StemCell Therapy

NEW YORK An experimental stem cell therapy developed by Asterias Biotherapeutics restored some movement to patients paralyzed by recent spinal cord injuries, according to interim data from a small study being presented on Wednesday.

One of the five patients in the trial regained use of both arms and hands, and is now able to feed himself, send texts on a phone and operate a wheelchair, the Fremont, California-based company said.

Three months after the cells were implanted, the study met its efficacy goal of two patients regaining return of two motor levels of functioning on at least one side of their body, the company said.

All five people in the study have experienced some upper extremity improvement so far, Asterias said.

Each motor level function measurement correlates with a reduction in the assistance and care a paralyzed patient might require. A two-level improvement can mean a patient is able to live more independently.

The cells are injected by a neurosurgeon directly into the site of the spinal cord damage within two to four weeks of injury, before scar tissue forms. The hope is that they can help restore signals from the brain through the spinal cord to the outer extremities.

Stem cells are able to transform into various other types of cells in the body, and scientists have been working for years to try to harness their unique capabilities to combat various medical conditions, including paralysis and heart failure.

"I am very encouraged by this first look at efficacy data in complete cervical spinal cord patients," Dr. Shekar Kurpad, a trial researcher and director of the Spinal Cord Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said in a statement.

The company had not expected to reach the efficacy goal before six to 12 months after implantation of the 10 million embryonic stem cells dubbed AST-OPC1, Asterias Chief Executive Stephen Cartt said.

"We came out early with the data because it was so compelling. We were expecting to wait until January," Cartt said in a telephone interview, acknowledging that the work is still in the early stages and that it is a very small study.

The interim results were presented at the International Spinal Cord Society meeting in Vienna, Austria.

There were no reported serious adverse side effects related to AST-OPC1 or the injection procedure, Asterias said.

The company has secured regulatory approval to double the dose to 20 million cells in future studies.

The five patients will be followed and assessed for 12 months.

"It's certainly our hope that we see at least that these gains are maintained, and we hope to see continuing improvement," Cartt said.

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Asterias stem cell therapy shows promise in spinal cord ...

Stem Cell Therapy share

Painful discs in the neck or low back are common causes of severe back pain and disability. Historically, therapies did not exist to regenerate the degenerative process in a vertebral disc, often leaving surgical intervention as the only option if other non-operative treatment options have failed. In selected patients, we now have hopes of better ways to treat spinal disease. Regenerative therapies for the spine are the future for spinal treatments. We are excited to offer innovative techniques as new and improved ways to try to heal spinal problems without having to undergo surgery. Regenerative therapy options hold wonderful healing potential and represent the future of modern medicine.

In the United States alone, more than 400,000 lumbar discectomies and 500,000 spinal fusions are performed each year for symptoms related to lumbar disc degeneration. The ability to get these to heal without surgery has been a long-term goal of many patients and physicians alike.At Virginia Spine Institute, we are working to promote healing without surgery. Virginia Spine Institute continues to be on the forefront of treatment options and is proud to offer stem cell therapy treatments for patients as part of ourcomprehensive non-operative treatment options.

We obtain a patients own stem cells by aspirating tissue from the patient's hip bone or from their fat cells. These cells are centrifuged down to identify and separate specific primitive cells that will help heal tissues. Stem cells are theninjected into the disc, stimulating healing of the disc by using these primitive blood cells to stimulate regeneration of the collagen within the disc. We are excited to report improvements in our patients treated with stem cells.

What are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have the potential to become specialized types of cells. Stem cells can be categorized as embryonic stem cells or adult stem cells.Embryonic stem cells are derived from a human fetus; there are many ethical concerns with embryonic stem cells, and these are not used in our practice.

Adult stem cells are derived from adults, sometimes obtained from your very own body! Adult stem cells are further divided into different categories. For example, the types of adult stem cells we use to treat musculoskeletal issues are known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). These are multi-potent cells that can differentiate into bone cells, cartilage cells, or fat cells. Its important to note that they cannot differentiate into any other type of cell.

The human body has multiple storage sites for stem cells to repair degenerated and injured structures. We have found that obtaining stem cells from the hip bone (iliac bone) is easily performed within minutes and, in most cases, is a fairly painless procedure for the patient. The stem cells are obtained from your own bone marrow; just minutes later, they are used for treatment.

This procedure is done in our office and starts with the patient lying face down on the examination table. The skin is first numbed with a novocaine solution. After that, the cortex of the hip bone (iliac bone) is numbed. Next, under x-ray (fluoroscopic) guidance, a special needle is advanced through the bone to the cortex of your hip bone into the bone marrow. The liquid marrow - which contains the stem cells - is then withdrawn into a syringe. Finally, the needle is removed, and a small bandage is placed where the needle was inserted.

After the procedure, the syringe of stem cells is taken to the lab and placed in a specialized machine called a centrifuge. The centrifuge spins the bone marrow solution and stem cells are separated from the non-useful cells. The concentrated stem cells are then transferred to a new syringe. Now, the stem cells are ready for the treatment.

Not all patients will be a candidate for these disc regeneration procedures. For those whom are ideal candidates, this provides great hope with reduction in pain and improved quality of life without the need for major surgery. We are excited about these great advances in health care and look forward to helping you live pain free.

Stem cell injections are most commonly used for treatment of the following conditions:

The area of injury is first identified using ultrasound or fluoroscopy. The area is then sterilized, and the skin above the area is numbed with a novocaine-type solution. Using ultrasound or fluoroscopic guidance, the needle is guided to the area of injury, and the stem cell solution is injected. All the regenerative injections performed at our practice are performed under image guidance with ultrasound or fluoroscopy to confirm accurate placement of the stem cells.

The risks depend on the area being treated; however, there is always a potential risk of an injection causing infection, bleeding, or nerve damage. It is important to note that there is no risk of allergic reaction since you are using your own stem cells. At Virginia Spine Institute we always recommended the safest and most efficient procedures for our patients, however, your physician will review any possible risks associated with this treatment prior to administering.

The benefit is usually seen approximately two to three months after the whole treatment protocol has completed; however, you may start to notice the benefit sooner than this.

In most cases, patients respond very well to just one treatment; however, the patient may require two to three injections. We never perform more than three injections within a span of 12 months.

Virginia Spine Institute is part of an ongoing FDA clinical trial study and now also offers stem cell therapy to patients not enrolled in the study. This pioneering cell therapy, currently under investigation by our physicians, shows promise in restoring the structure of degenerating discs and alleviating pain after other non-operative treatments have failed.

The clinical trial uses NuQu (made by ISTO Technologies, Inc) to attempt to restore a damaged disc to save the disc and prevent further degeneration. NuQu is composed of culture-expanded juvenile cartilage cells (stem cells) in a protein-based carrier. These cells have been proven to have far greater regenerative potential than adult cartilage-forming cells based upon preliminary investigations.

After evaluating hundreds of patients for the FDA trial comparing these cartilage forming stem cells to a saline placebo, the spinal experts at Virginia Spine Institute were able to enroll 5 patients in the study. Although early results have been promising, the evaluation will not be complete until a full year passes after the injection.

Although NuQu is an early-stage, cell-based therapy aimed at treating the cause of back pain associated with degenerating discs, we remain optimistic that it has the potential to cure this disease. This pioneering cell therapy, currently under investigation by our physicians, shows promise in restoring the structure of degenerating discs and alleviating pain after other non-operative treatments have failed and before surgery even becomes a consideration.

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Stem Cell Therapy for Neck & Back Pain - DC Metro Area

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis is currently treated with immune suppressive agents such as steroids, methothrexate, cyclosporine, gold, and more recently infliximab (Remicade). Despite inducing temporary improvement, these approaches possess long-term adverse effects due to non-specific inhibition of immune responses. When disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) like methotrexate are not effective, biologics like abatacept (Orencia), adalimumab (Humira) or etanercept (Enbrel) may be recommended. None of these treatments address the issue of damage that has already occurred to the joints or extra-articular tissues.

Even though advancements in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment protocols and introduction of targeted biological therapies have markedly improved patient outcomes, up to 50% of patients still fail to achieve a significant clinical response.

Stem cell therapy has been demonstrated to induce profound healing activity in animals with various forms of arthritis. For example, the company Vet-Stem routinely utilizes stem cells in horses with various joint deformities to accelerate healing. Besides healing of damaged tissues, stem cells have the unique ability to modulate the immune system so as to shut off pathological responses while preserving ability to fight off disease.

Stem cells and specifically, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) home to inflamed tissue and start producing anti-inflammatory agents. These mediators act locally and do not suppress the immune response of the patients whole body. Additionally, MSCs induce the production of T regulatory cells, a type of immune cell whose function is to protect the body against immunological self-attack.

A recent study on MSCs for rheumatoid arthritis (Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis: Safety and Efficacy) showed that MSCs produced a significant decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-, both of which are temporarily targeted by many current RA treatments. without the long-term side effects. These decreases are shown in Figure 5 from the original publication.

The Stem Cell Institute uses adult stem cells called allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells to treat rheumatoid arthritis. These cells are harvested from human umbilical cords donated after normal, healthy births. All mothers who donate umbilical cords undergo infectious disease testing and medical history screening. Proper written consent is obtained from each family prior to umbilical cord donation.

All mesenchymal stem cells harvested from umbilical cords are screened for infectious diseases to International Blood Bank Standards before they are cleared for use in treatments.

Only a small percentage of umbilical cords pass our rigorous screening process.

Through retrospective analysis of our cases, weve identified proteins and genes that allow us to screen several hundred umbilical cord donations to find the ones that we know are most effective. We only use these cells and we call them golden cells.

We go through a very high throughput screening process to find cells that we know have the best anti-inflammatory activity, the best immune modulating capacity, and the best ability to stimulate regeneration.

The bodys immune system is unable to recognize human umbilical cord tissue (HUCT)-derived mesenchmyal stem cells as foreign and therefore they are not rejected. HUCT stem cells have been administered thousands of times at the Stem Cell Institute and there has never been a single instance rejection (graft vs. host disease). Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells also proliferate/differentiate more efficiently than older cells, such as those found in the fat and therefore, they are considered to be more potent.

In this next video (just past the 1 minute mark), Arnold Caplan, PhD explains the mechanism by which donor mesenchymal stem cells shield themselves from the recipients immune system. Dr. Caplan is the scientist who discovered the mesenchymal stem cell. He is commonly referred to as the father of the mesenchymal stem cell.

They are typically given intravenously (IV) over the course of a few days.

Below is an example of a typical 4-day rheumatoid arthritis treatment protocol.

*Includes Hilton hotel room with breakfast, WIFI, transportation from and to the airport with VIP airport gate service and expedited customs clearance upon arrival, and transportation between the Hilton and Stem Cell Institute.

*After examining each patients medical history and other medical information our team of physicians will recommend a specific treatment protocol. Your recommended protocol may differ from the example given above.

Proper follow-up helps us evaluate the effectiveness of our treatments and improve our treatment protocols based on observed outcomes. Therefore, one of our medical staff will contact you regularly to monitor your progress. You will be contacted after 1 month, 3 months, 4 months, and 1 year.

Of course there are. A number of our treated rheumatoid arthritis patients have volunteered to speak with prospective patients after treatment approval. Your patient coordinator will be happy to put you in touch with them at the appropriate time.

You may also view rheumatoid arthritis patient news, stories and videos. Please take a look!

You may contact us by telephone 1 (800) 980-STEM (toll-free in US) and 1 (954) 358-3382.

To apply for stem cell treatment, please complete this Patient Application Form.

Antigen Specific Therapy of Rheumatoid Arthritis Ichim T. Zheng X, Suzuki M, Kubo N, Zhang X, Min L, Beduhn M, Riordan N, Inman R, Min W. Expert opin. Biol. Ther. 2008; 8(2): 191-199

Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis: Safety and Efficacy Liming Wang, Lihua Wang, Xiuli Cong, Guangyang Liu, Jianjun Zhou, Bin Bai, Yang Li, Wen Bai, Ming Li, Haijie Ji, Delin Zhu, Mingyuan Wu and Yongjun Liu Stem Cells Dev. 2013 Dec 15;22(24):3192-202. doi: 10.1089/scd.2013.0023. Epub 2013 Oct 4.

