Science Daily | Type 2 diabetes prevented in 80 per cent of at-risk patients thanks to ... Science Daily A weight loss drug has reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 80 per cent compared to placebo, report investigators. |
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Type 2 diabetes prevented in 80 per cent of at-risk patients thanks to ... - Science Daily
An effective pan-India diabetic policy is imperative to address the growing burden of diabetes in the country.
An effective pan-India diabetic policy is imperative to address the growing burden of diabetes in the country, experts at the 7th World Congress of Diabetes said here on Friday.Effective policy actions as early as possible is an urgent need to address the growing burden of diabetes in our country, Banshi Saboo, Diabetes India Chairman said in a statement.The government has made pioneering efforts towards diabetes care in India However, there is need for further strengthening of the programmes and implementation in all states and union territories, added Ashok Kumar Das, Professor at Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences.The four-day Diabetes India 2017 conference, that began on Thursday, has brought together stakeholders from diverse fields to endorse the philosophy of the Berlin Declaration.It also urged the policy makers to take early action across four primary areas prevention, detection, control and access for the right intervention to prevent the growing menace of the disease.
The Berlin Declaration signed by India in December 2016 is a manifesto establishing foundational principles as well as specific targets and policy recommendations to help countries formulate and implement policies to improve health outcomes for people living with, or at risk of diabetes.More than 3,000 doctors and eminent national and international faculties are taking part in the conference that would continue till February 26.There are more than 69.1 million people in India affected with Type 2 diabetes alone.Poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, amputation and premature death.It is estimated that 1 million deaths per year in India are attributable to the Type 2 diabetes.Here are 8 facts about diabetes you didnt know.
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Published: February 27, 2017 9:59 am
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With the speedy rise of diabetes in the country, pan-India diabetic policy urgently required - TheHealthSite
Merck & Co.'s fast-tracked antiviral letermovir hit its main target of reducing infections in a trial involving bone marrow transplant patientsand topped that by also reducing patient deaths.
Armed with the new data the drugmaker said it intends to move ahead with regulatory filings for letermovir in both the U.S. and EUin 2017, providing the first alternative to the current crop of generic drugs that are underused in these patients because they either lack efficacy or have toxicity issues.
The phase 3 test looked at how well letermovir was able to prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in adults undergoing a bone marrow or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), a procedure typically used for patients with serious hematological cancers. All patients were seropositive for the virus, meaning they had been exposed to it before but had no active infection.
CMV is a common virus and usually causes no harm, but when immunity is lowered as in HSCT, it can cause serious complications including organ damage and failure. Some patients carry CMV before transplant, while in others the virus hitches a ride with the transplanted cells.
The results showed that 37.5% of patients treated with letermovir developed CMV by week 24, compared to 60.6% for a matched placebo group. And Merck's drug also led to lower all-cause mortality at 24 weeks, at 9.8% compared to 15.9% for placebo, which, as lead investigator Francisco Marty, M.D., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute told OncLive, was "very compelling and interesting."
The positive effect of letermovir on mortality ties in with findings from a study by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists last year that HSCT patients who develop high levels of CMV and other viruses in the blood post-transplant have a significantly higher mortality rate.
Letermovir could grow quickly to reach $370 million in sales by 2020, according to Credit Suisse analysts, although the drug could see a rival in the shape of Chimerix's brincidofovir, which is being tested not only for prevention of CMV but also other opportunistic infections that can affect HSCT patients.
Oral brincidofovir flopped in two phase 3 trials, but the company is pressing ahead with the development of an intravenous formulation that it hopes will protect against not only CMV but also adenovirus, another major cause of death in HSCT patients, and other DNA viruses.
The result is a welcome boost for Merck's antiviral unit after the company's $2.9 billion write-down of hepatitis C virus candidate uprifosbuvir last week in the face of a declining eligible patient population and a more difficult pricing environment for HCV drugs.
There was also good news for the Big Pharma ahead of the weekend when its shingles vaccine V212 successfully passed a first phase 3 test, preventing infections in immunocompromised patients.
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Merck's letermovir aces bone marrow transplant study, cutting death rate - FierceBiotech
Human neurons in mouse brains are more susceptible to Alzheimer's pathology Science Daily Pierre Vanderhaeghen (ULB-WELBIO, VIB-KULeuven), whose lab previously pioneered the technology to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells into neural cells in vitro, and then transplant them in the mouse brain, generating a human/mouse chimera ... |
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Human neurons in mouse brains are more susceptible to Alzheimer's pathology - Science Daily
A study has demonstrated that a new, one-off stem cell treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) can 'freeze' progression of the disease for five years in some patients.
The treatment called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) 'reboots' the patient's faulty immune system, which in MS patients attacks the central nervous system, causing damage to nerve fibres.
While it was already known that AHSCT can reset the immune system and pause the deterioration of MS symptoms, which can range from fatigue, vision problems and spasms to severe disability,it was not known how long the positive effects of AHSCT would last.
