Leukemia is a cancer of white blood cells, or leukocytes. Like other blood cells, leukocytes develop from somatic stem cells. Mature leukocytes are released into the bloodstream, where they work to fight off infections in our bodies. Leukemia results when leukocytes begin to grow and function abnormally, becoming cancerous. These abnormal cells cannot fight off infection, and they interfere with the functions of other organs. Successful treatment for leukemia depends on getting rid of all the abnormal leukocytes in the patient, allowing healthy ones to grow in their place. One way to do this is through chemotherapy, which uses potent drugs to target and kill the abnormal cells. When chemotherapy alone can't eliminate them all, physicians sometimes turn to bone marrow transplants. In a bone marrow transplant, the patient's bone marrow stem cells are replaced with those from a healthy, matching donor. To do this, all of the patient's existing bone marrow and abnormal leukocytes are first killed using a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. Next, a sample of donor bone marrow containing healthy stem cells is introduced into the patient's bloodstream. If the transplant is successful, the stem cells will migrate into the patient's bone marrow and begin producing … Continue reading →

The Regenexx Procedures are a family of non-surgical stem cell and blood platelet treatments for common injuries and degenerative joint conditions, such as osteoarthritis and avascular necrosis. These stem cell procedures utilize a patients own stem cells or blood platelets to help heal damaged tissues, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, spinal disc, or bone. Regenexx Stem Cell and Blood Platelet Procedures offer a viable alternative for individuals who are suffering from joint pain, or who may be considering elective surgery or joint replacement due to injury or arthritis. Patients avoid the lengthy periods of downtime, and painful rehabilitation that typically follow invasive surgeries. The list below represents the most commonly treated conditions using Regenexx stem cell or platelet procedures. It is not a complete list, so please contact us or complete the Regenexx Candidate Form if you have questions about whether you or your condition can be treated with these non-surgical procedures. The type of procedure used (stem cell or blood platelet) to treat these conditions is largely dependent upon the severity of the injury or condition. The Centeno-Schultz Clinic is theoriginalstem cell based musculoskeletal practice in the U.S., with more stem cell orthopedics experience than any other clinic. We are also … Continue reading →

[Research Achievement 2013] Sub-12 nm nanomedicine for malignant brain tumors. Kyuha Chong (MD and PhD candidate) presents his recent work published in Chemical Communications (Enhancement of the photocytotoxic efficiency of sub-12 nm t... By: CSBI@KAIST … Continue reading →

Copyright 1998-2006, Robert A. Freitas Jr. All rights reserved. Please send comments to webmaster@foresight.org Nanomedicine may be defined as the monitoring, repair, construction and control of human biological systems at the molecular level, using engineered nanodevices and nanostructures. Basic nanostructured materials, engineered enzymes, and the many products of biotechnology will be enormously useful in near-term medical applications. However, the full promise of nanomedicine is unlikely to arrive until after the development of precisely controlled or programmable medical nanomachines and nanorobots. Such microscopic machines were first hypothesized by the Nobel-winning physicist Richard Feynman in 1959, and later were described at length by K. Eric Drexler in his popular books Engines of Creation (1986) and Unbounding the Future (1991), and in his more recent technical book Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation (1992). Methods for designing and constructing these devices (or their most important components) are currently being actively pursued by the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing, the Laboratory for Molecular Robotics at the University of Southern California, the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University, the NAS Computational Molecular Nanotechnology Group at NASA/Ames Research Center, and by many other university and government organizations in the United States, Europe, and Japan, … Continue reading →

Nanomedicine is the medical application of molecular nanotechnology (MNT) a still-developing science dedicated to constructing microscopic biomechanical devices like nanomachines and nanorobots. These devices are so small they are measured in nanometers, or one millionths of a meter. Molecular Nanotechnology aims to manipulate atoms and molecules in a precise, controlled manner. Applied to medicine, nanorobots would be programmed for specific biological tasks and injected into the blood in solution to work at the cellular level to do everything from repairing tissue, to cleaning arteries, attacking cancer cells and viruses like AIDS, and even reversing the aging process. As fantastic as these claims sound, scientists believe we could see such advances within three decades. Virtually all disease, injury and wear to the body can be traced to the cellular level. Current medical technology does not provide a means for doctors to treat selective cells or "edit" disease from genetic code. Instead comparatively crude tools are used that themselves tax the body. Surgery, while lifesaving, is also an invasive process that causes the body significant stress. In many cases treatment involves removing entire segments of the body leaving a patient scarred or without the ability to bear children, all of which affects … Continue reading →