StemCell Therapy

In the U.S., the debate about embryonic stem cell research has centered on whether human embryos should be used for research. It has left nearly untouched a number of important social, political and ethical issues unrelated to the moral status of embryos. Among these are: (1) ensuring the health and safety of research subjects, including women who provide eggs for research; (2) preventing the emergence of a commercial market in womens eggs; (3) establishing appropriate oversight and regulation of stem cell research.

Background

Currently, most researchers working to produce human embryonic stem cells use embryos that were created but not used during vitro fertilization procedures. Some scientists are attempting to use another technique, known as research cloning or somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). SCNT involves merging an adult body cell with an egg whose nuclei has been removed to create specialized stem cell lines. The process requires a large number of womens eggs. In order to procure eggs, researchers typically give women hormonal treatments to first shut down and then hyper-stimulate their ovaries, followed by surgical extraction of multiple eggs. This is a time-consuming and invasive process associated with potentially serious health problems.

Key Concerns

Its Still Early

Treatments based on embryonic stem cells and SCNT are at an early stage of development, and are still hypothetical. Therefore, multiple egg extraction poses risks to womens health without a clear and demonstrated benefit to scientific advance.

Financial Incentives

Offering payment beyond direct expenses would commercialize reproductive material and create a market for human eggs, which could lead to the exploitation of women.

Lack of Regulation

The U.S. has no federal legislation prohibiting the misuse of human embryos (such as efforts to produce a cloned or genetically modified child), and a patchwork of unclear and inconsistent regulations addressing embryonic stem cell research.

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CGS : Egg Extraction For Stem Cell Research: Issues for ...

J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2009 Jul; 3(4): 781788.

Published online 2009 Jul.

Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

With the rising number of individuals affected with diabetes and the significant health care costs of treatment, the emphasis on prevention is key to controlling the health burden of this disease. Several genetic and genomic studies have identified genetic variants associated with increased risk to diabetes. As a result, commercial testing is available to predict an individual's genetic risk. Although the clinical benefits of testing have not yet been demonstrated, it is worth considering some of the ethical implications of testing for this common chronic disease. In this article, I discuss several issues that should be considered during the translation of predictive testing for diabetes, including familial implications, improvement of risk communication, implications for behavioral change and health outcomes, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, direct-to-consumer testing, and appropriate age of testing.

Keywords: ethics, genetic testing, risk

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a prevalent, chronic condition associated with extensive morbidity, decreased quality of life, and increased utilization of health services.1 Approximately 23 million people in the United States are affected with diabetes, and more than twice that number are prediabetic.2 The annual risk of developing T2DM for the average person living in the United States with normal glucose levels is approximately 0.7% per year.3

The polygenic nature of T2DM has been a major challenge to identifying genes involved in the pathogenesis of this diseaseknowledge that could give rise to new treatments and tests. However, following the completion of the Human Genome Project and HapMap and the development of high-throughput technologies, scientists are in a much better position to tackle the complex genetic underpinnings of T2DM.4 The rise of genetic and genomic studies has aligned with the increasing incidence rate of T2DM (). A number of commercial tests have already been developed that assay a panel of genetic variants in several genes identified from genome-wide association studies of T2DM. Among the best studied of these are two very closely linked single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene.5 More than 20 studies have replicated the association between these two SNPs in TCF7L2 and increased T2DM risk. The largest pooled analysis reported an overall odds ratio of 1.37 with a single copy of the higher-risk allele at one of the TCF7L2SNPs.6 In comparison, individuals with a positive family history for T2DM are at a 26 times increased risk compared to those without a family history.710

Unlike single-gene testing for Mendelian disorders that produce a relatively certain prediction of disease, genomic testing for complex diseases like T2DM will generate disease riskinformation. Some of the ethical issues of genome risk profiling or predispositional testing overlap with single-gene testing used primarily for diagnosis, although additional issues related to predispositional testing include challenges of communicating risk information (particularly low risks), uncertainty of disease risk and psychosocial impact of at-risk status, and ensuring patient comprehension. Of substantial importance is that individuals are informed about these and other issues when they are deciding if the test is appropriate for them. Although written informed consent may not be warranted, a discussion with a physician or other professional such as a genetic counselor can serve to educate and encourage careful consideration of the benefits and risks of testing as well as alternatives to testing. This article presents an overview of several issues that should be considered as genome risk profiling for T2DM becomes integrated into clinical care.

