StemCell Therapy

TORONTO A Canadian-led international team of researchers has begun solving the mystery of just how a specialized cell taken from a persons skin is reprogrammed into an embryonic-like stem cell, from which virtually any other cell type in the body can be generated.

The research is being touted as a breakthrough in regenerative medicine that will allow scientists to one day harness stem cells to treat or even cure a host of conditions, from blindness and Parkinsons disease to diabetes and spinal cord injuries.

Besides creating the reprogramming roadmap, the scientists also identified a new type of stem cell, called an F-class stem cell due to its fuzzy appearance. Their work is detailed in five papers published Wednesday in the prestigious journals Nature and Nature Communications.

Dr. Andras Nagy, a senior scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, led the team of 50 researchers from Canada, the Netherlands, South Korea and Australia, which spent four years analyzing and cataloguing the day-by-day process that occurs in stem cell reprogramming.

The work builds on the 2006-2007 papers by Shinya Yamanaka, who showed that adult skin cells could be turned into embryonic-like, or pluripotent, stem cells through genetic manipulation, a discovery that garnered the Japanese scientist the Nobel Prize in 2012.

Nagy likened the roughly 21-day process to complete that transformation to a black box, so called because scientists did not know what went on within the cells as they morphed from one cell type into the other.

It was just like a black box, Nagy said Wednesday, following a briefing at the hospital. You start with a skin cell, you arrive at a stem cell but we had no idea what was happening inside the cell.

Nagys team set about cataloguing the changes as they occurred by removing cells from culture dishes at set points during the three-week period, then analyzing such cellular material as DNA and proteins present at that moment.

The result is a database that will be available to scientists around the world, which the team hopes will spur new research to advance the field of stem cell-based regenerative medicine.

Co-author Ian Rogers, a scientist in Nagys lab, said the database will allow researchers to identify various properties of the developing stem cells, which could mean improving their ability to treat or cure disease.

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Researchers show how stem cells can be reprogrammed

Beverly Hills, CA (PRWEB) December 11, 2014

R3 Stem Cell is proud to welcome Dr. George Graf as a Featured Regenerative Medicine Doctor in the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills area. Dr. Graf is a first rate pain management doctor, who offers several types of stem cell procedures and platelet rich plasma therapy for all types of spinal conditions such as neck and back pain, arthritis, disc degeneration and more. Those interested should call (844) GET-STEM for more information and scheduling.

R3 Stem Cell is a nationwide provider of regenerative medicine products and education for both doctors and patients. The company only works with the top doctors and practices in the field of stem cell therapy. Dr. Graf is Double Board Certified and is very highly regarded by his peers and patients.

The conditions Dr. Graf treats include degenerative disc disease, spinal arthritis, scoliosis, neuropathy, failed back surgery syndrome and more. Regenerative medicine offers the potential to not only bring pain relief, but also help repair and regenerate damaged tissue.

Along with Dr. Graf being a regenerative medicine expert in the LA and Beverly Hills area, R3 also works with Dr. Raj. Dr. Raj is a Double Board Certified orthopedic specialist, who offers regenerative medicine procedures for rotator cuffs, hip and knee arthritis, sports injuries and much more. Between Dr. Graf and Dr. Raj, the whole body is covered for treatments.

All of the treatment options are outpatient and very low risk. Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy involves a person's own blood, which is immediately processed and injected into the problem area. Bone marrow derived stem cell therapy involves an aspiration from one's iliac crest, with the material being processed to concentrate stem cells and then inject into the problem area. Additionally, amniotic stem cells are offered, with the fluid being obtained from a consenting donor undergoing a scheduled C-section. The fluid is processed at an FDA regulated lab and no fetal tissue is involved whatsoever.

To date, several small studies have shown excellent benefit with regenerative medicine procedures. This has been extremely encouraging, and allowed stem cell therapy to exponentially increase in popularity nationwide. R3 Stem Cell is at the forefront in regenerative medicine, teaming with the top doctors such as Drs. Raj and Graf to help patients achieve pain relief and avoid surgery.

