GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a new stem cell in the adult brain. These cells can proliferate and form several different cell types -- most importantly, they can form new brain cells. Scientists hope to take advantage of the finding to develop methods to heal and repair disease and injury in the brain.

Analyzing brain tissue from biopsies, the researchers for the first time found stem cells located around small blood vessels in the brain. The cell's specific function is still unclear, but its plastic properties suggest great potential.

"A similar cell type has been identified in several other organs where it can promote regeneration of muscle, bone, cartilage and adipose tissue," said Patrik Brundin, M.D., Ph.D., Jay Van Andel Endowed Chair in Parkinson's Research at Van Andel Research Institute (VARI), Head of the Neuronal Survival Unit at Lund University and senior author of the study.

In other organs, researchers have shown clear evidence that these types of cells contribute to repair and wound healing. Scientists suggest that the curative properties may also apply to the brain. The next step is to try to control and enhance stem cell self-healing properties with the aim of carrying out targeted therapies to a specific area of the brain.

"Our findings show that the cell capacity is much larger than we originally thought, and that these cells are very versatile," said Gesine Paul-Visse, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Lund University and the study's primary author. "Most interesting is their ability to form neuronal cells, but they can also be developed for other cell types. The results contribute to better understanding of how brain cell plasticity works and opens up new opportunities to exploit these very features."

The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, is of interest to a broad spectrum of brain research. Future possible therapeutic targets range from neurodegenerative diseases to stroke.

"We hope that our findings may lead to a new and better understanding of the brain's own repair mechanisms," said Dr. Paul-Visse. "Ultimately the goal is to strengthen these mechanisms and develop new treatments that can repair the diseased brain."

Link to the study here:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0035577

About the Neuronal Survival Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University

Original post:
New Stem Cell Found in the Brain

Lifesaving stem cell treatments must be offered in Ireland, says expert

By Sen McCrthaigh

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Ireland is seriously lagging behind most other countries in offering live-saving treatments provided by the use of adult stem cells, a leading international medical expert has warned.

Colin McGuckin called on the Government and health authorities to facilitate the wider collection and storage of stem cells from umbilical cord blood in Ireland.

Prof McGuckin who is advisor to the Vatican on stem cells and a director of the Cell Therapy Research Institute in Lyon, France is director of the Adult Stem Cell Foundation of Ireland, which was formally launched yesterday.

"Treatments which are available in other countries must come to Ireland," said Mr McGuckin. He also expressed fears the lack of stem cell therapies here could force people to seek unregulated care abroad.

Presently, none of Irelands three main maternity hospitals allow for the collection of adult stem cells from umbilical cords except in high-risk cases.

The only facility which allows the practice is Mount Carmel Hospital in Dublin. All adult stem cells collected are sent abroad for storage.

Mr McGuckin said adult stem cells could be used in the treatment of over 70 diseases including leukaemia and heart disease. Advances are also being made in their use for neurological diseases such as Alzheimers.

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Lifesaving stem cell treatments must be offered in Ireland, says expert

17-04-2012 12:34 Former major league baseball player undergoes a controversial stem cell therapy for a second chance at the Major Leagues.

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CJ Nitkowski: The Last Season - Part 2 - Video

From Rogaine to hair plugs, there have been many strides made to induce hair regrowth for bald or balding heads, but a new Japanese study found a possible cure to baldness by using stem cells.

Using stem cell therapy, scientists at the Tokyo University of Science in Japan led by Takashi Tsuki gave a hairless mouse a Mohawk by regenerating hair follicles.

Researchers used follicles from a normal mouse, namely adult epithelial stem cells and dermal papilla cell found in the skin, to create a "seed" of a hair follicle. Then, they implanted the newly-created "seed" using intracutaneous transplantation into the hairless mouse and -- Voila! -- hair.

According to the research published in Nature Communications, functional hair follicles grew on the hairless mouse properly on the skin in the epidermis, arrector pili muscle and nerve fibers. The newly regrown hair also went through a standard hair cycle of shedding and regrowth.

