Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

Jan. 10, 2014 Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most frequent cause of blindness. Scientists at the Department of Ophthalmology at the Bonn University Hospital and from the Neural Stem Cell Institute in New York (USA) have developed a method for using stem cells to replace cells in the eye destroyed by AMD. The implants survived in rabbit eyes for several weeks. Additional research is needed for clinical application. The results are now presented in the journal "Stem Cell Reports." About four and a half million people in Germany suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It is associated with a gradual loss of visual acuity and the ability to read or drive a car can be lost. The center of the field of vision is blurry, as if covered by a veil. This is caused by damage to a cell layer under the retina, known as the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). It coordinates the metabolism and function of the sensory cells in the eye. Inflammatory processes in this layer are associated with AMD and "metabolic waste" is less efficiently recycled. To date, there is no cure for AMD; treatments can only relieve the symptoms. Scientists from the Bonn University Department … Continue reading →

Jan. 10, 2014 A team of engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has created a process to improve the creation of synthetic neural stem cells for use in central nervous system research. The process, outlined in a paper published in Stem Cells last month, will improve the state of the art in the creation of synthetic neural stem cells for use in central nervous system research. Randolph Ashton Human pluripotent stem cells have been used to reproduce nervous-system cells for use in the study and treatment of spinal cord injuries and of diseases such as Parkinson's and Huntington's. Currently, most stem cells used in research have been cultured on mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), which require a high level of expertise to prepare. The expertise required has made scalability a problem, as there can be slight differences in the cells used from laboratory to laboratory, and the cells maintained on MEFs are also undesirable for clinical applications. Removing the high level of required skill and thereby increasing the translatability of stem cell technology is one of the main reasons why Randolph Ashton, a UW-Madison assistant professor of biomedical engineering and co-author of the paper, wanted to create a new protocol. Rather … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 9-Jan-2014 Contact: Robert Miranda cogcomm@aol.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair Putnam Valley, NY. (Jan. 9, 2014) Using skin-derived stem cells (SDSCs) and a previously developed collagen tube designed to successfully bridge gaps in injured nerves in rat models, the research team in Milan, Italy that established and tested the procedure has successfully rescued peripheral nerves in the upper arms of a patient suffering peripheral nerve damage who would have otherwise had to undergo amputations. The study will be published in a future issue of Cell Transplantation but is currently freely available on-line as an unedited early e-pub at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-ct1096. "Peripheral nerve repair with satisfactory functional recovery remains a great surgical challenge, especially for severe nerve injuries resulting in extended nerve defects," said study corresponding author Dr. Yvan Torrente, of the Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation at the University of Milan. "However, we hypothesized that the combination of autologous (self-donated) SDSCs placed in collagen tubes to bridge gaps in the damaged nerves would restore the continuity of injured nerves and save from amputation the upper arms of a patient with poly-injury to motor and sensory nerves." Although autologous nerve grafting has been the … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 8-Jan-2014 Contact: David McKeon DMckeon@nyscf.org 212-365-7440 New York Stem Cell Foundation NEW YORK, NY (January 8, 2014) Scientists at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute in collaboration with scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) successfully generated a stem cell model of familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). Using this stem cell model, researchers identified fourteen genes that may be implicated in the disease and one gene in particular that shows the importance that inflammation may play in the brain of Alzheimer's patients. In this study, published today in PLOS ONE, the team of scientists produced stem cells and neural precursor cells (NPCs), representing early neural progenitor cells that build the brain, from patients with severe early-onset AD with mutations in the Presenilin 1 (PSEN1) gene. These NPCs had elevated Abeta42/Abeta40 ratios, indicating elevation of the form of amyloid found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. These levels were greater than those in adult cells that did not have the PSEN1mutation. This elevated ratio showed that these NPCs grown in the petri dish were accurately reflecting the cells in the brains of FAD patients. "Our ability to accurately recapitulate the disease in … Continue reading →

New York, NY (PRWEB) January 08, 2014 A stem cell model of familial Alzheimers disease (FAD) was successfully generated, allowing researchers to identify 14 genes potentially implicated in the disease. One gene in particular demonstrates the important role inflammation may play in the brain of Alzheimers patients. The study was completed by scientists at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute in collaboration with scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) and funded in part by the Cure Alzheimers Fund(CAF). In the study published today in PLOS ONE, a team of scientists produced stem cells and neural precursor cells (NPCs), representing early neural progenitor cells that build the brain from patients with severe early-onset AD with mutations in the Presenilin 1 (PSEN1) gene. These NPCs had elevated Abeta42/Abeta40 ratios, indicating elevation of the form of amyloid found in the brains of Alzheimers patients. These levels were greater than those in adult cells that did not have the PSEN1 mutation. This elevated ratio shows that the NPCs grown in the petri dish accurately reflected the cells in the brains of FAD patients. "The gene expression profile from the familial Alzheimers stem cells points to inflammation, … Continue reading →

