →

Public release date: 24-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kristin Wincek kwincek@mhif.org 612-863-0249 Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation CHICAGO Cell therapy may present an option for patients with ischemic heart disease to use their own bone marrow cells to repair the damaged areas of their hearts, and may pave the way for future treatment options, according to the FOCUS trial, which will be presented as a late-breaking clinical trial March 24 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session. This is the largest study to date to look at stem cell therapy, using a patient's own stem cells, to repair damaged areas of the heart in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction. Researchers found that left ventricular ejection fraction (the percentage of blood leaving the heart's main pumping chamber) increased by a small but significant amount (2.7 percent) in patients who received stem cell therapy. The study also revealed that the improvement in ejection fraction correlated with the number of progenitor cells (CD34+ and CD133+) in the bone marrow; and this information will help in evaluating and designing future therapies and trials. "FOCUS is an incredibly important trial, as it has informed … Continue reading →

Public release date: 24-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kristin Wincek kwincek@mhif.org 612-863-0249 Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation CHICAGO Cell therapy may present an option for patients with ischemic heart disease to use their own bone marrow cells to repair the damaged areas of their hearts, and may pave the way for future treatment options, according to the FOCUS trial, which will be presented as a late-breaking clinical trial March 24 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session. This is the largest study to date to look at stem cell therapy, using a patient's own stem cells, to repair damaged areas of the heart in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction. Researchers found that left ventricular ejection fraction (the percentage of blood leaving the heart's main pumping chamber) increased by a small but significant amount (2.7 percent) in patients who received stem cell therapy. The study also revealed that the improvement in ejection fraction correlated with the number of progenitor cells (CD34+ and CD133+) in the bone marrow; and this information will help in evaluating and designing future therapies and trials. "FOCUS is an incredibly important trial, as it has informed … Continue reading →

Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Ear, Nose and Throat Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology Article Date: 23 Mar 2012 - 8:00 PDT email to a friend printer friendly opinions Current Article Ratings: In the March 20 issue of the journal Cancer Cell, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reveal that the mTOR molecular pathway stimulates the activity of the Gli1 protein in the development and progression of esophageal cancer. Senior author of the study, Mien-Chie Hung, Ph.D., vice president for basic research, professor and chair of MD Anderson's Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, explained: Crosstalk between these two pathways is a challenge, but our experiments showed a combination of the mTOR inhibitor RAD-001 (Afinitor) and the Hedgehog inhibitor GDC-0449 (Erivedge) steeply reduced the tumor burden in a mouse model of esophageal adenocarcinoma." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved both drugs for use in other types of cancer. After examining 107 tissue samples of human esophageal cancer, the researchers found that 87 (81.3%) had a marker of Gli1 activated by Hedgehog and 80 (74.8%) had a marker of mTOR promotion of Gli1. According to the researchers less than 20% of individuals … Continue reading →

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ)One of the last search and rescue dogs from 9/11 lives here in Maryland. She was suffering from a painful condition until her owner took action with breakthrough technology. Mary Bubala has the story. Red is a search and rescue dog from Annapolis, but has traveled across the country. Her missions include Hurricane Katrina, the La Plata tornadoes and the Pentagon after 9/11. They credit them with finding 70 percent of the human remains so that helped a whole lot of those families actually get closure, said Heather Roche, Reds owner. Sept. 11 was Reds first search. Today shes one of the last 9/11 search and rescue dogs still alive. She retired last summer due to severe arthritis. It would be nice if her arthritis, if she felt better, that she could do those kinds of things that she misses, Reds owner said while fighting back tears. Alright I am going to cry. Roche did some research and found an animal hospital in northern Virginia that uses breakthrough stem cell therapy to treat arthritis in dogs. The Burke Animal Clinic is one of just a few across the country that use stem cell therapy. The vet harvests 1 … Continue reading →

POWAY, CA--(Marketwire -03/22/12)- Vet-Stem announced today the introduction of StemInsure. The StemInsure service provides banked stem cells that can be grown to supply a lifetime of stem cell therapy for dogs. One fat collection, in conjunction with another anesthetized procedure, gives access to a lifetime of stem cells. Vet-Stem has trained over 3,500 veterinarians, provided stem cells for over 8,000 animals in the US and Canada and currently banks more than 25,000 doses for future therapeutic use. Many veterinarians and their clients have requested a method to collect and store stem cells when a dog is young, before it needs the regenerative cells for therapy. StemInsure was designed to meet this need. A Vet-Stem credentialed veterinarian can collect as little as 5 grams of fat (about the size of a grape) from a dog or puppy during an anesthetized procedure. Many veterinarians and owners are electing to do this fat collection in conjunction with a spay or neuter. This small amount of fat is processed and stem cells are cryopreserved in Vet-Stem's state-of-the-art facility. The cells can be cultured in the future to provide enough stem cells to last for the lifetime of the dog. More information can be found … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire -03/21/12)- Entest BioMedical Inc. (OTCQB: ENTB.PK - News) (Pinksheets: ENTB.PK - News) Entest BioMedical Inc. (OTCQB: ENTB.PK - News) (Pinksheets: ENTB.PK - News) and RenovoCyte LLC announced they have treated 8 canine patients of a 10 dog pilot study utilizing Canine Endometrial Regenerative Cells (CERC) licensed from Medistem Inc. (Pinksheets: MEDS.PK - News) in the treatment of canine osteoarthritis. Previously, Entest announced the treatment of the first canine patient on November 18, 2011. Since that time Entest's McDonald Animal Hospital has treated 8 dogs in its 10 Dog Pilot Study with RenovoCyte. To date, all of the dogs participating in this study have shown dramatic improvement in their mobility and apparent reduction of pain. Dr. Greg McDonald, Chief Veterinarian at McDonald Animal Hospital, said, "50 million CERC stem cells have been injected intravenously into eight dogs. Each dog selected for this study showed signs of arthritis. Follow-up blood tests, urinalysis and physical exams are now being scheduled for the patients that have already been treated. So far, all these canine patients have shown improvement." Entest BioMedical Chairman David Koos stated, "Osteoarthritis is considered one of the most common causes of lameness in dogs, occurring in up to … Continue reading →