'In this study, which is the largest long-term follow-up study of this procedure, we've shown we can "freeze" a patient's disease and stop it from becoming worse, for up to five years,' said lead author Dr Paolo Muraro, from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London.
After examining clinical data from 281 people with advanced MS who had received AHSCT between 1995 and 2006, the researchers observed that 46 percent of the patients showed no worsening of symptoms in five years. All the patients had failed to respond to other types of treatment.
However, the procedure carries riskand may not be suitable for all patients. AHSCT involves harvesting stem cells from the patient's body before the remaining immune cells are destroyed with chemotherapy. The patient's immune system is then regrown by transplanting the stem cells back into the body.
There is arisk of infection in the period where the immune system is disabledand, of the 281 patients in the study, eight died in the 100 days following treatment. 'We must take into account that the treatment carries a small risk of death, and this is a disease that is not immediately life-threatening,' cautioned Dr Muraro.
Last year, BBC Panorama reported on the 'miraculous' results of a current trial of AHSCT in Sheffield, which saw patients with severe paralysis regaining movement in just a couple of days (see BioNews 836).
The latest study, published in the journal JAMA Neurology,revealed that young people and those with less advanced MS benefited most from the treatment. The outcome was also strongly dependent on the form of MS being treated. Three out of ever four patients with 'relapsing' MS saw no disease progression compared with one in threewith the more severe, progressive form. Some patients even reported improvements in their symptoms.
'These findings are very promising but crucially we didn't have a placebo group, in this study,of patients who didn't receive the treatment,' said Dr Muraro. 'We urgently need more effective treatments for this devastating condition, and so a large, randomised controlled trial of this treatment should be the next step.'
Dr Sorrel Bickley, head of biomedical research at the MS Society, welcomed the results.'The findings offer some encouraging insights,' he said. '[MS] is a challenging and unpredictable condition to live with and that's why the MS Society is funding research like this to further our knowledge and find treatments for everyone.'
AHSCT is not routinely available on the NHS and the MS Society says that anyone considering the treatment should speak to their neurologist.
MS is an incurable disease that affects around 100,000 people in the UK and 2.3 million worldwide.
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Stem cell treatment halts multiple sclerosis for five years - BioNews
Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel, Medical Discovery News 8:58 a.m. CT Feb. 27, 2017
Medical Discovery News(Photo: Contributed photo)
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for both men and women, killing 610,000 Americans each year. Someone in the U.S. has a heart attack every 42 seconds. A recent study has revealed that stem cells derived from one Macaque monkey transplanted into five other animals helped them heal after a heart attack. This could pave the way for using stem cells from one person in the treatment of other people with heart attacks.
It is now possible to reprogram any almost any cell in the body into a pluripotent stem cell or iPSC that can become any cell in the body. These iPSCs are made by adding four genes that change the genes used in specialized cells such skin cells. The new genes restart genes from early development, allowing these cells to become almost any type of cell in the body.Under very specific laboratory conditions iPSCs can be then used to make cells to repair damaged organs, such as neurons to treat damaged or diseased brains, heart muscle cells or cardiomyocytes to treat a heart attack or any other cells in other damaged organs.
Harvesting cells from an individual to make iPSCs to treat that person would greatly help to avoid the type of rejection that you would see in organ transplantation. However, it is very laborious and expensive to make iPSCs for each person needing cell replacement therapy.Also, treatment after a heart attack requires the infusion of a large number of heart cells derived from iPSCs, which would also consume quite a bit of time and expense. What if iPSCs could be generated from one person and then used to create large numbers of heart cells that could be stored and used to treat several people?Just as in organ transplantation, you would have to use a donor whose cells were compatible with the recipient so that the cells would not be rejected.
To test this possibility, researchers created iPSCs from one macaque and used them to treat five other monkeys with heart attacks. Skin cells were isolated from the donor macaque and four genes were used to reprogram them into iPSCs.The iPSCs were then programmed to develop into cardiomyocytes.Five hundred million cells were injected into the damaged hearts of five organ-matched monkeys. After 12 weeks, there was no rejection of the donor cells in monkeys treated with two anti-rejection drugs that are routinely used in humans after transplantation.
The implanted heart cells became integrated into the recipient hearts and developed the electrical connections required for them to beat. The recipient hearts contractile functions were improved at four and 12 weeks after receiving the grafted heart cells.
This study demonstrates that grafted heart cells improve the contractile functions of the heart and could benefit humans after a heart attack.This study provides hope that rather than having a permanent scar in the heart muscle after a heart attack and decreased function, this type of therapy could replace the dead heart cells with new cells that would then function normally.
Medical Discovery News is hosted by professors Norbert Herzog at Quinnipiac University, and David Niesel of the University of Texas Medical Branch. Learn more at http://www.medicaldiscoverynews.com.
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Medical Discovery News: Heart cells on demand - ReporterNews.com
Tom Doumani thought something was up when he started having trouble reading street signs while driving. Letters seemed to be missing and, if the street name was an unfamiliar one, he had no way of guessing what it might be.
