Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Stem cells you can ingest? Not exactly. But this supplement claims it can increase the number of circulating adult stem cells in your body by up to four million. You simply take three capsules a day. The 30-percent increase, however small compared to the surge of 10-20 million adult stem cells you get from a stem-cell treatment, is significant enough to keep you alert and energized, and even to repair damaged cells in your body, said Bernie Mercado, general manager of StemTech Philippines, the makers of the supplement StemEnhance. Made from a natural-growing freshwater plant called Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA), also known as blue-green algae, StemEnhance is said to aid in the natural release of adult stem cells in the bone marrow and support the migration of stem cells to areas where they're needed, enhancing the body's natural mechanism of organ and tissue renewal. Simply put, StemEnhance is an adult stem cell nutritional supplement. "Stem cell treatment enables doctors to focus on a specific organ. That's not how this supplement works. If you take StemEnhance to make your skin look supple and young, but you also have a kidney condition, it will first repair the area … Continue reading →

13 May 2013 Last updated at 06:42 ET Patients have praised a stem cell isolation unit which has opened at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. People from Devon and Cornwall who need protective isolation after a stem cell transplant now no longer have to travel to Bristol or London. The unit is for leukaemia or lymphoma adult patients whose immune systems have been depleted by chemotherapy. Paul Bates, a patient from Torpoint in Cornwall, described the new unit as "palatial". After a transplant patients will spend from three to six weeks in the 2.7m state-of-the-art unit. Stem cells are sometimes given to cancer patients to replace the red and white cells and platelets in blood which chemotherapy treatment has killed off. Previously, the hospital was only able to carry out transplants if the stem cells were harvested directly from the patient or a relative, but can now also treat patients who need non-related donor stem cells. The haematopoietic stem cell transplant unit, with 10 single en-suite rooms, has been built in the hospital's former Bracken ward. "The facilities are so much better than the ones we had before," consultant haematologist Dr Hannah Hunter told BBC News. Read more: New stem cell … Continue reading →

Results from a pooled analysis of three large Fycompa (perampanel) trials are published today in leading clinical and research epilepsy publication, Epilepsia.[1] These new data confirm the efficacy of perampanel as an adjunctive treatment for hard-to-treat partial seizures and also provides further reassurance that perampanel is well tolerated. The publication groups together the three pivotal clinical studies for perampanel, Study 304, Study 306 and Study 307. The pooled analysis of these data from nearly 1,500 patients shows that perampanel reduced partial epilepsy seizure frequency and improved responder rates compared to placebo.[1] At randomised doses of 4-12 mg, perampanel conferred significant improvements in reducing seizure frequency and 50% responder rates for all partial seizures and complex partial (CP) seizures with secondary generalisation (SG seizures), compared with placebo. The analysis also showed that adjunctive perampanel was efficacious irrespective of the co-administered anti-epileptic drug (AED).[1] Perampanel is the only licensed anti-epileptic drug in Europe that selectively targets AMPA receptors, which are thought to play a central role in seizure generation and spread.[2] This first-in-class treatment selectively targets the transmission of seizures by blocking the effects of glutamate, which can trigger and maintain seizures. In addition, perampanel has the added benefit of convenient, once-daily … Continue reading →

Global News has been recognized for producing its recent Inside Epilepsy series, including a 30-minute Focus Ontario special. The H.O.P.E. (Helping Out People with Epilepsy) Awards recognize people and organizations who have helped promote understanding, increase awareness or advance treatment and services. Global News reporter Mark McAllister and News Director Dave Trafford, were on hand at Epilepsy Torontos annual conference to accept the award. It was the least we could do. It was very easy for us, said Trafford. It wasnt about us and epilepsy. It was about telling an important story. Global camera operator, Ben Jonah, as well as Health Reporter Beatrice Politi were highlighted for contributions as well. It was more epilepsy exposure than the field of epilepsy in Canada has received. Ever, Geoff Bobb, Executive Director of Epilepsy Toronto said, The Inside Epilepsy series included several stories about epilepsy and the people affected by the condition. As part of the series, McAllister shared his own story about an on-air seizure he experienced two years ago. He was diagnosed with epilepsy one month after it happened. Watch McAllisters story below: Shaw Media, 2013 Mark McAllisters passion for news has kept him front and centre for many of Globals … Continue reading →

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - Stephen Schneider, 31, doesn't look old enough to be a stroke survivor, but he is. Last year he had Army Reserve training and decided to run alongside a soldier he was helping to test. "I noticedI couldn't talk. My speech was real slurred," he said. "And then the next thingI knewI was on the bleachers. My ACU jacket was off. My boots were off." His face was drooping on one side, and he couldn't move the left side of his body. Schneider was soon on his way to the hospital. Patients who have had a stroke are taken to thetrauma room at Huntsville Hospital. Dr. Amit Arora is a neurologist who specializes in strokes. "Time is brain. The faster we can get treatment, the more brain we can salvage," he said. That message is extremely important when trying to fight the after effects of a stroke. "As people come in sooner to the emergency room, we have more treatment available to them. Our biggest goal for the next several years is to have a higher community awareness," said Arora. View post: May is stroke awareness month … Continue reading →

Public release date: 13-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Allison Elliott allison.elliott@uky.edu University of Kentucky LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 13, 2013) Dr. Gregory Bix, Paul G. Blazer J. Professor of Stroke Research in the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the UK departments of Anatomy and Neurobiology and Neurology, has received funding of $224,416 from the National Institutes of Health, to further study of stroke recovery. Stroke is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide. Existing FDA-approved pharmaceutical therapies for stroke rely upon administration within a very tight timeframe, and engender other risks. Dr. Bix is working to investigate how the brain's own neuroprotective abilities may be employed to activate post-stroke repair mechanisms in the brain itself. "This research grant provides the financial support for us to explore promising new approaches to cure stroke through unlocking the brain's regenerative potential. Successful completion of this basic research will bring us that much closer to hopefully successful human clinical trials for stroke sufferers, something that has otherwise been an elusive goal" said Bix. The new funding from the NIH will enable Bix and his team to investigate the effects of a newly identified stroke treatment on … Continue reading →