StemCell Therapy

JUPITER, Fla., May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --BioRestorative Therapies, Inc. ("BRT" or the "Company") (BRTX.PK), a life sciences company focused on adult stem cell-based therapies, announced today that the latest version of its stem cell disc delivery device, which is to be used in the treatment of bulging and herniated discs, has shown improvements when compared to earlier versions.

The first generation of the device had shown the potential to reduce disc bulges and avoid lower back surgery with a simple injection procedure. The latest generation has shown improvements, and testing of the device will continue to be done to obtain improved disc penetration and steering for optimal cell placement.

The patent-pending delivery device to be used by medical practitioners is a specifically designed needle/catheter delivery system that will inject cells directly into the annular tear that is causing the bulge or herniation.

On April 11, 2012, the Company announced the closing of its licensing agreement with Regenerative Sciences, Inc. pursuant to which BRT was granted, among other things, the exclusive right to license and sell the stem cell delivery device worldwide.

Mark Weinreb, CEO of BRT, commented, "The delivery device's novel design and unique capability of delivering cells, specifically where they are most effective, is a necessary component of the treatment regimen. As our disc restoration program advances and we receive all necessary approvals, we look forward to easing the pain experienced by back and disc pain sufferers."

About BioRestorative Therapies, Inc.

BioRestorative Therapies, Inc.'s goal is to become a leader in developing medical procedures using cell and tissue protocols, primarily involving a patient's own stem cells (non-embryonic), allowing patients to undergo cellular-based treatments. The Company has obtained a license for the adult stem cell treatments of disc and spine conditions, including bulging and herniated discs. The technology is an advanced stem cell injection procedure, using the patient's own cells, that may offer relief from lower back pain, buttock and leg pain, and numbness and tingling in the legs and feet. The Company has also launched a technology that involves the use of a brown fat cell-based therapeutic/aesthetic program, known as the ThermoStem Program. The ThermoStem Program will focus on treatments for obesity, weight loss, diabetes, hypertension, other metabolic disorders and cardiac deficiencies and will involve the study of stem cells, several genes, proteins and/or mechanisms that are related to these diseases and disorders. The Company also offers facial creams and products under the Stem Pearls brand.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and other risks, including those set forth in the Company's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

Investor Contacts: KCSA Strategic Communications Philip Carlson / Josh Dver +1 212.896.1233 / +1 212.896.1239 pcarlson@kcsa.com / jdver@kcsa.com

Read more from the original source:
BioRestorative Therapies Announces Next Generation of Stem Cell Disc Delivery Device

EXTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

In collaboration with Fibrocell Science, Inc., (OTCBB:FCSC.OB), researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have identified two rare adult stem cell-like subpopulations in adult human skin, a discovery that may yield further ground-breaking research in the field of personalized medicine for a broad range of diseases. Using technology developed by Fibrocell Science, Inc. the researchers were able to confirm the existence of these two types of cells in human skin cell cultures, potentially providing a source of stem cell-like subpopulations from skin biopsies, which are quicker to perform, relatively painless and less invasive than bone marrow and adipose tissue extractions, which are the current methods for deriving adult stem cells for patient-specific cellular therapies.

The findings, which are reported in the inaugural issue of BioResearch Open Access, pertain to two subtypes of cells: SSEA3-expressing regeneration-associated (SERA) cells, which may play a role in the regeneration of human skin in response to injury and mesenchymal adult stem cells (MSCs), which are under investigation (by many independent researchers) for their ability to differentiate into the three main types of cells: osteoblasts (bone cells), chondrocytes (cartilage cells) and adipocytes (fat cells). Finding these specialized cells within the skin cell cultures is important because rather than undergoing a surgical organ or tissue transplantation to replace diseased or destroyed tissue, patients may one day be able to benefit from procedures by which stem cells are extracted from their skin, reprogrammed to differentiate into specific cell types and reimplanted into their bodies to exert a therapeutic effect. Research in this area is ongoing.

Finding these rare adult stem cell-like subpopulations in human skin is an exciting discovery and provides the first step towards purifying and expanding these cells to clinically relevant numbers for application to a variety of potential personalized cellular therapies for osteoarthritis, bone loss, injury and/or damage to human skin as well as many other diseases, said James A. Byrne, Ph.D., the studys lead author and Assistant Professor of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. In addition to pursuing our own research investigations with Fibrocell Science using this method, we envision a time not too far in the future when we will be able to isolate and produce mesenchymal stem cells and SERA cells on demand from skin samples, which may allow other researchers in need of specialized cells to pursue their own lines of medical and scientific research.

We congratulate the UCLA researchers on the publication of their breakthrough data, which may ultimately lead to new patient-specific, personalized cellular therapies to treat various diseases, said David Pernock, Chairman and CEO of Fibrocell Science, Inc. Fibrocell Science is proud of our role in helping to establish the potential of dermal skin cells for the future of personalized, regenerative medicine. We look forward to continuing our relationship with UCLA and Dr. Byrnes team to advance this research.

