Stem cell therapies making slow but promising progress

Edgar Irastorza was just 31 when his heart stopped beating in October 2008.

A Miami property manager, break-dancer and former high school wrestler, Irastorza had recently gained weight as his wifes third pregnancy progressed. I kind of got pregnant, too, he said.

During a workout one day, he felt short of breath and insisted that friends rush him to the hospital. Minutes later, his pulse flat-lined.

He survived the heart attack, but the scar tissue that resulted cut his hearts pumping ability by a third. He couldnt pick up his children. He couldnt dance. He fell asleep every night wondering if he would wake up in the morning.

Desperation motivated Irastorza to volunteer for a highly unusual medical research trial: getting stem cells injected directly into his heart.

I just trusted my doctors and the science behind it, and said, This is my only chance, he said recently.

Over the last five years, by studying stem cells in lab dishes, test animals and intrepid patients like Irastorza, researchers have brought the vague, grandiose promises of stem cell therapies closer to reality.

Stem cells broke into the public consciousness in the early 1990s, alluring for their potential to help the body beat back diseases of degeneration like Alzheimers, and to grow new parts to treat conditions like spinal cord injuries.

Progress has been slow. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research, an early supporter of stem cell research, pulled its financial backing two years ago, saying that it preferred to invest in research that was closer to providing immediate help for Parkinsons disease patients.

But researchers have been slowly learning how to best use stem cells, what types to use and how to deliver them to the body findings that arent singularly transformational, but progressive and pragmatic.

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Stem cell therapies making slow but promising progress

How stem cells help cure diseases

MANILA -- The use of stem cell therapy has become an option in treating different medical conditions.

Stem cells are the body's natural healing cells. They are used by human tissues to repair and regenerate damaged cells. In the right environment, stem cells can change into bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, collagen, neural tissue, blood vessels, and even some organs.

There are two kinds of stem cells: adult or embryonic. Adult stem cells appear to be particularly effective against painful joints, repairing cartilage and ligaments, and even painful conditions along the spine.

Adult stem cells are usually harvested from fat tissues. By using technology, the collagen that binds the fat and the stem cells are broken down, separating a solution rich in the patient's own stem cells, which will then be used for treatment.

Stem cells may be effective in the treatment of macular degeneration, Crohns disease and numerous pulmonary conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and fibrosis. Stem cells are also being used for patients suffering from kidney failure and ailments of the bone, cartilage and joints.

However, stem cell therapy is not recommended for patients with active infections or cancer.

In the Philippines, fat-derived stem cell therapy is available through StemCare Institute. At present, the clinic employs an orthopedic team of doctors and surgeons with international qualifications.

StemCare, with the advancement of stem cell technology and the refinement its of clinical protocols through international experts, now offers more accessible treatment options for patients suffering from these degenerative orthopedic conditions.

Kim Atienza and Inno Sotto. Composite Image

Among the personalities who have used stem cell therapy in the country are Inno Sotto, a fashion designer who is suffering from a tear in his right elbow, and Kim Atineza, who is using fat stem cell injections to help strengthen and repair his knee joints after suffering from Guillain-Barre disease.

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How stem cells help cure diseases

Common Curry Ingredient Could Help The Brain Battle The Affects Of Alzheimers

September 27, 2014

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Eating spicy Indian food could help boost the brains ability to heal itself, according to new research published in Fridays edition of the journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy.

According to Damian Gayle of The Daily Mail, aromatic turmerone, a compound found in the popular curry spice turmeric, could encourage the growth of nerve cells believed to help repair the brains of those suffering from neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia or Alzheimers disease.

In lab tests involving rats, researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3) in Germany, the University Hospital of Cologne Department of Neurology and the Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research found that aromatic turmerone promoted the proliferation of brain stem cells and their development into neurons.

The study authors believe it could help scientists develop new ways to treat conditions that kill brain cells, which include strokes and Alzheimers. However, they told BBC News health reporter Smitha Mundasad that additional trials are required to see if the affect is applicable to humans.

The researchers injected the rodents with the compound, and then scanned their brains, Mundasad explained. They found that activity increased in the regions of the brain known to be involved in nerve cell growth following infusion with the bioactive compound. Specifically, they found that the subventricular zone (SVZ) was wider and the hippocampus had expanded in the brains of rats injected with aromatic turmerone.

In a different part of the trial, the researchers bathed rodent neural stem cells (NSCs) in different concentrations of aromatic tumerone extract. NSCs are stem cells found within adult brains that differentiate into neurons, and play a vital role in the self-repair and recovery of brain function in neurodegenerative diseases, the authors explained.