"Our current study thus demonstrates the potential for not only hair regeneration therapy but also the realisation of bioengineered organ replacement using adult somatic stem cells," the report said.

The baldness cure that worked on the hairless mice, however, has not yet been tested on humans, but the researchers hope to introduce the idea soon.

"We would like to start clinical research within three to five years, so that an actual treatment to general patients can start within a decade," researcher Koh-ei Toyoshima said in a statement.

However, even if it does work on people, the issue is raised about the cost, as stem cell therapy practices can be quite costly.

View the video of the hairless mouse with hair regrowth below.

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Baldness Cure: Japanese Study Finds Stem Cells Induce Hair Regrowth for Bald Heads on Mouse [PHOTO & VIDEO]

Photo by Allie Garza

Dr. Zannos Grekos, a cardiologist whose practice is in Bonita Springs, speaks with a seminar attendant after one of his educational seminars about stem cell treatment, using one's own stem cells, for treating heart disease and other medical conditions, on Monday, March 14, 2011, at the Collier County Library. Allie Garza/Staff

K.K.Yankopolus

In a case involving a criminal investigation into the recent death of a 77-year-old man after stem cell treatment, state health authorities say Dr. Zannos Grekos extracted tissue from the patient while a second doctor later injected the patient with his own concentrated stem cells.

But when Grekos, a Bonita Springs cardiologist, initially harvested fatty tissue from Richard Poling's stomach on March 2, he unknowingly damaged the patient's abdomen which led to bleeding, according to a state Department of Health complaint.

New documents obtained by the Daily News shed more light on the case of Grekos and Dr. Konstantine Yankopolus, a Fort Myers obstetrician who assisted Grekos. They face potential disciplinary action from the state Board of Medicine for doing a stem cell treatment that the state says was experimental and dangerous.

The state issued separate administrative complaints against them in late March and early April, a few weeks after Poling died the same day of the treatment. He suffered a cardiac arrest in Grekos' practice on Bonita Beach Road and was pronounced dead at NCH North Naples Hospital.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office launched a criminal investigation in early March and it is ongoing, agency spokesman Larry King said.

Grekos also faces potential discipline when the state restricted his license in February, 2011 in connection to the death of a 69-year-old woman who went to him in 2010 for stem cell therapy.

She sought a remedy for neurological damage after chemotherapy for breast cancer. She fell in her home after the treatment, suffered a brain injury and later was taken off life support.

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State: Grekos extracted tissue from stem cell patient who died, damaged patient's abdomen

WESTON, Fla., April 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stemlogix, a regenerative medicine company offering premier in-clinic stem cell therapy solutions to veterinarians, announced today that it has selected Butler Schein Animal Health(TM) to distribute its regenerative medicine system, stem cell therapy kits and other biological therapies. Butler Schein Animal Health(TM) - a Henry Schein Company - is the largest companion animal health distribution company in the U.S.

Based in the U.S., Stemlogix is an innovative leader in the rapidly emerging field of veterinary regenerative medicine. The Company develops and manufactures stem cell therapy kits and platelet rich plasma kits domestically according to FDA cGMP regulations. Stemlogix offers scientifically validated technologies and protocols that will enable veterinarians to provide their patients with affordable, versatile regenerative medicine solutions including adipose (fat) and bone marrow derived stem cells, platelet rich plasma (PRP) and cytokine therapies at the point-of-care, all in less than 90 minutes. The Company also offers stem cell banking and stem cell expansion services to veterinarians around the country.

Butler Schein Animal Health(TM) will now offer the Stemlogix regenerative medicine system to its network of over 26,000 veterinary clinics in the U.S., helping Stemlogix to expand its market presence across North America. "We are excited to be working with Butler Schein to offer the Stemlogix in-clinic regenerative medicine system to their vast network of veterinarians," said Kristin Comella, CEO of Stemlogix. "This partnership will enable Stemlogix to help standardize and advance the field of regenerative medicine."