Discovering Viable, Regenerative Cells in the Skin

Dr. Byrne and colleagues confirmed previous research identifying a rare population of cells in adult human skin that has a marker called the stage-specific embryonic antigen 3 (SSEA3). Dr. Byrne observed that there was a significant increase in the number of SSEA3 expressing cells following injury to human skin, supporting the hypothesis that the SSEA3 biomarker can be used to facilitate the identification and isolation of these cells with tissue-regenerative properties.

Using Fibrocells proprietary technology, the researchers collected cells from small skin samples, cultured the cells in the lab, and purified them via a technique known as fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Under FACS, cells in suspension were tagged with fluorescent markers specific for undifferentiated stem cells. This method allowed the researchers to separate the rare cell subpopulations from other types of cells.

Dr. Byrne and colleagues also observed a rare subpopulation of functional MSCs in human skin that existed in addition to the SERA cells.

Being able to identify two sub-populations of rare, viable and functional cells that behave like stem cells from within the skin is an important finding because both cell types have the potential to be investigated for diverse clinical applications, said Dr. Byrne.

Go here to see the original:
Fibrocell Science Technology Leads to Discovery of Two Rare Adult Stem Cell-Like Subpopulations in Human Skin

May 4, 2012 9:27am

ABC News Paula Faris reports:

It is a medical claim that sounds like science fiction. Walk into a plastic surgeons office for a face-lift and walk out roughly four hours later with a whole-body makeover that required no incision and leaves you with no scars.

But some doctors say that fiction is now reality in the form of a stem-cell makeover, a procedure that uses the fat and stem cells from one part of the body to revamp another part of the body, all in a single office visit.

Such a claim convinced Debra Kerr to try the procedure herself in hopes of achieving a younger look. My eyes are looking heavier, and the lines are so pronounced and gravitys really taken over, Kerr, 55, said. I want to look as good and as young as I really feel.

Kerr, a skin-care specialist from Ohio, underwent a stem-cell makeover in which fat was removed from her waist via liposuction. The fat was then spun in the lab to concentrate its stem cells and, hours later, injected into Kerrs face and breasts.

Were taking a patients own fatty tissue, and we are just repositioning it in another part of their body, said Dr. Sharon McQuillan, a physician and founder of the Ageless Institute in Aventura, Fla., where Kerr had her procedure done.

Courtesy Dr. Sharon McQuillan

Because the makeover uses a patients own stem cells, there is virtually no risk that the body will reject the transfer, according to doctors like McQuillan who perform the procedure.

This enhancement will be enough to make her [Kerr] happy, McQuillan said. She wont have any scars. She doesnt really have any of the risks associated with general anesthesia or a full face lift.

Link:
4-Hour, Whole-Body 'Face-Lift' Uses Patient's Own Fat, Stem Cells

SOURCE: American CryoStem Corporation

RED BANK, NJ--(Marketwire - Apr 30, 2012) - American CryoStem Corporation (OTCQB: CRYO) announced the launch of its new adipose tissue and adult stem cell testing services to assist physicians involved in tissue engraftment, regenerative medicine procedures and cellular therapies utilizing adult adipose derived stem cells. The new testing services provide physicians an affordable method for self assessment of their procedures and methods to better understand the relationship between tissue quality and engraftment success.

American CryoStem recognizes the need for independent testing services as reinforced by the increasing focus and scrutiny of physician office based tissue laboratories by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The menu of testing services includes full 14 day sterility testing, viability testing, growth assay and additional tests for each selected service. The tests can be ordered individually or in multiples over time and are designed to allow physicians to self evaluate their current methods and performance, or to assess new methods or devices designed to improve procedure and tissue quality. Long term and customized programs are available upon request. Physicians enrolled as a provider of the Company's stem cell storage services can obtain discounts for individual and multi test programs.

"We are very excited about rolling these new services out to our existing providers and all participants in the tissue engraftment, regenerative medicine and cellular therapy markets. We believe that this is the first such program offered commercially and meets a critical need for the advancement of the regenerative and cellular therapy markets," said Anthony Dudzinski, the Company's COO. "Now there is a way for physicians to assess their own performance without the need to overcome the significant costs of purchasing and maintaining their own testing facilities."

The new testing services are offered by ACS Laboratories reflects the Company's increasing branding and commercialization of products and services developed around its proprietary clinical tissue processing and storage methodologies. ACS Laboratory incorporates its proprietary cGMP/cGTP aseptic methods and FDA guidance's into these services to ensure the highest quality and most useful information for physicians.