It was enough to prompt him to go and get his eyes tested. However the results showed his long distance vision was fine.
Unconvinced all was as it should be, he mentioned it to his GP who referred him to an eye specialist. This time the tests picked it up. Dr Doumani had the rare and rather awkwardly named Macular Telangiectasia type 2.
Like many rare conditions, little is known about what causes "MacTel 2", which in scientific circles is known as idiopathic juxtafoveal telangiectasia. Idiopathic meaning "of unknown cause".
However that may have changed, thanks to research led by Melbourne scientists which has found "a treasure map" revealing the location of the genetic triggers behind this little-understood form of blindness.
Outlined in the journal Nature Genetics, it is the first clue as to what causes MacTel 2, an incurable and untreatable degenerative disease which affects people from age 40 upwards.
The condition is characterised by an abnormal growth of blood vessels in the macula. Patients lose their central vision and tasks such as driving and reading can become impossible.
The international study was led by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research scientists Melanie Bahlo and Thomas Scerri.
The research team, including scientists in New York and London, analysed more than 6 million genetic markers in the genome of patients with the condition and compared them to those without.
Among the 476 people diagnosed with MacTel 2, genetic similarities were found in five key regions of the genome.
Curiously four of the five regions are associated with a person's metabolism. Those with MacTel 2 recorded lower levels of the basic amino acids glycine and serine.
"That was a bit of a surprise to say the least," Professor Bahlo said.
The fifth region identified, in what Professor Bahlo has described as "our treasure map", is tied to the size of retinal blood vessels.
"This is the first time we have been able to say with certainty that this is a genetic condition," she said. "And the map tells us where to 'keep digging' in order to discover the specific genes implicated in MacTel 2."
Identifying the specific genes would lead to improved diagnostic testing for the disease which is notoriously difficult to identify and also developing ways to prevent or stop its progression.
Diagnosed in 2012 at the age of 61, retired corporate banker Tom Doumaniwas among theMelbourne participants, sourced through Centre for Eye Research Australia. Heknows that while he may not benefit directly from participating in the study, he is contributing to the global search for a cause or cure.
"To help advance the knowledge, that's what appealed to me in taking part," he said. "I had no hesitation in participating."
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'Treasure map' identifies first genetic clues to form of blindness - The Sydney Morning Herald
Sorghum farmer Dorothy Warubua in Kiatine Village, Kenya. Photo by: CropLife
Up to half a million children around the world are going blind every year due to a lack of Vitamin A in their diets. According to the World Health Organization,Vitamin A deficiency, which afflicts 250 million children worldwide is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children and increases the risk of disease and death from severe infections. It is a public health problem in more than half the worlds nations, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia, affecting young children and pregnant women in low-income countries the hardest.
In Kenya, scientists are tackling this problem by developing biofortified sorghum, a staple crop that has been genetically modified to contain higher levels of Vitamin A. More than 300 million sub-Saharan Africans depend on sorghum as their primary calorie source. Its drought- and heat-tolerant properties mean it is a vital crop in drought-prone countries, where irrigation is not always accessible or affordable. Improving the nutritional level of staple crops can provide both food and nutritional security.
TheAfrica Biofortified Sorghum, or ABS, project is a public-private partnership established to tackle chronic Vitamin A deficiency in children, as well as improve levels of zinc and iron. If it gets commercial approval, it will be the first-ever biotech sorghum on the market. LikeGolden Rice, biofortified sorghum is a cutting-edge approach to food security and quality.
In terms of tonnage, sorghum is Africas second most important cereal and because it originated in east Africa, Africans know how to plant, cook and eat it. Dr. Titus Magomere, a lecturer in biotechnology at Kenyatta University,is one of 70 scientists involved in the ABS project. He says it is the obvious crop to focus on.
With the work that I am doing with biofortified sorghum, we are not trying to change the way people live, we are just improving the available nutrients in what they already have, he said.
Dr. Magomere and his team have already increased the Vitamin A available in sorghum test plants.
This is the first step, he explained. The second step has been to increase availability of iron and zinc and this has been done by reducing the levels of a protein that binds iron and zinc in the plants. We hope once the product is ready, a meal of sorghum, which will be available to the local farmers, will reduce nutritional deficiencies significantly.
Farmers like Dorothy Warubua from Kenya are hoping to take these scientific advancements from the lab to the fields.
With the work that I am doing with biofortified sorghum, we are not trying to change the way people live, we are just improving the available nutrients in what they already have.
When I was young, many people grew sorghum, but then people were encouraged to grow other crops, and started looking down on sorghum, she said.
Farmers were encouraged to grow maize in particular, but after a number of poor harvests, the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculturesupported the reintroduction of sorghum.
Sorghum needs very little rain. If you plant sorghum and maize at the same time, the sorghum will succeed but the maize often will not so that's why we prefer sorghum, says Warubua.