Clinical research has shown that regenerative stem cell therapies have been safely and effectively used to treat degenerative diseases and acute tissue injuries including arthritis, laminitis, tendon injuries and ligament injuries. Stemlogix has developed an array of convenient, affordable, same-day regenerative therapies designed to achieve reproducible and superior clinical outcomes. Stemlogix also has developed an innovative technique to remove stem cell rich fat tissue from horses in a minimally invasive, scar-free method, called Equine VetLipo(TM).

About Stemlogix, LLC

Stemlogix is an innovative veterinary regenerative medicine company committed to providing veterinarians with the ability to deliver the best possible stem cell therapy to dogs, cats and horses at the point-of-care. Stemlogix provides veterinarians the ability to produce PRP and isolate regenerative stem cells from a patient's own fat tissue or bone marrow in their own clinic. Stemlogix is the first company to provide veterinarians with the ability to produce multiple cellular therapies using the same system and the company offers the most versatile regenerative medicine system available. Stemlogix has a full scale cGMP stem cell manufacturing facility and a scientific team with expertise in developing stem cell products, FDA compliance and clinical research. For more information about veterinary regenerative medicine please visit http://www.stemlogix.com.

About Butler Schein Animal Health(TM)

Butler Schein Animal Health (Butler Schein) -- the veterinary division of Henry Schein (Nasdaq: HSIC - News) is the leading companion animal health distribution company in the United States headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Butler Schein employs approximately 900 team members including 300 field sales representatives and 200 telesales and customer support representatives. With 15 strategically positioned, state-of-the-art distribution facilities and 10 inside sales centers nationwide, we maintain 98%+ order-fill ratio, accomplishing our mission of providing the right product at the right place and at the right time.

Partnering with over 400 leading animal health manufacturers in the world, Butler Schein is positioned to bring the broadest selection of veterinary products and strategic solutions to veterinary professionals nationwide, including:

1.

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Stemlogix Selects Butler Schein Animal Health to Distribute Versatile In-Clinic Stem Cell Therapy System to ...

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 cells.

The petition asks the board not to put any additional restrictions on adult stem cells that are obtained from a patient's own body, provided they are used in the same medical procedure and not extensively processed or grown outside the body, frozen or stored.

"We were pretty amazed at how many people came and signed our petition," McBurney said.

MedRebels hopes the medical board recognizes that there are different types of stem cells, unlike its proposed rule, which "would classify all stem cells in the same bucket," said Matthew Murphy, a senior scientist at Celling Biosciences who spoke on behalf of MedRebels.

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

Early in March 2012, 77-year-old Richard Poling entered a clinic in Bonita Springs, Fla., for a stem cell treatment to help with age-related heart and lung conditions.

Poling, an avid golfer and family man from Indiana, had sought several conventional therapies to alleviate his suffering with unsatisfactory results and was desperate for a treatment that would allow him to enjoy the pleasures of life again. Shortly after receiving his alleged treatment, however, Poling went into cardiac arrest at the clinic and died. According to investigators, the alleged stem cell treatment Poling received was not approved by the FDA.

According to multiple reports, the local cardiologist who conducted the treatment removed fat cells from Poling's abdomen and sent them to a lab that claimed to process and isolate adult stem cells from a patient's own fat. A few hours later, a second procedure was allegedly performed at the same clinic in which Poling had the stem cells injected back into his bloodstream for their regenerative properties. The entire process took one day, and during the hours between the procedures, Poling enjoyed lunch out with his family.

Poling was the second patient to die under the same doctor's care in the last two years after receiving the supposed stem cell therapy. The physician was already under order by the state of Florida to cease performing any further stem cell treatments pending further review, but the doctor allegedly continued performing various stem cell procedures -- until his license was revoked and suspended after Poling's death.

