About cell therapy Cell therapy is a new official direction in medicine, based on the use of regenerative potential of the adult stem cells, aimed at the treatment of a variety of serious diseases, rehabilitation of patients after injuries and fighting with the premature signs of aging. Stem cells are also considered to be the promising biological material for the creation of the prosthetic heart valves, blood vessels, trachea, they are also used as the unique biofiller for the reconstitution of bone defects and other purposes of the plastic and reconstructive surgery. The scientists explain the regenerative mechanism of action of stem cells both by their ability to transform into the cells of blood, liver, myocardium, bone, cartilage or nervous tissue and thus restore damaged organs and also by the reovery of the functional activity of the other cells (through the so-called paracrine type) by means of the production of a variety of growth factors. For clinical purposes, in most cases stem cells are obtained from the bone marrow and cord blood, it is also known that the amount of stem cells, sufficient for treatment, can be isolated from the peripheral blood of an adult person, but after pre-stimulation of … Continue reading →

TIME Health Research Stem-Cell Researchers Make Breakthrough in Type 1 Diabetes Treatment "We are now just one pre-clinical step away from the finish line" Researchers have made a major breakthrough in finding a treatment for type 1 diabetes, Harvard University announced Thursday. For the first time, scientists were able to create insulin-producing beta cells using human embryonic stem cells, at a volume required for cell transplantation and pharmaceutical use. Type 1 is the variety of the metabolic disease that one is born withan autoimmune condition in which the body destroys the beta cells that produce insulin, a hormone that regulates glucose and helps the body process sugar. We are now just one pre-clinical step away from the finish line, said Doug Melton, who led the research and who has worked toward finding a cure for diabetes since his son was diagnosed as an infant 23 years ago. That final step is finding a way to protect the 150 million beta cells needed to for transplant in the treatment of each patient from their immune systems, which automatically attack those cells. Melton is working with other researchers to develop a device for such protection. Tests of a device in mice have … Continue reading →

Stem cell researchers at Harvard University have devised a method for creating large quantities of human insulin-producing beta cells, which could soon lead to a cure for type 1 diabetes as well as a new treatment for type 2 diabetes. The cells are currently being trialled in animals and non-human primates with hopes human trials could take place in the near future.. The researchers built a three-dimensional cell culture system using 500 ml spinner flasks containing undifferentiated human pluripotent stem cells. The flasks were placed on a magnetic stirrer and the cells were fed special proteins over a 33-day period. After further treatment and imaging, the insulin-secreting stem-cell-derived- cells were transplanted into diabetic mice, which had a higher survival rate and lower blood glucose level than the control group under three different scenarios. The cells produced were found to mimic the function of human islets (clusters of cells scattered throughout the pancreas), which are crucial in regulating blood sugar. Type 1 diabetics lack the beta cells that monitor blood sugar levels and release insulin to normalize it because their immune system attacks and destroys these cells. Transplanted beta cells grown in a lab may provide a long-term solution, but until … Continue reading →