As with any type of genetic testing, it is important to consider the impact of testing on family members. Predisposition testing for T2DM and other chronic diseases raises familial implications on two levels. The implication of test results for biological family members raises the issue of whether and how to discuss the results with other family members.12 Tested individuals may be reluctant to share the results due to fear it will disrupt relationships, be hesitant of having to contact estranged and distant family members, and feel guilt.1316 Those who opt to share the results with family members may have difficulty accurately communicating the results17,18 or minimize the seriousness of the finding.19 Although a positive test result could be inferred from changes in lifestyle and preventive medical procedures, individuals undergoing testing should ascertain the wishes of other family members prior to discussing their test results.20 Furthermore, as many individuals choose to undergo genetic testing for the sake of their children, they will need to understand when and how best to discuss the results with their children.21,22 Family members who decide to learn of their relative's results must also decide how they'll act upon them (e.g., getting themselves tested), if at all.

Second, given that environment can substantially influence risk for T2DM and other complex diseases, a positive result of one individual can affect the lifestyle of the entire family. For example, adoption of healthy eating habits may be better achieved if the entire family is involved in promoting healthy living.2326 Special treatment of a child found to be at increased genetic risk may lead to feelings of ostracism, stigmatization, and inferiority.

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Personalized Medicine for Diabetes: Ethical Issues of ...

Genetic Testing: Ethical, Legal, and Religious Issues - Topic Overview

Genetic Testing: Ethical, Legal, and Religious Issues Guide

The decision to have genetic tests may involve consideration of ethical, legal, and religious issues.

If you are thinking about having genetic tests, be sure that you clearly understand the implications of all possible test results before you make your decision about testing. Genetic counseling can help you explore the implications of possible test results.

This information is produced and provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the National Cancer Institute via the Internet web site at http:// cancer .gov or call 1-800-4-CANCER.

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: March 12, 2014

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.

1995-2014 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

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Genetic Testing: Ethical, Legal, and Religious Issues ...

By Dr. Mercola

Researchers have learned that circadian rhythmsthe 24-hour cycles known as your internal body clockare involved in everything from sleep to weight gain, mood disorders, and a variety of diseases.

Your body actually has many internal clocksin your brain, lungs, liver, heart and even your skeletal musclesand they all work to keep your body running smoothly by controlling temperature and the release of hormones.

It's well known that lack of sleep can increase your chances of getting sick. A new study shows just how direct that connection is.

The research found that the circadian clocks of mice control an essential immune system gene that helps their bodies sense and ward off bacteria and viruses. When levels of that particular gene, called toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), were at their highest, the mice were better able to withstand infections.

Interestingly, when the researchers induced sepsis, the severity of the disease was dependent on the timing of the induction. Severity directly correlated with cyclical changes in TLR9.

According to the authors, this may help explain why septic patients are known to be at higher risk of dying between the hours of 2 am and 6 am.

Furthermore, they also discovered that when mice were vaccinated when TLR9 was peaking, they had an enhanced immune response to the vaccine. The researchers believe vaccine effectiveness could be altered depending on the time of day the vaccination is administered...

According to study author Erol Fikrig, professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Medicinei:

"These findings not only unveil a novel, direct molecular link between circadian rhythms and the immune system, but also open a new paradigm in the biology of the overall immune response with important implications for the prevention and treatment of disease. Furthermore, patients in the ICU often have disturbed sleep patterns, due to noise, nocturnal light exposure and medications; it will be important to investigate how these factors influence TLR9 expression levels and immune responses."

