Page 6,785«..1020..6,7846,7856,7866,787..6,7906,800..»

Life Technologies and Cellular Dynamics International Partner for Global Commercialization of Novel Stem Cell …

Posted: Published on June 12th, 2012

CARLSBAD, Calif., June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE) today announced a partnership with Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), the world's largest producer of human cells derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, to commercialize a set of three new products optimized to consistently develop and grow human iPS cells for both research and bioproduction. The partnership marries CDI's leadership in human iPS cell development with Life Technologies' expertise in stem cell research tool manufacturing and global distribution network to make these novel technologies accessible to researchers around the world. Life Technologies' commercialization of Essential 8 Medium, Vitronectin (VTN-N), and Episomal iPSC Reprogramming Vectors addresses several challenges associated with developing relevant cells for use in a wide range of studies, from basic and translational research to drug discovery efforts. The effectiveness of these products is the focus of recent validation studies published in the journals Nature Methods and PLoS One. "The launch of these new stem cell culture products furthers CDI founder and stem cell pioneer Jamie Thomson's vision to enable scientists worldwide to easily access the power of iPSC technology, thus driving breakthroughs in human health," noted Bob Palay, CDI Chief Executive Officer. To eliminate the variability introduced … Continue reading →

Posted in Cell Medicine | Comments Off on Life Technologies and Cellular Dynamics International Partner for Global Commercialization of Novel Stem Cell …

Heart disease and stem-cell treatments: caught in a clinical stampede

Posted: Published on June 12th, 2012

A few years ago, concerns over these heart trials were voiced by a Norwegian professor, Harald Arnesen. He concluded in 2007 that they are not convincing and that one German team had achieved striking results only because the control group in its trial had done particularly badly. Prof Arnesen called for a moratorium on this kind of stem-cell therapy. That still did not deter the clinicians. This January, another trial funded by the EU was announced the largest of all, with 3,000 heart-attack patients recruited from across Europe. The idea behind the trials is straightforward. During a heart attack, a clogged blood vessel starves heart muscle of oxygen. Up to a billion heart muscle cells, called cardiomyocytes, can be damaged, and the body responds by replacing them with relatively inflexible scar tissue, which can lead to fatal heart failure. So why not implant stem cells that can grow into cardiomyocytes? Stem cells, of course, come in many kinds: the embryonic variety have the potential to turn into all 200 cell types in the body. Adult stem cells, harvested from the patient, have a more limited repertoire: bone marrow stem cells generate blood cells, for example. So to claim, as was … Continue reading →

Posted in Cell Therapy | Comments Off on Heart disease and stem-cell treatments: caught in a clinical stampede

Criminalising drugs is harming medical research

Posted: Published on June 12th, 2012

David Nutt, former adviser to the UK government, says the ban on drugs like ecstasy is hampering neuroscience How do the drug laws in most countries affect scientific research? One of the things I find very disturbing about the current approach to drugs, which is simply prohibition without necessarily any full understanding of harms, is that we lose sight of the fact that these drugs may well give us insights into areas of science that need to be explored and may give us new opportunities for treatment. In what way? Almost all the drugs of interest in terms of understanding brain phenomena such as consciousness, perception, mood and psychosis are illegal. And so there is almost no work done in this field. How bad is the impact? The effects these laws have had on research is greater than those caused by the US government hindering stem cell research. No one has done an imaging neuroscience study of smoking cannabis. I can show you 150 papers telling you how the brain reacts to an angry face, but I can't show you a single paper that tells you what cannabis does. Any examples of missed opportunities? There were six trials of LSD … Continue reading →

Posted in Drugs | Comments Off on Criminalising drugs is harming medical research

A better way to grow bone: Fresh, purified fat stem cells grow bone better, faster

