JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Gamida Cell announced today that the Gamida Cell-Teva Joint Venture (JV), equally held by Gamida Cell and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, has enrolled the last of 100 patients in the international, multi-center, pivotal registration, Phase III clinical trial of StemEx, a cell therapy product in development as an alternative therapeutic treatment for adolescents and adults, with blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, who cannot find a family related, matched bone marrow donor.

StemEx is a graft of an expanded population of stem/progenitor cells, derived from part of a single unit of umbilical cord blood and transplanted by IV administration along with the remaining, non-manipulated cells from the same unit.

Dr. Yael Margolin, president and chief executive officer of Gamida Cell, said, "The JV is planning to announce the safety and efficacy results of the Phase III StemEx trial in 2012 and to launch the product into the market in 2013. It is our hope that StemEx will provide the answer for the thousands of leukemia and lymphoma patients unable to find a matched, related bone marrow donor.”

Dr. Margolin continued, “StemEx may be the first allogeneic cell therapy to be brought to market. This is a source of pride for Gamida Cell, as it further confirms the company’s leadership as a pioneer in cell therapy. In addition to StemEx, Gamida Cell is developing a diverse pipeline of products for the treatment of cancer, hematological diseases such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia, as well as autoimmune and metabolic diseases and conditions helped by regenerative medicine.”

About Gamida Cell

Gamida Cell is a world leader in stem cell population expansion technologies and stem cell therapy products for transplantation and regenerative medicine. The company’s pipeline of stem cell therapy products are in development to treat a wide range of conditions including blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, solid tumors, non-malignant hematological diseases such as hemoglobinopathies, acute radiation syndrome, autoimmune diseases and metabolic diseases as well as conditions that can be helped by regenerative medicine. Gamida Cell’s therapeutic candidates contain populations of adult stem cells, selected from non-controversial sources such as umbilical cord blood, which are expanded in culture. Gamida Cell was successful in translating these proprietary expansion technologies into robust and validated manufacturing processes under GMP. Gamida Cell’s current shareholders include: Elbit Imaging, Clal Biotechnology Industries, Israel Healthcare Venture, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Amgen, Denali Ventures and Auriga Ventures. For more information, please visit: http://www.gamida-cell.com.

See the original post:
The Gamida Cell-Teva Joint Venture Concludes Enrollment for the Phase III Study of StemEx®, a Cord Blood Stem Cell ...

MANILA, Philippines - US researchers have begun a groundbreaking trial to test the potential of umbilical cord blood transplants, a kind of stem cell therapy, to treat and possibly reverse hearing loss in infants.

The Phase I trial follows promising studies on mice showing that such transplants were able to rebuild the structures of the inner ear, and some anecdotal evidence from humans, sparking hope of a cure for some forms of deafness.

One of those people is two-year-old Finn McGrath, who suffered brain damage after being deprived of oxygen during a prolonged and complicated delivery, according to his mother, Laura.

"His doctors told us he was at high risk for cerebral palsy, vision issues, hearing problems, and mental retardation," she said in an interview with AFP.

Finn's early days were an all-out struggle to survive, so for his parents, learning that he had failed his hearing tests and had damaged hair cells - the sensory receptors in the inner ear that pick up sounds - was almost an afterthought.

He had organ failure, breathing problems, and his cerebral palsy left him unable to roll, crawl, or walk, hold his head up, talk, or eat.

As his parents searched for ways to help him, they came upon stories online that told of studies using cord blood to help children with cerebral palsy and other disorders.

Prior to his birth, the McGraths had arranged to privately bank his umbilical cord blood, a procedure that costs around $2,000 plus storage fees, and remains controversial among pediatricians.

Private companies such as the Cord Blood Registry, which is funding the Texas study on hearing loss, urge expecting parents to bank their umbilical cord blood and reserve it for personal use as a way to protect their family.

That advice runs counter to the guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2007, which calls such claims "unsubstantiated" and says banking for personal or family use "should be discouraged" but is "encouraged" if it is to be stored in a bank for public use.