New York, Jan 9 : Using a new stem cell model, researchers have identified 14 genes that may be implicated in familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). One gene in particular shows the importance that inflammation may play in the brain of Alzheimer's patients, said a study. Scientists at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) research institute, in collaboration with scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), have successfully generated a stem cell model of FAD. "These genes provide us with new targets to help elucidate the cause of sporadic forms of the disease as well provide targets for the discovery of new drugs," said Susan L. Solomon, chief executive officer of the New York Stem Cell Foundation. The team of scientists produced stem cells and neural precursor cells (NPCs), representing early cells that build the brain, from patients with severe early-onset Alzheimer's with mutations in the Presenilin 1 (PSEN1) gene, said the study that appeared in the journal PLOS ONE. "The gene expression profile from stem cells points to inflammation which is especially exciting because we would not usually associate inflammation with this particular Alzheimer's gene," added Sam Gandy, director of the centre for cognitive health … Continue reading →

Jan. 7, 2014 Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have gained new insight into how both early embryonic cells and embryonic stem cells are directed into becoming specialized cell types, like pancreatic and liver cells. The results have just been published in the scientific journal eLife. This latest research from the Danish Stem Cell Center (Danstem) at the University of Copenhagen, helps identify how stem cells create so called pathways and roads supporting their own specialization. This understanding is an important step towards stem cell-based cell therapies for conditions like diabetes and liver diseases. "The new insight that we have gained into the impact of the physical environment on cell development is highly valuable," says Professor Joshua Brickman from DanStem, "It enables us to create the optimal physical environment in the laboratory for stem cells and progenitor cells to develop into specific, mature cells." Developing cells constantly move and while moving around, they organize and build a physical environment very much like a small city with pathways and roads. The new research published in the scientific journal eLife shows two important things. Firstly the embryonic cells receive signals from other cells that actually instruct them in how to organize and … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Jan-2014 Contact: Joshua Brickmann joshua.brickman@sund.ku.dk 45-51-68-04-38 University of Copenhagen Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have gained new insight into how both early embryonic cells and embryonic stem cells are directed into becoming specialised cell types, like pancreatic and liver cells. The results have just been published in the scientific journal eLife. This latest research from the Danish Stem Cell Center (Danstem) at the University of Copenhagen, helps identify how stem cells create so called pathways and roads supporting their own specialisation. This understanding is an important step towards stem cell-based cell therapies for conditions like diabetes and liver diseases. "The new insight that we have gained into the impact of the physical environment on cell development is highly valuable," says Professor Joshua Brickman from DanStem, "It enables us to create the optimal physical environment in the laboratory for stem cells and progenitor cells to develop into specific, mature cells." On the road Developing cells constantly move and while moving around, they organise and build a physical environment very much like a small city with pathways and roads. The new research published in the scientific journal eLife shows two important things. Firstly the embryonic cells receive signals … Continue reading →

Stem cell research has historically been a controversial topic in modern science, provoking human rights activists to split sides, and now involving legal disparities among patent owners. Reports describe a new legal suit against the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has a patent on stem cells derived from human embryos, has been brought on by the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog in what Consumer Watchdog claims is research that is too similar to earlier work and therefore undeserved to be owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Part of the debate centers around the very incendiary core of the research into stem cells to begin with. The idea that naturally occurring material -- genetic material in this case -- can be patented doesn't sit right with some, and furthermore some say complicates research costs and hinders research altogether. And despite the claims that patenting stem cell work hinders research, part of the issue is the money that would go to the organization that patents the work on the stem cells then used in medical treatments -- ones that are increasing in usage for spinal cord and other fatal disease treatments. Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2013 that isolated human … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Jan-2014 Contact: David McKeon DMckeon@nyscf.org 212-365-7440 New York Stem Cell Foundation NEW YORK, NY (January 7, 2014) Scientists at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute, working in collaboration with scientists from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), for the first time generated induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells lines from non-cryoprotected brain tissue of patients with Alzheimer's disease. These new stem cell lines will allow researchers to "turn back the clock" and observe how Alzheimer's develops in the brain, potentially revealing the onset of the disease at a cellular level long before any symptoms associated with Alzheimer's are displayed. These reconstituted Alzheimer's cells will also provide a platform for drug testing on cells from patients that were definitively diagnosed with the disease. Until now, the only available method to definitively diagnose Alzheimer's disease that has been available to researchers is examining the brain of deceased patients. This discovery will permit scientists for the first time to compare "live" brain cells from Alzheimer's patients to the brain cells of other non-Alzheimer's patients. NYSCF scientists successfully produced the iPS cells from frozen tissue samples stored for up to eleven years at the New York Brain Bank at Columbia … Continue reading →