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How Sleeping Can Affect Your Immune System - Mercola.com

14.00 Immune System Disorders

A. What disorders do we evaluate under the immune system disorders listings?

1. We evaluate immune system disorders that cause dysfunction in one or more components of your immune system.

a. The dysfunction may be due to problems in antibody production, impaired cell-mediated immunity, a combined type of antibody/cellular deficiency, impaired phagocytosis, or complement deficiency.

b. Immune system disorders may result in recurrent and unusual infections, or inflammation and dysfunction of the body's own tissues. Immune system disorders can cause a deficit in a single organ or body system that results in extreme (that is, very serious) loss of function. They can also cause lesser degrees of limitations in two or more organs or body systems, and when associated with symptoms or signs, such as severe fatigue, fever, malaise, diffuse musculoskeletal pain, or involuntary weight loss, can also result in extreme limitation.

c. We organize the discussions of immune system disorders in three categories: Autoimmune disorders; Immune deficiency disorders, excluding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; and HIV infection.

2. Autoimmune disorders (14.00D). Autoimmune disorders are caused by dysfunctional immune responses directed against the body's own tissues, resulting in chronic, multisystem impairments that differ in clinical manifestations, course, and outcome. They are sometimes referred to as rheumatic diseases, connective tissue disorders, or collagen vascular disorders. Some of the features of autoimmune disorders in adults differ from the features of the same disorders in children.

3. Immune deficiency disorders, excluding HIV infection (14.00E). Immune deficiency disorders are characterized by recurrent or unusual infections that respond poorly to treatment, and are often associated with complications affecting other parts of the body. Immune deficiency disorders are classified as either primary (congenital) or acquired. Individuals with immune deficiency disorders also have an increased risk of malignancies and of having autoimmune disorders.

4. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (14.00F). HIV infection may be characterized by increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections, cancers, or other conditions, as described in 14.08.

B. What information do we need to show that you have an immune system disorder? Generally,

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14.00-Immune-Adult - Social Security Administration

Genetic engineering is the deliberate, controlled manipulation of the genes in an organism with the intent of making that organism better in some way. This is usually done independently of the natural reproductive process. The result is a so-called genetically modified organism (GMO). To date, most of the effort in genetic engineering has been focused on agriculture.

Proponents of genetic engineering claim that it has numerous benefits, including the production of food-bearing plants that are resistant to extreme weather and adverse climates, insect infestations, disease, molds, and fungi. In addition, it may be possible to reduce the amount of plowing necessary in the farming process, thereby saving energy and minimizing soil erosion. A major motivation is the hope of producing abundant food at low cost to reduce world hunger, both directly (by feeding GMOs to human beings) and indirectly (by feeding GMOs to livestock and fish, which can in turn be fed to humans).

Genetic engineering carries potential dangers, such as the creation of new allergens and toxins, the evolution of new weeds and other noxious vegetation, harm to wildlife, and the creation of environments favorable to the proliferation of molds and fungi (ironically, in light of the purported advantage in that respect). Some scientists have expressed concern that new disease organisms and increased antibiotic resistance could result from the use of GMOs in the food chain.

The darkest aspect of genetic engineering is the possibility that a government or institution might undertake to enhance human beings by means of genetic engineering. Some see the possibility of using this technology to create biological weapons.

Genetic engineering is also known as genetic modification.

This was last updated in May 2007

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What is genetic engineering? - Definition from WhatIs.com

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Gene Therapy

Challenges in Gene Therapy?

Gene therapy is not a new field; it has been evolving for decades. Despite the best efforts of researchers around the world, however, gene therapy has seen only limited success. Why?

Gene therapy poses one of the greatest technical challenges in modern medicine. It is very hard to introduce new genes into cells of the body and keep them working. And there are financial concerns: Can a company profit from developing a gene therapy to treat a rare disorder? If not, who will develop and pay for these life-saving treatments?

Let's look at some of the main challenges in gene therapy.

For some disorders, gene therapy will work only if we can deliver a normal gene to a large number of cellssay several millionin a tissue. And they have to the correct cells, in the correct tissue. Once the gene reaches its destination, it must be activated, or turned on, to make the protein it encodes. And once it's turned on, it must remain on; cells have a habit of shutting down genes that are too active or exhibiting other unusual behaviors.