Since Finn's parents had already banked his, they enrolled him in cord blood trial for cerebral palsy in North Carolina and he received his first transplant in November, 2009, when he was about seven weeks old.

A second transfusion followed and by May, his parents began to notice a change.

Nighttime noises, like an alarm on his food pump or the sound of ripping medical tape, would suddenly startle him awake, his mother recalled.

"He started vocalizing sounds and we could tell that he was anticipating things that we would say. Like, if he had heard a story a number of times or a song, he would smile like he recognized the song or the story."

Finn had a third infusion in September, 2010, when he was one year old. Four months later, an otoacoustic emissions test (OAE), which plays a sound and picks up vibrations in the cochlea and hair cells, came back normal.

The early hearing tests that showed hearing loss were not exactly the same as the later tests that came back normal, so McGrath is cautious about comparing them directly, but she believes the cord blood transfusions may have helped.

"All I can tell you is anecdotally he was not able to hear for probably the first three or four months of his life, and then when he was about six to eight months old, he started hearing."

The hearing trial in Texas aims to take a first step in testing the safety, and later the efficacy, of transfusing cord blood in children age six weeks to 18 months who have sustained post-birthsensorineural hearing loss.

Some reasons that children lose their hearing at or after birth may include oxygen deprivation, head injury, infection, strong doses of antibiotics, or loud noises.

Sensorineural hearing loss affects approximately six per 1,000 children, and there is no available medical treatment. Hearing aids or cochlear implants are typically offered to boost the ability of the damaged tissues.

"Stem cell therapy may potentially repair the damaged structures of the inner ear and restore normal hearing," lead investigator Samer Fakhri told AFP.

"We are at the initial stages of this process and the results are looking promising," Fakhri added.

Read the original:
Stem Cell Therapy for Deafness

US researchers have begun a groundbreaking trial to test the potential of umbilical cord blood transplants, a kind of stem cell therapy, to treat and possibly reverse hearing loss in infants.

The phase I trial follows promising studies on mice showing that such transplants were able to rebuild the structures of the inner ear, and some anecdotal evidence from humans, sparking hope of a cure for some forms of deafness.

One of those people is two-year-old Finn McGrath, who suffered brain damage after being deprived of oxygen during a prolonged and complicated delivery, according to his mother, Laura.

"His doctors told us he was at high risk for cerebral palsy, vision issues, hearing problems and mental retardation," she said in an interview with AFP.

Finn's early days were an all-out struggle to survive, so for his parents, learning that he had failed his hearing tests and had damaged hair cells -- the sensory receptors in the inner ear that pick up sounds -- was almost an afterthought.

He had organ failure, breathing problems, and his cerebral palsy left him unable to roll, crawl or walk, hold his head up, talk or eat.

As his parents searched for ways to help him, they came upon stories online that told of studies using cord blood to help children with cerebral palsy and other disorders.

Prior to his birth, the McGraths had arranged to privately bank his umbilical cord blood, a procedure that costs around $2,000 plus storage fees, and remains controversial among pediatricians.

Private companies such as the Cord Blood Registry, which is funding the Texas study on hearing loss, urge expecting parents to bank their umbilical cord blood and reserve it for personal use as a way to protect their family.

That advice runs counter to the guidelines issues by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2007, which calls such claims "unsubstantiated" and says banking for personal or family use "should be discouraged" but is "encouraged" if it is to be stored in a bank for public use.

Since Finn's parents had already banked his, they enrolled him in cord blood trial for cerebral palsy in North Carolina and he received his first transplant in November 2009 when he was about seven weeks old.

A second transfusion followed and by May, his parents began to notice a change.

Nighttime noises, like an alarm on his food pump or the sound of ripping medical tape, would suddenly startle him awake, his mother recalled.

"He started vocalizing sounds and we could tell that he was anticipating things that we would say. Like, if he had heard a story a number of times or a song, he would smile like he recognized the song or the story."

