The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week gave permission to a Newark, N.J., biotech company to start testing an experimental stem cell therapy in humans who have suffered spinal cord injuries -- a move that patients and scientists alike hope will speed up research in a field that's been frustratingly slow to show results. StemCells Inc. has been testing its neural stem cells in human subjects in Switzerland. So far, seven patients -- including one American -- have been injected with the stem cells, and preliminary results have been reported on three of them. The experiment is designed mostly to demonstrate that the stem cell injections are safe. Next, the company plans a trial aimed at demonstrating that stem cells can improve the lives of patients paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. The trial will be conducted primarily in the United States, but also in Canada. "The expectation is not that we put these cells into the spinal cord, and the patient jumps out of the wheelchair and starts playing basketball," said Martin McGlynn, chief executive of StemCells. "If you can have an effect on bowel and bladder function, that would be terrific. If you could get them the use … Continue reading →

Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations and Public Affairs JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE NEWS TIPS FROM THE 2013 ANNUAL CLINICAL CONFERENCE OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, OCT. 6-10, WASHINGTON, D.C. GENE AND STEM CELL THERAPY COMBINATION COULD AID WOUND HEALING --Findings in elderly mice offer insight into helping elderly people recover from burns Newswise Johns Hopkins researchers, working with elderly mice, have determined that combining gene therapy with an extra boost of the same stem cells the body already uses to repair itself leads to faster healing of burns and greater blood flow to the site of the wound. Their findings offer insight into why older people with burns fail to heal as well as younger patients, and how to potentially harness the power of the bodys own bone marrow stem cells to reverse this age-related discrepancy. As we get older, it is harder for our wounds to heal, says John W. Harmon, M.D., a professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who will present his findings to the American College of Surgeons Surgical Biology Club on Sunday at 9 a.m. Our research suggests there may be a way to remedy that. To heal burns or other … Continue reading →

Newswise A team of scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and their collaborators from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have found that a novel noncoding ribonucleic acid (RNA) offers the potential for "switching on" of tumour suppressors that have been shut off. The research group, led by Professor Daniel Tenen, Director of CSI Singapore, demonstrated for first time that RNA interacts with an enzyme essential for DNA methylation, known as DNA methyl transferase 1 (DNMT1), offering strategies for the treatment of diseases such as cancer. In this study, the researchers focused on a new class of RNAs, which is critical in regulating DNA methylation. This is a process in which certain building blocks of DNA, the genetic code, are chemically modified without resulting in a change in the code itself. DNA methylation is associated with silencing of gene expression and found in many diseases. For example, in cancer, genes called tumour suppressors, which inhibit tumour formation, are often silenced or shut off in the cancer cells, and this is associated with DNA methylation. This novel study was first published online in the research journal Nature on 9 October 2013. … Continue reading →

NEWARK, Calif., Oct. 9, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StemCells, Inc. (STEM), the leading stem cell company developing novel cell-based therapeutics for disorders of the central nervous system, announced today that President and CEO Martin McGlynn will make a presentation on the Company's programs and operations at the Regen Med Partnering Forum during the 2013 Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa, to be held October 14-16. Mr. McGlynn is scheduled to speak at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, October 14, at the Estancia La Jolla Hotel in La Jolla, Calif. A live video webcast of all company presentations will be available at: http://stemcellmeetingonthemesa.com/webcast/ and will also be published on the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine's (ARM) website shortly after the event. The Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa is a three-day conference organized by the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), and ARM. The conference brings together senior members of the regenerative medicine industry with the scientific research community to advance stem cell science into cures. The first two days of the conference, October 14-15, features the Regen Med Partnering Forum, the only partnering meeting organized specifically for the regenerative medicine and advanced therapies industry. … Continue reading →

Ian Somerhalder is petitioning for the legalisation of a form of medical marijuana used to treat children who suffer from epilepsy. The Vampire Diaries star took to Twitter this week to share the story of a nine-month-old girl named Kaitlyn Pogson. According to the Toronto Star, Kate suffers from a severe form of epilepsy that causes her to suffer up to 300 seizures a day and her parents are fighting for her to receive alternative treatment. A petition was started on website Change.org to fight for the young girl to be prescribed a special strain of marijuana supporters believe could reduce the number of seizures she experiences due to Dravet syndrome. RT @DevonHaas: WE NEED 18 MORE PEOPLE TO SIGN THIS! SIGN AND RT! #doitforKim, Ian wrote, including a link to the petition. According to the draft, penned by Pediatric CBD Canada, Kaitlyns special access to the drug Cannabidiol (CBD) was denied. The petition goes on to state that CBD is a non-psychoactive extract of marijuana that does not create a high and has no observed side effects. CBD has produced incredibly positive results in the United States for not just Dravet Syndrome but all medically refractory epilepsies. Many children … Continue reading →

The causes of autism and how prevalent it really is have been the stuff of impassioned debate and controversy. It has stirred a variety of opinions from its definition to diagnosis tools to the best treatment approach. A biotechnology company has developed a treatment for the disorder by focusing on the physiology. CureMark takes the view that digestive enzyme problems are a major component of autism. It argues that bodys inability to digest certain proteins affects amino acid production, which can interfere with brain function. New York-based CureMark has raised $18.5 million as it prepares to submit a new drug application for its enzyme replacement therapy to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the company said in the statement. Earlier this year it completed a Phase 3 multicenter clinical trial of CM-AT for autism. The drug met primary and secondary endpoints in the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of children with autism aged 3 to 8. A European institutional investor led the financing round according to the statement. Other investors identified on AngelList are Kimball Duncan and Allan Johnston. CM-AT was designated as a Fast Track drug in 2010 by the FDA. Drugs that qualify for that classification are for the … Continue reading →