With all the marvels of modern medicine, there are still medical needs that remain unmet by our conventional health care system. When that happens, desperate people like Poling search for alternatives anywhere they can find them. One of these alternatives is stem cell therapy, a science that is no stranger to controversy.

The problem lies in that most stem cell therapies are not FDA-approved, and thus the market is under-regulated and consists of products that lack standardization and legitimacy. The lack of approved products has generated a gray market for stem cell therapeutics -- one that is dangerous and can be deadly.

Even though the United States has taken a passive approach to stem cell therapy as compared to its European and Asian counterparts, there are several U.S. companies vying for FDA approval as they develop stem cell therapies for indications such as heart disease, neurologic disorders and ophthalmologic diseases. While these companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars individually -- billions collectively -- to conduct groundbreaking research and development, rigorous safety studies, and extensive human trials to establish meaningful uses of their medical technologies, the majority of their studies occur overseas where they are sure to receive swifter review and eventual approvals.

Read more:
Patient Beware: When Stem Cells Harm

Is your child about to lose her milk tooth? Instead of throwing it away, you can now opt to use it to harvest stem cells in a dental stem cell bank for future use in the face of serious ailments. Now thats a tooth fairy story coming to life.

Still relatively new in India, dental stem cell banking is fast gaining popularity as a more viable option over umbilical cord blood banking.

Stem cell therapy involves a kind of intervention strategy in which healthy, new cells are introduced into a damaged tissue to treat a disease or an injury.

The umbilical cord is a good source for blood-related cells, or hemaotopoietic cells, which can be used for blood-related diseases, like leukaemia (blood cancer). Having said that, blood-related disorders constitute only four percent of all diseases, Shailesh Gadre, founder and managing director of the company Stemade Biotech, said.

For the rest of the 96 percent tissue-related diseases, the tooth is a good source of mesenchymal (tissue-related) stem cells. These cells have potential application in all other tissues of the body, for instance, the brain, in case of diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinsons; the eye (corneal reconstruction), liver (cirrhosis), pancreas (diabetes), bone (fractures, reconstruction), skin and the like, he said.

Mesenchymal cells can also be used to regenerate cardiac cells.

Dental stem cell banking also has an advantage when it comes to the process of obtaining stem cells.

Obtaining stem cells from the tooth is a non-invasive procedure that requires no surgery, with little or no pain. A child, in the age group of 5-12, is any way going to lose his milk tooth. So when its a little shaky, it can be collected with hardly any discomfort, Savita Menon, a pedodontist, said.

Moreover, in a number of cases, when an adolescent needs braces, the doctor recommends that his pre-molars be removed. These can also be used as a source for stem cells. And over and above that, an adults wisdom tooth can also be used for the same purpose, Gadre added.

Therefore, unlike umbilical cord blood banking which gives one just one chance - during birth - the window of opportunity in dental stem cell banking is much bigger.

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Your child’s milk tooth can save her life

By Azera Parveen Rahman, New Delhi, March 30 : Is your child about to lose her milk tooth? Instead of throwing it away, you can now opt to use it to harvest stem cells in a dental stem cell bank for future use in the face of serious ailments. Now that's a tooth fairy story coming to life.

Still relatively new in India, dental stem cell banking is fast gaining popularity as a more viable option over umbilical cord blood banking.

Stem cell therapy involves a kind of intervention strategy in which healthy, new cells are introduced into a damaged tissue to treat a disease or an injury.

"The umbilical cord is a good source for blood-related cells, or hemaotopoietic cells, which can be used for blood-related diseases, like leukaemia (blood cancer). Having said that, blood-related disorders constitute only four percent of all diseases," Shailesh Gadre, founder and managing director of the company Stemade Biotech, told IANS.

"For the rest of the 96 percent tissue-related diseases, the tooth is a good source of mesenchymal (tissue-related) stem cells. These cells have potential application in all other tissues of the body, for instance, the brain, in case of diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's; the eye (corneal reconstruction), liver (cirrhosis), pancreas (diabetes), bone (fractures, reconstruction), skin and the like," he said.