Finn had a third infusion in September 2010, when he was one year old. Four months later, an otoacoustic emissions test (OAE), which plays a sound and picks up vibrations in the cochlea and hair cells, came back normal.

The early hearing tests that showed hearing loss were not exactly the same as the later tests that came back normal, so McGrath is cautious about comparing them directly, but she believes the cord blood transfusions may have helped.

"All I can tell you is anecdotally he was not able to hear for probably the first three or four months of his life, and then when he was about six to eight months old, he started hearing."

The hearing trial in Texas aims to take a first step in testing the safety, and later the efficacy, of transfusing cord blood in children age six weeks to 18 months who have sustained post-birth sensorineural hearing loss.

Some reasons that children lose their hearing at or after birth may include oxygen deprivation, head injury, infection, strong doses of antibiotics or loud noises.

Sensorineural hearing loss affects approximately six per 1,000 children, and there is no available medical treatment. Hearing aids or cochlear implants are typically offered to boost the ability of the damaged tissues.

"Stem cell therapy may potentially repair the damaged structures of the inner ear and restore normal hearing," lead investigator Sami Fakhri told AFP.

"We are at the initial stages of this process and the results are looking promising," Fakhri added.

Research using stem cells in cord blood, known as hematopoietic cells, is already under way on some types of brain injury, cerebral palsy, juvenile diabetes, kidney and lung disease, he said.

The new study at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center is being funded by the Cord Blood Registry, a private bank, and those eligible must have already banked their own umbilical cord blood with CBR.

But to Stephen Epstein, an otolaryngologist in Maryland, that does not pose a conflict of interest, because separate medical institutions in Texas and Georgia are conducting the Food and Drug Administration-approved research.

"If both of them can reproduce the same results then I would say it has some validity to it," said Epstein, who is not involved in the study.

"This is certainly a welcome, acceptable experiment, but it should be looked at with caution and time will tell."

One patient is already enrolled and the study, which runs for one year, has room for nine more.

While Finn McGrath still faces many challenges due to his cerebral palsy, his mother is grateful for the things he can do.

"I don't know how much worse off he would have been without the stem cell transfusion," McGrath said, pointing to his normal cognition, lack of seizures, good hearing and vision.

"We remain hopeful that he will continue to improve."

ksh/ao

Read the rest here:
US begins stem cell trial for hearing loss

15-01-2012 02:10 Multiple Sclerosis patient is able to walk up and down stairs without a cane after treatment. - http://www.stemcellofamerica.com

Read the original here:
Breakthrough Multiple Sclerosis Treatment - Stem Cell Of America - Video

19-12-2011 14:50 Katie Sharify, 23, of Pleasanton, receives stem cells for a spinal cord injury.

View original post here:
Stem cell therapy at VMC - Video

08-02-2012 11:12 Stem Cell Treatment of Pro/Am dancer and orthodontist, Dr. Janet Vaughan. In attempt to get her dancing career back on track, Dr. Vaughan decided to undergo stem cell therapy at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama. Dr. Jorge Paz, Medical Director at the Stem Cell Institute presents Dr. Vaughan's case discussing her injuries and subsequent recovery. After being unable to compete for 2 years, Dr. Vaughan is once again slated to compete on the professional dance circuit with her current professional partner, Mr. Eddie Stutts (Professional 10-Dance World Champion). From 2007-2009, Dr. Vaughan partnered with World Champion Tony Dovolani and competed extensively in the US, winning a National Reserve Pro/Am Rhythm title. Tony Dovolani is best known for his appearances on ABC's hit reality series, "Dancing with the Stars", and has teamed up with Chynna Phillips, Wendy Williams, Audrina Partridge, Kate Gosselin, Kathy Ireland, Susan Lucci, Jane Seymour and other celebrities on the show.