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Rheumatoid Arthritis - Stem Cell Therapy

Conference Series LLC Conferences invites all the participants across the globe to attend 8th International Conference on Biomarkers and Clinical Research during December 05-07, 2016 in Philadelphia, USA which includes prompt Keynote presentations, Oral talks, Poster presentations and Exhibitions.

Biomarkers 2016will mainly focus on the types of biomarkers, Functional genomics and cytogenetic biomarkers and its clinical research and development, omics technologies in discovery and its validation, biomarkers of exposure response and susceptibility, biomarkers disorders, techniques to maximize biomarker identification, biomarkers nano science.

Conference Series LLC, the host of this conference is comprised of 3000+ Global Events with over 600+ Conferences, 1200+ Symposiums and 1200+Workshops on diverse Medical, Pharmaceutical, Clinical, Engineering, Science, Technology, Business and Management field is organizing conferences all over the globe.Biomarkers 2016 is the worlds largest multidisciplinarycancer meeting. Biomarkers and cancer conferencesinclude scientific keynote lectures, symposia, workshops, exhibitions with the support fromOncology SocietyandAmerican Oncology Society. Cancer conferences includeEuropean oncology conferences,surgical oncology global cancer conferenceandcancer conferences.

Track 1:Types of Biomarkers

Biomarkeris a characteristic diagnostic tool that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normalbiological processes, pathogenic processes or pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention. Biomarkers can be molecules, or genes, gene products, enzymes, or hormones referred asprotein biomarkers, analytical biomarkers, blood biomarkers, fluorescent biomarkers, circulating biomarkers and molecular biomarkers to quantify the degree of disease condition. Biomarkers are the measures used to perform a clinical assessment in case ofcancer biomarkers. They predict health states in individuals across populations so that appropriate therapeutic intervention can be planned. In the current scenario more than a thousand organizations and universities have contributed to the field of Biomarkers research especially molecular and cancer biomarkers, with its wings spreading across major organizations in USA, UK, Germany and China. The global biomarkers market is expected to grow from $29.3 billion in 2013 to $53.6 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.8%.Different types of biomarkers includeProtein biomarkers, Fluorescent biomarkers,Blood biomarkers, Cancer biomarkers, Analytical biomarkers andMolecular Biomarkers.

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Track 2: Cancer Biomarkers

Cancer biomarkers are used to detect the natural course of a tumour and are used to assess chances of developing cancer. Biomarkers in cancer screening play an important role in cancer detection and risk assessment to reduce cancer deaths. Tumour biomarkers are used to detect cancer development and progression. Uterine cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, trophoblastic neoplasms and ovarian cancer are gynaecologic malignancies for which tumour markers are in clinical use. Effective cancer biomarkers are used to reduce cancer mortality rates by facilitating diagnosis of cancers at early stages. Cancer biomarkers can also be used in diagnosis, risk assessment and recurrence of cancer.

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Track 3:Functional Genomics and Cytogenetic Biomarkers

The branch ofgenomicsthat determines the biological function and complex association of the genes and their products depicts thefunctional genomics. The measurable degree of these parameters through various processes and equipment inclusive of Next generation sequencing, Personalized genome sequencing and mi-RNA sequencing utilizing cellular entities to predict SNP biomarkers, immuno fluorescent biomarkers,oxidative stress biomarkers, si-RNA and mi-RNA will aid in better understanding of the disease outcome. Thecytogeneticbiomarkers are a feasible diagnostic tool to detect DNA and chromatin damage.

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Track 4: Functional Transcriptomics and Profiling Techniques

The newly emerged discipline in the field of cytogenetic andfunctional genomicsis Molecular imaging biomarkers, aids in better visualization of the cellular function and the follow-up of the molecular process in living organisms without penetrance. Roche Diagnostics, GlaxoSmithKline, Siemens Healthcare, GE Healthcare and Merck & Co are a few of the key players in this market as observed inbiomarkerscongress. The functional genomics and cytogenetic market is estimated to reach 150M$ by 2017.Functional genomicscovers various areas of biomarkers applications like Next gen sequencing, Personalized genome sequencing, Micro RNA sequencing and SNP biomarkers.Cytogenetic biomarkersinclude Immuno flouscent biomarkers, Molecular imaging biomarkers, Oxidative Stress Biomarkers and si-RNA and mi-RNA.

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Track 5:Biomarkers in Clinical Research and Development

TheBiomarkersfinds its valuable application in the field ofClinical researchand development by case study and data management as evident through Biomarker conferences. The Bioethics and intellectual property right establishes the norms and standard of conduct of hypothesis with respect to clinical validation of biomarkers. The incorporation of biomarker inclinical trialsfor various disease conditions will put forth a valid diagnostic and therapeutic approach utilizing even the medical devices to detectclinical biomarkers. Currently this is the booming industry. Most of the reputed organizations like Pfizer, Parexel and Quintiles are into clinical research and development. The companies, hospitals and clinical research organizations are the hot spots for conducting clinical research with its growth rate increasing exponentially by an estimated 75B$ by 2016.In clinical research and development, clinical biomarkers are used in case study anddata management, clinical trials and in medical devices.

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Track 6:Omics Technologies in Biomarkers Discovery and Validation

Biomarkersplay a critical role in disease diagnosis and treatment, especially for the early detection of cancer, to enable screening of asymptomatic populations. Recent omics technologies, such as Transcriptomics,genomicsand proteomics approaches besides Metabolomics are accelerating the rate of biomarker discovery. The incorporation of techniques like microarray data analysis, computational biology, data mining methods, Transcriptomics and profiling techniques are playing a crucial role in the validation of biomarkers. Since theHuman Genome Projectwas completed in April 2003, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have contributed toward a greater understanding of the genetic basis of complex diseases and advances in high-throughput technologies. This has enabled researchers to rapidly map the genome of vertebrates, invertebrates and pathogens through cost-effective methods. The applications ofBioinformaticstool in biomarker research is the current emerging field promoting better diagnosable parameters. The global omics market was valued at nearly $2.8 billion in 2011, nearly $3.2 billion in 2012, and is forecast to grow to nearly $7.5 billion by 2017 after increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.7%. The omics technology segment holds the largest share of ~75% of the biomarker discovery market, primarily due to the increase in adoption ofproteomicsand genomics technologies, globally. There are several approaches in biomarkers discovery and validation likegenomics and proteomicapproaches, Microarray data analysis, Data mining methods and Transcriptomics and profiling techniques by making use of Computational biology and Application of Bioinformatics in biomarker discovery.

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Track 7:Biomarkers of Exposure Response and Susceptibility

Biomarkersof exposure are important in toxicology, because they are an indicator of internal exposure and genetic susceptibility to drug, chemicals or the amount ofchemicalexposure that got accumulated in the body. Significant advances have been made in developing analytical methods that detect and quantify many natural or synthetic toxins or their breakdown products in thebiologicalmatrix. The ability to accurately measure biomarkers of exposure depends upon an adequate understanding of the chemistry and toxicology of the substance under consideration.Epigenetic biomarkersalso quantify the degree of exposure to toxic dynamic and pharmacodynamics parameters inpathologicaland biochemical changes occurring due to exposure to harmful agents, brought to light by toxic dynamics meetings andpharmacodynamicsworkshops. This emerging field of study is gaining importance in industry with an estimate of more than 7,287 personnel conducting study across the globe. While studying the response and susceptibility parameters like toxic dynamic and pharmacodynamic parameters are taken into consideration to measure the internal exposure and genetic susceptibility to drugs and chemicals.

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Track 8:Biomarkers for Disorders

Biomarkers are the characteristicbiological measurableindictors for the various disorders if occurring inabnormal levels. These are used as quantitative entities for neurological disorders, genetic disorders, metabolic disorders, cardiac disorders and inborn errors. The present era is focusing on the cancer research utilizing biomarkers as indictor of disease conditions. The lungcancer biomarkersand biomarkers for breast cancer are inclusive of genes, enzymes, proteins and cell surface entitles. Registering a compound annual growth rate of 14.60% from 2011 to 2018, the market foroncology biomarkerswas valued at $13.16 billion in 2011 and is expected to be worth $29.78 billion in 2018.Biomarkers are also used in diagnosing and treating various diseases and disorders likeNeurological disorders, Genetic disorders,Metabolic disorders, Cardiac disorders, Inborn errors, Lung cancer and Breast cancer.

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12th Euro Global Summit onCancer Therapy, September 26-28 2016, London, UK; 13th GlobalOncologistsSummit, October 17-19 2016, Dubai, UAE; Global Summit onMelanoma, September 25-26, 2017 Rome, Italy; Multiple Myeloma Conference, October 15-17, 2017 Milan, Italy; Radiology Conference, October 23-25, 2017 Chicago, USA; 6thAnnual Asia-Pacific Prostate Society Conference, September 9 -10 Seoul, Korea; 68thAnnual German Society of Urology Congress, September 28-October 1, 2016 Leipzig, Germany; 72ndAnnual Canadian Urological Association Meeting, June 25-27, 2017 Toronto, Canada; 4th Annual Immuno-Oncology Summit, August 29-September 2, 2016 Boston, USA; 2nd Biomarkers, Diagnostics & Clinical Research Conference, September 19-20 Boston, USA; Biomarkers and Targeted Therapeutics in Sjgrens (BATTS) Conference, September 19-22, 2016 Oklahoma, USA; NCRI Cancer Conference, November 6-9, 2016 Liverpool, UK; 6th Munich Biomarker Conference, November 29-30, 2016 Munchen, Germany; Annual Meeting of American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, April 27-30, 2017 Florida, USA.

Track 9:Techniques to Maximize Biomarker Identification

Biomarkersare the existing bimolecular and integral indictors of disease condition of biological systems. The techniques used to identify and maximize the expression of biomarkers include RT-PCR genotyping, molecular imaging and dynamics,biochemicalassay and profiling,immunologicaltechniques and chromatographic techniques. A wider approach towards identification of biomarkers lies in theproteomicapproach besides utilizing biosensors as a compatible tool for evaluation of biomarker levels in the biological systems. Most of the companys focus is on generating cost effective durable profiling techniques and equipment to quantify biomarkers within a short span of time. Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline Plc., GEHealthcare, Affymetrix Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. are a few of the key players in this market. Partnerships, agreements,collaborations, & mergers and acquisitions are the key business strategies adopted by market participants to ensure their growth in the market.

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Track 10:Biomarkers in Nano science

Nano science is the study of structures and materials on the scale of nanometres.Nanotechnologymay be able to create many new materials and devices with a vast range of applications in medicine, electronics, biomaterialsenergy production, and consumer products. Nanotechnology is evolving rapidly with nanoparticles events. An estimated 1 million workers in R&D and production are involved in the field of Nano science and nanomaterial generation. Interaction of biomarkers with nanoparticles aids in identification and validation throughbiologicaland biomedical applications. Current marketholds Nano devices and nanomaterial for identification, quantifying, calibrating and even in surgeries. The US leads the world in investing and in the number ofNanotech Companies. Global consumption ofnanomaterialis expected to grow in unit terms from nearly 225,060 metric tons in 2014 to nearly 584,984 metric tons in 2019, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.1% for the period of 2014 to 2019.Nano science is another rapidly growing area where application ofnanotechnologytobiomarkersis used for biological and biomedical applications like Nano devices.

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MolecularBiomarkers Conference, September 15-17 2016 Berlin, Germany; Cervical Cancer Conference, September 22-23 2016, Vienna, Austria; Surgical Oncology Conference, October 23-25, 2017 Chicago, USA; 2nd Cervical Cancer Conference, October 29 -31, 2017 Brussels, Belgium; Cancer World Conventaion, November 26-28, 2017 Frankfurt, Germany; 89thAnnual Italian Society of Urology Congress, October 15-18, 2016 Venezia Italy; 62ndAnnual Meeting of Czech Urological Society, October 19-21, 2016 Czech Budejovice, Czech Republic; ESMO 2017 Congress, September 08-12, 2017 Madrid, Spain; International Cancer Education Conference, September 14-16, 2016 Bethesda, USA; 16th Biennial Meeting of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society, October 29-31 Lisbon, Portugal; World Cancer Congress , October 31 - November 3 Paris, France, Malaysia Urology Conference, November 24-28,2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Annual AUA Meeting, May 12-16, 2017 Boston, USA.

Track 11: Biomarkers in Toxicology

Biomarkers are used for detecting kidney toxicity. Kidney toxicity is detected using biomarkers serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. Many qualified biomarkers are used to develop products to conquer the kidney toxicity problem. Latest research on biomarkers discovered new approaches to predicting and recognising toxic exposures of macromolecular adducts and their potential consequences.

Related Biomarkers Conferences | Cancer Conferences | Biomarkers Meetings

12th Euro Global Summit onCancer Therapy, September 26-28 2016, London, UK; 13th GlobalOncologistsSummit, October 17-19 2016, Dubai, UAE; Global Summit onMelanoma, September 25-26, 2017 Rome, Italy; Multiple Myeloma Conference, October 15-17, 2017 Milan, Italy; Radiology Conference, October 23-25, 2017 Chicago, USA; 6thAnnual Asia-Pacific Prostate Society Conference, September 9 -10 Seoul, Korea; 68thAnnual German Society of Urology Congress, September 28-October 1, 2016 Leipzig, Germany; 72ndAnnual Canadian Urological Association Meeting, June 25-27, 2017 Toronto, Canada; 4th Annual Immuno-Oncology Summit, August 29-September 2, 2016 Boston, USA; 2nd Biomarkers, Diagnostics & Clinical Research Conference, September 19-20 Boston, USA; Biomarkers and Targeted Therapeutics in Sjgrens (BATTS) Conference, September 19-22, 2016 Oklahoma, USA; NCRI Cancer Conference, November 6-9, 2016 Liverpool, UK; 6th Munich Biomarker Conference, November 29-30, 2016 Munchen, Germany; Annual Meeting of American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, April 27-30, 2017 Florida, USA.

Track 12: Biomarkers in Microbial Infections

Biomarkers can be used for microbial infections and can be used for early diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. The diagnostic performance of biomarkers is usually measured in terms of sensitivity.

Related Biomarkers Conferences | Cancer Conferences | Biomarkers Meetings

Oral Cancer Conference, August 18-20 2016, Portland, USA; Surgical Oncology Conference, August 29-31 2016, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cancer Diagnostics Conference, May 8-10, 2017 Dubai, UAE; 3rd Prostate Cancer Conference, June 26-28, 2017 Baltimore, USA; Lymphoma Conference, July 24-26, 2017 Rome, Italy; 14thUrological Association of Asia Congress, July 20-24, 2016 Suntec, Singapore; 17thAsia-Pacific Prostate Cancer Conference, August 31- September 3, 2016 Melbourne, Australia; ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, February, 16-18, 2017 Orlando, USA; 2ndInternational Prostate Cancer Symposium, August 6 -7, 2016 Moscow, Russia, 13thMeeting of the EAU Robotic Urology Section, September 14-16, 2016 Milan Italy; 11thAnnual Congress of Russian Association of Oncological Urology, 05-07, 2016 Moscow, Russia; 36thInternational Urology Congress, October 20-23, 2016 Argentina, South America, 27thInternational Prostate Cancer Update, January 24-27, 2017 Colorado, USA.

Track 13: Biomarkers in Drug Discovery

The role of Biomarkers in drug discovery and development is to understand the pathophysiology of disease. Biomarkers can be a clinical tool for drug discovery and development by confirming the efficacy and safety to the right patient. Biomarkers can be used in understanding the mechanism of drug.

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MolecularBiomarkers Conference, September 15-17 2016 Berlin, Germany; Cervical Cancer Conference, September 22-23 2016, Vienna, Austria; Surgical Oncology Conference, October 23-25, 2017 Chicago, USA; 2nd Cervical Cancer Conference, October 29 -31, 2017 Brussels, Belgium; Cancer World Conventaion, November 26-28, 2017 Frankfurt, Germany; 89thAnnual Italian Society of Urology Congress, October 15-18, 2016 Venezia Italy; 62ndAnnual Meeting of Czech Urological Society, October 19-21, 2016 Czech Budejovice, Czech Republic; ESMO 2017 Congress, September 08-12, 2017 Madrid, Spain; International Cancer Education Conference, September 14-16, 2016 Bethesda, USA; 16th Biennial Meeting of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society, October 29-31 Lisbon, Portugal; World Cancer Congress , October 31 - November 3 Paris, France, Malaysia Urology Conference, November 24-28,2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Annual AUA Meeting, May 12-16, 2017 Boston, USA.

Track 14: Personalized Medicine and Data Analysis

Recently there has been enhanced and advanced biomedical technology such as high-throughput molecular imaging and microarrays to monitor SNPs, gene and protein expressions, to provide exhaustive situations for individuals. The biological and medical status from such data sets, which are viewed as biomarkers in a wide sense to help to do identification, association, and prediction studies for phenotypes such as cancer subtypes, prognosis, treatment responsiveness, and adverse reactions for personalized medicine.

Related Biomarkers Conferences | Cancer Conferences | Biomarkers Meetings

12th Euro Global Summit onCancer Therapy, September 26-28 2016, London, UK; 13th GlobalOncologistsSummit, October 17-19 2016, Dubai, UAE; Global Summit onMelanoma, September 25-26, 2017 Rome, Italy; Multiple Myeloma Conference, October 15-17, 2017 Milan, Italy; Radiology Conference, October 23-25, 2017 Chicago, USA; 6thAnnual Asia-Pacific Prostate Society Conference, September 9 -10 Seoul, Korea; 68thAnnual German Society of Urology Congress, September 28-October 1, 2016 Leipzig, Germany; 72ndAnnual Canadian Urological Association Meeting, June 25-27, 2017 Toronto, Canada; 4th Annual Immuno-Oncology Summit, August 29-September 2, 2016 Boston, USA; 2nd Biomarkers, Diagnostics & Clinical Research Conference, September 19-20 Boston, USA; Biomarkers and Targeted Therapeutics in Sjgrens (BATTS) Conference, September 19-22, 2016 Oklahoma, USA; NCRI Cancer Conference, November 6-9, 2016 Liverpool, UK; 6th Munich Biomarker Conference, November 29-30, 2016 Munchen, Germany; Annual Meeting of American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, April 27-30, 2017 Florida, USA.

Track 15: Nutritional Biomarkers

A nutritional biomarker can be any biological specimen that is an indicator of nutritional status with respect to intake or metabolism of dietary constituents. It can be a biochemical, functional or clinical index of status of an essential nutrient or other dietary constituent. Nutritional biomarkers may be interpreted more broadly as a biologic consequence of dietary intake or dietary patterns.

Related Biomarkers Conferences | Cancer Conferences | Biomarkers Meetings

Oral Cancer Conference, August 18-20 2016, Portland, USA; Surgical Oncology Conference, August 29-31 2016, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cancer Diagnostics Conference, May 8-10, 2017 Dubai, UAE; 3rd Prostate Cancer Conference, June 26-28, 2017 Baltimore, USA; Lymphoma Conference, July 24-26, 2017 Rome, Italy; 14thUrological Association of Asia Congress, July 20-24, 2016 Suntec, Singapore; 17thAsia-Pacific Prostate Cancer Conference, August 31- September 3, 2016 Melbourne, Australia; ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, February, 16-18, 2017 Orlando, USA; 2ndInternational Prostate Cancer Symposium, August 6 -7, 2016 Moscow, Russia, 13thMeeting of the EAU Robotic Urology Section, September 14-16, 2016 Milan Italy; 11thAnnual Congress of Russian Association of Oncological Urology, 05-07, 2016 Moscow, Russia; 36thInternational Urology Congress, October 20-23, 2016 Argentina, South America, 27thInternational Prostate Cancer Update, January 24-27, 2017 Colorado, USA.

Track 16: Current Research Concepts in Biomarkers

Current Research Concepts in Biomarkers include research in glucose disorders, Biomarkers in disease and health, technologies in biomarker discovery, translational biomarker research and the use of biomarkers in pre-clinical and clinical studies.

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Track 17: Oncologists: Biomarkers

An oncologist is a doctor who specializes in treating people with cancer. The oncologists research into the causes, prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer is going on in many medical centres throughout the world.

Related Biomarkers Conferences | Cancer Conferences | Biomarkers Meetings

12th Euro Global Summit onCancer Therapy, September 26-28 2016, London, UK; 13th GlobalOncologistsSummit, October 17-19 2016, Dubai, UAE; Global Summit onMelanoma, September 25-26, 2017 Rome, Italy; Multiple Myeloma Conference, October 15-17, 2017 Milan, Italy; Radiology Conference, October 23-25, 2017 Chicago, USA; 6thAnnual Asia-Pacific Prostate Society Conference, September 9 -10 Seoul, Korea; 68thAnnual German Society of Urology Congress, September 28-October 1, 2016 Leipzig, Germany; 72ndAnnual Canadian Urological Association Meeting, June 25-27, 2017 Toronto, Canada; 4th Annual Immuno-Oncology Summit, August 29-September 2, 2016 Boston, USA; 2nd Biomarkers, Diagnostics & Clinical Research Conference, September 19-20 Boston, USA; Biomarkers and Targeted Therapeutics in Sjgrens (BATTS) Conference, September 19-22, 2016 Oklahoma, USA; NCRI Cancer Conference, November 6-9, 2016 Liverpool, UK; 6th Munich Biomarker Conference, November 29-30, 2016 Munchen, Germany; Annual Meeting of American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, April 27-30, 2017 Florida, USA.

Track 18: Biomarkers in Market

With the emerging importance to quantify and validate various disease conditions, many organizations, companies, and universities have stepped forward to contribute to the field of biomarkers discovery and quantification for better prognosis of disease conditions. The Biomarkers is the second leading industry after clinical research and development. The Biomarkers in pharmaceutical industry, biomarkers in oncology & other diseases has attained utmost recognition due to global spread of cancer and other diseases. The Biomarkers validation and regulatory affairs and diagnostic biomarker are booming industry with an estimate of more than 270 companies involved across the globe in 2016.

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MolecularBiomarkers Conference, September 15-17 2016 Berlin, Germany; Cervical Cancer Conference, September 22-23 2016, Vienna, Austria; Surgical Oncology Conference, October 23-25, 2017 Chicago, USA; 2nd Cervical Cancer Conference, October 29 -31, 2017 Brussels, Belgium; Cancer World Conventaion, November 26-28, 2017 Frankfurt, Germany; 89thAnnual Italian Society of Urology Congress, October 15-18, 2016 Venezia Italy; 62ndAnnual Meeting of Czech Urological Society, October 19-21, 2016 Czech Budejovice, Czech Republic; ESMO 2017 Congress, September 08-12, 2017 Madrid, Spain; International Cancer Education Conference, September 14-16, 2016 Bethesda, USA; 16th Biennial Meeting of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society, October 29-31 Lisbon, Portugal; World Cancer Congress , October 31 - November 3 Paris, France, Malaysia Urology Conference, November 24-28,2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Annual AUA Meeting, May 12-16, 2017 Boston, USA.

Track 19: Biomarkers Case Reports

Biomarkers case reports play a crucial role in moving new treatments to patients who need those most, securing data so regulatory approvals can be obtained and new drugs can move into widespread clinical practice.