Mesenchymal cells can also be used to regenerate cardiac cells.

Dental stem cell banking also has an advantage when it comes to the process of obtaining stem cells.

"Obtaining stem cells from the tooth is a non-invasive procedure that requires no surgery, with little or no pain. A child, in the age group of 5-12, is any way going to lose his milk tooth. So when it's a little shaky, it can be collected with hardly any discomfort," Savita Menon, a pedodontist, said.

"Moreover, in a number of cases, when an adolescent needs braces, the doctor recommends that his pre-molars be removed. These can also be used as a source for stem cells. And over and above that, an adult's wisdom tooth can also be used for the same purpose," Gadre added.

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Your child's milk tooth can save her life

HYDERABAD: Lack of legislation and awareness coupled with quality and ethical Issues has been deterrent to the growth of stem cell therapy sector in India, where the bio-tech market is expected to achieve a market size of $ 8 billion by 2015, according to a report by the Yes bank.

Special provisions such as 10-year tax benefits, duty exemptions, fast tracking the approval process by giving it a status of orphan drug (as done in the US) are some measures which could be very helpful to become leaders in this sector, the report 'Stem Cells--an emerging Bio-sector' suggested.

"The legislation for this sector still is at the draft stage. A regulatory framework governing the sector, instead of the guidelines existing at present is essential for the proper growth of stem cell research and applications in India. There are also no guidelines regarding pricing which results in certain unproven injections being sold for around Rs 80,000," the report said.

Several companies are taking advantage of the lack of laws governing the stem cell segment and advertise their therapies and clinical trials as ICMR approved.

However, given the multi-tiered system of registration and approvals recommended in the ICMR's guidelines, some of these are based on fraudulent or exaggerated claims. Further, there are also ethical worries on the side-effects of such treatment, it further said.

In India, there are very few players in the stem cell sector and these are all in very nascent stages and industry consolidation with global players entering into the market through mergers and acquisition route could propel industry growth, it opined.

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Stem cell segment in India to touch $8 billion mark by 2015: Report

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A few weeks ago, we told you the story of Maggie, the 13-year-old Boykin Spaniel who was suffering from arthritis.

Maggie is enjoying life once again thanks to a new type of surgery. The dog received stem cell therapy surgery six weeks ago.

Doctors were able to use adult stem cells from Maggie's blood and fat samples to collect repair cells. They then took the cells and repaired the dog's arthritic spine.

Maggie's owner, Beth Phibbs, says she could tell the dog had been in pain.

"You could tell she didn't feel well, but yet now she is like she's 5 and she's 13. She just runs out and she plays. I think she knows. She can feel the difference," Phibbs said.

The surgery costs about $2,000, but Medi-vet America says this costs about half as much as the older treatments.

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Copyright 2012 WIS. All rights reserved.

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Stem cell therapy for 13-year-old dog helps with its arthritis

March 27, 2012

According to a new study, using a patients own bone marrow may help repair damaged areas of the heart caused by heart failure.

Researchers found that left ventricular ejection fraction increased by 2.7 percent in patients who received stem cell therapy.

The study, which was presented at the American College of Cardiologys 61st Annual Scientific Session, revealed that the improvement in ejection fraction correlated with the number of CD34+ and CD133+ cells in the bone marrow.

This is the kind of information we need in order to move forward with the clinical use of stem cell therapy, Emerson Perin, MD, PhD, director of clinical research for cardiovascular medicine at the Texas Heart Institute and the studys lead investigator, said at the event.

The study included 92 patients who were randomly selected to receive stem cell treatment or placebo. The patients all had chronic ischemic heart disease and an ejection fraction of less than 45 percent along with heart failure.

