By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News The Supreme Court refused to step into the emotionally charged debate over embryonic stem cell research Monday, declining to hear a case that sought to stop government funding on ethical grounds. The decision leaves in place President Obama's 2009 executive order expanding research on stem cells taken from human embryos, which many scientists say has the potential to produce breakthroughs in treatment of numerous conditions, particularly spinal cord injuries, diabetes and Parkinson's disease. Obama reasoned that research on stem cell lines from embryos created through in vitro fertilization was not ethically problematic.Congress banned the creation or destruction of embryos for research purposes in 1996. A federal court in Washington, D.C., issued an injunction temporarily blocking the order in August 2010 after two scientists opposed to all embryonic stem cell research, James Sherley of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute and Theresa Deisher of Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute, sued on behalf of "plaintiff embryos," contending that Congress had forbidden any research whatsoever on embryonic stem cells. Since then, federal courts have rejected their contention that the failure of the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services to respond to their arguments … Continue reading →

A WOMAN who grew bone fragments in her eyelid after undergoing cosmetic surgery using stem cells should serve as a warning to Australians considering unproven stem cell treatments, an expert says. The US woman underwent more than six hours of surgery to remove the fragments from her eyelid and around the eye, three months after the cosmetic surgery procedure at a Beverly Hills clinic. The initial procedure, outlined in the December edition of Scientific American, used stem cells extracted from her own abdominal fat through liposuction and injected those cells back into her face. The $20,000 facelift also incorporated a dermal filler containing calcium, which surgeons believe reacted with the stem cells and turned them into bone. Cosmetic and regenerative surgery claiming to use stem cells extracted from liposuction is also available in Australia. While it is not illegal, the only scientifically proven medical treatment using stem cells worldwide is bone marrow transplants for diseases including leukaemia, which have been around for about 40 years. Associate Professor Megan Munsie from Stem Cells Australia at the University of Melbourne said the report showed a cautious approach was needed when developing new stem cell therapies. "There is no doubt that stem cells … Continue reading →

Jan. 7, 2013 Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have identified a key link between stem cell factors that fuel ovarian cancer's growth and patient prognosis. The study, which paves the way for developing novel targeted ovarian cancer therapies, is published online in the current issue of Cell Cycle. Lead author Yingqun Huang, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, and her colleagues have demonstrated a connection between two concepts that are revolutionizing the way cancer is treated. First, the "cancer stem cell" idea suggests that at the heart of every tumor there is a small subset of difficult-to-identify tumor cells that fuel the growth of the bulk of the tumor. This concept predicts that ordinary therapies typically kill the bulk of tumor cells while leaving a rich environment for continued growth of the stem cell tumor population. The second concept, dubbed "seed and soil," defines a critical role for the tumor cells' "microenvironment," which is the special environment required for cancer cell growth and spread. "Both concepts have particular relevance for the treatment of adult solid tumors such as ovarian cancer, which has been notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat," said co-author Nita J. … Continue reading →

MARCO ISLAND, Fla., Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Mary Holler, age 80, of Marco Island, Florida is smiling again. Mary was suffering from dementia. She felt her ability to function on a daily basis was slipping away. Now, after undergoing a successful stem cell treatment in early December 2012, Mary is more like her old self again. She no longer suffers the frustration and agitation of being told she had already asked that question several times. Peter Holler , age 82, had become very concerned that his wife of 60 years was slowly losing her memory. She had been on medications for memory loss for several years but the deterioration in her recall accelerated in the last six months. It was not unusual for him to answer the same question 4 to 5 times over the course of a day. He felt he was losing his wife right in front of his eyes. Mary's poor performance on an in-depth memory test revealed that she should be in an assisted living facility. This frightened both the Hollers and their children. Peter Holler sought out stem cell therapy. He felt it was his wife's only option. Peter, no stranger to stem cells, had … Continue reading →

CARLSBAD, CA--(Marketwire - Jan 7, 2013) - International Stem Cell Corporation ( OTCQB : ISCO ) (www.internationalstemcell.com) ("ISCO" or "the Company") a California-based biotechnology company, today announced positive top line efficacy results from its pre-clinical in vivo liver study.The primary goal of the efficacy study was to demonstrate the therapeutic equivalence of human parthenogenetic stem cell (hpSC)-derived hepatocytes to adult liver cells as a prerequisite for using such cells in the treatment of metabolic liver diseases including Crigler-Najjar Syndrome. Crigler-Najjar Syndrome (CNS) is a rare inherited disorder in which bilirubin, a substance made by the liver, cannot be broken down by the liver.The build-up of this toxic compound can lead to damage to the brain, muscles, and nerves and eventually cause death.Current treatment paradigms for CNS include phototherapy and blood transfusions, but these do not treat the underlying cause of the disease.Hepatocyte transplantation has emerged as a therapeutic strategy, and has been successfully applied to treat patients with CNS, however the extremely limited availability of human livers and therefore of donated primary hepatocytes makes a stem cell based approach attractive. These ISCO study results demonstrate that the hpSC-derived hepatocytes engraft in the liver of Gunn rats and behave in a … Continue reading →

People with a family history of epilepsy are at a greater risk of suffering migraines. (Wiki Commons) People who have a family history of seizure disorders such as epilepsy are at greater risk of having migraines. Research published in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy, has confirmed the link between the two conditions. Epilepsy and migraines often occur together in patients and people with seizure disorders are much more likely to get migraines, but it is unclear why this is the case. Lead author Melodie Winawer, from Columbia University Medical Centre in New York, explained that epilepsy and migraine are both influenced by genetic factors, but that this study is the first to show a "shared genetic susceptibility" to epilepsy and migraine. The researchers looked at data collected from a large-scale genetic study of epilepsy patients and families from 27 clinical centres across the globe. While most people with epilepsy have no family history of the disease, this study looked at the families where more than one member suffered from seizure disorders in order to find genetic causes of epilepsy. Researchers used this to examine the family history of migraines in those who have epilepsy. Findings showed … Continue reading →

7 January 2013 Last updated at 00:02 ET A strong family history of seizures could increase the chances of having severe migraines, says a study in Epilepsia journal. Scientists from Columbia University, New York, analysed 500 families containing two or more close relatives with epilepsy. Their findings could mean that genes exist that cause both epilepsy and migraine. Epilepsy Action said it could lead to targeted treatments. Previous studies have shown that people with epilepsy are substantially more likely than the general population to have migraine headaches, but it was not clear whether that was due to a shared genetic cause. The researchers found that people with three or more close relatives with a seizure disorder were more than twice as likely to experience 'migraine with aura' than patients from families with fewer individuals with seizures. By understanding how genes work, more targeted treatments could be developed in the future. Migraine with aura is a severe headache preceded by symptoms such as seeing flashing lights, temporary visual loss, speech problems or numbness of the face. Dr Melodie Winawer, lead author of the study from Columbia University Medical Centre, said the findings had implications for epilepsy patients. Read more here: Epilepsy … Continue reading →

Already facing sharp criticism over policies that have resulted in the rationing of care to severely disabled children, Florida healthcare regulators are challenging a federal judges order that the state provide a costly but potentially life-changing treatment to children with autism. Last spring, U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard struck down the states refusal to pay for applied behavior analysis (ABA) for autistic children, calling the states policy arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable. The court case involved three autistic youngsters then-5-year-old K.G., 2-year-old I.G. and 4-year-old C.C. whose efforts to obtain behavioral therapy had been denied by the states Medicaid insurance program for needy and disabled people. Lenard ordered that the three children be given the care they sought and that the state provide such care to other autistic children, as well. The state Agency for Health Care Administration has appealed the order, and, in a pleading submitted in November, argued that the ruling strips the state of its ability to weigh requests for the therapy on a case-by-case basis to ensure the treatments are medically necessary. There is no evidentiary support for the district courts conclusion that [behavior analysis] services are medically necessary for all autistic Medicaid recipients under 21, the … Continue reading →