Why is osteoarthritis cartilage damage so hard to treat... an opportunity for stem cells? http://www.stemcellsarthritistreatment.com Osteoarthritis is a disease of hyaline cartilage, the tough gristle that caps the ends of long bones. Cartilage is... By: Nathan Wei … Continue reading →

Public release date: 26-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Daphne Watrin d.watrin@iospress.nl 31-206-883-355 IOS Press Amsterdam, NL, August 23, 2013 Cognitive deficits following ischemic stroke are common and debilitating, even in the relatively few patients who are treated expeditiously so that clots are removed or dissolved rapidly and cerebral blood flow restored. A new study in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience demonstrates that intracerebral injection of bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BSCs) reduces cognitive deficits produced by temporary occlusion of cerebral blood vessels in a rat model of stroke, suggesting that BSCs may offer a new approach for reducing post-stroke cognitive dysfunction. According to the American Heart Association, almost half of ischemic stroke survivors older than 65 years of age experience cognitive deficits, contributing to functional impairments, dependence, and increased mortality. The incidence of cognitive deficits triples after stroke and about one quarter of cognitively impaired stroke patients' progress to dementia. For these reasons, "there is an underlying need for restorative therapies," says lead investigator Gary L. Dunbar, PhD, of the Field Neurosciences Institute Laboratory for Restorative Neurology, and Director of the Central Michigan University Program in Neuroscience. In order to see whether mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow … Continue reading →

Aug. 26, 2013 Cognitive deficits following ischemic stroke are common and debilitating, even in the relatively few patients who are treated expeditiously so that clots are removed or dissolved rapidly and cerebral blood flow restored. A new study in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience demonstrates that intracerebral injection of bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BSCs) reduces cognitive deficits produced by temporary occlusion of cerebral blood vessels in a rat model of stroke, suggesting that BSCs may offer a new approach for reducing post-stroke cognitive dysfunction. According to the American Heart Association, almost half of ischemic stroke survivors older than 65 years of age experience cognitive deficits, contributing to functional impairments, dependence, and increased mortality. The incidence of cognitive deficits triples after stroke and about one quarter of cognitively impaired stroke patients' progress to dementia. For these reasons, "there is an underlying need for restorative therapies," says lead investigator Gary L. Dunbar, PhD, of the Field Neurosciences Institute Laboratory for Restorative Neurology, and Director of the Central Michigan University Program in Neuroscience. In order to see whether mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow could attenuate or prevent cognitive problems following a stroke-like ischemic event, the investigators mimicked stroke in rats by injecting … Continue reading →

Aug. 29, 2013 The human body has hundreds of different cell types, all with the same basic DNA, and all of which can ultimately be traced back to identical stem cells. Despite this fundamental similarity, a bone cell has little in common with a brain cell when it comes to appearance or function. The fact that bone is rigid and mechanically distinct from soft fat or brain had been speculated to play some role in differentiation to new cells in those parts of the body, but mechanisms have been unclear. Now, a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that a protein found in the nuclei of all cells -- lamin-A -- plays a key role in the differentiation process. The study was led by professor Dennis Discher and postdoctoral researchers Joe Swift and Irena Ivanovska of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science. It was published in the journal Science. Lamin-A is a protein found in the nucleus of all adult cells. This rope-like protein forms a protective netting around the DNA contained at the core of the nucleus. The first hint that lamin-A might be involved in … Continue reading →