Scientists have finally made the long-awaited breakthrough in human cloning by turning skin cells into early-stage embryos that were then used to create specialised tissue cells for transplant operations, it has been revealed today. For the first time, researchers have unequivocally created human embryonic stem cells using the cloning technique that led to the birth of Dolly the sheep. However, unlike Dolly, the human embryos were destroyed when their stem cells were extracted. The scientific milestone, which comes 17 years after the birth of Dolly, represents a major turning point in human cloning research which could now lead to new tissue-transplant operations for a range of debilitating disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and spinal cord injuries. However, the breakthrough will also raise serious ethical concerns about the creation of human embryos for medical purposes and the possible use of the same technique to produce IVF embryos for couples wanting their own cloned babies - which is currently illegal in the UK. The scientists who made the advance emphasised that the work is designed to produce replacement tissue for transplant operations from a patient's own skin cells, rather than to improve the chances of so-called reproductive cloning. … Continue reading →

Scientists have finally made the long-awaited breakthrough in human cloning by turning skin cells into early-stage embryos that were then used to create specialised tissue cells for transplant operations, it has been revealed today. For the first time, researchers have unequivocally created human embryonic stem cells using the cloning technique that led to the birth of Dolly the sheep. However, unlike Dolly, the human embryos were destroyed when their stem cells were extracted. The scientific milestone, which comes 17 years after the birth of Dolly, represents a major turning point in human cloning research which could now lead to new tissue-transplant operations for a range of debilitating disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and spinal cord injuries. However, the breakthrough will also raise serious ethical concerns about the creation of human embryos for medical purposes and the possible use of the same technique to produce IVF embryos for couples wanting their own cloned babies - which is currently illegal in the UK. The scientists who made the advance emphasised that the work is designed to produce replacement tissue for transplant operations from a patient's own skin cells, rather than to improve the chances of so-called reproductive cloning. … Continue reading →

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 15, 2013) - Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc. (TSX VENTURE:CTH), a specialty pharmaceutical company developing the only known orally administered (sublingual) formulation of apomorphine, the only drug approved to treat the immobility ("off") symptoms of Parkinson's disease, has completed a white paper providing background clinical information on apomorphine. The paper identifies the potential benefits of APL-130277, the company's proprietary, patented, sublingual thin-film strip system, specifically its ability to deliver apomorphine to patients in a more convenient and more well-tolerated manner. Anthony Giovinazzo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cynapsus, stated: "We have been receiving requests for a more comprehensive, clinically based summary of apomorphine, covering its benefits, drawbacks and known side effects, as well as a summary of our development delivery candidate APL-130277-all in a single document. Accordingly, we have composed this background paper, which is now available on our website. It offers useful information to anyone who is interested in these topics." The white paper is titled "Apomorphine for Off Periods in Parkinson's Disease: Clinical Use and Potential of a Developmental Sublingual Formulation, APL-130277". It summarizes the medical literature on the freezing or "off" episodes experienced by 25 percent to 50 percent of Parkinson's patients. It goes … Continue reading →

VALLEY VIEW, Ohio, May 15,2013 /PRNewswire/ --Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies announced today the product launch of Kinesia ProView [ http://www.glneurotech.com/kinesia/proview/index.php ] to visualize motor symptom severity response during programming of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease. Kinesia ProView provides a standardized platform to quantitatively assess how symptoms such as tremor, bradykinesia, and dyskinesias change in response to specific DBS settings during outpatient programming procedures. Developed in collaboration with clinical studies at the Cleveland Clinic and University of Minnesota, the system is FDA cleared to market in the United States, is CE Marked, and has Health Canada and Australian TGA approval for distribution in international markets. The system integrates a secure, HIPAA compliant web application and a broadband enabled tablet interface with wireless patient sensors. Deep brain stimulation represents a growing therapy for movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease as current estimates indicate a $500 million global market with projections to over $1 billion by 2020. "Parkinson's disease is an incredibly complex and challenging disease for both patients and physicians," said Joseph P. Giuffrida, PhD, President and Principal Investigator at Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies. "Patients may encounter a wide variety of constantly changing symptoms while clinicians have the challenge of matching patient … Continue reading →