Posted: Published on June 12th, 2012

ScienceDaily (June 11, 2012) UCLA stem cell scientists purified a subset of stem cells found in fat tissue and made from them bone that was formed faster and was of higher quality than bone grown using traditional methods, a finding that may one day eliminate the need for painful bone grafts that use material taken from the patient during invasive procedures. Adipose, or fat, tissue is thought to be an ideal source of cells called mesenchymal stem cells -- capable of developing into bone, cartilage, muscle and other tissues -- because they are plentiful and easily attained through procedures such as liposuction, said Dr. Chia Soo, vice chair for research at UCLA Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The co-senior authors on the project, Soo and Bruno Pault, are members of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. Traditionally, cells taken from fat had to be cultured for weeks to isolate the stem cells which could become bone, and their expansion increases risk of infection and genetic instability. A fresh, non-cultured cell composition called stromal vascular fraction (SVF) also is used to grow bone. However, SVF cells taken from adipose tissue are a highly … Continue reading →

Posted in Stem Cell Human Trials | Comments Off on A better way to grow bone: Fresh, purified fat stem cells grow bone better, faster

A better way to grow bone: Fresh, purified fat stem cells grow bone faster and better

Posted: Published on June 12th, 2012

Public release date: 11-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences UCLA stem cell scientists purified a subset of stem cells found in fat tissue and made from them bone that was formed faster and was of higher quality than bone grown using traditional methods, a finding that may one day eliminate the need for painful bone grafts that use material taken from the patient during invasive procedures. Adipose, or fat, tissue is thought to be an ideal source of cells called mesenchymal stem cells - capable of developing into bone, cartilage, muscle and other tissues - because they are plentiful and easily attained through procedures such as liposuction, said Dr. Chia Soo, vice chair for research at UCLA Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The co-senior authors on the project, Soo and Bruno Pault, are members of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. Traditionally, cells taken from fat had to be cultured for weeks to isolate the stem cells which could become bone, and their expansion increases risk of infection and genetic instability. A fresh, non-cultured cell composition called stromal … Continue reading →

Posted in Stem Cell Human Trials | Comments Off on A better way to grow bone: Fresh, purified fat stem cells grow bone faster and better

Bioluminescence imaging lights up stem cell therapy for hair growth

Posted: Published on June 12th, 2012

Public release date: 11-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Susan Martonik smartonik@snm.org 703-652-6773 Society of Nuclear Medicine Miami Beach, Fla.Finding a way to restore hair growth after substantial hair loss is something of an obsession worldwide. Investigators at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 2012 Annual Meeting presented how stem cell research for the development of new hair follicles can be monitored with an optical imaging technique that uses bioluminescence, the same process that allows fireflies to light up. There is a host of treatments available for hair loss, including creams and drugs, but these have not shown to be very effective for hair growth. Hair stem cells signal the actual regeneration of hair follicles and natural hair. A molecular imaging technique called bioluminescence is used to display processes at the cellular level. Bioluminescent signal is generated in specific chemical substances called substrates. These signals are easily recognized with very sensitive optical imaging systems that can see what is happening in the smallest placesin this case in hair stem cells. "Hair regeneration using hair stem cells is a promising therapeutic option emerging for hair loss, and molecular imaging can speed up the development of this therapy," saysByeong-Cheol Ahn, M.D., … Continue reading →

Posted in Stem Cell Human Trials | Comments Off on Bioluminescence imaging lights up stem cell therapy for hair growth

Unusual 'altruistic' stem cell behavior with possible link to cancer identified

Posted: Published on June 12th, 2012

ScienceDaily (June 11, 2012) When most groups of mammalian cells are faced with a shortage of nutrients or oxygen, the phrase "every man for himself" is more apt than "all for one, one for all." Unlike colonies of bacteria, which often cooperate to thrive as a group, mammalian cells have never been observed to help one another out. But a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine has shown that certain human embryonic stem cells, in times of stress, produce molecules that not only benefit themselves, but also help nearby cells survive. "Altruism has been reported among bacterial populations and among humans and other animals, like monkeys and elephants," said Stanford postdoctoral scholar Bikul Das, MBBS, PhD. "But in mammalian cells -- at the cellular level -- the idea of altruism has never been described before." Das is the lead author of a paper, published online June 11 in Stem Cells, documenting altruistic behavior by human embryonic stem cells, or hESCs. While altruism is generally thought of as a virtue, it can have a downside for hESCs: The altruistic cells appear to be more prone to accumulating mutations, a sign that they could lead … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Unusual 'altruistic' stem cell behavior with possible link to cancer identified

New details in Grekos patient death case

Posted: Published on June 12th, 2012

BONITA SPRINGS - An attorney for the Bonita Springs doctor accused of performing controversial stem cell treatment on a patient who then died expects depositions to be taken this week that he says will help clear his client's name. Dr. Zannos Grekos had his medical license suspended back in March after a patient, 77-year-old Richard Poling, died following an injection of his own stem cells. Documents posted on the Department of Health's website show that Poling paid $8,000 by wire transfer to have his own stem cells removed from his body and sent by courier to a lab in Boynton Beach. The cells were to be processed and returned the same day. According to the documents, Poling had stomach pains before his cells were returned. Doctors discovered the man had a hematoma, and made him comfortable while he waited for his tissue to be returned for re-injection. The Department of Health found the laboratory used to process the cells "turned out to be a small office in a strip mall" and "the person that allegedly operated the machine that performed the ultrasonic cavitation on the sample of R.P.'s tissue was unsupervised and was not licensed either by the Florida Board … Continue reading →

Comments Off on New details in Grekos patient death case

Experimental Stem Cell Treatment Tested for Type 1 Diabetes

Posted: Published on June 12th, 2012

In Early Study, Procedure Helps Teens Halt Insulin Injections June 11, 2012 (Philadelphia) -- In an early study, an experimental stem cell procedure helped 15 teens with type 1 diabetes stay off of insulin injections for about 1.5 years, on average. The study was very small, and the procedure is not ready for widespread use. "We now have a unique approach with some positive findings, but it's still early. We need to better understand the biology behind the treatment and follow patients for long-term side effects," Robert E. Ratner, MD, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association, tells WebMD. This is the latest of several stem cell studies to show promising results for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, Ratner notes. In the new study, 15 of 28 teens with type 1 diabetes who got an experimental treatment using their own stem cells went into remission and did not need insulin injections for an average of about 1.5 years. The "cocktail treatment" combines stem cell therapy with drugs that suppress the body's immune system. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells within the pancreas. The experimental treatment is called autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Experimental Stem Cell Treatment Tested for Type 1 Diabetes

Duchenne muscular dystrophy: In just a few years this lively little boy will be left crippled

Posted: Published on June 12th, 2012

By Caroline Cheetham PUBLISHED: 17:17 EST, 11 June 2012 | UPDATED: 17:32 EST, 11 June 2012 As she watched her son Jack buzzing about at playgroup, Alex Johnson noticed the 18-month-old didnt seem as advanced physically as the other children. He couldnt jump as high, or run as fast, and he struggled to hold himself up when he was on the slide, says Alex. There wasnt anything more specific than that but to my eye it seemed noticeable. On Duchenne muscular dystrophy: 'I kept looking at the information and realised Jack wasn't going to get better. In fact, he was going to get worse,' said Alex Johnson, pictured with son Jack and husband Andy Worried, Alex took Jack to the local GP surgery on three occasions. However, the doctors were not concerned. And Alex was simply advised children develop at different stages and all catch up eventually, so she felt reassured. The GPs words had particular resonance for 27-year-old Alex and her husband Andy. Alex had nearly miscarried four times during her pregnancy, so when Jack was born in January 2008 safe and well, theyd said a silent prayer of thanks for their miracle. See original here: Duchenne muscular dystrophy: … Continue reading →

Posted in Muscular Dystrophy Treatment | Comments Off on Duchenne muscular dystrophy: In just a few years this lively little boy will be left crippled

Page 6,785«..1020..6,7846,7856,7866,787..6,7906,800..»