A reliable harvest also means a more secure source of nutrition and income for farmers and their families.
You have to have a farmer who is going to harvest so that the people will eat, emphasizes Warubua.
WithFood Heroeslike Warubua growing food for her community, and Magomere enhancing micronutrients in staple crops, the chronic nutritional deficiencies that haunt millions of African children can start to be addressed.
Were looking for more farmers and scientists to tell their story. Help us uncover the men and women who are securing food supplies for future generations so we can share their story. Submit your Food Heroes stories or your own story here.
Join the Devex communityand access more in-depth analysis, breaking news and business advice and a host of other services on international development, humanitarian aid and global health.
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The sorghum plant that could tackle blindness - Devex
Several years ago, an article published in the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company Digest reported that the size and amounts of malpractice judgments were discouraging ophthalmologists from doing screenings for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
The issue was addressed over twenty years ago in a letter from an ophthalmologist to the administration of the hospital where he was employed as well as the state medical board. The letter outlined the reasons for his decision to no longer perform ROP screenings:
Guidelines from the Cryotherapy of Prematurity Study must be followed exactly. The timing of the evaluation and follow-up visits are critical. This is often not under the physicians control (i.e., patients family compliance to follow-up visit requests is at times marginal). The risk of liability in these cases is high. The emotional trauma of dealing with any kind of litigation is great.
A few years later, a study published in Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society indicated that doctor errors in ROP examinations are fairly common. One of the problems addressed in that piece is inconsistency.
While the standard of care for specialists is national, it does not necessarily apply to general practitioners. When it comes to primary care physicians or pediatricians, the standard of care is determined on a local or regional basis, and can differ from one jurisdiction to the next.
It also comes down to the question of who bears the most responsibility when it comes to diagnosing and treating ROP. Obviously, the pediatricians or neonatologist is part of the equation. However, because this is an eye and vision issue, input from an experienced ophthalmologist is also necessary. This is especially important because this professional is held to a higher standard of care and has dedicated his/her career to the study of vision issues.
This said, the majority of ROP cases that generate lawsuits found the failure occurred when it came to transferring care of the patient after being discharged from the hospital. In a study of 13 legal actions involving ROP, three were found to be due to delayed follow-up examinations. In another case, there was failure on the part of the screening facility to refer the outpatient case to the ophthalmologist, while one case centered around an unsupervised resident physician who was charged with care of the patient. In the remaining eight cases, the hospital did not transfer the case at all once the patient had been discharged.
The main point is that most cases of ROP are treatable and even preventable. However, this requires communication and coordination between the pediatrician, the neonatologist, the ophthalmologist and the family affected. All involved parties should also have access to knowledge of the latest guidelines for screening and treatment. In an age of cost-cutting and belt-tightening, however, this does not always occur; and unfortunately its the family and child who end up suffering an immeasurable loss.
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Retinopathy of Prematurity and Childhood Blindness: Why is it Still Happening - The Ring of Fire Network
New York Times | Aids for Vision Loss, From Those Who've Been There New York Times But he insisted, Blindness does not cut me off from the world. He cited skillful use of a cane, travel devices that tell him where he is and what is around him and periodicals available in real time by telephone among myriad other gadgets that see ... |
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Aids for Vision Loss, From Those Who've Been There - New York Times
Gout is a type of arthritis in which small crystals form inside and around the joints. It causes sudden attacks of severe pain and swelling.
However, pseudogout is a form of arthritis that causes pain, stiffness, tenderness, redness, warmth and swelling in one or more of your joints - commonly the knee or wrist but it can include the hips, shoulders and ankles.
What causes pseudo gout?
The condition occurs as a result of the abnormal formation of calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals in the cartilage which is followed by the release of crystals in to the joint fluid.
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Arthritis Research UK said: When CPP crystals shed into the joint cavity this is called acute calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) arthritis.
The crystals cause inflammation in the lining of the joint, resulting in pain and swelling in the joint.
Symptoms
Symptoms of pseudo gout are similar to gout, and are also similar to those of rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.
The symptoms can include swollen joints which are warm to the touch, red or purple skin around the joint or affected area, tender skin - which can cause extreme pain if it is touched and sudden intense joint pain.
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Who is affected?
Arthritis Research UK said: Acute CPP crystal arthritis usually affects people in late middle-age or the elderly, and its rare if youre under the age of 60.
Men and women are equally affected. An attack of acute CPP crystal arthritis can happen in a joint thats already affected by osteoarthritis.
Attacks of pseudo gout can last between five days and up to two weeks unless it is treated.
Treatment
The disease, unlike gout, is not linked to diet.
Gout is caused by too much uric acid or your kidneys don't filter enough out, it can build up and cause tiny sharp crystals to form in and around joints. These crystals can cause the joint to become inflamed (red and swollen) and painful.
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Pseudogout can be treated with drugs - non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - such as ibuprofen.
Doctors can also take fluid out of the joints to treat the disease.
