StemCell Therapy

Seven months after a bill to create a regional stem cell therapy hub at the University of Kansas Medical Center took effect, two doctors from the center say it is enrolling patients in clinical trials and they are beginning their work.

David Prentice and Buddhadeb Dawn expressed excitement Monday about what the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center has been able to accomplish in a short time and what possibilities it holds for the future.

"Kansas can be the leader in providing adult stem cell treatments and information to physicians and patients around the world," Dawn said.

Prentice said the center, which limits itself to research on adult stem cells, will foster "ethical, non-controversial" treatments for patients with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, heart damage, stroke and juvenile diabetes.

At the same time he said it will serve to educate schoolchildren on the promise of adult stem cells and act as a "hub" for regional research.

Potentially physicians from across the region could be sending samples," Prentice told the Senate Ways and Means Committee that approved millions in start-up funds for the center last year.

Sen. Jeff Melcher, R-Leawood, said he was heartened by news of the center beginning work, but somewhat concerned about it monetizing that work.

He noted that the 15 members of the center's advisory board are academics and legislators, with no one from the business community.

I see kind of a void in that I dont see the people that it would take to product-ize this," Melcher said. "The sales and marketing expertise, the product development.

Dawn said the medical center has some "in-house" experts who can help with that and that it will also be working with specific companies in some of its clinical trials.

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Stem cell center starting trials

Topeka Eight months after the establishment of the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center at Kansas University Medical Center, the center is conducting clinical trials and advancing treatments for numerous diseases, KU officials said Monday.

"We are very excited about the work that is going on," said Dr. Doug Girod, executive vice chancellor of the KU Medical Center.

Dr. Buddhadeb Dawn, the center's director, detailed clinical trials that are under way and several in the planning stages to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

"These trials will help local patients to get access to stem cell therapy," Dawn said. "Kansas can be a leader in providing stem cell treatments."

Created last year by the Legislature and Gov. Sam Brownback, the center will work on adult stem cell, cord blood and related stem cell research, providing therapies to patients and serving as a clearinghouse for physicians on cutting-edge treatments.

The center is prohibited from using embryonic stem cells or cells taken from aborted fetal tissue. Abortion opponents oppose human embryonic stem cell research because it involves the destruction of the embryo.

David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences of the Family Research Council, said the center was unique in the country.

Prentice, who was involved in the development of the center and is on the center's advisory board as a representative of the scientific community, said, "I do want to reemphasize the focus on the center is patient-centered," while also working on education, clinical trials and research.

The FRC describes itself as a Christian organization promoting the traditional family unit and the Judeo-Christian value system. Its critics say it spreads anti-gay propaganda.

State Sen. Jeff Melcher, R-Overland Park, said the research sounded exciting but that he was concerned that the advisory board had no business people on it to secure private and business funding.

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Stem Cell Center advancing treatments, officials say

Stem cell transplant was viable and effective in halting or reversing degenerative disc disease of the spine, a meta-analysis of animal studies showed, in a development expected to open up research in humans. Recent developments in stem cell research have made it possible to assess its effect on intervertebral disc (IVD) height, Mayo Clinic researchers reported in a scientific poster today at the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine.

"This landmark study draws the conclusion in pre-clinical animal studies that stem cell therapy for disc degenerative disease might be a potentially effective treatment for the very common condition that affects people's quality of life and productivity," said the senior author, Wenchun Qu, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Dr. Qu said not only did disc height increase, but stem cell transplant also increased disc water content and improved appropriate gene expression. "These exciting developments place us in a position to prepare for translation of stem cell therapy for degenerative disc disease into clinical trials," he said.

The increase in disc height was due to restoration in the transplant group of the nucleus pulposus structure, which refers to the jelly-like substance in the disc, and an increased amount of water content, which is critical for the appropriate function of the disc as a cushion for the spinal column, the researchers concluded.

The researchers performed a literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases and also manually searched reference lists for original, randomized, controlled trials on animals that examined the association between IVD stem cell transplant and the change of disc height. Six studies met inclusion criteria. Differences between the studies necessitated the use of random-effects models to pool estimates of effect.

What they found was an over 23.6% increase in the disc height index in the transplant group compared with the placebo group (95% confidence interval [CI], 19.7-23.5; p<0.001). None of the 6 studies showed a decrease of the disc height index in the transplant group. Increases in the disc height index were statistically significant in all individual studies.

The authors commented that it is time to turn attention to the much-needed work of determining the safety, feasibility, efficacy of IVD stem cell transplant for humans.

"A hallmark of IVD degenerative disease is its poor self-repair capacity secondary to the loss of IVD cells. However, current available treatments fail to address the loss of cells and cellular functions. In fact, many invasive treatments further damage the disc, causing further degeneration in the diseased level or adjacent levels," said the lead study author Jason Dauffenbach, DO. "The goal of tissue engineering using stem cells is to restore the normal function and motion of the diseased human spine."

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The above story is based on materials provided by American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM). Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Stem cell transplant shows 'landmark' promise for treatment of degenerative disc disease

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Newswise March 7, 2014, Phoenix, AZ -- Stem cell transplant was viable and effective in halting or reversing degenerative disc disease of the spine, a meta-analysis of animal studies showed, in a development expected to open up research in humans. Recent developments in stem cell research have made it possible to assess its effect on intervertebral disc (IVD) height, Mayo Clinic researchers reported in a scientific poster today at the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine.