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12th Euro Global Summit onCancer Therapy, September 26-28 2016, London, UK; 13th GlobalOncologistsSummit, October 17-19 2016, Dubai, UAE; Global Summit onMelanoma, September 25-26, 2017 Rome, Italy; Multiple Myeloma Conference, October 15-17, 2017 Milan, Italy; Radiology Conference, October 23-25, 2017 Chicago, USA; 6thAnnual Asia-Pacific Prostate Society Conference, September 9 -10 Seoul, Korea; 68thAnnual German Society of Urology Congress, September 28-October 1, 2016 Leipzig, Germany; 72ndAnnual Canadian Urological Association Meeting, June 25-27, 2017 Toronto, Canada; 4th Annual Immuno-Oncology Summit, August 29-September 2, 2016 Boston, USA; 2nd Biomarkers, Diagnostics & Clinical Research Conference, September 19-20 Boston, USA; Biomarkers and Targeted Therapeutics in Sjgrens (BATTS) Conference, September 19-22, 2016 Oklahoma, USA; NCRI Cancer Conference, November 6-9, 2016 Liverpool, UK; 6th Munich Biomarker Conference, November 29-30, 2016 Munchen, Germany; Annual Meeting of American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, April 27-30, 2017 Florida, USA.

Track 20: Biomarkers: Entrepreneur Investments Meet

A key ingredient in successful entrepreneurship is self-knowledge. Biomarkers-2016 aims to bring together all existing and budding bio entrepreneurs to share experiences and present new innovations and challenges in cancer community. Each year, over a million companies are started in the world with about 510 of them classified as high technology companies. Turning ideas into business ventures is tricky and the opportunity-recognition step is critical in new venture creation. This gestalt in the entrepreneur's perception of the relationship between the invention and final product is refined into a business model that describes how the venture will make money or provide an appropriate return to the potential investors. Cancer science is complex and rapidly changing and requires a specialized knowledge to understand the value of the innovation and its competitive position in the industry. This three day community-wide conference will be a highly interactive forum that will bring experts in areas ranging from Biomarkers to signalling pathways to novel therapeutic approaches to the scientific hub. In addition to our outstanding speakers, we will also showcase short talks and poster presentations from submitted abstracts .The speakers will discuss state-of-the-art treatments, current guidelines, clinical challenges, and review recent trial data and emerging therapeutic approaches with the potential to impact clinical practice. This session will include combined efforts of World-renowned speakers, the most recent techniques, developments, and the newest updates in Biomarkers.

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Oral Cancer Conference, August 18-20 2016, Portland, USA; Surgical Oncology Conference, August 29-31 2016, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cancer Diagnostics Conference, May 8-10, 2017 Dubai, UAE; 3rd Prostate Cancer Conference, June 26-28, 2017 Baltimore, USA; Lymphoma Conference, July 24-26, 2017 Rome, Italy; 14thUrological Association of Asia Congress, July 20-24, 2016 Suntec, Singapore; 17thAsia-Pacific Prostate Cancer Conference, August 31- September 3, 2016 Melbourne, Australia; ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, February, 16-18, 2017 Orlando, USA; 2ndInternational Prostate Cancer Symposium, August 6 -7, 2016 Moscow, Russia, 13thMeeting of the EAU Robotic Urology Section, September 14-16, 2016 Milan Italy; 11thAnnual Congress of Russian Association of Oncological Urology, 05-07, 2016 Moscow, Russia; 36thInternational Urology Congress, October 20-23, 2016 Argentina, South America, 27thInternational Prostate Cancer Update, January 24-27, 2017 Colorado, USA.

OMICS International hosted the 6thInternational Conference on Biomarkers & Clinical Research (Biomarkers 2015) during August 31September 02 at Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel, Toronto, Canada. The scientific meeting has laid path for the designing and development of research methodologies with the theme impact of Lab to industry as bio-signatures to therapeutic discovery.

Biomarkers 2015 was fortunate to acquire support from association and societies - Clinical Research Association of Canada (CRAC), Hypertension Canada, International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), The Egyptian Biophysical Society and media partners -Biomarkers Profile Corporation, Gate2Biotech, The Technology Networks, Council of European Bio-Region, Oncology Education and Edinburgh Science Triangle.

The highlights of the meeting were the eponymous lectures, delivered byDr. Claude Prigent, University of Rennes, France, Dr. Trevor G Marshall, Autoimmunity Research Foundation, USA, Dr. Alain Moreau, Sainte-Justine University Hospital, Canada, Dr. Sergey Suchkov, I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Russia, Dr. Alexander M Buko, Human Metabolome Technologies, USA, Dr. Chee Gee See, Proteome Sciences, UK, Dr. Biswendu B Goswami, FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, USA.

Biomarkers 2015 held pre-conference workshop on August 1, 2015 in Mumbai University, India under the supervision of Prof. K. P. Mishra, Founder President of Society of Radiation Research, India. The workshop gathered 650+ participants inclusive of students, faculty, societies and industrial personnel.

The conference held 2 workshops under the supervision of Prof. Sergey Suchkov, I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Russia; Dr. Trevor G Marshall, Autoimmunity Research Foundation, USA and their team from Czech Republic and Prof. Youhe Gao, Beijing Normal University, China.

Biomarkers-2014

The5thInternational Conference on Biomarkers & Clinical Research, the Biomarker-2014, was held during April 15-17, 2014 at Oxford, UK.

Biomarkers-2014 has taken up the scientific thoughts towards proving the importance of accurate diagnostics to be prevital towards the curing efficacy. The scientific meeting has laid path for the designing and development of research methodologies with the theme impact of Diagnostic significance of the therapeutic bio-clinical molecule.

The conference was greeted by the welcome message from Presidents desk at the European Association for Predictive, Preventive and Personalised Medicine (EPMA), Brussels, EU. The support was extended through the PPPM workshop being conducted with the PPPM representatives from Russia, USA, Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia. The conference has gathered support from Everest Biotech, EuroScienceCon, Biomarkers Profile Corporation, ArrayMold, BioNews, Edinburgh Science Triangle, Biowebspin, The Technology Networks, European Biotechnology Thematic Network Association, Visiongain and Current Partnering as the media partners. In addition SCIENION has participated at the conference as Exhibitor at this conference.

The program highlights of the meeting were the eponymous lectures, delivered byDr. Sergey Suchkovfrom I.M.Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Russia;Dr.Pavel Vodickafrom Institute of Experimental Medicine, Czech Republic;Dr.Ondrej Topolcan from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic;Dr. Claudio Nicolinifrom University of Genova, Italy andDr. Claude Prigentfrom University of Rennes, France.

Biomarkers-2013

OMICS Grouporganized 4thInternational Conference on Biomarkers & Clinical Research, during July 15-17, 2013 at Philadelphia, USA under the theme of Impact of Biomarkers Development in Health Diagnostics and Clinical Research.

The conference was initiated with a series of invited lectures delivered by Dr. Jizu Yi from BD Diagnostics, USA; Dr. Yaping Tian from PLA General Hospital, China; Dr. Leticia Cano from Biomarker Profile Corporation, USA and Dr. Lawrence Greenfield from Affymetrix, USA.

Biomarkers-2012

The3rd International Conference on Biomarkers & Clinical Research, organized by theOMICS Groupwas held onJuly 2-4, 2012 at Embassy Suites Las Vegas, USA under the theme of "Commercialization of Biomarkers". There were about 200 delegates representing 25 countries from different corners of the world who made this conference a big success in the field ofBiomarkers and Clinical Research.

The conference was initiated with a series of invited lectures delivered by both Honorable Guests and members of the Keynote forum. The list includesDr. Josip Blonder, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (NIH), USA;Dr. Marcel M. Daadi, Stanford University, USA;Dr. Ting-Chao Chou, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, USA;Dr. Jacob Kagan, National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA;Dr. Michael Sullivan, Worldwide Clinical Trials-Drug Development Solutions, USA;Dr. Hitoshi Sohma, Sapporo Medical University Center for Medical Education, Japan andDr. Da Zhi Liu, University of California at Devis, USA.All the above mentioned Honourable Guests and Keynote speakers gave their energetic and fruitful contributions atBiomarkers-2012. All accepted abstracts have been indexed in OMICS Group Journal of Molecular Biomarkers & Diagnosisas a special issue.

Biomarkers-2011

Excerpt from:
Worlds Leading Biomarkers Congress | CPD Points ...

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Fox Eye Care Group - Eye Doctor Winston Salem, High Point

Its not science fiction. Nowadays prospective parents cannot only know the sex of their unborn child but also learn whether it can supply tissue-matched bone marrow to a dying sibling and whether it is predisposed to develop breast cancer or Huntingtons disease all before the embryo gets implanted into the mothers womb. -Esthur Landhuis

Have you heard of designer babies? Or perhaps you saw or read My Sisters Keeper, a story about a young girl who was conceived through In Vitro Fertilization to be a genetically matched donor for her older sister with leukemia? The concept of selecting traits for ones child comes from a technology called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), a technique used on embryos acquired during In Vitro Fertilization to screen for genetic diseases. PGD tests embryos for genetic abnormalities, and based on the information gleaned, provides potential parents with the opportunity to select to implant only the healthy, non-genetically diseased embryos into the mother. But this genetic testing of the embryo also opens the door for other uses as well, including selecting whether you have a male or female child, or even the possibility of selecting specific features for the child, like eye color. Thus, many ethicists wonder about the future of the technology, and whether it will lead to babies that are designed by their parents.

Todays post is an exploration of the ethical issues raised by prenatal and preimplantation genetic diagnosis, written by Santa Clara Professor Dr. Lawrence Nelson, who has been writing about and teaching bioethics for over 30 years. Read on to examine the many ethical issues raised by this technology.

Prenatal and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

Background:

The overwhelming majority of people on earth, due to a wide range of reasons, beliefs, bodily motives, and attitudessome good, some bad, and some in the moral neutral zonereproduce. They are the genetic, gestational, and/or social (rearing) parents of a child. Birth rates in some countries are at a historic low (Japans is beneath replacement with the consequent deep graying of an entire society). In others, mostly in the developing part of the world where infant and maternal morbidity and mortality (not to mention poverty and disease) are quite high, birth rates remain similarly high.

In the economically developed part of the world, the process of making and having babies has become increasingly medicalized, at least for those fortunate enough to have ready access to the ever more sophisticated tools and knowledge of obstetrical medicine. From the time prior to pregnancy (fertility treatments, in vitro fertilization) to birth (caesarean delivery, high tech neonatal intensive care) and in between (fetal surgery), medical science and technology can help many to reach the goal any good parent should want: the live birth of a healthy child to a healthy mother.

Medical and biological sciences can together determine whether a fetus will (or might) have over a thousand different genetic diseases or abnormalities

Parallel to obstetrical medicine, science and technology have progressed immensely in another are over the last 30 or so years. The Human Genome Project (and the related research it has stimulated) has generated an amazing amount of knowledge about the nature and identity of normaland abnormalhuman genetic codes. Now the medical and biological sciences can together determine whether a fetus will (or might) have over a thousand different genetic diseases or abnormalities. Ultrasound examination can look into the womb (quite literally) and see developmental abnormalities in the fetus (such as neural tube defects like spina bifida and anencephaly). Even a simple blood test done on a pregnant woman can determine whether the fetus she is carrying has trisomy 21 (down syndrome), a genetic condition associated with mental retardation and, not infrequently, cardiac and other health problems.

Pregnant women who have health insurance that covers obstetrical care (and many millions of American women donot), particularly if they are older (>35 years), are more or less routinely offered prenatal genetic diagnosis by their obstetricians. Chorionic villus sampling is a medical procedure that takes a few fetal cells from the placenta and can be done around 10 weeks after the womans last menstrual period. These cells can then be analyzed to determine the presence of genetic abnormalities. Amniocentesis is a medical procedure that obtains fetal cells from the amniotic fluid and is usually done later in pregnancy, typically after 14 weeks following the womans last menstrual period. When done by experienced medical professionals, both procedures carry about a 0.5% risk of spontaneous abortion. The genetic analysis done on these fetal cells can determine the presence of fatal genetic diseases (such as Tay-Sachs, trisomy 13 and 18), disease that can cause the born child much suffering (children with Lesch-Nyan, for example, compulsively engage in self-destructive behavior like lip chewing, while children with spinal muscular atrophy have severe, progressive muscle-wasting), and conditions that typically cause mental retardation (such as Fragile-X and Emanuel syndrome).

