A NEW stem cell therapy treatment to develop new bones for patients with bone loss and new skin for recipients of plastic surgery has been developed, doctors from Shanghai No.9 People's Hospital announced yesterday. In the procedure, medical staff use a special machine to collect stem cells from a patient's blood. The stem cells adhere to a base made of a special biological material. The stem cells are then transplanted into the patient's body, where they grow into either new bones or skin tissue, while the base is absorbed by the human body. "So far the practice has been successful in treating patients with bone and skin loss," said Dr Dai Kerong from Shanghai Jiao Tong University's translational medicine institute at Shanghai No.9 hospital. "The stem cell technology will be used to develop corneas for blind people as well as treating heart attack and stroke patients by developing new heart and cerebral tissue." The technology is patented in China and abroad and will be licensed within one or two years, according to Dai. China has established 51 translational medicine centers to boost the introduction of laboratory research into clinical use. The complicated procedures and documentation required often prevent doctors from … Continue reading →

Washington, Mar 16 (ANI): A special type of brain cell forged from stem cells could help restore the muscle coordination deficits that cause the uncontrollable spasms characteristic of Huntington's disease, a new study has suggested. Huntington's disease, the debilitating congenital neurological disorder that progressively robs patients of muscle coordination and cognitive ability, is a condition without effective treatment, a slow death sentence. "This is really something unexpected," said Su-Chun Zhang, a University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientist and the senior author of the new study, which showed that locomotion could be restored in mice with a Huntington's-like condition. Zhang is an expert at making different types of brain cells from human embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cells. In the new study, his group focused on what are known as GABA neurons, cells whose degradation is responsible for disruption of a key neural circuit and loss of motor function in Huntington's patients. GABA neurons, Zhang explained, produce a key neurotransmitter, a chemical that helps underpin the communication network in the brain that coordinates movement. In the laboratory, Zhang and his colleagues at the UW-Madison Waisman Center have learned how to make large amounts of GABA neurons from human embryonic stem cells, which they … Continue reading →

A research report published earlier this week suggests a possible connection between the use of stem cells and a treatment for Huntingtons disease. Su-Chun Zhang, a UW-Madison professor, is the senior author of the new study, which shows embryonic stem cells may be used to reinstate the neural circuit needed for motor control that is destroyed in Huntingtons patients. There is no cure for Huntingtons, a terminal disease in which patients lose control of muscle coordination. The key to the study is the use of GABA neurons, which are responsible for creating the network the brain uses to coordinate motor function, but are reduced in Huntingtons patients. According to the report, researchers found a way to manufacture large quantities of GABA neurons from embryonic stem cells, which they implanted in mice to test how well they would integrate in to the mouses brain. The cells not only integrated in the mouses brain, but also projected to the corresponding target and reestablished the neural circuit, which restored muscle coordination. This result suggests a possible treatment for a previously incurable disease, as well as discovering that the human brain may be more resilient than originally thought. While the findings are optimistic, researchers … Continue reading →

Leading medical devices player, Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - News) has received approval from Health Canada for the use of its Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) therapy in refractory epilepsy patients. This therapy sends controlled electrical pulses to a location inside the brain responsible for seizures. While the therapy is approved in Europe, it has yet to receive approval in the US for the treatment of refractory epilepsy. The Health Canada approval is based on data from the SANTE (Stimulation of the Anterior Nucleus of the Thalamus in Epilepsy) clinical trial. The trial, which collected data from 110 patients, evaluated the use of DBS therapy as treatment for refractory epilepsy with partial-onset seizures. The approval will benefit a wide range of patients as it has been seen that more than 30% suffering from epilepsy fail to control seizures with anti-epileptic medication. The DBS therapy is already approved in EU and US to address the disabling symptoms of essential tremor, advanced Parkinson's disease and dystonia. Besides, it is also approved for severe, treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder not adequately controlled by medications. The additional indication in Canada should enable more patients to benefit from the therapy besides Medtronic increasing its penetration in that region. The Neuromodulation … Continue reading →

Referenced Stocks: CYBX, MDT, STJ Leading medical devices player, Medtronic ( MDT ) has received approval from Health Canada for the use of its Deep Brain Stimulation ("DBS") therapy in refractory epilepsy patients. This therapy sends controlled electrical pulses to a location inside the brain responsible for seizures. While the therapy is approved in Europe, it has yet to receive approval in the US for the treatment of refractory epilepsy. The Health Canada approval is based on data from the SANTE (Stimulation of the Anterior Nucleus of the Thalamus in Epilepsy) clinical trial. The trial, which collected data from 110 patients, evaluated the use of DBS therapy as treatment for refractory epilepsy with partial-onset seizures. The approval will benefit a wide range of patients as it has been seen that more than 30% suffering from epilepsy fail to control seizures with anti-epileptic medication. The DBS therapy is already approved in EU and US to address the disabling symptoms of essential tremor, advanced Parkinson's disease and dystonia. Besides, it is also approved for severe, treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder not adequately controlled by medications. The additional indication in Canada should enable more patients to benefit from the therapy besides Medtronic increasing its penetration … Continue reading →