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Advocacy group linked to stem cell industry asks medical board for less-strict rule

Posted: Published on April 2nd, 2012

By Mary Ann Roser AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF An Austin-based group funded mainly by a company that develops stem cell therapies is petitioning the Texas Medical Board for a less-strict rule on adult stem cells an issue the board has struggled with for more than a year. The board will hold a hearing April 13 on its proposed rule, which would require doctors to get informed consent from patients before performing a stem cell procedure as well as approval from an institutional review board. Such boards review research to protect patients and are overseen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. At the meeting, the board must either adopt or pull down the much-revised rule, said Mari Robinson, executive director of the medical board. The group, MedRebels Foundation, which seeks to raise awareness and educate the public about stem cells, will present its petition at the hearing. It has more than 2,500 signatures, many of them gathered near the company's Red River Street office during the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival, Executive Director Shay McBurney said Friday. The office space is provided by SpineSmith and its parent, Celling Biosciences, which develops products and therapies using a person's own adult stem … Continue reading →

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Stem cell institute to work with foreign agencies

Posted: Published on April 1st, 2012

California's $3 billion stem cell agency, now more than 7 years old, has joined research partnerships with science and health agencies in eight foreign countries, the San Francisco institute announced. The agreements call for collaboration in efforts aimed at speeding stem cell research from the laboratory to the hospital, where researchers hope that basic human cells will be programmed to treat scores of human degenerative diseases. Research partnerships between American and foreign stem cell scientists are encouraged, but the California institute's funds would only be spent within the state, institute officials said. Alan Trounson, president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, signed agreements with stem cell funding agencies in Brazil and Argentina last week, he said Thursday. "Both Brazil and Argentina have strong and robust stem cell research communities in basic science and transitional clinical science, which should create exciting synergies with many scientists in California," Trounson said in a statement. He has signed similar pacts with stem cell agencies in Canada, Britain, France, Spain, Australia, Japan, China and Indiana. The California institute was created in 2004 after Proposition 71, a $3 billion bond issue, was approved by California voters at a time when use of federal funds was … Continue reading →

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Two Targeted Therapies Act Against Ewing's Sarcoma Tumors

Posted: Published on April 1st, 2012

Researchers control drug side effects for treatment gains in phase I trial Newswise CHICAGO - A pair of targeted therapies shrank tumors in some patients with treatment-resistant Ewing's sarcoma or desmoplastic small-round-cell tumors, according to research led by investigators from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012. Five of 17 Ewing's sarcoma patients responded to the combination, with two achieving complete responses, one for 27 weeks. The researchers noted that the ability to manage patients' treatment-related side effects is vital to maintaining the therapy and slowing disease progression. The study was published simultaneously in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Ewing's sarcoma primarily affects the bones and occurs most often in teenagers and young adults and relapse is common, said lead researcher Aung Naing, M.D., assistant professor in MD Anderson's Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics. Researchers used a combination of cixutumumab, a human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that targets insulin growth factor receptor 1 (IGF-1R), and temsirolimus, an agent that inhibits mTOR, or "mammalian target of rapamycin". The two drugs address molecular pathways that cause cell proliferation and survival, abnormal blood vessel growth and resistance to chemotherapy … Continue reading →

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2 targeted therapies act against Ewing's sarcoma tumors

Posted: Published on April 1st, 2012

Public release date: 31-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Scott Merville smerville@mdanderson.org 713-792-0661 University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center CHICAGO - A pair of targeted therapies shrank tumors in some patients with treatment-resistant Ewing's sarcoma or desmoplastic small-round-cell tumors, according to research led by investigators from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012. Five of 17 Ewing's sarcoma patients responded to the combination, with two achieving complete responses, one for 27 weeks. The researchers noted that the ability to manage patients' treatment-related side effects is vital to maintaining the therapy and slowing disease progression. The study was published simultaneously in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Ewing's sarcoma primarily affects the bones and occurs most often in teenagers and young adults and relapse is common, said lead researcher Aung Naing, M.D., assistant professor in MD Anderson's Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics. Researchers used a combination of cixutumumab, a human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that targets insulin growth factor receptor 1 (IGF-1R), and temsirolimus, an agent that inhibits mTOR, or "mammalian target of rapamycin". The two drugs address molecular pathways that cause cell proliferation … Continue reading →

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Editorial: Closed courtrooms hide flaws

Posted: Published on April 1st, 2012

A horrific story by The Bee's Marjie Lundstrom and Sam Stanton begins, "Despite the fact that her infant son hadn't been seen by family members or authorities for at least two months, a drug- using mother was ordered released from jail in June by the Sacramento County Juvenile Court." The story of "Baby Dwight" has trickled out, in large part because of persistent digging by The Bee's reporters. What happened in that court? How could the court release the mother, Tanisha Edwards, without anyone knowing the whereabouts of Dwight Stallings, her child who is still missing? We're not even sure of the name of the judge or court referee who authorized Edwards' release. We may never know answers to these basic questions because of the routine secrecy in juvenile dependency court. This incident should spark new efforts to open these court proceedings to the public. Things, however, are not moving in that direction. Legislation by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, to launch a four-year pilot to open dependency court hearings in three counties stalled last year, and died in February. A similar bill by then-Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, died in 2004. Feuer's Assembly Bill 73 clearly stated the problems with … Continue reading →

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Cut-price drugs to save families