Excerpt from:
Stem Cell Therapy for Osteoarthritis and Sports Injuries: A Case Study - Video

02-02-2012 09:26 CCSVI Symposium 2011 - Second Annual Meeting Crowne Plaza Hotel Times Square, Manhattan New York, NY July 15-17, 2011 http://www.ccsvicare.com Combined CCSVI and Stem Cell Treatments Ivo Petrov, MD Cardiology Department Chief Tokuda Hospital Sofia, Bulgaria [39 out of 46 videos]

Link:
Ivo Petrov, MD [Combined CCSVI

Suzanne Somers, a breast cancer survivor who’s become known for her controversial advice against chemotherapy, has done something that other women can truly find hope in. She turned to stem-cell techniques to successfully reconstruct her breasts.

The actress, 65, underwent a lumpectomy and radiation 12 years ago, and since then, she says, she wasn’t happy with the appearance of her breasts.  The radiation, she told “People” magazine, "left what breast I had flatter and flatter. I had a Double D on one side and on the other side I could hardly fill a B."

Dissatisfied with conventional breast-reconstruction procedures,  the “Three’s Company” veteran researched further and discovered that  Dr. Kotaro Yoshimura, a Japanese surgeon, had  developed stem-cell breast reconstruction in 2004. After talking with Yoshimura, Somers was convinced and decided to go with an American doctor for the operation.

So she began a clinical trial that has been ongoing at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center.  The first patient to participate, Somers had fat removed from her stomach via liposuction. Then her surgeon, Dr. Joel Aronowitz, harvested stem cells from half the fat and combined it with the remaining amount.

After that, Aronowitz injected the mixture back into Somers’ breast until it matched her left one in size.  (Somers had reduced her DD left breast to a C.)

Somers said she’s thrilled with the result and the implications for other breast-cancer survivors. I am so ensconced in what's cutting edge," she told “People.” "I get my thrill out of passing on information to women so they can have a better quality of life."

Continued here:
Suzanne Somers Uses Stem Cell Therapy for Breast Reconstruction

McMaster University is on its way to moving stem cell research “from the bench to the bedside” thanks to a $30 million boost from a local family.

The Marta and Owen Boris Foundation made the large donation to establish a human stem cell therapy centre and a unique clinic for patients with complex health conditions.

Owen, the founder of Mountain Cablevision, was in talks with McMaster about investing in their work before he died last April. His children and wife contacted the university a month later and carried out his vision, firming up their commitment last November.

The Boris Family Centre in Human Stem Cell Therapies will be developed as part of the McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute using $24 million of the funds.

“It’s getting over that chasm from the bench to the bedside that this (donation) is going to allow us to do,” the institute’s scientific director Dr. Mick Bhatia said.

The centre will give scientists the resources to focus on converting McMaster’s breakthroughs — such as the ability to make blood or types of neural cells with stem cells — into clinical applications through investigative trials, Bhatia said.

“In the absence of this donation, I think we would not be in the position to move our discoveries forward,” he said. “This is a huge leg-up. I’m hoping what it’s really going to do is have a ripple effect to change the way McMaster views translating basic science.”

They plan on developing human stem cell therapies targeting leukemia and possibly neural diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, said Dr. John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the faculty of health sciences.

The remaining $6 million will go toward building a clinic in partnership with Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) where patients with complex health issues can see specialists and undergo tests in one visit.

This was a result of his parents’ frustrating experiences in recent years with co-ordinating specialists and getting diagnostic testing done in Canada, said Owen’s son, Les Boris.

They ended up going to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where they had a case manager who co-ordinated their appointments with specialists and made sure testing was done in-house, he said. “They like the idea of a one-stop shop … (My father) said: ‘This is the kind of model we need here in this country.’”

Kelton said the medical clinic, which will be built in the university’s medical centre, will look for rapid turnaround times and avoid duplications of lab tests. McMaster and HHS will also evaluate the clinic’s success and keep an electronic medical record that patients could access, he said.

Kelton and Owen met three years ago and had their last meeting about the projects three days before the philanthropist died.

Owen had worked on the Avro Arrow and was frustrated with Canada’s lost opportunity of making jet planes for the world, Kelton said.

“He said, ‘Tell me about some opportunities (that) – if we invested in it – could make Hamilton and McMaster world-class. What are some of the areas like an Avro Arrow?’”