Rat fetal NSCs were cultured and grown in six different concentrations of aromatic tumerone during a 72-hour period, and at some concentrations, the compound was shown to increase stem cell proliferation by as much as 80 percent without having any impact on cell death. Furthermore, the cell differentiation process also became accelerated in cells treated with the aromatic tumerone compound when compared to untreated controls.

In a statement, lead author and INM-3 researcher Dr. Maria Adele Rueger said, While several substances have been described to promote stem cell proliferation in the brain, fewer drugs additionally promote the differentiation of stem cells into neurons, which constitutes a major goal in regenerative medicine. Our findings on aromatic turmerone take us one step closer to achieving this goal.

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Common Curry Ingredient Could Help The Brain Battle The Affects Of Alzheimers

Swastik – Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) – 24-04-2014 – Video


Swastik - Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) - 24-04-2014
stem cell india, stem cell therapy india, stem cell in india, stem cell therapy in india, india stem cell, india stem cell therapy.

By: Stem Cell India

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Swastik - Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) - 24-04-2014 - Video

Turmeric compound boosts regeneration of brain stem cells

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

25-Sep-2014

Contact: Alanna Orpen alanna.orpen@biomedcentral.com 44-0-20-3192-2054 BioMed Central @biomedcentral

A bioactive compound found in turmeric promotes stem cell proliferation and differentiation in the brain, reveals new research published today in the open access journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy. The findings suggest aromatic turmerone could be a future drug candidate for treating neurological disorders, such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease.

The study looked at the effects of aromatic (ar-) turmerone on endogenous neutral stem cells (NSC), which are stem cells found within adult brains. NSC differentiate into neurons, and play an important role in self-repair and recovery of brain function in neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies of ar-turmerone have shown that the compound can block activation of microglia cells. When activated, these cells cause neuroinflammation, which is associated with different neurological disorders. However, ar-turmerone's impact on the brain's capacity to self-repair was unknown.

Researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Jlich, Germany, studied the effects of ar-turmerone on NSC proliferation and differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. Rat fetal NSC were cultured and grown in six different concentrations of ar-turmerone over a 72 hour period. At certain concentrations, ar-turmerone was shown to increase NSC proliferation by up to 80%, without having any impact on cell death. The cell differentiation process also accelerated in ar-turmerone-treated cells compared to untreated control cells.

To test the effects of ar-turmerone on NSC in vivo, the researchers injected adult rats with ar-turmerone. Using PET imaging and a tracer to detect proliferating cells, they found that the subventricular zone (SVZ) was wider, and the hippocampus expanded, in the brains of rats injected with ar-turmerone than in control animals. The SVZ and hippocampus are the two sites in adult mammalian brains where neurogenesis, the growth of neurons, is known to occur.

Lead author of the study, Adele Rueger, said: "While several substances have been described to promote stem cell proliferation in the brain, fewer drugs additionally promote the differentiation of stem cells into neurons, which constitutes a major goal in regenerative medicine. Our findings on aromatic turmerone take us one step closer to achieving this goal."

Ar-turmerone is the lesser-studied of two major bioactive compounds found in turmeric. The other compound is curcumin, which is well known for its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties.

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Turmeric compound boosts regeneration of brain stem cells

Nishan – Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) – 23-04-2014 – Video


Nishan - Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) - 23-04-2014
stem cell india, stem cell therapy india, stem cell in india, stem cell therapy in india, india stem cell, india stem cell therapy.

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Nishan - Stem Cell Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) - 23-04-2014 - Video

Biomarkers, Stem Cells Offer New Ways to Treat Deadly Gut Disease in Premature Babies

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Newswise Columbus, OH. Premature babies face a host of medical challenges at birth, but none as deadly and mysterious as a disease called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). The condition creates an inexplicable combination of inflammation and infection that causes parts of the intestine to die. NEC progresses at a ruthless speed, leaving physicians with few options typically supportive care, emergency surgery or antibiotics. Only half of newborns who undergo surgery survive, and they often face serious life-long complications.

In the fifty years since necrotizing enterocolitis was first identified, weve accomplished relatively little to change its devastating course. Even worse, we dont know which babies will get it. One minute, a child can appear healthy, but then be dead from NEC hours later, said Gail Besner, MD, chief of pediatric surgery at Nationwide Childrens Hospital.

That may be about to change thanks to two major breakthroughs driven by Besner and Surgeon-in-Chief at Nationwide Childrens R. Lawrence Moss, MD.

