Monthly Archives: September 2012

Nobody noticed dementia?

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Re: Dementia case puts Senate on the spot, Aug. 29

Dementia to the point of being declared incompetent does not happen overnight? Didnt any of Joyce Fairbairns colleagues notice that something was not quite right? Then again, I guess that its all relative.

Claude Gannon, Markham

So a Senator declared mentally incompetent continued for four months to perform her duties, and none of her colleagues noticed? Or worse, perhaps, noticed but said or did nothing? Makes you wonder about their mental competence.

Stephen Whitzman, Toronto

I suspect Prime Minister Stephen Harpers promise of Senate reform has slipped his mind until the next election. Since our country is foolish enough to reduce corporate taxes for greedy banks, insurance and gas companies, I may still have a shot at becoming a senator.

Although I am not a good fighter, I could drink a lot at lunch and be abusive to my staff in the afternoon. Do not worry about how I vote on bills because I will not show up very often anyway. With the generous salary and quarter million dollar plus expense account, I could probably attract a wife over 40 years my junior and take her on government-paid business-class flights, but I promise not to fight with her until we land.

Although I was never in the NHL I did not get hit too often in peewee so I am sure I could be a wise member of the upper chamber well into my old age. I hear government pensions are very generous and it will take Mr. Harper a few more elections to make insignificant changes to the plan.

My main qualification as a Conservative senator would be that I would support all of their bills no matter how harmful they are to the environment or how much pressure it puts on the working class.

Jim Ypma, Georgina

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Nobody noticed dementia?

COA to host dementia caregivers event

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COA to host dementia caregivers event

SAGINAW Living with a diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimers Disease can be a defining moment in anyones life. On Thursday, Sept. 27, the Dementia Advisory Board, a program of the Saginaw County Commission on Aging, will host a conference for caregivers working with persons with dementia.

The program will take place at the Riverfront Grille, 128 N Front St. in Chesaning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and includes lunch (with a $5 donation).

We have seen such an increase in cases with people caring for loved ones with Alzheimers Disease or some other form of dementia, said Nicole Wiesenauer, care manager at the Saginaw Commission on Aging. Caregiver stress is at an all-time high. We are hoping to educate the residents of Saginaw County about this disease and to invite them to take advantage of the resources and support that are available throughout our area.

Carol Waarala, LMSW from Avalon Hospice, will be the keynote speaker for the event, and several local agencies and memory care experts will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. Seating is limited and reservations can be made by calling Wiesenauer at 1-866-763-6336.

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COA to host dementia caregivers event

Norfolk dementia unit to close this autumn

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County Hall, Norwich.

David Freezer Friday, August 31, 2012 5:52 PM

Dementia patients and their families have been reassured that every effort will be made to smooth their transition from a closing day centre in Blofield to a larger unit in Norwich.

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News that Stocks Lane Day Centre is to close has been confirmed by Norfolk County Council and been described as very bad news by one person involved with the Blofield day centre.

The person, who asked not to be named, said: The patients will be moved from a very small, intimate and secure nine-person unit, to a very large unit.

This is very bad news because people with dementia dont like crowds or noise.

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Norfolk dementia unit to close this autumn

Even in dementia, medic cares for vet

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(CBS News) NORTHPORT, N.Y. - It's a story that makes you think, "What are the chances?" It started with a mystery at a nursing home we visited, "On the Road."

John Angerame says when you love someone with advanced dementia -- like his father has -- you can't help but wonder: Are they still in there?

John asks his dad Augie for even the littlest signs that he's present, like a wink or blink.

Fortunately, although Augie can't communicate, by all indications he is aware -- beyond words.

Augie Angerame served in the Korean War, in an artillery unit. He was a medic, which may partly explain his recent behavior at his VA nursing home on Long Island.

A few months ago, Augie started going into the room of another veteran with dementia named Frank Dibella.