Introducing changes into the wrong cells Targeting a gene to the correct cells is crucial to the success of any gene therapy treatment. Just as important, though, is making sure that the gene is not incorporated into the wrong cells. Delivering a gene to the wrong tissue would be inefficient, and it could cause health problems for the patient.

For example, improper targeting could incorporate the therapeutic gene into a patient's germline, or reproductive cells, which ultimately produce sperm and eggs. Should this happen, the patient would pass the introduced gene to his or her children. The consequences would vary, depending on the gene.

Our immune systems are very good at fighting off intruders such as bacteria and viruses. Gene-delivery vectors must be able to avoid the body's natural surveillance system. An unwelcome immune response could cause serious illness or even death.

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Challenges in Gene Therapy - Learn Genetics

Suzanne Somers is no stranger to medical controversy

For instance, the Threes Company actress and Thigh-Master guru has claimed that her continued youthful appearance is due to bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT)*.

In 2001, Somers was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy and radiation, but declined to undergo chemotherapy.

In November, 2008, Suzanne Somers announced she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer by six doctors, but learned a week later that she had been misdiagnosed. During this time, she interviewed doctors about cancer treatments and these interviews became the basis of her book, Knockout: Interviews with Doctors Who Are Curing CancerAnd How to Prevent Getting It in the First Place. In her book, Somers promotes alternative cancer treatments, for which she received harsh criticism from the American Cancer Society.

This week, Somers revealed something new a new breast, reconstructed using an experimental procedure!

The procedure, called Adipose Derived Stem Cell Breast Reconstruction, was performed at the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center last August by Plastic Surgeon Dr. Joel Aronowitz.

The procedure was first performed by Dr. Keizo Sugimachi in Japan, and later underwent research trials in several European centers. Ms. Somers was enrolled as the first human subject in the U.S. research trial:

Adipose tissue is just another name for body fat. Fat grafting, also known as fat transfer or fat transplantation, has been available for many years. In laymans terms, it means sucking fat out of one(presumably undesired) place and injecting it into another (preferred) one. However, according to Dr. J. Peter Rubin, Chief of Plastic Surgery University of Pittsburgh:

The biggest problem encountered with fat grafting is that fat can lose volume or be absorbed by the body over time, leaving less of an affect from the original treatment.

However, fat tissue is made up of more than fat cells. It also contains those darlings of gene therapy-stem cells! And fat tissue contains proportionately more stem cells than other tissues- roughly one stem cell per 100 fat cells, compared to bone marrow, which contains one per 250,000 to 400,000 cells.

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Suzanne Somers used Belly Fat Stem Cells to grow Her New ...

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health. The NCBI is located in Bethesda, Maryland and was founded in 1988 through legislation sponsored by Senator Claude Pepper.

The NCBI houses a series of databases relevant to biotechnology and biomedicine. Major databases include GenBank for DNA sequences and PubMed, a bibliographic database for the biomedical literature. Other databases include the NCBI Epigenomics database. All these databases are available online through the Entrez search engine.

NCBI is directed by David Lipman, one of the original authors of the BLAST sequence alignment program and a widely respected figure in bioinformatics. He also leads an intramural research program, including groups led by Stephen Altschul (another BLAST co-author), David Landsman, Eugene Koonin (a prolific author on comparative genomics), John Wilbur, Teresa Przytycka, and Zhiyong Lu.

NCBI is listed in the Registry of Research Data Repositories re3data.org.[1]

NCBI has had responsibility for making available the GenBank DNA sequence database since 1992.[2] GenBank coordinates with individual laboratories and other sequence databases such as those of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ).[3]

Since 1992, NCBI has grown to provide other databases in addition to GenBank. NCBI provides Gene, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, the Molecular Modeling Database (3D protein structures), dbSNP (a database of single-nucleotide polymorphisms), the Reference Sequence Collection, a map of the human genome, and a taxonomy browser, and coordinates with the National Cancer Institute to provide the Cancer Genome Anatomy Project. The NCBI assigns a unique identifier (taxonomy ID number) to each species of organism.[4]

The NCBI has software tools that are available by WWW browsing or by FTP. For example, BLAST is a sequence similarity searching program. BLAST can do sequence comparisons against the GenBank DNA database in less than 15 seconds.