Doctors placed a catheter in the hearts left ventricle to inject 3 ccs, or 100 million stem cells, into an average of 15 sites of the stem cell patients hearts.

The doctors used electromechanical mapping of the heart to measure the voltage in areas of the heart muscle and create a real-time image of the heart.

With this mapping procedure, we have a roadmap to the heart muscle, said Dr. Perin. Were very careful about where we inject the cells; electromechanical mapping allows us to target the cell injections to viable areas of the heart.

The trial was designed to determine whether left ventricular end systolic volume and myocardial oxygen consumption improved in patients who received stem cell treatment.

The rest is here:
Cell Therapy Improves Damaged Heart In Study

Columbia, SC (WLTX) --What if your pet couldn't walk anymore? One Midlands vet is using stem cell therapy to help.

For Beth Phibbs it's almost like a turning back of the hands of time.

"I call her my little miracle dog, because she's doing things she used to do," said Phibbs. "Now she's not on any medication, and she can go up and down the steps and she runs and jumps and things that she used to do when she was five."

Phibbs has spent the last 13 years loving and looking after her pet dog Maggie, and when she pet began to develop arthritis and a limp she had to take action. But when the first treatments stopped working, Phibbs and Maggie had to look to another options, dog stem cell therapy.

"I had no idea that animals were able to have they type of procedures," she said.

Dr. Kenneth Banks a veterinarian with the Bank Animal Hospital, performed the surgery for Maggie using her own stem cells in the one day procedure.

Banks said the stem cell therapy not only cost less than some other options, but was less invasive and had a quicker recovery time as well.

Still with about three similar procedures under his belt, even he didn't expect to see a such change in maggie just 40 days after the surgery.

"I wasn't sure we were gonna get the results this fast, we were expecting results, maybe not a good as she's done. We're real happy with her results," said Banks.

Now, after three years on medication and walking with a limp, Maggie's getting used to a new way of life -- one with out pain in her golden years.

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Midlands Vet Uses Stem Cell Therapy for Pets in Pain

Houston researchers are reporting that adult stem cells have a modest benefit in younger patients with heart failure, the first large-scale evidence that the controversial yet promising new therapy can be developed to help millions of people with the disease.

In a study presented at a cardiology conference Saturday, Texas Heart Institute doctors presented results of a clinical trial showing that cells derived from patients' own bone marrow produce a small but significant increase in the heart's ability to pump oxygen-rich blood.

"This study moves us one step closer to being able to help patients with severe heart failure who lack other alternatives," said Dr. James Willerson, president of the Texas Heart Institute and the study's principal investigator. "It also points to a future in which stem cells regenerate the heart."

The study did not find improvements in a number of heart function measures, but Willerson and other study leaders said it yielded key information about the specific adult stem cells with the greatest therapeutic potential. The trial used a number of stem cell types.

Transplants limited

About 6 million people in the United States have heart failure, a progressive and eventually fatal disease in which the heart loses the ability to effectively pump sufficient amounts of blood to the body's organs. Better therapy is needed because the limited availability of donor hearts makes transplants an option for only about 2,300 people in the United States annually.

Adult stem cells have become the subject of studies for a variety of conditions - the Texas Heart Institute has many involving the heart - since laboratory research in the late 1990s showed they have the ability to grow into most any kind of tissue. This is the first intermediate-stage study in the United States, characterized by multiple centers and many dozens of patients.

The idea of therapy involving adult stem cells formerly was considered non-controversial, a more ethical alternative to destroying embryos to obtain their stem cells. But it has come under fire recently because it is increasingly being used outside of research studies and for profit, particularly in Texas, where Gov. Rick Perry received it last year for his ailing back. The unregulated activity has prompted complaints to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a Texas Medical Board draft policy requiring oversight for any use of experimental drugs.

3.1 percent increase

The new study, presented at an American College of Cardiology conference and to be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved 92 patients at five locations - two-thirds at the Texas Heart Institute - whose hearts were pumping at less than 45 percent of capacity and could not be treated with surgery. Doctors injected patients' own stem cells or placebos into their hearts.