About American CryoStem: American CryoStem Corporation (OTCQB: CRYO) markets clinical processing services and patented products for Adipose (fat) Tissue and Adipose Derived Adult Stem Cells. The Company's clinical processing, patented cell culture media products and cellular preservation platform supports the science and regenerative medicine applications being developed globally. The Company provides the highest quality, clinically processed cells assuring their purity, viability and growth capabilities, while at the same time developing cutting edge applications, therapies and patented laboratory products and services for consumer and commercial applications.

Link:
American CryoStem Announces ACS Laboratories Adipose Tissue and Adult Stem Cell Testing Services

ZUTPHEN, the Netherlands, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

In line with its continuous efforts to improve internal stem cell procedures, Cryo-Save proudly announces the appointment of the highly knowledgeable stem cell expert Dr. Marcin Jurga. Dr. Jurga will supervise new process validation at the Cryo-Save labs and study new processing techniques for umbilical cord blood, cord tissue and fat tissue, to ensure quality and use of the highest technology available on the market.

Marcin Jurga is specialized in adult stem cells biology, neuroscience and tissue engineering. His field of interest focuses on developing new methods for adult stem cell applications in in-vitro toxicology and regenerative medicine. Part of his validation study and internal research at Cryo-Save includes studies on fresh and frozen cells isolated from fat tissue and cord tissue, to explain the quality of these and their ability for extensive growth in vitro and multilineage differentiation.

"Cryo-Save is truly committed to the advancement of stem cell therapy. Storing stem cells is utterly important and our core business, but we are also committed to increasing the potential use of these stem cells and building the tools needed to tackle un-met medical needs with stem cells", said Arnoud Van Tulder, CEO of Cryo-Save.

Dr. Jurga is an experienced stem cell researcher with broad international experience; he was team leader and senior researcher at the Cell Therapy Research Institute in Lyon, France and previously completed a post doc at the Centre for Life, Newcastle University in the UK. He got Ph.D. degree in Poland, at the Mossakowski Medical Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. In May, Dr. Jurga is also planning to get a habilitation degree at Lyon 1 Claude-Bernard University in France. The habilitation thesis entitled: "Stem Cell Therapy and Neutral Tissue Engineering in Regeneration of Central Nervous System".

Cryo-Save, the leading international family stem cell bank, stores more than 200,000 samples from umbilical cord blood, cord tissue and adipose tissue. There are already many diseases treatable by the use of stem cells, and the number of treatments will only increase. Driven by its international business strategy, Cryo-Save is now represented in over 40 countries on four continents, with ultra-modern processing and storage facilities in the United States, Belgium, Germany, Dubai, India, South Africa and France (validation in progress).

Cryo-Save: http://www.cryo-save.com/group

Cryo-Save Group N.V.

1

View original post here:
Cryo-Save Hires Stem Cell Expert in the Flagship Lab in Niel, Belgium

EMBARGOED UNTIL PRESENTATION TIMES

PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS: AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ANATOMISTS ANNUAL MEETING

Newswise The American Association of Anatomists will gather this week for its annual meeting in conjunction with the Experimental Biology 2012 conference, which will draw more than 14,000 scientists from industry, government and academia. Below are some programming highlights for the anatomy meeting. All presentations will be made at the San Diego Convention Center.

Stem cells derived from breast milk that behave like embryonic stem cells

Scientists in Australia have discovered that human breast milk contains stem cells that behave very much like embryonic stem cells. These breast-milk-derived, embryonic-like stem cells are able to turn into various body cell types, including bone, fat, liver, pancreatic and brain cells. Because breast milk is plentiful and can be accessed noninvasively and ethically, this discovery opens new avenues for exploration of innovative stem-cell therapies. Also, breast milk stem cells can be used as a physiological model to study malignant transformation that occurs in breast cancer, and therefore the findings may set the basis for research into new treatments for this disease. The group is now trying to understand the potential role of these breast milk cells for breastfed babies. (12:30 p.m.2 p.m. Tuesday, 4/24, poster in exhibit area)

The buzz about the exquisite little brains of big insects

A long tradition of studying invertebrates to learn about nervous systems has contributed greatly to our understanding of the functional organization, development and evolution of the intricate networks and the neural mechanisms that are at the root of behavior. Insects in particular offer powerful experimental model systems. Today, the most prominent example is the fruit fly, whose genetic and genomic advantages attract many researchers, but whose small size is limiting for some kinds of studies. This session focuses on much larger insects with beautiful and experimentally tractable nervous systems that permit investigations that complement and extend those accomplished with diminutive species. (10:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Monday, 4/23, Room 9)

From babies to bandages: reactivation of embryonic processes in adult injury repair

Embryonic tissue development and adult wound repair happen at different points in the life spectrum, but the molecules, cells and processes in that give rise to embryonic development are the same as those activated after injury. Only, the time it takes and the extent of the tissue-forming activities are quite different. Nonetheless, at this session, you might come to find that development and wound repair are just two sides of the same coin. (10:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Monday, 4/23, Room 7A)

Could cartilage transplants eliminate the need for bone grafts?