"And I was like, 'What's this man doing?'" recalled Frank's daughter, Mary Rose Monroe. "He'd rub his back and then he'd walk away."

"Just check on him," John Angerame added, "like maybe a medic would do as he made rounds."

The kids agreed: It seemed like Augie was trying to care for Frank -- like he was back in the war. Frank didn't seem to mind. The staff eventually moved the two men into the same room.

And that's when John started putting the pieces together.

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Even in dementia, medic cares for vet

Axing of autism home tuition ‘rash cost-cutting’

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By Claire OSullivan

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Children with autism are having their home tuition halted and instead are being ordered to attend new special needs units, according to one of the countrys leading autism support groups.

The Department of Education announced that 91 new classes for children with special needs are to be introduced at special needs units at the countrys schools.

Shine Ireland, the Irish Progressive Association for Autism, initially welcomed the investment but yesterday criticised it as "rash cost- cutting" saying they hadnt realised then that such units would be used to replace more costly home tuition.

The home tuition service is used by hundreds of children with autism, some as young as two, who need specific learning support, seen as a form of early one- on-one intervention.

Shine Ireland said families have been told in the past fortnight their home tuition will no longer be funded.

Its CEO Kieran Kennedy said: "The children are being sent wherever. There has been no consultation, no chance to talk to teachers or the principal at school.

"There has been no chance to see if the needs of child can be met. No parent of a regular child would be told that you have to put your child into a particular school at four years of age."

A Department of Education spokesperson denied grants were being cut.

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Axing of autism home tuition ‘rash cost-cutting’

Autism and schizophrenia in kids linked to fathers' age

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A new study finds that babies of older fathers have increased health risks due to genetic mutations that increase with age.

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SALT LAKE CITY Older fathers are more likely to father a child with autism or schizophrenia, due to genetic mutations that increase with age, according to a new study published online Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Researchers examined 78 Icelandic families with children who had been diagnosed with autism or schizophrenia. They found that a 40-year-old passes 65 genetic mutations to his child, while a 20-year-old passes 25. Fathers transmitted two new mutations in their DNA each additional year, while mothers passed on 15 new mutations at every age.

The research corrected false assumptions that the risks lie in the older ages of women alone, the Los Angeles Times reported. "Although older mothers are more likely to have children with chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome because of problems with older eggs, the study found that practically all of the novel mutations detected in children came from the father's sperm."

Experts said the finding might influence reproductive decisions, but was hardly reason to forgo fatherhood at an older age, The New York Times reported. There is a 2 percent overall risk to a man in his 40's or older, as well as other contributing factors that remain unknown.

The study found that as many as 20 to 30 percent of cases of autism diagnoses were linked to an older average age in fathers.

"The findings also give us insight into how our gene pool is changing, and what, in modern times, is driving the genetic diversity that is critical to the survival of our species," the Washington Post observed. "Every difference in our DNA that distinguishes each of us as individuals, or that separates Homo sapiens from other species, arguably got its start as a mutation. Some of these alterations in DNA occur by chance, during cell division, others are triggered by exposure to environmental factors, while still others are selected for when they happen to confer some survival advantage, such as an ability to ward off disease."

The only important thing when it came to explaining the mutations was the age of the father, study author Kari Stefansson, the chief executive officer of deCode Genetics, told the Bloomberg News. Theres very little else to be accounted for. Thats a stunning observation.

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Autism and schizophrenia in kids linked to fathers' age

Autism and schizophrenia in kids linked to fathers’ age

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A new study finds that babies of older fathers have increased health risks due to genetic mutations that increase with age.

Shutterstock.com

Enlarge photo

SALT LAKE CITY Older fathers are more likely to father a child with autism or schizophrenia, due to genetic mutations that increase with age, according to a new study published online Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Researchers examined 78 Icelandic families with children who had been diagnosed with autism or schizophrenia. They found that a 40-year-old passes 65 genetic mutations to his child, while a 20-year-old passes 25. Fathers transmitted two new mutations in their DNA each additional year, while mothers passed on 15 new mutations at every age.