This process is called aspiration and can reduce the high pressure in a joint which causes the pain.
Arthritis Research UK recommend people get the joint and muscles moving following an attack of pseudo gout and helps tissue return to normal.
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Painful joints could indicate THIS form of arthritis - similar to gout - Express.co.uk
Sir David backing arthritis help campaign
SOUTHEND West MP, Sir David Amess, has called on the Government to provide more support for workers with arthritis to help close the arthritis employment gap.
According to Arthritis Research UK, only 60 per cent of working age people with a musculoskeletal condition are in work, compared to 80 per cent among those without a health condition or a disability.
Now, following the Governments Improving Lives consultation on employment support for disabled people, Sir David is calling on the Government to ensure that people with arthritis have the support to stay at work for longer:.
Sir David said: Its clear how enormous the impact of arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions is on our local communities. 30,251 residents are living with back pain, a leading cause of sickness absence, in Southend right now 17.3 per cent of local people.
The ability to work is something that we often take for granted, but Ive learnt that for those living with arthritis this can be difficult. However, with the right support and flexibility many people are able to work.
Thats why Im supporting Arthritis Research UKs Work Matters to Me campaign.
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Sir David backing arthritis help campaign - Echo
THE MP for Keighley has supported a campaign to help people who have arthritis return to or stay in employment.
Kris Hopkins attended a reception in Westminster to find out more about arthritis and about Arthritis Research UKs Work Matters to Me initiative.
The charity has argued that what it calls the "Arthritis employment gap" is considerable, with the employment rate amongst people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions 20 per cent lower than amongst people with no condition or disability.
Mr Hopkins said: The ability to work is something that can be taken for granted but, for people living with arthritis, it can often be a challenge.
Arthritis Research UK advised me that, across Bradford District, 84,273 people suffer from back pain, which is 16.06 per cent of the resident population.
Nationally, back pain costs the economy an estimated 10 billion each year, a figure which jumps to 25 billion when you include osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
I commend Arthritis Research UK on their campaign, and for placing the vital important issues it raises on the agenda.
Cellular Biomedicine Group Awarded $2.29 Million Grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to Fund AlloJoin Allogeneic Stem Cell Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) in the U.S.
SHANGHAI, China and CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 27, 2017 -- Cellular Biomedicine Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CBMG)(CBMG or the Company), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm engaged in the development of effective immunotherapies for cancer and stem cell therapies for degenerative diseases, announced today that the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), California's stem cell agency, has awarded the Company $2.29 million to support pre-clinical studies of AlloJoinTM, CBMGs Off-the-Shelf Allogeneic Human Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis in the United States.
While CBMG recently commenced two Phase I human clinical trials in China using CAR-T to treat relapsed/refractory CD19+ B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and Refractory Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) as well as an ongoing Phase I trial in China for AlloJoinTM in Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA), this latest announcement represents CBMGs initial entrance into the United States for its off-the-shelf allogeneic stem cell candidate AlloJoinTM.
The $2.29 million was granted under the CIRM 2.0 program, a comprehensive collaborative initiative designed to accelerate the development of stem cell-based treatments for people with unmet medical needs. After the award, CIRM will be a more active partner with its recipients to further increase the likelihood of clinical success and help advance a pre-clinical applicants research along a funding pipeline towards clinical trials. CBMGs KOA pre-clinical program is considered late-stage, and therefore it meets CIRM 2.0s intent to accelerate support for clinical stage development for identified candidates of stem cell treatments that demonstrate scientific excellence.
"We are deeply appreciative to CIRM for their support and validation of the therapeutic potential of our KOA therapy, said Tony (Bizuo) Liu, Chief Executive Officer of CBMG. We thank Dr. C. Thomas Vangsness, Jr., in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and Dr. Qing Liu-Michael at the Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, who helped significantly with the grant application process. The CIRM grant is the first step in bringing our allogeneic human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell treatment for knee osteoarthritis (AlloJoinTM) to the U.S. market.
Our AlloJoinTM program has previously undergone extensive manufacturing development and pre-clinical studies and is undergoing a Phase I clinical trial in China. In order to demonstrate comparability with cell banks previously produced in China for our U.S. IND filing, we are addressing the pre-clinical answers required for the FDA. With the funds provided by CIRM, we will replicate and validate the manufacturing process and control system at the cGMP facility located at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles to support the filing of an IND with the FDA. The outcome of this grant will enable us to have qualified final cell products ready to use in a Phase I clinical trial with Dr. Vangsness as the Principal Investigator and the Keck School of Medicine of USC as a trial site. Dr. Vangsness is familiar with both stem cell biology and KOA, and has led the only randomized double-blind human clinical study to investigate expanded allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells to date. Our endeavor in the U.S. market will further strengthen our commercialization pipeline.
CBMG recently announced promising interim 3-month safety data from its Phase I clinical trial in China for AlloJoinTM, its off-the-shelf allogeneic stem cell therapy for KOA. The trial is on schedule to be completed by the third quarter of 2017.