See the article here:
Programming Highlights: American Association of Anatomists Annual Meeting

Public release date: 23-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andrea Boyle Tippett aboyle@udel.edu 302-831-1421 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Biology Major Adam Reese may have found the key to keep fat cells from forming.

The University of Delaware junior believes he has identified the trigger that turns a stem cell into a fat cell. Located on the surface of cells, the trigger, a protein called endoglin, regulates what type of cell an existing stem cell will become.

Working in the biological science department's laboratory of cellular signaling and dynamics with Assistant Professor Anja Nohe, Reese investigates ways to combat osteoporosis; his findings may also have implications for obesity.

Reese will present his work at 12:25 p.m. Monday at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's annual meeting, which is being held in San Diego in conjunction with the Experimental Biology 2012 conference.

Patients afflicted with osteoporosis lose bone mass as they age. Bone is a dynamic tissue, constantly renewed by removal or reabsorption of old bone and formation of new bone. Through this cellular remodeling process, roughly one fifth of an adult's skeleton is replaced each year. Of the limited treatments developed to reduce bone loss, most have potentially serious side effects, are cost prohibitive or difficult to use.

Reese, with the help of graduate student Joyita Dutta, found the amount of endoglin on a cell's surface indicates whether the cell will become a fat cell or a bone cell.

"What would happen if you could make the cell stop making the protein?" Reese said. "You could affect whether or not it's even a fat cell."

If the amount of endoglin on the cell surface could be decreased, the amount of cells turning into bone would rise, leading to an increase in bone strength, thus ending osteoporosis.

Originally posted here:
The fat stopper

From breast milk stem cells to bone repair, this years EB conference held a number of exciting advances that could one day be translated into therapies.

Milk stem cells

Australian scientists have found stem cells in breast milk that appear to behave much like embryonic stem cells. The cells differentiated into bone, fat, liver, pancreatic, and brain tissue. Because the cells can be easily collected, researchers hope they may provide a new source of cells for study and possibly future therapies. In addition, the researchers are investigating whether and how these cells are important for the health of breastfed babies.

Spurring bone regrowth

For years, scientists have been searching in vain for therapies that could help bone and cartilage heal and grow. But when researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, tried to regrow cartilage in damaged knees, the tissue instead turned to bone. While the result was unhelpful for their purposes, the researchers realized that cartilage might prove useful in rebuilding damaged bone, and are now exploring such applications.

A study by another group from Tulane University reported that high oxygen levels may help turn on the genetic program that initiates bone regrowth. When tissues samples taken from amputated limbs are exposed to about 20 percent oxygensignificantly more than the 6 percent typically found in the bodythe tissue responds favorably, said Tulanes Mimi Sammarco in a press releasebut only when administered at a certain point in time. The result wont be easily applied to clinical practice because blood vessels constrict after traumatic injury to prevent blood loss, reducing the amount of oxygen that reaches the damaged tissue even more. Thus, more work is needed to understand exactly when during the healing process high oxygen contributes to bone regrowth, and whether the same phenomenon occurs in the intact body.

More oxygen for chronic pain

More oxygen may also help relieve chronic pain. The application of pure oxygen, known as hyperbaric oxygen is used to treat an excruciatingly painful syndrome that divers experience called the bends, which results from the formation of nitrogen gas bubbles in the body as divers return to normal atmospheric pressure at the surface. Although the oxygen helps treat the symptoms, rather than the pain per se, researchers at Washington State University investigated whether the oxygen administration might also help relieve pain. Indeed, treated rats recovered more quickly from experimentally induced chronic pain. The researchers believe that the oxygen is likely to act on the brain to reduce pain, rather than by alleviating inflammation. Studying the mechanism could reveal molecular targets in the brain and possibly stimulate the development of new drugs that act on the same targets, lead author Raymond Quock of WSU said in a press release.

Originally posted here:
The Best of Experimental Biology

ScienceDaily (Apr. 23, 2012) Biological sciences major Adam Reese may have found the key to keep fat cells from forming.

The University of Delaware junior believes he has identified the trigger that turns a stem cell into a fat cell. Located on the surface of cells, the trigger -- a protein called endoglin -- regulates what type of cell an existing stem cell will become.

Working in the UD Department of Biological Sciences' laboratory of cellular signaling and dynamics with assistant professor Anja Nohe, Reese investigates ways to combat osteoporosis. His findings may also have implications for obesity.

Patients afflicted with osteoporosis lose bone mass as they age. Bone is a dynamic tissue, constantly renewed by removal or reabsorption of old bone and formation of new bone. Through this cellular remodeling process, roughly one-fifth of an adult's skeleton is replaced each year. Of the limited treatments developed to reduce bone loss, most have potentially serious side effects, are cost prohibitive, or are difficult to use.

Reese, with the help of graduate student Joyita Dutta, found that the amount of endoglin on a cell's surface indicates whether the cell will become a fat cell or a bone cell.