Call (844) GET-STEM today for more information and scheduling with a top stem cell doctor today.

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R3 Stem Cell Welcomes Beverly Hills Pain Specialists Dr. George Graf as a Featured Regenerative Medicine Doctor

Professional athletes are getting injections of stem cells to speed up recovery from injury. Critics call it a high-tech placebo.

NFL quarterback Peyton Manning reportedly had a stem cell treatment to his neck in 2011.

Elite athletes do whatever it takes to win. Lately, thats meant getting an injection of their own stem cells.

The treatments, developed over the last eight years, typically involve extracting a small amount of a players fat or bone marrow and then injecting it into an injured joint or a strained tendon to encourage tissue regeneration. Bone marrow contains stem cells capable of generating new blood cells, cartilage, and bone.

Although the treatments have become a multimillion-dollar industry, some doctors say theres only thin medical evidence they actually speed healing. In a report issued last week, public policy researchers at Rice University criticized the National Football Leagues role in promoting unproven treatments to the public. Some players, including Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos and Sidney Rice, whos now retired but won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks last year, have reportedly gone overseas for stem cell treatments and others have acted as spokespeople for U.S. clinics offering them.

The Rice researchers, Kirstin Matthews and Maude Cuchiara, say the NFL should create an independent panel and fund research on whether stem cell treatments actually work, similar to what it did after facing questions around concussions and brain injury. I think they should be more proactive. They should get ahead of this one, says Matthews.

Sports Illustrated reports that hundreds of football players have gotten stem cell treatments, with many travelling abroad for types of therapy not offered in the United States.But its not only football players trying them. The tennis player Rafael Nadal is reportedly undergoing stem cell treatments for back pain, and the injections are also being sought out by soccer players and high school athletes.

The NFL didnt respond to questions from MIT Technology Review. Doctors offering the treatments say theyre promising and should be given a chance. Others say theres not enough data. Any of these injections have a placebo effect, says Freddie Fu, an orthopedic surgeon who is chairman of sports medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and top doctor for the schools sports teams. We dont know what we are putting in. We dont really know what exactly what it does, biologically.

Orthopedic surgeons hope one day to use stem cells to regenerate cartilage and other lost tissue. But wishful thinking, and profits, have gotten ahead of the facts, says Fu. Theres a lot of marketing in orthopedics right now. I would say 15 to 20 percent of treatments are not effective, he says.

Unlike a drug, which gets tested for years and is then weighed by experts and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before hitting the market, the bone marrow treatments offered in the U.S. arent regulated.

Link:
The NFL Has a Problem with Stem Cell Treatments

Tommy #39;s Experience with Stem Cell Therapy
Tommy discusses living with debilitating back pain and choosing stem cell therapy followed by hyperbaric oxygen therapy to improve his quality of life. Learn more at http://beyondpills.com/,...

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Dr. MIchael Belich of integrative Medical Clinics talks about the latest therapies using Stem Cells.

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MONDAY, Dec. 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Some professional football players are seeking unproven stem cell therapies to speed their recovery from injuries. But experts are concerned that they may be unaware of the potential risks, a new report shows.

Stem cell therapy has attracted the attention of elite athletes. A number of National Football League (NFL) players have highlighted their use of those therapies and their successful recoveries.

Twelve NFL players are known to have received unapproved stem cell treatments since 2009.

"The online data on NFL players and the clinics where they obtained treatment suggest that players may be unaware of the risks they are taking," report co-author Kirstin Matthews, a fellow in science and technology policy at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, said in a university news release.

"Players who are official spokespersons for these clinics could influence others to view the therapies as safe and effective despite the lack of scientific research to support these claims," she added.

Most of the players receive treatment in the United States, but several have gone to other countries for stem cell therapies that aren't available in the United States.

"With the rise of new and unproven stem cell treatments, the NFL faces a daunting task of trying to better understand and regulate the use of these therapies in order to protect the health of its players," Matthews said.

The NFL and other sports leagues may need to evaluate and possibly regulate stem cell therapies in order to ensure the safety of their players, the report authors suggested.

