Can brain damage caused during birth be ever reversed? Is it possible to repair the damaged brain tissues among children, who suffer from Cerebral Palsy (CP)? So far, the treatment option for CP is to manage the symptoms of the ailment. However, in recent times, scientists and researchers worldwide have started to explore stem cell therapy as a potential treatment option for CP patients. Can stem cells reverse the brain damage, which is the sole cause for CP among children? Our research on over 100 CP patients and stem cell therapy has been very encouraging. The patients, who underwent stem cell therapy, have displayed huge improvement in CP symptoms, says Professor and Head of Neurosurgery, LTM Medical College, Mumbai, Alok Sharma. The neurosurgeon, who is taking part in an international conference on CP in Hyderabad this weekend, said that doctors are not concentrating on treating the brain damage. The current treatment options available to help patients are only to mange symptoms and nobody tries to repair the underlying damage to the brain tissue. Therefore, developing a standard therapeutic approach for CP through stem cells is the need of the hour, he said. The results from the stem cell therapy on … Continue reading →

10.10.2014 - (idw) Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft From 9-10 October 2014 around 200 scientists met at the Leipzig Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology for the ninth Fraunhofer Life Science Symposium. Held every two years, this year the event focused on the theme "Medicinal Cell Products and Stem Cells for Medicinal Applications". In recent years biomedical research has revealed numerous promising new approaches for the prevention and treatment of serious illnesses. The issue of stem cells plays a key role in this. With the symposium the Fraunhofer IZI offers international scientists a platform on which they can discuss the latest developments in this field. The scientific program encompasses three major subject areas: production, manufacture and application. In the first section a paper presented by Sarah Ferber (Centre for Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel) was one major point of interest: "Reprogramming the endocrine pancreas; autologous cell replacement therapy for diabetic patients". She spoke about the possibilities for transforming liver cells into insulin-producing cells. In the future this method could possibly be used to help patients with type 1 diabetes, where the misdirected immune system destroys the body's own insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. The … Continue reading →