"What would happen if you could make the cell stop making the protein?" Reese said. "You could affect whether or not it's even a fat cell."

If the amount of endoglin on the cell surface could be decreased, the amount of cells turning into bone would rise, leading to an increase in bone strength, thus ending osteoporosis.

"I didn't really expect it. I expected the data would be the other way around," said Nohe, Reese's undergraduate research adviser. "It's very exciting."

According to Nohe, researchers did not previously know if endoglin was the key controlling the cells' change or if it was just a marker. She believes Reese's data shows endoglin is the driver, and pinpointing that could lead to a cure.

"Now we have a target that we could hit," she said.

See the rest here:
The fat stopper: Protein that regulates the creation of fat cells identified

(PRWEB UK) 11 April 2012

Renowned French plastic surgeon Dr. Roger Amar is the pioneer of the Facial Autografting Muscle Injection (FAMI) process. Dr. Amar has been using and perfecting this method of stem cell face lift surgery since 1997 and the procedure has been successfully performed on over 500 patients.

FAMI is an innovative procedure that uses the patients own living fatty connective tissue (adult stem cells) extracted through fat grafting. This tissue is injected into the patients face to restore the natural symmetry and fullness of the face that changes with age or disfiguring accident. Using the patients own fat cells also prevent the introduction of foreign bodies into system.

As we age, the youthful contours of the face become harsher and the edges and angles of the face become sharper. FAMI attacks this aging process by recreating the harmonious lines present in a youthful face and restoring the contours of the face. In the process, the nose seems smaller, the cheeks fuller and the lips fleshier. The entire face regains its normal harmonious proportions.

For years doctors have advocated the use of fat as a natural filler in cosmetic surgery, but what sets FAMI apart is the utilization of adult stem cells (from a living person, not from an embryo). These cells are injected into the facial muscles and after years of using this method it has been discovered that using stem cells prolongs the longevity of the fat graft, unlike the simple fat injection methods used in the 1980s. Since he first began using the FAMI method in the late 1990s, Dr. Amar has taught it to over 200 surgeons who travel to international conferences to learn the Amar Technique.

Facial FAMI is considered much safer than standard plastic surgery and can be used as a non surgical facelift. Whereas more traditional open surgeries risk damage to the nerves, arteries, veins and other facial structures, FAMI features non-invasive injections performed on an out-patient basis with minimal risk of complications. With the promise of taking years off of a face in less than three hours, with little or no risk of complication, it is no wonder the FAMI procedure has proven so popular.

Perhaps nothing else speaks to the effectiveness and popularity of the FAMI procedure more than the fact that an estimated 10-15% of all FAMI patients are doctors themselves. For anyone seeking the return to a more natural youthful face, FAMI is ideal.

The basics of FAMI are:

To learn more about FAMI stem cell face lift visit Dr. Amars website http://www.rogeramar.com

Originally posted here:
Dr Roger Amar FAMI Stem Cell Face Lift

The head of a stem cell company has responded to a warning letter issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that cites several violations at the company that derives stem cells from adipose tissue or body fat.

Dr. Steven Victor of IntelliCell BioSciences said it would be moving to a new facility next month that it believes will address the current good manufacturing practice issues referred to in the warning letter It has also hired consultants with FDA-compliance experience that will help bring its new facilities in compliance with the FDA. Victor added that the company will address all of the FDAs observations on April 3.

The New York company received a warning letter dated March 13 that was published on the FDAs website yesterday. The letter said that the process that the company uses to produce stem cells from adipose tissue did not meet the FDAs definition of minimal manipulation for structural tissue such as adipose tissue.

Advertisement

That provision section 1271.10 of the Code of Federal Regulations for Food and Drugs requires that the products, in this case, stem cells, are used for the person the cells are taken from, or a first or secondary relative, not combined with anything else other than water, a preservative, or sterilizing or storage products. It also permits these cells to be used for reproduction. Treatments that do not fall within this provision are classified as a drug.

Although there are numerous clinical trials using stem cells to treat cancer and rare diseases, critics say the FDAs intransigence on stem cell treatments using adult stem cells has produced unintended consequences. Private clinics in the U.S. and outside the country are using adult stem cells for cosmetic surgery and treating other maladies like back pain with no clinical trials to prove their efficacy and safety.

Read the rest here:
CEO of stem cell company responds to FDA warning letter

27-03-2012 03:04 Fat Stem Cell Therapy - Animation shows our basic procedure for stem cell isolation and activation in Anti-Agng and nuerological disorders.

Originally posted here:
Fat Stem Cell Therapy - Anti Aging - Video

26-03-2012 10:10

Read more from the original source:
Top Questions About Liposuction - Fat Grafting and Stem Cells - Video

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.