The funds for the human stem cell therapy centre will go toward hiring a research chair in blood stem cells and a research chair in neural stems cells, setting up several fellowships and technician positions, and building the facility.

Bhatia says they hope to bring in new scientists and fellows by the early summer.

The Boris family previously donated $6 million to addiction research at St. Joseph’s Healthcare for its new mental health hospital being built on the Mountain and another $5 million for the da Vinci SI Surgical Robotic System.

“We’re very appreciative that we’re in a position to be doing something for the community,” Les said. “And it was the community that put us in the position to do this.

dawong@thespec.com

905-526-2468 | @WongatTheSpec

Read more here:
$30 million donation from Boris family will help McMaster turn stem cell research into therapy

Interview with Dr. Zannos Grekos Grekos contests that his office has done ...

The state took action against Dr. Zannos Grekos because of the death of a 69-year-old breast cancer patient April 4, 2010, after undergoing the treatment at his Bonita Springs practice, at 9500 Bonita Beach Road, Suite 310.

BONITA SPRINGS — Dr. Zannos Grekos may not have an attorney representing him at a hearing next month against a state complaint that he performed an unauthorized stem cell procedure on a patient who later died.

Or maybe the Bonita Springs cardiologist will have new counsel for the three-day administrative hearing scheduled to begin March 20.

His original attorney, Greg Chaires of Orlando, withdrew from the case Jan. 24, less than two months before the hearing. He's been Grekos' attorney since the state filed an administrative complaint against the doctor a year ago.

Grekos couldn't be reached for comment at his practice, Regenocyte Therapeutic, 9500 Bonita Beach Road, Suite 310.

Chaires stated in his withdrawal notice to the judge that he had good cause to stop representing him, but didn't elaborate.

Florida health department spokeswoman Jennifer Hirst said this past week that Grekos has two weeks to hire a new attorney "and regardless of whether he does or not, the trial date will not change."

The case, which stems from events in early 2010, culminated a year later on Feb. 22, 2011, when the health department imposed an emergency restriction against his license. The restriction prohibits him from doing any procedures with bone marrow or stem cells in his practice.

If the administrative law judge sides with the state, Grekos could face sanctions or permanent restriction or revocation of his license.

At issue was Grekos' treatment of a 69-year-old woman who went to him for a consult on Feb. 25, 2010, for numbness and tingling in her arms and legs after chemotherapy.

Grekos ordered imaging of her carotid arteries and her brain and later injected her own aspirated bone marrow into her cerebral circulatory system.

At home that evening, she fell and was hospitalized. She had suffered a severe brain stem injury and was taken off life support on April 2, 2010.

Licensed in Florida since 1992, Grekos' cardiology practice in recent years has focused more on stem cell therapy to repair damaged heart muscle, lungs and other tissue.

He sends a sample of a patient's lung to Israel to cultivate new stem cells and the blood gets sent to a clinic or hospital in the Dominican Republic. The patient travels to the Dominican Republic, where the stem cells are injected into the damaged tissue.

Grekos has established a relationship with doctors and clinicians in the Dominican Republic who do the injections on his behalf; he isn't licensed to practice medicine there.

The case has captured widespread attention among Grekos' supporters who swear their once-chronic illnesses have undergone dramatic improvement since having the therapy through him. Detractors say he is taking advantage of a vulnerable population with congestive heart failure, lung failure and other illnesses for which conventional treatments no longer are effective.

See more here:
Bonita stem cell doctor's attorney quits, state hearing still scheduled

23-11-2011 02:11 For instance, neural cells in the brain and spinal cord that have been damaged can be replaced by stem cells. In the treatment of cancer, cells partially damaged by radiation or chemotherapy can be replaced with new healthy stem cells that adapt to the affected area, whether it be part of the brain, heart, liver, lungs, or wherever. Dead cells of almost any kind, no matter the type of injury or disease, can be replaced with new healthy cells thanks to the amazing flexibility of stem cells.

