Personal Genome Sequencing: A Lecture by Marc S. Williams, MD The Silverstein Lecture series is hosted by Northwestern University's Center for Genetic Medicine twice annually. The winter 2013 lecture series, held on January 16 and 17, 2013, featured Marc S. Williams, MD, Director, Geisinger Health System Genomic Medicine Institute. Created by NUIT A RT NUAMPS (Northwestern University Advanced Media Production Studio) By: NUFeinbergMed … Continue reading →

wwltv.com Posted on February 4, 2013 at 6:06 PM Updated today at 6:22 PM Meg Farris / Eyewitness News Email: mfarris@wwltv.com | Twitter: @megfarriswwl NEW ORLEANS -- Usher Syndrome is the leading cause of combined deafness and blindness in the world, affecting one of every 6,000 babies born. The genetic defect is even higher in Acadian people here in Louisiana and Canada. Now a local research team has taken a major first step to curing this deafness by successfully treating it in a mouse model. In 1998 Dr. Bronya Keats made research headlines when her team at LSU Health Sciences Center found a genetic defect that caused a type of deafness. She said then that a therapy to fix it was a decade or so away. Now 14 years later, a young scientist who worked in her lab has done just that, by treating Usher Syndrome in mice that had the human gene for Usher put in them. "The study reported today, shows that a single dose of the therapy corrects deafness for at least six months out of the life of the animal which is about two years of age," said Dr. Jennifer J. Lentz, the lead author on … Continue reading →

The consumption of sugary drinks can increase the genetic risk of obesity in some people, a study finds. (Photo: Richard Drew, AP) For people who are genetically predisposed to obesity, drinking a lot of sugary beverages could make their weight problem worse by heightening the effects of their obesity genes, a new study suggests. "Almost everyone carries some genetic risk of obesity," says Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and an author on the study. "People who carry a lot of obesity genes have a higher risk. People who drink a lot of soda also have a higher risk of obesity. For people who have both, their risk of obesity is much greater than either factor alone," he says. To come to these conclusions, researchers examined data on 6,934 women from the Nurses' Health Study; 4,423 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study; and 21,740 women from the Women's Genome Health Study. Participants in all three studies were of European ancestry; genetic profiles were available on all of them, which allowed scientists to look at the 32 genes associated with obesity. All participants completed questionnaires on their food and beverage intake over … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequenom, Inc. (SQNM), a life sciences company providing innovative diagnostic testing and genetic analysis solutions, announced today that the MaterniT21 PLUS laboratory-developed test (LDT) available exclusively through Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine (Sequenom CMM) will now report as additional findings the presence of certain fetal sex chromosomal aneuploidies, in addition to its identification of autosomal aneuploidies for chromosome 21 (associated with Down syndrome), chromosome 18 (associated with Edwards syndrome), and chromosome 13 (associated with Patau syndrome). Reporting of these sex aneuploidies will begin for samples received as of Monday, February 4, 2013. The test will report on the presence of four rare aneuploidies involving an abnormal number of X or Y chromosomes, including female syndromes 45,X (Turner Syndrome) and 47,XXX (Triple X Syndrome), and male syndromes 47,XXY (Klinefelter Syndrome) and 47,XYY. Results of the blinded clinical validation study set have been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. "Sex chromosome abnormalities may be recognized at birth, as part of the spectrum of less severe chromosome abnormalities. They can also be found in adults, many being incidentally discovered in the course of evaluating patients for infertility or endocrine problems. Identifying these conditions through the … Continue reading →

Knocks your socks off... a snowboard instructor after his stem cell procedure! http://www.stemcellsarthritistreatment.com The mechanics of the knee and the miraculous recovery this ski and snowboard instructor made after his stem cell procedure for osteoarthritis of the knee. http By: Nathan Wei … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE MKT:NBS) ("NeoStem" or the "Company"), an emerging leader in the fast growing cell therapy market, today announced that Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein, M.D., the Company's Vice President of Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs, will present at two conferences this week. FDA Public Hearing on Creating Alternative Pathway for Certain Drugs and Biologics Intended to Address Unmet Medical Need FutureMed About NeoStem, Inc. NeoStem, Inc. continues to develop and build on its core capabilities in cell therapy, capitalizing on the paradigm shift that we see occurring in medicine. In particular, we anticipate that cell therapy will have a significant role in the fight against chronic disease and in lessening the economic burden that these diseases pose to modern society. We are emerging as a technology and market leading company in this fast developing cell therapy market. Our multi-faceted business strategy combines a state-of-the-art contract development and manufacturing subsidiary, Progenitor Cell Therapy, LLC ("PCT"), with a medically important cell therapy product development program, enabling near and long-term revenue growth opportunities. We believe this expertise and existing research capabilities and collaborations will enable us to achieve our mission of becoming a premier cell therapy … Continue reading →

CARLSBAD, CA--(Marketwire - Feb 4, 2013) - International Stem Cell Corporation ( OTCQB : ISCO ) (www.internationalstemcell.com) ("ISCO" or "the Company") a California-based biotechnology company, today announced positive 12-week results from its pre-clinical in vivo Parkinson's disease study. The primary goal of this behavioral study was to demonstrate the therapeutic benefits of neuronal cells derived from human parthenogenetic stem cell (hpSC) line in a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD). Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder caused by a progressive degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons resulting in gradual dysfunction of the motor system and can eventually lead to death. Pharmacological treatments are useful in the relatively early stage of the disease, but the continuous use of pro-dopaminergic medication eventually becomes ineffective and can cause some of the motor symptoms to worsen. Our proprietary technology is based on a homogeneous population of neuronal cells (NCs) derived from homozygous hpSCs through a scalable and efficient method, developed by ISCO's R&D team. These parthenogenetically-derived NCs are cryopreservable and can become neurons once they are implanted into the brain. As such, they hold significant therapeutic potential not only because they can differentiate into dopamine-producing neurons, but also because these cells deliver trophic factors that … Continue reading →

After the cosmetic procedures of plastic surgery have become an open secret via showbiz endorsements left and right, the buzz word these days is Stem Cell Therapy - credited to have given senior celebrities and politicians their youthful looks and vigor. As a result, many people in the throes of their advancing maturity levels are now scrambling to get these admittedly pricey shots for themselves. This boom has given rise to many claims, even on the internet, where advertisements are a dime a dozen for shady deals and do-it-yourself kits. Dr. Cristina Puyat, a founding member of the Philippine Stem Cell Society and who practices at the Anti-Aging Sciences and Cosmetic Institute (ASCI) at the Medical Plaza Ortigas in Pasig City, explains the basics of this treatment. She starts off by saying that it is nothing new. "Stem cell therapy is also known as a stem cell transplant. Adult hematopoietic, or blood-forming stem cells from bone marrow have been used in transplants for over 40 years." From ewe to you? She then explains the basic building blocks of the procedure. "A stem cell is a cell that has the ability to divide and self-replicate for indefinite periods. Given the right … Continue reading →

Illinois NanoBio Node - CABPN Workshop - Biomaterials, Nanomedicine, and Tissue Engineering Jianjun Cheng, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, UIUC CABPN Workshop 11/07/12 By: NanoBio Node … Continue reading →