The NCBI Bookshelf is a collection of freely available, downloadable, on-line versions of selected biomedical books. The Bookshelf covers a wide range of topics including molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, microbiology, disease states from a molecular and cellular point of view, research methods, and virology. Some of the books are online versions of previously published books, while others, such as Coffee Break, are written and edited by NCBI staff. The Bookshelf is a complement to the Entrez PubMed repository of peer-reviewed publication abstracts in that Bookshelf contents provide established perspectives on evolving areas of study and a context in which many disparate individual pieces of reported research can be organized.[citation needed]

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National Center for Biotechnology Information - Wikipedia ...

Note: There are different data sources for some of the arthritis-related statistics therefore; case definitions and terminology will also vary. Read more.

Nearly 1 in 2 people may develop symptomatic knee OA by age 85 years.

Two in three people who are obese may develop symptomatic knee OA in their lifetime.

1 in 4 people may develop painful hip arthritis in their lifetime.

Note: There are different data sources for some of the arthritis-related statistics therefore; case definitions and terminology will also vary. Read more.

An estimated 52.5 million adults in the United States reported being told by a doctor that they have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia.

One in five (22.7%) adults in the United States report having doctor diagnosed arthritis.

In 2010-2012, 49.7% of adults 65 years or older reported an arthritis diagnosis.

By 2030, an estimated 67 million Americans ages 18 years or older are projected to have doctor-diagnosed arthritis.

Arthritis & Rheumatism 2006;54(1):226-229 [Data Source: 2003 NHIS]

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CDC - Arthritis - Data and Statistics - Arthritis Related ...

We have Bone Marrow Autologous Stem Cell Experts and Stem Cell Cancer Treatment doctors.

Meet our doctors: Dr. Gustavo Andrade - Stem Cell Specialist

Dr. Rivkah Lopez - Cancer Specialist

We offer Stem Cell treatments with enhanced, manipulated, and activated stem cells. These expanded and activated stem cells have been found to provide better results than non-manipulated stem cell applications.

Manipulation or amplification of the stem cells is done in the lab, where care is taken to retain the cell properties and transfer factors are added to activate cells. These expanded and activated cells provide superior results and cell recovery has been found to occur twice as fast as with non-manipulated stem cell applications.

To contact our stem cell expert team, and begin the consultation and review process now, click here >>>

We currently have available treatments with stem cells utilizing patient bone marrow and younger donor sources. Treatments are available in the following areas: Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Spinal Cord Injury, Arthritis, Parkinsons Disease, Autoimmune disease, Cerebral Palsy, Diabetes, Heart Failure, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimers Disease, and Stroke, just to mention a few.

No international flights required! Patients fly to the San Diego International Airport, are shuttled into the clinic for extraction and treatments, and can stay there or in San Diego overnight. Not sure what to do! Want a personal consultation with one of our doctors? To begin the consultation and review process now, just click here >>>, give us your contact information and we will get right back to you. It's easy!

It is believed that by the practical application of stem cells, the need for liver, kidney and heart transplants can be reduced dramatically. In addition, a cure for diabetes, nerve restoration and the extension of ones life expectancy by more than 50 years are on the horizon.

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Stem Cell Doctors

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The Dartmouth Sports Medicine Department serves the primary athletic health care needs of the men's and women's intercollegiate athletes of Dartmouth College. Our main facility is the athletic training room located in Davis Varsity House, adjacent to Alumni Gym. The athletic training room is staffed by a team of nationally certified athletic trainers, each of whom is assigned to work with different teams through the year. The Sports Medicine Department is part of the Dartmouth College Health Service.

The athletic training staff of the Dartmouth College Sports Medicine Department is committed to providing the highest quality athletic health care possible to the men and women athletes of Dartmouth College.

The athletic training staff will work in conjunction with the clinical staff at Dartmouth College Health Services and the Orthopedic Sports Medicine physicians at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Our aim is to ensure that each athlete is provided with the appropriate education, evaluation, treatment, and/or rehabilitation program for each situation. Our goal is to effectively manage each athletes injury or illness so that they may safely return to physical activity with minimal time lost from their participation in sport.