Posted: Published on April 1st, 2012

Please install the latest Flash player [To view Flash please enable JavaScript and Flash.] Hunters Hill's Hazel and Aggi Theocharous with kids Myles, 4, and James, 11 are delighted they will be paying less for their medicine. Picture: Ella Pellegrini. Source: The Sunday Telegraph THE biggest price cuts in the history of the nation's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will hit chemist shelves today, delivering big savings to families. Prices will be slashed on 1000 brands of 60 popular prescription medicines by up to $14 per script. Some of the most widely used medications, including scores of antibiotics, painkillers, antidepressants, cholesterol controllers, laxatives, blood pressure and heart drugs, will fall in price, thanks to a Gillard government move which brings drug costs into line with the market price. A 20-pack of heavy-duty painkiller Panadeine Forte will fall by up to $4.32, a course of antibiotic Augmentin Duo Forte will fall by up to $3.33, a month's supply of anti-depressant Prozac will fall by a maximum of $3.35, and widely used cholesterol tablets Lopid will fall by up to $7.32 for a 60-pack. With an average checkout saving to consumers of $3 per script, the move will save hundreds of dollars per year … Continue reading →

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New Data Demonstrates DIFICLIR™ May Offer Benefits for Cancer Patients, who are at High Risk of Clostridium Difficile …

Posted: Published on April 1st, 2012

STAINES, UK, March 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a potentially fatal disease, is one of the most common healthcare acquired infections inEurope[1] New data presented at the 22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) demonstrate that in cancer patients with CDI, DIFICLIR(fidaxomicin) may offer significant benefits in terms of clinical cure*, recurrence[#] and sustained clinical cure[=].[2] The data presented were derived from two Phase III clinical trials. A post hoc analysis compared outcomes in patients who had a diagnosis of cancer with outcomes for patients who did not. In the clinical trials, the data on cancer diagnosis was not collected as a pre-defined endpoint. CDI is the leading cause of healthcare-acquired diarrhoea in adults[1] and has become an increasing problem in hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.[3] A person's risk of CDI increases with a longer period of hospitalisation.[4] Patients who have received chemotherapy and those with solid tumours can be particularly susceptible to CDI due to their long hospital stays and exposure to many antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents.[5] "Patients with cancer represent a vulnerable population who are at high risk of CDI, often resulting from their compromised immune system. CDI can … Continue reading →

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Are Cancer Stem Cells Ready for Prime Time?

Posted: Published on April 1st, 2012

By Suling Liu, Hasan Korkaya, and Max S. Wicha | April 1, 2012 Inthe 30-year battle waged since the initiation of the war on cancer, there have been substantial victories, with cures for childhood malignancies among the most important. Our ever-expanding understanding of cellular and molecular biology has provided substantial insights into the molecular underpinnings of the spectrum of diseases we call cancer. Yet, while researchers view this as tremendous progress, many patients have seen only limited improvement. In fact, the relatively modest gains achieved in treating the most common malignancies have caused some to say that we are actually losing the war on cancer. Based on new intelligence, oncologists are making informed battle plans to attack a particularly pernicious enemythe cancer stem cell. Controversial though they are, cancer stem cells are an incredibly promising target. If treatment-resistant cancer, and the metastases that transplant the cancer throughout the body, could be attributed to the actions of a single cell type, it could explain many of the treatment failures and provide a novel way to attack the disease. The idea that cancers are driven by cells with embryonic features is an old one. Many cancers regress to a less differentiated state, … Continue reading →

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The fight to walk

Posted: Published on April 1st, 2012

Daniel Leonard is doing all he can to walk again, and after a recent course of stem cell treatment hes as close as he has been since a few months after the 2005 injury that put him a wheelchair. He was 22 years old and about to begin his third year of college when he woke up one August morning on the floor at his familys Johnson City home unable to move and struggling to breathe. While the cause of his injury remains a mystery, what is known is that three vertebrae near the top of his spine had been crushed, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, on a ventilator and not expected to never walk or even breathe on his own again. Six months after undergoing surgery to remove the bone fragments from his spinal cord, Leonard, who had played several sports in high school and was boxing at the Johnson City Athletic club prior to his injury, was exceeding all expectations. In treatment at the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center in Knoxville, he was not only breathing independently, he was pulling himself up on parallel bars and being fitted with leg braces to help him take his first … Continue reading →

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With autism rates up, experts renew call for early intervention

Posted: Published on March 31st, 2012

(CBS/AP) The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's latest autism report shows rates of the disorder are on the rise, up 23 percent from the previous estimate. The news has sparked experts to advise parents they should learn the signs that may signal a problem with their child's development, because the earlier the intervention, the better. Complete Coverage of Latest Developments in Autism 10 early warning signs of autism The CDC's latest numbers are based on 2008 data from 14 states. The new rate is nearly twice as high than 2002 data estimates of roughly 1 in 150 kids. And it's 23 percent higher than a later estimate of 1 in 110 based on 2006 data. Rates are highest in boys and white children. But the biggest rate increase was among Hispanic children, from 1 in 270 in 2002 to about 1 in 125 in 2008. Cristina Astacio is one such child. At 18 months, she spoke only a few words, wouldn't respond to her name and shunned other kids in her day care group. Last October, her worried parents found out why - she was diagnosed with a mild form of autism, a diagnosis being given to more U.S. … Continue reading →

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