The paper appears in a special supplement to the journal Stem Cells and Development.

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Some NFL Players Use Unproven Stem Cell Therapies: Report

Celltex Stem Cells in Hospital Galenia
http://www.hospitalgalenia.com.

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Celltex Stem Cells in Hospital Galenia - Video

Stem cells: protectors of the brain | Tamir Ben-Hur | TEDxJaffa
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. TEDxJaffa partnered with The British Council [http://www.britishcou...

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Stem cells: protectors of the brain | Tamir Ben-Hur | TEDxJaffa - Video

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Dr. Chad Stahl #39;s research on how early life nutrition affects the activity of tissue-specific stem cells responsible for lifetime fat, muscle and bone growth in pigs has implications not just...

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Chad Stahl: Impacts of early life nutrition - Video

Asymmetrex
Technologies For Stem Cell Medicine.

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Asymmetrex - Video

Improved case of Anky Spondy after PRP and Stem Cell Therapy
stem cell india, stem cell therapy india, stem cell in india, stem cell therapy in india, india stem cell, india stem cell therapy.

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Improved case of Anky Spondy after PRP and Stem Cell Therapy - Video

Future of Care: The Future of Stem Cell Therapy (Full Presentation)
Watch our October 29, 2014 Future of Care presentation on the future of stem cell therapy featuring Dr. David Brenner, Vice Chancellor, UC San Diego Health Sciences, Paul Viviano, Chief Executive...

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Future of Care: The Future of Stem Cell Therapy (Full Presentation) - Video

Future of Care: The Future of Stem Cell Therapy Highlights
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2014 Annual Meeting: Timothy Caulfield, LLM, FRSC, FCAHS
Timothy Caulfield, LLM, FRSC, FCAHS Science Hype and Stem Cell Tourism: What Can Be Done? September 12, 2014.

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2014 Annual Meeting: Timothy Caulfield, LLM, FRSC, FCAHS - Video

HEMACORD Receives 2014 Prix Galien USA Best Biotechnology Product Award
The New York Blood Center #39;s Milstein National Cord Blood Program (NCBP) is pleased to announce that HEMACORD, the first FDA-licensed hematopoietic stem cell...

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HEMACORD Receives 2014 Prix Galien USA Best Biotechnology Product Award - Video

Genetics Policy Institute (GPI) and the Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF) Announce Merger Plan
The Genetics Policy Institute (GPI), producer of the annual World Stem Cell Summit, and the Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF) have agreed to merge in order to leverage their resources...

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Asymmetrex Stem Cell Medicine

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Posted by Dana Sparks (@danasparks) 3 day(s) ago

Uniting the Global Stem Cell Community

The World Stem Cell Summit, December 3-5 in San Antonio, unites and educates the global stem cell community. With more than 1,200 attendees from more than 40 countries, the annual World Stem Cell Summits interdisciplinary agenda explores disease updates, research directions, cell standardization, regulatory pathways, reimbursements, financing, venture capital and economic development.

Throughout the week, the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine will use social media to connect using the hashtag #WSCS14. At the end of the week, we'll let the tweets, Google+ posts, Flickr photos, Facebook posts and YouTube videos tell the story.

The World Stem Cell Summit includes in-depth programming and more than 200 international speakers, including leaders from theMayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine:

About the World Stem Cell SummitMayo Clinic, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Kyoto University Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), BioBridge Global, Baylor College of Medicine and the Regenerative Medicine Foundation have joined the Genetics Policy Institute to organize the10th Annual World Stem Cell Summit the largest and most comprehensive multi-track interdisciplinary stem cell conference.