View original post here:
stem cell therapy mexico, Successfully Results - Video

31-01-2012 15:24 MDA Vice President of Research Sanjay Bidichandani explains the promising research being done in neuromuscular disease research using adult stem cells.

Link:
Stem Cell Therapy in Neuromuscular Disease Research - Video

NEW YORK & PETACH TIKVAH, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB: BCLI.OB - News), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, announced today that the prestigious Experimental Neurology Journal, published an article indicating that preclinical studies using cells that underwent treatment with Brainstorm’s NurOwn™ technology show promise in an animal model of Huntington’s disease. The article was published by leading scientists including Professor Melamed and Professor Offen of the Tel Aviv University.

In these studies, bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells secreting neurotrophic factors (MSC-NTF), from patients with Huntington’s disease, were transplanted into the animal model of this disease and showed therapeutic improvement.

“The findings from this study demonstrate that stem cells derived from patients with a neurodegenerative disease, which are processed using BrainStorm’s NurOwn™ technology, may alleviate neurotoxic signs, in a similar way to cells derived from healthy donors. This is an important development for the company, as it confirms that autologous transplantation may be beneficial for such additional therapeutic indications,” said Dr. Adrian Harel, BrainStorm’s CEO.

"These findings provide support once again that BrainStorm’s MSC-NTF secreting cells have the potential to become a platform that in the future will provide treatment for various neuro-degenerative diseases," says Chaim Lebovits, President of BrainStorm. "This study follows previously published pre-clinical studies that demonstrated improvement in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and neural damage such as optic nerve transection and sciatic nerve injury. Therefore, BrainStorm will consider focusing on a new indication in the near future, in addition to the ongoing Clinical Trials in ALS.”

BrainStrom is currently conducting a Phase I/II Human Clinical Trial for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease at the Hadassah Medical center. Initial results from the clinical trial (which is designed mainly to test the safety of the treatment), that were announced last week, have shown that the Brainstorm’s NurOwn™ therapy is safe and does not show any significant treatment-related adverse events and have also shown certain signs of beneficial clinical effects.

To read the Article entitled ‘Mesenchymal stem cells induced to secrete neurotrophic factors attenuate quinolinic acid toxicity: A potential therapy for Huntington's disease’ by Sadan et al. please go to:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014488612000295

About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Inc.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is a biotech company developing adult stem cell therapeutic products, derived from autologous (self) bone marrow cells, for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Ltd., holds rights to develop and commercialize the technology through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd., the technology transfer company of Tel-Aviv University. The technology is currently in a Phase I/II clinical trials for ALS in Israel.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute "forward-looking statements" and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.'s actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, inter alia, regarding safety and efficacy in its human clinical trials and thereafter; the Company's ability to progress any product candidates in pre-clinical or clinical trials; the scope, rate and progress of its pre-clinical trials and other research and development activities; the scope, rate and progress of clinical trials we commence; clinical trial results; safety and efficacy of the product even if the data from pre-clinical or clinical trials is positive; uncertainties relating to clinical trials; risks relating to the commercialization, if any, of our proposed product candidates; dependence on the efforts of third parties; failure by us to secure and maintain relationships with collaborators; dependence on intellectual property; competition for clinical resources and patient enrollment from drug candidates in development by other companies with greater resources and visibility, and risks that we may lack the financial resources and access to capital to fund our operations. The potential risks and uncertainties include risks associated with BrainStorm's limited operating history, history of losses; minimal working capital, dependence on its license to Ramot's technology; ability to adequately protect its technology; dependence on key executives and on its scientific consultants; ability to obtain required regulatory approvals; and other factors detailed in BrainStorm's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q available at http://www.sec.gov. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made by us.

Read more:
Experimental Neurology Journal: BrainStorm's NurOwn™ Stem Cell Technology Shows Promise for Treating Huntington's ...

Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Krista Conger
kristac@stanford.edu
650-725-5371
Stanford University Medical Center

STANFORD, Calif. ? Mouse skin cells can be converted directly into cells that become the three main parts of the nervous system, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding is an extension of a previous study by the same group showing that mouse and human skin cells can be directly converted into functional neurons.

