Chiesi's Holoclar, the first stem-cell therapy to be cleared by European regulators, has received a green light for use on the NHS in England and Wales to treat a rare sight condition. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has now published final guidelines backing Holoclar as an option to treat adults with moderate to severe limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) after eye burns. However, the guidelines state the therapy can only be used to treat one eye and in those who have already had a conjunctival limbal autograft, or there is not enough tissue for a conjunctival limbal autograft or it is contraindicated. Holoclar is now also recommended in adults with moderate to severe LSCD after eye burns for treating both eyes only in the context of research, and when there is not enough tissue for a conjunctival limbal autograft. LSCD is a seriously debilitating condition affecting one or both eyes, most commonly from chemical or physical ocular burns. If left untreated, it can cause chronic pain, burning, photophobia, inflammation, corneal neovascularisation, stromal scarring and the reduction or complete loss of vision. Holoclar uses a patients own stem cells to regenerate and repair damaged eye tissue and is … Continue reading →

Stem cell therapy has been used for decades in Europe, and in the United States has been used by Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods, and many NFL players and other professional athletes. Although stem cells were initially reserved for the ultra wealthy, they have since become both affordable and accessible; and many patients are opting for them over lengthy and expensive knee and shoulder surgeries. One in 400 total knee replacements result in fatal infection, and those that do not end up in infection still prove to have an extensive recovery time. Stem cell therapy is safe and quick, and people can feel results in as little as one week. Further, the company Springs Integrated Health utilizes for stem cells has given more than 50,000 injections with zero side effects and zero adverse reactions. Springs Integrated Health: 1712 W Uintah St., Colorado Springs. To learn more, call (719) 445-6077 or visit springsintegratedhealth.com Read more: WATCH: Springs Integrated Health explains the use of stem cell ... - Colorado Springs Gazette … Continue reading →

Recently Dr Pradeep V Mahajan was honoured with Paris Appreciation Awards, 2017 for Excellence in stem cell therapy. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of StemRx Bioscience Solutions Pvt Ltd. In an interview with ETHealthworld, Dr Mahajan talks about the latest advancements in stem cell therapy and where it stands in healthcare system today. Edited excerpts : How well informed are the doctors today about the cellular therapy? Is it time consuming? Where does cellular therapy stand in the Indian Healthcare system today? For more than four decades, medical fraternity has knowledge about stem cell science and its potential therapeutic applications. However, earlier, clinicians were commonly aware of hematopoietic stem cell therapy, but were relatively uninformed about the advantages of mesenchymal stem cells. This could be attributed to the medical course syllabus which initially did not include topics specifically on cellular therapy. Despite the technological advances that medical science is witnessing, it is not possible at present to predict the exact time when cellular therapy and regenerative medicine will replace existing forms of pharmacological and surgical treatments. Nonetheless, there is increasing awareness amongst clinicians who now more receptive to and are advising cell based therapy as an effective therapeutic … Continue reading →

Chiesi made history two years ago when it claimed the first approval in Europe for a stem cell therapy, and can now celebrate decision by NICE to recommend its product for routine use in England and Wales. The therapy - called Holoclar - was approved in 2015 for adults with moderate to severe limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) caused by physical or chemical burns to the eyes. LSCD is a rare condition that can lead to blindness, and affects just 3.3 out of 100,000 people in the EU. Corneal cell renewal and repair are dependent upon the cells present in the limbus, which is found in a small area of the eye between the cornea and the conjunctiva. Burns to the eye can destroy the limbus, causing a deficiency of limbal cells. If this happens, the cornea is covered by a different epithelium following an invasion of cells from the conjunctiva. This process renders the cornea opaque and results in subsequent loss of vision, and conventional corneal transplant is ineffective in these cases. Holoclar takes the form of a sheet of corneal epithelial cells, containing the patient's own stem cells, that can be used to regenerate and repair damaged eye … Continue reading →

W hen doctors talk about a new leukemia drug from Novartis, they ooze enthusiasm, using words like breakthrough, revolutionary, anda watershed moment. But when they think about how much the therapy is likely to cost, their tone turns alarmist. Its going to cost a fortune, said Dr. Ivan Borrello at Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore. advertisement From what were hearing, this will be a quantum leap more expensive than other cancer drugs, said Leonard Saltz, chief of gastrointestinal oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Switzerland-based Novartis hasnt announced a price for the medicine, but British health authorities have said a price of$649,000for a one-time treatment would be justified given the significant benefits. The cancer therapy was unanimously approved by a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee in July, and its approval seemsall but certain. The treatment, CTL019, belongs to a new class of medications called CAR-T cell therapies, which involve harvesting patients immune cells and genetically altering them to kill cancer. Its been tested in patients whose leukemia has relapsed in spite of the best chemotherapy or a bone-marrow transplant. The prognosis for these patients is normally bleak.But in a clinical trial,83 … Continue reading →