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Vast Majority of Life-Saving Cord Blood Sits Unused

Posted: Published on December 5th, 2014

High costs keep patients from using stem cells harvested from umbilical cords Scientists are studying ways to treat HIV, cerebral palsy and other diseases using umbilical cord blood, although little of the collected blood will actually be used. Credit:Banc de Sang via flickr Youd think doctors and patients would be clamoring for cells so versatile they could help reboot a body suffering from everything from leukemia to diabetes. But a new report shows that an important source of these stem cellsdiscarded umbilical cordsis rarely used because of high costs and the risk of failure. Stem cells drawn from newborns umbilical cord blood are sometimes used to treat medical conditions, especially bone and blood cancers like multiple myeloma or lymphoma by replacing dysfunctional blood-producing cells in bone marrow. Generally the diseased cells are destroyed with chemotherapy and irradiation. Then new stem cells are transplanted into the patient to restore function. Cord blood stem cells are an alternative to bone marrow transplants and peripheral blood transplants, in which stem cells are gathered from the blood stream. Cord blood tends to integrate better with the body and it is easier to find a suitable donor than the alternatives. Yet less than 3 percent … Continue reading →

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Indigenous medicine a fusion of ritual and remedy

Posted: Published on December 5th, 2014

12 hours ago by Graham Jones The smoke from burning emu bush was used by Indigenous healers for a number of different rituals. Tony Rodd/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA In traditional Indigenous Australian society, healers used plants in tandem with precise ritual. Thousands of years later, we're beginning to understand the science underlying these medicines. A variety of plant species were used in "smoking ceremonies", where the aim was usually to produce a wet steamy smoke. This was inhaled or exposed to certain body parts as part of a healing ceremony. Plants could also be made into a poultice using animal fats for topical treatment of a variety of skin ailments. Others were chewed, with some kept in a bolus in the mouth over many hours. Australia has an abundance of endemic aromatic plants which yield high levels of essential oil. Even though Indigenous Australians didn't have the technology to extract essential oils via hydrodistillation, particular properties of aromatic plants in various healing methods, such as smoking ceremonies, were widely used. Importantly, Aborigines were hunter gatherers not cultivators so there was little intentional interference with natural selection of native plants. The extreme chemovariability within and between species of aromatic Australian plants must … Continue reading →

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Post weight-loss surgery on the rise

Posted: Published on December 5th, 2014

Abu Dhabi: An increased focus on healthier lifestyles and the greater number of hospitals offering bariatric (weight-loss) surgeries in the capital has resulted in a greater demand for related cosmetic procedures. While weight loss itself helps improve the patients health, these cosmetic procedures are often essential to help improve the patients self-image and confidence levels, medical professionals told Gulf News. We know that a successful weight-loss surgery greatly improves patients chances of keeping at bay diabetes and risk of other lifestyle diseases. But mental wellbeing is dependent very much on how the patients perceive themselves, and this is where cosmetic procedures come in, said Dr Tim Wolter, head of aesthetic and plastic surgery at multi-specialty hospital, Healthpoint Abu Dhabi. The excess skin that remains after a bariatric procedure can also impinge on the patients private lives, added Dr Jeffrey Fairley, plastic surgery consultant at Al Noor Hospital. As more and more patients opt for weight-loss procedures to improve their lives, we have also seen an exponential increase over the last decade in the number of people who come in for related cosmetic procedures. In fact, 50 per cent of the cosmetic surgeries we perform at our hospital are post-weight-loss operations, … Continue reading →

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Stem Cell Therapy | stem cells osteoarthritis independent – Video

Posted: Published on December 5th, 2014

Stem Cell Therapy | stem cells osteoarthritis independent http://www.arthritistreatmentcenter.com On the flip side, another study refutes the study I commented on the other day regarding stem cells from osteoarthritis patients Chondrogenic Potential... By: Nathan Wei … Continue reading →

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Predicting the storm: Can computer models improve stem cell transplantation?