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

To: HEALTH, MEDICAL AND NATIONAL EDITORS

MIAMI, March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New findings from a transplant study led by scientists from the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and a DRI Federation center at Xiamen University in China showed that mesenchymal stem cells may replace a powerful anti-rejection drug in transplant recipients. The results of this pioneering study involving kidney transplant patients is published in the March 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and may fundamentally transform the future of clinical transplantation.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120126/DC42842LOGO)

Patients undergoing a transplant routinely receive a regimen of immunosuppressive therapy to block the body's immune system from rejecting the donor organ or cells. While these drugs have been shown to improve graft function and minimize rejection episodes, they increase the risk of dangerous side effects, including infections and organ toxicity. To eliminate these adverse effects, scientists at the Diabetes Research Institute and collaborating centers worldwide have been investigating safer methods for preventing transplant rejection and have turned their attention to naturally-occurring cells in the body that have immuno-modulatory properties, like mesenchymal stem cells.

A mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) is a type of cell that can differentiate into bone, cartilage, fat and other body tissues. But MSCs have also been found to have a number of other beneficial therapeutic properties, including their ability to modulate the immune system by inhibiting T-cell proliferation, eliminating graft-vs.-host disease, limiting cytotoxic inflammation and stimulating vascularization, among other benefits.

"This study represents a first, important step towards the definition of cell-based strategies that will one day allow for transplantation without the need for life-long, anti-rejection drugs," said Camillo Ricordi, M.D., director of the University of Miami Diabetes Research Institute and Cell Transplant Center. "The worldwide collaborative strategy of the Diabetes Research Institute Federation and The Cure Alliance has resulted in yet another small step forward in our worldwide cure-focused efforts, indicating safety and efficacy of a stem cell-based strategy towards reducing and eventually eliminating anti-rejection drugs. This is particularly important to the DRI mission, as transplantation without immunosuppression is a major goal in any strategy for transplantation of insulin producing cells and a requirement for becoming a reality for all patients with Type 1 or Type 2 insulin dependent diabetes."

In this recent study, "Induction Therapy with Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Living-Related Kidney Transplants," patients with end-stage renal disease received infusions of bone-marrow derived autologous mesenchymal stem cells together with either standard-dose or low-dose calcineurin inhibitors (CNI). The control group received an immunosuppression regimen consisting of anti-IL-2 receptor antibody plus standard-dose CNI.

After one year post-transplant, the results of the study indicate that among the patients undergoing a kidney transplant, the use of autologous MSCs compared with the standard immunosuppressive therapy resulted in lower incidence of acute organ rejection, decreased risk of infection and better kidney function.

"We reported on the first 12 months follow-up, which showed no adverse events associated with MSC therapy. We will continue monitoring the patients in the study to assess the long-term effects on kidney transplant function and survival, as well as the safety of MSCs transplantation in this setting. Should long-term safety of MSCs be confirmed, it may be valuable for improving transplantation outcomes while reducing the risks associated with anti-rejection drugs," said Antonello Pileggi, M.D., Ph.D., director of Preclinical Cell Processing and Translational Models Program at the Cell Transplant Center of the DRI.

"This collaboration was part of the ongoing global efforts of The Diabetes Research Institute Federation and of The Cure Focus Research Alliance. The opportunity to contribute these results obtained through the combined team efforts of Affiliated Fuzhou General Hospital of Xiamen University and DRI to a journal as high impact as JAMA represents an important achievement for the China-USA Collaborative Human Cell Transplant Program at the Cell Transplant Center of DRI," said Xiumin Xu, M.S., director of the China-US Collaborative Human Cell Transplant Program at the Diabetes Research Institute.

See original here:
Collaborative Study from the Diabetes Research Institute Federation and The Cure Alliance Shows that Stem Cells Can ...

-- Allure Image Enhancement Among First to Offer the Stem Cell Facelift and PRP Therapy in the Inland Empire --

UPLAND, CA (PRWEB) March 19, 2012

Stem Cell Facelift with PRP Therapy provides an amazing full facial restoration and can simulate the effects of a face lift, brow lift, and total facial rejuvenation in one sitting. In addition, the benefits of the PRP Therapy with growth factors enhance stem cell survival, giving long lasting and potentially permanent results, says John Grasso MD, Medical Director at Allure Image Enhancement. I find these procedures to be an exciting new approach to the world of dermal fillers. Rather than using lab derived products, patients can enjoy the benefits of volume and longevity from their own cells.

Stem Cells often thought of as controversial and futuristic, are the latest beauty secret now available. Although injectable wrinkle treatments are very popular, there are many who shy away from putting anything foreign into their face. The two most common requests my patients ask me when it comes to anti-aging rejuvenation are: 1. Is there something natural I can use? and 2. Is there anything that lasts longer? Autologous fat transfer enhanced with stem cells and platelet rich plasma is going to change the world of Anti-Aging skin care, says Mina Grasso NP, owner of Allure Image Enhancement. For those who do not have adequate fat deposits or choose not to have autologous fat transfer can still benefit from the healing and repair response of various growth factors and cytokines with PRP alone or combined with manufactured fillers.