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Houston study shows stem-cell's potential for heart treatment

Public release date: 24-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Beth Casteel bcasteel@acc.org 240-328-4549 American College of Cardiology

CHICAGO -- A new study found that using a patient's own bone marrow cells may help repair damaged areas of the heart caused by heart failure, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field.

Millions of Americans suffer from heart failure, the weakening of the heart muscle and its inability to pump blood effectively throughout the body. If medications, surgery, or stents fail to control the disease, doctors often have few treatment options to offer.

This is the largest study to date to look at stem cell therapy, using a patient's own stem cells, to repair damaged areas of the heart in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction. Researchers found that left ventricular ejection fraction (the percentage of blood leaving the heart's main pumping chamber) increased by a small but significant amount (2.7 percent) in patients who received stem cell therapy. The study also revealed that the improvement in ejection fraction correlated with the number of CD34+ and CD133+ cells in the bone marrow information that will be helpful in evaluating and designing future therapies and trials.

"This is the kind of information we need in order to move forward with the clinical use of stem cell therapy," said Emerson Perin, MD, PhD, director of clinical research for cardiovascular medicine at the Texas Heart Institute and the study's lead investigator.

This multi-center study was conducted by the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network and took place between April 2009 and 2011. At five sites, 92 patients were randomly selected to receive stem cell treatment or placebo. The patients, average age 63, all had chronic ischemic heart disease and an ejection fraction of less than 45 percent along with heart failure and/or angina, and were no longer candidates for revascularization.

"Studies such as these are able to be completed much faster because of the team approach of the network," said Sonia Skarlatos, PhD, deputy director of the division of cardiovascular sciences at the National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and program director of the network.

Bone marrow was aspirated from the patients and processed to obtain just the mononuclear fraction of the marrow. In patients randomly selected to receive stem cell therapy, doctors inserted a catheter into the heart's left ventricle to inject a total of 3 ccs comprising 100 million stem cells into an average of 15 sites that showed damage on the electromechanical mapping image of the heart. Dr. Perin said the procedure is relatively quick and painless, involving only an overnight stay at the hospital.

The study used electromechanical mapping of the heart to measure the voltage in areas of the heart muscle and create a real-time image of the heart.

The rest is here:
Stem cell therapy possibly helpful in heart failure patients

(RTTNews.com) - An important clinical trial, which evaluated the use of autologous bone-marrow-cell therapy in patients with chronic ischemic heart failure, has failed to meet the prespecified end points of improvement in most measures of heart function, according to the results presented at the American College of Cardiology 2012 Scientific Sessions.

The trial dubbed, FOCUS - a phase II study, is the largest study to date to investigate if a patient's own bone marrow cells improved myocardial perfusion, reduced left ventricular end-systolic volume or enhanced maximal oxygen consumption in patients with coronary artery disease or LV dysfunction, and limiting heart failure or angina. The FOCUS trial was undertaken by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-sponsored Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network.

Ninety two patients with chronic ischemic heart disease , having a left ventricular ejection fraction of 45% or less, a perfusion defect by single-photon emission tomography, or SPECT, who were no longer candidates for revascularization, were enrolled in the trial. Sixty one patients in the study were administered bone marrow cells through transendocardial injections while thirty one patients were administered placebo.

An assessment of primary endpoints at 6 months has revealed that there is no statistically significant difference between the treatment group and placebo arm in left ventricular end-systolic volume assessed by echocardiography, maximal oxygen consumption, and reversibility on SPECT. The secondary outcomes, including percent myocardial defect, total defect size, fixed defect size, regional wall motion, and clinical improvement, also has not exhibited any difference between the two arms.

However, according to the study authors, exploratory analyses have revealed that left ventricular ejection fraction improved in the treatment group compared with the placebo group by 2.7%.