Posted: Published on December 5th, 2014

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 4-Dec-2014 Contact: John Wallace wallacej@vcu.edu 804-628-1550 Virginia Commonwealth University @vcunews Is the human immune system similar to the weather, a seemingly random yet dynamical system that can be modeled based on past conditions to predict future states? Scientists at VCU Massey Cancer Center's award-winning Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program believe it is, and they recently published several studies that support the possibility of using next-generation DNA sequencing and mathematical modeling to not only understand the variability observed in clinical outcomes of stem cell transplantation, but also to provide a theoretical framework to make transplantation a possibility for more patients who do not have a related donor. Despite efforts to match patients with genetically similar donors, it is still nearly impossible to predict whether a stem cell transplant recipient will develop potentially fatal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a condition where the donor's immune system attacks the recipient's body. Two studies recently published by the online journal Frontiers in Immunology explored data obtained from the whole exome sequencing of nine donor-recipient pairs (DRPs) and found that it could be possible to predict which patients are at greatest risk for developing GVHD and, therefore, in the future tailor immune suppression therapies … Continue reading →

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1) My Journey with Ulcerative Colitis and Pouchitis. (Short Version) – Video

Posted: Published on December 5th, 2014

1) My Journey with Ulcerative Colitis and Pouchitis. (Short Version) A short video describing my journey. The animation came By: Small Bowel and Large Bowel Surgery https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H5vuQzp4As Total Colectomy... By: Living with Pouchitis and Digestive Disorders … Continue reading →

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My story Crohns & Ulcerative Colitis week 2014 – Video

Posted: Published on December 5th, 2014

My story Crohns Ulcerative Colitis week 2014 The week of December 1-7 is Crohns and Ulcerative Colitis awareness week. This is my story, being a young women with no colon. "No colon Still Rollin, Young,... By: Katie Christie … Continue reading →

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Chris Henry on comeback after stroke

Posted: Published on December 5th, 2014

Ireland flanker Chris Henry admits he was terrified after suffering a stroke last month. A blocked blood vessel in the 30-year-old's brain caused him to have a Transient Ischaemic Attack, or mini stroke, hours before Ireland beat South Africa 29-15 on November 8. Ulster's Henry was pulled out of the Test against the Springboks and at first it was thought he had suffered a severe migraine. But after four days of treatment at the St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin, the true cause was confirmed. It was found he had a hole in his heart, which led to the mini stroke and left Henry fearing the worst. "It's been a scary few weeks to be honest but I feel very lucky that I was in that environment and getting such incredible medical expertise so quickly," he told Ulster's official website. "They got to the bottom of things swiftly and I think that's the most important thing; when something like that happens, the unknown is the scary thing and to have clarity on what was going on and having the problem fixed so quickly -- for me, I feel very lucky." Henry is now on the comeback trail after having surgery last … Continue reading →

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Novartis Posts Phase 3 Data For Gilenya In MS

Posted: Published on December 5th, 2014

By Estel Grace Masangkay Novartis reported the latest findings from the Phase 3 trial of its drug Gilenya (fingolimod) in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), a difficult form of multiple sclerosis. Gilenya is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as first-line treatment for relapsing forms of MS in adult patients. The drug is approved in the EU for the treatment of highly active relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). Gilenya is designed to target the focal and diffuse central nervous system (CNS) damage that is behind the loss of function in the disease. Its mechanism of action prevents cells which drive focal inflammation (known as peripheral action) while reducing diffuse damage by hindering the activation of harmful cells in the CNS. Addressing both focal and diffuse damage in relapsing MS is critical to preserving a patients physical and cognitive function. Earlier this year, Novartis announced positive results for the drug showing its efficacy across key measures of MS disease activity. However, the company reported disappointing results for the Phase 3 INFORMS study of Gilenya in PPMS. Data showed no significant difference between fingolimod and placebo on a combination of MS disability measures. The drugs safety profile was reported to be … Continue reading →

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Stem cell research PS – Video

Posted: Published on December 5th, 2014

Stem cell research PS By: Afrakomah Danko … Continue reading →

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