Although tremendous strides have been made in genetic sciences ability to detect chromosomal abnormalities, precious little success has been achieved in treating genetic disorders directly either prenatally or postnatally. Some symptomatic treatment may well be available, but almost nothing that will actually cure or significantly ameliorate the effects of the disease. A pregnant woman who wishes to avoid the birth of a child with genetic disease has little alternative but to seek termination of the pregnancy.

The science and technology of assisted reproduction (in this case in vitro fertilization [IVF]) meets the science and technology of obstetrical medicine in preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Embryos are created in vitro by mixing oocytes taken from the woman who intends to gestate one (or more) of them from a donor, and sperm taken from her partner or a donor. Genetic analysis is performed on one or few cells from each embryo, the loss of which does not affect the embryos ability to develop normally once implanted in a womb. Only those embryos free of detectable genetic abnormalities are then implanted in the womans womb in the hope that they will then attach to the uterine wall and develop normally. While success rates for implantation vary, many women have given birth following PGD. The main advantage of PGD over chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis for many women and couples is that it avoid the need for a surgical abortion to end an undesired pregnancy, although it does result in discarding the affected embryos.

What ethical issues are raised by Prenatal Genetic Diagnosis and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis?

Prenatal genetic diagnosis (PrGD) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) both raise a number of serious ethical questions and problems.

What role does money play in ethical issues with PrGD and PGD?

1. Both services are quite expensive (especially PGD which is typically not covered by even private insurance and has the added cost of IVF) and are not available to all who might need or want them. This raises difficult questions ofsocial justice and equity, including whether coverage for these services is morally responsible when social resources for all health care services (those that are life-saving and preventive) are seriously limited.

2. As PGD is generally paid for directly by the persons who utilize it, ethical questions arise aboutthe means clinics use to attract patients and the information they provide them about its risks and benefits. Clinicians are in a fiduciary relationship with their patients and are obligated to act so as to deserve and maintain the patients trust and confidence that their wishes and best interests are being faithfully served. Consequently, the marketing of infertility services ought to place the good of patients above other interests (especially a clinicians or clinics own economic interests), should not induce patients to accept excessive, unneeded, or unproven services, and should adhere to high standards of honesty and accuracy in the information provided to prospective patients.

What is the moral status of an embryo?

3. Both PrGD and PGD result in the destruction of embryos and fetuses.If, as some contend, all human embryos and fetuses have the same moral status as live-born persons, then they are entitled to basic rights, including the right not to be killed arbitrarily or for the purpose of advancing the interests of other persons. On this view, both PrGD and PGD would be seriously morally wrong. The opposing view would hold that embryos and fetuses lack any moral status whatsoever as they lack any properties, such as sentience or other cognitive traits, that determine moral standing and so can be destroyed at will.

Perhaps the more commonly heldand more ethically defensibleposition is that human embryos and fetuses deserve some modest moral status because they are alive, have some degree of potential to become human persons, and are in fact valued by moral agents whose views deserve at least some respect and deference from others. Nevertheless, they do not possess the full and equal moral standing of persons because they lack interests and other moral claims to personhood. Having a modest level of moral status does not preclude the destruction of embryos and fetuses for a morally serious reason or purpose, and the informed and conscientious choice of the persons who created the embryos to prevent the birth of a child with a serious genetic disease or abnormality is widely (though by no means universally) considered to be such a reason

Does PrGD and PGD lead to discrimination against the disabled?

4. Recently disability activists have strongly challenged what they deem to be the basic assumption underlying PrGD and PGD: reducing the incidence of disease and disability is an obvious and unambiguous good. They rightly criticize certain views that support this assumption: that the disableds enjoyment of life is necessarily less than for nondisabled people; that raising a child with a disability is a wholly undesirable thing; and that selective embryo discard or abortion necessarily saves mothers from the heavy burdens of raising disabled children. However,the ethical critique of the disability activists goes much deeper than this quite proper debunking of broadly drawn and inaccurate assumptions about life with any disability. First, they contend that the medical system tends to exaggerate the burden associated with having a disability and underestimates the functional abilities of the disabled. The activists also point out how medical language reinforces the negativity associated with disability by using such terms as deformity or defective embryo or fetus. Second, and more importantly, the disability activists claim that the promotion and use of PGD and traditional prenatal diagnosis sends a message to the public that negatively affects existing disabled people and fosters an increase in the oppression and prejudice from which they regularly suffer.

Adults who wish to reproduce are ethically obligated to do so in a responsible manner, and this means gathering and assessing fair and accurate information about what the future might hold for them and the child they might produce.

Insofar as individual clinicians do, in fact, exaggerate the problems and burdens of living as an individual with a disability or of living with a disabled person as a parent or family member, then they are doing a moral disservice to the people they are duty bound to be helping. Adults who wish to reproduce are ethically obligated to do so in a responsible manner, and this means (insofar as it is possible in a world about which we have imperfect knowledge) gathering and assessing fair and accurate information about what the future might hold for them and the child they might produce. Clinicians (especially genetic counselors) should endeavor to provide this kind of information, supplementedif at all possibleby the firsthand information that comes from those who have actually lived with disabilities of various kinds as parents of the disabled or from the disabled individuals themselves. On the other hand, these conditions are simply not utterly benign or neutral as each mayand often doesinvolve what can fairly be described as an undesirable event such as pain, repeated hospitalizations and operations, paralysis, a shortened life span, limited educational and job opportunities, limited independence, and do forth. [1]

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is just as morally repugnant as discrimination against persons based on race, religion, or sex, but it is not at all clear that PrGD and PGD reinforce or contribute to this in any manner. Regardless of how society might change (as it surelyought to change) its attitudes and practices to decrease or, better, eliminate the socially created disadvantages wrongly placed on the disabledand regardless of how individual persons might change their views on the prospect of knowingly having a child with a serious disability, other persons will prefer not to have a child with a serious disability, no matter how wonderful the social services, no matter how inclusive the society. It is this individual choice that PGD preserves, although the clinicians who offer PGD have a moral obligation to explore their own and their patients attitudes about, and understanding of, disability so these individual decisions can be made fairly and responsibly with accurate information about the real world of life with and without disability.

Should people be able to select the sex of their baby?

5. Both PrGD and PGD identify the sex of the embryo or fetus. This raisesthe question of whether it is ethically permissible for an embryo to be discarded or a fetus to be aborted because of sex. The selection of an embryos sex via PGD is done for two basic reasons: (1) preventing the transmission of sex-linked genetic disorders; and (2) choosing sex to achieve gender balance in a family with more than one child, to achieve a preferred order in the birth of children by sex, or to provide a parent with a child of the sex he or she prefers to raise. [2] While little extended ethical debate exists regarding the former, sex selection for the purpose of preventing the transmission of sex-linked genetic disease, the latter is the subject of heated ethical disagreement.

The ethical objections to sex selection for nonmedical reasons can be grounded both in the very act of deliberately choosing one sex over the other and the untoward consequences of sex selection, particularly if it is performed frequently. Sex selection can be considered inherently ethically objectionable because it makes sex a determinative reason to value one human being over another when it ought to be completely irrelevant: females and males as such always ought be valued equally and never differentially. Sex selection can also be ethically criticized for the undesirable consequences it may generate. Choice by sex supports socially created assumptions about the relative value and meaning of male and female, with the latter almost universally being considered seriously inferior to the former. By supporting assumptions that hold femaleness in lower social regard, sex selection enhances the likelihood that females will be the targets of infanticide, unfair discrimination, and damaging stereotypes.

Proponents of the ethical acceptability of sex selection would argue that a parents desire for family balancing can beand typically ismorally neutral. The defense of family balancing rests on the view that once a parent has a child of one sex, he or she can properly prefer to have a child of the other sex because the two genders are different and generate different parenting experiences.

To insist [that the experience of parenting a boy is different from that of parenting a girl] is not the case seems breathtakingly simplistic, as if gender played no role either in a persons personality or relationships to others. Gender may be partly cultural (which does not make it less real), but it probably is partly biological. I see nothing wrong with wanting to have both experiences. [3]

An opponent of sex selection for family balancing can argue that good parentswhether prospective or actualought never to prefer, favor, or give more love to a child of one sex over the other. For example, a morally good and admirable parent would never love a male child more than a female child, give the male more privileges than a female, or give a female more material things than a male simply because of sex or beliefs about the childs propergender. A virtuous and conscientious parent, then, ought not to think that, or behave as if, a child of one sex is better than one of the other sex, nor should a good parent believe or act as if, at bottom, girls are really different than boys in the ways that truly matter.

Sex selection is at least strongly ethically suspect, if not outright wrong

The argument in favor of sex selection for family balancing has to assume that gender and gender roles exist and matter in the lived world. For if they did not, then no reason would exist to differentiate the experience of parenting a male child from that of a female. However, it is precisely the reliance upon this assumption to which the opponent of sex selection objects: acceptingand perpetuatinggender roles inevitably both harms and wrongs both males and females, although females clearly suffer much more from them than males. While some gender roles or expectations are innocuous (e.g., men dont like asking for directions), the overwhelming majority (e.g., males areand should beaggressive, women areand should beself-sacrificing) are not. Consequently, given that sex selection is inevitably gendered and most gender roles and expectations restrict the freedom of persons to be who they wish to be regardless of gender, sex selection is at least strongly ethically suspect, if not outright wrong.

Watch: Designer Babies Ethical? L.A.s Fertility Institute Says Prospective Parents Can Choose Physical Traits, Not Just Gender, from CBS NEWS:

Questions 1. Is it ethical to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis to select the sex of your child? 2. Consider the arguments presented about PGD and the ethical issues it poses in regards to disabilities. Does PGD reinforce a message about the disabled that, as disability activists claim, negatively affects existing disabled people and fosters an increase in the oppression and prejudice from which they regularly suffer? 3. In the video above, the doctor interviewed named Dr. Steinberg says, Of course, once Ive got this science (of PGD), am I not to provide this to my patients? Im a physician. I want to provide everything science gives me to my patients. Do you agree with Dr. Steinbergs reasoning? Why or why not?

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Ethical Issues With Prenatal and Preimplantation Genetic ...

* As of February 1, 2016:

* In the state of Washington, it is against the law to apply a tattoo to anyone under the age of 18.

* In the state of New Jersey, it is against the law to engage in a body piercing of anyone under the age of 18 without written consent from his or her parent or legal guardian.

* In the state of California, it is against the law for anyone under the age of 18 to use a tanning machine.

* In Washington, New Jersey, and California, it is legal for a girl of any age to get an abortion without her parents consent or knowledge.

* Five Gallup polls conducted from 1992 through 2011 found that 69-74% of Americans favor a law requiring women under 18 to get parental consent for any abortion. Opposition to this view ranged from 23-28%.

* A 2005 CBS poll found 80% support for requiring that at least one parent be told before a girl under 18 years of age could have an abortion. Opposition to this view was 17%.

* A 2009 Pew poll found 76% support for requiring that women under the age of 18 get the consent of at least one parent before they are allowed to have an abortion. Opposition to this view was 19%.

* In 1996, Barack Obamas Illinois Senate campaign completed a candidate questionnaire and then resubmitted it with amended answers on the following day. In response to the question, Do you support parental consent/notification for minors seeking abortions? the answers were:

* When these questionnaires were published by Politico.com during the 2008 Presidential contest, Obamas campaign asserted that a staffer filled them out and some of the responses did not and do not reflect Obamas views.

* An investigation by Politico found that one of the questionnaires contains written notes that appear to be in Obamas hand, and the other questionnaire has a cover sheet indicating that Obama supplied the answers in a face-to-face interview at the house of a board member of the organization that issued the questionnaire. The board member has confirmed that Obama personally sat for this interview. In response to these revelations, Obamas presidential campaign wrote:

* On a 2001 vote in the Illinois Senate for a parental notification bill, Barack Obama voted Present.