This landmark study draws the conclusion in pre-clinical animal studies that stem cell therapy for disc degenerative disease might be a potentially effective treatment for the very common condition that affects peoples quality of life and productivity, said the senior author, Wenchun Qu, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Dr. Qu said not only did disc height increase, but stem cell transplant also increased disc water content and improved appropriate gene expression. These exciting developments place us in a position to prepare for translation of stem cell therapy for degenerative disc disease into clinical trials, he said.

The increase in disc height was due to restoration in the transplant group of the nucleus pulposus structure, which refers to the jelly-like substance in the disc, and an increased amount of water content, which is critical for the appropriate function of the disc as a cushion for the spinal column, the researchers concluded.

The researchers performed a literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases and also manually searched reference lists for original, randomized, controlled trials on animals that examined the association between IVD stem cell transplant and the change of disc height. Six studies met inclusion criteria. Differences between the studies necessitated the use of random-effects models to pool estimates of effect.

What they found was an over 23.6% increase in the disc height index in the transplant group compared with the placebo group (95% confidence interval [CI], 19.7-23.5; p<0.001). None of the 6 studies showed a decrease of the disc height index in the transplant group. Increases in the disc height index were statistically significant in all individual studies.

The authors commented that it is time to turn attention to the much-needed work of determining the safety, feasibility, efficacy of IVD stem cell transplant for humans.

A hallmark of IVD degenerative disease is its poor self-repair capacity secondary to the loss of IVD cells. However, current available treatments fail to address the loss of cells and cellular functions. In fact, many invasive treatments further damage the disc, causing further degeneration in the diseased level or adjacent levels, said the lead study author Jason Dauffenbach, DO. The goal of tissue engineering using stem cells is to restore the normal function and motion of the diseased human spine.

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Stem Cell Transplant Shows "Landmark" Promise for Treatment of Degenerative Disc Disease: Mayo Clinic

COMS 101 Persuasive Speech Brad Komgenick Stem Cells 322014
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Google stem cell therapy and a whole host of results show up. Stem cell therapy for hair loss, diabetes, cancer and practically everything else. It is touted as the medicine of hope, the panacea for all ills.

But to ensure that this potentially-powerful technology is not misused in the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research has come up with a set of guidelines to regulate their use.

Under the new guidelines, any use of stem cells in patients will be considered research, not therapy.

This means stem cells can now only be used on patients within the purview of an approved, and monitored clinical trial anything outside of this would be considered malpractice. Ananthram Shetty, professor of minimally-invasive surgery at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK, said the guidelines are much-needed, welcome move in the right direction.

Prof. Shetty, who has been working with stem-cell technology for 27 years, and is often in India to demonstrate their use in research surgeries, said this would prevent anybody and everybody from claiming unproven benefits. Lots of people dont really understand what stem cells are. And those who have a terminal illness are willing to try anything. There are some people who use this to raise false hopes. And this is what the guidelines seek to stop, he said.

J.S. Rajkumar, chairman, Lifeline Hospital, however, said the guidelines could have been clearer about the use of adult stem cells over embryonic stem cells, he said. Now, the procedures involved and the time it would take could dissuade many, he said, while there is a real need for funds to be pumped in for research into this technology.

Another International Ear Care Day passed by on March 3.

It spelled out a clear message ear care can avoid hearing loss.

But the question is how many people know how to take care of their ears. What is interesting is the ear is a self-cleaning organ and does not require any kind of cleaning. But many clean their ears using safety pins, hair pins and even matchsticks.

While doctors advise against the use of such objects, they discourage the use of cotton buds too. Some heat coconut oil and pour into the ears. This could cause fungal infections. The ear drum is very thin and can be damaged, leading to loss of hearing, said M. Ramaniraj, professor of ENT, Government Stanley Medical College Hospital.

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Guidelines on use of stem cell therapy

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See Inside Mar 19, 2013 |By Christine Gorman

Richard Clark, NIH

Researchers are now experimenting with stem cellsprogenitor cells that can develop into many different types of tissueto coax the bodies of a few individuals to heal themselves. Some of the most advanced clinical trials so far involve treating congestive heart disease and regrowing muscles in soldiers who were wounded in an explosion. But new developments are happening so quickly that investigators have come up with a new nameregenerative medicineto describe the emerging field.

Many of the stem cells being studied are referred to as pluripotent, meaning they can give rise to any of the cell types in the body but they cannot give rise on their own to an entirely new body. (Only the earliest embryonic cells, which occur just after fertilization, can give rise to a whole other organism by themselves.) Other stem cells, such as the ones found in the adult body, are multipotent, meaning they can develop into a limited number of different tissue types.

One of the most common stem cell treatments being studied is a procedure that extracts a few stem cells from a person's body and grows them in large quantities in the laboratorywhat scientists refer to as expanding the number of stem cells. Once a sufficient number have been produced in this manner, the investigators inject them back into the patient.

The bone marrow is a rich source of adult stem cells, containing both the hematopoietic stem cells that give rise to the various types of blood and the so-called mesenchymal cells, which can develop into bone, cartilage and fat. Mesenchymal cells are found in the bone marrow and various other places in the body, although whether all mesenchymal stem cells are truly interchangeable irrespective of origin is unclear.

Scientific American spoke with Mahendra Rao, director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to get a sense of the sorts of new developments that might occur in regenerative medicine in the next five years or so.

[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]

Why is there so much excitement about regenerative medicine? You could say that medicine up until now has been all about replacements. If your heart valve isn't working, you replace it with another valve, say from a pig. With regenerative medicine, you're treating the cause and using your own cells to perform the replacement. The hope is that by regenerating the tissue, you're causing the repairs to grow so that it's like normal.

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What's Next for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine?