PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 14-Oct-2014 Contact: Greg Williams newsmedia@mssm.edu 212-241-9200 The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine @mountsinainyc A Mount Sinai-led research team has discovered a new kind of stem cell that can become either a liver cell or a cell that lines liver blood vessels, according to a study published today in the journal Stem Cell Reports. The existence of such a cell type contradicts current theory on how organs arise from cell layers in the embryo, and may hold clues to origins of, and future treatment for, liver cancer. Thanks to stem cells, humans develop from a single cell into a complex being made up of more than 200 cell types. The original, single human stem cell, the fertilized embryo, has the potential to develop into every kind of human cell. Stem cells multiply (proliferate) and specialize (differentiate) until millions of functional cells result, including liver cells (hepatocytes), blood vessel cells (endothelial cells), muscle cells, bone cells, etc. In the womb, the human embryo early on becomes three "germ" layers of stem cells the endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm. The long-held consensus was that the endoderm goes on to form the liver and other gut organs; the … Continue reading →

A new study has revealed that stem cell treatment may be helpful in treating blindness.According to the study, a pioneering treatment for progressive blindness has been proved safe three years after patients were injected with stem cells derived from human embryos. The researchers said that more than half of the patients with macular degeneration where the eye's light-sensitive cells are progressively destroyed experienced a significant improvement in their eyesight, but none showed any adverse effects due directly to the transplant of the embryonic cells. Doctors injected the stem cells into the eyes of 18 patients nine with Stargardt's macular dystrophy and nine with dry, age-related macular degeneration with the ultimate aim of repairing damaged photoreceptors in the retina at the back of the eye. It was found that about half of the patients had an improvement in visual acuity of three lines or more, which corresponds to a doubling of the visual angle, and is generally accepted as clinically significant.Follow-up testing found that 10 out of the 18 patients experienced substantial improvements in how well they could see. The study was published in the journal The Lancet. More: Stem cell treatment may harbor blindness cure, says study … Continue reading →

Elderly people who received treatment had their vision improved, study says Children who suffer from common form of blindness in young also benefited Some can now do things like read their watch and also work on a computer Expert said even small improvements are 'huge difference to quality of life' Critics say it's wrong to plunder unborn child for spare parts for science By Fiona Macrae Science Correspondent Published: 18:28 EST, 14 October 2014 | Updated: 02:30 EST, 15 October 2014 A revolutionary stem cell jab has restored the gift of sight, research suggests. Men and women with severe age-related macular degeneration, the most common form of blindness in the elderly, are able to see better after having tens of thousands of embryonic stem cells injected into the back of their eye. Children with Stargardts disease, the main cause of blindness in the young, have also benefited. Researcher Robert Lanza said that one patient who underwent the trial even 'went to the mall for the first time' (file photo) Some can now do things most of us take for granted like reading their watch or working on a computer. But one man is able to ride horses again and one … Continue reading →

Published: 1:48PM Wednesday October 15, 2014 Source: AP An experimental treatment for blindness that uses embryonic stem cells appears to be safe, and it improved vision in more than half of the patients who got it. Researchers followed 18 patients for up to three years after treatment. The studies are the first to show safety of an embryonic stem cell treatment in humans for such a long period. "It's a wonderful first step but it doesn't prove that (stem cells) work," said Chris Mason, chair of regenerative medicine at University College London, who was not part of the research. He said it was encouraging the studies proved the treatment is safe and dispelled fears about stem cells promoting tumour growth. Embryonic stem cells, which are recovered from embryos, can become any cell in the body. They are considered controversial by some because they involve destroying an embryo and some critics say adult stem cells, which are derived from tissue samples, should be used instead. Scientists have long thought about transforming them into specific types of cells to help treat various diseases. In the new research, scientists turned stem cells into retinal cells to treat people with macular degeneration or Stargardt's … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise (New York, NY Oct. 14, 2014) A Mount Sinai-led research team has discovered a new kind of stem cell that can become either a liver cell or a cell that lines liver blood vessels, according to a study published today in the journal Stem Cell Reports. The existence of such a cell type contradicts current theory on how organs arise from cell layers in the embryo, and may hold clues to origins of, and future treatment for, liver cancer. Thanks to stem cells, humans develop from a single cell into a complex being made up of more than 200 cell types. The original, single human stem cell, the fertilized embryo, has the potential to develop into every kind of human cell. Stem cells multiply (proliferate) and specialize (differentiate) until millions of functional cells result, including liver cells (hepatocytes), blood vessel cells (endothelial cells), muscle cells, bone cells, etc. In the womb, the human embryo early on becomes three germ layers of stem cells the endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm. The long-held consensus was that the endoderm goes on to form the liver and other gut organs; the mesoderm the heart, muscles and blood … Continue reading →