We will strive to create a professional, friendly, and welcoming atmosphere in each of our athletic training facilities. We will maintain each of our athletic training facilities with the highest commitment to efficiency and cleanliness so that an appropriate healing environment is provided. We are committed to providing the most up-to-date treatment modalities, rehabilitation equipment possible.

Our staff is committed to maintaining the highest professional standards of quality consistent with the National Athletic Trainers Association. We are constantly engaged with continuing education activities in order to keep abreast of the most current information available regarding treatment and rehabilitation of athletic injuries.

Our goal is to become a leader in collegiate Sports Medicine programs, by providing consistently high quality care and education to our athletes in a positive and healthful atmosphere.

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Sports Medicine

Updated September 06, 2013.

Sports medicine is the study and practice of medical principles related to the science of sports, particularly in the areas of:

What is a Sports Medicine Specialist? A sports medicine specialist is an individual with specialized education and training who focuses on the medical and therapeutic aspects of sports participation and physical activity.

This title of sports medicine specialist does not necessarily mean the specialist is a physician. There are bachelors, masters, and certificate programs in sports medicine.

What is a Sports Medicine Physician?

Sports medicine physicians have specialized training in the field in medicine that deals with sport or exercise-related injuries. Their primary focus is on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of injuries that occur during sports and other physical activity.

A sports medicine physician receives special training during a fellowship program in sports medicine after finishing a residency program in another specialty, such as primary care or orthopedic surgery. There are currently no widespread residency programs in sports medicine.

Most primary care sports medicine doctors complete a three-year family medicine residency after medical school, and then choose to focus on sports medicine. An orthopedic surgery residency leads to a career as an orthopedic surgeon, many of who treat athletes.

What is Sports Science? Sports science, also referred to as exercise science, is a focused study and application of the principals of physiology, anatomy, and psychology as they relate to human movement and physical activity. Exercise science is still quite young, and much of the field is focused on conducting research on the various adaptations to exercise or the lack of exercise, of the human body. This work ranges from the elite athlete to the general population; children to elderly; and the physical components of fitness to the psychological.

Careers in Sports Medicine and Sports Science There are many career and job opportunities in fields related to sports medicine. Typically, employment opportunities involve working with generally healthy or active people in two major areas:

More:
What is Sports Medicine?

For more information on careers in this field, see the list on the right. For salary ranges, schooling requirements and more, check out theCareer Explorer.

Sports medicine focuses on helping people improve their athletic performance, recover from injury and prevent future injuries. It is a fast-growing health care field, becausehealth workers who specialize in sports medicine help many regular people as well as athletes.

You dont have to be a professional athlete to seek help from a sports medicine professional. Sports medicine professionals treat people who participate in sports just for fun or want to get better results from their exercise program, patients who suffered injuries and want to regain full function and people who have disabilities and want to increase their mobility and capabilities.

The field of sports medicine encompasses many different health careers, including:

The career path you take will depend on your interests, your educational goals and the environment where you want to work.Many careers in this field require degrees, and certification can improve your chances of landing a great job.

If youre interested in sports medicine, consider volunteering with the medical personnel who assist your school'ssports teams. You can observe the work they do and learn more about what a career in sports medicine entails.

To learn more about sports medicine, visit the American College of Sports Medicine.

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Sports Medicine | explorehealthcareers.org

The Stem Cell Institute is a modern medical clinic that uses adult stem cells to treat chronic diseases for which there are inadequate standard therapies. The Institute is currently accepting patients with Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Diabetes Type 2, Heart Failure, Osteoarthritis & Degenerative Joint Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Spinal Cord Injury.

At the Stem Cell Institute you will find facilities and level of professionalism found in the top medical centers in the United States. In 2009, over 250 international patients where treated at the Panama clinic of the Stem Cell Institute.

The Doctors at the Stem Cell Institute are highly trained specialists, many of whom trained in the U.S. All physicians are multi-lingual and speak English.

All cells used in treatments are processed in accordance with Current Good Tissue Practices (CGTP) in a state-of-the-art laboratory that is licensed and certified by the Ministry of Health of Panama.

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The Stem Cell Institute - Panama City, Panama - medical ...

Adult stem cell treatments are now a reality in Panama. They are being used clinically to treat many diseases. One Panama surgeon has stated that the use of stem cells as treatment will forever change the practice of medicine.

Scientists from around the world are embracing adult stem cells as the next frontier in medicine. The abundant clinical data currently available is being translated into powerful medical delivery systems of incredible healing.

Ethical controversy is avoided by using stem cells that do not originate from embryos. The most common sources of adult stem cells are

fat (adipose tissue) bone marrow umbilical cord blood menstrual blood dental pulp

The use of stem cells from adipose tissue involves a mini-liposuction from the patient who is to receive the stem cells. The procedure, with the patient sedated, is performed by a plastic surgeon in an outpatient setting. The procedure is well tolerated, and the patient recovers quickly. Approximately 500 cc of fat is obtained during this procedure and then taken to an approved lab where the cells are processed to obtain the portion that contains the stem cells.

These stem cells are being used in Panama to successfully treat such serious conditions as:

Multiple Sclerosis Spinal Cord Injury Autism Spectrum Rheumatoid Arthritis Polymyalgia Rheumatica Fibromyalgia Heart Failure Crohn's Disease Joint Disorders Many other autoimmune diseases Diabetes, Type II (stem cells help with insulin resistance)

The principle of how these cells help the body is that they home into areas of damage and inflammation. They control the immune system from attacking its own body while they repair some of the damage which has already occurred.

(continued)

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Medicine in Panama, Adult Stem Cell Therapy in Panama

Side effects can happen with any type of treatment, but everyones experience is different. Some people may have many side effects. Others have few or none at all.

Side effects can happen any time during, immediately after or days to months after stem cell transplant. Short-term, or acute, side effects generally develop during the first 100 days after a stem cell transplant. Long-term, or chronic, side effects generally develop 100 or more days after the transplant. Most side effects go away on their own or can be treated, but some side effects can last a long time or become permanent.

Side effects of a stem cell transplant will depend mainly on:

It is hard to say exactly which side effects a child will have, how long they will last and when the child will recover. A childs body seems to handle chemotherapy better than an adults body. Children usually have less severe side effects and will often recover from them faster than adults.

A stem cell transplant is a very complex procedure. Side effects of stem cell transplant can be very serious or even life-threatening. The healthcare team watches people receiving a stem cell transplant very closely. They will take measures to prevent side effects and will quickly deal with any side effects that develop.

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Side effects of stem cell transplant - Canadian Cancer Society

by Amanda J. Harper

(Medical Xpress)New research from The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC James) suggests that it may be the quality of cancer stem cells rather than their quantity that leads to better survival in certain patients with oral cancer.

The researchers investigated cancer stem cell numbers in oral cancers associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) and in oral cancers not associated with the virus. Typically, patients with HPV-positive oral cancer respond better to therapy and have a more promising prognosis than patients with HPV-negative tumors. The latter are usually associated with tobacco and alcohol use.

The OSUCCC James team's findings, published in the journal Cancer, suggest that relying on the number of cancer stem cells in a tumor might inaccurately estimate the potential for the tumor's recurrence or progression.

"We show that high levels of cancer stem cells are not necessarily associated with a worse prognosis in head and neck cancer, a finding that could have far-reaching implications for patient care," says principal investigator Quintin Pan, PhD, associate professor of otolaryngology and scientist with the OSUCCC James Experimental Therapeutics Program.

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with an estimated 600,000 cases diagnosed annually. Although the disease is often linked to alcohol and tobacco use, cancer-causing types of HPV are a major risk factor for the malignancy, and cases of HPV-associated oral cancers have tripled in the past 30 years.

Cancer stem cells make up only a small percent of the malignant cells within a tumor. When these cells divide, they can produce either more cancer stem cells or the nondividing malignant cells that constitute the bulk of a tumor.

