Brando wheeled his way through the Hialeah shopping plaza parking Wednesday morning, barely able to muster more than a weak woof. The muscles around his lungs are paralyzed, the result of a skin infection that spread to a disc in his back. The infection also led to nearly 80 percent of Brandos leg muscles to atrophy, making him paralyzed from the middle of his back down. But doctors are hoping that will all change, after an innovative two-part stem cell surgery performed Wednesday at Paradise Animal Clinic in Hialeah. Its the first time the combination therapy has been performed in Florida. We know very little about [stem cell surgery] said Dr. Jose Gorostiza, a veterinary orthopedic surgeon who was involved in Wednesdays operation. But, he added, it is super cool. Brando, a 9-year-old German shepherd named after Marlon Brando, has been paralyzed since January, said his owner, Miami cardiologist Manuel Bouza. Everyone in the family was super depressed, Bouza said. We thought he was going to die, originally. As veterinarian technicians shaved Brando Wednesday and tufts of his dark brown and black fur fell beside him, the dog looked ambivalent as the morphine kicked in. Over the next four hours, … Continue reading →

BOULDER CREEK -- Growing up, Jerry MacCallister wanted to be a naval aviator. Now, he simply wants to scratch his own nose. The 23-year-old Boulder Creek resident broke his neck in a 2009 dirt biking accident, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. While he regained some mobility in his arms during his initial six-week hospital stay, he lost it all in 2012 when he fell into a coma for eight days. Since then, he's slowly relearned how to breathe and talk, but still can't move his body. After years of working with countless doctors and physical therapists without seeing significant improvement, MacCallister will undergo stem cell therapy this summer in Thailand. Looking to chip away at $40,000 in travel and medical procedures, his family's hosting a spaghetti feed Saturday at the Boulder Creek Fire Department. "It's basically his last hope," said his mother, Katie MacCallister. Her son will receive eight stem cell injections derived from an umbilical cord during the course of 40 days, as well as physical, aquatic and occupational therapy and acupuncture. It typically takes up to nine months to see results. Beike Biotechnology, a company that specializes in adult stem cell therapy, will oversee the treatment. … Continue reading →

Whether the new approach would work in humans is unknown, experts say WebMD News from HealthDay By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Using an immune-suppressing medication and adult stem cells from healthy donors, researchers say they were able to cure type 1 diabetes in mice. "This is a whole new concept," said the study's senior author, Habib Zaghouani, a professor of microbiology and immunology, child health and neurology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia, Mo. In the midst of their laboratory research, something unanticipated occurred. The researchers expected that the adult stem cells would turn into functioning beta cells (cells that produce insulin). Instead, the stem cells turned into endothelial cells that generated the development of new blood vessels to supply existing beta cells with the nourishment they needed to regenerate and thrive. "I believe that beta cells are important, but for curing this disease, we have to restore the [blood vessels]," Zaghouani said. It's much too early to know if this novel combination would work in humans. But the findings could stimulate new avenues of research, another expert says. "This is a theme we've seen a few times recently. Beta … Continue reading →

World's First Human Embryonic Stem Cell Trial for Spinal Cord Injury: Kate Sharify's Story Visit: http://www.uctv.tv/) Katie Sharify was one of five people with spinal cord injuries to participate in the world's first clinical trial testing human ... By: UCtelevision … Continue reading →

Newswise Researchers from the UCLA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology have isolated a new population of primitive, stress-resistant human pluripotent stem cells easily derived from fat tissue that are able to differentiate into virtually every cell type in the human body without genetic modification. The cells, called Multi-lineage Stress-Enduring (Muse-AT) stem cells from fat, or adipose, tissue, were discovered by scientific accident when a piece of equipment failed in the lab, killing all the stem cells in the experiment except for the Muse-AT cells. The research team further discovered that not only are Muse-AT cells able to survive severe stress, they may even be activated by it, said study senior author Gregorio Chazenbalk, an associate researcher with UCLA Obstetrics and Gynecology. These pluripotent cells, isolated from fat tissue removed during liposuction, expressed many embryonic stem cell markers and were able to differentiate into muscle, bone, fat, cardiac, neuronal and liver cells. An examination of their genetic characteristics confirmed their specialized functions, as well as their capacity to regenerate tissue when transplanted back into the body following their awakening. This population of cells lies dormant in the fat tissue until it is subjected to very harsh conditions. These cells can survive … Continue reading →

June 5, 2013 Researchers from the UCLA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology have isolated a new population of primitive, stress-resistant human pluripotent stem cells easily derived from fat tissue that are able to differentiate into virtually every cell type in the human body without genetic modification. The cells, called Multi-lineage Stress-Enduring (Muse-AT) stem cells from fat, or adipose, tissue, were discovered by "scientific accident" when a piece of equipment failed in the lab, killing all the stem cells in the experiment except for the Muse-AT cells. The research team further discovered that not only are Muse-AT cells able to survive severe stress, they may even be activated by it, said study senior author Gregorio Chazenbalk, an associate researcher with UCLA Obstetrics and Gynecology. These pluripotent cells, isolated from fat tissue removed during liposuction, expressed many embryonic stem cell markers and were able to differentiate into muscle, bone, fat, cardiac, neuronal and liver cells. An examination of their genetic characteristics confirmed their specialized functions, as well as their capacity to regenerate tissue when transplanted back into the body following their "awakening." "This population of cells lies dormant in the fat tissue until it is subjected to very harsh conditions. These cells … Continue reading →