About CIRM
At CIRM, we never forget that we were created by the people of California to accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs, and to act with a sense of urgency commensurate with that mission. To meet this challenge, our team of highly trained and experienced professionals actively partners with both academia and industry in a hands-on, entrepreneurial environment to fast track the development of today's most promising stem cell technologies.
With $3 billion in funding and over 280 active stem cell programs in our portfolio, CIRM is the world's largest institution dedicated to helping people by bringing the future of medicine closer to reality.
For more information, please visit http://www.cirm.ca.gov.
About Knee Osteoarthritis
According to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, there are 27 million Americans with Osteoarthritis (OA), and symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) occurs in 13% of persons aged 60 and older. The International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases, 2011 reports that approximately 57 million people in China suffer from KOA. Currently no treatment exists that can effectively preserve knee joint cartilage or slow the progression of KOA. Current common drug-based methods of management, including anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), only relieve symptoms and carry the risk of side effects. Patients with KOA suffer from compromised mobility, leading to sedentary lifestyles; doubling the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity; and increasing the risk of all causes of mortality, colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression and anxiety. According to the Epidemiology of Rheumatic Disease (Silman AJ, Hochberg MC. Oxford Univ. Press, 1993:257), 53% of patients with KOA will eventually become disabled.
About Cellular Biomedicine Group (CBMG)
Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc. develops proprietary cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and degenerative diseases. Our immuno-oncology and stem cell projects are the result of research and development by CBMGs scientists and clinicians from both China and the United States. Our GMP facilities in China, consisting of twelve independent cell production lines, are designed and managed according to both China and U.S. GMP standards. To learn more about CBMG, please visit http://www.cellbiomedgroup.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statementsincluding descriptions of plans, strategies, trends, specific activities, investments and other non-historical factsas defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking information is inherently uncertain, and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to a number of factors, which include risks inherent in doing business, trends affecting the global economy (including the devaluation of the RMB by China in August 2015), and other risks detailed in CBMGs reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, quarterly reports on form 10-Q, current reports on form 8-K and annual reports on form 10-K. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "plans," "intends," "estimates," "potential," "continue" or similar terms or their negations. Although CBMG believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, they cannot guarantee that future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements will be obtained. CBMG does not have any obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by law.
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Cellular Biomedicine Group Awarded $2.29 Million Grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM ... - EconoTimes
A high-level meeting has paved the way for global trials to begin on hundreds of patients.
British scientists have found a way to use stem cells to repair damaged tissue which could help millions living with heart failure, the UKs leading cause of death.
Scarring due to disease or heart attacks affects more than two million people in Britain.
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This would be the biggest breakthrough since the first transplants three decades ago
Professor Steve Westaby
Initial trials involving more than 100 patients are being planned for the autumn at two London hospitals.
World renowned cardiac surgeon Professor Steve Westaby, who helped pioneer the revolutionary technique, said it had been thought that repairing heart damage was impossible.
But results from a long-term trial that began in Greece five years ago have shown that this is not the case.
Preliminary data from this trial showed the engineered stem cells, known as Heartcel, can reverse scarring by up to 79 per cent.
The data, presented at the European Society of Cell and Gene Therapy in Florence, showed an average of 40 per cent reduction in heart damage in those on the treatment.
Last month researchers finalised talks with European and US regulators to discuss the timetable for global trials next year involving 500 people.
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6 early signs of a heart attack
Professor Westaby, from the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, said: I am very excited at the prospect of a trial which will hopefully lead to the availability of this stem cell treatment to thousands of patients annually in the UK.
Other scientists have tried in vain to repair damaged heart muscle using stem cells over the past few decades.
This is the first time scarring has been shown to be reversible. It could herald an end to transplants and lead to a treatment for heart failure within three to five years.
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Professor Westaby said: This would be the biggest breakthrough since the first transplants three decades ago.
Professor Westaby has been working on the technique for more than a decade and is carrying out the study with Professor Kim Fox, head of the National Heart and Lung Institute, at Imperial College London.
The implanted stem cells were created by medical outfit Celixir, co-founded by Nobel laureate Professor Martin Evans, the first scientist to culture mice embryonic stem cells in a laboratory.
Professor Westaby was inspired to work on the breakthrough in 1999 after a four-month-old baby girls heart healed itself after he carried out a major life-saving operation.
Kirsty Collier, from Swindon, was dying of a serious and rare heart defect. In a last ditch effort Professor Westaby cut away a third of her badly damaged heart.
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Surprisingly it began to beat. Fourteen years later a scan has shown that the heart had healed itself.
Now Kirsty, 18, has a normal one. Professor Westaby said: She was essentially dead and was only resurrected by what I regarded at the time as a completely bizarre operation.
The fact there was no sign of heart damage told me there were foetal stem cells in babies hearts that could remove scarring of heart muscle. That never happens in adults.
Its all down to the clues we got from Kirstys operation.
