Heather Burke - Stem Cell Therapy for treating her Multiple Sclerosis Heather Burke, a 26-year-old mother of two is about to embark on a medical journey that could stop her multiple sclerosis in its tracks. The disease, which a... By: DIAD0NU … Continue reading →

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have developed a new substance which could simplify the manufacture of cell therapy in the pioneering world of regenerative medicine. Cell therapy is an exciting and rapidly developing area of medicine in which stem cells have the potential to repair human tissue and maintain organ function in chronic disease and age-related illnesses. But a major problem with translating current successful research into actual products and treatments is how to mass-produce such a complex living material. There are two distinct phases in the production of stem cell products; proliferation (making enough cells to form large tissue) and differentiation (turning the basic stem cells into functional cells). The material environment required for these two phases are different and up to now a single substance that does both jobs has not been available. Now a multi-disciplinary team of researchers at Nottingham has created a new stem cell micro-environment which they have found has allowed both the self-renewal of cells and then their evolution into cardiomyocyte (heart) cells. The material is a hydrogel containing two polymers -- an alginate-rich environment which allows proliferation of cells with a simple chemical switch to render the environment collagen-rich when the cell … Continue reading →

Friedenstein AJ, Chailakhjan RK, Lalykina KS: The development of fibroblast colonies in monolayer cultures of guinea-pig bone marrow and spleen cells. Cell Tissue Kinet 1970, 3:393-403. PubMedAbstract Dominici M, Le Blanc K, Mueller I, Slaper-Cortenbach I, Marini FC, Krause DS, et al.: Minimal criteria for defining multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells: the International society for cellular therapy position statement. Cytotherapy 2006, 8:315-317. PubMedAbstract | PublisherFullText Mohseny AB, Xiao W, Carvalho R, Spaink HP, Hogendoorn PC, Cleton-Jansen AM: An osteosarcoma zebrafish model implicates Mmp-19 and Ets-1 as well as reduced host immune response in angiogenesis and migration. J Pathol 2012, 227:245-253. PubMedAbstract | PublisherFullText Mohseny AB, Szuhai K, Romeo S, Buddingh EP, Briaire-De BI, De JD, et al.: Osteosarcoma originates from mesenchymal stem cells in consequence of aneuploidization and genomic loss of Cdkn2. J Pathol 2009, 219:294-305. PubMedAbstract | PublisherFullText Mohseny AB, Hogendoorn PCW: Concise review: mesenchymal tumors: when stem cells go mad. Stem Cells 2011, 29:397-403. PubMedAbstract | PublisherFullText Continue reading here: Clinical Sarcoma Research | Full text | Mesenchymal stem ... … Continue reading →

Patients with severe ischemic heart disease and heart failure can benefit from a new treatment in which stem cells found in bone marrow are injected directly into the heart muscle, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session. "Our results show that this stem cell treatment is safe and it improves heart function when compared to placebo," said Anders Bruun Mathiasen, M.D., research fellow in the Cardiac Catherization Lab at Rigshospitalet University Hospital Copenhagen, and lead investigator of the study. "This represents an exciting development that has the potential to benefit many people who suffer from this common and deadly disease." Ischemic heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease, is the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States. It results from a gradual buildup of plaque in the heart's coronary arteries and can lead to chest pain, heart attack and heart failure. The study is the largest placebo-controlled double-blind randomized trial to treat patients with chronic ischemic heart failure by injecting a type of stem cell known as mesenchymal stromal cells directly into the heart muscle. Six months after treatment, patients who received stem cell injections … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Mar-2014 Contact: Beth Casteel bcasteel@acc.org 202-375-6275 American College of Cardiology WASHINGTON (March 31, 2014) Patients with severe ischemic heart disease and heart failure can benefit from a new treatment in which stem cells found in bone marrow are injected directly into the heart muscle, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session. "Our results show that this stem cell treatment is safe and it improves heart function when compared to placebo," said Anders Bruun Mathiasen, M.D., research fellow in the Cardiac Catherization Lab at Rigshospitalet University Hospital Copenhagen, and lead investigator of the study. "This represents an exciting development that has the potential to benefit many people who suffer from this common and deadly disease." Ischemic heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease, is the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States. It results from a gradual buildup of plaque in the heart's coronary arteries and can lead to chest pain, heart attack and heart failure. The study is the largest placebo-controlled double-blind randomized trial to treat patients with chronic ischemic heart failure by injecting a type of stem cell known as mesenchymal … Continue reading →

Home > News > health-news Washington, April 1 : In a heartening news for patients with severe ischemic heart disease and heart failure, a new human trial shows that stem cells, when injected directly into the heart muscle, are effective for failing hearts. "Our results show that this stem cell treatment is safe and it improves heart function when compared to placebo," said Anders Bruun Mathiasen, a research fellow in the cardiac catherisation lab at Rigshospitalet University Hospital Copenhagen, Denmark. This has the potential to benefit many people who suffer from this common and deadly disease, he added. Ischemic heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease, results from a gradual buildup of plaque in the heart's coronary arteries and can lead to chest pain, heart attack and heart failure. In the study, researchers injected a type of bone marrow stem cell known as mesenchymal stromal cells directly into the heart muscle of a group of patients with chronic ischemic heart failure. Six months after treatment, patients who received stem cell injections had improved heart pump function compared to patients receiving a placebo. "The procedure to inject stem cells into the heart requires only local anesthesia so it appears to … Continue reading →