* Illinois Senate rules state that a majority of those elected (30 Senators) must vote in favor of a bill for it to pass. Thus, a vote of Present has the same result as a vote of No.

* With regard to Obama voting Present on this and other abortion-related bills, Pam Sutherland, the president and CEO of the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council stated:

* In response to a 2004 candidate questionnaire that asked, Do you support parental notification or consent to obtain an abortion? Barack Obamas U.S. Senate campaign answered:

* The 2001 parental notification bill on which Obama voted Present had bypass provisions for sexual abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and cases where notification would not be in the best interests of the minor.

* In response to a 2007 candidate questionnaire asking if minors should be required to seek their parents consent before having an abortion, Barack Obamas presidential campaign did not explicitly answer the question and stated that:

* As of 2008, all of the 35 states with a parental consent or notification law in effect has a bypass provision that permits exceptions in various circumstances such as when notifying a parent not be in a minors best interests. This is also the case with a Congressional bill that Obama filibustered. Six of the seven states with a parental consent or notification law blocked by a court order or ruling have similar bypass provisions. The one exception is New Mexico, which has a 1969 law on its books that the state attorney general ruled unenforceable in 1990.

* The Democratic Party Platform makes no explicit reference to parental consent or notification laws. The Republican Party Platform supports parental notification laws and makes no explicit reference to parental consent laws.

* On September 16, 1988, 17-year-old Rebecca Suzanne Bell of Indianapolis, Indiana was admitted to a hospital with pneumonia and suffered a fatal cardiopulmonary arrest that night. During her autopsy, evidence of recent pregnancy with recent partial abortion was discovered. The cause of death listed on the autopsy report is Septic Abortion with Pneumonia and the manner of death as Undetermined. According to Merriam-Websters Medical Dictionary, a septic abortion is a spontaneous or induced abortion associated with bacterial infection and pneumonia is a disease of the lungs that is caused especially by infection.

* Indiana had (and has) a parental consent law in effect. According to a receipt from a local Planned Parenthood and Beckys friend Heather Clark, the two of them visited Planned Parenthood, where it was suggested that Becky travel 100 miles to Kentucky to circumvent the Indiana law.

* Heather Clark stated that Becky chose not to tell her parents about the pregnancy because she was recently hospitalized with a drug problem and thought that they would kick her out of the house if they knew she was pregnant. Ms. Clark also stated that after she and Becky went to Planned Parenthood, Becky wavered about having an abortion and considered running away and putting the baby up for adoption.

* The county coroner (who did not perform the autopsy and is now deceased) told Beckys parents that she had died from pneumonia and the source of the infection was an illegal abortion performed with unsterile instruments. Her parents came to blame Beckys death on Indianas parental consent law. This led to media attention and Beckys parents embarking on a speaking tour of 23 states with an advocacy group to lobby against parental involvement laws.

* Since this time, Becky Bells case has been cited as an argument against parental consent laws on 60 Minutes, ABC News, CNNs Larry King Live, in the magazines Seventeen, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, an American Civil Liberties Union pamphlet, and an original HBO movie named Public Law 106: The Becky Bell Story. In the last three years, this argument has been repeated in at least 13 different publications including a legal journal. When a parental notification law was put on the ballot in Oregon in 1990, polls found opposition to it at 22%. After Beckys parents toured the state appearing at rallies and on television and talk shows, the measure was defeated with 52% voting against it.

* Around the time that the Beckys parents appeared on 60 Minutes, James A. Miller, the research director of an organization dedicated to promot[ing] and defend[ing] the sanctity of life, corresponded several times with Dr. Jesse Giles, the author of the autopsy report and one of two pathologists who signed it. In an editorial published in the Baltimore Evening Sun and in a press release, Miller wrote that Giles said:

* When contacted by Just Facts, Dr. Giles refused to answer any questions.

* The other pathologist who signed the autopsy report was Dr. John Pless. He supervised the autopsy, as Dr. Giles was a fellow in training at the time. In a 1990 newspaper article, Dr. Pless is quoted as stating, I cannot prove she had anything but a spontaneous abortion [i.e., miscarriage], but that he found evidence of infection in Beckys reproductive system, and thus it seemed probable that an induced abortion was performed.

* The description of the reproductive system in the autopsy report contains no mention of an infection.

* When contacted by Just Facts, Pless confirmed his view as quoted above and stated that the same micro-organism that caused the pneumonia was cultured in the uterus and the lung. When Just Facts pointed out the autopsy report contains a list of Specimens for Culture that does not include the uterus, Pless said his memory may be faulty, but the only possible source of the infection was the uterus because there was no upper airway disease - so the only possibility was spread from the uterus.

* When Just Facts informed Dr. Pless that:

* The HBO movie cited above shows Becky going with a friend to obtain an illegal abortion. All primary sources researched for this case contain no testimony or documentation of such an event. This includes the coroners report, autopsy report, Beckys mothers written account, and an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in which the reporter quotes Beckys father and her closest friend Heather Clark. Ms. Clark, who accompanied Becky to Planned Parenthood, told the reporter that Becky did not have an induced abortion. She also said that when she visited Becky (four days after she had gotten sick and the night before she passed on), Becky asked her to schedule an abortion in Louisville, Kentucky for two days later.

Events in the week prior to Beckys death (as reported in the coroners report, autopsy report, Beckys mothers written account, and Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Sunday 12:45 AM

Becky comes home from a party and says she thinks someone put cocaine or speed in her drink and that she feels like shes got the flu like Dad.

Tuesday

Becky faints.

Wednesday

Becky stays home from school and develops a 104 fever. Her parents try to take her to the doctor, but Becky resists and they relent.

Thursday PM

Heather Clark visits Becky, and Becky asks her to schedule an abortion in Kentucky on Saturday.

Friday

Becky starts bleeding and tells her Mom. Becky agrees to go a doctor, who diagnoses her with pneumonia and sends her to the hospital, arriving at 4 PM.

Friday PM

The doctor says to Beckys family: We dont know if we can save the baby. 11:29 PM: Becky passes on.

* In March 1989, six months after Becky Bells death, 16-year-old Erica Kae Richardson of Cheltenham, Maryland was assisted by her aunt in obtaining an abortion without her mothers consent or knowledge. Ericas aunt, a registered nurse, first took her to Washington Hospital Center, which would not perform the abortion because the pregnancy was 19 weeks along. She then took her to the Metropolitan Womens Center in Laurel, where Dr. Gene Crawford carried out the abortion, puncturing her uterus in the process. Erica died several hours later from rupture of [her] lower uterus and cervix with complications, including hemorrhage into the pelvic cavity surrounding the uterus and air embolism.

* The current Maryland notification law allows abortion providers to bypass notifying a parent if, in their opinion, the minor is capable of giving informed consent to an abortion. The law also stipulates that abortion providers cannot be prosecuted or sued for failing to notify a girls parents.

* A 2000 U.S. Department of Justice study of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies in twelve states from 1991-1996, found that the incidence of forcible rape peaked at the ages of 14 and 15.

* A 1987 survey of U.S. woman aged 18-22, found that of those who had intercourse at 15 years of age or younger, 40% had been forced to have sex against their will or were raped.

* A 2006 U.S. Department of Justice study found that 58% of female forcible rape victims were raped before their 18th birthday.

* Arkansas law requires written consent of a parent (not a step-parent) before an abortion is performed upon a female who is less than 18 years of age. In 2006, a 15-year-old Arkansas girl accused her 41-year-old stepfather of raping her, getting her pregnant, forcing her to have an abortion in Illinois (where there is no parental consent or notification law in effect), and continuing to rape her afterwards.

* The girls claim that she was taken to an abortion clinic in Granite City, Illinois was corroborated by a photo of her stepfathers car at this facility. He was arrested, charged with a dozen counts of rape and committed suicide before trial.

* In 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would have made it illegal to take a minor across state lines to circumvent state laws that require parental involvement in a minors abortion. It required that abortion providers in states without parental involvement laws give at least 24 hours notice to a parent before performing an abortion on a minor who resides in another state. This provision included exceptions for parental abuse, neglect, and if the physical health of the minor is endangered. 93% of Republicans voted for it and 71% of Democrats voted against it. (Click for a record of how each Representative voted.)

* After being approved by the House, the bill was sent to the Senate where it was blocked by a filibuster conducted by 37 Democrats, 4 Republicans, and 1 Independent. Participants in the filibuster included Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Robert Menendez, and Susan Collins. (Click for a record of how each Senator voted.)

* A sexual relationship between a 22-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl is illegal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. All states have laws requiring healthcare and other workers who interact with children in a professional capacity to report suspected cases of child abuse, which in 29 states and the District of Columbia, explicitly includes a sexual relationship between a 22-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl.

* In 2002, Life Dynamics, an organization dedicated to ending legal abortion, phoned more than 800 Planned Parenthood and National Abortion Federation abortion clinics and offices. In these calls, a woman from Life Dynamics told workers at these facilities that she was 13-years-old, had been impregnated by her 22-year-old boyfriend, and wanted to get an abortion to hide the situation from her parents.

* In more than 90% of the phone calls, the Planned Parenthood and National Abortion Federation workers did not act to report the matter.

* Some workers encouraged the caller to come in for the abortion and lie about the age of the person who impregnated her.

* Some workers told the caller that they were required to report the situation, but werent going to do so.

* In states that have parental notification laws, some workers told the caller to find a person who was old enough to impersonate one of her parents and have them sign the required paperwork. In one state that requires a notarized signature from a parent, a worker told the caller that the facility had a notary public who would notarize a fraudulent signature for her.

* After Life Dynamics released the recordings, Planned Parenthood issued the following statement:

* A Connecticut TV station (WTIC Fox 61) scrutinized the recordings of the phone calls to the abortion clinics in Connecticut. They found that the dial tones recorded on the tapes matched the phone numbers of the facilities, the names of the people on the tapes matched the names of the workers at the facilities, and the content of the conversations matched what was reported by Life Dynamics.

* In briefs submitted to the United States Supreme Court regarding a Minnesota parental consent law, the American Psychological Association asserted that the law should be struck down on the grounds that:

most adolescents are competent to make informed decisions about important life situations.

* In a brief submitted to the United States Supreme Court regarding a death penalty sentence in Missouri for a person who committed a capital murder at the age of 17, the American Psychological Association asserted that crimes committed by minors should never be subject to the death penalty on the grounds that:

Adolescent decision-makers on average are less future-oriented and less likely to consider properly the consequences of their actions.

In comparison with adults, studies show that adolescents are less likely to consider alternative courses of action, understand the perspective of others, or restrain impulses. In a study of more than 1,000 adolescents and adults it was not until age 19 that this development of responsible decisionmaking plateaued.

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What can go wrong with unapproved stem cell clinics? The answer including from presentations at the FDA today turns out to be very serious, negative results right here in the U.S.

Thomas Albini, MD gave a talk entitled, Severe Visual Loss After Intravitreal Injection of Autologous Adipose Tissue-derived Stem Cells for Age-related Macular Degeneration.

Stem cell clinic transplants of fat stem cells led to blindness in three women, reported Dr. Albini.

Weve heard encouraging news about how stem cells might help patients regain lost vision or preserve existing vision in the face of a disease like macular degeneration in the future. Theres real potential there with rigorous clinical trials that are ongoing.

Here in this very different case we heard from Dr. Albini about how stem cells inappropriately used by a stem cell clinic in South Florida reportedly caused 3 women to go blind. All had retinal detachment potentially, Dr. Albini said, due to the fat stem cells taking up residence and resulting in pulling of the eye tissue internally. A nurse practitioner reportedly did the transplants rather than a physician. The patients assumed, we were told in the talk, that the listing in clinicaltrials.gov of the trial meant the interventions were legit.

This is such a deeply tragic case we can only hope that more people arent blinded from this kind of stem cell clinic offering.More on this situation here at Nature by Heidi Ledford.

