ScienceDaily (Oct. 2, 2012) Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have found that a blood vessel-building gene boosts the ability of human bone marrow stem cells to sustain pancreatic recovery in a laboratory mouse model of insulin-dependent diabetes. The findings, published in a PLoS ONE article of the Public Library of Science, offer new insights on mechanisms involved in regeneration of insulin-producing cells and provide new evidence that a diabetic's own bone marrow one day may be a source of treatment. Scientists began studying bone marrow-derived stem cells for pancreatic regeneration a decade ago. Recent studies involving several pancreas-related genes and delivery methods -- transplantation into the organ or injection into the blood -- have shown that bone marrow stem cell therapy could reverse or improve diabetes in some laboratory mice. But little has been known about how stem cells affect beta cells -- pancreas cells that produce insulin -- or how scientists could promote sustained beta cell renewal and insulin production. When the Cedars-Sinai researchers modified bone marrow stem cells to express a certain gene (vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF), pancreatic recovery was sustained as mouse pancreases were able to generate new beta cells. The VEGF-modified stem … Continue reading →

April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online Columbia University ophthalmologists and stem cell researchers have developed an experimental treatment for blindness using the patients skin cells, which has improved the vision of blind mice in testing. The findings of this research, published online in the journal Molecular Medicine, suggest that induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) could soon be used to improve vision in people with macular degeneration and other eye retina diseases. iPS cells are derived from adult human skin cells but have embryonic qualities. With eye diseases, I think were getting close to a scenario where a patients own skin cells are used to replace retina cells destroyed by disease or degeneration, says Stephen Tsang, MD, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology and pathology & cell biology. Its often said that iPS transplantation will be important in the practice of medicine in some distant future, but our paper suggests the future is almost here. Scientists were very excited by the advent of human iPS cells when they were discovered in 2007, as they provide a way to avoid the ethical complications of embryonic stem cells. Another advantage is that the iPS cells are created from the patients own skin, eliminating … Continue reading →

Public release date: 2-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Ellen Slingsby eslingsby@lifespan.org 401-444-6421 Lifespan PROVIDENCE, R.I. Epileptic and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) may look similar, but actually have different causes and treatments. Up to 20 percent of patients diagnosed with epilepsy actually have PNES, which are not treated by antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). According to a new study by Rhode Island Hospital researcher W. Curt LaFrance Jr., M.D., M.P.H., director of neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurology, increasing access to video electroencephalography (video-EEG) may aid in distinguishing between epilepsy and PNES. The study is published online in advance of print in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior. This is the first study to compare how clinicians diagnose and treat PNES in a North American country and a South American country, and underscores the importance of access to video-EEG to conclusively make the diagnosis of PNES. It compared diagnosis and treatment practices among clinicians in the U.S. and Chile who treat epilepsy and PNES to assess standard medical care for PNES. In the U.S., 89 percent of clinician respondents reported using inpatient video-EEG to diagnosis PNES, which is the gold standard for diagnosis. However, this diagnostic tool is not always available in other … Continue reading →

HATFIELD, England, October 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bial and Eisai today present information on new studies designed to increase the understanding of the use of Zebinix(R) (eslicarbazepine acetate), a once-daily adjunctive therapy for adults with partial-onset seizures, with or without secondary generalisation, at the 10th European Congress on Epileptology (ECE) in London.[1] These new data will be important as the successful treatment of partial-onset seizures remains a challenge, and up to a third of people with epilepsy do not achieve freedom from seizures despite appropriate therapy with anti-epileptic drugs.[2] Eslicarbazepine acetate in Partial-Onset Seizures study (EPOS)[3] Launched in March 2012, the Eslicarbazepine acetate in Partial-Onset Seizures (EPOS) study design presented here aims to provide a better understanding of the use of eslicarbazepine acetate in a clinical practice setting. EPOS is a prospective, multicentre, open-label, non-interventional study of adults with partial-onset seizures insufficiently controlled by monotherapy anti-epileptic treatment. The goal is to recruit approximately 800 patients from over 200 centres in Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the UK. The study primary endpoint will be 6-month retention rate and other assessments will include seizure frequency, adverse events and quality of life. "The significant number of people with epilepsy who fail to … Continue reading →

Developing countries are seeing rising rates of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. But researchers say those countries already have a disproportionate number of epilepsy cases compared to richer nations. Researchers say despite epilepsy being one of the most cost-effective disorders to treat, developing nations carry a heavy burden. Twice as many people with epilepsy live in low and middle income countries. The findings appear in The Lancet medical journal. Oxford University Psychiatry Professor Charles Newton is the lead author. He spends much of his time in Kenya and Tanzania in the Wellcome Trust programs. Epilepsy is a condition in which there is an excessive neuronal or electrical discharge within the brain causing the person to develop abnormal movements or impaired consciousness or even in some cases abnormal sensations, he said. Epilepsy is an umbrella term for a condition that has many causes and can happen at any age. It can be inherited. It can have other genetic causes. It can be cause by infections, birth trauma, head injury and even such things as stroke and brain tumors, he said. Newton said that in Africa birth trauma often results from poor obstetrical care. And brain infections can … Continue reading →