Related LinksMayo Clinic at World Stem Cell Summit 2013Mayo Clinic at World Stem Cell Summit 2012

Regenerative MedicineWorld Stem Cell Summit

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Uniting the Global Stem Cell Community

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4-Dec-2014

Contact: John Wallace wallacej@vcu.edu 804-628-1550 Virginia Commonwealth University @vcunews

Is the human immune system similar to the weather, a seemingly random yet dynamical system that can be modeled based on past conditions to predict future states? Scientists at VCU Massey Cancer Center's award-winning Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program believe it is, and they recently published several studies that support the possibility of using next-generation DNA sequencing and mathematical modeling to not only understand the variability observed in clinical outcomes of stem cell transplantation, but also to provide a theoretical framework to make transplantation a possibility for more patients who do not have a related donor.

Despite efforts to match patients with genetically similar donors, it is still nearly impossible to predict whether a stem cell transplant recipient will develop potentially fatal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a condition where the donor's immune system attacks the recipient's body. Two studies recently published by the online journal Frontiers in Immunology explored data obtained from the whole exome sequencing of nine donor-recipient pairs (DRPs) and found that it could be possible to predict which patients are at greatest risk for developing GVHD and, therefore, in the future tailor immune suppression therapies to possibly improve clinical outcomes. The data provides evidence that the way a patient's immune system rebuilds itself following stem cell transplantation is representative of a dynamical system, a system in which the current state determines what future state will follow.

"The immune system seems chaotic, but that is because there are so many variables involved," says Amir Toor, M.D., member of the Developmental Therapeutics research program at Massey and associate professor in the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Care at the VCU School of Medicine. "We have found evidence of an underlying order. Using next-generation DNA sequencing technology, it may be possible to account for many of the molecular variables that eventually determine how well a donor's immune system will graft to a patient."

Toor's first study revealed a large and previously unmeasured potential for developing GVHD for which the conventional approach used for matching DRPs does not account. The conventional approach for donor-recipient compatibility determination uses human leucocyte antigen (HLA) testing. HLA refers to the genes that encode for proteins on the surface of cells that are responsible for regulating the immune system. HLA testing seeks to match DRPs who have similar HLA makeup.

Specifically, Toor and his colleagues used whole exome sequencing to examine variation in minor histocompatibility antigens (mHA) of transplant DRPs. These mHA are protein fragments presented on the HLA molecules, which are the receptors on cells' surface to which these fragments of degraded proteins from within a cell bind in order to promote an immune response. Using advanced computer-based analysis, the researchers examined potential interactions between the mHA and HLA and discovered a high level of mHA variation in HLA-matched DRPs that could potentially contribute to GVHD. These findings may help explain why many HLA-matched recipients experience GVHD, but why some HLA-mismatched recipients experience none remains a mystery. This seeming paradox is explained in a companion paper, also published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology. In this manuscript, the team suggests that by inhibiting peptide generation through immunosuppressive therapies in the earliest weeks following stem cell transplantation, antigen presentation to donor T cells could be diminished, which reduces the risk of GVHD as the recipients reconstitute their T-cell repertoire.

Following stem cell transplantation, a patient begins the process of rebuilding their T-cell repertoire. T cells are a family of immune system cells that keep the body healthy by identifying and launching attacks against pathogens such as bacteria, viruses or cancer. T cells have small receptors that recognize antigens. As they encounter foreign antigens, they create thousands of clones that can later be called upon to guard against the specific pathogen that presented the antigen. Over the course of a person's life, they will develop millions of these clonal families, which make up their T-cell repertoire and protect them against the many threats that exist in the environment.

This critical period where the patient rebuilds their immune system was the focus of the researchers' efforts. In previous research, Toor and his colleagues discovered a fractal pattern in the DNA of recipients' T-cell repertoires. Fractals are self-similar patterns that repeat themselves at every scale. Based on their data, the researchers believe that the presentation of minor histocompatability antigens following transplantation helps shape the development of T-cell clonal families. Thus, inhibiting this antigen presentation through immunosuppressive therapies in patients who have high mHA variation can potentially reduce the risk of GVHD by influencing the development of their T-cell repertoire. This is backed by data from clinical studies that show immune suppression soon after transplantation improves outcomes in unrelated DRPs.

Link:
Predicting the storm: Can computer models improve stem cell transplantation?

Stem Cell Therapy | platelet rich fibrin glue stem cells
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