Public release date: 20-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Gina Bericchia Gina.Bericchia@NationwideChildrens.org 614-355-0495 Nationwide Children's Hospital It's not often that one treatment offers therapeutic potential for multiple conditions. However, after more than two decades of research, Gail Besner, MD, principal investigator for the Center for Perinatal Research and pediatric surgeon for the Department of Pediatric Surgery at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and her team have found that this may just be the case with HB-EGF, or heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor. Having discovered the growth factor in 1990, Dr. Besner most recently conducted two studies in mice published in June in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery that reveal the potential of HB-EGF to protect the intestines from diverse types of injury. The first offers evidence that treatment with the growth factor may help the intestines protect themselves from damage after exposure to radiation therapy. "Many patients are treated with radiation therapy for pelvic and abdominal cancers each year, and over half suffer from injury to the intestines as a result, which may limit their ability to receive additional therapy," Dr. Besner says. "In the future, treatment with HB-EGF may protect the intestines from this injury, enabling patients to receive more … Continue reading →

Stem Cell Therapy: Where's the Evidence? Dr. Tony Dans of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine discusses dilemmas in research and regulation of stem cell therapy in the Philippines.... By: Antonio Dans … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Stem Cell Markets http://www.reportlinker.com/p090979/Stem-Cell-Markets.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Biological_Therapy A stem cell is an extraordinary type of cell that has the ability to self-renew for long periods of time and to differentiate into specialized cells under appropriate physiological or experimental conditions. Traditionally, stem cells have been classified as either embryonic, adult (tissue-specific or cord blood) stem cells. Recent understanding of stem cell biology may provide new approaches for the treatment of a number of diseases as well as tissue/organ injuries, including cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, musculoskeletal disease, diabetes and hematopoietic disorders. Stem cell fate is determined by both intrinsic regulators and the extra-cellular environment (niche), and their expansion and differentiation ex vivo are generally controlled by growing them in a specific configuration (monolayer or three-dimensional culture). This process, which is vital to enable stem cells to be used for therapeutic purposes, is called differentiation. Differentiation is a process involving unspecialized cells progressing to become specialized cells with restricted developmental potential. The purpose of this TriMark Publications report is to describe the specific market segments of the medical research space using stem cells for research and … Continue reading →

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX), a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of regenerative medicine, announced that Chief Executive Officer Michael D. West, PhD will give the keynote address at the MSC 2013 Adult Stem Cell Therapy & Regenerative Medicine conference on Monday, August 19, 2013, at 12:15 p.m. EDT in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. West will discuss the potential use of embryonic mesenchymal progenitor cells, generated using BioTimes PureStemtechnology, in regenerative medicine and will contrast the properties of those cells with adult-derived mesenchymal stem cells. He will also discuss how those cells can be utilized in the search for genes potentially useful in induced tissue regeneration (iTR). The presentation will be available on BioTimes website at http://www.biotimeinc.com/scientific-presentations. MSC 2013 Adult Stem Cell Therapy & Regenerative Medicine, August 19-21, 2013, is being held at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center and is presented by Case Western Reserve University and the National Center for Regenerative Medicine. About BioTime, Inc BioTime is a biotechnology company engaged in research and product development in the field of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine refers to therapies based on stem cell technology that are designed to rebuild cell and tissue … Continue reading →