Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise STRATFORD Paola Leone, PhD, the director of the Cell and Gene Therapy Center and a professor of Cell Biology at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM), has been awarded a three-year, $477,000 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to develop a stem cell-based therapy for Canavan disease, a rare but devastating neurological disorder in children that typically takes a childs life by age 10. Canavan disease is a fatal, inherited disease caused by a mutation in the aspartaocylase gene, Dr. Leone explained. The disease is characterized by progressive and severe brain atrophy that manifests in delayed development, developmental regression, microcephaly, spasticity, seizures, visual impairment and short life expectancy. There, currently, is no treatment or cure for Canavan disease. Under Dr. Leones direction, a team of RowanSOM researchers and students will examine the potential of stem cells for the treatment of Canavan disease in an animal model. This new study will build on the research teams preliminary data that demonstrated the successful engraftment of stem cells in animal models. Our project will generate pre-clinical data to support the development of a stem-cell based therapy for Canavan … Continue reading →

21 hours ago A new study led by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the University of California (UC), San Diego School of Medicine shows that certain stem cell culture methods are associated with increased DNA mutations. The study points researchers toward safer and more robust methods of growing stem cells to treat disease and injury. "This is about quality control; we're making sure these cells are safe and effective," said Jeanne Loring, a professor of developmental neurobiology at TSRI and senior author of the study with Louise Laurent, assistant professor at UC San Diego. Laurent added, "The processes used to maintain and expand stem cell cultures for cell replacement therapies needs to be improved, and the resulting cells carefully tested before use." The findings were published February 25 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. Growing Stem Cells Because these human stem cells, called "pluripotent stem cells," can differentiate into many types of cells, they could be key to reversing degenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, or repairing injured tissue, such as cardiac muscle after a heart attack. Stem cells are relatively rare in the body, however, so researchers must culture them in dishes. While all cells run … Continue reading →