Fat transfer has been around for many years and may yield inconsistent results: 50% of the transferred fat usually breaks down within 2 years. Fat is an abundant source of mesenchymal stem cells. The difficulty is that in obtaining fat using Liposuction, up to half of the natural stem cells may be damaged. By adding additional autologous stem cells to the suctioned fat, it closer approximates the original concentration of stem cells in fat in the body and may aid the transplanted fat cells in surviving longer. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), which contains growth factors and cytokines, stimulates a repair response in soft tissue when added to the stem cell enhanced fat cells. The grafted fat and stem cells as well as surrounding local cells are activated by these growth factors to generate new growth that plumps up sagging areas. The growth factors enhance the quality of skin on the surface and repair sun damage and skin color irregularities.

Using this revolutionary new method, stem cells show promise in regenerating collagenproducing fibroblasts, cartilage, muscle and even bone cells. Research trials are under way using stem cells to repair other damaged tissue such as lungs, knees, and hearts and reverse neurological degenerative diseases. Stem Cell Facelift with PRP results in long-lasting volume in the treated area, and patients can start to see improvement in skin texture a healthy glow as soon as three weeks following treatment, with dramatic results occurring over a period of two to four months and lasting for years..

About Allure Image Enhancement, Inc.

Founded by Mina Grasso, RN, MSN, FNP-C, and her husband John Grasso MD. Allure Image Enhancement, Inc., for 15 years has served the Inland Empire with the latest in medical esthetics, providing services such as Botox Cosmetic, Restylane, Dysport, Juvderm, Latisse, Laser Hair Removal, Tattoo Removal, Laser Skin Rejuvenation, Vein Treatment, Body Shaping, and many more services.

Contact:

Nicholas Rodgers, CAC

Visit link:
Breakthrough Beauty Procedure Using Your Own Stem Cells Offered in the Inland Empire

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Shares of Cytori Therapeutics Inc. jumped more than 10 percent Friday after the medical device maker said it received U.S. approval for a new version of its Puregraft system, which is used in cosmetic surgery.

Plastic surgeons use the device in fat grafting procedures that take fat from one part of the body and inject it into another. The device removes unwanted fluid, blood cells and debris from the fat and prepares it for grafting. Many procedures use fat from the thighs and abdomen to augment the breasts or face, aiming for a smoother, firmer look.

The latest version of the device can process 850 milligrams of fat, more than three times as much as the original Puregraft system approved in 2010. Plastic surgeons performed nearly 60,000 fat grafting procedures in the U.S. in 2010, according to industry figures

Shares of San Diego, Calif.-based Cytori rose 30 cents, or 10.6 percent, to close at $3.13.

Cytori has attracted attention from analysts for another device, called the Celution system, which some plastic surgeons have reportedly used to create fat grafts enhanced with adult stem cells. The device supposedly separates and purifies adult stem cells, which can then be mixed with fat grafts. Plastic surgeons in Los Angeles, Miami and elsewhere claim the so-called "stem cell facelift" creates a younger, healthier-looking physique than the incisions and implants associated with traditional surgery. But there are few studies to support such claims, and the Food and Drug Administration has not approved any therapies using stem cells for cosmetic use.

Early this year the two largest professional societies for plastic surgeons issued a joint statement calling on their members to avoid stem cell procedures. A review of the medical literature found little human data to support the benefits of injecting stem cells into patients, according to the statement from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

"The marketing and promotion of stem cell procedures in aesthetic surgery is not adequately supported by clinical evidence at this time," reads the joint statement, published in January.

"This is modern-day snake oil," said Dr. Felmont Eaves, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in an interview last year with the Associated Press. "It is the worst form of merchandising for a procedure that doesn't have scientific evidence to back it up."

Eaves pointed out that surgeons have been using fat grafts to plump up cheeks and breasts for decades. The practice has a mixed record of success, and has never eclipsed the more popular facelift and breast implant procedures.

"There's no evidence that going the extra step to create a stem cell version of this makes any difference," Eaves said.

Link:
Cytori rises on FDA clearance for fat graft device

But do they have the education to understand what they are reading?

Ah, the Cult of the Expert.

Not that we don't need experts. We do, obviously. What we don't need is the Cult of Expertise, which tells us that only experts understand things in their field, and that everyone else should, without question, just shut up and do as they're told by said experts. Nevermind that even in highly specialized fields, experts can disagree with each other vociferously on things.

You wouldn't want your next door neighbor to perform surgery on you. But it's silly... and quite arrogant... to miss the fact that it's quite easy to pick up books and fire up a browser to access a wealth of information where your neighbor can learn enough to understand the issues involved in surgery and make informed decisions regarding his self. This goes for any field. I don't have to be an expert in auto transmissions to read enough to spot trouble signs when they happen with my car. With stem cells, there's enough info out there... much of it peer reviewed... that's freely available to the public.