Research has shown that cancer stem cells are highly resistant to chemotherapy and radiation and those cancer stem cells that survive treatment cause tumor recurrence. For these reasons, it is thought that tumors with high numbers of cancer stem cells are more likely to recur.

In this study, Pan and his OSUCCC James collaborators hypothesized that patients with HPV-positive tumors had better outcomes because their tumors had fewer cancer stem cells than tumors with HPV-negative tumors. They discovered just the opposite, however.

Comparing numbers of cancer stem cells in human tumor samples and in oral-cancer cell lines, they found that the HPV-positive samples had 2.4 to 62.6 times more cancer stem cells than did the HPV-negative samples.

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Number of cancer stem cells might not predict outcome in ...

Stem Cell Research

Stem cells can now be grown and transformed into specialized cells with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves through cell culture. Stem cells are distinctive from any other adult cell of the body in that they are capable of continuous mitotic divisions and self-renewal over long periods without undergoing the process of differentiation.

Positives of Stem Cell Research

Medical researchers believe that stem cell therapy has the potential to dramatically change the treatment of human disease. A number of adult stem cell therapies already exist, particularly bone marrow transplants that are used to treat leukemia. Stem cells can be engineered to replicate various specialized cells--those in the brain, liver and skin and have the potential to treat vast numbers of illnesses.

In the future, medical researchers anticipate being able to use technologies derived from stem cell research to treat a wider variety of diseases including cancer, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and muscle damage, amongst a number of other impairments and conditions.

Negatives of Stem Cell Research

Most misconceptions revolving around stem cell research are ethical in nature. Many people are against embryonic stem cell use because extracting stem cells from an embryo destroys it. However, recently, it has been shown in principle that adult stem cell lines can be manipulated to generate embryonic-like stem cell lines using a single-cell biopsy similar to that used in preimplantation genetic diagnosis that may allow stem cell creation without embryonic destruction.

Opponents of the research argue that embryonic stem cell technologies are a slippery slope to reproductive cloning and can fundamentally devalue human life. Those in the pro-life movement argue that a human embryo is a human life and is therefore entitled to protection.

Well, above are some points in favor of and against stem cell research!

By: Trinity

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Positives And Negatives Of Stem Cell Research

If you just started to study hematopoiesis you can always see in the protocols indication to so-called lineage-negative population in bone marrow.

Lineage-positive (Lin+) cells are a mix of all cells expressing mature cell lineage markers. For example for mouse bone marrow: Mac-1 for myeloid cells, CD4 and CD8 for T-cells, CD19 or B220 for B-cells, Ter-119 for erythrocytes, ect. The rest of the cells are lineage-negative (Lin-) they are not stained by the lineage antibodies. All stem and progenitor cell activity was identified withing Lin- population, but not in Lin+ cells.

Lin- populations are very heterogeneous and contain a small % of true stem cells, most of the cells are progenitors;

Lin Ab mix ready to use - mouse: BioLegend FITC or PE Anti-Mouse Lineage Cocktail With Isotype Control Caltag/Invitrogen Mouse Lineage Mixture, Hamster/Rat Anti-Mouse biotin / Alexa Fluor 488 human: eBioscience Human Hematopoietic Lineage Flow Cocktail (FITC)

kits for isolation Lin- population: mouse: Miltenyi Biotech -Lineage Cell Depletion Kit R&D Systems MagCellect Mouse Hematopoietic Cell Lineage Depletion Kit Stem Cell Technologies Customize your kit! for human and mouse human: Miltenyi Biotech -Lineage Cell Depletion Kit

biothinylated anti-mouse Ab: CD4, CD8, B220, IL-7R, Ter119, Gr-1, Mac1 from Adult mouse hematopoietic stem cells: purification and single-cell assays. Nature Protocols 2007; 1: 2979

******************** I have experience with commercial and hand-made customizable Lin Ab mixtures and kits. Please let us know if you have any trouble isolating a clean Lin- population, and wed love your feedback on products and kits youve used either successfully or unsuccessfully.

Tagged as: cell separation, FACS, flow cytometry, HSC isolation, lineage, MACS

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What is lineage-negative cells? - Stem Cell Assays