The research corrected false assumptions that the risks lie in the older ages of women alone, the Los Angeles Times reported. "Although older mothers are more likely to have children with chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome because of problems with older eggs, the study found that practically all of the novel mutations detected in children came from the father's sperm."

Experts said the finding might influence reproductive decisions, but was hardly reason to forgo fatherhood at an older age, The New York Times reported. There is a 2 percent overall risk to a man in his 40's or older, as well as other contributing factors that remain unknown.

The study found that as many as 20 to 30 percent of cases of autism diagnoses were linked to an older average age in fathers.

"The findings also give us insight into how our gene pool is changing, and what, in modern times, is driving the genetic diversity that is critical to the survival of our species," the Washington Post observed. "Every difference in our DNA that distinguishes each of us as individuals, or that separates Homo sapiens from other species, arguably got its start as a mutation. Some of these alterations in DNA occur by chance, during cell division, others are triggered by exposure to environmental factors, while still others are selected for when they happen to confer some survival advantage, such as an ability to ward off disease."

The only important thing when it came to explaining the mutations was the age of the father, study author Kari Stefansson, the chief executive officer of deCode Genetics, told the Bloomberg News. Theres very little else to be accounted for. Thats a stunning observation.

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Autism and schizophrenia in kids linked to fathers' age

Autism: It's personal

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Theres a saying: If you meet one person with autism, youve met one person with autism, Cathy Louden said.

Autism is a term used for complex disorders of brain development and symptoms tend to be very personal and different for each person.

These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors, the Autism Society of West Shore website said.

In Loudin's home it rings true, she and her husband, Shawn Loudin and their two boys, Jason, 8, and Andrew, 11, are all have autism and they are all very different, she said, each with their own needs, their own quirks.

Andy is more withdrawn, Jason is the social butterfly, Cathy Loudin said. But it flips sometimes.

Andrew perfers to be left alone. Jason will pick on his brother.

Yet each has similarities too; they can focus for some time on electronic games.

Neither Cathy nor Shawn knew they had autism until they started noticing signs in their sons. They recognized things from their own childhoods, and it just made sense. The knowledge has strengthened their relationship and has given them a better understanding of each other, she said. They've learned to avoid situations that make them uncomfortable, such as large crowds.

As she learns the needs of her boys, Cathy found having a solid support system was a must. The family found that in the Autism Society of West Shore, the local chapter of the Autism Society of America.

ASWS has monthly coffee socials, Cathy said, where parents can just talk and share tips, tricks and ideas. They have a free speakers series with topics such as how to get through the individualized education plan, she said.

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Autism: It's personal

Autism: It’s personal

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Theres a saying: If you meet one person with autism, youve met one person with autism, Cathy Louden said.

Autism is a term used for complex disorders of brain development and symptoms tend to be very personal and different for each person.

These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors, the Autism Society of West Shore website said.

In Loudin's home it rings true, she and her husband, Shawn Loudin and their two boys, Jason, 8, and Andrew, 11, are all have autism and they are all very different, she said, each with their own needs, their own quirks.

Andy is more withdrawn, Jason is the social butterfly, Cathy Loudin said. But it flips sometimes.

Andrew perfers to be left alone. Jason will pick on his brother.

Yet each has similarities too; they can focus for some time on electronic games.

Neither Cathy nor Shawn knew they had autism until they started noticing signs in their sons. They recognized things from their own childhoods, and it just made sense. The knowledge has strengthened their relationship and has given them a better understanding of each other, she said. They've learned to avoid situations that make them uncomfortable, such as large crowds.

As she learns the needs of her boys, Cathy found having a solid support system was a must. The family found that in the Autism Society of West Shore, the local chapter of the Autism Society of America.

ASWS has monthly coffee socials, Cathy said, where parents can just talk and share tips, tricks and ideas. They have a free speakers series with topics such as how to get through the individualized education plan, she said.