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Heart failure BREAKTHROUGH: Stem cells trial offers hope to millions - Express.co.uk
In 1997Dolly the sheep was introducedto the world by biologists Keith Campbell, Ian Wilmut and colleagues. Not just any lamb, Dolly was a clone. Rather than being made from a sperm and an egg, she originated from a mammary gland cell of another, no-longer-living, six-year-old Fynn Dorset ewe.
With her birth, a scientific and societal revolution was also born.
Some prominent scientistsraised doubts; it was too good to be true. But more animals were cloned: first thelaboratory mouse, thencows,goats,pigs,horses, evendogs,ferretsandcamels. By early 2000, the issue was settled: Dolly was real and cloning adults was possible.
The implications of cloning animals in our society were self-evident from the start. Our advancing ability to reprogram adult, already specialized cells and start them over as something new may one day be the key to creating cells and organs that match the immune system of each individual patient in need of replacements.
But what somehow got lost was the fact that a clone was born at day zero created from the cell of another animal that was six years old. Researchers have spent the past 20 years trying to untangle the mysteries of how clones age. How old, biologically, are these animals born from other adult animals cells?
Decades of cloning research
Dolly became an international celebrity, but she was not the first vertebrate to be cloned from a cell taken from the body of another animal. In 1962, developmental biologistJohn Gurdoncloned the first adult animalby taking a cell from the intestine of one frog and injecting it into an egg of another. Gurdons work did not go unnoticed he went on to share the2012 Nobel Prizein Physiology or Medicine. But it was Dolly who had captured our imagination. Was it because she was a warm-blooded animal, a mammal, much closer to human? If you could do it in a sheep, you could do it on us!
Dolly, along with Gurdons frogs from 35 years earlier and all the other experiments in between, redirected our scientific studies. It was amazing to see a differentiated cell an adult cell specialized to do its particular job transform into an embryonic one that could go on to give rise to all the other cells of a normal body. We researchers wondered if we could go further: Could we in the lab make an adult cell once again undifferentiated, without needing to make a cloned embryo?
A decade after Dolly was announced, stem cell researcherShynia Yamanakas teamdid just that. He went on to be the Nobel corecipient with Gurdon for showing that mature cells could bereprogrammed to become pluripotent: able to develop into any specialized adult cell.
Now we have the possibility of making individualized replacement cells potentially any kind to replace tissue damaged due to injury, genetic disorders and degeneration. Not only cells; we may soon be able to haveour own organs grown in a nonhuman host, ready to be transplanted when needed.
If Dolly was responsible for unleashing the events that culminate with new methods of making fully compatible cells and organs, then her legacy would be to improve the health of practically all human beings on this planet. And yet, I am convinced that there are even better things to come.
Dollys secrets still unfolding
In the winter of 2013, I found myself driving on the wrong side of the road through the Nottingham countryside. In contrast to the luscious landscape, I was in a state gloom; I was on my way to see Keith Campbells family after his sudden death a few weeks earlier. Keith was a smart, fun, loving friend who, along with Ian Wilmut andcolleagues at the Roslin Institute, had brought us Dolly 15 years earlier. We had met at a conference in the early 1990s, when we were both budding scientists playing around with cloning, Keith with sheep, me with cows. An extrovert by nature, he quickly dazzled me with his wit, self-deprecating humor and nonstop chat, all delivered in a thick West Midlands accent. Our friendship that began then continued until his death.
When I knocked at the door of his quaint farmhouse, my plan was to stay just a few minutes, pay my respects to his wife and leave. Five hours and several Guinnesses later, I left feeling grateful. Keith could do that to you, but this time it wasnt him, it was his latest work speaking for him. Thats because his wife very generously told me the project Keith was working on at the time of his death. I couldnt hide my excitement: Could it be possible that after 20 years, the most striking aspect of Dollys legacy was not yet revealed?
See, when Dolly was cloned, she was created using a cell from a six-year-old sheep. Andshe died at age six and a half, a premature death for a breed that lives an average of nine years or more. People assumed that an offspring cloned from an adult was starting at an age disadvantage; rather than truly being a newborn, it seemed like a clones internal age would be more advanced that the length of its own life would suggest. Thus the notion that clones biological age and their chronological one were out of sync, and that cloned animals will die young.
Some of us were convinced that if the cloning procedure was done properly, the biological clock should be reset a newborn clone would truly start at zero. We worked very hard to prove our point. We were not convinced by a single DNA analysis done in Dolly showing slightly shortertelomeres the repetitive DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes that count how many times a cell divides. We presented strong scientific evidence showing that cloned cows had all thesame molecular signs of agingas a nonclone, predicting a normal lifespan. Othersshowed the same in cloned mice. But we couldnt ignore reports from colleagues interpretingbiological signs in cloned animalsthat they attributed toincomplete resetting of the biological clock. So the jury was out.
Aging studies are very hard to do because there are only two data points that really count: date of birth and date of death. If you want to know the lifespan of an individual you have to wait until its natural death. Little did I know, that is what Keith was doing back in 2012.