Michael Miller, MD, PhD, spoke next with his talk entitled, Glioproliferative Lesion of the Spinal cord Arising from Exogenous Stem Cells. This case already has had quite a lot ofmedia attention and involves stroke patient Jim Gass, who ended up with a large spinal tumor that dramatically negatively affected his health. We have to give Mr. Gass huge credit for having the courage to go public with this case. He got ES cells and allo MSCs both in China. Then he traveled to Argentina for autologous MSCs and then to Mexico where he got MSCs and neural stem cells. See image above from the talk. The spinal tumor had many weird features of various primitive tumors. It was clearly a malignancy. There were no major cancer-related mutations detected in the OncoPanel assay.

The bottom line. So when those promoting stem cell clinics or wanting much less oversight ask what can go wrong? and they dont really believe much can go wrong, we now know for sure that that view is just not accurate. Intensely bad stem cell clinic outcomes are occurring right here in the U.S.

Follow this link:
stem cell negative outcomes Archives - The Niche

Background: Vitamin and mineral supplements are commonly used to prevent chronic diseases.

Purpose: To systematically review evidence for the benefit and harms of vitamin and mineral supplements in community-dwelling, nutrient-sufficient adults for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects were searched from January 2005 to 29 January 2013, with manual searches of reference lists and gray literature.

Study Selection: Two investigators independently selected and reviewed fair- and good-quality trials for benefit and fair- and good-quality trials and observational studies for harms.

Data Extraction: Dual quality assessments and data abstraction.

Data Synthesis: Two large trials (n= 27658) reported lower cancer incidence in men taking a multivitamin for more than 10 years (pooled unadjusted relative risk, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.87 to 0.99]). The study that included women showed no effect in that group. High-quality studies (k= 24; n= 324 653) of single and paired nutrients (such as vitamins A, C, or D; folic acid; selenium; or calcium) were scant and heterogeneous and showed no clear evidence of benefit or harm. Neither vitamin E nor -carotene prevented CVD or cancer, and -carotene increased lung cancer risk in smokers.

Limitations: The analysis included only primary prevention studies in adults without known nutritional deficiencies. Studies were conducted in older individuals and included various supplements and doses under the set upper tolerable limits. Duration of most studies was less than 10 years.

Conclusion: Limited evidence supports any benefit from vitamin and mineral supplementation for the prevention of cancer or CVD. Two trials found a small, borderline-significant benefit from multivitamin supplements on cancer in men only and no effect on CVD.

Primary Funding Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

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Vitamin and Mineral Supplements in the Primary Prevention ...

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Tools for cytokine profiling

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Nature's InsideView interviews Dr Weimin Zhu for a profile feature on the RabMAb platform

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Sept. 12, 2016 | Emory Eye Center to Host Education Program for Pediatric Ophthalmologists. Pediatric ophthalmologists and other ophthalmic subspecialists will come together Sept. 16-17, 2016, for an opportunity to learn more about pediatric ophthalmology and to share cases from their own practices. The gathering, known as the Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Meeting of the Southeast (POSMS), will be sponsored by the Emory Eye Center and Emory University School of Medicine's Ophthalmology Department.

Sept. 1, 2016 | Emory Eye Center Again Earns a Spot inU.S. News & World Report's Healthcare Rankings. (ATLANTA) Emory Eye Center is again noted as a top ophthalmology center in the United States, according to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report guide to Americas top medical institutions.

August 26, 2016 | $3,023,456 Five-Year Award Announced by NEI for Emory Eye Center Vision Research. (ATLANTA) Emory Eye Center Director of Research P. Michael Iuvone, PhD, and his colleagues announced today the news of a first-year funding award of $624,000 for their P30 Core Grant for Vision Research proposal by the National Eye Institute (NEI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

August 18, 2016 | Center to Host 6th Annual Southeastern Ocular Oncology/Pathology Seminar (SEOP) Emory Eye Center will host the sixth annual Southeastern Ocular Oncology/Pathology Seminar (SEOP) on Friday, Sept. 30, 2016, in the Eye Centers Learning Resources Center, Calhoun Auditorium, from 8 a.m. to 4p.m.

July 18, 2016 | Nine Eye Center Physicians Named Americas Top Doctors Nine Emory Eye Center ophthalmologists were selected from the Atlanta metropolitan region as Americas Top Doctors.

May 26, 2016 | Emory Eye Center Postdocs Honored at Emory Research Symposium Postdoctoral research scientists placed among the top honorees at 9th Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium.

May 25, 2016 | Top Southeastern U.S. Vision Research Scientists Gather for Symposium on Retinal Degeneration Emory Eye Center co-hosts with CVNR AVRC Retinal Degeneration Symposium.

May 23, 2016 | Child Survivors of Eye Cancer Gather for RB Day Picnic The 18th Emory Eye Center Retinoblastoma (RB) Kids Day Picnic held on Saturday, May 7, 2016, in Decatur, GA.

May 16, 2016 | Researchers Honored at 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting Emory Eye Center researchers were leading scientific contributors to this year's ARVO Annual Meeting.

May 3, 2016 | $150,000 Gift from Alcon Foundation Establishes Global Ophthalmology FellowshipThe Alcon Foundation pledges $150,000 to establish a Global Ophthalmology Emory (GO-E) Fellowship.

National Geographic Channel, Breakthrough Fighting Pandemics.

Ocular Surgery News, "Ebola virus poses threat of ocular complications during convalescence."

BBC News, "When Ebola lingers: A survivor's story."

BBC Radio 5 Live Drive, BBC 5 Live Drive [at the 2:20 min. mark].

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Emory Eye Center

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The doctors at Atlanta Ophthalmology have collectively performed more than 20,000 cataract surgeries. Together, they have created a Cataract Center of Excellence.

During cataract replacement, the most common surgical procedure in the country, the lens is removed and replaced with an artificial one called an intraocular lens or IOL.

In order for a person to see clearly, the light coming into the eye must be focused on the retina. The main focusing elements in the eye are the cornea and the lens.

To pre-register for an appointment, schedule an appointment, pay online, or refill your rx please create an account.

Atlanta Ophthalmology Associates is located in Atlanta, GA and offers an array of services in a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. Our skilled doctors and friendly staff provide the highest quality eye care using the most sophisticated technology available. We are dedicated to helping every patient enjoy the best possible vision.

AOA is located in the Glenridge Medical Center at 5730 Glenridge Drive, Suite 120, Atlanta, Ga 30328. Patients will be met by an open, welcoming lobby where we will be conveniently located on the first floor. Free Handicapped parking is located in the front with a $3.00-$4.00 charge for parking in the rear of the building.

Laser refractive surgery for nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.

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Atlanta Ophthalmology Associates

Genetics seems rather intimidating, but in its purest sense it is rather simple.The basis of genetics is fairly simple: DNA => RNA => A Protein.

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, (DNA) is a long molecule that contains our unique genetic code. Nearly every cell in a persons body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Human DNA consists of about 3 billionof these bases, and more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in every person. The order, or sequence, of these bases determines the information available for building and maintaining an organism.

DNA bases pair up with each other, A with T and C with G, to form units called base pairs. Each base is also attached to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule. Together, a base, sugar, and phosphate are called a nucleotide. Nucleotides are arranged in two long strands that form a spiral called a double helix. The structure of the double helix is somewhat like a ladder, with the base pairs forming the ladders rungs and the sugar and phosphate molecules forming the vertical sidepieces of the ladder.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is very similar to DNA, but differs in a few important structural details: RNA nucleotides contain ribose sugars while DNA contains deoxyribose and RNA uses predominantly uracil instead of thymine present in DNA. RNA is transcribed (synthesized) from DNA by enzymes called RNA polymerases and further processed by other enzymes. RNA serves as the template for translation of genes into proteins, transferring amino acids to the ribosome to form proteins, and also translating the transcript into proteins.

RNAs serve as the working set of blue prints for a gene. Each gene is read, and then the messenger RNAs are sent to the molecular factories (ribosomes) that build proteins. These factories read the blueprints and use the information to make the appropriate protein. When the cell no longer needs to make any more of that protein, the RNA blueprints are destroyed. but because the master copy in the DNA remains intact, the cell can always go back to the DNA and make more RNA copies when it needs more of the encoded protein.

An example would be the suns UV light activating the genes in your skin cells to tan you. The gene is read and the RNA takes the message or blueprint to the ribosomes where melanin, the protein that tans your skin, is made.

As we discussed, each gene is made up of a series of bases and those bases provide instructions for making a single protein. Any change in the sequence of bases may be considered a mutation. Most of the mutations are naturally-occurring. For example, when a cell divides, it makes a copy of its DNA and sometimes the copy is not quite perfect. That small difference from the original DNA sequence is a mutation.

Mutations can also be caused by exposure to specific chemicals, metals, viruses, and radiation. These have the potential to modify the DNA. This is not necessarily unnatural even in the most isolated and pristine environments, DNA breaks down. Nevertheless, when the cell repairs the DNA, it might not do a perfect job of the repair. So the cell would end up with DNA slightly different than the original DNA and hence, a mutation.

Some mutations have little or no effect on the protein, while others cause the protein not to function at all. Other mutations may create a new effect that did not exist before. Many diseases are a result of mutations in certain genes. One example is the gene for sickle cell anemia. The mutation causing the blood disorder sickle cell anemia is a single nucleotide substitution (A to T) in the base number 17 out of 438 As, Ts, Cs and Gs . By changing the amino acid at that point, the impact is that the red blood cells are no longer round, but sickle in shape and carry less oxygen.

Some of these changes occur in cells of the body such as in skin cells as a result of sun exposure. Fortunately these types of changes are not passed on to our children. However, other types of errors can occur in the DNA of cells that produce the eggs and sperm. These errors are called germ line mutations and can be passed from parent to child. If a child inherits a germ line mutation from their parents, every cell in their body will have this error in their DNA. Germ line mutations are what cause diseases to run in families, and are responsible for hereditary diseases.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a widespread health problem with several known inherited causes. Inherited SCD generally occurs in healthy individuals who do not have other conventional cardiac risk factors. Mutations in the genes in charge of creating the electrical activity of the heart have been found to be responsible for most arrhythmias, among them Short QT Syndrome, Long QT Syndrome, Brugada Syndrome, Familial Bundle Branch Block, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Sudden Unexpected Death Syndrome.

As researchers discover the role genes play in disease, there will be more genetic tests available to help doctors make diagnoses and pinpoint the cause of the disease. For example, heart disease can be caused either by a mutation in certain genes, or by environmental factors such as diet or exercise to name a few.

Physicians can easily diagnose a person with heart disease once they present symptoms. However, physicians can not easily identify the cause of the heart disease is in each person. Thus, most patients receive the same treatment regardless of underlying cause of the disease.

In the future, a panel of genetic tests for heart disease might reveal the specific genetic factors that are involved in a given person. People with a specific mutation may be able to receive treatment that is directed to that mutation, thereby treating the cause of the disease, rather than just the symptoms.

The ultimate goal of the MMRLs Molecular Genetics Program is to identify the factors that are responsible for these diseases. This knowledge will facilitate the development ofgene-specific therapies and cures for arrhythmias and identify individuals at risk for sudden cardiac deaths.

With the addition of the Molecular Biology and Molecular Genetics programs, MMRL is now integrally involved in both basic and clinical research, and is among the relatively few institutions worldwide with a consistent and concerted focus on bridging basic and clinical science. With an eye toward designing specific treatments and cures for disease, the Laboratorys research has the potential to affect us all.

See more here:
Molecular Genetics - mmrl.edu

When Kris Boesens car fishtailed on a wet road, hitting a tree and slamming into a telephone poll, the 21-year-old never thought he would walk again. But results from an early-stage clinical trial using stem cells to restore movement have given the 21-year-old promise that his spinal cord injury may one day be reversed, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Boesen, of Bakersfield, California, qualified for the study at the Keck Medical Center of the University of Southern California (USC).