The multiple successes of the direct conversion method could refute the idea that pluripotency (a term that describes the ability of stem cells to become nearly any cell in the body) is necessary for a cell to transform from one cell type to another. Together, the results raise the possibility that embryonic stem cell research and another technique called "induced pluripotency" could be supplanted by a more direct way of generating specific types of cells for therapy or research.

This new study, which will be published online Jan. 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is a substantial advance over the previous paper in that it transforms the skin cells into neural precursor cells, as opposed to neurons. While neural precursor cells can differentiate into neurons, they can also become the two other main cell types in the nervous system: astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. In addition to their greater versatility, the newly derived neural precursor cells offer another advantage over neurons because they can be cultivated to large numbers in the laboratory ? a feature critical for their long-term usefulness in transplantation or drug screening.

In the study, the switch from skin to neural precursor cells occurred with high efficiency over a period of about three weeks after the addition of just three transcription factors. (In the previous study, a different combination of three transcription factors was used to generate mature neurons.) The finding implies that it may one day be possible to generate a variety of neural-system cells for transplantation that would perfectly match a human patient.

"We are thrilled about the prospects for potential medical use of these cells," said Marius Wernig, MD, assistant professor of pathology and a member of Stanford's Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. "We've shown the cells can integrate into a mouse brain and produce a missing protein important for the conduction of electrical signal by the neurons. This is important because the mouse model we used mimics that of a human genetic brain disease. However, more work needs to be done to generate similar cells from human skin cells and assess their safety and efficacy."

Wernig is the senior author of the research. Graduate student Ernesto Lujan is the first author.

While much research has been devoted to harnessing the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells, taking those cells from an embryo and then implanting them in a patient could prove difficult because they would not match genetically. An alternative technique involves a concept called induced pluripotency, first described in 2006. In this approach, transcription factors are added to specialized cells like those found in skin to first drive them back along the developmental timeline to an undifferentiated stem-cell-like state. These "iPS cells" are then grown under a variety of conditions to induce them to re-specialize into many different cell types.

Scientists had thought that it was necessary for a cell to first enter an induced pluripotent state or for researchers to start with an embryonic stem cell, which is pluripotent by nature, before it could go on to become a new cell type. However, research from Wernig's laboratory in early 2010 showed that it was possible to directly convert one "adult" cell type to another with the application of specialized transcription factors, a process known as transdifferentiation.

Wernig and his colleagues first converted skin cells from an adult mouse to functional neurons (which they termed induced neuronal, or iN, cells), and then replicated the feat with human cells. In 2011 they showed that they could also directly convert liver cells into iN cells.

"Dr. Wernig's demonstration that fibroblasts can be converted into functional nerve cells opens the door to consider new ways to regenerate damaged neurons using cells surrounding the area of injury," said pediatric cardiologist Deepak Srivastava, MD, who was not involved in these studies. "It also suggests that we may be able to transdifferentiate cells into other cell types." Srivastava is the director of cardiovascular research at the Gladstone Institutes at the University of California-San Francisco. In 2010, Srivastava transdifferentiated mouse heart fibroblasts into beating heart muscle cells.

"Direct conversion has a number of advantages," said Lujan. "It occurs with relatively high efficiency and it generates a fairly homogenous population of cells. In contrast, cells derived from iPS cells must be carefully screened to eliminate any remaining pluripotent cells or cells that can differentiate into different lineages." Pluripotent cells can cause cancers when transplanted into animals or humans.

The lab's previous success converting skin cells into neurons spurred Wernig and Lujan to see if they could also generate the more-versatile neural precursor cells, or NPCs. To do so, they infected embryonic mouse skin cells ? a commonly used laboratory cell line ? with a virus encoding 11 transcription factors known to be expressed at high levels in NPCs. A little more than three weeks later, they saw that about 10 percent of the cells had begun to look and act like NPCs.