Eisenhower famously warned of the Military-Industrial Complex in his farewell speech. What he also warned of in the same address was the danger of citizens falling into line behind a scientific-technological elite [youtube.com], without question. We need to pay more attention to that part as well.

See the article here:
Stem Cell Firm May Have Administered Unproven Treatments

By David Cyranoski of Nature magazine

With Texas pouring millions of dollars into developing adult stem-cell treatments, doctors there are already injecting paying customers with unproven preparations, supplied by an ambitious new company.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved any such stem-cell treatment for routine clinical use, although it does sanction them for patients enrolled in registered clinical trials. Some advocates of the treatments argue, however, that preparations based on a patient's own cells should not be classed as drugs, and should not therefore fall under the FDA's jurisdiction.

There are certainly plenty of people eager to have the treatments. Texas governor Rick Perry, for instance, has had stem-cell injections to treat a back complaint, and has supported legislation to help create banks to store patients' harvested stem cells.

One company that has benefited from this buoyant climate is Celltex Therapeutics, which "multiplies and banks" stem cells derived from people's abdominal fat, according to chairman and chief executive David Eller. Its facility in Sugar Land, just outside Houston, opened in December 2011 and houses the largest stem-cell bank in the United States.

Celltex was founded by Eller and Stanley Jones, the orthopaedic surgeon who performed Perry's procedure, and it uses technology licensed from RNL Bio in Seoul. Because clinical use of adult-stem-cell treatments are illegal in South Korea, RNL has since 2006 sent more than 10,000 patients to clinics in Japan and China to receive injections.

Celltex says that although it processes and banks cells, it does not carry out stem-cell injections. It declined to answer Nature's questions about whether its cells have been used in patients. But there is evidence that the company is involved in the clinical use of the cells on US soil, which the FDA has viewed as illegal in other cases.

Public hype

In addition to the publicity surrounding Perry's treatment, a woman named Debbie Bertrand has been blogging about her experiences during a five-injection treatment with cells prepared at Celltex. Her blog (http://debbiebertrand.blogspot.com) hosts photographs of herself alongside Jones; Jennifer Novak, a Celltex nurse; Jeong Chan Ra, chief executive of RNL Bio; and her doctor, Jamshid Lotfi, a neurologist who works for the United Neurology clinic in Houston. Another photo is captioned: "My cells are being processed in here for my next infusion!!!" A third shows Bertrand, Lotfi and a physician called Matthew Daneshmand, who is, according to the caption, injecting Bertrand's stem cells into an intravenous drip, ready for the infusion. Nature has been unable to contact Bertrand.

Lotfi says that he has administered cells processed by Celltex to more than 20 people. "Five or six" -- including Bertrand -- have multiple sclerosis and "four or five" have Parkinson's disease, he says. Lotfi explains that patients sign up for treatment by contacting Novak, and that cells are prepared by removing about five grams of fat -- containing roughly 100,000 mesenchymal stem cells -- from the patient's abdomen. Over a three-week period, the cells are cultured until they reach about 800 million cells. Lotfi says that patients get at least three injections of 200 million cells each, and that the cells do not take effect for a few months. According to Lotfi, Celltex charges US$7,000 per 200 million cells, and pays Lotfi $500 per injection.

Follow this link:
Stem-Cell Therapy Takes Off in Texas

Women may make new eggs throughout their reproductive yearschallenging a longstanding tenet that females are born with finite supplies, a new study says. The discovery may also lead to new avenues for improving women's health and fertility.

A woman has two ovaries, which release eggs during her monthly ovulation.(Learn more about the human body.)

Previous research had suggested that a woman is born with all the egg cells she will ever have in her lifetime.

But in recent experiments, scientists discovered a new type of stem cell in the ovaries thatwhen grown in the labgenerates immature egg cells.The same immature cells isolated from adult mouse ovaries canturn into fertile eggs.

Stem cells,found in embryos and certain adult body tissues, have the potential to grow into many different types of cells.

(See"Liposuction Fat Turned Into Stem Cells, Study Says.")

The finding reinforces the team's previous experiments in mice, which had identified a new type of ovarian stem cell that renews a female mouse's source of eggs throughout its fertile years.

That study, published in the journal Nature in 2004, was the "first to reach the conclusion that this long-held belief in our fieldthat young girls are given a bank account at birth that you can no longer deposit eggs to, just withdraw fromwas no longer true," said study leaderJonathan Tilly.

By reinforcing these earlier results in people, the new study is a "big step forward" from the mouse work, emphasized Tilly, director of the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

From a purely biological perspective, the concept that a woman would continually generate new eggs during her reproductive years makes sensesince men constantly replenish their sperm, Tilly added. (Read how men produce 1,500 sperm a second.)

View original post here:
Women Can Make New Eggs After All, Stem-Cell Study Hints