Continue reading here:
Autism: It's personal

Autism support center plans to open this fall

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Children with Autism will soon have a new place to receive services in Siouxland.

The PierCenter for Autism, a non-profit organization, plans to open a center sometime this fall at 709 Iowa Street, according to founder Josh Cobbs.

Cobbs, whose 12-year-old son Noah has autism, said he formed the non-profit in hopes of filling a great and growing need in Sioux City.

According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey released in March, 1 in 88 children in the United States has autism. The prevalence of the condition has risen nearly 80 percent over the last decade, according to the CDC.

At the PierCenter, board certified behavior analysts will offer applied behavior analysis therapy to school-age children and certified teachers will also be on hand to provide tutoring support. From there, Cobbs said he only expects services to slowly grow.

"We really want to try to connect the spans as they go through life, so if an individual needs something at age 7, we want to provide that service for them," Cobbs said. "If they need something at age 17, because those needs are different, we want to be able to provide that service."

Many Sioux City area families, including his, Cobbs said, have driven long distances in order for their children to receive services.

"That's common to a lot of families in this area. They drive to maybe Des Moines or Omaha or Sioux Falls or Iowa City," he said. "We're not going to be able to replace all of those services that families go out of town for, but we're hoping to certainly supplement and cover some of those services."

Although Cobbs said his group has talked about opening a center for children with autism for years, he said the idea took off in January. A seven-person board was formed and an agreement was reached to lease space from St. Joseph's Catholic Church.

The center's name, Cobbs said, plays off of the meaning of the word "pier" - a support for a bridge.

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Autism support center plans to open this fall

UCLA Researchers Discover “Missing Link” Between Stem Cells and the Immune System

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Newswise UCLA researchers have discovered a type of cell that is the missing link between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, a finding that will lead to a greater understanding of how a healthy immune system is produced and how disease can lead to poor immune function.

The studies were done using human bone marrow, which contains all the stem cells that produce blood during postnatal life.

We felt it was especially important to do these studies using human bone marrow as most research into the development of the immune system has used mouse bone marrow, said study senior author Dr. Gay Crooks, co-director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and a co-director of the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology program at UCLAs Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The few studies with human tissue have mostly used umbilical cord blood, which does not reflect the immune system of postnatal life.

The research team was intrigued to find this particular bone marrow cell because it opens up a lot of new possibilities in terms of understanding how human immunity is produced from stem cells throughout life, said Crooks, a professor of pathology and pediatrics.

Understanding the process of normal blood formation in human adults is a crucial step in shedding light on what goes wrong during the process that results in leukemias, or cancers of the blood.

The study appears Sept. 2 in the early online edition of Nature Immunology.

Before this study, researchers had a fairly good idea of how to find and study the blood stem cells of the bone marrow. The stem cells live forever, reproduce themselves and give rise to all the cells of the blood. In the process, the stem cells divide and produce intermediate stages of development called progenitors, which make various blood lineages like red blood cells or platelets. Crooks was most interested in the creation of the progenitors that form the entire immune system, which consists of many different cells called lymphocytes, each with a specialized function to fight infection.

Like the stem cells, the progenitor cells are also very rare, so before we can study them we needed to find the needle in the haystack. said Lisa Kohn, a member of the UCLA Medical Scientist Training Program and first author in the paper.

Previous work had found a fairly mature type of lymphocyte progenitor with a limited ability to differentiate, but the new work describes a more primitive type of progenitor primed to produce the entire immune system, Kohn said

Once the lymphoid primed progenitor had been identified, Crooks and her team studied how gene expression changed during the earliest stages of its production from stem cells.

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UCLA Researchers Discover "Missing Link" Between Stem Cells and the Immune System

UCLA Researchers Discover "Missing Link" Between Stem Cells and the Immune System

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Newswise UCLA researchers have discovered a type of cell that is the missing link between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, a finding that will lead to a greater understanding of how a healthy immune system is produced and how disease can lead to poor immune function.