After nearly two decades of work, their separate efforts have yielded both the discovery of a biomarker that can help predict which babies will get the disease, as well as treatments that can restore the intestines natural ability to protect itself against NEC.

These researchers advances offer innovative approaches to necrotizing enterocolitis that may someday make it a more predictable and better managed complication of prematurity, said John Barnard, MD, President of the Nationwide Childrens Research Institute and Pediatric Director of The Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS).

Growth factors, stem cells offer gut protection For Besner, the key has always been to prevent NEC before it can start. In the 1990s, she began looking closely at what was happening at the molecular level to an immature bowel in the throes NEC. Besner made a major discovery, observing that a protein called heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) which she initially discovered played a life and death role in protecting premature infants from NEC.

In numerous studies, Besner showed that without HB-EGF, the structures within the intestines that maintain barrier function and integrity, including a massive network of nerves and blood vessels, became easily injured and beyond repair. The addition of HB-EGF had the opposite effect, helping protect intestines from injury in animal models of NEC.

From that molecular level understanding of NEC, Besner developed a bigger picture hypothesis about how the nerve damage within an immature gut impacted the diseases development and progression and where a solution might be found.

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Biomarkers, Stem Cells Offer New Ways to Treat Deadly Gut Disease in Premature Babies

Stem cell centre proposed for resort

Xia Jie.

Medical entrepreneur Xia Jie, whose company Health 100 owns the largest chain of health clinics in China, plans to open overseas facilities to cater for wealthy clients.

That could result in an investment of about $20 million in a regenerative treatment centre in the resort, making it a Mecca for health tourism and athlete injury rehabilitation.

''We're now negotiating with the local medical teams,'' Mr Xia said yesterday through an interpreter while on a four-day fact-finding mission to Queenstown.

''Health 100 really wants to find beautiful cities around the world to take Chinese patients to and Queenstown is one of them.

''The vision is to bring the very high-end customers to have special treatment which is not carried out elsewhere in the world,'' he said.

Health 100 would invest with existing firms Queenstown Regenerative Medicine (QRM), run by Marcelle Noble, and the Queenstown Skin Institute.

Both have small premises at Remarkables Park in Frankton.

Queenstown Skin Institute director Dr Hans Raetz said Mr Xia had indicated plans for a much larger centre, with sites in Remarkables Park, Jacks Point or the Five Mile development off Frankton Ladies Mile already earmarked.

''The size depends on Mr Xia, but we've been talking between $10 million and $20 million.

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Stem cell centre proposed for resort

Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Market Worth $5.1 Billion by 2019

DALLAS, September 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the new market research report "Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Marketby Product (Reagent, Media, Bead, centrifuge), Cell Type (human, stem cell, animal), Technique (Filtration, Surface Marker),by Application (Research, IVD) &by End user (Hospital, Biotechnology) - Forecast to 2019", published by MarketsandMarkets, provides a detailed overview of the major drivers, restraints, challenges, opportunities, current market trends, and strategies impacting the Cell Isolation Market along with the estimates and forecasts of the revenue and share analysis.

Browse 194 market data tables and 53 figures spread through 211 pages and in-depth TOC on"Cell Isolation/Cell Separation"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cell-isolation-market-103931479.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

The global Cell Isolation Market is expected to reach $5.1 Billion by 2019 from $2.5 Billion in 2014, growing at a CAGR of 15.8% from 2014 to 2019.

The report segments this market on the basis of product, cell type, technique, application, and end user. Among various techniques, the centrifugation-based cell isolation technique is expected to account for the largest share in 2014, while surface marker-based cell isolation technique is expected to account for the fastest-growing segment in the cell isolation market, owing to technological advancement due to which new products are being launched in the market. Furthermore, rising usage of surface market-based cell isolation techniques in stem cell and cancer research is another major reason for the growth of this market.

Based on geography, the global Cell Isolation Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (RoW). North America is expected to account for the largest share of the market by the end of 2014. The large share of this region can be attributed to various factors including increasing government support for cancer and stem cell research and expanding biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries in this region.

Further Inquiry:http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=103931479

Prominent players in the Cell Isolation Market are BD Biosciences (U.S.), Danaher Corporation (U.S.), GE Healthcare (U.K.), Merck Millipore (U.S.), Miltenyi Biotec (Germany), pluriSelect (U.S.), STEMCELL Technologies (Canada), Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (U.S.), Terumo BCT (U.S.), and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.).

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Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Market Worth $5.1 Billion by 2019