That Saturday afternoon I spent in Keiths house in Nottingham, I saw a photo of the animals in Keiths latest study: several cloned Dollies, all much older than Dolly at the time she had died, and they looked terrific. I was in awe.
The data were confidential, so I had to remain silent until late last year whenthe work was posthumously published. Keiths coauthors humbly said: For those clones that survive beyond the perinatal period [] the emerging consensus, supported by the current data, is that they are healthy and seem to age normally.
These findings became even more relevant when last December researchers at theScripps Research Institutefound that induced pluripotent stem cells reprogrammed using the Yamanaka factorsretain the aging epigenetic signature of the donor individual. In other words, using these four genes to attempt to reprogram the cells does not seem to reset the biological clock.
The new Dollies are now telling us that if we take a cell from an animal of any age, and we introduce its nucleus into a nonfertilized mature egg, we can have an individual born with its lifespan fully restored. They confirmed that all signs of biological and chronological age matched between cloned and noncloned sheep.
There seems to be a natural built-in mechanism in the eggs that can rejuvenate a cell. We dont know what it is yet, but it is there. Our group as well as others are hard at work, and as soon as someone finds it, the most astonishing legacy of Dolly will be realized.
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More lessons from Dolly the sheep: Is a clone really born at age zero ... - Salon
Ahmedabad: Picture this: You walk into a room and after two steps inside, you are past a curtain and you can't see anything-there isn't a single ray of light. There is 'white noise' in the background that is suppressing all other sounds around. Your only guide is the walls and things you can touch and the smells you can identify. The thought may either be intimidating, disturbing or even adventurous and beautiful. Such is the space designed by city-based space designer duoFreyaan Anklesaria and Mirant Tiwarito let people experience the life of a deaf-blind person for a few minutes. In fact, it is the world's first interactive space to emulate deaf-blindness. Known as 'SenseX', indicating Sensory Experience, the interactive space is created with a view to making people empathize with deaf-blindness, a disability even though long-prevailing in India, that was recognized as a disability in the last winter session of the Parliament with the new disabilities bill. At present, the installation of the experiential space is kept at the campus of Blind People's Association. "Deaf-blind people lose 95% of their input information as their receptive sensory organs are impaired. Our idea is not to let people get disturbed but rather let them experience the life of a deaf-blind person and see beauty through their eyes," explained Freyaan, who is a city-based interior designer. "The space is still being improvised with minor changes to make the experience more wholesome," she added. The entire project is funded by Sense International India, an NGO which is working to address multi-sensory impairment, mainly deaf-blindness. Sharing more details about the project, Mirant, who is the co-founder of Hats & Beards, a design agency, said, "Initially during the research phase, we looked for existing spaces that were designed to simulate deaf-blindness so that we get an idea to implement them better. While we came across experiential spaces for deafness and blindness separately, we did not come across a single one that lets one experience both."
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Empathize with deaf-blindness in world's 1st interactive space ... - Times of India
New Delhi: The Department of Biotechnology has invited applications from eligible candidates for admission to Molecular Biology and Biotechnology for Fisheries Professionals. This program is completely sponsored by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India.
The three-month training program comprises 45 days of theory classes with hands-on practical sessions and 45 days of research work. All basic molecular biology and genetic engineering and molecular genetics techniques are included in the course along with their applications in various aspects of aquaculture and fisheries.
Participants are also expected to prepare research proposals and reports in DBT prescribed formats to familiarize them with the procedure of seeking extramural funding from DBT or other funding agencies.
Programme dates: CIFA & CMFRI : 15 Feb to 13 May 2017 CIFE : 7 March to 6 Jun 2017 CIFA, CMFRI and CIFE : 01.11.2017 to 30.01.2018
Eligibility Assistant Professors/ Scientists and above/ Post-doctoral fellows employed in SAUs, CAUs, Fisheries Colleges, research institutes, traditional universities and engaged in research and teaching in the area of aquaculture, sheries, marine biology, aquatic biology and allied disciplines.
Selection of participants: The total number of participants will be 10 at each collaborating institute. Selection letters will be communicated 20 days prior to the start date of the programme subject to receiving duly forwarded applications.
For more details, visit http://www.dbtindia.nic.in/
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Training in Molecular Biology, Biotechnology - Mathrubhumi English
Metro | Living with arthritis What is it, who can get it and how can you treat it? Metro 'Arthritis is a chronic (long-term), degenerative 'wear and tear' condition that can affect all joints in the body, but predominantly the 'heavy duty' weight-bearing joints such as in the spine, pelvis, hips and knees. 'Arthritis mostly manifests with ... |
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Living with arthritis What is it, who can get it and how can you treat it? - Metro
Clues to relationship between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis Science Daily While schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder of unknown origin and rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease of the joints that occurs as a result of the body's immune system attacking its own cells, both disorders are thought to be influenced by ... |
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Clues to relationship between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis - Science Daily