The studies were done using human bone marrow, which contains all the stem cells that produce blood during postnatal life.

We felt it was especially important to do these studies using human bone marrow as most research into the development of the immune system has used mouse bone marrow, said study senior author Dr. Gay Crooks, co-director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and a co-director of the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology program at UCLAs Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The few studies with human tissue have mostly used umbilical cord blood, which does not reflect the immune system of postnatal life.

The research team was intrigued to find this particular bone marrow cell because it opens up a lot of new possibilities in terms of understanding how human immunity is produced from stem cells throughout life, said Crooks, a professor of pathology and pediatrics.

Understanding the process of normal blood formation in human adults is a crucial step in shedding light on what goes wrong during the process that results in leukemias, or cancers of the blood.

The study appears Sept. 2 in the early online edition of Nature Immunology.

Before this study, researchers had a fairly good idea of how to find and study the blood stem cells of the bone marrow. The stem cells live forever, reproduce themselves and give rise to all the cells of the blood. In the process, the stem cells divide and produce intermediate stages of development called progenitors, which make various blood lineages like red blood cells or platelets. Crooks was most interested in the creation of the progenitors that form the entire immune system, which consists of many different cells called lymphocytes, each with a specialized function to fight infection.

Like the stem cells, the progenitor cells are also very rare, so before we can study them we needed to find the needle in the haystack. said Lisa Kohn, a member of the UCLA Medical Scientist Training Program and first author in the paper.

Previous work had found a fairly mature type of lymphocyte progenitor with a limited ability to differentiate, but the new work describes a more primitive type of progenitor primed to produce the entire immune system, Kohn said

Once the lymphoid primed progenitor had been identified, Crooks and her team studied how gene expression changed during the earliest stages of its production from stem cells.

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UCLA Researchers Discover "Missing Link" Between Stem Cells and the Immune System

Research and Markets: Cell Therapy – Technologies, Markets and Companies – Updated 2012 Report

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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9fkkzb/cell_therapy_tec) has announced the addition of Jain PharmaBiotech's new report "Cell Therapy - Technologies, Markets and Companies" to their offering.

This report describes and evaluates cell therapy technologies and methods, which have already started to play an important role in the practice of medicine. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is replacing the old fashioned bone marrow transplants. Role of cells in drug discovery is also described. Cell therapy is bound to become a part of medical practice.

Stem cells are discussed in detail in one chapter. Some light is thrown on the current controversy of embryonic sources of stem cells and comparison with adult sources. Other sources of stem cells such as the placenta, cord blood and fat removed by liposuction are also discussed. Stem cells can also be genetically modified prior to transplantation.

Cell therapy technologies overlap with those of gene therapy, cancer vaccines, drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Pharmaceutical applications of stem cells including those in drug discovery are also described. Various types of cells used, methods of preparation and culture, encapsulation and genetic engineering of cells are discussed. Sources of cells, both human and animal (xenotransplantation) are discussed. Methods of delivery of cell therapy range from injections to surgical implantation using special devices.

Cell therapy has applications in a large number of disorders. The most important are diseases of the nervous system and cancer which are the topics for separate chapters. Other applications include cardiac disorders (myocardial infarction and heart failure), diabetes mellitus, diseases of bones and joints, genetic disorders, and wounds of the skin and soft tissues.

Regulatory and ethical issues involving cell therapy are important and are discussed. Current political debate on the use of stem cells from embryonic sources (hESCs) is also presented. Safety is an essential consideration of any new therapy and regulations for cell therapy are those for biological preparations.

The cell-based markets was analyzed for 2011, and projected to 2021. The markets are analyzed according to therapeutic categories, technologies and geographical areas. The largest expansion will be in diseases of the central nervous system, cancer and cardiovascular disorders. Skin and soft tissue repair as well as diabetes mellitus will be other major markets.

