More than five years after a radical treatment, a San Francisco man and his German doctor are convinced that he remains the first person cured of infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Timothy Ray Brown, who is known as "The Berlin Patient" because of where he was treated, and Dr. Gero Hutter made their first joint appearance in the U.S. on Wednesday when Hutter spoke at a symposium on gene therapy at Washington University in St. Louis. Scientists are studying whether gene therapy can be used to rid the body of HIV. Brown, 46, was diagnosed with HIV in 1995. In 2006, he also developed leukemia while living in Germany. Hutter performed a blood stem cell transplant using a donor with a rare gene mutation that provides natural resistance to HIV. Hutter said that resistance transferred to Brown. In an interview with The Associated Press, Brown said he feels great, has not needed HIV medication since the 2007 surgery, and is now active in a foundation named for him that seeks a cure for HIV. Hutter said enough time has passed to say without hesitation that Brown is cured, citing the same five-year standard after which some cancer … Continue reading →

GOLDEN, Colo., Sept. 12, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vitro Diagnostics, Inc. (VODG), dba Vitro Biopharma, announced an agreement with StemGenesis, Inc. (http://www.stemgenesisinc.com) for the exclusive distribution of its products into the following Chinese Provinces: Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Hebei, Liaoning and Heilongjiang. The agreement provides for distribution of the entire Vitro Biopharma product line under specific terms and conditions. The agreement covers Vitro Biopharma's adult mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) lines & derivatives, the MSC-Gro(TM) brand of MSC cell culture media and the LUMENESC(TM) assay kits for the determination of MSC potency, quality and response to toxic agents. StemGenesis, Inc. was incorporated in Nevada in 2011 and now has US and Chinese operations through facilities located in Sacramento, CA and Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. StemGenesis is a medical device company with focus on blood transfusion, blood banking and stem cell products. The goal of the company's presence in China is to work with the government at different levels to enhance quality of cell therapy as well as stem cell therapy by introducing the state-of-the-art technologies and products from developed countries. Dr. Jim Musick, Vitro Biopharma's President & CEO, said, "We are very pleased to announce our distribution … Continue reading →

Eighteen gerbils were given a drug to make them deaf in one ear, before being given an injection of 50,000 progenitor cells into the cochlea, which translates sounds into nerve impulses which can be sent to the brain. On average about a third of the cells grafted themselves to the ear and replace the damaged nerve cells. Brain scans showed that the gerbils typically recovered 45 per cent of their hearing after 10 weeks. In humans this would translate to someone who could formerly not hear a lorry passing by their window gaining the ability to follow a conversation in a crowded room, researchers said. They added that the results were variable, with some gerbils recovering up to 90 per cent of their hearing and others seeing very little improvement, depending on how many of the cells took hold. More research is needed to establish that the benefits of the treatment are lasting and that it is safe for use on humans, but the study represents a "huge step forward" in deafness research, the team said. Dr Marcelo Rivolta, who led the study, said: "Stem cells have been used in animal models of deafness before, mostly the mouse, with different … Continue reading →