The authors, led by Emerson Perin, concluded that the findings provide evidence for further studies to determine the relationship between the composition and function of bone marrow product and clinical end points. Understanding these relationships will improve the design and interpretation of future studies of cardiac cell therapy, the authors noted.

The results were published online March 24 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

http://www.rttnews.com

Link:
Bone Marrow Stem Cell Therapy Trial - Clues, But No Answers

Published on Mar 25, 2012

CHICAGO (AFP) - Patients with advanced heart disease who received an experimental stem cell therapy showed slight improvements in blood pumping but no change in most of their symptoms, United States researchers said on Saturday.

Study authors described the trial as the largest to date to examine stem cell therapy as a route to repairing the heart in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction.

Previous studies have established that the approach is safe in human patients, but none had examined how well it worked on a variety of heart ailments.

The clinical trial involved 92 patients, with an average age of 63, who were picked at random to get either a placebo or a series of injections of their own stem cells, taken from their bone marrow, into damaged areas of their hearts.

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Stem cell therapy could repair some heart damage: Study

HOUSTON -

Doctors from the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital have found that patients with heart failure may be able to repair the damaged areas of the heart with stem cells from the patient's own bone marrow.

Doctors presented the findings at the American College of Cardiologys 61st Annual Scientific Session Saturday.

The results are from a multi-center clinical study that measured the possible benefits of using a patients own bone marrow cells to repair damaged areas of the heart suffering from severe heart failure, a condition that affects millions of Americans.

The study, which was the largest such investigation to date, found that the hearts of the patients receiving bone marrow derived stem cells showed a small but significant increase in the ability to pump oxygenated blood from the left ventricle, the hearts main pumping chamber, to the body.

The expectation is that the study will pave the way for potential new treatment options and will be important to designing and evaluating future clinical trials.

This is exactly the kind of information we need to move forward with the clinical use of stem cell therapy, said Emerson Perin, MD, PhD, Director of Clinical Research for Cardiovascular Medicine at THI, and one of the studys lead investigators.

The bone-marrow derived stem cells are helpful to the injured heart when they are themselves biologically active, added Dr. James T. Willerson, the studys principal investigator and President and Medical Director of THI.

This study moves us one step closer to being able to help patients with severe heart failure who have no other alternatives.

The study was conducted by the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network, the national consortium to conduct such research funded by the National Institutes of Healths National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

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Stem cell, heart heath study

CHICAGO - Patients with advanced heart disease who received an experimental stem cell therapy showed slightly improved heart function, researchers said at a major U.S. cardiology conference on Saturday.

The clinical trial involved 92 patients, with an average age of 63, who were picked at random to get either a placebo or a series of injections of their own stem cells, taken from their bone marrow, into damaged areas of their hearts.

The patients all had chronic heart disease, along with either heart failure or angina, and their left ventricles were pumping at less than 45 per cent of capacity.

All the participants in the study were ineligible for revascularization surgery, such as coronary bypass to restore blood flow, because their heart disease was so advanced.

Those who received the stem cell therapy saw a small but significant boost in the heart's ability to pump blood, measuring the increase from the heart's main pumping chamber at 2.7 per cent more than placebo patients.

Study authors described the trial as the largest to date to examine stem cell therapy as a route to repairing the heart in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction.

"This is the kind of information we need in order to move forward with the clinical use of stem cell therapy," said lead investigator Emerson Perin, director of clinical research for cardiovascular medicine at the Texas Heart Institute.

Perin's research, which was conducted between 2009 and 2011 across five U.S sites, was presented at the annual American College of Cardiology Conference in Chicago.

The technique involved taking bone marrow samples from the patients and processing the marrow to extract stem cells. Doctors then injected the cells via catheter into the heart's left ventricle.

The injections, comprising some 100 million stem cells in all, were specifically targeted at damaged areas, identified by real-time electromechanical mapping of the heart.

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Stem cell treatment could repair heart damage