The number of companies involved in cell therapy has increased remarkably during the past few years. More than 500 companies have been identified to be involved in cell therapy and 284 of these are profiled in part II of the report along with tabulation of 274 alliances. Of these companies, 154 are involved in stem cells. Profiles of 70 academic institutions in the US involved in cell therapy are also included in part II along with their commercial collaborations. The text is supplemented with 55 Tables and 11 Figures. The bibliography contains 1,050 selected references, which are cited in the text.

Key Topics Covered:

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Research and Markets: Cell Therapy - Technologies, Markets and Companies - Updated 2012 Report

Moving toward regeneration

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ScienceDaily (Aug. 30, 2012) The skin, the blood, and the lining of the gut -- adult stem cells replenish them daily. But stem cells really show off their healing powers in planarians, humble flatworms fabled for their ability to rebuild any missing body part. Just how adult stem cells build the right tissues at the right times and places has remained largely unanswered.

Now, in a study published in an upcoming issue of Development, researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research describe a novel system that allowed them to track stem cells in the flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea. The team found that the worms' stem cells, known as neoblasts, march out, multiply, and start rebuilding tissues lost to amputation.

"We were able to demonstrate that fully potent stem cells can mobilize when tissues undergo structural damage," says Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stowers Investigator Alejandro Snchez Alvarado, Ph.D., who led the study. "And these processes are probably happening to both you and me as we speak, but are very difficult to visualize in organisms like us."

Stem cells hold the potential to provide an unlimited source of specialized cells for regenerative therapy of a wide variety of diseases but delivering human stem cell therapies to the right location in the body remains a major challenge. The ability to follow individual neoblasts opens the door to uncovering the molecular cues that help planarian stem cells navigate to the site of injury and ultimately may allow scientists to provide therapeutic stem cells with guideposts to their correct destination.

"Human counterparts exist for most of the genes that we have found to regulate the activities of planarian stem cells," says Snchez Alvarado. "But human beings have these confounding levels of complexity. Planarians are much simpler making them ideal model systems to study regeneration."

Scientists had first hypothesized in the late 1800s that planarian stem cells, which normally gather near the worms' midlines, can travel toward wounds. The past century produced evidence both for and against the idea. Snchez Alvarado, armed with modern tools, decided to revisit the question.

For the new study, first author Otto C. Guedelhoefer, IV, Ph.D., a former graduate student in Snchez Alvarado's lab, exposed S. mediterranea to radiation, which killed the worms' neoblasts while leaving other types of cells unharmed. The irradiated worms would wither and die within weeks unless Guedelhoefer transplanted some stem cells from another worm. The graft's stem cells sensed the presence of a wound -- the transplant site -- migrated out of the graft, reproduced and rescued their host. Unlike adult stem cells in humans and other mammals, planarian stem cells remain pluripotent in fully mature animals and remain so even as they migrate.

But when Guedelhoefer irradiated only a part of the worm's body, the surviving stem cells could not sense the injury and did not mobilize to fix the damage, which showed that the stem cells normally stay in place. Only when a fair amount of irradiated tissue died did the stem cells migrate to the injured site and start to rebuild. Next, Guedelhoefer irradiated a worm's body part and cut it with a blade. The surviving stem cells arrived at the scene within days.

To perform the experiments, Guedelhoefer adapted worm surgery and x-ray methods created sixty to ninety years ago. "Going back to the old literature was essential and saved me tons of time," says Guedelhoefer, currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He was able to reproduce and quantify results obtained in 1949 by F. Dubois, a French scientist, who first developed the techniques for partially irradiating planarians with x-rays.

But Guedelhoefer went further. He pinpointed the locations of stem cells and studied how far they dispersed using RNA whole-mount in situ hybridization (WISH), specifically adapted to planarians in Snchez Alvarado's lab. Using WISH, he observed both original stem cells and their progeny by tagging specific pieces of mRNA . The technique allowed him to determine that pluripotent stem cells can travel and produce different types of progeny at the same time.