Repeated experiments allowed them to winnow the original panel of 11 transcription factors to just three: Brn2, Sox2 and FoxG1. (In contrast, the conversion of skin cells directly to functional neurons requires the transcription factors Brn2, Ascl1 and Myt1l.) Skin cells expressing these three transcription factors became neural precursor cells that were able to differentiate into not just neurons and astrocytes, but also oligodendrocytes, which make the myelin that insulates nerve fibers and allows them to transmit signals. The scientists dubbed the newly converted population "induced neural precursor cells," or iNPCs.

In addition to confirming that the astrocytes, neurons and oligodendrocytes were expressing the appropriate genes and that they resembled their naturally derived peers in both shape and function when grown in the laboratory, the researchers wanted to know how the iNPCs would react when transplanted into an animal. They injected them into the brains of newborn laboratory mice bred to lack the ability to myelinate neurons. After 10 weeks, Lujan found that the cells had differentiated into oligodendroytes and had begun to coat the animals' neurons with myelin.

"Not only do these cells appear functional in the laboratory, they also seem to be able to integrate appropriately in an in vivo animal model," said Lujan.

The scientists are now working to replicate the work with skin cells from adult mice and humans, but Lujan emphasized that much more research is needed before any human transplantation experiments could be conducted. In the meantime, however, the ability to quickly and efficiently generate neural precursor cells that can be grown in the laboratory to mass quantities and maintained over time will be valuable in disease and drug-targeting studies.

"In addition to direct therapeutic application, these cells may be very useful to study human diseases in a laboratory dish or even following transplantation into a developing rodent brain," said Wernig.

###

In addition to Wernig and Lujan, other Stanford researchers involved in the study include postdoctoral scholars Soham Chanda, PhD, and Henrik Ahlenius, PhD; and professor of molecular and cellular physiology Thomas Sudhof, MD.

The research was supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Stinehart-Reed Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://mednews.stanford.edu. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. For information about all three, please visit http://stanfordmedicine.org/about/news.html.

PRINT MEDIA CONTACT: Krista Conger at (650) 725-5371 (kristac@stanford.edu)
BROADCAST MEDIA CONTACT: M.A. Malone at (650) 723-6912 (mamalone@stanford.edu)

[ | E-mail | Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Read more:
Stanford scientists turn skin cells into neural precusors, bypassing stem-cell stage

26-01-2012 02:37 Animacel ltd. is offering your animal stem cell treatment with newly developed stem cell therapy. At the moment, excellent results are with treatments of different joint problems (arthritis and injury/damage of cartilage, hip dysplasia), tendon problems and supporting/adjuvant stem cell therapy for faster healing of broken bones. We are also developing treatment for heart insufficiency, eye dissease, diabetes, etc. See our webpage http://www.animacel.com

Continue reading here:
Stem cell treatment for animals - Video

Go here to see the original:
Vet-Stem Announces Milestone of 8,000 Animals Treated With Vet-Stem Cell Therapy

20-01-2012 16:12 A conversation Dr. CC King, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist at the UC, San Diego Pediatric Diabetes Research Center, about his work on stem cell therapy for type 1 (and type 2) diabetes.

More:
Stem Cell Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes (UCSD, PDRC) - Video

19-01-2012 22:48 Stem cell research has the potential to yield groundbreaking new tools to understand and develop therapies for CP and related brain disorders.

View original post here:
Professor Alan Trounson - World focus on stem cell research - Video

17-01-2012 18:57 Watch Dr. Whalen, of LePar Animal Hospital in Evergreen Park, perform surgery and Stem Cell Therapy on Lady Bender, a 5 year old Mastiff with severe arthritis in the hips. Dr.

Original post:
Lady Stem Cell - Video

12-01-2012 07:24 If you would like more information please call us Toll Free at 877-578-7908. Or visit our website at http://www.usastemcells.com Or click here to have a Free Phone Constultation with Dr

More:
Adult Stem Cell Treatments for COPD -Real patient results, USA Stem Cells- Leon B. Testimonial - Video