He was extremely excited about having an opportunity to try to do somethingto get better than he was at that point, Boesens father, Rodney Boesen, told the news station.

Doctors told the young man that hed likely never have movement or sensation below his neck, but the trial aimed to improve those functions.

In early April within two weeks to 30 day of Boesens injury neurosurgeon Charles Liu and his team injected 10 million stem cells, called AST-OPC1 cells, directly into his cervical spinal cord, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. Within two weeks, the effects of his accident began to improve.

"Patientswho suffer these disabilities want more than anything else to do something for themselves, says Dr. Liu, director of the USC Neurorestoration Center, told the news station. They want to be more independent, less dependent. It makes all of us appreciate how important it is that we can do these things."

Today, three months after receiving the therapy, Boesen can feed himself, use his cellphone and operate his motorized wheelchair, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. He also can write his name, and hug family and friends.

"If I was there and I was able to thank them, he told the news station.I would just tell them, Thank you for giving (me) my life back. Thank you for allowing me to live my life again."

Since the procedure, Boesen has been evaluated four times, and he will be monitored every four months.

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Experimental stem cell therapy helps restore paralyzed man's ...

Color blindness means that you have trouble seeing red, green, or blue or a mix of these colors. It's rare that a person sees no color at all.

Color blindness is also called a color vision problem.

A color vision problem can change your life. It may make it harder to learn and read, and you may not be able to have certain careers. But children and adults with color vision problems can learn to make up for their problems seeing color.

Most color vision problems are inherited (genetic) and are present at birth.

People usually have three types of cone cells in the eye. Each type senses either red, green, or blue light. You see color when your cone cells sense different amounts of these three basic colors. The highest concentration of cone cells are found in the macula, which is the central part of the retina .

Inherited color blindness happens when you don't have one of these types of cone cells or they don't work right. You may not see one of these three basic colors, or you may see a different shade of that color or a different color. This type of color vision problem doesn't change over time.

A color vision problem isn't always inherited. In some cases, a person can have an acquired color vision problem. This can be caused by:

The symptoms of color vision problems vary:

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Color Blindness - Topic Overview - WebMD

This type of therapy is called therapeutic gene therapy or the use of genes as medicine. It is an experimental form of treatment that is still being developed, but it has the potential to revolutionise treatment for all kinds of genetic conditions.

Gene therapy targets the faulty genes responsible for genetic diseases. Inheriting a faulty (mutated) gene can directly cause a wide range of disorders such as cystic fibrosis and haemophilia. It can also cause susceptibility to some cancers. Gene therapy can be used to replace a faulty gene with a healthy version or to introduce a new gene that can cure a condition or modify its effects. This type of gene therapy is called therapeutic gene therapy or the use of genes as medicine. It is an experimental form of treatment that is still in its infancy but has the potential to revolutionise treatment for all kinds of genetic diseases.

Inheriting one or both copies of a faulty gene can cause a wide range of conditions such as haemophilia and cystic fibrosis, and can also result in increased susceptibility to some cancers. Gene therapy targets the faulty genes responsible for a genetic condition. Gene therapy can be used to replace a faulty gene copy with a working version or to introduce a new gene that can cure a condition or modify its effects.

One promising technique is to put the working gene inside a harmless virus, which has had most of its own genes removed it has been deactivated. A virus that causes disease (such as the common cold) works by slipping into a cell, taking over its DNA and forcing it to produce more viruses. Similarly, a deactivated virus can enter the specific cell and deliver the working gene.

Other techniques involve using stem cells. These are immature cells that have the potential to develop into cells with different functions. In this technique, stem cells are manipulated in the laboratory to accept new genes that can then change their behaviour. For example, a gene might be inserted into a stem cell that could make it better able to survive chemotherapy. This would be of assistance to those patients who could benefit from further chemotherapy following stem cell transplantation.

To make sure that future generations of the persons family were not affected by the genetic condition, their germ cells would need to undergo gene therapy too. However, a complicated range of ethical issues, as well as technical problems, means that gene therapy of germ cells is only a remote possibility.

The majority of trials are being conducted in the US and Europe, with only a modest number initiated in other countries, including Australia (1.6%). Most trials focus on treating acquired conditions such as cancer and AIDS, although an increasing number of genetic conditions are being targeted.

The concern is that manipulating factors such as intelligence might be tried, once gene therapy becomes commonplace. Ordinary characteristics, such as shortness or average IQ, might then be considered subnormal.

Another concern is that gene therapy might only be available to the rich. The challenge for nations experimenting with gene therapy is to come up with workable, fair and ethical guidelines for its use.

This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by: Better Health Channel - (need new cp)

Last updated: May 2011

Content on this website is provided for education and information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not imply endorsement and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional. Content has been prepared for Victorian residents and wider Australian audiences, and was accurate at the time of publication. Readers should note that, over time, currency and completeness of the information may change. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions.

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Gene therapy - Better Health Channel

Gene Therapy for Diseases

Gene Therapy has made important medical advances in less than two decades. Within this short time span, it has moved from the conceptual stage to technology development and laboratory research to clinical translational trials for a variety of deadly diseases. Among the most notable advancements are the following:

Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (ADA-SCID) ADA-SCID is also known as the bubble boy disease. Affected children are born without an effective immune system and will succumb to infections outside of the bubble without bone marrow transplantation from matched donors. A landmark study representing a first case of gene therapy "cure," or at least a long-term correction, for patients with deadly genetic disorder was conducted by investigators in Italy. The therapeutic gene called ADA was introduced into the bone marrow cells of such patients in the laboratory, followed by transplantation of the genetically corrected cells back to the same patients. The immune system was reconstituted in all six treated patients without noticeable side effects, who now live normal lives with their families without the need for further treatment.

Chronic Granulomatus Disorder (CGD) CGD is a genetic disease in the immune system that leads to the patients' inability to fight off bacterial and fungal infections that can be fatal. Using similar technologies as in the ADA-SCID trial, investigators in Germany treated two patients with this disease, whose reconstituted immune systems have since been able to provide them with full protection against microbial infections for at least two years.

Hemophilia Patients born with Hemophilia are not able to induce blood clots and suffer from external and internal bleeding that can be life threatening. In a clinical trial conducted in the United States , the therapeutic gene was introduced into the liver of patients, who then acquired the ability to have normal blood clotting time. The therapeutic effect however, was transient because the genetically corrected liver cells were recognized as foreign and rejected by the healthy immune system in the patients. This is the same problem faced by patients after organ transplantation, and curative outcome by gene therapy might be achievable with immune-suppression or alternative gene delivery strategies currently being tested in preclinical animal models of this disease.

Other genetic disorders After many years of laboratory and preclinical research in appropriate animal models of disease, a number of clinical trials will soon be launched for various genetic disorders that include congenital blindness, lysosomal storage disease and muscular dystrophy, among others.

Cancer Multiple gene therapy strategies have been developed to treat a wide variety of cancers, including suicide gene therapy, oncolytic virotherapy, anti-angiogenesis and therapeutic gene vaccines. Two-thirds of all gene therapy trials are for cancer and many of these are entering the advanced stage, including a Phase III trial of Ad.p53 for head and neck cancer and two different Phase III gene vaccine trials for prostate cancer and pancreas cancer. Additionally, numerous Phase I and Phase II clinical trials for cancers in the brain, skin, liver, colon, breast and kidney among others, are being conducted in academic medical centers and biotechnology companies, using novel technologies and therapeutics developed on-site.

Neurodegenerative Diseases Recent progress in gene therapy has allowed for novel treatments of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's Disease and Huntington's Disease, for which exciting treatment results have been obtained in appropriate animal models of the corresponding human diseases. Phase I clinical trials for these neurodegenerative disorders have been, or will soon be, launched.

Other acquired diseases The same gene therapeutic techniques have been applied to treat other acquired disorders such as viral infections (e.g. influenza, HIV, hepatitis), heart disease and diabetes, among others. Some of these have entered, or will soon be entering, into early phase clinical trials.

Read the original here:
Gene Therapy for Diseases | ASGCT - American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy

Gene therapy is using "genes as medicine". It is an experimental approach to treating genetic disease where the faulty gene is fixed, replaced or supplemented with a healthy gene so that it can function normally. Most genetic diseases cannot be treated, but gene therapy research gives some hope to patients and their families as a possible cure. However, this technology does not come without risks and many clinical trials to evaluate its effectiveness need to be done before gene therapy can be put to regular medical use.

To get a new gene into a cell's genome, it must be carried in a molecule called a vector. The most common vectors currently being used are viruses, which naturally invade cells and insert their genetic material into that cell's genome. To use a virus as a vector, the virus' own genes are removed and replaced with the new gene destined for the cell. When the virus attacks the cell, it will insert the genetic material it carries. A successful transfer will result in the target cell now carrying the new gene that will correct the problem caused by the faulty gene.

Viruses that can be used as vectors include retroviruses like HIV, adenoviruses (one of which causes the common cold), adeno-associated viruses and herpes simplex viruses. There are also many non-viral vectors being tested for gene therapy uses. These include artificial lipid spheres called liposomes, DNA attached to a molecule that will bind to a receptor on the target cell, artificial chromosomes and naked DNA that is not attached to another molecule at all and can be directly inserted into the cell.

The actual transfer of the new gene into the target cell can happen in two ways: ex vivo and in vivo. The ex vivo approach involves transferring the new gene into cells that have been removed from the patient and grown in the laboratory. Once the transfer is complete, the cells are returned to the patient, where they will continue to grow and produce the new gene product. The in vivo approach delivers the vector directly to the patient, where transfer of the new gene will occur in the target cells within the body.

Conditions or disorders that result from mutations in a single gene are potentially the best candidates for gene therapy. However, the many challenges met by researchers working on gene therapy mean that its application is still limited while the procedure is being perfected.

Before gene therapy can be used to treat a certain genetic condition or disorder, certain requirements need to be met:

Clinical trials for gene therapy in other countries (for example France and the United Kingdom) have shown that there are still several major factors preventing gene therapy from becoming a routine way to treat genetic conditions and disorders. While the transfer of the new gene into the target cells has worked, it does not seem to have a long-lasting effect. This suggests that patients would have to be treated multiple times to control the condition or disorder. There is also always a risk of a severe immune response, since the immune cells are trained to attack any foreign molecule in the body. Working with viral vectors has proven to be challenging because they are difficult to control and the body immediately recognizes and attacks common viruses. Recent work has focussed on potential non-viral vectors to avoid the complications associated with the viral vectors. Finally, while there are thousands of single-gene disorders, the more common genetic disorders are actually caused by multiple genes, which do not make them good candidates for gene therapy.

One promising application of gene therapy is in treating type I diabetes. Researchers in the United States used an adenovirus as a vector to deliver the gene for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) to pancreatic islet cells removed from rats. They injected the altered cells into diabetic rats and, within a day, the rats were controlling their blood glucose levels better than the control rats. This model mimics the transplantation of islet cells in humans and shows that the addition of the HGF gene greatly enhances the islet cells' function and survival.

In Canada, researchers in Edmonton, Alberta also developed a protocol to treat type I diabetes. Doctors use ultrasound to guide a small catheter through the upper abdomen and into the liver. Pancreatic islet cells are then injected through the catheter into the liver. In time, islets are established in the liver and begin releasing insulin.

Another application for gene therapy is in treating X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (X-SCID), a disease where a baby lacks both T and B cells of the immune system and is vulnerable to infections. The current treatment is bone marrow transplant from a matched sibling, which is not always possible or effective in the long term. Researchers in France and the United Kingdom, knowing the disease was caused by a faulty gene on the X chromosome, treated 14 children by replacing the faulty gene ex vivo. Upon receiving the altered cells, the patients showed great improvements in their immune system functions. Unfortunately, two of the children developed a form of leukemia several years after the treatment. Further investigation showed that the vector had inserted the gene near a proto-oncogene, which led to uncontrolled growth of the T cells. The clinical trials were put on hold until a safer method can be designed and tested.

Excerpt from:
Gene Therapy - Biotechnology - Science and Research