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Moving toward regeneration

Stem Cells Bring New Hope for Parry-Romberg Syndrome Patients

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- A study led by Dr. Ko and Dr. Choi of Asan Medical Center and Dr. Ra of RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute posted on the Annals of Plastic Surgery

SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark clinical study, scientists of the RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute have demonstrated that the transplant of patients own ("autologous") stem cells can dramatically improve the ability of plastic surgeons to repair diseases. In the September 2012 issue of the prestigious international plastic surgery journal Annals of Plastic Surgery (69:3), researchers published their controlled study of the power of stem cells, describing a breakthrough with patients who have Parry-Romberg Syndrome. More than 200,000 have this tragic and debilitating disease in the U.S. alone. Their prognosis without treatment is the slow loss of control, then paralysis of the face and in some cases the mouth and even eyes. Most patients with Parry-Romberg begin to experience these symptoms between the age of five (5) and fifteen (15) years of age. There is, says the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, "no cure." To date, treatments have involved waiting until the disease slows and then transplanting fat into patients faces, strengthening bones in their faces, and using microvascular surgery to "install" a free flap of skin.

However the only solution for patients with this disorder, and those with similar disorders, the grafting of fat, is at best a temporary solution, which alleviates none of the pain felt by these patients, and can in fact result in an increase in pain when fat grafts fail. So, plastic surgeons, engineers and others have searched for years for a solution with longer term effects, or even a way to fight the diseases symptoms in a sustained way.

Dr. Kyeung-Suk Ko and Dr. Jong-Woo Choi led a research team under Dr. Jeong-chan Ra of RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute that may have uncovered, for the first time, just such a tool for plastic surgeons: patients own stem cells. In their controlled study, the team painlessly removed a few ounces of fat from one group Parry-Romberg Syndrome patients, harvesting stem cells from these patients fat, cells that are genetically identical to the patients cells throughout their body and that have well documented abilities to "home in" on inflammation and disease and have dramatic effects on patients symptoms and even disease itself. In this study, those patients in the "treated" group received stem cells magnified into the millions (using the teams patented technology whose safety has been well published). These patients outcomes, adding stem cells to standard-of-care therapies, were measured against traditional microfat grafts in the control group receiving no stem cells.

In what many have described as a revolutionary finding, the team found that those patients who received their own "adult" mesenchymal stem cells saw unprecedented improvement in the effectiveness of therapies. Fat grafts that are often "resorbed" into patients skin shortly after they are placed were 50% less likely to disappear when provided alongside stem cells (20.59% vs 46.81%).

This study was approved by the Korea Food and Drug Administration, the institutional IRB of the Asan Medical Center, and peer-reviewed prior to acceptance in the renowned plastic surgery publication under the title: "Clinical application of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells in progressive hemifacial atrophy (Parry-Romberg Disease) with microfat grafting techniques using three-dimensional computed tomography and three-dimensional camera." Authors and investigators included: Koh KS, Oh TS, Kim H, Chung IW, Lee KW, Lee HB, Park EJ, Chung JS, Shin IS, Ra JC, Choi JW. Media and others may access the article at http://journals.lww.com/annalsplasticsurgery/Abstract/2012/09000/Clinical_Application_of_Human_Adipose.22.aspx [http://journals.lww.com/annalsplasticsurgery/Abstract/2012/09000/Clinical_Application_of_Human_Adipose.22.aspx]. Its National Library of Medicine ID is PMID:22878516.

Dr. Ra, senior author, said, "We believe that this is a big step for Parry-Romberg Syndrome patients and expect to see autologous stem cell transplantation as standard of care for their treatment. The next step is to test the efficacy of the many ways in which stem cells from adults own bodies will expand the quality of life and even identify cures for many rare diseases."

RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute

Originally posted here:
Stem Cells Bring New Hope for Parry-Romberg Syndrome Patients